The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of 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 Brit ...

. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of

Queen Anne's Bounty Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England, and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...

, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

formed in 1836. The Church Commissioners are a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

regulated by the

Charity Commission for England and Wales , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

, and are liable for the payment of

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

s to retired clergy whose pensions were accrued before 1998 (subsequent pensions are the responsibility of the Church of England Pensions Board). The secretary (and

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

) of the Church Commissioners is Gareth Mostyn.

History

The

Church Building Act 1818 A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...

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' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...

es, Waterloo churches or Million Act churches. The Church Building Commission became the

in 1836. An earlier Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues Commission had been set up under the first brief administration of Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

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" (Minutes of the Commission, 9 February 1835); 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

, following the passage, by the National Assembly of the Church of England, of the Church Commissioners Measure 1947. In 1992 it was revealed that the Church Commissioners had lost £500m through over-commitment of the fund leading to poor investment decisions. 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. By September 2016, it was valued at £7 billion. The income is used for the payment of

s 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. In June 2022, the Commissioners acknowledged early links of Queen Anne's Bounty to the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and ...

. They and the Archbishop of Canterbury apologised. 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 Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

church buildings and graveyards. The Church Commissioners are now based at

Church House A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thr ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, having long occupied No. 1

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the ...

. The Millbank building was sold in 2005 to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

for accommodation of members and staff; the commissioners completed the move to Church House in 2007. They used to be an

exempt charity An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furth ...

under English law, and is now a registered charity regulated by the

. The secretary (and

) of the Church Commissioners is Gareth Mostyn.

Responsibilities

The Church Commissioners have the following responsibilities: * Funding

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in churches, dioceses and cathedrals. * Pastoral reorganisation (including mergers of

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es and

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s); supported by the Pastoral Team. * Clergy

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

ensuring clergy are paid their

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...

. * Managing the production of Crockford's Clerical Directory. * Managing the

Lambeth Palace Library Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the oppos ...

and the Church of England Record Centre.

Portfolio

The CC portfolio in 2020 is extensive, worth around £9.2 billion 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. The CC own a significant amount of rural land and sometimes promote this through

Local Plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

processes.

List of commissioners

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 A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

. Board members are either elected by the

General Synod of the Church of England The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

, or appointed by either the

archbishops In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

. 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. The 33 commissioners are as follows:

Church Estates Commissioners

The Church Estates Commissioners are three lay people who represent the Church Commissioners in the

. The first and second commissioners are appointed by the British monarch, and the third commissioner is appointed by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

. They are based at

Church House, Westminster The Church House is the home of the headquarters of the Church of England, occupying the south end of Dean's Yard next to Westminster Abbey in London. Besides providing administrative offices for the Church Commissioners, the Archbishops' Counc ...

, having previously had offices at No. 1 Millbank, London.

First Church Estates Commissioners

The First Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the

British Monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

. * 1850–1878: The Earl of Chichester * 1878–1905: The Earl Stanhope * 1905–1931: Sir Lewis Dibdin * 1931–1938: Sir George Middleton * 1939–1954: Sir Philip Baker Wilbraham * 1954–1969: The Lord Silsoe * 1969–1982: Sir Ronald Harris * 1983–1993: Sir Douglas Lovelock * 1993–1999: Sir Michael Colman * 1999–2001:

John Sclater John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

* 2002–2017: Sir Andreas Whittam Smith * 2017–2021: Loretta Minghella * 2021–present: Alan Smith

Second Church Estates Commissioners

The Second Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the Crown. They are now always a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from the party in government, and have additional duties as a link between the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

and the Church. * 1850–1858: Sir John Shaw Lefevre * 1858–1859: The Viscount Eversley * 1859–1865: Edward Pleydell Bouverie * 1865–1866:

Henry Austin Bruce Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, (16 April 1815 – 25 February 1895), was a Liberal Party (UK), British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Secretary of State for the Home Department, Home Secretary (1868 ...

* 1866–1868: John Robert Mowbray * 1869–1874: Sir Thomas Dyke Acland * 1874–1879:

George Cubitt George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, (4 June 1828 – 26 February 1917) of Denbies House, Dorking, Surrey, was a British politician and peer, a son of Thomas Cubitt, the leading London builder and property developer of his day. Education and c ...

* 1879–1880:

Thomas Salt Sir Thomas Salt, 1st Baronet (12 May 1830 – 8 April 1904), was a British banker and Conservative politician. Career His grandfather John Stevenson Salt, (High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1838), married Sarah Stevenson, the granddaughter of ...

* 1880–1885:

Evelyn Ashley Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley (24 July 1836 – 16 November 1907) was British barrister and Liberal politician. He was private secretary to Lord Palmerston and later published a biography of him. After entering Parliament at a by-election in ...

* 1885–1886: Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson * 1886–1886: Thomas Dyke Acland * 1886–1892: Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson * 1892–1892:

Charles Algernon Whitmore Charles Algernon Whitmore (24 September 1851 – 10 September 1908) was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1886 to 1906, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea. Early life Whitm ...

* 1892–1895: George Leveson Gower * 1895–1906: Sir Lees Knowles * 1906–1906: Francis Stevenson * 1906–1907:

Charles Hobhouse Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, TD, PC, JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a British Liberal politician and officer in the Territorial Force. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915 ...

* 1907–1910:

James Tomkinson James Tomkinson (1840 – 10 April 1910) was an English landed gentry, landowner and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Life Born in 1840, Tomkinson lived at Willington Hall, Chester. He was the son of Battle of Waterloo, Waterloo vetera ...

* 1910–1918: Sir Charles Nicholson * 1919–1922: Sir William Mount * 1923–1924:

John Birchall Major Sir John Dearman Birchall TD (26 September 1875 – 6 January 1941) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician. Son of Dearman Birchall (1828-1897), he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East at the 1 ...

* 1924–1924: George Middleton * 1924–1929:

* 1929–1931: George Middleton * 1931–1943: Sir Richard Denman * 1943–1945:

Sir John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

* 1945–1950: Thomas Burden * 1950–1951: Sir Richard Acland * 1951–1957: Sir John Crowder * 1957–1962: Sir Hubert Ashton * 1962–1964: Sir John Arbuthnot * 1964–1970: Lancelot Mallalieu David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000'', eighth edition (Macmillan, 2000) p. 70. * 1970–1974: Sir Marcus Worsley * 1974–1974: Edward Bishop * 1974–1979: Terence Walker * 1979–1987 Sir William van Straubenzee * 1987–1997: Michael Alison * 1997–2010: Sir Stuart Bell * 2010–2015: Sir Tony Baldry * 2015–2020: Dame Caroline Spelman * 2020–present:

Andrew Selous Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (; born 27 April 1962) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Bedfordshire since the 2001 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Minist ...

Third Church Estates Commissioners

The Third Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the

. * 1850–1856:

Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...

* 1856–1858:

Spencer Horatio Walpole Spencer Horatio Walpole (11 September 1806 – 22 May 1898) was a British Conservative Party politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Lord Derby. Background and education Walpole was the second son of Tho ...

* 1858–1862: William Deedes * 1862–1866:

* 1866–1871: Edward Howes * 1871–1892: Sir John Robert Mowbray * 1892–1895: Sir Michael Hicks Beach * 1895–1926: The Lord Stuart of Wortley * 1926–1948: The Lord Daryngton * 1948–1952: The Lord Tovey * 1952–1954:

Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve Arthur Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baron Silsoe (8 April 1894 – 3 December 1976), known as Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baronet, from 1943 to 1963, was a British barrister and First Church Estates Commissioner. Biography Eve was the son of Sir ...

* 1954–1962: Sir James Brown * 1962–1972: Sir Hubert Ashton * 1972–1981: Dame

Betty Ridley Dame Mildred Betty Ridley DBE (10 September 1909 – 1 August 2005) was a leading figure in the life of the Church of England from the 1960s into the 1980s, serving as Third Church Estates Commissioner from 1972 until 1981, the first woman to ...

* 1981-1989: The Revd Betsy Howarth * 1989–1999: Margaret Heather Laird * 1999–2005: The Viscountess Brentford * 2006–2012: Timothy Walker * 2013–2018: Andrew Mackie * 2018–2022:

Eve Poole Eve Poole (born Eva Auerbach; 29 December 1924 – 26 December 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as Mayor of Invercargill from 1983 until her death in 1992. She was the first woman and Jew to hold this position. Early life Poole w ...

* 2022-present: Canon Flora Winfield

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

The Church Commissioners

Church Commissioners Measure 1947
at the UK Statute Law Database
Church Commissioners Measure 1970
at the UK Statute Law Database Christian organizations established in 1948 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom Christian charities based in the United Kingdom Religion in the City of Westminster Church of England Charities based in London Anglican organizations established in the 20th century Exempt charities Church of England societies and organisations Political office-holders in the United Kingdom