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Ruth Etchells

1931 – 2012

English poet, literary scholar and churchwoman

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About Ruth Etchells

Lived 1931 – 2012 (aged 81). Ruth Etchells was a British poet, writer and literary scholar.

Dorothea Ruth Etchells (17 April 19318 August 2012) was an English poet and college principal who spent most of her working life in the University of Durham.

Early life She was born on 17 April 1931. She attended Merchant Taylors’ School and the University of Liverpool. After graduation, she became an English teacher at Aigburth Vale High School in Liverpool and then a lecturer at the Chester College of Higher Education.

Career From 1968, she taught in the English Department and soon became Vice Principal of Trevelyan College. In 1979 she was appointed Principal of St John's College, Durham, a notable appointment because this made her both the first lay person and the first woman to be principal of a Church of England college, Cranmer Hall (part of St. John's), that trains clergy, who were in those days only male.

She was a member of the Church of England's Crown Appointments Commission that recommends appointments of the bishops and archbishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1992 she was awarded a Lambeth Doctor of Divinity degree.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, University of Liverpool
Employers
Durham University
Also known as
Peggy Allen, Dorothea Ruth Etchells

People in Ruth Etchells's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ruth Etchells's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ruth Etchells?

English poet, literary scholar and churchwoman (1931-2012)

When was Ruth Etchells born?

Ruth Etchells was born on 17 April 1931 in London.

When did Ruth Etchells die?

Ruth Etchells died on 8 August 2012 in Durham.

What was Ruth Etchells's occupation?

Ruth Etchells was a poet, writer and literary scholar.

What nationality was Ruth Etchells?

Ruth Etchells was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ruth Etchells

· Wikidata: Q7382980

· DBpedia: Ruth Etchells

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ruth Etchells. https://biography.guide/ruth-etchells/

MLA: "Ruth Etchells." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ruth-etchells/.

Chicago: "Ruth Etchells." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ruth-etchells/.

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