Some 12 parishioners and the Victorian Society objected to proposals for re-ordering this Grade I listed church. The proposals included the removal of pews and alterations to widen the openings in, and remove parts of, a stone dwarf wall with railings separating the chancel and other parts of the east end of the church from the nave. The Victorian Society objected to the proposal to remove parts of the wall, which they said would cause significant harm to the building and seriously erode the character of the east end. Historic England was opposed to aspects of the proposals relating to the wall, accepting only the widening of the central opening into the chancel. The Church Buildings Council accepted the modifications to the opening of the wall into the chancel but was opposed to the removal of other parts. Most of the letters of objection from parishioners raised objections to the proposals relating to the wall.
The deputy chancellor accepted that the proposals relating to the wall and railings would result in harm to the significance of the church but she did not consider it to be serious harm, given the relatively recent introduction of this feature into the church in 1885, the fact that it did not consist of a single continuous design, the fact that the proposals involved the alteration and removal of only parts of the wall and the fact that it was not a rare example of its kind. The public benefit that would result from creating a greater opening between the nave and chancel, enabling the introduction of arrangements for a nave altar, and the opening up of the view of an important tomb where part of the wall was to be removed, outweighed the harm. Other aspects of the proposals were held not to be harmful, or to involve only very modest harm, to the character of the church and were permitted. [Alexander McGregor]
