Crockford's Clerical Directory
Encyclopedia
Crockford's Clerical Directory (Crockford) is the authoritative directory of the Anglican Communion
in the UK, containing details of English, Welsh and Irish benefices and churches, and biographies of around 26,000 clergy. It was first issued in 1858 by John Crockford, a London printer and publisher whose father – also named John – had been a Somerset schoolmaster.
Crockford is currently compiled and published for the Archbishops' Council
by Church House Publishing. It covers in detail the whole of the Church of England
(including the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe
), the Church in Wales
, the Scottish Episcopal Church
, and the Church of Ireland
, and it also gives some information – now more limited – about the world-wide Anglican Communion
.
, who continued as publishers right up until the early 1980s. For the 1985/86 issue publication was transferred to the Church Commissioners
and their Central Board of Finance (who worked from their own administrative lists and databases). It is now collated by Church House Publishing.
The 1858 edition was later described as seemingly “assembled in a very haphazard fashion, with names added ‘as fast as they could be obtained’, out of alphabetical order and with an unreliable index”. But nevertheless the 1860 directory “had become a very much more useful work of reference”. However the original volume was actually a consolidation of what in 1857 had been conceived as a mere series of supplements to an entirely different publication, the Clerical Journal. The editors explained in the preface that they wished it to be understood that it was “but the foundation of a great work which, with the Cordial aid of the clergy, we shall hope to make more and more perfect every year”.
and for a number of colonial clergy – obtained from alternative sources – had been added by the 1865 edition, whilst details of Irish clergy had also been extracted from Alexander Thom’s Irish Almanack and Official Directory. From the 1870s onwards the scope was progressively extended to all parts of the Anglican communion with the notable exception of the Episcopal Church (United States)
. The 1870 edition contained 940 pages, but this had increased to over 2,100 pages by 1892.
The earliest editions had also gradually added some details of diocesan office holders and administrators, together with the theological colleges, and the royal chapels. They also acquired much fuller indexes – along with outline maps of dioceses, and increasingly-complete lists of bishops, dating right back to the earliest years of their sees. They further offered to all clergy an opportunity to list their publications, although these lists eventually had to be cut back as their overall length started to increase dramatically.
By the early 1980s severe economies had become necessary and 1985/86 edition had to be restricted to the "home" churches of England, Scotland and Wales . Retired clergy were temporarily restricted to just a few details of their final appointment, although it became possible to restore the Irish clergy in time for the 1987/88 edition. Later editions saw a further return of the retired clergy, together with details of those overseas clergy who had originally been licensed or trained in the UK, or who occupied senior positions within their respective church hierarchies. Details which had also become obtainable from the Church of England Yearbook or from similar sources were generally excluded.
By 1985/86 the first women deacons were being included, whilst other more recent innovations – from the 1990s onwards – have included optional email addresses, together with lists of those clergy who have died since the previous edition. Notes on How to Address the Clergy have been retained. A small number of clergy have been excluded at their own request. The Church Commissioners soon replaced the traditional black hardback bindings in favour of red, and they also introduced a separate softback alternative version.
Since 2004 there has also been a frequently-updated World Wide Web edition of Crockford, which is available by subscription .
, this tradition of the anonymous preface was discontinued.
An anthology Crockford's Prefaces: The Editor Looks Back, anonymously edited by Richard Henry Malden and covering the previous 25 years, appeared in 1947.
Library, York Minster
Library, the Guildhall Library
and the Society of Genealogists
.
Besides the 1865 reprint, a small number of early editions have been reissued in CD format by various publishers, including Archive CD Books. Scanned copies of other early editions have also begun to appear on the World Wide Web.
(chapter XI) where Lord Peter Wimsey
uses "this valuable work of reference" in trying to trace a clergyman who is important for solving the book's mystery.
Another fictional character holding Crockford on his bookshelves was Sherlock Holmes
, who during one of his final short stories ("The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"), consulted his copy before dispatching his colleague Dr Watson, together with another companion, to a distant part of Essex, where they interviewed “a big solemn rather pompous clergyman” who received them angrily in his study.
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
in the UK, containing details of English, Welsh and Irish benefices and churches, and biographies of around 26,000 clergy. It was first issued in 1858 by John Crockford, a London printer and publisher whose father – also named John – had been a Somerset schoolmaster.
Crockford is currently compiled and published for the Archbishops' Council
Archbishops' Council
The Archbishops' Council is a part of the governance structures of the Church of England. Its headquarters are at Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ....
by Church House Publishing. It covers in detail the whole of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(including the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe
Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe
The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and arguably the largest diocese in the Anglican Communion, covering some one-sixth of the Earth's landmass, including Morocco, Europe , Turkey, and the territory of the former Soviet...
), the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
, the Scottish Episcopal Church
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
, and the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, and it also gives some information – now more limited – about the world-wide Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
Previous publishers
The actual title of the first edition was simply The Clerical Directory, but a footnote showed that it was published by John Crockford, 29 Essex Street, Strand. The original publisher died suddenly in 1865, shortly before the appearance of the third edition of what had by then become Crockford’s Clerical Directory. For many subsequent issues the volumes were anonymously edited, but they were published under the imprint of Horace Cox – the nephew of John Crockford’s closest business associate, solicitor and publisher Edward William Cox (1809-1879). (His family was probably quite unrelated to the Charles Cox who coincidentally was the publisher of Crockford's chief rival, the Clergy List). Horace Cox died in 1918 ;and the title was subsequently sold in 1921 to the Oxford University PressOxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, who continued as publishers right up until the early 1980s. For the 1985/86 issue publication was transferred to the Church Commissioners
Church Commissioners
The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. It was set up in 1948 combining the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836...
and their Central Board of Finance (who worked from their own administrative lists and databases). It is now collated by Church House Publishing.
Frequency of publication
The first four issues came out in 1858, 1860, 1865 and 1868. Crockford then reappeared biennially until 1876, when it began a long run of annual appearances which lasted until 1917. The next issue was a delayed 1918/19 edition, which had for the first time incorporated its main rival publication, the Clergy List. Further issues appeared for 1920 and 1921/22; then from 1923-1939 Crockford reappeared annually, followed by more late issues in 1941, 1944 and 1947/48. Since that time Crockford has generally appeared every two years, although gradually worsening delays meant that the 87th and 88th editions were dated 1977/79 and 1980/82, and the book failed to appear at all during 1983/84. Biennial publication was once again resumed in 1985/86, although the volume issued late in 1997 was designated the 1998/99 edition. The 100th edition – eventually published for 2008/09 – included within its hardback version a few facsimile pages from the first edition, together with an extended historical note describing some of the earlier volumes.The 1858 edition was later described as seemingly “assembled in a very haphazard fashion, with names added ‘as fast as they could be obtained’, out of alphabetical order and with an unreliable index”. But nevertheless the 1860 directory “had become a very much more useful work of reference”. However the original volume was actually a consolidation of what in 1857 had been conceived as a mere series of supplements to an entirely different publication, the Clerical Journal. The editors explained in the preface that they wished it to be understood that it was “but the foundation of a great work which, with the Cordial aid of the clergy, we shall hope to make more and more perfect every year”.
Scope of the directory
The 1858 issue was based on postal returns from the clergy in England and Wales, involving an outlay – as the preface pointed out – of "more than Five Hundred Pounds for Postage Stamps alone". Simpler lists for the Scottish Episcopal ChurchScottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
and for a number of colonial clergy – obtained from alternative sources – had been added by the 1865 edition, whilst details of Irish clergy had also been extracted from Alexander Thom’s Irish Almanack and Official Directory. From the 1870s onwards the scope was progressively extended to all parts of the Anglican communion with the notable exception of the Episcopal Church (United States)
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
. The 1870 edition contained 940 pages, but this had increased to over 2,100 pages by 1892.
The earliest editions had also gradually added some details of diocesan office holders and administrators, together with the theological colleges, and the royal chapels. They also acquired much fuller indexes – along with outline maps of dioceses, and increasingly-complete lists of bishops, dating right back to the earliest years of their sees. They further offered to all clergy an opportunity to list their publications, although these lists eventually had to be cut back as their overall length started to increase dramatically.
By the early 1980s severe economies had become necessary and 1985/86 edition had to be restricted to the "home" churches of England, Scotland and Wales . Retired clergy were temporarily restricted to just a few details of their final appointment, although it became possible to restore the Irish clergy in time for the 1987/88 edition. Later editions saw a further return of the retired clergy, together with details of those overseas clergy who had originally been licensed or trained in the UK, or who occupied senior positions within their respective church hierarchies. Details which had also become obtainable from the Church of England Yearbook or from similar sources were generally excluded.
By 1985/86 the first women deacons were being included, whilst other more recent innovations – from the 1990s onwards – have included optional email addresses, together with lists of those clergy who have died since the previous edition. Notes on How to Address the Clergy have been retained. A small number of clergy have been excluded at their own request. The Church Commissioners soon replaced the traditional black hardback bindings in favour of red, and they also introduced a separate softback alternative version.
Since 2004 there has also been a frequently-updated World Wide Web edition of Crockford, which is available by subscription .
Prefaces in Crockford
The well-known tradition of having an extensive but anonymous preface offering a general review of events within the Anglican communion – together with some occasionally sharp and controversial commentary – evolved gradually during the early part of the 20th century. Previous prefaces had tended to be much briefer and they had often been limited merely to explaining the directory’s in-house policies. After the events following the publication of the 1987/88 edition, which had ended with the death of Dr Gareth BennettGareth Bennett
Gareth Vaughan Bennett , also known as Garry Bennett, was an Anglican priest and academic who committed suicide in the wake of media reactions to an anonymous preface he wrote for Crockford’s Clerical Directory....
, this tradition of the anonymous preface was discontinued.
An anthology Crockford's Prefaces: The Editor Looks Back, anonymously edited by Richard Henry Malden and covering the previous 25 years, appeared in 1947.
Locating previous issues
County libraries each have their own policies, but there are good collections in a number of major academic and ecclesiastical libraries, including Lambeth Palace Library, Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
Library, York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
Library, the Guildhall Library
Guildhall Library
The Guildhall Library is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical heart of London, England. It was founded in the 1420s under the terms of the will of Lord Mayor Dick Whittington...
and the Society of Genealogists
Society of Genealogists
The Society of Genealogists is a UK-based educational charity, founded in 1911 to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy". The Society's Library is the largest specialist genealogical library outside North America. Membership is open to any adult who agrees to...
.
Besides the 1865 reprint, a small number of early editions have been reissued in CD format by various publishers, including Archive CD Books. Scanned copies of other early editions have also begun to appear on the World Wide Web.
Crockford references in fiction
The Crockford is referenced in Dorothy Sayers's 1927 detective novel Unnatural DeathUnnatural Death
Unnatural Death is a 1927 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her third featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. It has also been published in the United States as The Dawson Pedigree.-Plot introduction:...
(chapter XI) where Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
uses "this valuable work of reference" in trying to trace a clergyman who is important for solving the book's mystery.
Another fictional character holding Crockford on his bookshelves was Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, who during one of his final short stories ("The Adventure of the Retired Colourman"), consulted his copy before dispatching his colleague Dr Watson, together with another companion, to a distant part of Essex, where they interviewed “a big solemn rather pompous clergyman” who received them angrily in his study.
External links
- http://www.crockford.org.uk Crockford’s Clerical Directory official website