Last rites for fonts – continued

Reflecting on our recent post They bury fonts, don’t they? and the comments of the Revd Michael Ainsworth, the dilemma posed by the production of guidance on the subject is readily apparent: the only “hard law” on the disposal of fonts is a creative interpretation of Canon F 1§3 which restricts their alternative use; and other than the rejection of the CBC view on their sacramental nature in In re St Peter’s, Draycott [2009] Fam 93, there is little mention of this aspect in case law. Equally, there is little reference to the case law in the Rt Rev David Stancliffe’s Ecc LJ article Baptism and Fonts[1]. When the disposal of fonts has been considered by the courts, it is generally addressed as a side issue to the main petition/appeal, and few if any reasons are given for discouraging their burial.

However, the disposal of fonts and other items from a church or chapel is a prime consideration in the context of pastoral reorganization, and this is addressed specifically in section 76 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011, [emphasis added]: Continue reading