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Re All Saints, Herstmonceaux

Chichester Consistory Court: Hill Ch, April 2012 Churchyard – headstone – regulations – Celtic cross

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2012

Ruth Arlow
Affiliation:
Barrister, Deputy Chancellor of the Dioceses of Chichester and Norwich
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Abstract

Type
Case Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2012

The petitioner sought a faculty for the erection of a headstone over the grave of her mother. The headstone fell outside the Churchyard Regulations in that it was surmounted by a carved Celtic cross. The PCC objected to the headstone on the basis that it was out of keeping with nearby headstones and it risked the floodgates opening in relation to other applications. In granting the faculty, the chancellor observed that the stone was not of a design or material that was wholly inappropriate. The Celtic cross spoke of the deceased's Welsh heritage and the Christian faith. The purpose of the Regulations was not to promote uniformity and homogeneity. The chancellor confirmed that this judgment was made on the particular facts of this case and should not be seen as opening the floodgates for such headstones. [RA]