The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has upheld the title of the descendants of the original grantor to a family burial vault in a closed church.

Background

In King & Anor v The Benefice of Newburn in the Diocese of Newcastle (Land Registration – Adverse possession) [2019] UKUT 176 (LC), Holy Trinity Church, Dalton, and its churchyard had originally been conveyed to the Church Building Commissioners by Edward Collingwood on 1 October 1837 as a chapel of ease for the parish of Newburn and consecrated by the Bishop of Durham nine days later. The church has a burial vault below the central aisle of the nave, and the dispute was about the vault’s ownership. Continue reading →