Gilmour v Coats [1949] AC 426

What’s the case about?

Evelyn Coats and George Bellows set aside £500 to donate to charity.  Their preference was for the money to go to the Carmelite Priory in Notting Hill.  The Priory was (and still is) a closed order of nuns.  The law was unclear as to whether a closed religious order could be considered charitable.  In order to test the law, Coats and Bellows made a written declaration stating that the money should go to the Priory only if the organisation was found to be charitable.  If the Priory was found not to be a charitable organisation, the money would go to the Converts’ Aid Society instead.  Therefore, in order to ‘claim’ the £500, the Priory had to convince the court that it should be considered a charitable organisation.

Where is it on the map?

At point U.

Who won?

Nobody ‘won’ as such, but the court held that the Carmelite Priory was not a charitable organisation - and so the £500 went to the Converts’ Aid Society. 

What’s the principle of law?

Charitable gifts enjoy a number of advantages over non-charitable gifts, such as tax advantages.  The price for these advantages is that the courts (and the Charity Commission) will intervene to ensure that only gifts and organisations that are truly charitable receive these benefits.

It is possible for a religious organisation to be charitable, but the organisation must provide some benefit to the public, rather than just the members of the organisation.  In the present case, the Carmelite Priory was a closed order of nuns.  The nuns did not take part in any works outside of the convent, and neither could the public join them inside the convent.  

Counsel for the nuns stated that they provided a public benefit as they prayed for the world and provided an example of sacrifice and religious contemplation.  The court would not be drawn on whether the nuns’ prayers or their actions were of benefit to the public, but stated that they were ‘manifestly not susceptible of proof’.  In the absence of any provable benefits, the order could not be considered charitable.

What’s it like today?

The Priory is still there, on St Charles’ Square in Notting Hill.  It’s also still closed to the public.  The courtyard is accessible to the public but it is not possible to enter the main buildings, or the gardens (visible from Google Maps).   I went into the courtyard, and spoke to one of the nuns.  She was friendly and explained that it was OK to take photos of the courtyard, but that visitors could not enter any further.  

There is a plaque in memory of the Prioress, Mother Mary of Jesus, in the chapel porch.

One thing that has changed since Gilmour v Coats is that the Priory now has a website, where it is possible to contact the nuns with a prayer request, and see pictures of the private areas: http://carmelitesnottinghill.org.uk/

Important

The nun I spoke to was very kind to let me take photos, but please note that this is a place of worship and is not open to the public.