Wikipedia

Church Commissioners

(Redirected from Third Church Estates Commissioner)

The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836. The Church Commissioners are a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and are liable for the payment of pensions to retired clergy whose pensions were accrued before 1998 (subsequent pensions are the responsibility of the Church of England Pensions Board).

Church Commissioners for England
PredecessorEcclesiastical Commissioners
Queen Anne's Bounty
Formation2 April 1948; 78 years ago (1948-04-02)
Legal statusRegistered charity
PurposeInvestment
HeadquartersChurch House, Westminster, London
Region served
England
Members33
Secretary and Chief Executive
John Worth
First Church Estates Commissioner
Alan Smith
Second Church Estates Commissioner
Marsha de Cordova
Third Church Estates Commissioner
Sir Robert Buckland
Parent organization
General Synod of the Church of England
Budget£285,802,166 (2017)
Staff66
Websitewww.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/church-commissioners
No. 1 Millbank, built for the Church Commissioners by W. D. Caröe (1903)

The secretary (and chief executive) of the Church Commissioners is John Worth.

History

edit

The Church Building Act 1818 granted money and established the Church Building Commission to build churches in the cities of the Industrial Revolution. These churches became known variously as Commissioners' churches, Waterloo churches or Million Act churches. The Church Building Commission became the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1836.

An earlier Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues Commission had been set up under the first brief administration of Sir Robert Peel in 1835 with a wide remit, "to consider the State of the Established Church in England and Wales, with reference to Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues"[1]; this body redistributed wealth between the dioceses and changed diocesan boundaries, and the permanent Ecclesiastical Commission was formed the following year.

The Church Commissioners were established in 1948 as a merger of Queen Anne's Bounty and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, following the passage, by the National Assembly of the Church of England, of the Church Commissioners Measure 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. No. 2).[2][3]

In 1992 it was revealed that the Church Commissioners had lost £500m through over-commitment of the fund leading to poor investment decisions.[4] This figure was later revised up to £800m, a third of their assets.

The value of the commissioners' assets was around £5.5 billion as at the end of 2012.[5] By September 2016, it was valued at £7 billion.[6] The income is used for the payment of pensions to retired clergy whose pensions were accrued before 1998 (subsequent pensions are the responsibility of the Church of England Pensions Board) and a range of other commitments including supporting the ministries of bishops and cathedrals and funding various diocesan and parish missions initiatives.[7]

In June 2022, the Commissioners acknowledged early links of Queen Anne's Bounty to the Atlantic slave trade. They and Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, apologised.[3] In January 2023 the Commissioners announced that they were setting up a fund of £100 million to be spent over the next nine years on addressing historic links with slavery.[8]

The Commissioners also oversee pastoral reorganisation, the consent of the commissioners being required for establishing or dissolving team and group ministries, uniting, creating, or dissolving benefices and parishes, and the closing of consecrated church buildings and graveyards.

The Church Commissioners are now based at Church House, Westminster, London, having long occupied No. 1 Millbank.[9] The Millbank building was sold in 2005 to the House of Lords for accommodation of members and staff; the commissioners completed the move to Church House in 2007.[10] They used to be an exempt charity under English law, and is now a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.[11][12]

The secretary (and chief executive) of the Church Commissioners is John Worth.[13]

Responsibilities

edit

The Church Commissioners have the following responsibilities:[14]

Portfolio

edit
The MetroCentre in Gateshead is one of the largest CC investments

The CC portfolio in 2020 is extensive, worth around £9.2 billion[17] and includes the Hyde Park Estate and a 10% stake in the MetroCentre shopping centre. The CC are the 13th largest landowner in the UK.[18] The CC own a significant amount of rural land and sometimes promote this through Local Plan processes.[19]

List of commissioners

edit

There are 33 Church Commissioners, of whom 27 make up the board of governors as the main policy-making body, with a further 6 who are officers of state or Government ministers. Board members are either elected by the General Synod of the Church of England, or appointed by either the archbishops or the Crown.[7] The board of governors is composed of all of the commissioners apart from the First Lord of the Treasury, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the Lord Speaker.[2]

List of Church Commissioners as of May 2026
Constituency Incumbent Since
Archbishops (ex officio) Archbishop of Canterbury

Chair of the Church Commissioners

 Sarah Mullally 2026
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell 2020
Appointed by the Crown First Church Estates Commissioner Alan Smith[20] 2021
Second Church Estates Commissioner Marsha de Cordova[21] 2024
Appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury Third Church Estates Commissioner Robert Buckland 2025
Elected by General Synod Four bishops elected by the House of Bishops from among their number.[22] Pete Wilcox 2024
Philip North 2025
Graham Usher 2021
Rose Hudson-Wilkin 2026
Three other Clerks in Holy Orders elected by the members of the House of Clergy other than the Deans, whether or not those persons are members of that House.[22] Christopher Smith 2017
Amatu Christian-Iwuagwu 2024
Sarah Geileskey 2024
Four lay persons elected by the House of Laity, whether or not those persons are members of that House.[22] Richard Denno 2024
Robert Zampetti 2024
Nick Land N/A
Cathy Rhodes 2024
Elected by the Deans Two deans elected by all the deans Rogers Govender 2022
Mark Bonney 2019
Nominated by the Crown[a] Unrestricted appointment Suzanne Avery 2017
Kif Hancock 2023
Nigel Timmins N/A
Nominated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York acting jointly[a] Unrestricted appointment Busola Sodeinde N/A
Kate Barker 2023
Morag Ellis 2019
after consultation with: Jenny Buck 2023
Remi Olu-Pitan 2022
Cyrus Gentry 2025
Officers of State

(Ex officio Church Commissioners, but not members of the Board of Governors)

 First Lord of the Treasury Keir Starmer 2024
Lord President of the Council Alan Campbell 2025
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain David Lammy 2025
Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle 2019
Lord Speaker John McFall 2026
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy 2024
References: [23][24][25]

Church Estates Commissioners

edit

The Church Estates Commissioners are three lay people[citation needed] who represent the Church Commissioners in the General Synod of the Church of England. The first and second commissioners are appointed by the British monarch, and the third commissioner is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.[26] They are based at Church House, Westminster, having previously had offices at No. 1 Millbank, London.[27]

First Church Estates Commissioners

edit

The First Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the British Monarch.

Second Church Estates Commissioners

edit

The Second Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the Crown. They are now always a Member of Parliament from the party in government, and have additional duties as a link between the British Parliament and the Church.[41]

Third Church Estates Commissioners

edit

The Third Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. 1 2 At least one of the three persons nominated by the Crown and the six persons nominated by the Archbishops jointly must be or have been Counsel to His Majesty.

References

edit
  1. ↑ Minutes of the Commission, 9 February 1835
  2. 1 2 "Church Commissioners Measure 1947". www.legislation.gov.uk.
  3. 1 2 Williams, Hattie (16 June 2022). "Church Commissioners acknowledge that slave trade boosted early funds". Church Times. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  4. ↑ Plender, John: "Unholy Saga of the Church’s Missing Millions", Financial Times, 11 July 1992.
  5. ↑ "Church Commissioners - The Church of England". www.cofe.anglican.org. Archived from the original on 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  6. ↑ "Sir Andreas Whittam Smith to step down from Church Commissioners". Media Centre. Church of England. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. 1 2 "How we are governed | The Church of England". The Church of England. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  8. ↑ "Church of England announces £100m fund after slavery links". BBC. 10 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1267603)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Church Commissioners complete sale of Millbank site". www.churchofengland.org. The Church of England. 29 March 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Exempt charities". GOV.UK.
  12. ↑ "Church Commissioners for England, registered charity no. 1140097". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  13. ↑ "About the Church Commissioners: Staff". Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Support | The Church of England". The Church of England. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  15. ↑ "What we fund | The Church of England". The Church of England. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  16. ↑ "Parish reorganisation | The Church of England". The Church of England. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  17. ↑ "The Church Commissioners for England Annual Report 2020" (PDF). Church of England. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  18. ↑ Hemming, Gary. "Who really owns the UK?". ABC Finance. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  19. ↑ Church Commissioners for England. "Our approach to strategic land" (PDF). Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Alan Smith announced as next First Church Estates Commissioner". churchofengland.org. 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  21. 1 2 "Appointment of Second Church Estates Commissioner: 7 October 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  22. 1 2 3 Church Commissioners Measure 1947, Schedule I, Paragraph 1 (b).
  23. ↑ Church Commissioners Measure 1947, Section 5, Paragraph 2.
  24. ↑ Church Commissioners Measure 1947, Schedule I, Paragraph 1.
  25. ↑ "Trustees - Church Commissioners". www.churchofengland.org. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  26. ↑ "Commissioners". Church of England. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  27. ↑ "History". Church of England. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  28. 1 2 "No. 21130". The London Gazette. 27 August 1850. p. 2327.
  29. ↑ "No. 24652". The London Gazette. 3 December 1878. p. 6913.
  30. ↑ "No. 27764". The London Gazette. 14 February 1905. p. 1116.
  31. ↑ "No. 33676". The London Gazette. 2 January 1931. p. 56.
  32. ↑ "WILBRAHAM, Sir Philip Wilbraham Baker". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  33. 1 2 "Silsoe". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  34. ↑ "HARRIS, Sir Ronald (Montague Joseph)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  35. ↑ "LOVELOCK, Sir Douglas (Arthur)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  36. ↑ "COLMAN, Sir Michael (Jeremiah)". Who's Who 2017. Oxford University Press. November 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  37. ↑ "Warrants Under the Royal Sign Manual". thegazette.co.uk. The London Gazette. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  38. ↑ "Sir Andreas Whittam Smith to step down from Church Commissioners". Top News Releases. Church of England. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  39. ↑ "Church Commissioner Appointment: Loretta Minghella". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  40. ↑ "Appointment of First Church Estates Commissioner: 27 July 2021". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  41. ↑ "Second Church Estates Commissioner". Church of England. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  42. ↑ "No. 22096". The London Gazette. 12 February 1858. p. 720.
  43. ↑ "No. 22299". The London Gazette. 19 August 1859. p. 3142.
  44. ↑ "No. 23040". The London Gazette. 21 November 1865. p. 5509.
  45. 1 2 "No. 23148". The London Gazette. 7 August 1866. p. 4401.
  46. ↑ "No. 23464". The London Gazette. 2 February 1869. p. 523.
  47. ↑ "No. 24075". The London Gazette. 13 March 1874. p. 1644.
  48. ↑ "No. 24697". The London Gazette. 18 March 1879. p. 2240.
  49. ↑ "No. 24858". The London Gazette. 25 June 1880. p. 2646.
  50. ↑ "Rookwood". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  51. ↑ "No. 25567". The London Gazette. 12 March 1886. p. 1206.
  52. ↑ "No. 25624". The London Gazette. 10 September 1886. p. 4377.
  53. ↑ "No. 26299". The London Gazette. 21 June 1892. p. 3588.
  54. ↑ "No. 26343". The London Gazette. 8 November 1892. p. 6235.
  55. ↑ "No. 26666". The London Gazette. 27 September 1895. p. 5354.
  56. ↑ "No. 27889". The London Gazette. 23 February 1906. p. 1351.
  57. ↑ "No. 27900". The London Gazette. 3 April 1906. p. 2325.
  58. ↑ "No. 28006". The London Gazette. 22 March 1907. p. 2002.
  59. ↑ "No. 28362". The London Gazette. 3 May 1910. p. 3063.
  60. ↑ "No. 31223". The London Gazette. 11 March 1919. p. 3291.
  61. ↑ "No. 32801". The London Gazette. 2 March 1923. p. 1480.
  62. ↑ "No. 32914". The London Gazette. 29 February 1924. p. 1822.
  63. ↑ "No. 33000". The London Gazette. 9 December 1924. p. 8977.
  64. ↑ "No. 33515". The London Gazette. 9 July 1929. p. 4539.
  65. ↑ "No. 33684". The London Gazette. 27 January 1931. p. 603.
  66. ↑ "MILLS, Col Sir John (Digby)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  67. ↑ "BURDEN, 1st Baron". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  68. ↑ "ACLAND, Sir Richard Thomas Dyke". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  69. 1 2 3 4 David Butler and Gareth Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000, eighth edition (Macmillan, 2000) p. 70.
  70. 1 2 "ASHTON, Sir Hubert". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  71. ↑ "WORSLEY, Sir (William) Marcus (John)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  72. ↑ "Bishopston". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  73. ↑ "van STRAUBENZEE, Sir William (Radcliffe)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  74. ↑ "Bell, Sir Stuart". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  75. ↑ "Spelman, Rt Hon. Dame Caroline (Alice)". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  76. ↑ "Selous, Andrew Edmund Armstrong". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  77. ↑ "No. 64545". The London Gazette. 21 October 2024. p. 20702.
  78. ↑ Michael Stenton ed., Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume I 1832–1885 (Harvester, 1976) p. 162.
  79. ↑ "No. 21846". The London Gazette. 5 February 1856. p. 427.
  80. ↑ "No. 22132". The London Gazette. 30 April 1858. p. 2094.
  81. ↑ "No. 22690". The London Gazette. 16 December 1862. p. 6366.
  82. ↑ "No. 23733". The London Gazette. 2 May 1871. p. 2122.
  83. ↑ "No. 26352". The London Gazette. 9 December 1892. p. 7218.
  84. ↑ "No. 26672". The London Gazette. 18 October 1895. p. 5696.
  85. ↑ "No. 33161". The London Gazette. 11 May 1926. p. 3149.
  86. ↑ "TOVEY, 1st Baron". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  87. ↑ "BROWN, Sir James (Raitt)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  88. ↑ "Ridley, Dame (Mildred) Betty". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  89. ↑ "LAIRD, Margaret Heather". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  90. ↑ "BRENTFORD, Viscountess". Who's Who 2017. Oxford University Press. November 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  91. ↑ "WALKER, Timothy Edward Hanson". Who's Who 2017. Oxford University Press. November 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  92. ↑ "Appointment of Third Church Estates Commissioner". Top News Releases. Church of England. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  93. ↑ "Appointment of Third Church Estates Commissioner". The Church of England. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  94. ↑ "The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has announced the appointment of the Rev'd Canon Dr Flora Winfield as Third Church Estates Commissioner". The Church of England. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

Sources

edit
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_Commissioners&oldid=1358234993#Church_Estates_Commissioners"