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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. John the Baptist Wales [2024] ECC She 5

The Petition sought permission for the removal of twelve pews and their replacement with 100 chairs. The Church Buildings Council referred to their published advice, which generally advocated the use of high quality wooden chairs (i.e. unupholstered). The Victorian Society also objected to upholstered chairs, though neither the Council not the Society became parties opponent. The Chancellor granted a faculty for the replacement of the pews with chairs, provided the chairs were not upholstered.

Re St. John the Baptist West Wickham [2012] Philip Petchey Ch. (Southwark)

Faculty granted for the removal of a single pew, to make room for an audio-visual control desk.

Re St. John the Baptist Wimbledon [2016] ECC Swk 5

The Chancellor granted a faculty for the replacement of the current church hall situated within the churchyard (a 1960s building, intended to be temporary and now in need of replacement) with a new single-storey hall, of which one elevation would be faced with brick to match the Victorian church building and the other elevations would be clad in timber.

Re St. John the Baptist Witheridge [2023] ECC Exe 2

A faculty had been granted in 2022 for reordering in the church, including the introduction of stackable chairs for temporary use at the back of the nave. It had been a condition of the faculty that the design of the chairs should be approved by the Diocesan Advisory Committee ("DAC"). The petitioners had chosen a Canterbury style chair from Alpha Furniture, but the DAC was not prepared to approve this design due to the chair having a curved back. The Chancellor had therefore been asked to settle the matter. The Chancellor decided that the overall impact of the chairs on the interior of the church would not be great, at the same time accepting the petitioners' view that the curved backs of the chairs would be more comfortable than flat backed ones. He accordingly granted a faculty.

Re St. John the Divine Southbourne [1985] Quentin Edwards Ch. (Chichester)

A scheme of reordering was proposed for the church, including covering the whole floor with carpet. The Chancellor approved the works, incuding the carpet, as the church had "no architectural or aesthetic merit whatever", and he referred to Professor Pevsner's description of the church as "bad". Therefore the carpet would not adversley affect the character of the church. Also, the Chancellor accepted the arguments that the carpet would deaden the sound coming from the busy main road immediately next to the church.
(Note: This judgment also deals with a separate petition which included a proposal for carpeting, and is therefore separately listed as Re St. Michael the Archangel South Malling [1985] Quentin Edwards Ch. (Chichester)).

Re St. John the Evangelist Abbeydale [2021] ECC She 7

The faculty petition related to extensive internal reordering works, to enable more varied use of the church both in worship and for community events and to provide greater accessibility. The Chancellor was satisfied that, notwithstanding the loss of the remaining fixed seating,  the works would have little impact on the overall architectural character and appearance of the building, and she therefore granted a faculty.

Re St. John the Evangelist Ashton Hayes [2020] ECC Chr 1

The petitioners wished the Chancellor to vary a faculty granted in 2018 in respect of the choice of chair to be used in the internal reordering of the church, by approving their suggested choice of the (upholstered) Alpha SB2M chair in substitution for the previously intended Trinity ‘Abbey’ (un-upholstered) chair. The Church Buildings Council, the Victorian Society and the Diocesan Advisory Committee were not in favour of upholstered seating. The 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 Blackpool [2022] ECC Bla 2

The Vicar and Churchwardens wished to carry out an extensive programme of reordering to facilitate the use of the church as a 'Resource Church' capable of reversing church decline in Blackpool, with an emphasis on encouraging young people to attend the church. The Church Buildings Council (CBC) and the Victorian Society (VS) objected to the covering of the Victorian tiled flooring with carpet. The VS also objected to the removal of the canopied pulpit and the lectern. However, neither the CBC nor the VS wished to be parties opponent. The Chancellor was satisfied that, far from causing harm to the significance of the church (which had been dramatically changed by previous reorderings before it was listed), the proposals would enhance the setting, and any harm would be outweighed by public benefits. The Chancellor granted a faculty for all the proposals, with the exception of the lectern, deferring a decision on that item until the reordering of the war memorial chapel was completed, in case the lectern could conveniently be accommodated there.

Re St. John the Evangelist Bourne End [2021] ECC StA 2

The petitioners wished to separate 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 and the church hall ; and to renovate an old table to become a credence table. The Victorian Society objected to the separation of the reredos and altar and proposed re-siting of the reredos. The Church Buildings Council objected to the reredos being placed to the link to the hall. The Chancellor considered that there was a good case for moving the altar to allow west-facing celebration, and also safety benefits for the restricted space in the east end of this small church; also  the scheme would allow the retention, rather than disposal, of the reredos. There would also be the benefit of exposing the original stained glass window hidden by the reredos. The Chancellor therefore granted a faculty.

Re St. John the Evangelist Crosby-on-Eden [2023] ECC Car 3

The petition proposed a ramped access at the entrance to the church, a kitchenette at the west end of the church and the erection of a single storey extension to house a WC. Four individuals presented written objections, but the Diocesan Advisory Committee, Historic Buildings and Places and the Church Buildings Council approved of the proposals. The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had presented a sufficiently good case for the proposals and he accordingly granted a faculty.