Janet Henderson (born 1957) is a Welsh

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest and former nurse. In 2012, she became the first woman appointed to the post of

Dean of Llandaff Dean of Llandaff is the title given to the head of the chapter of Llandaff Cathedral, which is located in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is not an ancient office – the head of the chapter was historically the Archdeacon who appears in this ...

Early life

Henderson was born in

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

and grew up in

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (, ; cy, Llandrindod, /ɬanˈdɾindɔd/ "Trinity Parish"), sometimes known colloquially as Llandod, is a town and community in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Radnorshire, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys ...

and

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

. She was educated at Ardwyn Grammar School Aberystwyth and

Howell's School Llandaff , image = Ysgol Howell, Llandaf 01.JPG , image_size = , caption = , coordinates = , motto = Nurturing Excellence , established = 1860 , closed = , type = Independent day school , rel ...

. She went on to a career in nursing working at

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. She left nursing to become an Anglican priest. She studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and trained for ordination at

Cranmer Hall, Durham Cranmer Hall is a Church of England theological college based at Durham, England. Cranmer Hall forms part of St John's College, Durham which is a recognised college of Durham University. It stands in the Open Evangelical tradition. Cranmer Hall ...

. In 1988, she graduated from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

with a

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree.

Religious life

In 1988, Henderson was ordained an Anglican deacon at Ely Cathedral. She later became one of the Church of England's first women priests, ordained at Southwell Minster in 1994. She served a curacy at St Peter and Paul, in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

, before moving to Nottingham, where she served in the Bestwood Team Ministry,

Bestwood Bestwood Estate is a large council estate located to the north of the city of Nottingham, England. Based on the 2011 census, its population is 4,719. There is also a ward of the City of Nottingham called Bestwood, which at the time of the 2011 ...

. She was appointed lecturer in Worship at

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

in 1993 and moved to the

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in memb ...

in 1997 where she spent four years teaching worship and was Tutor and Director of Studies at

Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and membe ...

Theological College. In 2001, she left Ridley to become Priest-in-Charge at St Patrick’s,

Nuthall Nuthall is a village and civil parish located in Nottinghamshire, England, neighbouring Kimberley, Watnall, Cinderhill and Basford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 6,311. It is part of the borough of Broxtowe. Nu ...

and

Dean of Women's Ministry The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes ove ...

in the

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is b ...

. From 2004 she was also an honorary canon of

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...

. In 2007 she became the first woman to be appointed as an archdeacon in the Province of York when she accepted the posts of

Archdeacon of Richmond The Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It was created in about 1088 within the See of York and was moved in 1541 to the See of Chester, in 1836 to the See of Ripon and after 2014 to the See of ...

in the

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds The Diocese of Ripon (Diocese of Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014) was a former Church of England diocese, part of the Province of York. Immediately prior to its dissolution, it covered an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as ...

and residentiary canon of

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...

. Between 2009 and 2013 she served as a Director of St John's College Durham and a Trustee of St Michael's Hospice, Harrogate. In November 2012 she was appointed as

, the first woman Dean of Llandaff and the second woman Dean in Wales, and was installed in March 2013. Henderson held the position for just two months, resigning in early May, with no official explanation given. Since 2013, she has served as the Spiritual and Pastoral Care Manager at Saint Michael's Hospice,

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

. Henderson is the co-editor of ''Pastoral Prayers'' (ed. Deadman, Fletcher, Henderson and Lake, Mowbray Cassell, London, 1996). From 2010 to 2013 she blogged at Archdeacon in the Dales and from 2013 at Social Horizons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Janet Archdeacons of Richmond Deans of Llandaff Living people Welsh nurses Alumni of Cranmer Hall, Durham Staff of St John's College, Nottingham Staff of Ridley Hall, Cambridge People from Neath 1957 births