The church rate was a tax formerly levied in each parish in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
for the benefit of the
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
. The rates were used to meet the costs of carrying on divine service, repairing the fabric of the church and paying the salaries of the connected officials.
Except for a brief period during the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...
in the 17th century, the raising of Church Rates has never been confirmed by statute. It was always a matter of 'Common Law'. The compulsory levying of the church rate was abolished by statute in 1868; however, it remains on a voluntary basis in many parishes.
Chancel repair liability
Chancel repair liability is a legal obligation on some property owners in England and Wales to pay for certain repairs to a church which may or may not be the local parish church.
Where people own property within land that was once rectorial (par ...
in England however remains enforceable by law.
History
The church rates were set by the
churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
s together with the parishioners, who were duly assembled after proper notice had been posted in the church vestry or the church. The rates thus set were recoverable in the
ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...
, or, if the arrears did not exceed £10 and no questions were raised as to the legal liability, before two
justices of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
.
Any payment made out of the rate which was not strictly recognised by law destroyed its validity.
The church rate was a personal charge imposed on the occupier of
land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...
or of a house in the parish, and, though it was compulsory, it was often difficult to enforce: especially so in the case of
Nonconformists, who had conscientious objections to supporting the
Established Church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
; in Ireland, where the population was mostly Roman Catholic, the grievance was specially felt and resented.
The objections of the Nonconformists were not only on principle. The
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
received financial support from Parliament, while Nonconformist congregations were entirely dependent on voluntary contributions. They did not want to have to support another parish as well as their own.
Enforcement of the rate was not uniform across the country. Resolutions were passed protesting against the rate, and societies to abolish the rate were formed all over the country. In 1836 at a public meeting in London, a central committee, the Church Rate Abolition Society, was formed to co-ordinate the efforts of local abolitionist Societies.
In 1837, Parliament made two concessions to the Nonconformists: a more acceptable
marriage ceremony
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
, and the
civil registration of births, deaths and marriages. However, the parish rate remained compulsory until 1868. The Whig leader in the House of Commons,
Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...
, supported the rate but in 1856 ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' called the government's attention to what the editor believed was a civil war raging throughout the country on the church rate question.
In 1868, the
Compulsory Church Rate Abolition Act was passed. This Act made church rates no longer compulsory, but merely voluntary, with those who were not willing to pay the rate being excluded from inquiring into, objecting to or voting in respect of their expenditure.
Present day
Parochial church councils may continue to levy voluntary rates by virtue of the
.
All Church of England Churches within the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
continue to levy the church rate.
Hampstead Parish Church has documented their procedures for raising a voluntary rate,
by way of good practice.
References
Sources
*
{{Rates in the United Kingdom
Local taxation in England
History of the Church of England
Taxation in Ireland
Rates in the United Kingdom