A PRIEST who served as rector of a city centre church for more than 20 years has died at the age of 86.

Canon Keith Weston, left, was rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Roger Bacon Lane between 1964 and 1985.

During his time in Oxford he was a canon at Christ Church Cathedral and a member of the General Synod of the Church of England for a decade.

Mr Weston was also rural dean of Oxford and as such was chairman of the deanery synod.

Rev Vaughan Roberts, the current rector of St Ebbe’s, said: “Keith Weston was a superb rector who was equally at home ministering to locals in the parish as to the many students who packed into the church.

“He saw almost all the residential homes in his parish knocked down during redevelopment in the 1960s but crowds continued to fill the building.

“He was a man who radiated an immense love for people and for Jesus Christ. Many came to Christian faith through his ministry.”

Mr Weston was born on July 30, 1926, and went to Merchant Taylor’s School in Hertfordshire.

He was the son of Sir Arthur Astley Weston, chief legal adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

From 1944 he served as a captain in the Royal Artillery in Italy and Palestine. On his return in 1948 he went up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read French and German.

At university he was active in the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and on leaving he trained for the ministry before being ordained in Bath Abbey in 1953.

Mr Weston came to Oxford after curacies in Weston-super-Mare and Cheltenham, and a stint as vicar of Christ Church, Clevedon.

He left the city after 21 years to become director of clergy training for the Diocese of Norwich. During this time he was vicar of St Stephen’s Church.

After retiring in 1991 he moved back to Oxfordshire, and continued to preach at St Mary’s, Thame, and surrounding parishes.

The Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester, said: “Keith Weston was a remarkable pastor and preacher who helped to build the foundations of the Christian lives of generations of undergraduates, including my own.

“His holiness and gentleness, coupled with his love of people and scripture, was transformative for many of us.”

He died on February 5 and is survived by Margaret, his wife of 59 years, two sons and two daughters.

His funeral will be a private affair but a thanksgiving service is being held at St Mary’s, Thame, tomorrow at 2pm.