Caroline Jane Baston (born 17 October 1956) is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priest. From 2006 to 2011, she served as

Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight The archdeacons in the Diocese of Portsmouth are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They currently include: the Archdeacon of the Meon, the Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight and th ...

Early life and education

Baston was born on 17 October 1956. She studied at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) degree in 1978 and a

Certificate of Education A school leaving qualification is an academic qualification awarded for the completion of high school, secondary education. Depending on the country or region, it may alternatively be known as a high school diploma, senior secondary leaving certif ...

(CertEd) in 1979. She then began her first career as a mathematics teacher, working at a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

inner-city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough ...

. In 1987, Baston entered

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England seminary, theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local orda ...

, an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

. There, she spent the next two years studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and training for ordination.

Ordained ministry

Baston was ordained in the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1989. From 1989 to 1994, she served as Parish Deacon of St Christopher's Church,

Thornhill, Southampton Thornhill is a suburb of Southampton, United Kingdom, situated on the eastern border of the city and bounded by three major roads. According to the 2001 census the population was 11,460. Those under age 16 represent 23.4% of the population, 5% ...

. In 1994, she was ordained as a priest; this was the first year that the Church of England ordained women to the priesthood and therefore she was one of its first female priests. She was an

Assistant Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

at St Christopher's, Thornhill, and then Rector of All Saints',

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

with St Andrew's,

Chilcomb Chilcomb is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire east of Winchester and includes the South Downs Way long-distance footpath. History The nearby bowl barrow on Telegraph Hill along the South Downs Way just ea ...

.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). She was appointed an

honorary canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

in 2000. Baston was

from 2006 until 2011. On 3 October 2011, she was licensed as Transition Minister and

Priest-in-charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

of St Andrew's, North

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

. In November 2013, she was appointed Warden of the

Community of St Mary the Virgin The Community of St Mary the Virgin (CSMV) is an Anglican religious order based at Wantage in Oxfordshire, England. It was founded in 1848 by the vicar of Wantage, the Reverend William John Butler and is one of the oldest surviving religious commu ...

, an

Anglican religious order Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. She was appointed Master, Community of Hospital of St Nicholas, Salisbury, in 2021

References

1956 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Living people Schoolteachers from the West Midlands {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub