The rector and churchwardens sought a faculty for the removal of a memorial plaque over the cremated remains of the deceased. The back of the plaque stood a few inches proud of the ground with a sloping section at the front bearing an inscription of details of the deceased. The petition was supported by the PCC and DAC but resisted by the deceased's family. For 15 years diocesan rules (including that prohibiting plaques over cremated remains) had been disregarded within the churchyard. Objections about the material of the plaque were not pursued but concerns were raised about the design, which was unique within the churchyard. The chancellor noted that the diocesan rule prohibiting plaques over cremated remains without a faculty would need to be applied in future and that such a faculty was unlikely to be granted except as part of a wider scheme. Whilst acknowledging that the design of the plaque may make maintenance of the area more difficult, the chancellor refused the petition, having regard to the fact that the plaque was not visible from the churchyard path or at all until one came close to it, that the design itself was not objectionable and that the deceased's family had been caused much distress by a series of mistakes and misunderstandings giving rise to the current position. [RA]