The vicar and churchwardens, with the unanimous support of the PCC, sought a faculty for a major re-ordering of the Grade II* listed church. There was general agreement between the PCC, the DAC and the amenity societies on the scope of much of the proposed re-ordering. However, the Church Buildings Council and English Heritage opposed the removal of pews and their base platforms from the nave and their replacement with chairs. The pews were late Victorian but incorporated the doors from Georgian pews re-used as pew-ends. These were of historical significance. The petitioners proposed not to dispose of the pew ends but to re-use them in a re-built west-end gallery. The chancellor noted that the question of the removal of the pews needed to be resolved first, as the scheme for the rest of the building would need to be different if the pews were not to be replaced. He accepted that the full, final costing of the scheme could not be presented, as it would be disproportionate to produce two fully costed alternative schemes.

The chancellor reviewed the law on re-ordering, including the question of necessity, citing Re St Helen, Bishopsgate, Re St Mary the Virgin, Sherborne, Re St John the Evangelist, Blackheath and Re All Saints, Burbage.Footnote ⁵ He noted that the worshipping community wholeheartedly supported the proposal and that the local community voiced no opposition. The chancellor found that, while the removal of the pews would adversely affect the character of the building, the effect would only be of marginal significance and be mitigated by the proposed re-siting of the pews in the gallery. A faculty was granted. [WA]