THE two Anglican deaneries of Hawkesbury and Dursley are joining together to make a brand new deanery of Wotton.

Almost 40 parishes will be in the new Wotton Deanery which will be in the care of Area Dean the Rev Rob Axford, vicar of Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley and Alderley.

The new deanery – which stretches from Badminton and Acton Turville in the south east across to Thornbury and Oldbury-on-Severn, up the Severn Valley to Slimbridge and then to the Cotswold Edge at Dursley, Nympsfield and Wotton - will be inaugurated by the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rev Michael Perham, during a special service at St Mary the Virgin, Church, Wotton-under-Edge on Monday, June 1 (7.30pm).

The role of an area dean is to keep an eye on parishes and give help and support to clergy, non-stipendiary priests and the laity when necessary.

Mr Axford said: "I am very much looking forward to working in this new deanery and I hope that we will be able to support and encourage each of the parishes in their mission and ministry - there is much that we can learn from one another.

"I hope that the deanery will be able to support each person in their Christian calling and each parish in their vision, life and ministry by providing good resources and opportunities at deanery level."

He added: "Many people wonder what the deanery is for; I hope that we will be able to show that by having a large and lively deanery we are able to resource them and provide a forum for sharing our hopes and dreams, turning them into reality."