CHESTER. IjEFOEE the alterations made by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners this diocese contained the entire coun- ties of Chester and Lancaster i, and portions of the counties of Westmoreland, Cumberland, and York, and a few parishes in Denbighshire and Flintshire ; and all were under the jurisdiction of the archdeacons of Chester 2 and Richmond 3. The diocese has been considerably curtailed, but has still two archdeacons of Chester and Liverpool, The members of the cathedral are the bishop, dean, and six prebendaries, &c. This bishopric was erected by charter, dated 4th Aug.* 1541^, out of the abbey of St.Werburgh in Chester.
- By orders in council bearing
date 1 2th Dec. 1838, loth Aug. 1847, the whole county of Lan- caster, except the deanery of Fumess and Cartmel, was to be subtracted and made to form part of the bishopric of Man- chester, then about to be erected, and to be called the archdeaconry of Manchester : y)ut this order was repealed by act 10 & 11 Vict, c. 108. 2 The archdeaconry of Chester was taken from the diocese of (Coventry and Lichfield, and the archdeaconry of Richmond from the diocese of York, at the foun- dation of the see of (^hester in •* By order in council, r)th Oct. vor,. III. 1836, all that part of the county of York forming the archdea- conry of Richmond was sepa- rated from the diocese of Ches- ter, and assigned to the newly- erected see of Ripon : and by order in council, loth Aug. 1847, a new archdeaconry was created, consisting of the deanery of Worrall in the county of Ches- ter, and the deanery of Warring- ton in the county of Lancaster, and called the archdeaconry of Liverpool. 4 A cliartcr, dated i6th July 1 54 1, had been previously issued, but it was cancelled on account of certain errors and defeclH. ^' Fat. 33 Hen.VIIL p. 2. 2.3- l1 m.
