The election campaign grinds on remorselessly and there’s still over three weeks to go. For those who haven’t yet lost the will to live, here’s the roundup…

Disposing (or not) of fonts

We noted the decision in the recent judgment in Re St Peter Shipton Bellinger [2015] Winchester Cons Ct, in which the Chancellor granted a faculty for the removal of a Victorian font against the objections of the Victorian Society. On Thursday, however, The Telegraph reported “Church rector in unholy battle over ‘showy’ Victorian font.” The article states “[a] leading conservation group is gearing up for a head to head confrontation with a Hampshire rector and his church wardens in a court battle to save an ornate 134-year-old Victorian font possibly ending up buried in the church yard”, ignoring the statement of the chancellor that “burying the font in the churchyard should be regarded as very much a last resort” [26].

What surprised us in the judgment was the Chancellor’s description of the font as “not unattractive”, whereas those with different aesthetic sensibilities might have suggested it was “downright ugly”. It is also a mystery how anyone might have suggested that a feature that “dominates the west end of the building and “towers over the nearest pews” [19(c)] could be regarded as a trip hazard” – but perhaps there is local evidence to the contrary.

More health and safety jobsworths

The Telegraph also carried an item under the infantile heading “Vicar told thou shalt not go into a bar wearing sandals”, which indicates that the Revd Andrew Dotchin “was ‘gobsmacked’ after being told he was banned from going into his local wine bar because of his footwear … for health and safety reasons because a glass could fall on his foot and break a toe. Continue reading →