THE clash between a well-known Winchester busker and a senior churchman has been settled.

As previously reported, Marvin B Naylor was playing guitar on The Square when he was approached by the cleric, who has not been identified.

But following a meeting with the cathedral clergyman and the Dean, the musician hopes "to draw a line under this incident".

"The clergyman has apologised wholeheartedly for the upset caused and I've accepted his apology," Mr Naylor told the Chronicle.

"I informed them that I had an issue with the cathedral's statement in which the clergyman stated that he only asked me to 'move aside' and not leave and that I had written another letter to the Chronicle again stating that I was in fact asked to 'leave'.

"I said it was my right to reply, to put the record straight. Anyway, the clergyman, the Dean and myself are now hoping to draw a line under this incident."

Over the last decade Mr Naylor, of Greenhill Road, Fulflood, has become a familiar figure on city streets with a wide repertoire that includes his trademark theme from The Third Man.

He said he had never been moved on by the police.

When the incident occurred mid-August, Mr Naylor said in a letter: “Without an ‘excuse me’ or even waiting until I’d finished the piece I was playing, you became aggressive and intimidating, saying I was on church property and that I was obstructing the entrance to the cathedral grounds."

The story split readers, with online user Kim A Gottlieb, the former city councillor, commenting: "He's the best street entertainer in the city. Never mind the Square, he should play the Albert Hall."

User Ruffleo showed empathy towards the cleric: "The priest asking or 'telling' him to move on isn't about the faith. The busker is blocking a driveway, people live there and nobody knows why he asked him to move, he may have been pastoring a parishioner, a grieving family member or been up all night attending last rites.

"Or he may be fed up with the noise. It's his right too to ask someone to move away from his property."

Get more Winchester news. 

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date.

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering for a digital subscription.

Email news@hampshirechronicle.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.