The Reverend Canon Jane Sinclair
First woman Rector of St Margaret’s, Westminster, who strengthened ties with Parliament
THE REVEREND CANON JANE SINCLAIR, who has died aged 64, was a Canon of Westminster Abbey and the first woman Rector of St Margaret’s, Westminster. Known as “the parish church of the House of Commons”, St Margaret’s has been under the aegis of the Abbey since 1973 and the rectors have been appointed from among the canons.
Jane Sinclair exercised a valued ministry to the regular congregations and also helped to strengthen the partnership of the two churches with parliament, Whitehall and other public-sector neighbours.
She went to the Abbey in 2014 initially as Canon Steward, with oversight of its work of education, welcoming the many visitors and pastoral care of staff and volunteers.
At about the same time, however, she was diagnosed with cancer; and when Canon Andrew Tremlett was preferred to the Deanery of Durham in 2016, it was thought it would be less strenuous for her if she succeeded him as Rector.
By long-standing convention, the Rector had also been Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, but in 2010 John Bercow broke with precedent and appointed his chaplain from elsewhere.
This might have seriously weakened the relationship between St Margaret’s, the Abbey and the House; but the Westminster Abbey Institute, founded in 2013 to engage more deeply with the political and administrative communities in the vicinity, proved highly effective in providing opportunities for lectures and discussions at various levels.
When Jane Sinclair came to chair it in 2018, she was focused and efficient, with a natural ability to diffuse tension, though she could be quite fierce in standing her ground when necessary.
Her illness was soon becoming more aggressive, however, increasingly affecting her ability to function fully, and in April 2020 she took early retirement.
Jane Elizabeth Margaret Sinclair was born on March 3 1956, the daughter of Ian Sinclair, later knighted for his services as principal legal adviser at the Foreign Office during the Falklands conflict. Some of Jane Sinclair’s childhood was spent in Manhattan when her father was legal adviser to the UK mission to the United Nations.
Years later in London, she found a seat on a busy Tube train. The man next to her was engrossed in his newspaper and she buried her head in a book as commuters do. It was only when the man stood to disembark that she recognised him as her father.
Following education at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire, Jane read Modern History at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. After graduating in 1978 she trained for the ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham, where she gained a BA in Theology. These were the days before the ordination of women as deacons or priests, so from 1983 she served for three years as a lay deaconess in the south London parish of St Paul, Herne Hill.
She then returned to St John’s as Chaplain and lecturer in Liturgy and Pastoral Studies. In the same year, 1986, she became a member of the General Synod’s Liturgical Commission for the quinquennium, leading up to the publication of Common Worship services authorised for use as an alternative to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
With a gift for drafting texts that were scripturally sound yet verbally resonant, she was particularly involved in the creation of a new psalter which accurately translated the original Hebrew psalms yet also reflected the familiar nuances of Coverdale’s 16th century version.
In 1987 Jane Sinclair was among the first women to be ordained as deacons in the Church of England and seven years later was one of the C of E’s first women priests. While still a deacon she was appointed Canon Precentor of Sheffield Cathedral, a post she held for 10 years from 1993.
Her lively intelligence, innate cheerfulness and wicked sense of humour helped to raise and sustain the morale of the cathedral community.
She enabled the successful introduction of the new services in the building’s difficult liturgical space, making a vital contribution to plans for the eventual reconfiguration of the cathedral’s interior.
Jane Sinclair moved from Sheffield to become Vicar of Rotherham in 2003 and became very much involved in the affairs of the town.
She helped to create a new community centre and was nominated as Rotherham Businesswoman of the Year. She was also for a time Secretary of the Convocation of York before being appointed in 2007 as Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey in the diocese of Lincoln. During her seven years in office she was a highly respected colleague and friend to many in the diocese.
Well regarded as a wise and generous pastor, Sinclair was an engaging preacher, sometimes illustrating her sermons with a short story she had penned.
She possessed an excellent singing voice and an interest in abstract art. She delighted in bright colours and the clarity of the light she found in Orkney, where she holidayed.
Jane Sinclair’s partner of many years, Gillian Cooper, and her beloved dog, Poppy, were at her bedside when she died.
The Rev Canon Jane Sinclair, born March 3 1956, died January 14 2021
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