Abbey mourns Canon Tuckwell
Monday, 29th June 2020
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, today paid tribute to Canon Christopher Tuckwell, former Administrator of Westminster Cathedral who died at the Royal Trinity Hospice, Clapham on June 26th after a long illness.
Canon Tuckwell was born in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1945. He was a career soldier in the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment before leaving the Army in 1970 to train for ministry in the Church of England.
He served in parishes in East London, the island of St Vincent in the Windward Isles, Shepherd’s Bush, and Tottenham before leaving the Anglican church to be ordained as a Catholic priest in Westminster Cathedral on 4th December 1995 by Cardinal Basil Hume.
After parish work in Stonebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead and Clapton, he joined the Cathedral in Victoria Street in 2006. He was appointed Administrator in 2008 before stepping down down on 13th June last year.
He became an ecumenical member of the College of Westminster Abbey in 2010.
Dr Hoyle said:
We grieve now, both because we have lost the company of a friend and because, as a church, we no longer benefit from the ministry of a fine and faithful priest. Father Christopher and I had no time to build on two brief meetings; he was already very ill when I arrived in the Abbey. The warmth of his welcome, though, is one of the moments that I remember particularly clearly from the day of my Installation. He communicated, immediately, a warm and slightly teasing affection. I am deeply saddened not to have known him better I know I would have enjoyed his company and benefitted from his wisdom. We pray for him and for our brothers and sisters in the Cathedral.
