First woman to take on Exeter Cathedral role in almost 1,000 years
Rev Arwen Mary Folkes becomes the new dean next year
Last updated 10th Nov 2026
A woman has been confirmed as the new Dean of Exeter Cathedral for the first time in its almost 1,000 year history.
The Rev Arwen Mary Folkes spent her childhood growing up in lighthouses across Cornwall and Devon and says it gives her a unique perspective to bring to the role.
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. The married mother of three is currently Vicar of St Mary-the-Virgin, Eastbourne.
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."
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."