Aston Cantlow v Wallbank – Lecture by Mark Hill KC on 4 Sep 2023

July 26, 2023

Aston Law School is hosting a lecture by Prof Mark Hill KC on the very significant ecclesiastical case of Aston Cantlow v Wallbank. We are advertising this lecture as being of interest to our members, but all queries about the event should be directed to Aston Law School via the contact details below. As you will see, registration is required by 25 August:

We now have the opportunity to explore the case of Aston Cantlow v Wallbank in greater detail in the church itself which was the setting for a dispute over chancel repair liability, raising questions of property law, ecclesiastical law, legal history and of the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force during the litigation. This was a rare case where the five judges in the final court of appeal, the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords (this being before the creation of its successor, the UK Supreme Court) all gave separate opinions, with varying reflections on the legal nature of the Church of England, pointing towards questions for any debate on disestablishment. The case affected conveyancing and insurance. We will see how for ourselves how it affected the church.

Junior counsel for the Parochial Church Council was Mark Hill, now King’s Counsel, the leading ecclesiastical lawyer who was born in Birmingham and went to school in Solihull.

He is kindly returning to give a lecture on the case, in the church itself, on the afternoon of Monday 4 September 2023, preceded by an introductory talk and tour of the church by John Martin, and followed by reflections and responses from a panel and questions from the floor.

The afternoon is free but space is limited so places will be allocated on a first come, first reserved, basis. So if you would like to attend, please register your interest with Professor Simon Lee via s.lee19@aston.ac.uk by Friday 25 August.

The parish church of St John the Baptist, Aston Cantlow is some three miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Monday, 4 September 2023
2.30pm Welcome, introduction to the church and tour by John Martin
3.30 Mark Hill KC lecture
4.30 Respondents
5.15 Open Q&A, chaired by Simon Lee, Aston University
5.45 Conclusions led by Mark Hill KC
6-6.45 Reception

Kind regards,
Aston Law School