Faculty Applications

A faculty is required for all repairs, maintenance and changes to a church or its contents, with two exceptions: experimental re-ordering can be carried out under Archdeacon's Licence (valid for up to 15 months), and some minor items (on the de minimis list) do not require a faculty.

Generally, applications for a faculty are made by the incumbent and church-wardens on behalf of the PCC.  Private petitions are allowed as well, typically for gravestones or monuments.

The decision to grant a faculty is made by the Chancellor of the Diocese, or in some more routine cases by the Archdeacons, acting on the advice of the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches (DAC). Applications should be made in the first instance through the DAC Secretary, except for grave space reservation and exhumations, which should be referred direct to the Registrar.

The cost of a faculty is met by the Diocese, except for private petitions and those made by a parish retrospectively, i.e. to seek permission for works already carried out.

Further details are contained within the Diocesan Handbook, with further information held by all parish priests and all parishes.

You should not begin any works or enter into any arrangements for which you are seeking a faculty until you receive the faculty itself from the registrar.

For more information please contact Sue Thorold, DAC Secretary on 01872 247216 or click here to send an email. Please make sure you select Church Property Matters from the drop down menu in the contact email form.

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