The petitioner wished to reserve a grave 'until I die'. The Chancellor granted a faculty, but only for a term of 25 years, to provide certainty to the church as to the period of reservation. The Chancellor pointed out that, if at the end of the 25 years the petitioner wished to continue to reserve the space, an application could be made for an extension.

The petitioner wished to reserve a grave 'until I die'. The Chancellor granted a faculty, but only for a term of 25 years, to provide certainty to the church as to the period of reservation. The Chancellor pointed out that, if at the end of the 25 years the petitioner wished to continue to reserve the space, an application could be made for an extension.

The Chancellor granted a faculty to authorise the felling of a sycamore tree. The petitioners had claimed that the work was necessary because the tree’s roots were damaging the churchyard retaining wall and the foundations of the church. In giving his judgment, the Chancellor set out the legal and practical aspects which should be taken into account when determining an application to remove a tree from a churchyard.

The petition related to the construction of a new two-storey extension on the north side of the church building and a car park to the west. The amenity societies approved the proposal, but two parishioners became parties opponent. The Chancellor was satisfied that there was no reason why he should not follow the decision of the local planning authority to grant a planning consent, and he therefore granted a faculty for the works.

The petitioners wished to have their father's ashes (interred in 2004) exhumed and reinterred in the grave of their mother, whose body was buried in 2015. Considering the guidelines in Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002], the Chancellor determined to grant a faculty on the basis that (a) the reinterment would be into a family grave and would free up a cremation plot

The petitioner wished to place a memorial on her mother's grave. The parish priest declined to authorise the proposed memorial, as it did not fall within the scope of the Diocesan Guidelines. The design resembled a scroll, between two hand-carved angels, above a plinth resting on a base.  The central “scroll” and the plinth and base were in Rustenburg dark grey granite, and the two angels in a paler stone. The Chancellor considered that carvings of angels in full relief would not be appropriate to the setting, but he would not object to carvings of angels in low relief on the memorial stone. On that basis he granted a faculty for a memorial, subject to the final design being approved by the Diocesan Advisory Committee or, in default of such approval, by the court.

Outside the north wall of the church is an area for cremated remains containing a large number of wedge-shaped memorials set on stone slabs 18 inches square. However, some larger bases which had been introduced had adversely affected the appearance of the area. The churchwardens therefore proposed setting plain slab bases on the unused plots in anticipation of wedge-shaped memorials being put on them in the future, in order to minimise the risk of incorrectly sized bases being laid; to keep the area looking uniform and tidy; and to avoid the churchwardens having to take remedial steps, which might give rise to pastoral difficulties. The Diocesan Advisory Committee did not recommend the proposal, but the Chancellor was satisfied that there was a problem which needed to be addressed, and he accordingly granted a faculty.

The petitioner sought exhumation of the cremated remains of her late husband, which had been interred in Ansley churchyard in 2015, and reinterment in Hartshill Cemetery, citing dissatisfaction with the upkeep of the churchyard and difficulty of access to the grave. Following the principles laid down in Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002] Fam 299, a decision of the Court of Arches, that burial of human remains in consecrated ground should normally be regarded as permanent and that exhumation should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, the Chancellor determined that there were no exceptional circumstances in this petition to justify the grant of a faculty.

The Petition requested a Faculty to authorise a reordering of the west end of the church to include the installation of a toilet, some external drainage works, and a new porch door. Principles in Re St. Alkmund, Duffield (Court of Arches) considered. Faculty granted.

The rector and churchwardens petitioned for permission to remove from the west end of the church the redundant pipe organ, eight pews (to be replaced with chairs) and a number of items of redundant church furniture, in order to create a flexible circulation area at the back of the church. There were five objectors, who did not become parties opponent. The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a convincing justification for the proposals and he accordingly granted a faculty.