Jeremy Fletcher playing his guitar on his doorstep during the coronavirus lockdowns

A FORMER vicar at one of Camden’s most prestigious churches has been given a lifetime ban from ministry

Reverend Jeremy Fletcher stunned parishioners at St John-at-Hampstead when he resigned in January after five years at the church.

He had been handed a two-year ­suspension for “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in holy orders”.

The details of what this involved have not been released and Mr Fletcher has not given a comment.

But the Church of England confirmed this week that the ban had been extended in August to “prohibition for life” in a penalty “imposed by a bishop or archbishop”. Guidance notes described the life punishment as “the most serious penalty that can be imposed”, adding: “It prevents the respondent without limit of time from exercising any ministry or functions as a clerk in Holy Orders. It should be imposed only where the misconduct is grave and there appears to be no realistic prospect of rehabilitating the respondent back into ministry.”

Mr Fletcher is one of 20 priests nationwide to receive “clergy discipline measure” penalties in the past year.

He was a popular face around Hampstead for many years and during the coronavirus crisis he lifted people’s spirits by playing Status Quo guitar riffs and Ode To Joy on his guitar.

But he deleted social media accounts and also resigned from his position at Hampstead Wells and Camden Trust and Hampstead Arts Festival in January last year. A Church spokesman said no more details would be made public about the reasons behind the ban this week.

A listing on the Church of England website says simply: “Jeremy James Fletcher: Conduct unbecoming and inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk to Holy Orders: Penalty: Prohibition for life.”

The vacancy at the church in Church Row, also known as Hampstead Parish Church, is being filled by the Reverend Carol Barrett Ford, currently Area Dean of Camden and vicar of St Martin’s Church, Gospel Oak.

Her appointment follows a nine-month recruitment process. The New Journal attempted to contact her this week, but she did not respond and blocked our reporter on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter. Mother Carol initially trained in education, working as a teacher for 20 years.

She moved to London in 1991 and went on to become ordained. She served her curacy in Newcastle upon Tyne, and became a chaplain at St John’s College, Cambridge. She took up the helm at St Martin’s in 2019. In a press release statement, Mother Carol said: “I am delighted to be joining the community of Hampstead Parish Church to serve the whole parish and wider Deanery at an exciting time of growth and renewal. I look forward to praying with you and discerning the future together.”

Martin Evans and Sheena Ginnings, the church wardens at St John’s, said they were “delighted” by the new appointment and “had no hesitation in supporting the unanimous decision of the Patronage Board”, adding: “Carol has a breadth of experience that we believe will help Hampstead Parish Church to grow in faith and connect with our wider community. She is also a spiritual director and has led quiet days and retreats. Carol has spent a lot of her life working with children and young people and enjoys their company and curiosity. She believes that we can learn a lot from their spirituality and openness to the Divine.”

The historic church is thought to have begun as a site of worship in 986AD.

Its graveyard is the final resting place of painter John Constable, Peter Cook, Nicholas Parsons and Hugh Gaitskill buried alongside suffragists Eva Gore-Booth and Ester Roper. The inside of the church was used for a funeral scene in the hit BBC show Killing Eve.

Mother Carol will be inducted as vicar on Sunday, January 21 at 5pm.