Clergyman 'found dead at vicarage' (From Surrey Comet)

Clergyman 'found dead at vicarage'

4:44am Wednesday 15th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

A man has been found dead at a vicarage in an old market town in suspicious circumstances.

The body - widely reported to be that of the Rev John Suddards - was discovered by workmen as they arrived at the building in Thornbury, south Gloucestershire, on Tuesday morning and realised it was locked.

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed in a brief statement the death was being treated as "suspicious" but declined to confirm or deny reports a murder investigation had been launched.

The discovery has sent shockwaves through the close-knit community. Jacqueline Pillinger, 68, whose daughter works up the street from the vicarage, said she understood Mr Suddards lived alone. She said: "This area is lovely, I'm very surprised anything like this has happened."

Mr Suddards, a former barrister, is understood to have moved to the area from St Nicolas Church parish in Witham, Essex, in the summer. According to reports at the time, the clergyman of 22 years joined the church following a serious car accident.

Rev Simon Garwood, vicar at St Nicolas, said: "He had served in the area for 10 years and was much loved. He was absolutely devoted to the church and worked extremely hard. He gave a lot of himself for the church. "Many people in the parish are in shock and are trying to digest the news."

When he took up the post at St Nicolas', Mr Suddards, originally from Yorkshire, spoke of how he joined the priesthood after an accident.

He told the Braintree and Witham Times: "I used to be a barrister and I had a fairly major road accident and was paraplegic for nine months. I was thinking after that and felt strongly that God wanted me to become a priest."

The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Michael Perham, and the Bishop of Tewkesbury, the Rt Rev John Went, issued a joint statement, saying: "We were shocked and saddened to hear the news that a man's body has been found in Thornbury Vicarage."

The Bishop of Tewkesbury spoke at a eucharist service at St Paul's Church in Thornbury, where he reminded parishioners they were "part of a fallen humanity where tragic events happen".