Closed Churches and Churchyards

A church may be closed formally for regular public worship under the provisions of Part 6 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 . The closure will normally be the result of dwindling congregations, but occasionally flows from a requirement for significant repairs to the building which may be disproportionate to its heritage value or the use being made of it.

Closure is effected by a Scheme made by the Church Commissioners.

The consequences of formal closure of the church building to regular public worship are;

• The church building ceases to belong to the incumbent and is normally vested in the Church Commissioners for sale or in the Diocesan Board of Finance (or London Diocesan Fund in London). If vested in the Commissioners for sale, or in the DBF/LDF for retention, the Scheme operates to vest the church, and should be registered at the Land Registry. No fee is payable on registration. The Scheme may make provision for the permitted future uses to which the building may be put, and if different uses are proposed a revised scheme may need to be sought.
• If the building is sold, the proceeds will normally belong as to one third to the Church Commissioners (for the Churches Conservation Trust) and as to the remaining two thirds for the Diocesan Board of Finance, in accordance with the statutory provisions in s64 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011.
• The legal effects of consecration cease to apply to the building.
• The building cannot be used for regular church services or for occasional offices such as baptisms, marriages and funerals, though a limited number of services may be possible by agreement with the Bishop.
• The faculty jurisdiction ceases to apply to the building. If the building is a listed building this means that it will then be under the listed buildings jurisdiction, which may give the local authority power to require that repairs be undertaken.
• The surrounding churchyard continues to be the property of the incumbent, continues to be consecrated ground, and continues to be subject to the faculty jurisdiction. The closure Scheme normally reserves a right of way over the churchyard to and from the former church building. Interments can continue to take place in the churchyard, unless it has been closed to burials under different legislation, s1 of the Burial Act 1853 .

CLOSED CHURCHYARDS

When a churchyard is full and there is no room for further interments, or this is about to be the case, the PCC may apply for the churchyard to be closed to further burials. Before doing so the PCC should consider the other options available to it:

• Re-use areas in the churchyard, particularly where burials have not taken place for 100 years or more and there are no extant memorials present.
• Acquire an extension area, ideally adjacent to the existing churchyard or close by.

If no other option appears suitable, and the PCC wishes to have the churchyard declared closed to future burials, an application may be made for this to the Ministry of Justice using the Application Form available online, which includes guidance notes on the consultations which should be undertaken. Once the churchyard has been closed to future burials no further burials may take place there unless a grave space had been reserved prior to the closure and this was noted in the closure order.

The interment of cremated remains may be permitted either in the closure order itself, or by the grant of a faculty for this purpose. Following the closure of the churchyard to new burials, the PCC may wish to transfer responsibility for maintenance of the churchyard to the local authority. In the first instance this will be the parish or town council, but in urban areas the responsibility may be transferred directly to the district or unitary authority. Responsibility is transferred by service of a notice under s215 of the Local Government Act 1972. 

In the case of a notice served on a parish or town council, they may within three months elect to pass the responsibility up to their district council. PCCs should consult with the relevant local authority before transferring responsibility for maintenance and repairs, and should note that the local authority may maintain the churchyard to a different standard than the PCC’s previous practice.