The petitioners sought a faculty for the re-interment of the remains of the noted navigator and cartographer Captain Matthew Flinders at the east end of the north aisle of the Grade I listed church. They had been exhumed from the former burial ground of St James, Euston, which had been extensively excavated as part of the HS2 development at Euston station.

The church and churchyard had both been closed to new burials in the 1860s by Order in Council. However, a further Order in Council made on 3 April 2020 ordered a specific exception to permit the interment of these exhumed remains under the north aisle. Such an interment was, therefore, permitted by law. Notwithstanding that, a faculty was still required and permission for interment within the church was only sparingly granted, and usually only where the deceased had been the incumbent of the parish. Previous cases had had particular regard to whether the interment in hand would set a precedent. In this case, the church contained interments and ledger stones from around the time of Captain Flinders’ life, and there was no danger of the proposed interment creating a precedent. The fact that an Order in Council had been required to permit the proposed interment emphasised its exceptional nature.

In the matter of the proposed memorial, and applying the Duffield questions, the court agreed that the presence of the grave of Captain Flinders would positively enhance the church as a building of special historic interest. The exceptional character of Captain Flinders’ life which justified the Order in Council and the faculty for his re-interment in the church also justified the marking of the place with a ledger stone. The faculty sought would therefore be issued, subject to the usual conditions concerning an archaeological watching brief and the uncovering of other human remains. [DW]