The sleepy English village famous for housing the star of the Vicar of Dibley recently welcomed its first female vicar following a sexism controversy.
St Fimbarrus Parish Church is the local church of Fowey, Cornwall, a town in which Dawn French once famously lived.
The actor is famous for her portrayal of Geraldine Granger, the female Vicar of Dibley, but her local church has, until recently, been dominated by male vicars.
Fowey Parochial Church Council (PCC) has enlisted Reverend Carol Edleston as its first vicar in four years to start in March 2024.
But the Church of England council didn’t do so until it was blasted for initially requesting a male vicar.
PCC initially decided to hire a new vicar in March this year and first advertised for a male vicar.
The controversial advertising came following reports that a minority of the congregation allegedly said they could not remain within the church on a “theological basis” under a female priest.
Fowey locals were infuriated, however, with some branding the decision “sexist”.
One social media user posting online said it made the church look “less relevant and more weird”.
Another social media user touched on the irony of the town once being the residence of Ms French, who played the UK’s most famous female vicar for 20 years.
They said: “Oh the irony. So Dawn French lived here, she played a female vicar, which is not good enough for her former home.”
The PCC has vehemently denied any accusations of sexism and warmly welcomed its new vicar in a statement.
St Fimbarrus Parish Church posted the news on social media, hailing the appointment of the Fowey local.
The post stated: “We are pleased to say that Bishop Hugh has announced that our new Priest for Fowey Parish Church will be Rev Carol Edleston, who lives in Fowey and has a heart for the town and the people.”
The post added: “We are thrilled. Say hello if you see Carol in the street.”
