In a bizarre revival of medieval alchemy, the High Court is set to open a Pandora’s box of misery across the country in just a few weeks time.

The case was decided three years ago in the House of Lords and already means that thousands of homeowners are a target for the unrestricted costs of repairs to churches across the land.  All that remains to be settled by the High Court next month is just how much the Church of England will gain from the hapless Mr & Mrs Wallbank who could face a bill of around £500,000.

When the decision is announced on exactly how much must be paid by Mr & Mrs Wallbank, it means the Church of England can then hunt down every other homeowner in England and Wales whose houses, patios or gardens have been built on old church land, forcing them to pay unrestricted costs for building repairs to their local church.

When the Wallbank couple lost their ‘test case’ in the House of Lords 3 years ago, it gave the Church of England the green light to seek out all other home or land owners in the country that were unfortunate enough to be in possession of land that once belonged to the church, often as far back as medieval times.

It is next month (Feb 5th) that the High Court is due to decide how much this ‘test case’ couple have to pay out. This ruling will then set the precedent for the rest of the home and land owners in around 5000 parishes across England and Wales and open the floodgates for parishes to demand payments from their affected residents.

Questions are already being asked over what the obligation will be - ‘just’ repair, ie make the roof watertight, or will it be to renovate and rebuild entire chancels?

Old church land (called rectorial land) now forms everything from parts of people’s private gardens, patios and fields to the land beneath their kitchen floors. It is also part of communal and council owned land such as hospitals, schools, housing estates, factories, offices and sports grounds.

If you own this land, whether it’s a square foot or 5 acres, you are liable to foot the ‘blank cheque book’ bill of building repairs as soon as you are tracked down by your local church (via the Parochial Church Council PCC). Mr & Mrs Wallbank face financial ruin – let us hope the High Court has the guts to stamp out this dark revival of religious persecution.