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Alphabetical Index of all judgments on this web site as at 1 October 2022

Index by Dioceses of 2022 judgments on this web site as at 1 October 2022

Re St. Mary and St. Cuthbert Chester-le-Street [2017] ECC Dur 1

The proposal was to install four 50 inch LCD monitors on pillars in the nave of the church, plus a 24 inch monitor in the choir vestry and a 32 inch monitor on a wheeled trolley, plus associated electronics and wiring. There were several objections from parishioners. Historic England and the Council for the Care of Churches (though it did not formally object) considered that the monitors would be intrusive and harm the character of this historically significant Grade I church, which has associations with St. Cuthbert. The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty so far as the four largest screens were concerned.

Re St. Mary and St. Michael Cartmel [2017] ECC Car 2

A number of reordering proposals included replacing 18 oak nave pews with Howe 40/4 chairs and the re-siting of the Victorian font. Neither Historic England nor the Victorian Society objected to the proposals. Two parishioners submitted letters of objection, but did not wish to be parties to the proceedings. The Chancellor granted a faculty, being "satisfied that the benefits which will flow from the removal of these pews are significant in that the removal of the pews will allow the space of the nave to be better appreciated and will allow the use of such space for a variety of activities. Even bearing in mind that this is a listed building, I am satisfied that there is a clear and convincing justification for the removal of the pews which outweighs such small degree of harm."

Re St. Mary and St. Nicholas Spalding [2016] ECC Lin 5

The petitioners sought a faculty to authorise the installation of servery units in an 'L' shape in the south-west corner of the church. Historic England objected to the 'L' shape and felt that the two arms of the 'L' should be separated, leaving space in the corner. The Chancellor granted a faculty for the works as proposed: "I judge that if the units were moved apart leaving a gap in the corner the separation will lead to a spread of ‘kitchen activity’ over a wider area and leave a gap in the corner which will inevitably become filled with unattractive items."

Re St. Mary and the Holy Rood Donington [2020] ECC Lin 1

There was an application for a faculty to create a grave in the east end of the north aisle of the Grade I church for the reburial of the remains of Capt. Matthew Flinders, the  famous navigator and cartographer, and the installation of a new ledger stone above the grave. Capt. Flinders' coffin, bearing his name, had been discovered in 2019 during HS2 works to expand Euston Station, and the proposal was to return his remains to the town where he was born. The churchyard had been closed for burials from 1 August 1865, but an Order in Council in 2020 added an exception to the original Order in Council, to allow the interment of Capt. Flinders' remains in the north aisle of the church. The Chancellor determined that, notwithstanding the 2020 Order in Council, a faculty was still needed to authorise the interment in the church, and there needed to be exceptional circumstances to allow an interment inside the church. He decided that the circumstances were exceptional, and that allowing the burial in church would not set a precedent, as the Orders in Council prevented any further burials. He therefore granted a faculty.

Re St. Mary Andover [2020] ECC Win 4

Extensive reordering was proposed, mainly with a view to providing more flexible worship and community use of the church. The main items of concern were: the removal of the chancel stalls to provide additional space for contemporary musical accompaniment for services and for visiting choirs and musicians; the replacement of the nave pews with chairs and the carpeting of the nave. The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a case for the works, with the exception of the carpeting, and he granted a faculty accordingly.

Re St. Mary Ashford [2018] ECC Can 3

As part of the Ashford Borough Council's Ashford Snowdogs art trail, there was a proposal to place in the churchyard a statute of a brightly painted dog. There was one objector, a parishioner whose house overlooked the churchyard, who objected to the installation on aesthetic grounds. As the proposal was that the dog would only be in the churchyard for 10 days, the Commissary General considered that, in view of the community  benefits of the project, the installation's presence would be so transitory as to make the diminution of the Church’s setting insignificant. She accordingly granted a faculty allowing the installation for 10 days.

Re St. Mary Balcombe [2015] Ruth Arlow Dep. Ch. (Chichester)

The Diocesan Advisory Committee recommended that the restoration of two windows at the east end of the church should be carried out by a stained glass contractor accredited by ICON (Institute of Conservation). The Parochial Church Council wished to engage a contractor who had previously carried out work at the church but was not so accredited. The Deputy Chancellor: " ... it would be unjudicial of me blindly to apply a blanket requirement for the ICON accreditation of contractors ... [the chosen contractor] clearly has a significant number of years’ experience working on similar projects to the acclaim of well-respected professionals. He has considered and addressed concerns raised by the CBC and is clearly sympathetic to conservation concerns and the need to preserve originality where possible." Faculty granted.

Re St. Mary Bampton Proper [2020] ECC Oxf 6

Part way through a restoration program for the church organ (which was authorised by faculty in 2015), the organ builder had died and the dismantled organ had been moved to another organ builder for storage. The petitioners now wished to continue the restoration work and to return the organ in its previous position against the east wall of the south transept, with the addition of some digital stops, to improve the projection of musical sound into the nave. The British Institute of Organ Studies and the Church Buildings Council objected to the addition of digital stops to the early 19th century organ. However, the Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a good case for the proposed restoration and improvement works and he granted a faculty.

Re St. Mary Barnes [2021] ECC Swk 10

The petitioners, who were the Team Rector, Team Vicar, Vice-Chair of the Parochial Church Council and a Churchwarden, sought a faculty to install a wall-mounted monument commemorating the Hoare Family of Barn Elms on the north wall of the Langton Chapel in the church. This was to replace a previous Hoare family memorial commemorating sixteen members of the Hoare family whose remains were buried in the vault of the church. The former memorial had been destroyed by a fire in the church in 1978. The Hoare family had for three centuries been benefactors of the church. However, although there were no objections to the proposal, the Chancellor felt that, in the current climate of "public interest in contested heritage issues", he had to address 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, he decided to grant a faculty. None of the family members to be commemorated had links to the slave trade, but only a member of the family two generations earlier than the oldest of those to be commemorated.

Re St. Mary Battersea [2019] ECC Swk 4

A new lighting scheme had been prepared for the Grade I Georgian church. Historic England and the Local Planning Authority were concerned about the proposal to recess some spotlights into the ceiling. The petitioners were asked to consider alternative arrangements, and the favoured one involved four groups of five spotlights recessed into 'rafts' or slim panels suspended on wires close to the ceiling. The Chancellor granted a faculty.