Bristol Cathedral plaque finally honours women ordained in 1994

Sculptor Robyn Golden-Hann carved all 32 names onto the new Welsh slate plaque

Bristol Cathedral has replaced a plaque honouring the first women priests to be ordained into in the Church of England, because it only mentioned the men who carried out the ceremony.

The historic occasion on 12 March 1994 was commemorated with a carved stone.

But none of the female deacons' names appeared.

After a long campaign, and exactly 28 years since their ordination, they returned to watch the bishop bless a new plaque, carved with all 32 names.

The occasion also falls in Women's History Month.

"There is a certain irony that it has taken us 28 years to unveil a plaque that mentions the names of those pioneering women ordained in Bristol Cathedral all those years ago," said the Right Reverend Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol.

She added: "I hope and pray that the progress that this represents will be a mark of wider progress in the standing of women in the church and indeed our reaching out to all marginalised or under-represented groups."

The new slate plaque now bears the names of all 32 women ordained in 1994

It was a sign of the controversy surrounding the ordination of women, that the original stone installed in 1994 carried only the names of the bishop at the time, the Right Reverend Barry Rogerson and Dean Wesley Carr, who led the service.

Revd Angela Berners-Wilson, of the Bath and Wells Diocese, was one of the first women to be ordained in 1994.

She explained how much it meant finally seeing her name in place.

Angela Berners-Wilson was one of the first women ordained into the Anglican Church

"At last my vocation is recognised., which is really good," she said, adding the day she was ordained had been "incredible".

Bishop Faull said: "Bristol was the pioneer for the whole of England [on women priests].

"My grandparents came from Bristol, my mother grew up here. It's always been a city that has supported women in all sorts of roles, not least leadership roles."