The petition sought authority for the introduction of a monument in the shape of an open book, a design which could not be permitted in the exercise of the incumbent's delegated authority under the diocesan churchyard regulations. The chancellor held that the presence of other examples of such monuments in the vicinity which had been unlawfully introduced could not legitimate the application. However, accepting that the desire of the deceased to have a monument similar in design to that of his late mother (which also took the form of an open book) amounted to ‘an exceptional pastoral case’, he indicated that he would be prepared to allow the petition, provided that certain modifications were made to other aspects of the design of the proposed monument. [Alexander McGregor]