Ecclesiastical court judgments 2021

Index to ecclesiastical court judgments reviewed during 2021, and links to reviews in previous years

This summary also includes CDM Decisions and Safeguarding, reports of the Independent Reviewer, Privy Council BusinessOther reports, visitations, &c, and CFCE Determinations, as well as links to other posts relating to ecclesiastical law.


Reordering, extensions & other building works

Substantial reordering

Re St. Thomas the Martyr Newcastle upon Tyne [2021] ECC New 1 A major reordering was proposed in order to accommodate a huge increase in use of the church following its designation as new Resource Church. The Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that the works were necessary to meet the church’s needs and support its mission, and that the needs outweighed the consequential loss of special architectural and/or historic interest that would necessarily follow. [Re St. Thomas the Martyr Newcastle upon Tyne [2021] ECC New 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re All Saints Ockbrook [2021] ECC Der 1 The petition proposed an extensive reordering of the church;  the Chancellor declined to grant a faculty for the removal of the pulpit, and for new lighting in the absence of detailed plans and designs. But he granted a faculty for all the other items, and included a condition inter alia that the replacement chairs, to be subject to approval by the Diocesan Advisory Committee, should not be upholstered. [Re All Saints Ockbrook [2021] ECC Der 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Christ Church Fulwood [2021] ECC She 1 Third stage of an extensive series of works of reordering of the church; faculty granted. (See also Re Christ Church Fulwood [2017] ECC She 6 and Re Christ Church Fulwood [2018] ECC She 4) [Re Christ Church Fulwood [2021] ECC She 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. John the Evangelist Donisthorpe [2021] ECC Lei 1 Chancellor granted a faculty for substantial internal reordering, to create a major transformation of the church’s interior, in order to further its mission and community use. Almost half of the 40-page judgment deals with the proposal to remove the existing pews and replace them with wooden chairs with padded seats and backs. [Re St. John the Evangelist Donisthorpe [2021] ECC Lei 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. James in the City Toxteth [2021] ECC Liv 1 The Chancellor granted a faculty for the proposed major scheme, being satisfied that there was a compelling case for the improvements, which would support a now thriving congregation. [Re St. James in the City Toxteth [2021] ECC Liv 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Paul Covent Garden [2021] ECC Lon 2 The petition granted for replacing the existing pew benches with new moveable pew benches in  “the Actors’ Church”. [Re St. Paul Covent Garden [2021] ECC Lon 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Matthew Edgeley [2021] ECC Chr 1 Contentious items were: remodelling of the porch; replacement of the pews; a dais and ramp; relocation of the font; and removal of the stalls in the chancel. Some of the pews had been sold and removed before the petition came before the Chancellor, who directed that steps be taken to recover the pew benches until he had made a decision. Chancellor was satisfied that a case had been made for the changes, and granted a faculty, but type of replacement chair and the disposal of the chancel stalls to be reserved matters. [Re St. Matthew Edgeley [2021] ECC Chr 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Reordering and alternative uses

Re St. Bartholomew Maresfield [2021] ECC Chi 2 The Chancellor granted a faculty for reordering in the Grade I listed church, in order to provide toilet and kitchen facilities, screening off of the north transept and the provision of storage.  [Re St. Bartholomew Maresfield [2021] ECC Chi 2] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. John the Baptist Bentham [2021] ECC Lee 1 The proposals included an extension to the south tower of the church. The Chancellor granted a faculty. Whilst he would normally be disinclined to approve carpet, in the present case it would cover the existing mixed floor finishes and provide ‘a uniform homogenous flooring where currently it is patchy’. [Re St. John the Baptist Bentham [2021] ECC Lee 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re Peel Cathedral [2021] EC Sodor 2 The Vicar General & Chancellor granted a faculty for the proposed reordering proposals, including: new toilet and kitchen facilities and multi-functional space; replacement of the pews with Howe 40/4 chairs; a new floor with underfloor heating; a mezzanine floor and roof-lights; the creation of a columbarium; a new doorway;  and the screening of external storage areas. [Re Peel Cathedral [2021] EC Sodor 2] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Chad Dunholme [2021] ECC Lin 2  The greatest concerns of the amenity societies related the mezzanine and stairs. CBC raised the issue of a renewable energy source suggesting an air or ground source heat pump, [36]. The Petitioners acknowledged that this would be a major project and noted that the proposed heating system would be compatible with integration with an air/ground heat source heat pump in the future, [37, 38]. The Chancellor was satisfied that the works were appropriate and granted a faculty subject to conditions. [Re St. Chad Dunholme [2021] ECC Lin 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St Mary and St James Great Grimsby [2021] ECC Lin 4 The Chancellor did not grant a faculty for the works carried out in the 1990s, but approved the display of drawings showing how the church looked before the reordering and the display of the regimental banners. [t.b.a.] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Other building works, including re-roofing

Re Holy Trinity Hull [2021] ECC Yor 1 Faculty granted for construction of extensions to the south side of the Grade I church to house a new toilet block, a kitchen and a cafe with a grill-pattern design. Petition was unopposed. SPAB acted as the lead commentator for the amenity societies. [Re Holy Trinity Hull [2021] ECC Yor 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. Peter Titchfield [2021] ECC Por 2 Chancellor granted permission to Parochial Church Council and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu to re-establish a secure and permanent access to the vault beneath the Southampton Chapel in the church. [Re St. Peter Titchfield [2021] ECC Por 2] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re St. John the Evangelist Bourne End [2021] ECC StA 2 Faculty granted for separation of the altar from the reredos, modify it, so that it would be free-standing, and move it away from the east end, to enable the priest to celebrate facing west; to relocate the reredos to the link between the church.  [Re St. John the Evangelist Bourne End [2021] ECC StA 2] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re St. Thomas Ashton-in-Makerfield [2020] ECC Liv 1 Faculty granted for reordering: replacement flooring;  replacement heating scheme, underfloor heating; replacement of nave pews with chairs; removal of the side chapel platform and communion rail; construction of a dais or platform with a removable communion rail; removal of the pulpit and the choir stalls;  provision of a ramped access to the chancel and the vestry; replacement of the audio-visual installation. Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners have provided compelling evidence of need to justify the grant of a faculty for the major reordering. [Re St. Thomas Ashton-in-Makerfield [2020] ECC Liv 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. Luke Southport [2020] ECC Liv 2 Faculty granted for installation of glazed timber screening to the south side transept chapel; disabled access to the chapel; and a new heating system; as well as a confirmatory faculty for the installation of a Frank Bodley reredos above the altar, which had been donated from a redundant church in Liverpool. [Re St. Luke Southport [2020] ECC Liv 2] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re West Malling Abbey [2021] ECC Roc 1 The petition concerned replacement lighting, redecorating and glazing. Twentieth Century Society, Historic England and the DAC had reservations about replacing the original lighting globes in the sanctuary. Chancellor not satisfied that the petitioners had made a good case for removing the globes, and so he directed the grant of a faculty only for the other items in the petition. [Re West Malling Abbey [2021] ECC Roc 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary Beverley [2021] ECC Yor 2 The petition related to exterior stonework repairs to the south nave clerestory of the church, involving the replacement of one missing carved grotesque and eight eroded label stops. Chancellor considered that it was appropriate to allow the choices that had been made to represent women who had played a significant role in the advancement of science and human knowledge. He therefore granted a faculty. [Re St. Mary Beverley [2021] ECC Yor 2] [Top of section] [Top of Page]

Re St. Luke Lodge Moor [2021] ECC She 3 The Chancellor granted a faculty for the extension of the church (which was built in 1966 and is unlisted) and internal reordering, in order to provide more worship space and space for meetings. [Re St. Luke Lodge Moor [2021] ECC She 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Peter and St. Paul Olney [2021] ECC Oxf 2 Faculty granted for educational area dedicated to the life and work of the Reverend John Newton  the reformed slave ship captain, who was the curate-in-charge of the church from 1764 to 1780 and the author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’. [Re St. Peter & St. Paul Olney [2021] ECC Oxf 2] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Bartholomew Leigh [2021] ECC Swk 6 The petitioners sought to extend the church tower to the south, to the depth of the existing exterior buttresses, to allow for the internal fitting of a WC and a tea point. An access for the disabled would also be created. The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a good case for the proposals, and he granted a faculty. [Re St. Bartholomew Leigh [2021] ECC Swk 6] [Top of section[Top of post]

Re St. Bartholomew Tong [2021] ECC Lic 2 A faculty had been granted to allow the installation of glass doors in wooden frames at the south porch of the church. Petitioners applied for three variations to the faculty. The Chancellor approved the wider profile of the wooden surrounds of the doors, but refused to approve replacing the oak handles with stainless steel ones, and approved the application of film to the glass, only if further attempts to raise the cost of the etching by 1st November 2021 failed. [Re St. Bartholomew Tong [2021] ECC Lic 2] [Top of section[Top of post]

Re St. Cuthbert Over Kellet [2021] ECC Bla 4 Chancellor refused to grant a faculty for permanent removal of doors from 27 late-Georgian (1819) and three Victorian (1863) wooden box pews in the Grade II* listed church.  He was not satisfied that the petitioners had put forward a compelling case for the permanent removal of the pew doors: “I find that the permanent removal of the pew doors would result in harm to the historic significance and the fabric of this Grade II* listed church.” [Re St. Cuthbert Over Kellet [2021] ECC Bla 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. John the Evangelist Newbury [2021] ECC Oxf 6 To improve the accessibility, openness, visibility and welcome to visitors to the church, the petitioners wished to create a glazed outer porch to the main entrance of the church; a ramp within the existing porch space; improved entrance lighting; and adjustments to the current doors. The Chancellor was satisfied that a good case had been made for the proposals and granted a faculty.  [Re St. John the Evangelist Newbury [2021] ECC Oxf 6] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Peter Heversham [2021] ECC Car 3 The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made out a good case for the proposals and granted a faculty, subject to issues raised in a report by Envirotech which related to bats and birds. [Re St. Peter Heversham [2021] ECC Car 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Philip & St. James Hallow [2021] ECC Wor 5 The petition proposed the reordering of the north aisle of the Grade II* Victorian church by the removal of 10 pews and the introduction of 30 new stacking chairs and 5 new stacking tables.  The Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that the public benefits that would arise from the proposals would outweigh the harm they would cause to the significance of the building. [Re St. Philip & St. James Hallow [2021] ECC Wor 5] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re Crowland Abbey [2021] ECC Lin 3 A faculty was granted to change the use of the parvise of the 15th century west porch of Crowland Abbey from a storage area to a chapel suitable for Eastern Orthodox worship, in anticipation of the completion of a sharing agreement between the priest in charge of Crowland Abbey and Archbishop Silousan Oner, of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland. [Re Crowland Abbey [2021] ECC Lin 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Olave York [2021] ECC Yor 4 The Chancellor granted a faculty for a memorial to be placed inside the church in memory of Dick Reid. The requirement of exceptionality was satisfied as the deceased had been an internationally renowned sculptor and letter carver. [Re St. Olave York [2021] ECC Yor 4] [Top of section] [Top of Post]

Re All Saints Leigh [2021] ECC Bri 3 The Chancellor granted a faculty for the installation of an ‘Eco Loo’, but refused permission for the removal of a number of pews from the Grade II* church. The amenity societies objected to the removal of the pews and the Chancellor was of the opinion that no adequate justification for the proposals had been made. [Re All Saints Leigh [2021] ECC Bri 3][Top of section] [Top of Post]

Re St. Peter Limpsfield [2021] ECC Swk 7 Faculty granted for replacement of the link between the church and the Millenium Room (a church extension on the north side), providing a lobby, meeting rooms, storage and improved toilet and kitchen facilities. [Re St. Peter Limpsfield [2021] ECC Swk 7] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Holy Trinity Poulton-le-Sands [2021] ECC Bla 5 Faculty granted for installation of two matching etched-glass memorial screens and doors in the north and south archways at the east end of the nave, and also install a new projector and a ‘smart’ glass projector screen, which would be transparent when not in use, and opaque when used with the projector. [Re Holy Trinity Poulton-le-Sands [2021] ECC Bla 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

The Holy Rood Shillingstone [2021] ECC Sal 2 The incumbent and churchwardens sought a confirmatory faculty in respect of temporary reordering works previously authorised by an Archdeacon’s Licence. The Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that the proposed changes would not result in harm to the significance of the church and that the Petitioners had discharged the burden upon them in proving that the proposed change was justified. [Re The Holy Rood Shillingstone [2021] ECC Sal 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Margaret of Antioch Toxteth [2021] ECC Liv 4 The petitioners sought permission to undertake some internal works to create toilets (including disabled), a kitchen area and a small vestry and office in the Grade II* listed church. The Chancellor granted a faculty, subject to a condition that, in order to make the curved wall less obtrusive, the architect should consider the feasibility of suitable panelling of a style and colour to match that in place under the adjacent organ pipes. [Re St. Margaret of Antioch Toxteth 2021 ECC Liv 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. James the Great Dauntsey [2021] ECC Bri 2 The Chancellor granted a confirmatory faculty for the work to the medieval stained glass window and also for similar work to be carried out on any other windows identified as being in need of repair. [Re St. James the Great Dauntsey [2021] ECC Bri 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary Barnes [2021] ECC Swk 10 The petitioners were granted permission to install a wall-mounted monument commemorating the Hoare Family of Barn Elms to replace a previous memorial which had been destroyed by a fire in 1978. Addressing the issue of the connection of the Hoare family with the slave trade in the early 18th century, having considered any potential arguments which could be raised, the Chancellor decided to grant a faculty. None of the family members to be commemorated had links to the slave trade; only a member of the family two generations earlier than the oldest of these was to be commemorated. [Re St. Mary Barnes [2021] ECC Swk 10] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Removal and replacement of pews &c

Re St. Peter & St. Paul West Wittering [2021] ECC Chi 3 There was an application for a faculty to remove five notice boards from the church porch  also the disposal of some pews. Applying the guidance in Re St. Alkmund Duffield [2013], the Chancellor determined that the degree of harm to the church would not be significant, and that the public benefit of the works would outweigh any harm. He accordingly granted a faculty. [Re St. Peter & St. Paul West Wittering [2021] ECC Chi 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Philip Norton [2021] ECC B&W 1 Chancellor granted a faculty for the replacement of the main block of nave pews with chairs. The pews were part of a refurbishment by the architect George Gilbert Scott in the mid-nineteenth century.  The Victorian Society and Historic England submitted written objections to removal of the pews.  [Re St. Philip Norton [2021] ECC B&W 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Margaret Rottingdean [2021] ECC Chi 6 The petitioners sought permission “to remove (temporarily) the pews in the south aisle to create space for post-service fellowship and missional/social activities, and to provide a temporary kitchenette pending approval of a future major development project to reorder the church interior and construct an extension”. The Chancellor was satisfied with the petitioners’ justification for the short term proposals and that the benefits of the proposals would outweigh any harm, and granted a faculty for two years, after which the status quo should be restored, unless at the end of that period there was a petition before the court for more permanent rewording proposals. [Re St. Margaret Rottingdean [2021] ECC Chi 6] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Mary Chinley [2021] ECC Der 3 The Deputy Chancellor granted a faculty for the removal and disposal of three pews from the back of the church, replacing them with moveable tables and chairs; removal and disposal of the wooden pulpit; and moving the stone font from the back to the front of the church. [Re St. Mary Chinley [2021] ECC Der 3] [Top of section] [Top]

Re Holy Trinity High Hurstwood [2021] ECC Chi 5 The Chancellor did not consider that the petitioners had made a good case for upholstered chairs and the faculty was therefore subject to a condition that the chairs should not be upholstered. [Re Holy Trinity High Hurstwood [2021] ECC Chi 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Peter Gaulby [2021] ECC Lei 2 The petitioners wished  to remove fifteen of the nineteen pews in the nave, retaining two pews in the nave and two in the chancel, and introduce fifty lightweight stackable wooden chairs, some with arms and some with vinyl padded seats.  The Chancellor decided that the effect of beige padding on light teak wooden frames would be minimal, and granted a faculty. [Re St. Peter Gaulby [2021] ECC Lei 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. John the Evangelist Ashton Hayes [2020] ECC Chr 1 Chancellor was satisfied that the proposed alternative seat had a good ‘track record’ and that it was acceptable for this particular church. He accordingly granted a faculty. [Re St. John the Evangelist Ashton Hayes [2020] ECC Chr 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Peter Walsall [2021] ECC Lic 4 A petition was submitted for the removal of pews and the pew platforms and to replace the existing heating with 30 wall-mounted radiators together with underfloor pipes all heated by a gas-fired boiler. The faculty was granted on the condition that as far as practicable gas would be supplied under a green tariff and carbon emissions caused by any non-renewable gas used are off-set. [Re St. Peter Walsall [2021] ECC Lic 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary Great Sankey [2021] ECC Liv 3 Faculty granted for replacement of 75 wooden upholstered chairs with 75 lightweight metal and upholstered Alpha SB2M chairs, which are more easily moveable and stackable. Upholstered chairs had been used in the church for upwards of 12 years, their replacement with the proposed new upholstered chairs would meet a need and result in minimal change in the overall appearance of the church. [Re St. Mary Great Sankey [2021] ECC Liv 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. John Clayton [2021] ECC Lee 5 The Chancellor decided that the petitioners’ justification for the proposals was persuasive and he granted a faculty, subject to a condition (inter alia) that the frontals of the choir stalls should be relocated after the front rows of stalls on either side had been removed. [Re St. John Clayton [2021] ECC Lee 5] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. John the Baptist Bishop Monkton [2021] ECC Lee 7 The petitioners sought a faculty for the nave pews to be removed and disposed of, and replaced with burgundy-coloured upholstered and metal framed chairs. The Chancellor regarded the existing chairs as very unsuitable and should not be augmented by similar ones. He  authorised the replacement of the pews with wooden, un-upholstered chairs of a design to be approved by him, subject to a condition that the current chairs be removed within two years. If this was not acceptable to the petitioners, then the pews would have to remain.

[Re St. John the Baptist Bishop Monkton [2021] ECC Lee 7] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Christ Church Gosport [2021] ECC Por 1 In 2020 the unlisted Victorian church had secured Strategic Development Funding and works were proposed  with a view to providing a more flexible space for worship and community use. The Chancellor was satisfied that the proposed works were necessary for the church to achieve its aims and he granted a faculty. [Re Christ Church Gosport [2021] ECC Por 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Holy Trinity Claygate [2021] ECC Gui 2 The Chancellor granted a petition for the replacement of the church’s wooden chairs, upholstered in red and with many showing their age, with tubular metal chairs upholstered in ‘graphite’ grey.  [Re Holy Trinity Claygate [2021] ECC Gui 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Heating

Re St. Mary Oxted [2021] ECC Swk 1 The Chancellor granted an interim faculty for a new church boiler, in view of the urgent need to replace the old boiler. The Chancellor had reservations about approving a gas-fired boiler, bearing in mind the policy of the Church of England to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.  [Re St. Mary Oxted [2021] ECC Swk 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Thomas and St. Luke Dudley [2021] ECC Wor 2 The Chancellor expressed her concerns regarding the proposed new gas-fired heating system  and  “respectfully disagreed with the views expressed in the earlier judgments”  which “may be read as suggesting that a chancellor should not consider the environmental implications of a proposal, at least where the petitioners have already done so” [39]. However, she granted a faculty subject to a condition that gas supplied under a green tariff should be used where possible. [Re St. Thomas & St. Luke Dudley [2021] ECC Wor 2] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re Berwick St. Michael and All Angels [2021] ECC Chi 7 The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty for all the pews to be removed on the basis that the proposed removal of the seating in its entirety would cause harm to the church’s significance as a place of special architectural and historic interest. [Re Berwick St. Michael & All Angels [2021] ECC Chi 7] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Christ Church Worthing [2021] ECC Chi 8 The Chancellor granted a faculty for reordering works, including: removal of some pews and pew platforms from the west end of the church; a new suspended floor with wet trench heating; new footings below the new floor, in anticipation of a potential reinstatement of the gallery; introduction of a tea point/servery and storage cupboards; works to plasterwork and glazing; and electrical and drainage works. [Re Christ Church Worthing [2021] ECC Chi 8] [Top of section] [Top of post]

See also  Re St. Peter Walsall and Re Christ Church Gosport supra.

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [2014 Judgments]


Church Treasures/Sale of Paintings &c/Loans [2]

Re St. Cuthbert Thetford [2021] ECC Nor 1 The Parochial Church Council wished to sell some items of Georgian silver; , however, the Chancellor refused to grant a faculty, as he considered that the petitioners had not established a good reason for the sale. The silver had significance for Thetford and the petitioners had not shown any pressing financial emergency. [Re St. Cuthbert Thetford [2021] ECC Nor 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re Holy Trinity Hull [2021] ECC Yor 3 The Chancellor granted a faculty or the introduction of a set of altar frontals in liturgical colours for the main altar, being satisfied that the petitioners had put forward a good argument for their proposal and that the objections did not amount to a good reason as to why the change should not be permitted. [Re Holy Trinity Hull [2021] ECC Yor 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2014 Judgments] [Top]


Telecommunications [1]

Re St. Peter ad Vincula Hampton Lucy [2021] ECC Cov 3 The petitioner, a churchwarden, sought a confirmatory faculty for  the installation on the church tower of radio internet repeater equipment to provide internet access within the Church without the need for the installation of a telephone line. The Chancellor was satisfied that the neighbour’s concerns had been largely assuaged and that the impact of the installed equipment upon the historical significance of the listed Church building would be negligible. He therefore granted a confirmatory faculty. [Re St. Peter ad Vincula Hampton Lucy [2021] ECC Cov 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

[2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [2014 Judgments] [Top]


Exhumation  [23]

Problems of access

Re St. Peter and St. Paul Barnby Dun [2021] ECC She 2 The petitioner wished to have the cremated remains of his late wife, who died in 2013, exhumed from the churchyard at Barnby Dun, in South Yorkshire, and re-interred in Littlehampton Cemetery, in West Sussex. The Chancellor decided that there was an exceptional reason which justified the grant of a faculty for exhumation. [Re St. Peter & St. Paul Barnby Dun [2021] ECC She 2] [Top of post] [Top]

Re Tixhall Road Cemetery Stafford [2021] ECC Lic 3 The Deputy Chancellor refused to grant a faculty. Following the guidance of the Court of Arches in Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002] Fam 299, the fact that the petitioner’s mother (aged 95) was infirm and could no longer manage the journey to Stafford was not capable of being an exceptional circumstance such as to justify exhumation. [Re Tixhall Road Cemetery Stafford [2021] ECC Lic 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Family graves 

Re Bishopwearmouth Cemetery [2020] ECC Dur 1 The petitioner wished to have  her husband’s body exhumed from the cemetery in Sunderland, in order to have the body cremated and the ashes then taken to a parish in Northamptonshire Chancellor considered that there was insufficient reason to justify the grant of a faculty for exhumation. [Re Bishopwearmouth Cemetery [2020] ECC Dur 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Andrew Leyland [2021] ECC Bla 1 Faculty granter to petitioner for exhumation of the cremated remains of her husband exhumed from the churchyard at Leyland and reinterred in a family grave in the churchyard at Wrea Green containing four members of the family, which had been her husband’s wish.  [Re St. Andrew Leyland [2021] ECC Bla 1][Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Burnley Cemetery [2021] ECC Bla 2 The Chancellor refused permission to exhume the cremated remains of the Petitioner’s husband from Burnley Cemetery, with a view to reinterring them in a family grave: ” … the time spent, and the inconvenience and difficulties experienced, in travelling from Morecambe to Burnley, even at the age of 82, do not amount to special circumstances such as to justify the exhumation.” [Re Burnley Cemetery [2021] ECC Bla 2] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re Peel Cemetery [2020] EC Sodor 2 Faculty granted for exhumation of remains of mother-in-law of petitioner from Peel Cemetery and reinter them in a private chapel called The Chantry, at Crogga, where the remains of the deceased’s son and the petitioner’s husband were laid. Under Isle of Man law remains could be exhumed and reburied only if moved from one piece of consecrated land to another piece of consecrated land (that is land consecrated according to the Anglican tradition), but the Chantry was not so consecrated. Therefore, in addition to the faculty, the petitioner would need to obtain the consent of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.  [Re Peel Cemetery [2020] EC Sodor 2] [Top of section][Top of post].

Re St. Saviour’s Cemetery Hungerford [2021] ECC Oxf 3 Chancellor granted faculty to petitioner who wished to have her mother’s ashes exhumed, so that her sister’s husband’s remains could be buried with the remains of his wife. [Re St. Saviour’s Cemetery Hungerford [2021] ECC Oxf 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. St. Mary Beenham Valence [2021] ECC Oxf 4 The Chancellor granted a faculty to permit the exhumation of the petitioner’s mother’s cremated remains, in order to facilitate the interment of the Petitioner’s father’s remains in the grave, with her mother’s ashes placed in her father’s coffin. [Re St. St. Mary Beenham Valence [2021] ECC Oxf 4] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. Giles Ashtead [2021] ECC Gui 1 The Chancellor did not consider that there were exceptional reasons to justify the grant of a faculty for exhumation and reinterment: “Mr Cooper is already buried close to family members and so the family grave consideration does not give rise to exceptional circumstances.” [Re St. Giles Ashtead [2021] ECC Gui 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. George New Mills [2021] ECC Der 2 The petitioner sought a faculty for exhumation of cremated remains of his father from New Mills churchyard and re-interment at Thornsett Cemetery. The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty;  cremated remains of both parents could be reunited at New Mills; the creation of a new family grave elsewhere did not justify the disturbance of an existing family grave. [Re St. George New Mills [2021] ECC Der 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Andrew Longton [2021] ECC Bla 6 The petitioner sought a faculty authorising the interment of the ashes of the petitioner’s late father, Henry Mather, in the existing grave of his son, who had died aged 26 in 1982. The Chancellor granted a faculty for the father’s ashes to be interred in the grave in such a position as not to inhibit the burial of his daughter-in-law with her late husband in due course and that, subject to the presentation of a petition by the daughter-in-law, the Chancellor would grant a faculty reserving to her the right to be buried in her late husband’s grave. Re St. Andrew Longton [2021] ECC Bla 6 [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Peter & St. Paul Wymering [2021] ECC Por 3 Chancellor granted faculty to remove petitioners father’s cremated remains from Wymering’s separate churchyard extension to a family plot in Waterlooville Cemetery, where the petitioners’ mother wished to have her remains interred in due course.  [Re St. Peter & St. Paul Wymering 2021] ECC Por 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Errors in burial

Re Gaydon Parish Cemetery [2021] ECC Cov 2 Gaydon Parish Council wished to exhume a body interred in 2020 and reinter it in another part of the cemetery. The Chancellor granted a faculty, satisfied that the administrative error resulting in a burial in a reserved grave justified an exception to the general rule presumption of permanence of burial. [Re Gaydon Parish Cemetery [2021] ECC Cov 2] [Top of section] [Top].

Re Iris Dean Deceased [2021] ECC Man 1 Chancellor determined to treat this as a case of mistake in not burying the Deceased in accordance with her wishes and that it would be unconscionable not to allow the Deceased’s ashes to be buried in her chosen final resting place, the family grave. [Re Iris Dean Deceased [2021] ECC Man 1] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re Wetheral Cemetery [2020] ECC Car 2 Deputy Chancellor determined not to grant a faculty. He considered the views of the deceased’s family as significant, that the delay in petitioning was also a factor, and he attached weight to the offer by the burial authority of alternative plots next to the other family plots. [Re Wetheral Cemetery [2020] ECC Car 2] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re William Nooney deceased [2020] ECC Bri 3 Chancellor determined that there had been a mistake by the funeral directors in organising the interment in the Anglican area of Filton Cemetery, which would amount to exceptional circumstances justifying exhumation, as identified in Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002] 3 WLR 603. The funeral directors were ordered to pay the costs of the petition. [Re William Nooney deceased [2020] ECC Bri 3] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re Mitcham Road Cemetery Croydon [2021] ECC Swk 2 The petitioners were granted permission  for the temporary exhumation of the cremated remains of their brother from their father’s grave, so that their mother could be buried in the same grave and the brother’s cremated remains then returned to the grave. [Re Mitcham Road Cemetery Croydon [2021] ECC Swk 9] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Lambeth Cemetery Tooting [2021] ECC Swk 3 The petitioner’s late father, a Muslim, had been buried in a grave in part of the cemetery consecrated for burials according to the rites of the Church of England. The Chancellor decided that there were exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of a faculty to enable exhumation of the petitioner’s father’s remains, for re-interment in the unconsecrated grave where his mother was buried. [Re Lambeth Cemetery Tooting [2021] ECC Swk 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Laurence Meriden [2021] ECC Cov 5 In view of the fact that an administrative error had been made, the Chancellor was satisfied that this was an exceptional circumstance which should override the presumption of permanence of burial and he therefore granted a faculty. [Re St. Laurence Meriden [2021] ECC Cov 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Other

Re St. Michael and All Angels Figheldean [2021] ECC Sal 1 Incumbent applied for exhumation of unlawfully interred cremated remains, and the deceased’s four siblings applied for custody of the remains, so that they could be interred in land where the deceased had wished his remains to be interred. The Chancellor was satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the ashes interred were those of the deceased sibling and he granted a faculty for exhumation and for custody of the ashes to pass to the surviving siblings for re-interment. [Re St. Michael and All Angels Figheldean [2021] ECC Sal 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Oaston Road Cemetery [2021] ECC Cov 1 The petitioner wished to exhume the cremated remains of her father, so that the ashes might be scattered with the cremated remains of her mother in Majorca. The Chancellor could find no exceptional circumstance to justify the grant of a faculty for exhumation. [Re Oaston Road Cemetery [2021] ECC Cov 1] [Top of section] [Top].

Re St. Mary East Leake [2021] ECC S&N 1 The Chancellor determined that there were exceptional factors to justify the grant of a faculty for exhumation. The canopy of a cypress tree had grown over the grave, leaving only one metre clearance above the grave; the area around the grave was overgrown; and the grave was likely to be affected by the tree’s roots. [Re St. Mary East Leake [2021] ECC S&N 1] [top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary Northolt [2021] ECC Lon 3 The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty for exhumation. The circumstances  were not sufficiently exceptional as to justify a departure from the general rule that permanence of burial in consecrated ground should be regarded as the norm. Also, if exhumation were allowed, the ashes would not be reinterred in consecrated ground. [Re St. Mary Northolt [2021] ECC Lon 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [2014 Judgments]


Churchyards and burials

Development of churchyard

Re St. Adamnan’s Lonan [2021] EC Sodor 1 The incumbent and churchwardens applied for a faculty to authorise the installation of an information board and signage to provide information about the crosses. The Deputy Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that the work would not harm the building and that it would improve public understanding of the crosses and their significance. [Re St. Adamnan’s Lonan [2021] EC Sodor 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Scotforth Cemetery Lancaster [2021] ECC Bla 3 Lancaster City Council granted faculty to permit the removal of the boundary hedge of the cemetery and the use of a 1.8m strip of the consecrated area of the cemetery to create a public footpath next to the immediately adjoining highway. [Re Scotforth Cemetery Lancaster [2021] ECC Bla 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary the Virgin Ashbury [2021] ECC Oxf 5 The petitioners wished to place in the churchyard a bench made of steel with slats made from recycled plastic. Chancellor granted a faculty, but he imposed a condition that the PCC should reconsider the design and materials of the bench. If they decided on an alternative, then the alternative would be allowed, subject to prior approval by the DAC. Otherwise, the design accompanying the petition was approved. [Re St. Mary the Virgin Ashbury [2021] ECC Oxf 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Nicholas Charlwood [2021] ECC Swk 8 The Chancellor granted permission to petitioner (a churchwarden) to carry out repairs to three box tombs, subject to comments from Historic England. [Re St. Nicholas Charlwood [2021] ECC Swk 8] [Top of section] [Top of post]

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Designation of closed churchyard

See Privy Council Business.

St. Mary of the Purification Blidworth [2021] ECC S&N 2 Although closed by Orders in Council, burials of coffins and cremated remains had continued. The judgment discussed rights of burial and extent of closure orders. The instant judgment concerned four applications for the interment of ashes in existing graves of relatives; all were refused. [St. Mary of the Purification Blidworth [2021] ECC S&N 2] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Churchyard Regulations

Re St. Edmund Kessingland [2020] ECC Nor 4 The petitioners, the rector and churchwardens, removed from the churchyard personal mementoes which had been placed on graves, and which the churchyards regulations did not allow. Chancellor confirmed an earlier decision to grant a faculty, subject to there being no objections. [Re St. Edmund Kessingland [2020] ECC Nor 4] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Margaret Rottingdean [2021] ECC Chi 1 In 2020, the Chancellor gave a judgment (Re St Margaret’s Rottingdean [2020] ECC Chi 4) concerning the temporary removal of two memorials from the churchyard. There had been complaints that the inscription on each contained the same allegedly offensive or derogatory word. In the present case, the vicar and churchwardens applied for a faculty to authorize the re-cutting of the stones, so as to omit the offensive word from the inscriptions, and the return of the stones to the churchyard. The families of those commemorated by the stones supported the application. The Chancellor granted a faculty. [In the matter of St Margaret, Rottingdean (No. 2)] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] ECC Dur 2 The incumbent tried without success to find out from the petitioner how the ledger stone had come to be installed, and so referred the matter, via the Registry, to the Chancellor. The Chancellor directed that the ledger stone should be removed. [Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] EACY 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] ECC Dur 3 Further to the previous judgment,  in January 2021 the Chancellor granted a faculty authorising its removal. The deceased’s mother application for the Chancellor’s decision to be set aside on the grounds that there was discrimination against the family, there being other similar memorials in the churchyard was rejected. [Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] ECC Dur 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Mary the Virgin Podington [2021] ECC StA 1 The Chancellor refused to grant a confirmatory faculty and granted a faculty for its removal by the team Vicar and churchwardens on five grounds. [Re St. Mary the Virgin Podington [2021] ECC StA 1] [Top of section] [Top].

In the matter of St Margaret, Rottingdean (No. 2)

[In the matter of St Margaret, Rottingdean (No. 2)] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Holy Cross Woodchurch [2020] ECC Chr 2 The petitioners wished to install in the churchyard a memorial which was outside the churchyards regulations. The Chancellor, accepting the parish’s desire to ‘draw a line’ and enforce the regulations, declined to approve the proposed memorial. [Re Holy Cross Woodchurch [2020] ECC Chr 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Sebastian Wokingham [2021] ECC Oxf 1 The Huddersfield & District Army Veterans Association applied for permission to remove of the memorial cross of the Association’s founder, who died in 1907, from the churchyard to the Association’s military plot at Edgerton Cemetery, Huddersfield. The Deputy Chancellor refused to grant a faculty: ‘I am not convinced either that the removal of the Monument is necessary to celebrate the memory of Major Welsh at the Huddersfield plot, or that the benefits in doing so would outweigh the harm in removing it from St Sebastian’s churchyard.’ [Re St. Sebastian Wokingham [2021] ECC Oxf 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re All Saints Dilhorne [2021] ECC Lic 1 The petitioner wished to erect on the grave of his late wife a red granite memorial with a polished face and gold lettering. The priest-in-charge declined to approve but the Chancellor determined that it would be unreasonable to refuse a faculty for the memorial, as the use of gold lettering was widespread in the churchyard. [Re All Saints Dilhorne [2021] ECC Lic 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Chad Far Headingley [2021] ECC Lee 3  The petitioner wished to erect in the churchyard a memorial to her two children, who had died, aged 6 and 9, from Batten disease. The Chancellor granted a faculty. He considered that the petitioner had made out a compelling case and that there were exceptional pastoral reasons for approving the design, to give comfort and solace to the petitioner and her family. [Re St. Chad Far Headingley [2021] ECC Lee 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Alban Frant [2021] ECC Chi 4 The petitioner wished to place on his wife’s grave a cast iron memorial, which included, as part of the design, a cluster of five-pointed stars, as his wife’s name was Stella. Chancellor granted a faculty, subject to a condition that the stars should not be pierced through the memorial, but that the stars and the lettering should be raised. This was for health and safety reasons, lest children might injure themselves on the sharp points of pierced stars. [Re St. Alban Frant [2021] ECC Chi 4Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St Mary Barnetby le Wold [2021] ECC Lin 1 A married couple had been buried in graves alongside each other. Following the second interment (of the wife), the petitioners wished to move the memorial at the head of the husband’s grave to mid-way between the two graves. Chancellor granted a faculty, but excluded permission for the decorative side panels. [Re St Mary Barnetby le Wold [2021] ECC Lin 1] [Top of section] [Top of Page]

Re St. Giles Exhall [2021] EACC 1 This was an appeal against a decision of the Chancellor of the Diocese of Coventry (in Re St. Giles Exhall [2020] ECC Cov 1), who granted a faculty for a memorial which included a short inscription in Gaelic, but subject to a condition that there should be an English translation beneath the Gaelic inscription, to which the petitioner and her family objected. The Court of Arches heard the appeal on 24 February 2021 and announced the same day its decision to allow the appeal, reserving its reasons to a written judgment, which was delivered on 16 June 2021. [Re St. Giles Exhall [2021] EACC 1 (with reasons)] [Post] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re All Saints Calverton [2021] ECC Oxf 7 The petitioner applied for a retrospective faculty to authorise the installation on a grave in the churchyard of a “grey plastic border and white gravel”, a memorial different from those permitted by the Diocese of Oxford Churchyard Regulations 2016. The Chancellor determined that the petitioner had not made a good case for a departure from the churchyards regulations and he refused to grant a faculty. [Re All Saints Calverton [2021] ECC Oxf 7] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re All Saints Darton [2021] ECC Lee 6 The Chancellor granted a faculty to authorise kerbs to be placed around a grave. The installation of kerbs was outside the diocesan churchyards regulations, but in this particular case the grave concerned was surrounded by graves with kerbs, such that kerbs ‘appear to be the norm, rather than the exception’. [Re All Saints Darton [2021] ECC Lee 6] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Christ Church Brampton Bierlow [2021] ECC She 6 The petitioner sought retrospective permission for a replacement memorial introduced into the churchyard in 2019 by a firm of stonemasons without permission being first obtained. The Chancellor considered that the stonemasons had been remiss in several aspects of this matter and decided that they should be required to pay a substantial proportion of the costs of the application. [Re Christ Church Brampton Bierlow [2021] ECC She 6] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Reservation of grave space

Re St. Thomas à Becket & St. Thomas the Apostle Heptonstall [2021] ECC Lee 2 The petitioner, who lived in Oxfordshire, wished to reserve a grave in the churchyard at Heptonstall in West Yorkshire, due to “her affection for literature and the proximity of the grave of Sylvia Plath”. There were in excess of 450 grave spaces available, and burials averaged five per year; the Chancellor determined that in this case there was no reason to refuse a faculty. [Re St. Thomas à Becket & St. Thomas the Apostle Heptonstall [2021] ECC Lee 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Michael & All Angels Bugbrooke [2021] ECC Pet 1 The husband and wife petitioners sought permission to include on a memorial to the wife’s father the words ‘Dad’ and ‘Pap’  Chancellor took the view that so few breaches of the churchyards regulations did not justify allowing further breaches. [Re St. Michael & All Angels Bugbrooke [2021] ECC Pet 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Clement Terrington St. Clement [2020] ECC Ely 3 Chancellor did not consider that having a relative buried in the churchyard was of itself a sufficient reason to grant a faculty to reserve a grave. [Re St. Clement Terrington St. Clement [2020] ECC Ely 3] [Top of section][Top of post]

Re St. John Eltham [2021] ECC Swk 4 The chancellor granted a faculty: i] to secure the arrangement agreed with the incumbent in 1989, so that her own cremated remains could in due time be buried next to those of her parents; ii] to permit a further stone next to the memorial to her parents; and iii] to replace the existing stone, which had weathered badly. [Re St. John Eltham [2021] ECC Swk 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Redland Parish Church [2021] ECC Bri 4 A former archdeacon, at the request of the incumbent, had agreed to the interment of some ashes in the closed churchyard, though the Chancellor could find no evidence of the incumbent advising the archdeacon that the churchyard was closed by Order in Council. The Chancellor determined, for pastoral reasons, to grant a faculty. [Re Redland Parish Church [2021] ECC Bri 4 ][Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Lupus Kirk Malew [2020] EC Sodor 1 The petitioner applied for a faculty to put kerbs around her late husband’s grave, where footings had already been laid without a faculty first being obtained. Deputy Vicar General dismissed the petition and directed that the kerb footings should be removed. [Re St. Lupus Kirk Malew [2020] EC Sodor 1][Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Cuthbert Fishlake [2021] ECC She 4 The petitioner, aged 84, wished to reserve a grave in the churchyard. She did not live in the parish, but was baptised, confirmed and married at the church, and numbers of her relatives were buried in the churchyard. The Chancellor declined to grant a faculty but felt confident that the her strong connections with the church would be properly taken into account at the time of her death. [Re St. Cuthbert Fishlake [2021] ECC She 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Michael Rossington [2021] ECC She 5 The petitioner applied for a confirmatory faculty for a replacement memorial on her parents’ grave, including “Honey I missed you”. The Deputy Chancellor granting a faculty, taking the view that the inscription was “neither offensive nor incompatible with the Christian faith.  [Re St. Michael Rossington [2021] ECC She 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Andrew Castle Combe [2021] ECC Bri 1 Although the churchyards regulations did not normally permit memorial kerbs, the Chancellor granted a faculty to permit kerbs to be added to a memorial in the churchyard, there being a large number of well-tended memorials with kerbs in the area. [Re St. Andrew Castle Combe [2021] ECC Bri 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] EACY 1 After considering the judgments of the Chancellor of the Diocese of Durham in [2018] ECC Dur 2, [2021] Dur 2, and  [2021] Dur 3, the Auditor of the Chancery Court of York refused permission to appeal against the Chancellor’s decision that a ledger stone bearing an enamelled photograph should be removed from an area of the churchyard set aside for cremated remains. [Re St. Andrew Haughton-le-Skerne [2021] EACY 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. James Alveston [2021] ECC Cov 4 The petitioner wished to take down the existing memorial to parents, crop it and lay it flat on the grave, and then put at the head of the grave a new memorial of Westmorland green slate in memory of the daughter. Did not satisfy the Chancellor that the petitioner was the owner of the memorial to the parents; and Westmorland green slate would look out of place in the churchyard. [Re St. James Alveston [2021] ECC Cov 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Paul Foxdale [2021] EC Sodor 3 The Vicar General & Chancellor granted a faculty for a memorial with a curved top and eccentric scalloped sides. Although the design was outside the churchyards regulations, he considered that the design was both tasteful and appropriate. [Re St. Paul Foxdale [2021] EC Sodor 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Holy Trinity Belbroughton and Fairfield [2021] ECC Wor 3 Chancellor granted reservation of double grave in the churchyard extension for 10 years.  [Re Holy Trinity Belbroughton & Fairfield [2021] ECC Wor 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re Holy Trinity Belbroughton and Fairfield [2021] ECC Wor 4 The Chancellor granted reservation of double grave in the churchyard extension for 10 years, even though the petitioners did not live in the parish and did not therefore have a legal right to be buried in the churchyard. [Re Holy Trinity Belbroughton & Fairfield [2021] ECC Wor 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. John the Baptist Cold Overton [2021] ECC Lei 4 This judgment related to two separate faculty petitions by husband and wife for the reservation of adjoining grave spaces. In view of this and the petitioners’ strong connections with the church, the Chancellor granted faculties limited to a period of 20 years. [Re St. John the Baptist Cold Overton [2021] ECC Lei 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Augustine Kirkby-in-Cleveland [2021] ECC Yor 5 Chancellor refused to grant a faculty for reserved grave space to couple who did not live in the parish and whose only connection with the parish was that their granddaughter had attended the nursery and primary school there. [Re St. Augustine Kirkby-in-Cleveland [2021] ECC Yor 5] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. John the Baptist Berkswell [2021] ECC Cov 6 The petitioner applied for permission to replace the headstone with a new one which did not conform to the churchyard regulations. The Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that the three images would not make the stone look cluttered, and he did not object to the use of the words ‘Mum, Nan and Great Nan’. [Re St. John the Baptist Berkswell [2021] ECC Cov 6] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Michael & All Angels Muncaster [2021] ECC Car 2 The Chancellor was satisfied that the PCC had never passed a resolution for a policy on the reservation of grave spaces. He also said that the family’s contributions to the life of the local community should be considered as of equal weight to any financial contributions which they could have, but did not in fact, make to the Church. Faculty granted.  [Re St. Michael & All Angels Muncaster [2021] ECC Car 2] [ Top of section] [Top of post]

Trees

Re St. Mary the Virgin Middleton-in-Teesdale [2021] ECC Dur 1 Quinquennial inspection report had advised removal of the trees due to the rainwater issues and The Chancellor found that there was a convincing case for their removal and granted a faculty. [Re St. Mary the Virgin Middleton-in-Teesdale [2021] ECC Dur 1] [Top of section] [Top] [Re St. Mary the Virgin Middleton-in-Teesdale [2021] ECC Dur 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re St. Mary and St. Peter Claydon and Barham [2021] ECC SEI 1 The Chancellor granted permission for the petitioners to reintroduce into the churchyard a memorial to their father, which had been placed on the centre of the grave of the petitioners’ parents, but had been removed because it had been installed without authority. He determined that “the memorial proposed is attractive and complements the original memorial in place”.  [Re St. Mary & St. Peter Claydon and Barham [2021] ECC SEI 1] [Top of section] [Top]

Re All Saints Friskney [2021] ECC Lin 5 In April 2020, the Chancellor had granted an interim injunction (subsequently renewed) on the application of the Parish Council, who were responsible for maintenance of the churchyard. He gave the Parochial Church Council (PCC) time to make representations regarding the boundary, after which the Chancellor would make a final order. If the PCC wished to erect a fence in due course, they would need to apply for a faculty. Re All Saints Friskney [2021] ECC Lin 5[] [Top of section] [Top of post]

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Environmental Permit

Re St. Peter Powick [2021] ECC Wor 1 The petitioners sought permission to (1) excavate, inspect and repair the current trench arch system; and (2) if found to be beyond repair, install an extended trench arch drainage system within the churchyard, connected to existing facilities, with the addition of a macerator. The Chancellor granted a faculty, subject to (inter alia) a condition requiring a continuing archaeological watching brief. [Re St. Peter Powick [2021] ECC Wor 1] [Top of section] [Top of post].

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [2014 Judgments]


Organs [3]

Re St. James Islington [2021] ECC Lon 1 The proposal was to rebuild the organ as a hybrid pipe/electronic instrument, involving its pipework being turned to face the nave, with associated structural alterations. There were two parties opponent, plus other objectors. The objections included allegations of irregularity in the tendering process, and questions as to whether the extent and cost of the project was excessive. The Chancellor concluded that the PCC was entitled to choose the proposal it had selected to resolve the longstanding problems with the organ, and he granted a faculty. [Re St. James Islington [2021] ECC Lon 1] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re All Saints Bakewell [2021] ECC Der 4 The vicar and churchwardens sought a faculty for repairs and overhaul of the church organ. The Chancellor granted a faculty: “In my judgment, issues relating to the cost of the works and the justification for spending money on the organ are primarily matters for the PCC, not for the Consistory Court.” [Re All Saints Bakewell [2021] ECC Der 4] [Top of section] [Top of post]

Re St. Dunstan Edge Hill [2021] ECC Liv 2 Faculty granted for removal and sale of the Willis pipe organ installed soon after the church was built in the late 19th century. [Re St. Dunstan Edge Hill [2021] ECC Liv 2] [Top of section] [Top of post]

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2015 Judgments] [2014 Judgments] [Top]


Fonts [1]

Re St. Margaret Stoke Golding [2021] ECC Lei 3 A faculty was granted for  the  relocation  of  the  font  from  its  existing position at the west end of the church to a new position at the east end of the south aisle adjacent to the Lady Chapel.   The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a good case for the proposal. [Re St. Margaret Stoke Golding [2021] ECC Lei 3] [Top of section] [Top of post]

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [Top]


Bells [1]

Re All Saints Hawton [2021] ECC S&N 3 The proposal was to augment the ring of eight bells to ten. There were four letters of objection. Dealing with the objections, the Chancellor determined that there were no grounds for suggesting that the augmentation would put additional stress on the tower; there had been no failure by the Parochial Church Council to communicate the proposals to parishioners; and financial matters were for the Parochial Church Council to decide. He was satisfied that the proposal was appropriate and desirable and he granted a faculty. [Re All Saints Hawton [2021] ECC S&N 3] [Top of section] [Top of Page]

[2020 judgments] [2019 judgments] [2018 judgments] [2017 judgments] [2016 Judgments] [2015 Judgments] [Top]


Others [1]

Re St. Andrew Great Durnford [2021] ECC Sal 3 The Chancellor granted an easement for limited purposes over a church-owned (unconsecrated) lane for the benefit of an adjoining property belonging to the Great Durnford Estate and used for the storage of garden machinery. [Re St. Andrew Great Durnford [2021] ECC Sal 3] [Top of post]


Privy Council Business

13 January 2021

  • Burial Act 1853: (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in:—1. St John the Evangelist Churchyard, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire; 2. St Mary Rawtenstall Churchyard, Rossendale, Lancashire; 3. St Mary’s Parish Churchyard, Northolt, London; 4. St Mary’s Churchyard, Horsefair Street, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; 5. St Philip’s Churchyard, Kelsall, Cheshire.

10 February 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in St Mary The Virgin Churchyard, Sellindge, Kent.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in:—
    [1]. All Saints Churchyard, Burstwick, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire; [2]. St Andrew’s Churchyard, Northover, Ilchester, Somerset; [3]. St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Cowden, Kent; [4]. St John the Baptist Churchyard, East Farndon, Northamptonshire; [5]. Tower Churchyard & Wrinehill Road Churchyard, Wybunbury, Nantwich, Cheshire.

28 April 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice):  Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in:— 1. St Giles Churchyard, Winchester, Hampshire; 2. St Michael and All Angels Churchyard Extension, Croft, Leicester, Leicestershire; 3. Churchyard of Terrington St Clement, King’s Lynn, Norfolk; 4. St Mary’s Churchyard, Eastwood, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in St Mary The Virgin Churchyard, Sellindge, Kent

26 May 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in:— 1. Churchyard at St Michaels Church, Lumb, Rossendale, Lancashire; 2. St Peter and St Paul Churchyard, Church Lane, Tasley, Shropshire.

23 June 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in St Peter Churchyard, Blackley, Manchester.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in:- 1. St Giles Churchyard, Winchester, Hampshire; 2. Churchyard of Terrington St Clement, King’s Lynn, Norfolk; 3. St Mary’s Churchyard, Eastwood, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.

21 July 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in:—1. St Peter’s Cemetery, Carlton Colville, Suffolk;2. Garden of Remembrance, Church Street, Whittington, Shropshire.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in:- 1. St Michael and All Angels Churchyard Extension, Croft, Leicester, Leicestershire; 2. Churchyard at St Michaels Church, Lumb, Rossendale, Lancashire; 3. St Peter and St Paul Churchyard, Church Lane, Tasley, Shropshire.

28 September 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in:—1. St. Helen’s Churchyard, Little Cawthorpe, Lincolnshire; 2. Cross Stone Cemetery (St Paul), Todmorden, Leeds; 3. St John the Evangelist Churchyard, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in:-1. St Peter’s Cemetery, Carlton Colville, Suffolk; 2. Garden of Remembrance, Church Street, Whittington, Shropshire.

10 November 2021

  • Burial Act 1853 (Notice): Order giving notice of the discontinuance of burials in: [1] Octagon Church Churchyard, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire; [2]. Part closure of All Saints Churchyard, Lydalls Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire; and [3]. St John the Baptist Churchyard, Marldon, Devon.
  • Burial Act 1853 (Final): Order prohibiting further burials in: St Peter Churchyard, Blackley, Manchester.

CDM Decisions and Safeguarding

Church of England

  • Guidance on penalties In January 2021, the Church of England’s Clergy Discipline Commission issued an updated Guidance on Penalties. The introduction notes that the Commission “is not laying down prescribed penalties which must be imposed, but seeks to provide guidelines. Those who have a duty to determine an appropriate penalty should take into account this guidance before exercising their discretion.“
  • The Revd Graeme Rainey – April 2021, Penalty. See post Recent CDM Tribunal Decisions (I).
  • The Revd William Bulloch – April 2021, Decision PenaltyDecision – Court of Arches. See post Recent CDM Tribunal Decisions (II).
  • The Right Reverend Michael Hill – 26 January 2021 The Right Reverend Michael Hill received a penalty of a rebuke on 26 January 2021 for racial stereotyping, whether intentional or not, and an injunction requiring training in unconscious racial bias.
  • Ward v Percy 28 May 2021 The President of Tribunals, Dame Sarah Asplin has issued her decision, dated 28 May, concerning the CDM complaint made last November by Graham Ward in respect of the alleged conduct of Martyn Percy on 4 October. Her decision concluded: “[10]. …it is entirely disproportionate that this matter should be referred to a tribunal”.
  • Canon Paul Overend, Chancellor – 12 June 2021 The Diocese of Lincoln reportsThe Deputy President of Tribunals has ruled that Canon Overend has no case to answer in the Clergy Discipline Measure action that has been taken against him.”

Independent Reviewer

Individual Reports from the Independent Reviewer are to be found at House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests (Independent Reviewer), scroll down.


CFCE Determinations

The dates of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England may be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the page Cathedrals Fabric Commission.

28 January 2021

  • Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury. Loan of C12th Screen Fragments to the British Museum .
  • Cathedral Church of Ripon. Relocation of the font from the south nave aisle to the Narthex, fitted into a new twostep stone plinth with bronze handrail and decorative polished marble finish, draining into new soakaway. Conservation and structural repairs undertaken to protect the font, remove harmful past repairs and enhance its legibility. New York stone pavers to the south nave aisle to replace the font plinth, in keeping with the surrounding York stone paving. Decorative marble design pending separate application.

25 March 2021

  • Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Bristol: High level access improvements.
  • Cathedral Church of St Michael, Coventry: Loan of items to Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum for an exhibition as follows: Gerald Benney, Chalice with bark design; Geoffrey Clarke, Candlesticks (x2).
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter: The loan of up to three folios of MS 3500 (Exon Domesday) to the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Gloucester: Various activities to conserve the North Transept West Window (South).

 27 May 2021

  • Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury. Loan of Dean de Waal portrait to The Jewish Museum, New York.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chester. The installation of 206 Jinko 270W Solar Optimised Panels which will be fixed to aluminium frames. These frames will sit on the Quire, Nave and South Transept roofs without penetrating the fabric.
  • Cathedral Church of Lincoln. Carving of a copy of the West Front Romanesque Frieze Panel 11 lower part.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, Peterborough. To refurbish the existing retail shop and Welcome Desk located in the Cathedral, installing bespoke cabinets, gates and display units thus creating a safe and welcoming environment for visitors, worshippers, and pilgrims.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Rochester. To improve the lighting to specific areas of focus and service leading throughout the Cathedral, using highly energy efficient equipment to modern standards, and including emergency lighting subject to the Cathedral Risk Assessment.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin, Worcester. Conservation of Christ in Majesty reredos in College Hall.

22 July 2021

  • Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chester The installation of a new porch at the west end of the Nave. Changes to the West Steps and Font to accommodate that installation. Approved subject to conditions.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter. Lighting scheme throughout the cathedral interior. Approved.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Gloucester Conservation and repair of Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, 4th Folio (1685). Approved.
  • Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin and Saint Ethelbert the King, Hereford. Conservation of 1618 Grant of certain rights in the Forest of Dean by King James I (HCA 4253). Approved subject to conditions.
  • Cathedral Church of Lincoln. Carving of a copy of the West Front  Romanesque Frieze Panel 11 upper part. Rejected: “The Commission felt either that the copy must be scrupulously faithful (in which case the installation of a cast of the original might be considered as an alternative) or, if a free-hand copy is preferred, that it would have to be of greater artistic merit”.
  • Cathedral Church of Lincoln. Replacement of a hand to the statue of a bishop on the West Front of the Cathedral. Approved.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool. To install two glass panels in the archway into the Lady Chapel ante chapel, in association with the general refurbishment of the space. Approved.
  • Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Norwich. To loan the Lyhart Crosier to Norwich Castle from 1st July 2022 to 30th June 2027, and for Norwich Castle to undertake conservation of the crosier in readiness for its display. Approved subject to conditions.
  • Cathedral Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary of Salisbury. Temporary loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands of the sculpture Construction (Crucifixion) by Barbara Hepworth. The sculpture will be away from the Cathedral from 9 May to 22 November 2022. Approved subject to conditions.
  • Chapter of the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York. To place a statue of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the West Front of York
    Minster. Approved.

9 September 2021

  • Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Bristol: A major programme of refurbishment to the Bristol Cathedral organ case and Walker instrument. Proposals were approved, with the exception of the addition of 32’ extension to the Pedal Trombone; The reason for the refusal was that the size of the extension would present a substantial engineering challenge.
  • Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Chichester; To revise the setting of the cathedral font to address health and safety issues and to improve accessibility and liturgical function. The Cathedral font sits on a single step plinth which has been a trip hazard to the visiting public. Throughout much of its life the font has been roped off or had access otherwise impaired. It also functions imperfectly as a liturgical feature during baptisms due to the step plinth. The proposal is to remove the plinth and lower the font to floor level. A visual ‘echo’ of the removed plinth will be created around the font set flush with the surrounding floor.
  • Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Chichester: A new Cathedral lighting scheme to replace the outdated existing internal lighting, which is at the end of its serviceable life, with new, low-energy lighting.  The Chair determined to defer the element of the application relating to the spotlighting of artworks pending receipt of a report from an independent conservator on the potential impact of this on all the artworks in question (i.e. the Piper Tapestry, Noli Me Tangere painting, The Baptism of Christ by Hans Feibusch, and the Lambert Barnard Panel paintings and any others not specifically mentioned in the application); and otherwise to approve the application subject to conditions.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter: A programme of works to clean, conserve and repair the timber painted ceiling in the Chapter House. Permission was sought for the full scheme across all four bays, although the works will likely be undertaken in two phases.
  • Chapter of the Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter: Retrospective approval for the repair works to Monuments 115 (James Bell) and 116 (Richard Hereford), carried out due to the significant Health & Safety risk posed by the deterioration in their condition.
  • Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter: Phase 2 of a programme of works to conserve and protect stained glass. The installation of partial environmental protection to stained glass panels in the Lady Chapel and medieval fragments in Oldham’s Passage and a full scheme of environmental protective glazing to the Peckitt windows of the Pearson Cloister Building together with the restoration of associated leaded lights.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham: Rebuilding of the collapsed boundary wall at St Mary the Less Church in accordance with the Structural Engineers Proposal.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool: To install two glass panels in the archway into the Lady Chapel ante chapel, in association with the general refurbishment of the space.
  • Cathedral Church of The Holy and Undivided Trinity, Norwich: To install a wooden crucifix in the first bay of the south east corner of the east Cloister Walk. The crucifix would be hung utilising fixings drilled into mortar joints.
  • Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York: To place a statue of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the West Front of the Minster.
  • Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury: Repair of existing drainage connections and creation of additional connections at Marlowe House.

28 October 2021

  • Cathedral Church of St. Mary and St. Chad, Lichfield: Re-instatement in the retrochoir of a shrine altar to St. Chad. Accompanied by a corona of light and in the Lady Chapel, Gospel Book and Holy Sacrament cases and icon paintings.
  • Cathedral Church of Portsmouth: To loan the Tangier Plate (consisting of six individual pieces of silver: two flagons, two standing patens and two communion cups with covers), and the Marriage certificate of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, to Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery from 28 May 2022 to 28 February 2023.
  • Cathedral Church of St Alban: The Cathedral proposes to relocate the Frosterley Marble and its chest tomb base from the south ambulatory to the Memorial Chapel which is located in the north nave aisle. The Memorial Chapel currently houses a Jacobean altar which would in turn be moved into the Chapel of Transfiguration, where there is a temporary altar of no significance or value.
  • Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York:

Other Reports, Visitations &c


Links to other posts

Recent summaries of specific issues that have been considered in the consistory courts include:

Reordering, extensions & other building works

Churchyards and burial

General/Miscellaneous

CDM

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Last updated at 09:00 on 17 January 2022.

Notes on the conventions used for the navigation between cases reviewed in this post are summarized here.

Cite this article as: David Pocklington, "Ecclesiastical court judgments 2021" in Law & Religion UK, 8 December 2021, https://lawandreligionuk.com/2021/12/08/ecclesiastical-court-judgments-2021/

 

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