LETTERS: Readers react to retirement of Bishop of Winchester hampshirechronicle.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hampshirechronicle.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SIR: May I add my own personal tribute to James Atwell to the many others I am sure are pouring in (Chronicle, December 17). He was always so wonderfully supportive of the Winchester Festival, that when the Chronicle reported the launch of the £20.5m Cathedral Appeal in 2012 I immediately wrote to him suggesting a series of Celebrity platform interviews to raise awareness of the Appeal – entitled The Winchester Dialogues. His response was typically immediate, inviting me to meet him to discuss the list of leading figures in the Church, politics, the arts and the media. He wrote the most persuasive letters of invitation, and to our delight everyone agreed in principle immediately. Finding possible dates took rather longer because of all their busy schedules, but we managed it over several months.
The Very Rev James Atwell obituary thetimes.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetimes.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Published:
1:25 PM December 17, 2020
The Very Reverend James Atwell, former Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, next to the cathedral tower. Taken in 2006.
- Credit: Archant
A former Dean of St Edmundsbury who was the driving force behind the cathedral s multi-million-pound tower project has died.
The Very Reverend James Atwell was Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds from 1995 to 2006, before moving on to be Dean of Winchester until his retirement in 2016.
During his time in Bury St Edmunds, his vision and determination saw the completion of the last unfinished Anglican Cathedral through the Millennium Project - putting Suffolk’s cathedral firmly on the map.
The Very Reverend James Atwell, Dean of Winchester who was a popular pastor in the city – obituary
Atwell took a dynamic approach to tackling the cathedral s financial problems and dwindling congregations
Atwell: a genial personality
Credit: Dan Rosenbaum/FRPU (E) Royal Navy
The Very Reverend James Atwell, who has died aged 74, was Dean of Winchester from 2006 to 2016, and before that spent 11 years as Provost and then Dean of the Cathedral of St James at Bury St Edmunds.
In both places he was greatly admired and valued for his genial personality combined with a dynamic approach to the development of cathedral life.