June Osborne
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The Very Reverend June Osborne (born 1953, Manchester, England, United Kingdom [1]) is Dean of Salisbury, the first woman to serve as a dean at Salisbury Cathedral and the first at any of England's medieval cathedrals [1]. She had served as acting Dean since the retirement of her predecessor, Derek Watson [2]. There have been suggestions that she may become the first female Bishop of the Church of England [3].
Osborne attended Manchester University, where she studied social sciences. She had begun studying Law, until she felt "the hand of Heaven", and decided to study for the ministry [3]. She trained at St John's College, Nottingham and at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. In 1980, she beame a deaconess at St Martin in the Bull Ring, Birmingham. She has also served at St Aldate's Church, Oxford and in the Old Ford parishes in London.
Osborne was ordained into the priesthood in 1994, one of the first women to be so ordained [1]. There was much discussion at the previous year's Church General Synod as to whether or not to ordain female priests. The Times attributed Osborne's speech at the Synod "for swinging the General Synod vote in favour of female priests" [3].
She moved in the following year to Salisbury, where she served as Canon Treasurer until her appointment as Dean.
She is married to Paul Goulding QC, a barrister. They have two children.
