What’s the case about?
Mrs Schroder, who described herself as ‘sole custodian of the Church of the Good Shepherd’ a non-traditional Catholic Church, died in 2008. Mrs Schroder’s husband had been the head of the Church of the Good Shepherd from 1968 until his death in 1985. At one time there had been a few thousand members but by 2008 only a handful remained. From 1975 onwards the Church had leased the former Agapemonite Church in Rookwood Road as its place of worship. The doors to the building at Rookwood Road were closed at the time of Mrs Schroder’s death and by 2010 it had been leased to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Mrs Schroder’s will, which was written in 1975, left the residue of her estate ‘to the Trustees of the Ancient Catholic Church known as the Church of the Good Shepherd, at present meeting at Rookwood Road, London’.
The value of Mrs Schroder’s gift to the Church of the Good Shepherd was around £500,000, but there were a number of questions as to whether the gift was valid. If not valid, the money would pass to others who stood to benefit from the will under the intestacy rules, including Mrs Bultitude, the defendant in the case.
Where is it on the map?
At point V.
Who won?
Mrs Bultitude. The High Court held that Mrs Schroder’s gift was dependent on the Church of the Good Shepherd continuing to exist. The Church no longer existed and therefore the gift failed and the money would pass to Mrs Bultitude and others under the intestacy rules.
What’s the principle of law?
It was accepted by all parties that the Church of the Good Shepherd was a charitable organisation. For some background on when a religious organisation will be considered charitable, take a look at Gilmour v Coats and Neville v Madden, which also feature on the London Law Map.
Special rules apply when a gift to a charity fails because the charity no longer exists. If the Church of the Good Shepherd continued to exist after Mrs Schroder's death then the court could use the doctrine of cy-près (legal French for ‘close to’) to apply the money to a charity that most closely reflected the work of the church.
If the Church of the Good Shepherd had already ceased to exist when the gift was made, the money could still be applied cy-près – providing Mrs Schroder’s will showed a ‘general charitable intention’.
The court held that by 2008 Mrs Schroder had become essential to the church’s activities: when she went on holiday, the building would be locked and there would be no services. After Mrs Schroder died the members went their separate ways and no longer came together as a congregation.
For these reasons the court held that the Church ceased to exist on Mrs Schroder’s death and the money could only be applied cy-près if her will showed a ‘general charitable intention’ - such as gifts to other charities. The Court decided that Mrs Schroder’s will did not show such an intention and therefore the gift failed.
What’s it like today?
Mrs Schroder, who described herself as ‘sole custodian of the Church of the Good Shepherd’ a non-traditional Catholic Church, died in 2008. Mrs Schroder’s husband had been the head of the Church of the Good Shepherd from 1968 until his death in 1985. At one time there had been a few thousand members but by 2008 only a handful remained. From 1975 onwards the Church had leased the former Agapemonite Church in Rookwood Road as its place of worship. The doors to the building at Rookwood Road were closed at the time of Mrs Schroder’s death and by 2010 it had been leased to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Mrs Schroder’s will, which was written in 1975, left the residue of her estate ‘to the Trustees of the Ancient Catholic Church known as the Church of the Good Shepherd, at present meeting at Rookwood Road, London’.
The value of Mrs Schroder’s gift to the Church of the Good Shepherd was around £500,000, but there were a number of questions as to whether the gift was valid. If not valid, the money would pass to others who stood to benefit from the will under the intestacy rules, including Mrs Bultitude, the defendant in the case.
Where is it on the map?
At point V.
Who won?
Mrs Bultitude. The High Court held that Mrs Schroder’s gift was dependent on the Church of the Good Shepherd continuing to exist. The Church no longer existed and therefore the gift failed and the money would pass to Mrs Bultitude and others under the intestacy rules.
What’s the principle of law?
It was accepted by all parties that the Church of the Good Shepherd was a charitable organisation. For some background on when a religious organisation will be considered charitable, take a look at Gilmour v Coats and Neville v Madden, which also feature on the London Law Map.
Special rules apply when a gift to a charity fails because the charity no longer exists. If the Church of the Good Shepherd continued to exist after Mrs Schroder's death then the court could use the doctrine of cy-près (legal French for ‘close to’) to apply the money to a charity that most closely reflected the work of the church.
If the Church of the Good Shepherd had already ceased to exist when the gift was made, the money could still be applied cy-près – providing Mrs Schroder’s will showed a ‘general charitable intention’.
The court held that by 2008 Mrs Schroder had become essential to the church’s activities: when she went on holiday, the building would be locked and there would be no services. After Mrs Schroder died the members went their separate ways and no longer came together as a congregation.
For these reasons the court held that the Church ceased to exist on Mrs Schroder’s death and the money could only be applied cy-près if her will showed a ‘general charitable intention’ - such as gifts to other charities. The Court decided that Mrs Schroder’s will did not show such an intention and therefore the gift failed.
What’s it like today?
The building at
Rookwood Road is now home to the Georgian Orthodox Church. I visited during Sunday Mass. The congregation were very welcoming and happy for me to take photos.
The building has a fascinating history, having been built for the Agappemonite sect, led by J H Smyth-Pigott, the "Clapton Messiah". One of the best features of the building are the stained glass windows designed by Walter Crane, a contemporary of William Morris. This one has a pomegranate design:
The
church is Grade 2* listed, and you can read a detailed description of it on the English
Heritage website.
No comments:
Post a Comment