Edward Patey

Who was Edward Patey?

Edward Henry Patey was the Church of England Dean of Liverpool, England from 1964 to 1982.

Patey was born in Bristol and educated at Marlborough College, Hertford College, Oxford and Westcott House, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1939 and in 1942 he became the Youth Chaplain to the Bishop of Durham. In 1958, he became Canon of Coventry, where he obtained experience in the building of the new Coventry Cathedral. He became Dean of Liverpool in 1964, at a time when the Gothic Anglican Liverpool Cathedral remained unfinished 60 years after the foundation stone had been laid; and retired in 1982.

Landmarks of his tenure as Dean included the dedication of the cathedral by Elizabeth II in October 1978, a memorial service for John Lennon in 1981, and a controversial visit from Pope John Paul II in 1982. An honorary Doctor of the University of Liverpool, he was succeeded as Dean by the Rev Derrick Walters.

He married his wife, Margaret, in 1942. She was appointed OBE for her community work. Together, they had three daughters and one son.