Sheila Anne Watson ( née Atkinson; born 20 May 1953) is a British priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. From 2007 until 2016, she was

Archdeacon of Canterbury The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (a division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury). Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large (having oversight of ...

; she was

Archdeacon of Buckingham The Archdeacon of Buckingham is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the Church of England in Buckinghamshire. The archdeacon has statutory oversight over the ancient Archdeaconry of Buckingham, which has existed since (at latest) the 11 ...

between 2002 and 2007.

Early life and education

Watson was born on 20 May 1953. She grew up in a seaside town. She was educated at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 from ...

, a comprehensive school in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, South Ayrshire, Scotland. She graduated in classics at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. She then did a preparatory year of theology at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and then returned to St Andrews for a research degree.

Religious life

She became a deaconess in 1979, serving in two Scottish parishes (1979–80), North East England (1980–84), London (1984-1996 - where she also gained experience in the diocesan selection and training of clergy and laity at the advisory board of Ministry in Westminster) and Salisbury (1997-2002 where her husband Derek Watson was

Dean of Salisbury The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury. List of deans High Medieval * Walter * Osbert ...

until his retirement in 2002). She was ordained as a deacon in 1987 and as a priest in 1994. From 2002 to 2007 she was the

in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contain ...

. Succeeding Patrick Evans on his retirement, Watson was announced in January 2007 to be the next

, the first woman in the position and only the second woman to be a residential canon at Canterbury Cathedral. She was installed during

Choral Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which beca ...

at the cathedral on 28 April 2007. On 21 March 2013, she enthroned

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. She was the first woman to carry out that ceremony. She resigned as Archdeacon of Canterbury on 6 January 2016.

Personal life

Watson is married to Derek Watson. Her husband is also a Church of England priest and was previously

. He is now the

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

of Lincoln's Inn.

Honours

Watson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in November 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Sheila Anne 1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of St Andrews Archdeacons of Buckingham Archdeacons of Canterbury