Former Eastbourne teacher Tony is now priest in charge at Pevensey

The licensing will take place at St Nicolas Church in a special service led by the Bishop of Lewes, The Rt Rev Richard Jackson, on Tuesday March 13 and local people are welcome to attend.

The service will start at 7.30pm. It will be attended by many local clergy, family and friends of Rev Windross and his wife Pat, and representatives of the local community as well as members of the congregation of St Nicolas and St Wilfrid’s.

Churchwarden Simon Sargent said: “This happy occasion for the parish is open to all, and we hope as many local people as possible will attend the service in our newly restored church and stay for drinks and snacks afterwards.”

Tony Windross, who grew up and later taught in Eastbourne before serving at St Mary’s in the Old Town from 1993 to 1997, will work three days a week for the parish.

He was born in Margate, but grew up in Eastbourne. After leaving school he read economics and geography at Cambridge – and whilst there met and married Pat.

They moved to Birmingham to study on the post-graduate certificate of education course – and he then taught in Eastbourne for 24 years, during which time their family steadily grew, with the arrival of four sons: Peter, David, Andrew and Paul.

He began ordination training in 1990, was ordained in 1993, and was based at St Mary’s Eastbourne as a non-stipendiary minister, before moving in 1997 to East Grinstead as a full-time curate.

After two years, he moved to Sheringham in North Norfolk, where he was the vicar for nine years, before going in 2008 to Hythe in Kent, where he was vicar for six years.

Wanting to undertake a fresh challenge, he then experienced rural ministry in Cornwall, where he had responsibility for eight churches over the last three years, combining this with being rural dean.

The parish of Pevensey and Pevensey Bay has been without an incumbent since its last Rector, Dr Anthony Christian, died in 2013, but weekly services at St Nicolas, Pevensey and St Wilfrid’s, Pevensey Bay have been taken by a small team of retired clergy.

The parish church of St Nicolas, which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2016, has undergone a £500,000 restoration programme – now almost complete - over the past decade.

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