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Women at the heart of Cathedral life
This is Caroline
Caroline looks after the Cathedral’s fan club, The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, which was founded in 1927.
“The best bit of my job is being part of a community of 4,000 people in Canterbury, Kent, and from around the world who all want to make sure our Cathedral is here for people to enjoy today, tomorrow – and for generations to come.”
This is Jo
Jo has two roles at the Cathedral, working as a Music Administrator and a Chaperone to the choristers - mainly with the girl choristers.
Jo keeps calendars and registers up to date, organises concerts and recitals, proofreads and collates all sorts of documents from the monthly Music Lists to job descriptions, and attends services and rehearsals as a Chaperone.
"I enjoy the variety and meeting so many kind and friendly people. I also love the music!"
This is Pixie
Pixie helps to look after the historical collections at Canterbury Cathedral and find ways to share them with our visitors.
“I absolutely love it when people get to discover and enjoy the objects, people and stories which make up the Cathedral’s past and it makes them think about how we live today.”
This is Helen
Helen was recently appointed as the new Singing Partnerships Lead, a role that combines her two favourite things in life – singing and teaching!
“I love creating links and developing pathways for making quality musical experiences accessible to all, in particular children, widening the Cathedral’s reach to people from all walks of life, engaging with them through music and welcoming them into the Cathedral community.”
This is Léonie.
Léonie works to look after the beautiful stained glass windows of the Cathedral, by carrying out condition assessments and - with the help of the Cathedral’s surveyor to the fabric - proposing a plan for the necessary works to repair and preserve them.
“Some of our windows date from as early as the 12th century, others are brand new – all are wonderful!
"My favourite part of the job is when I come to work on a bright winter’s day, and the beauty of the place – not just the stained glass – simply takes my breath away, and to know that I can help keep it going for future generations.”
This is Julie
Julie is the Cathedral’s Finance Director and is responsible for looking after all aspects of the Cathedral’s finances and for reporting financial performance to management, trustees, and other external bodies.
“What I enjoy most about my job is the variety and complexity of the Cathedral and being able to translate that through numbers and words so that those who are not necessarily financially minded have a clear understanding of what is going on – the accounts should never be a mystery!”
This is Rachel
Rachel oversees the smooth running of our accommodation at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge, ensuring excellent customer service to all of our guests.
"I enjoy meeting people from all over the world and promoting Canterbury and our beautiful Cathedral.”
This is Gina
Gina is responsible for ensuring that all our visitors, through whatever lens they choose to visit us, receive a warm welcome to the Cathedral. Gina and her team work hard to ensure that visitors' time with us exceeds expectations and that they leave with lasting memories.
"It is my pleasure and privilege to lead such a passionate and creative team, all dedicated to the same goal – to share the Cathedral’s mission, stories and collections, and safeguard the Cathedral for generations to come."
This is Holly
Holly works in various roles around the Cathedral; from greeting and helping visitors and virging for services, as well as teaching choristers, volunteering in the Cathedral Archives, and composing music for services.
"I love the variety of my role, and the range of people I get to meet and work with. I also love that I can come to work in such an amazing space as the Cathedral."
Holly was also one of the inaugural girl choristers here at the Cathedral in 2014. In fact, in January this year we proudly celebrated the 10th anniversary of girls in the Cathedral Choir! Find out more.
Holly recently composed two pieces - Magnificat and Nunc dimittis - which were sung by the girl choristers in our Evensong service on Wednesday 28 February 2024.
This is Alexia
Alexia’s role at the Cathedral is to contribute to and support the delivery of annual and new events, develop the activities strategy with the aim to increase visitor numbers, welcome new audiences, and increase their engagement and satisfaction levels with the Cathedral and city community.
“The thing I love most about my role is that I can create memorable experiences for Cathedral visitors.
"I enjoy the challenge of planning, organising, and executing every detail on an event. My role is rewarding and exciting and never gets boring!"
This is Emma
Emma manages the Cathedral’s event diary and all events at the Cathedral; ranging from simple pilgrimage services, to large concerts and graduations ceremonies, through to major international gatherings such as Lambeth Conference, and the Enthronement of the Archbishop.
"The thing I love most about my job here is seeing the enjoyment on people's faces when they attend services and events; and knowing that my efforts are adding to the living history of this amazing place."
This is Katie and Liisa
Katie and Liisa assist the clergy with worship, and look after the Cathedral, its chapels and vestments, and its people, helping to create a prayerful and sacred environment.
"We enjoy meeting the diversity of people who come through the Cathedral doors, the music played here every day, and being able to work in such a beautiful building!"
This is Abigail and Joy
Abigail is part of the team of servers who help the clergy during worship services, including; joining with the procession - often holding a cross or candle - and helping during the offertory and communion.
Abigail: “I enjoy serving because I am helping the congregation come together to worship God.”
Joy is part of the stewarding team who welcome people to worship services and other Cathedral events during the year.
Joy: “It is a privilege to welcome others from near and far in the name of Christ; who have come to join us in worship.”
This is Emma and Wendy
Emma helps to run the Cathedral, keeping everyone feeling safe and looking out for the lost and lonely.
Emma: “What I most enjoy about my job is being part of a caring community which enables the ancient traditions and spirituality of the Cathedral to be relevant and encountered today.
Wendy oversees worship and events at the Cathedral.
Wendy: “As the newest member of the clergy team I am really enjoying getting to know the Cathedral, our amazing staff and volunteers, and meeting the wide variety of people who come to visit.”
This is Jocelyn, Laura, Lisa, Tracey, Andrea and Abby
This is the Executive Support Team, who provide a friendly welcome to Cathedral House and support our Senior Leadership Team and Chapter.
Between them they have vast experience of working in schools, universities, charities, banking, tourism, hospitality, and local government.
"Between us we have a love of walking, singing, and painting; one of us has recently completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and another has taken part in a concert in Berlin for Peace with over 2,000 people participating from all over the world!
"We thoroughly enjoy being part of the Cathedral, with no two days being the same!"
This is Louise, Kallie, Melodie and Ellie
All part of our Visits Team, Louise, Kallie, Melodie and Ellie handle anything related to a group or individual’s visit; from ticketing, guided tours and pilgrimages, to organising services and midday recitals.
They also take care of our volunteers - arranging their tours and facilitating Mini Talks - and also work with the Chaplains.
They handle lots of general enquiries too and liaise with all the other departments to help arrange visits and keep things running smoothly day to day.
Melodie: "I enjoy meeting people from all across the world and helping them to have a great visit to Canterbury Cathedral."
Kallie: "I love being able to help facilitate memorable visits for visitors, and balancing the religious and the cultural/tourist side of things.
"At a site like Canterbury Cathedral, you cannot have one without the other and it’s great fun working with both elements."
These are some of our many Cathedral volunteers
The Cathedral has a team of approximately 600 volunteers, around two-thirds of whom are women.
Women are particularly prominent in our Holy Stitchers, Flower Guild and Holy Dusters teams.
You are perhaps most likely to have seen them in our wonderful Visits Volunteer teams, who welcome you to the Cathedral and give guided tours.
But, we also have women gardeners, bell ringers, chaplains and stewards - in fact women are represented in all our volunteer teams!
This is Pat and Alyson
Pat and Alyson are Cathedral volunteers who, since 2017, have been working on a special textiles project. They record and condition report all the Cathedral textiles, from vestments to cushions.
"We both enjoy working with textiles, and it is a privilege to be able to do this in such a historic setting."
Alex is one of our ‘Holy Dusters’
Our Cathedral Holy Dusters are a group of skilled volunteers who have been cleaning the Quire for at least 50 years!
The Quire is our main location of daily worship, and Alex prides herself in maintaining all aspects of this centuries-old space, so that it is preserved for many centuries more.
“I feel privileged to have joined a volunteer team of unassuming, hardworking ladies.
"My favourite days are when the organist is practicing. On my first day, the organist was playing the Star Wars theme in preparation for a graduation ceremony! It was wonderful.
"Whatever I am doing at 10am, I stop, remove my gloves, bow my head and in that wonderful place join in the prayer that comes over the speakers. It’s a contemplative and reflective time and I love it."
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