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Re St Mary, Purton

Bristol Consistory Court: Gau Ch, 14 August 2012 Pews – necessity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2012

Ruth Arlow*
Affiliation:
Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich
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Abstract

Type
Case Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2013

The petitioners sought a faculty for, inter alia, the permanent removal and disposal of two pews at the front of the nave to create a flexible space for the music group, performances and other liturgical uses. The pews had already been removed under an archdeacon's temporary licence and the petitioners wished to make the change permanent. Twelve parishioners raised objections to the removal on the basis that the change was unnecessary. The chancellor made a without notice site visit where he attended Sunday services and held discussions with the priest-in-charge and churchwardens. The chancellor refused to grant the faculty as sought on the basis that the grounds of necessity had not been made out. Any flexibility needed could be achieved by making the pews removable in order that they could be moved when required. The chancellor was prepared to grant a faculty in those terms should the petitioners wish to pursue that course. [RA]