Who's who

Who's who at Pusey House

The Principal

The Rev'd Dr George Westhaver joined Pusey House in August, 2013. He grew up near Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the East coast of Canada. He studied philosophy and anthropology at McGill University, Montreal, and International Development Studies at St Mary's University in Halifax. He then read for a Master of Divinity degree at Wycliffe College, one of the member colleges of the Toronto School of Theology.
After ordination in 1997 George served in Cherry Hinton with Teversham and in the Ramseys and Upwood (Diocese of Ely), before moving to Oxford as Chaplain of Lincoln College and Assistant Minister at St Michael at the North Gate. His last post was Rector of St George’s Round Church, Halifax, in Nova Scotia.
George completed a PhD at the University of Durham under the supervision of Professor Andrew Louth, on E. B. Pusey’s unpublished lectures, ‘Types and Prophecies of the Old Testament’. His research interests include E. B. Pusey and the Oxford Movement, the allegorical interpretation of the Bible, and the artistic expression of Christian doctrine. George is married to Karen and they have two daughters, Clara and Charlotte.

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The Chaplain

The Rev'd Mark Stafford joined Pusey House in September 2014. After graduating from Liverpool University in Modern Languages, and from National Circus Schools in Paris and Bristol, he spent the best part of a decade as a Circus Performer, before running away from the Circus to join the Church. Mark trained for Ordination at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, and has served as Assistant Curate in the Parish of St. Barnabas and St. Paul, Jericho, and as Junior Chaplain at Merton College, since being ordained. Before coming to Oxford, Mark was the founder and Director of the Youth Charity 'redthread', and lists among his interests football, duelling weapons of the 18th Century, and Group Analytic Psychotherapy. He is currently part-way through an MA in one of these disciplines. He is married to Lizzie, who is a Research Nurse - they have two young children, and are both studying the effects of chronic sleeplessness on the human nervous system.

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The Librarian

Jessica has worked in several Oxford University libraries as Assistant Librarian or Library Assistant. She is delighted to be joining Pusey House as Librarian, and very much looking forward to learning more about the collections.
She has a BA in French and Spanish from Keble College, Oxford, and an MA in Translation from the University of Surrey. Having completed the Bodleian Libraries’ Graduate Trainee Scheme, she is working towards a professional qualification in librarianship at the University of Aberystwyth, via distance learning.
Outside work, she enjoys creative writing, reading, playing the piano, and knitting.

The Steward

Master of the Music

David Bannister is an Oxford based conductor and keyboardist, combining the posts of Choir Director at St John’s College and Master of the Music at Pusey House. He is also the Artistic Director of Vespri Segreti, a professional Oxford based vocal ensemble which exists to perform a wide range of early and contemporary repertoire. David is rehearsal accompanist to the recently formed Oxford based choral society Opus48, directed by David Crown and, until recently, was Organist to the Cathedral Singers of Christ Church.During his career to date, David has performed and recorded with a wide range of groups including, amongst others, The King’s Singers, Charivari Agréable, the Choir of Merton College, the Choir of Magdalen College, has premiered works ranging in style from Johann Pachelbel to Hannah Kendal, and his performances have been broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio 3.

Organist

Laurence John is organist of Pusey House, a post which he combines with studies for an MSt in Musicology at the university.During his time as an undergraduate, he was organ scholar at The Queen’s College, Oxford. As well as accompanying the choir for their regular services and concerts, Laurence played for two BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, tours to America and Portugal, and a CD recording.
Laurence has worked as an organist, pianist and harpsichordist with a number of the country’s leading orchestras, including the Academy of Ancient Music, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Instruments of Time and Truth. He is a prize-winning Associate of the Royal College of Organists and studies with Stephen Farr.

The Sacristan

Richard Keeble was born and raised in Harrow, North London. From 2014-2017 he studied Theology at King’s College London, graduating with first class honours and the Associate of King’s College. He was awarded the Plumptre Prize for English Literature, the Sellers Prize in Christian Doctrine and the Bishop Collins Memorial Prize for Church History. Reflecting on his Anglo-Catholic upbringing, Richard now hopes to explore the wealth of this tradition at Pusey House and test a vocation to the priesthood. In the role of Sacristan, he strives to preserve the beauty and unique character of worship at Pusey, whilst welcoming new people to the life of the House. His interests include sketching, films and ecclesiology.

Our Chapel Intern

Jack Nicholson grew up in Surrey before heading up to Peterhouse, Cambridge, to study History in 2017. He is no stranger to Oxford, however, and was thrilled by God’s call for him to come to the House. As a congregant of Little Saint Mary’s Church in Cambridge, he began to explore the catholic tradition, which was complemented by his historical research into the Church. His parents, at the same time, moved to Snowdonia National Park, and he is excited to have also started out on a journey of his own, by the grace of God. He wonders what will happen next!

Our Chapel Intern

James Mosher says: England is now home for me, but I was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada... which always be a special place for me. I served for 12 years in the Royal Canadian Navy. In that time, I was also ordained a Deacon and studied Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax. Before that, I also studied my undergraduate degree in History at King's College (Nova Scotia).
The Community here at Pusey continues to be a beautiful gift. Being able to live, work and worship here is a blessing.

Our Chapel Intern

Alex Fels lived in Ottawa, Canada, before reading Theology at Wolfson College, Cambridge, in 2019, while living in Oxford with his wife Lauren. Alex is passionate about the vocation of the baptized in Christ sharing in the life of the Holy Trinity, through Word, Sacrament and Christian Fellowship. He is enjoying living this passion at Pusey House.

Our Project Cataloguer

Philippa Taney started her working life in libraries across Oxford, predominantly in the Sackler and Taylorian libraries and more recently for the Bodleian Library after graduating from South Bank University with a degree in English Literature and Social Sciences. Her previous roles have been a mixture of technical services – supervising cataloguing, acquisitions and classifying – and reader services. With twenty years of experience behind her she is now looking forward to getting her teeth into an integrated role at Pusey House and finding out more about its fascinating collections and history.