Church building repairs: legal considerations

The repair of church buildings is a complex issue involving the expertise of a wide range of professionals from architects to stonemasons, upon whose sometimes conflicting advice the consistory courts must make a judgement on the option most appropriate to the circumstances of the local church and its community.  Whilst the issue of chancel repair liability receives a significant degree of attention, the deliberations of the courts on the practical issues relating to the repairs themselves are less frequently reported.

This post considers two different aspects of this issue: the choice and sourcing of a stone suitable for external structural repairs to a thirteenth century Grade 1 listed church; and deciding between repairs directed at the conservation and those involved in the restoration of specific features of a twelfth century Grade 1 church. Continue reading