The petition proposed the removal and disposal of three pews from the back of the church, replacing them with moveable tables and chairs; removal and disposal of the wooden pulpit; and moving the stone font from the back to the front of the church. The church building dates from 1907. It was formerly a church hall. The Deputy Chancellor granted a faculty. 

The Parish Council, which was responsible for the maintenance of the closed churchyard at Chithurst, wished to fell an ash tree, which was suffering from ash die-back, on the grounds that the disease might cause the tree to become dangerous within the next few years and cause damage to the church or passers-by. The proposal was opposed by two neighbours. The Chancellor was satisfied that the petitioners had made a good case for the felling of the tree and granted a faculty.

In Re St Mary, Claxby [2025] ECC Lin4, the family of the late Stephen Cade petitioned for a faculty to permit a grave space, which would otherwise be used to received bodily remains, to receive his cremated remains so that a larger memorial stone could set out the story of his family relationships and to have space for Mrs Cade’s ashes and for her details to be added to the memorial stone when the time comes. The PCC did not support the application on the basis that space in the churchyard was very limited. The Chancellor considered that efficient use of the land the churchyard has for burials must be made, and permitting a space for a full burial to be taken by cremated remains would be unfair when there were so few spaces available for full burials. The Chancellor refused to grant the faculty.

The petitioner sought permission to erect a memorial to her late father. The design comprised a tapered four-sided stone surmounted by a Celtic cross. (Her father was a Catholic of Irish descent.) The overall height of the memorial would be 43 inches. The PCC felt that the proposed stone was too tall (though the maximum height specified in the churchyards regulations was 48 inches), and that the design would be out of keeping with the rest of the memorials in the churchyard. The Chancellor considered that the design was within the regulations, and that uniformity was not to be sought in itself. Applying the test of 'suitability', he granted a faculty.

The Chancellor granted a faculty for (a) the removal of six rows of pews and (b) new flooring, as Phase 1 of proposals to create some consistency in floor levels and provide more circulation space at the west end of the church.

The petitioner wished to purchase and install at his own expense a new Second World War Memorial of the same design as, and to replace, the existing memorial plaque fixed to the wooden side of the lychgate at the churchyard. The plaque was made of moulded metal and it gave the name of the Petitioner's cousin as "Pat Collins". The petitioner stated, and produced evidence to show, that his cousin's proper name was Kenneth Lawrence Collins (though his nickname was "Pat") and that Kenneth had been the resident from Wychbold who had died in the Second World War. The Deputy Chancellor determined that, as the memorial was a public record, it ought to show the correct name. He therefore granted a faculty permitting an amendment to the existing memorial, if possible, failing which the memorial could be replaced with a replica showing the petitioner's cousin's name as "Kenneth L. Collins".

There was an application for a faculty to authorise a polished green granite memorial, including an etching of a rose picked out in blue. The Chancellor refused to grant a faculty on the grounds that some features of the proposed memorial were outside the churchyards regulations and no good reason had been advanced for allowing an exception.

The Chancellor had previously refused permission for a polished green granite memorial stone. The petitioner had responded with a letter expressing disappointment at the Chancellor's decision. This judgment contains the Chancellor's reasons for his decision to refuse permission for the type of stone requested.

The petitioner wished to reserve a grave space in the churchyard next to the grave of her father. Several of her relatives were buried in the churchyard. The petitioner did not live in the parish, but in another parish in the same benefice, and she was not on the church electoral roll. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) had had a policy for at least 15 years of not supporting applications for the reservation of graves, as a result of which several letters of objection from parishioners were received in response to this application. The Chancellor determined that the PCC's policy was not unreasonable, and he could find no sufficient grounds to go against the policy. He therefore refused to grant a faculty.

Failure to observe condition in a Faculty. Movement in southwest wall of church, ground investigation by two boreholes; injection of resin material to stabilise the ground and the wall proposed in 2020; Petition submitted in May 2022, granted subject to condition requiring archaeological watching brief (“Condition”); trench dug outside west wall, 350mm wide and 700mm deep; no archaeological watching brief commissioned; confusion as to process required for this, but accepted that Condition had not been satisfied; aggravating and mitigating features considered; Petitioners and Diocesan Board of Finance each ordered to pay 50% of costs of judgment.