Annabel Graham Paul officially welcomed as our new Chancellor

Following her appointment in July, Annabel Graham Paul has been publicly welcomed as the new Chancellor of the Diocese of Hereford at an Evensong held in Hereford Cathedral on Sunday 6 September. 

Annabel succeeds Mark Ockelton, who faithfully served the Diocese for 16 years, initially as Deputy Chancellor from 2010 and later as Chancellor from 2021 until his retirement in July, and to whom Bishop Richard extends our warm gratitude for his service.

Annabel adds: “Since taking up this role in the summer, I have been genuinely touched by the warmth and kindness with which I have been welcomed into the Diocese. I am really looking forward to getting to know the Diocese’s churches and churchyards better, as well as the congregations who worship in them and the many people who care for them.”

Annabel was called to the Bar in 2008, and throughout her career she has practised from Francis Taylor Building, specialising in town and country planning, commons and greens, and ecclesiastical law. 

Annabel is a member of the Government Legal Department’s A Panel of London counsel, the Welsh Government’s A Panel of Counsel, and she frequently appears in the High Court and the Court of Appeal as well as planning inquiries of national significance. She also sits as a village green inspector and is the Deputy Chancellor of the Diocese of Oxford.

Annabel lives in Wales and is a Town Councillor and former Mayor of Llandovery. She studied Music at the University of Oxford and worked for two classical music ensembles before becoming a barrister. 

As Chancellor, Annabel is the senior legal figure and serves as the judge of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Hereford, which has responsibility for matters of ecclesiastical law, including church buildings, churchyards, and other legal issues affecting parishes and clergy. The role is central to the governance and good order of the diocese, combining legal expertise with an understanding of the Church’s mission and pastoral context.