Stephen Smalley

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Stephen Smalley (11 May 1931 – 19 May 2024) was an English Anglican clergyman and scholar who served as Dean of Chester from 1987 to 2001. Born in London, he studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1958. His early ministry included time as a curate at St Paul’s, Portman Square, and as Chaplain and Acting Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge. From 1960 to 1969 he lectured at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He then moved to the United Kingdom to teach at the University of Manchester (1977–1986) and was Warden of St Anselm Hall. He also served at Coventry Cathedral as Canon Residentiary, later becoming Canon Precentor and Vice Provost.

As Dean of Chester, Smalley led a period of reform and renewal at Chester Cathedral. He overhauled the building and its liturgy, expanded the shop and the Refectory, and opened a Visitors’ Centre in the undercroft, while keeping the cathedral free to enter. Visitor numbers rose to nearly one million. In 1992 he launched Building for Tomorrow, a major appeal to restore and modernise the cathedral for the new millennium. He introduced a Girls’ choir, designed new vestments, supported Chester’s medieval Mystery Plays, and appeared on BBC’s Songs of Praise. Smalley was known for ecumenical outreach, developing links with Ampleforth Abbey and with the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands, and he helped provide bursaries for Melanesian students at Chester University.

In the city, he served on the university’s Governing Body, chaired The King’s School governors, and engaged with Chester’s Blue Coat Foundation and local business and civic networks. He helped establish The Dean’s Breakfast, a forum for leaders to discuss economic, social and faith issues affecting the city.

After retiring in 2001, Smalley continued his academic work and ministry, preached at churches in the Dioceses of Gloucester and Chester, and taught theology as a visiting professor at Chester University. He also wrote crime fiction and stories for children.

Smalley died at Chapel Fields Care Home in Frodsham, Cheshire, on Pentecost Sunday, 19 May 2024, aged 93.

Selected publications:
- Building for Worship: Biblical Principles in Church Design (1967)
- Heaven and Hell: A Study of Last Things (1968)
- The Spirit’s Power (1972)
- Christ and Spirit in the New Testament (1973)
- John: Evangelist and Interpreter (1978)
- Thunder and Love: John’s Revelation and John’s Community (1994)
- The Revelation to John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse (2005)
- Hope for Ever: The Christian View of Life and Death (2005)
- 1, 2, 3 John (Word Biblical Commentary, Revised Ed., 2009)

Stephen Smalley’s legacy includes his transformative work at Chester Cathedral, his commitment to ecumenism and education, and his writings on Christian theology.