THE Rev Vicki Burrows was overwhelmed with the welcome she received from Royal Wootton Bassett when she officially took on the role as the town’s new vicar.

She was licensed as the Priest-in-Charge of the parish of Royal Wootton Bassett and the Rural Dean of Calne at a ceremony at St Bartholomew’s and All Saints’ Church on September 18.

One of the biggest things the 53-year-old has noticed since arriving in the town is how friendly and welcoming everyone has been.

“Before the service began I was getting ready in the Croft I was really nervous,” she said.

“But the moment I walked into the church the warm welcome I had from all the 200 or so people who had turned out to welcome me, I was absolutely fine.

“Coming from Surrey it’s been such a nice surprise. People want to stop and speak to just as you walk down the high street, just to say hello and welcome me here.”

Before the service at 7pm, a number of friends and parishioners from Vicki’s previous church came to the rectory to share tea and cake and celebrate the occasion.

People from around the town– including parishioners, the mayor, school leaders as well as representatives from the Scouts and the Brownies – turned out to take part in the service, which saw Vicki licensed by the Bishop of Ramsbury, Ed Condry.

Vicki will spend the next few months learning more about the town and its people.

She said: “Coming to a new parish is always bittersweet and tinged with a bit of sadness about the place and the people you have left.

“At the same time it’s a fresh challenge and it’s always exciting to get to know new people and new communities.

“I am looking forward to meeting all the people in Bassett and find out about the needs of the community and its beating heart.

“I want everyone in the community, whether they have faith or not, to know that I am here for them.”

She comes to the town after serving as rector of St Mary’s, in Long Ditton, Surrey.

She discovered her faith in her 20s and was ordained in her 40s after a career spent working in her family’s evening and cocktail-wear dress manufacturing business.

She said: “I was asked to run a Sunday School where about 50 or 60 children attended and for 10 years people came up to me and said that I should be a vicar.

“As time went on I came to realise that God was calling me to ordained ministry – and I have loved every moment of it since I was ordained in Guildford Cathedral in 2004.”

Vicki, who has five sons and fosters a little girl, lives with her husband Billy at the rectory.