Alison Joyce was born in Greater London and grew up in Sussex. After studying Classics at University she trained for the ordained ministry in Oxford, at Ripon College Cuddesdon. Following a curacy in rural Oxfordshire, she moved to Birmingham, where she lectured in Christian Ethics and Anglican studies at Queen’s College (now The Queen’s Foundation). She was an Associate Priest at St Anne’s Church, Moseley, for a number of years, followed by a period on the staff of Birmingham Cathedral. In 2005 she took over as Vicar of Edgbaston Old Church, combining this post with the roles of Chaplain to Elmhurst School for Dance (the feeder school for Birmingham Royal Ballet), and Recognised Chaplain to Birmingham University. From 1999 until 2014 she was Chaplain to the Community of St John the Divine in Alum Rock (the religious order featured in the television series Call the Midwife). She was appointed Rector of St Bride’s (‘probably the most interesting job in the Church of England!’) in 2014.
Alison has a passion for all things historical, and her book, Richard Hooker and Anglican Moral Theology, was published by OUP in 2012. In 2019 she was one of 100 women to be granted the Freedom of the City of London, in an initiative marking the centenary of women being granted the vote in this country.
She has two adult daughters, two very large Maine Coon cats, she plays the cello rather badly, and is rumoured to have once been the lead guitarist in a punk band.
