Basingstoke news and sport from the Basingstoke Gazette

Dean's keen to get on with the job

From the archive, first published Thursday 30th Mar 2006.

THE 37th Dean of Winchester was installed in a ceremony at the cathedral on Saturday.

The Very Revd James Edgar Atwell said he was excited about the "daunting task" ahead of him and looking forward to getting on with the job.

The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, conducted the ceremony, with many civic dignitaries among the 1,500 people attending.

Also there were bishops from Basingstoke, Southampton, Salisbury and Wakefield along with deans from Portsmouth, Norwich, Bristol, Chichester, Worcester, Southwark, Chelmsford, Gloucester and Canterbury.

As is the tradition, the departing dean, the Very Revd Michael Till, was not in attendance. However, he had written to his successor to congratulate him and to wish him well.

The Very Revd Atwell, 59, who is married to Lorna and has a son and two daughters, said: "I am looking forward to getting on with the work because when you say farewell to an old job and move into a new house, there is a limbo period.

"I am really looking forward to meeting people, getting to know them and becoming a part of cathedral life. It is daunting, but it is such a marvellous opportunity and very exciting to be responsible for one of the great cathedral icons of England.

"The installation was a very moving occasion in a cathedral thronged with people. The music was outstanding and the greetings of many from the community were so warmly extended. It was an awesome occasion and lifts the curtain on an exciting and challenging job."

Having spent 11 years at the cathedral at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, the new Dean said that he hoped that some of the skills he has been using in his previous positions would transfer, but added that he was prepared for new challenges.

His predecessor, the Very Revd Till and, before him, the Very Revd Trevor Beeson, were each in office for a decade and he hopes for a similar tenure.

He said: "I was 11 years in my previous job and 13 years in the job before that. I like getting rooted in a job and, particularly in a cathedral, you have to get to know the community, the diocese, the city and the county.

"The longer you are in the place, the more you become established and the more use you can be."

The Venerable John Guille, Archdeacon of Winchester, said: "A recent visit to Bury St Edmunds underlined for me how blessed we are in having James Atwell as our dean. He is a man of long experience in cathedral ministry; he has seen through many successful projects at Bury and he is obviously deeply loved and respected. I very much look forward to working with him."

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