John Paul Burbridge was the Dean of Norwich

Dean of Norwich

The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The current Dean is the Very Revd Graham Charles Morell Smith.*1538-1539 William Castleton, first dean*1539-1554 John Salisbury*1554-1557 John Christopherson...

 in the last quarter of the 20th century. Born on 21 May 1932 he was educated at The King's School, Canterbury

The King's School, Canterbury

The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....

 and King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

. After National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 with the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 he was ordained in 1959 and began his ministry as a curate

Curate

A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...

 at Eastbourne

Eastbourne

Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...

 Parish Church. Following this he was Precentor

Precentor

A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is "præcentor", from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" ....

 at 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...

 and then a canon residentiary

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 there. In 1976 he was appointed Archdeacon of Richmond

Archdeacon of Richmond

The Archdeacon of Richmond is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Chester.-History:It was created around the year 1088, and was endowed by Thomas, Archbishop of York. It had the valuable impropriations of Easingwold, Bolton, Clapham, and...

, a post he held until becoming the Dean of Norwich.