City-centre Rector joins Cathedral Canons

Due to the refurbishment of the Cathedral’s organ and more recently Covid-19, Kelvin’s appointment has finally been announced and he will adopt the title Canon, although he is not yet able to claim his stall in the Cathedral Quire.

It is not yet known when he - and the 4 other canons who are also waiting to claim their stalls - will be able to do so. All College of Canon meetings are currently taking place by Zoom.

As the Rector of St Thomas's and Rural Dean of Salisbury, Kelvin has steered his city centre parish through turbulent waters since taking on the role in July 2017. First there were the Novichok poisonings in 2018, which thrust both Kelvin and his community into the spotlight after Sergei and Yulia Skripal were discovered on a bench just a stone’s throw from the church. That was followed in March 2020 by the Covid-19 lockdown, which saw all churches and the Cathedral closed, and worship moving online.

Fortunately, Kelvin’s training as a civil servant advising ministers at the Department of Health meant that he took it all in his stride, working closely with the city’s institutions and regularly acting as a spokesman for the local community. It is those skills and insights that Dean and Chapter, the Cathedral’s governing body, will draw upon in the twice-yearly meetings of the College of Canons, where the canons provide feedback on Cathedral activities and policy decisions made by Chapter.

Welcoming Kelvin to the College of Canons, the Dean of Salisbury Nicholas Papadopulos said:

“The city centre parish of St Thomas’s is a historic partner with the Cathedral in serving the people of Salisbury, and I am delighted that Kelvin is joining the College of Canons. He was a great support to the city throughout the events of 2018, and has led his parish through this year’s pandemic. Like all our canons, Kelvin brings valuable experience to the College and Cathedral and further cements our relationship with the diocese.”

Kelvin Inglis said:

“St Thomas's has a ministry in the city centre that goes back to the earliest days of New Sarum. The story is often told that the builders of the Cathedral worshipped in the original church on our site. Whether this is true or not, St Thomas's and the Cathedral have been good neighbours for many centuries, so it a privilege to be invited to join the College of Canons and to extend that historic friendship. I look forward to contributing to the life of the Cathedral in any way that I can.”

Kelvin was ordained in Winchester in 2000 and, after a curacy in Southampton, he served as vicar and rural dean of Whitchurch in Hampshire. The move to Salisbury proved a family affair, with his mother retiring to the city ahead of him, and joining the aptly named ‘Holy Dusters’, a team of Cathedral volunteers who dust and clean the tombs, memorials and stalls.

Whilst at St Thomas’s, he has also found time to head up a major refurbishment and restoration project, which included important work on the 15th-century Doom painting in the nave, repairs to the church building, as well as the restoration and cleaning of the ceilings to uncover the medieval paint, carved angels and memorials. Along with this restoration work, other changes were made to adapt the medieval building for 21st-century use, without compromising its ancient features.

Kelvin enjoys art, the countryside and reading. He and his wife Helen, the church engagement officer at Alabaré, have 3 daughters and a dog called Brian.