This twentieth-century, unlisted church had fallen into decline, but was undergoing a revival with a new congregation. To enable new use of the space for informal worship with a mission focus on community engagement, permission was sought for the removal and disposal of the pulpit, the font and stoop, the high altar and tester, the chancel walls, side chapel statues and any altars, statues, lamps, candle stands, lectern, altar rails, vestments etc not required by the new congregation. A temporary licence had already been granted for the use of the side chapels for community uses, including a bicycle repair workshop, and the petitioners now wished to fit temporary screens and doorways to those chapels.
The Victorian Society had particular concerns about the removal of the distinguished lectern and altar rails. The Twentieth Century Society noted that the pulpit was a war memorial fitting, and wished to see its retention. The Diocesan Advisory Committee modified its recommendation to suggest the retention of the lectern and altar rails somewhere in the church.
The court regarded the following factors to be of particular relevance when considering whether to allow the removal of goods, ornaments or other contents:
i. The connection with the church: was the item an original ornament or introduced subsequently?
ii. The source of the item: was it, for example, a specific memorial donation?
iii. The historical or artistic significance of the item, both in relation to the church and generally;
iv. The value of the item;
v. The reason for removal and disposal; and
vi. The proposed means of disposal, whether by loan, sale or gift.
The court noted that the petitioners’ statement of significance did not do full justice to the significance of some of the furnishings, and the inventory did not include information about the provenance or age of most of the items. It was not satisfied that, at present, the removal and disposal of the pulpit, lectern and altar rails were necessary to enable the church's objectives to be achieved. The removal of other items would be permitted, subject to consideration and agreement with the archdeacon of the means of disposal.
The adverse impact of the new screens on the appearance of the church was outweighed by the potential benefits of allowing community use of the available space. The screens were intended to be temporary and, provided that the installation did no irreparable damages to the fabric, would be reversible. Any proposal for permanent screening which would adversely affect the fabric would require a further faculty. [DW]
