Forever young – the 100-year-old priest who ‘never really retired’

Dorian Gray was so desperate to obtain eternal youth, he sold his soul. He needn’t have paid such a high price, he could have just moved to Bramhope, a village on the outskirts of Leeds where there certainly seems to be something in the water.

It’s home to a population of 3,400 and there, in one of the small cluster of houses, lives Canon John Clayton, who in two weeks’ time will celebrate his 100th birthday. Not that you’d know it.

While he officially retired from his post as vicar of Otley in 1976, he’s never quite been persuaded about the merits of putting his feet up. Each month he still preaches at Evensong and he still takes the Holy Communion service at St Giles Church just down the road from his house.

And Canon John is not alone in proving that age is only a number. One of his closest friends, Dora Sanderson, celebrated her centenary a month ago and the pair share a housekeeper, who is a sprightly 85.

“I say I retired, but I never really did,” says Canon John. “When I came to Bramhope, I started helping out at the church during the holiday season and just found that I kept on going. My legs are not what they were, so I often need someone to lean on a little, but apart from that I’m doing pretty well.

“Working for the church has kept me mentally alert, but I do it because I enjoy it. People are very interesting, occasionally a little naughty and more often than not very lovable. The human being is a mighty interesting creature. I don’t think I’ve ever once been bored in my work.”

Born in Leeds, Canon John was ordained as a priest at Wakefield Cathedral in 1936 and was posted to parishes across Yorkshire until he arrived in Otley in the mid-1960s. It was that position, he says, which holds some of his happiest memories.

“I’m not one for looking back too much, but one of the things I am most proud of is being involved in the installation of the first Chevin Cross.”

In 1968, a group of churches in the Otley area got together with the aim of raising awareness of the Easter message. The result was the 32ft high Chevin Cross, which for the last 43 years has been erected at the start of Lent, standing high above the West Yorkshire town as a symbol of hope.

“I was one of a dozen or so people who helped get the project off the ground and I was privileged to preach the sermon on that first Easter Sunday,” says Canon John. “When it was in the planning stages there were some people who didn’t think it would work, but more than 200 turned up the first time we hauled it into position and they’re still going today.

“It shows that sometimes if you take a bit of a risk it pays off.”

The number of centenarians in the UK is booming. According to the Office of National Statistics, last year there were 11,600 people 100-years-old or older, four times the number in 1980. By 2034 it is estimated the country will be home to as many as 87,900 centenarians.

“It’s fantastic what medicine is able to do these days,” says Dora, who keeps Canon John up-to-date with current affairs. Her sight began to deteriorate a number of years ago, but she remains an avid listener of Radio 4 and has subscribed to the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s Talking Books service which provides her audio versions of daily newspapers.

“We are very lucky to be living at the time we are and it is quite incredible to think how much has changed over the years,” adds Canon John. “The first time I even saw a television set was back in 1953 when we watched the Queen’s coronation at a neighbour’s house.”

Both Dora and Canon John, who had a spell working as a chaplain in Wakefield Prison, refuse to look back on the past with rose-tinted glasses, but admit that for all the advances that have been made over the years, they can’t help but feeling that in some ways the world has gone backwards a little.

“We didn’t have all these murders and stabbings back when I was a young man,” he says. “It seems to me to be a symptom of modern society. For some people life has got much better, but it always pays to remember that there are people who are not doing so well.”

Having lived through two World Wars and seen more than two dozen Prime Ministers take office, Bramhope’s centenarians know that while the world is very different to the one they grew up in, there are some things which sadly don’t change.

“It seems to me that for all the lives that have been lost and for all the conflicts that have been fought we haven’t learned many lessons,” adds Canon John. “We seem to go down the same old paths and then seem surprised by the outcome.”

Loneliness is one of the main problems which face the country’s elderly population. Both Canon John and Dora lost their spouses a number of years ago, but they try, they say, to keep busy.

“When my wife died it was a crushing blow,” says Canon John. “But I’m lucky, my daughter doesn’t live too far away and there’s always something to keep me off the streets. I read a lot, I like a good biography or an Agatha Christie whodunit. I play a little piano and I can still look after myself. I’m very good with a microwave.”

In 1997, Canon John was one of the recipients of that year’s Royal Maundy Money. The awards are presented by the Queen in recognition of those who devote their time and energy to the Church. “It was a very proud moment,” he says. “I used to be quite fiery in my youth. When I was first ordained I never needed a microphone, but none of my congregation ever fell asleep. I’m much more mellow these days and understanding. I think you can always look back and wonder whether you should have done things differently, but I don’t have any regrets. To have got to my age and to still be independent is quite astonishing.”

For now Canon John is happy simply pottering around his home, catching up with Dora and still remains a listening ear for the parishioners of Bramhope.

“Church attendance has gone down, but it will come back I am sure of that. If I could be granted one wish, it would be that we would all slow down a little, speed has never held much attraction for me.”

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