Denshaw remembers Sydney
A special service was held at Christ Church in Denshaw to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of former vicar Sydney Leigh Clayton, who was deeply respected and loved in the community. Sydney served as the longest-serving vicar of Christ Church Denshaw from 1977 to 2009, impacting both the church and village significantly. Known for his modesty, academic prowess, and dedication to education and classical music, Sydney was also remembered for his love of cats and daffodils, as well as his contributions to local schools and universities.
Christ Church, Denshaw, fell silent on Saturday as villagers gathered to mark ten years since the death of Sydney Leigh Clayton, the modest scholar who turned down a university chair and high church office to remain, in his own words, “a village parson”.
Mr Clayton, the longest-serving incumbent in the parish’s history, arrived in 1977 and stayed until ill-health forced his retirement in 2009. He died on 2 March 2014, aged 73.
Church warden Ross Martin told the congregation that Mr Clayton’s fingerprints are still visible on every pew and path. “Sydney never sought prominence,” Mr Martin said. “Yet his influence is everywhere - from the daffodils the children plant each autumn to the carriage clock awarded by Oldham council for 30 years’ service as school governor.”
Born in Manchester, Mr Clayton won a scholarship to Manchester Grammar School and read Classics at Pembroke College, Oxford, before training at Lincoln Theological College. Ordained deacon in 1965 and priest in 1966, he served curacies in Rusholme and Bolton, where he formed a lifelong friendship with organist Peter Smith. Bolton choir still travels to Denshaw for weddings at Mr Clayton’s invitation.
Despite offers of academic posts and senior diocesan roles, he chose the hill-top parish, teaching RE in the village school, chairing its governing body and acting as an external examiner for Oxford and London universities. Each winter he drove to Lincoln to buy bulbs, returning with boxes for pupils to scatter across church and school grounds.
The service ended with Janet Laycock, church organist, reading the poem Mr Clayton selected for his retirement: Heraclitus, Cory’s lament for a lost friend whose “pleasant voices” death cannot silence.
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