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Alphabetical Index of all judgments on this web site as at 10 September 2024

Judgments indexed by Diocese:
2023 Judgments
2022 Judgments
2021 Judgments

Re St. James the Great Flockton [2016] ECC Lee 4

The Chancellor granted a faculty, firstly, to give retrospective approval to the internal redecoration of the church already carried out and, secondly, to permit the disposal of miscellaneous artefacts from the church, including a bier, a 'spare' reredos, a number of redundant pews and a side altar. The Chancellor dealt with the matter by written representations, rather than by a hearing, as he considered that none of the items could be described as a 'church treasure'.

Re St. James the Great Gretton [1990] Thomas Coningsby Ch. (Peterborough)

A quinquennial report in 1986 recorded a serious state of deterioration of the stonework of the church. The church raised £30,000 and spent it on repairs. However, the tower was in a serious condition and an estimate of £140,000 was given for repairs to the tower alone. The Parochial Church Council of the small parish was unable to find the money for the urgent repairs and sought to sell two silver flagons, valued at £25,000, to help them to deal with the emergency. The Chancellor decided that, in order to meet the emergency, the sale of the flagons should be allowed, and he therefore granted a faculty for the sale of the silver.

Re St. James the Great Haslingden [2019] ECC Bla 3

The petitioners sought permission to renew the 'plastic' protective coverings to the windows on the two levels of the Georgian church building. The Georgian Group suggested that wire mesh grilles would allow better ventilation. The Chancellor was satisfied that the question of ventilation had been addressed by the contractors, and he therefore granted a faculty as requested.

Re St. James the Great Radley [2024] ECC Oxf 5

The petitioner wished to reserve a grave next to the grave of her late husband in the churchyard at Radley. She had originally approached the incumbent about reserving a space immediately after her husband had died, before the Parochial Church Council (PCC) subsequently decided that there should be a policy of no further reservations and she had understood that the reservation would not be a problem. The incumbent and PCC in fact supported the reservation. The Chancellor granted a faculty, even though it was estimated that there was only sufficient space in the churchyard for burials within the next three years. The petitioner had resided in the parish for over 50 years, and her family had strong connections with the church, and many members of the family were buried in the churchyard. Furthermore, the petitioner being part of the Romany Community, which believed in burial, cremation was not an option. Also, the PCC was actively looking at options for further burial space within the parish.

Re St. James the Great Radley [2024] ECC Oxf 7

In August 2024, the Chancellor had granted a faculty for the reservation of a grave space for a Mrs. Bowers, even though there were only enough graves left for the next three years. At the same time as Mrs. Bowers had applied to reserve a grave, a Mrs. Parke, aged 83, who had lived in the parish for 25 years, had applied to reserve a grave next to the grave of her husband, but the processing of her application had been delayed for various reasons. Since the granting of the faculty to Mrs. Bowers, the Parochial Church Council (“PCC”) had discussed passing a resolution not to support any further reservations. In fact no resolution had been passed, and the matter was on the agenda for the PCC meeting in November 2024. The Chancellor decided in the circumstances it would not be appropriate to treat Mrs. Parke’s application other than in the same way as Mrs. Bower’s application, and he therefore granted a faculty, subject (inter alia) to a condition requiring the PCC to pass a resolution not to support any further grave space reservations.

Re St. James the Greater Romanby [2024] ECC Yor 2

The petitioners wished to remove all the pews from the Victorian Grade II church and replace them with Treske chairs. There were two local letters of objection, it being alleged that the removal of the dark pews would strip the church of its individuality and the contrast in its interior. After considering the questions raised in Re St. Alkmund Duffield (2013) Fam 146, the Chancellor concluded that, whilst the removal of the pews would cause moderate harm to the church, the resulting public benefits justified the grant of a faculty.

Re St. James the Less Fradswell [2018] ECC Lic 4

The petitioner applied for permission to erect in the churchyard a memorial to her late husband, the memorial to be of polished black granite with gold lettering, both of which features are outside the churchyards regulations. Alongside the rectangular upright stone and connected to it was to be an upright column extending a little higher than the stone and bearing for almost its full height the image of a cross with a rose entwined around it. From a number of photographs, it was clear to the Chancellor that the churchyard contained many memorials which did not comply with the regulations, including a large number of black granite memorials with gold lettering. In the circumstances the Chancellor determined that it would be unfair to the petitioner to refuse to grant a faculty. Accordingly, he directed that a faculty be issued.

Re St. James Thornton [2012] John Walford Ch. (Bradford)

Faculty granted for telecommunications equipment, overruling objections regarding the possible harmful effects of radio waves and removal of old wooden stairs from the spire and replacement with a hooped access ladder and new hatch.

Re St. James Uldale [2017] ECC Car 1

A proposed memorial inscription included the words "Husband, Dad and Pop". The incumbent did not feel happy about agreeing to the use of the word "Pop". An application was made for a faculty. The Diocesan Advisory Committee had no objection. The deceased's daughter claimed that "Pop" was a word in popular use in Cumbria, being a term commonly used to refer to a father or grandfather. The Chancellor decided on balance, and on the facts of the particular case, that it would be pastorally insensitive to refuse the faculty sought, and he accordingly granted a faculty.

Re St. James West Dean [2022] ECC Glo 1

The petitioner wished to exhume the ashes of her late husband and reinter them in the grave of her parents within the same churchyard. As Chancellor found that the petitioner had been misinformed as to where her husband's ashes had to be buried -  in a newly created garden of remembrance. The Chancellor granted a faculty to allow the ashes to be buried in the family grave.