By Emma Rae Wooodhouse, reporter

A choir in Maidstone has opened their doors to women for the first time in 700 years.

Choirmaster Professor Andrew Williamson faced some opposition as he made the decision to allow female voices into the choir but decided it was ‘time to get with the times.’

“I believe in equality”, he said.

All Saints Church choir has only six regular choristers but by opening up to female voices the choir hopes to prosper in time for the Christmas period.

“Instead of excluding half the potential candidates lets open up the choir to everybody… if we can have female bishops why can’t we have female choristers.”

However, not everybody in the community welcomed the decision and Mr Williamson admitted he did receive some backlash.

He said: “Change is difficult. It’s a tricky area trying to introduce change particularly in an organisation which has been around for 2,000 years now. It’s very difficult to please all people all of the time.

“I understand that it is possible sometimes to say this particular activity is for men only or ladies only but I felt that as a church we should offer equal opportunities.”

Mr Williamson said he believes the decline in choristers, particularly young members, is because of the competition with other commitments.

“There are competitive activities such as television, Facebook, Snapchat. On a Sunday we are competing with Sunday football and visiting grandparents.”

However, by opening up to girls and ladies he hopes to restore the choir and potentially gain some long term members.

He said: “At a certain age boys voices break and they need to take time out and be nurtured to come back, whereas girls can continue.

“I believe this is the way forward because the alternative may be that the choir dies… we can’t just have men only.”

Mr Williamson says the choir plays an important role in Maidstone and in Kent and there are benefits from becoming a member.

“You gain skills such as teamwork, you can work on mathematics, learn to read music and very importantly there’s a social side.”

Those interested in joining the choir or schools interested in a choral class after school should contact Andrew Williamson on allsaintsmaidstone@gmail.com