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

Judgments indexed by Diocese:
2024 Judgments
2023 Judgments
2022 Judgments
2021 Judgments

Re St. Pancras Chichester [2024] ECC Chi 2

The petitioners wished to replace the existing 1980s upholstered chairs in the Grade II listed church with 150 new upholstered chairs, which were lighter in weight and would stack more easily. The Victorian Society objected to the proposal, citing the Church of England guidance that un-upholstered wooden chairs were more appropriate for historic church interiors. The Deputy Chancellor granted a faculty: the current chairs were difficult to move and were untidy, and the new chairs would not harm the significance of the church as a building of special architectural or historic interest. 

Re St. Partick Earlswood (Re Ashley Thomas Cook decd) [2006] Martin Cardinal Ch. (Birmingham)

A mother wished to have her son's body exhumed from the churchyard of St. Patrick Earlswood and reinterred in a churchyard in Ireland, where she now lived. Here reason for the request was that if her son;s body remained in England, she would have difficulty in visiting and tending the grave regularly. The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty. The petitioner had not shown any exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of a faculty.

Re St. Paul Addlestone [2020] ECC Gui 1

The Parochial Church Council wished to install solar panels on the roof of the unlisted Victorian church in order to reduce its energy bills. The Deputy Chancellor was satisfied that "the visual impact of the solar panels will be relatively modest and can be accommodated without serious impact on the heritage value of the building", and he granted a faculty.

Re St. Paul Bedford [2022] ECC StA 3

The petitioners wished to redesign the north porch as the main entrance of the church and include the re-siting there of medieval statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, which had at various times been fixed at different positions both outside and inside the church. In 2015 the statues had been moved to a stonemason’s workshop as a place of safety, and we’re currently at a conservationist’s workshop. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings objected to the placing of the statues inside the north porch: they should be placed in the external niches above the (now redundant) south porch door, where they had once been fixed. The Chancellor determined that, for reasons of (inter alia) security, visibility and protection from weathering, the statues would be better placed in the refurbished south porch. The Chancellor granted a faculty for these and all the other proposed works.

Re St. Paul Bentley Common [2025] ECC Chd 1

The petitioner’s son committed suicide in 2013. The family had lived since 1971 at Blackmore in Essex. The petitioner’s son’s ashes were not buried in Blackmore, because it was alleged that the then incumbent would not conduct a funeral there. The Petitioner and her husband therefore arranged for their son’s ashes to be buried at Bentley Common, where other members of the family had been buried. After the death of her husband, whose ashes were buried at Blackmore, the petitioner wished to have her son’s ashes exhumed and buried in his father’s grave, where the petitioner also wished to have her own remains buried in due course. The Chancellor decided that there were special circumstances to justify the grant of a faculty: the petitioner’s son had never lived at Bentley Common, nor indicated that he wished to be buried there; Blackmore was his home; reinterment at Blackmore would create a family grave; and at the time of the son’s death the situation at Blackmore had been far from ideal.

Re St. Paul Brighton (1) [2012] Mark Hill Ch. (Chichester)

The Chancellor granted an interim faculty for the removal of furnishings for cleaning following damage to the church by fire. He also authorised the removal of the pews into storage, the removal of a dais, and cleaning and redecoration.

Re St. Paul Brighton (2) [2012] Mark Hill Ch. (Chichester)

The vicar and churchwardens wished to replace the church pews with chairs. The Chancellor was satisfied that the replacement of the pews with chairs was appropriate in the church and granted a faculty.

Re St. Paul Caton-with-Littledale [2023] ECC Bla 6

The petitioners wished to reserve a single-width, double-depth grave space in the churchyard. The vicar and the Parochial Church Council did not support this application or the reservation of further graves generally. The present churchyard would be full within 5 to 7 years, possibly 10. However, there was a further piece of land, currently used as a recreational area, which could in future be consecrated and enable burials to continue for about 50 years. On the facts of this particular case, the Chancellor determined that it was appropriate to grant a faculty, but to limit it to a period of seven years, with permission to apply (by letter) within the last year to extend beyond that time. 

Re St. Paul Caton-with-Littledale [2024] ECC Bla 2

The petitioner, who had lived in the parish all his life, wished to reserve a grave space in the churchyard for 25 years. According to the vicar, there was space in the churchyard for burials for a period of 5 to 10 years. There was also an extra piece of land, currently used as a recreation area, which could be brought into use and accommodate burials for a further 50 years. In 2023, the Parochial Church Council decided not to support any further reservations of grave spaces. The Chancellor decided, in view of the petitioner's life expectancy being 7-10 years, owing to paralysis following an accident, and for pastoral reasons, to grant a faculty reserving a grave for a period of 7 years, so that no-one else with a right of burial would be prejudiced by the grant before the space for further burials was full. The petitioner was given liberty to apply for an extension during the seventh year.

Re St. Paul Caton-with-Littledale [2025] ECC Bla 2

The Petitioners, aged 79 and 81, both resident within the parish and on the church electoral roll, applied for the reservation of a double burial plot for the usual period (in the Diocese of Blackburn) of 25 years. Sufficient space remained within the churchyard for some five years’ future burials, but additional land was available for consecration. In 2023, the Parochial Church Council ("PCC") had decided that it would not support new faculties for grave reservations. However, at a meeting in April 2025, the PCC decided to support the present petition. Bearing in mind the PCC's decision, the availability of additional land and the age of the petitioners, the Chancellor determined to grant a faculty for the full period of 25 years.