THE SALE OF TREASURES
This guidance note is written in the light of the cases considered by the Church Buildings Council (CBC) regarding advice on petitions for the disposal of 'treasures' (an omnibus term intending to cover plate, furniture and works of art of historical importance). The paper outlines some of the issues involved, and provides criteria for future consideration of cases by the CBC and DACs.
Law
The jurisdiction of the consistory courts covers all 'articles appertaining to a church'. Sale may therefore only proceed under the authority of a faculty, with the consent of the parishioners, expressed through a resolution of the PCC. The courts are guided by judicial precedent, summarised as follows:
a) The jurisdiction of the consistory court to permit sale is to be sparingly exercised. Cases should be heard in open court with the archdeacon entering appearance to put the petitioners to proof of their case.
b) The petitioners must prove a good and sufficient reason for the sale, which may be coupled with the redundancy of the object in question. The court may take account of any special character of the ministry of the church in question.
c) Where the treasure is part of the fabric of the building, the petitioners must prove a necessity for change, particularly if the change would adversely affect the character of the building as one of special architectural and historic interest.
d) Limited insurance cover is not accepted as a sufficient reason for disposal: any loss would be that of a treasured possession, not one measured in financial terms.
e) Items given to the church are 'not lightly alienated'. Respect is due to the intention of the donor, in so far as they can be ascertained or inferred, but they cannot make a gift inalienable; some special reason is required if goods given to be used as such are to be converted into money, and the courts will broadly follow the cy-pres principle, possibly requiring that preference is given to local rather than wider interests.
f) The risk of flooding the market might be a reason for refusing to grant a petition.
Factors to be considered by DACs and the CBC
The CBC has agreed that its advice on the sale of treasures should take account of the issues set out below. DACs may wish to follow a similar approach, and the Ecclesiastical Judges Association has requested that these criteria should be published as widely as possible so that those involved in 'treasure' cases will understand the approaches adopted.
a) The historic interest of the object. This must be an important element in the advice of DACs and the CBC.
b) The provenance of the item. This involves archival research, as well as examining the object for inscriptions etc. The parish must also research the item in its own records, but occasionally searches are not as thorough as they should be. The CBC has generally advised against the sale of items given in living memory.
c) The relationship of the item to the history of the church, its liturgy and furnishings as a whole. The CBC has generally advised against the sale of objects which have a close association with the history, furnishings and liturgy of the church (such as historic plate). On the other hand it has sometimes agreed not to oppose the sale of items such as paintings that have not been used devotionally (perhaps arriving from the local house when fashions in art change), which do not contribute to the overall decoration and furnishings of a church, and the removal of which would be a benefit to the architecture.
d) Redundancy of the object. This is a difficult area, particularly with regard to plate. A parish might claim, for instance, that a flagon is redundant, where it has not been used in living memory, and congregations are small. The option of deposit in a cathedral treasury is not always attractive: treasuries are sometimes full, and an object may not be on show. Deposit in a treasury many miles away does nothing to help fund-raising efforts. On the other hand, the Council has resisted claims that, for instance, historic communion cups are redundant because other plate has been purchased subsequently.
e) Security issues. The Council, following the legal guidelines, has generally not accepted security concerns as a valid reason for disposal. Often, the security of items such as paintings can be enhanced without great expenditure. However, in a very few cases, where security is but one element in a case that is otherwise persuasive, the Council has offered no objection. Similarly on the question of insurance, the Council has stood by the resolution passed by the General Synod in debate on the CBC's report Treasures on Earth that treasures should be insured only for the cost of a modern replacement.
f) Conservation. The need for expensive conservation work is often given as a reason for sale. However, grants are often available, including from the funds administered by the CBC.
g) The parish's case. Since the requirement for a 'special reason' for sale is often interpreted as the need for some kind of financial emergency relating to the state of the building, the Council has generally advised against petitions where the sale would not make an appreciable difference to the parish's fund raising.
April 2004 & June 2008
