Faculty jurisdiction and external signage
The commercial relationship between individual churches and external organizations frequently requires the display of clearly visible signage, often outside the church building. This was the substance of the recently-reported Re St Bartholomew Welby [2017] ECC Lei 1,in which the court considered how a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) might best be acknowledged without compromising the appearance of the Grade II* church.
However, this raises broader issues concerning the display of other external notices such as those relating to the application of forensic marking on roofing – a requirement of some insurance providers. Whilst the legislation is clear, one suspects that many such notices are appended to churches without formal faculty approval.