A FORMER Dean of Worcester has died at the age of 94.

Tributes have been paid to Dr Eric Kemp, who was Dean of Worcester for five years until 1974 and then Bishop of Chichester for 28 years.

He was also a chaplain to the Queen.

Worcester’s present dean, the Very Rev Peter Atkinson, said: “Eric Kemp’s time as Dean of Worcester was brief compared to the 28 years he then spent as Bishop of Chichester.

“But in those five years he began the repair of the cathedral fabric, founded the Restoration Trust, reorganised the administration and finances of the cathedral, helped to establish a better relationship between the cathedral and the diocese, and built up the regular Sunday congregation.

“He encouraged the musical life of the cathedral and said in his autobiography that it was the music that he enjoyed most during his time in Worcester.

“I knew him from the time he appointed me to a post in Chichester and I found him a wise and shrewd pastor and, under quite a gruff exterior, a good friend.

“He held opinions with which many would disagree but he was more generous and understanding to those who differed from him than he was given credit for.

“He was hugely learned and he gave me many of his books when his eyesight failed a few years ago.

“I am honoured now to be able to count him among my predecessors as Dean of Worcester, and I was very touched that his last visit to Worcester was to attend my installation in 2007.”

Dr Kemp was appointed the 42nd Dean of Worcester in 1969 after a distinguished 23 years at Oxford, where he was a fellow, chaplain, tutor and lecturer in theology and mediaeval history at Exeter College.

He was also a university lecturer in canon law and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, as well as a chaplain to the Queen.

He was 54 when he moved to Worcester to live with his wife and five children in the shadow of the cathedral at College Green.

He was an influential local figure and able to pursue his keen interest in music, singing with the Worcester Festival Choral Society and joining the cathedral choir in two continental tours, on one of which, they sang in Notre Dame, Paris, on Passion Sunday. At 59, he was nominated by the Queen to be Bishop of Chichester.

He was the author of several books, including his autobiography.