Historic Churches 2023

18 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON H ISTOR I C CHURCHE S 30th ANNUAL ED ITION nations of the UK. This article will focus on England which has both the greatest number of listed church buildings and the greatest variety of systems within the exemption. The table on page 17 summarises the legislation and highlights some of the key differences in each of the home nations. The last treatment of the Ecclesiastical Exemption in these pages was by Richard Morrice in 2009. While still largely relevant, that article was written before publication of the current legislation, the Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (England) Order 2010 . The order was accompanied by published guidance ( The Operation of the Ecclesiastical Exemption and Related Planning Matters for Places of Worship in England, 2010 ) and together these form the legal foundation and benchmark for the operation of the system. The guidance states that any procedures under the exemption ‘must be as stringent as the procedures required under the secular heritage protection system’. This equivalence of protection is seen as a key principle and the guidance notes that this will be kept under review by the DCMS to ensure that appropriate standards of protection are maintained. In England, the exemption covers five denominations; the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, and churches within the Baptist Union. A variety of other places of worship are or can fall under the exemption. For example, two Church of Scotland churches in London are included and many Oxbridge College Chapels have opted into the system; it should also be noted that the United Reformed Church in Wales has opted out of the exemption there. The exemption is from listed building consent only: planning permission requirements and Building Regulations apply for certain works to all ecclesiastical buildings wherever they are in the UK. The local authority is a statutory consultee, along with Historic England and the six national amenity societies, to ensure openness and transparency. The Church of England has by far the greatest number of listed churches (some 12,300) and those are skewed towards the higher grades of listing: of all Grade I listed buildings, 45 per cent are Anglican churches. As a result, the Church of England’s Faculty Jurisdiction is the most developed system under the exemption. This article therefore focuses on this system, though it is important always to recognise the distinction between the overall legislative umbrella of the exemption and the specific systems developed by each denomination, of which the faculty system is but one.1 Some of the exemption systems in England are regionally structured – necessarily in the case of the Church of England, given its larger scale. The regional administrative structures are dioceses in the Church of England, synods in the United Reformed Church, and dioceses or groups of dioceses in the Roman Catholic system. The Baptist Union and the Methodist Church each has a single central Listed Buildings Advisory Committee (LBAC). The Church of England has an additional central body, the Church Buildings Council (the CBC) which undertakes casework and sets policy. Unsurprisingly there are many continuities between the systems, but also significant differences, including who makes the decisions: it’s the advisory committee in the Baptist system and the historic churches committee in the Catholic system, but separate parties in the other denominations. The Methodists are unique in having a single central connexional conservation officer, whose recommendation goes to the Methodist Council, the ultimate decision-making body. Each system also has an appeals process, again with differences, including who can appeal. THE OPERATION OF THE FACULTY SYSTEM One key differentiator of the Anglican system is its legal nature, being built on the centuries-old faculty system. The primary legislation, The Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018 , requires each diocese to establish a consistory court, presided over by a judge, known as the chancellor. Each diocese must also appoint a Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC); the role of DAC secretary is an important one, being the principal point of contact for churches navigating the system. A DAC must combine areas of specialist knowledge, including knowledge of the development and use of church buildings, of liturgy and worship, of architecture and archaeology and of the care of historic buildings and their contents. As a result, DACs (and equivalent bodies in other exempt denominations) bring together a far wider range of specialist skills than is available within the secular system and form an invaluable source of pro bono expert advice. The 2018 Measure is framed with the following ‘general duty’: A person carrying out functions of care and conservation under this Measure, or Carbon reduction measures: above, underfloor heating being installed at St Mary’s, Ely in 2022 enabled the use of air-source heat pumps; and right, photovoltaic panels installed behind parapets of the south transept at St Vigor’s, Fulbourn.