THE DEAN of St Davids has welcomed the appointment of a Canon Chancellor and three new Canons, describing the move as a significant boost for the life and work of Pembrokeshire’s cathedral church.

The appointments have been made by the Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Revd Dorrien Davies, with the new team bringing experience from education, community work and a range of professional backgrounds alongside ordained ministry.

The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St Davids, said: “I’m delighted that Canon John Cecil will be our new Canon Chancellor. Our three new Canons – the Revds Heather Cale, Jonathan Parker and Ali Reeves – all bring a very welcome breadth of experience from outside the church, alongside ordained life, which will greatly enrich the Cathedral in its extensive roles.”

Canon Chancellor

Canon John Cecil, who has served as a member of Chapter since 2022, lives in Steynton with his wife Lorna and one of their two sons. He is Local Ministry Area Dean of Roose and Diocesan Director of Education, overseeing Church schools across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Before ordination, he spent twenty-one years in secondary education, finishing his teaching career as an assistant headteacher in Haverfordwest.

He relinquishes his current stall as 5th Canon Cursal on taking up the new role, following the resignation of his predecessor, now Canon Chancellor Emeritus Dewi Roberts.

Canon John said: “Being Canon Chancellor is a great honour and I look forward to further supporting the life of the Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese.”

Broad experience

Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, the Revd Heather Cale moved to Pembrokeshire in 1992 and worked largely in education before her ordination in 2014. She continued teaching alongside her ministry, most recently as head of St Mark’s VA Church in Wales Primary School in Merlin’s Bridge.

Now vicar and Local Ministry Area Dean in the Daugleddau area, she is appointed as the 6th Canon Cursal.

She said: “I feel deeply humbled by this appointment. I hope to contribute positively to the Cathedral’s life and work.”

The Revd Jonathan Parker, originally from Warwick, has lived in West Wales for much of the past thirty-five years. After careers in tourism, social care and teaching at Ysgol Dewi Sant, he discerned a call to ordination through the school’s close links with the Cathedral.

Ordained in 2017, he has served across the Diocese and now works as chaplain to the Bishop. He is appointed to the Stall of Caerfarchell.

He said: “To be a member of Chapter is a great privilege and I hope to play at least a small part in the Cathedral’s continuing witness and story.”

The Revd Ali Reeves brings a varied professional background, including service with the Army, Ministry of Defence, NHS and construction, as well as time as a complementary therapist. Ordained in 2019, she previously served in Llandaff and the Afon Nedd ministry area before moving west in 2024 to become Bro Aman Local Ministry Area Dean.

She is appointed to the stall of the 5th Canon Cursal.

Revd Ali said: “I feel honoured to be invited to become a Canon of St Davids Cathedral and am looking forward to the new challenges this will bring.”

Service of installation

The Canon Chancellor and the three new Canons will be licensed by the Bishop and installed by the Dean during Choral Evensong at 6:00pm on Thursday, March 26.

The service is open to the public and all are invited to attend.

A NEYLAND councillor has called for traffic calming measures in the town where “a terrible tragedy” was avoided by “sheer good luck” after a car recently hit a house wall, the fifth such incident in less than a decade.

At the most recent meeting of Neyland Town Council, residents expressed their concerns at vehicle speeds in a part of the town.

Town council member, and county councillor, Simon Hancock said: “They came to express their concern at speeding cars losing control on the corner where Honeyborough Road leads into Kensington Road.  On Sunday afternoon a speeding car mounted the pavement and smashed into the wall of No 43 coming to rest in the middle of the road. Emergency services were on the scene.”

He said images of the incident and its aftermath were shared on social media and to the council.

Following that, Cllr Simon Hancock, who is also the county council’s presiding member, said: “I am extremely concerned by some drivers travelling at excessive speeds at this bend.  This is the fifth serious incident in nine years where cars have collided with houses in the terrace.

“Any pedestrians on the pavement at the time could have been killed or seriously injured. I have written to the chief executive, leader and cabinet member [of Pembrokeshire County Council] insisting on road traffic calming measures at this location.

“It is by sheer good luck that a terrible tragedy has been avoided.”

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson said: “We are liaising with the police over the incident to determine the cause of the accident before considering what measures the Highway Authority may take.”

PROPOSALS for a Pembrokeshire Church in Wales school is to be discontinued are “fundamentally flawed,” in part due to land ownership issues, councillors heard.

At last May’s meeting, Pembrokeshire County Council considered a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which outlined the findings of a review of education provision in the Preseli area.

A later July meeting backed a general consultation to discontinue Cilgerran Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School, and to establish it as a 3-11 community school.

“In particular, the review considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population,” the council in its consultation has said.

The consultation closed on January 30.

Hundreds have opposed the proposed changes, with a petition, on the council’s own website opposing the changes recently closing after gaining 391 signatures.

Any petition of more than 100 signatures triggers a debate at a council scrutiny committee, in the case of Cilgerran that debate taking place at the February 5 schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee.

The Cilgerran e-petition, created by Louise Williams, said of the proposed changes: “Ysgol Cilgerran VC school has strong links with the Church community in Cilgerran and we believe this [change] will have a negative impact on the children who attend the school, the community of Cilgerran and the links between the two.
“We are proud of our school ethos and values which are strengthened by our links with the church. The school has close and strong relationships with our Church in Wales federation governors one of which is also our safeguarding governor.

“Our Church Federation governors work closely with the school and are regular visitors to the school and the children. They provide vital support and guidance to the school and have a positive impact on the children’s education. We believe these links will be weakened by this proposal to remove our VC status and we believe this is an un-necessary action.”

Speaking at the meeting, vice-chair of the school governors Gary Fieldhouse said the loss of the Church in Wales status would be “a profound mistake,” the school’s association with the church “not symbolic but fundamental,” with “a sense of belonging” that would not be the same if it lost that link and would “change the essence of what we are”.

He said the were issues of land ownership, and the “thriving” school, in a strong financial position with no deficit, was likely to benefit in terms of numbers when a new housing estate in the village was built.

Reverend John Cecil said the proposals were “fundamentally flawed,” with the school’s land legally in trust as a Church of Wales school, and change “essentially creating a new school with no premises to occupy”.

Cabinet member for education Cllr Guy Woodham repeated assurances he had given when petitions for other schools in the county, which are facing potential closures, saying final reports on the school’s future would be “as balanced as possible”.

“I’m happy to give that assurance again; to present in a fair way so councillors can make an informed decision.”

Members heard that legal conversations connected with that issue were ongoing, agreeing to note the petition.

A report on the final proposals will be brought to a future council meeting.