RURAL DEANERIES

This collection contains records of rural deaneries in the Diocese of London. Records in this collection comprise mainly ruri-decanal chapter meetings minute books and ruri-decanal chapter conference minute books. There are minute books for various committees and societies in some series, for example, the Assistant Clergy Society Spitalfields Rural Deanery and Standing/ Executive/ Advisory committee in Enfield Rural Deanery. Associated papers include correspondence, printed agendas and scrapbooks.

A rural deanery is a collection of parishes administered by the rural dean, who is the leader of the local clergy in a deanery and joint chairman of the deanery synod with an elected lay chairman. His main role is to act as a means of communication between the bishop and the clergy. Typically between 16 and 24 parishes make up a deanery. A group of deaneries forms an Archdeanery.

Ruri-decanal pertains to the rural dean and his jurisdiction.

A Chapter is a meeting of the clergy of an area of a diocese under the chairmanship of their rural dean

This collection has been divided into 8 series as follows

DL/DRD/L1 Paddington Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L2 Spitalfields Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L3 Bethnal Green Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L4 Saint Pancras Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L5 Enfield Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L6 Chelsea Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L7 Tottenham Rural Deanery

DL/DRD/L8 Shoreditch Rural Deanery

<p>For other rural deanery records see P93/DUN/283-290 Saint Dunstan and All Saints: Rectory Square, Stepney, Tower Hamlets; P83/MRY/375-377 Saint Mary, Islington: Upper Street, Islington; DS/DRD Diocese of Southwark: Rural Deaneries Newington, Southwark and Dulwich</p>