“One Church Warden’s rubbish may be another art dealer’s treasure“

Re Emmanuel Church, Leckhampton, Rodgers Ch.

The recently published Removal of bells from a closed church considers two judgments relating to St James, Church Kirk in the Blackburn Diocese; the earlier case, Re St James Church Kirk [2019] ECC Bla 4, suggested that the designation of “church treasure” was not appropriate in relation to one of the church’s bells [12, 13]. The Worshipful John W Bullimore addressed the issue in the context of a closed church, and below we explore this further and consider the utility of such a designation, other than providing a convenient shorthand for a range of disparate but valuable objects. Continue reading →