Church

This section deals with churches which are in active use and remain open for public worship. Churches which have been declared redundant and closed for the purposes of public worship are dealt with under ‘Closed Churches’.

Churches and churchyards are the property of the incumbent (Rector, Vicar or Team Rector) of the benefice. There is no generic statutory basis for this proposition, though for churches built on land acquired since 1943 the statutory provision may be found in the New Parishes Measure 1943, now repealed and replaced by Part 3 of the Church Property Measure 2018, specifically section 32(1).

The PCC shares with the incumbent the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the fabric of the church and churchyard by virtue of s4 of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956.

Churches and churchyards are subject to the faculty jurisdiction, governed by the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018, and the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015 (as amended). Much work to keep churches and churchyards in repair may be undertaken either without any formal permission (works mentioned in List A) or with the permission of the Archdeacon (List B). However for works or proposals which do not fall within those Lists, a faculty will be required to authorise the works.

The grant of any rights over the churchyard or the church itself will also require a faculty.

The incumbent and PCC may not sell or otherwise permanently dispose of the church or churchyard except as authorised by s68 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011, which allows a lease of part only of the property to be granted provided that the primary use of the church remains public worship. A lease or other permitted disposition, such as the grant of an easement, imposition of covenants or the grant of a licence over the churchyard property may not be granted unless a faculty authorising the deed or agreement has first been granted by the diocesan Chancellor.

Leases of parts of church buildings or churchyards do not attract security of tenure in favour of the tenant, this being excluded by s68(9) of the 2011 Measure, provided that a faculty has been granted to authorise the lease.

In relation to any disposition, such as a lease or licence, the Chancellor will normally wish to be satisfied that the terms are the best reasonably obtainable. This will normally be confirmed by written advice from a surveyor or other designated advisor applying the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 as amended by the Charities Act 2022. The Chancellor will also wish to see a PCC resolution approving the proposed disposition, and will want to be satisfied that the incumbent and PCC have taken legal advice on the terms of any lease or other deed or licence.

One particular type of licence is that for the installation and use of telecommunications antennae, often in the tower or spire of a church. Note that this type of installation may be subject to the provisions of the Electronic Communications Code (see Sch 3A to the Communications Act 2003 and Sch 1 to the Digital Economy Act 2017 ) which affects licence fees on any review, and may also possibly confer a type of security of tenure on the licensee if they are a ‘Code Operator’ registered with Ofcom.

In London other common licences are those for:

• scaffolding to be erected on church property to enable maintenance or development work on neighbouring property;
• filming on church property for documentary or fictional programmes 

These licences are generally granted under delegated authority from the Chancellor, but it is important to ensure that the parish concerned derives the best value reasonably available for these licences, and parishes should be encouraged to take advice on valuation issues.

Clergy should be aware of the provisions of Canons F15 and F16 when considering licences for filming, in particular that the church should not be profaned.  In relation to a script for filming proposed at a London church in July 2023 the Chancellor commented:

“There is no objection in principle to scenes of violence being portrayed in a church when the church is being used effectively as a ‘prop’ to tell a particular story. Shakespeare and Murder in the Cathedral spring to mind. There are, however, some constraints based on the fact that parts of a church are extremely important sacramentally to worshippers who are likely to have had intense moments of religious experience within the church which may make them justifiably sensitive to seeing what may appear to them to their church being despoiled. Where that is clearly possible or even likely, the balance struck will need to be weighting the importance and purpose of the drama, its quality and the overall effect of what is being shown and asking the question of whether the importance (artistically and morally) of the production justifies the depiction of scenes that normally would not be allowed inside a sacred place.

If the producers wanted to film an exterior of the church and create an interior in a studio I would think that this should be possible. Attacks on and inside churches have been very important parts of some stories – there are a number of films about the assassination of Heydrich and the siege of the assassins thereafter as one prime example. I think it was most recently filmed in St Cyril and Methodius Church in Prague. That would seem to me to a very important story which would justify use of a church interior even showing acts of violence. But although I understand that the stories of gangs in London is also important, the parts of the script I have seen do not seem to require filming in an actual church and run the risk of upsetting worshippers as being sensationalist or gratuitous in nature. This is not to insult the integrity of the author or producers of the film but an answer to whether this part of the film must necessarily be shot in an actual church containing images that worshippers there might find very distressing.”