Askrigg Parish Church wins medal for repairs
THE tower project at St Oswald’s, Askrigg, in Wensleydale, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, has won the King of Prussia Gold Medal at the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association annual meeting in London. The medal is awarded for innovative, high-quality church conservation or repair. The project at St Oswald’s was commended for its use of traditional lime render, which received criticism from villagers afer it was unveiled last year (News, 4 November 2022, 7 June 2024, and 2 April 2025).
New Director of Music for Winchester Cathedral
WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL has appointed a new Director of Music after the unexpected resignation of Andrew Lumsden on 2 May 2024. Katherine Dienes-Williams, Organist and Master of Choristers of Guildford Cathedral since 2008, and the current chair of the Royal College of Organists, will take up her new appointment on 1 September. Andrew Lucas has been serving as the Winchester’s Interim Director of Music. Last year, the Interim Dean, Canon Roland Riem, promised transparency and “radical candour” in response to a review that identified leadership failings in Winchester (News, 7 and 14 March 2025). The former Dean, the Very Revd Catherine Ogle, announced her retirement “for personal reasons” last May (News, 15 November 2024). Mrs Dienes-Williams said: “Winchester Cathedral is ideally positioned at the heart of its historic city to embody the best of our Anglican musical tradition.”
Bangor Cathedral appoints Operations Manager
BANGOR CATHEDRAL has appointed Tomos Dobson as its Operations Manager, to oversee all operational, financial, and governance functions, alongside the Dean and Chapter, it was announced on Wednesday. A press release said that Mr Dobson “will be responsible for the smooth running of daily activities, supporting staff and volunteers and sustaining the cathedral’s mission, hospitality, and community engagement”. Mr Dobson has a degree in business management and chairs the Môn FM Radio station. The Dean, the Very Revd Dr Manon Ceridwen James, said: “As a man from Gwynedd who has studied in Bangor, he is well used to our context and has an excellent understanding of the challenges we are facing.” The appointment comes troubles at Bangor Cathedral in recent months, including the dismissal of its Director of Music, Joe Cooper (News, 12 December 2025).
Progress report to come on clergy retirement
THE General Synod will receive a progress report on the Clergy Retirement Dignity and Fairness Review, which the Synod asked the Archbishops’ Council to commission last July. An interim report is planned for July, with conclusions by the Synod’s sessions in February 2027, so that these can be fed into the next triennium-funding process. In his briefing paper, the secretary general, William Nye, writes: “It has taken longer than hoped to get the Review underway.” The independent chair and members of the review group are yet to be confirmed.
Leicester Cathedral joins anti-loneliness campaign
LEICESTER CATHEDRAL’s Welcome Café is the 6000th space to join the Warm Welcome Campaign, an initiative that provides a warm and friendly space for those in need of meeting people. Between ten and 30 people have attended the café each week since its opening on 5 December. The Dean of Leicester, the Very Revd Karen Rooms, said that her hope was that the café “will be a place where everyone feels valued and connected, especially during these colder months when isolation can be hardest”. Guests can drop in anytime between 10.30 a.m. and 12 noon on Fridays (excluding Bank Holidays). Donations are welcome but not required.
Hartley speaks of ‘cost pressures’ on cultural groups
THE Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, welcomed the Government’s announcement last week to invest in cultural organisations. In response to Lord Forbes of Newcastle’s maiden speech, in the House of Lords, Dr Hartley also referred to the challenge “to craft a policy environment that balances cost pressures with sustainable demand and opportunity for growth but to truly set forth a long-term vision that enables the welfare and flourishing of people and communities”. The House took note of the motion.
Wartime naval chaplain honoured with new painting
A PAINTING of the Revd Christopher (“Kit”) Tanner was unveiled at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre at Beckett House, Shrivenham, in Oxfordshire, on Tuesday of last week, by his daughter, Angela Allen. It was commissioned from the maritime artist Geoff Hunt by the charity Front Line Naval Chaplains, which raised £10,000 for it. A former Cambridge and England rugby player, he was chaplain on HMS Fiji when it was sunk in 1941, and was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal: he died from exhaustion after making strenuous effects to rescue his fellow shipmates.
Correction. A story last week (“Regulator censures dioceses”) stated: “In January 2023, a woman in Chelmsford diocese raised concerns about Dr Perumbalath’s behaviour with an archdeacon, who then passed these on to Dr Francis-Dehqani. The matter was not considered to be a safeguarding one because the woman was not considered to be a vulnerable adult.” We are happy to clarify that, while the archdeacon took the view that it was not a safeguarding issue, Dr Francis-Dehqani did not come to a conclusion. She sought advice from the Bishop at Lambeth on how to proceed. A priest outside the diocese, to whom the woman had also spoken, referred the matter to the National Safeguarding Team, who took over the case in February 2024.
