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

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The Faculty Petition requested authority for a major re-ordering, to include moving the middle section of the rood screen and replacing of all the pews with stacking chairs. Faculty refused for moving the middle section of the rood screen, but Faculty granted for all other works, including the replacement of the pews with chairs. Although there were several objections, and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Victorian Society were parties opponent, the Chancellor was able to determine the matter by written representations.

Various items of reordering were proposed, including the replacement of the pews and pew platforms with high quality pew benches and a new stone floor with under-floor heating. The Victorian Society objected to the removal of the red and black machine made quarry tiles in the central aisle. There were also reservations from consultees regarding whether the ledger memorial stones in the nave floor should remain where they were, as part of the new scheme, or be moved elsewhere. The Chancellor granted a faculty for all the works, including the removal of the Victorian quarry tiles, subject, to the ledger stones remaining in their pre-reordering positions.

Church Bells; proposal to remodel three existing bells and introduce five new bells; melting down Lester & Pack bell, to cast new bells; storage and display of four Catlin bells; existing late fourteenth century tower contains nine bells, eight for ringing and one clock bell; the ringing bells have stood as a set since 1760 and considered to be of moderate significance; Duffield principles (Re St Alkmund, Duffield [2013] Fam 158) and Code of Practice in Conservation and Repair of Bells and Bellframes published by the Council for the Care of Churches considered; existing bells difficult to ring and giving poor sound; proposal would make ringing easier and more tuneful; some harm would be occasioned by the loss of the Lester & Pack bell, but this would be offset by the improvement in the sound of the new set of bells; faculty granted subject to condition that a record, including a sound recording, be made of the existing bells before work commences.

 

A faculty was sought for the disposal of: 4 short free-standing modem oak pews (circa 1967); 3 desks; a portable altar and communion rail;  2 old 'Glastonbury' style sanctuary chairs; a wooden cross; 2 wooden candlesticks; 11 standards and their metal wall fixings. The Diocesan Advisory Committe and the Church Buildings Council both supported the disposals. The Chancellor decided that none of the items was a "church treasure", which would justify him in holding a formal hearing. Faculty granted.

The Rector and Churchwardens sought permission to remove two pews from the front of the nave, to create a larger performance area, and four pews from the back of the nave, to provide a children's area. The proposals had been trialled under an archdeacon's licence for temporary reordering. After the period of the licence expired, the reordering remained in place without lawful authority. The petitioners also wished to replace the pews with chairs with blue upholstery, which had already been purchased. The Chancellor granted a faculty for twelve blue upholstered chairs to replace the front two rows of pews only. He indicated that if a further faculty was sought for more blue upholstered chairs, he would not be minded to grant one unless a more suitable colour was chosen and the existing chairs were reupholstered in the same colour.

Faculty granted for removal of Victorian choir stalls and replacement with light oak, upholstered choir pews, which would have the flexibility to be used for services in the chancel for small congregations.

The Parochial Church Council wished to install solar panels on the roofs of the south nave and the south aisle of the Grade II* listed church. The Chancellor granted a faculty, being satisfied that views of the proposed panels would be extremely restricted due to the shallow slopes of the roofs behind a parapet and also tree cover. The Chancellor stated that the Church of England’s target of ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2030 and the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission, which included ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’ were factors to be taken into consideration in determining the petition. He commended the parish for "their vision and commitment to the goal of ‘net zero’".

Five yew trees, a conifer and a holly had been felled without the authority of a faculty. There had been an application for a faculty using the Online Faculty System. The petitioner (a churchwarden) had taken the approval of the Diocesan Advisory Committee to mean that a faculty would be granted. By the time the Chancellor visited the churchyard to inspect the trees, the trees had been removed. The Chancellor granted a confirmatory faculty, subject to a condition that
new native trees should be planted in the churchyard.

The Parochial Church Council wished to replace the stolen lead flashings from the church roof with Ubiflex, a material made up of reinforced aluminium mesh and a mixture of non-metallic materials. The church had a history of four lead thefts, and in 2011 the local authority had given planning permission to allow the roof to be recovered with stainless steel, though the lead flashings had been left. The PCC was financially unable to afford to replace the lead flashings with lead or steel. As a temporary expedient to preserve the fabric of the church, the Chancellor agreed to the use of Ubiflex, but required the PCC within 4 years to submit to the Registry a report on fund-raising to provide for a much longer lasting solution.

The Parochial Church Council had engaged a “decorative stone & plaster conservator” to carry out restoration work to the painting of the Royal Coat of Arms over the chancel arch of the church, without consulting the Diocesan Advisory Committee or obtaining a faculty. They subsequently realised that they should have obtained a faculty and made an application. The Chancellor, "with some hesitation", granted a confirmatory faculty. 

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