Devon lighthouse keeper's daughter to become Exeter Cathedral's first female Dean

THE King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Arwen Caroline Folkes, Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne, in the Diocese of Chichester, as Dean of Exeter, in succession to The Very Reverend Jonathan Desmond Francis Greener, following his resignation.

Revd Folkes, who is the first woman Dean in the Cathedral’s 970-year history, was born in Barnstaple in North Devon and was 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 also spent part of her childhood at lighthouses on the North Devon coast.

She is married to William, and the couple have three children.

She said: “It seems I have been entrusted with a new lighthouse, and a rather bigger one this time!

“I was born in Barnstaple while my father was a lighthouse keeper on the North Devon coast, so coming to Exeter feels very much like coming home.

“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.

“Most of all, I am looking forward to meeting, praying and serving with the people who already keep her light burning, the communities across Devon, and working hard to ensure the Cathedral can shine as the mother church for Exeter and the whole county.”

Before ordination, Arwen founded and ran Real Baby Milk, a Cornish social enterprise, and served as an elected district councillor in Cornwall.

She trained for ministry at Westcott House, Cambridge, gaining a BA (Hons) and MA from Durham University.

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.

The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Revd Dr Mike Harrison, said: “I am delighted to welcome Arwen to Exeter Cathedral as our 72nd Dean and the historic first woman Dean of Exeter.

“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 only question will be how she has her jam and cream!

“She brings a wealth of experience from her working life, both in and out of the church, and understands how the Cathedral is called to be a place of hospitality, Christian witness, and outreach as well as a servant of the whole of the County.

“I look forward to working with Arwen on the Pray, Grow Serve 2035 vision of the Diocese and indeed to having Arwen and her family as near neighbours.”

Arwen will be installed as the new Dean at Exeter Cathedral on Sunday, May 9, 2027.