First female Dean of 970-year-old cathedral
Diocese of ExeterThe appointment of the first female Dean of Exeter Cathedral has been announced by Downing Street.
The Very Reverend Arwen Mary Folkes, currently Vicar of St Mary-the-Virgin in Eastbourne, is due to start in her new role in Devon on 9 May 2027.
Folkes was born in Barnstaple in North Devon and baptised in Bideford, before growing up at the Lizard Lighthouse in Cornwall, where her father was one of the last live-in lighthouse keepers for Trinity House.
She said: "It seems I have been entrusted with a new lighthouse, and a rather bigger one this time."
She said: "I have always believed a church should be like a lighthouse: steady, watchful and ready to shine for anyone caught in a storm.
"Exeter Cathedral has been that kind of Christ-light for centuries, through many seasons, and I am honoured and humbled to be called as one of her 'keepers' by serving as the 72nd Dean."
Exeter Cathedral said, before Folkes was ordained, she founded and ran Real Baby Milk, a Cornish social enterprise, and served as an elected district councillor in Cornwall.
She served her curacy in Cornwall, at St Just-in-Roseland, after which she joined the Diocese of Chichester, serving in Seaford, before becoming Vicar of Eastbourne.
'Insights and enthusiasm'
The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Reverend Dr Mike Harrison, said he was "delighted" at the "historic" appointment and looked forward to working with her.
He said: "Arwen has her roots firmly in the South West, and knows Cornwall and Devon well as a result of her coastal upbringing, and working and living in the region for so many years."
The Very Reverend Stephen Waine, Interim Dean of Exeter, said: "She will bring new insights and an enthusiasm for ministry within and beyond the cathedral, and I look forward to supporting her as she begins her ministry here and in the diocese."