The court was asked whether a Mormon Temple was a public place of worship. Lord Denning MR rejected an argument that the Temple was merely a church hall: ‘The short answer is that this temple is not a church hall, chapel hall nor a similar building. It is not in the least on the same footing as a church hall or chapel hall. It is a very sacred sanctuary, quite different from a building of that category.’ Donovan LJ said that the Temple was: ‘far too important in the life of the Mormon Church’ to be described as a building similar to a church hall or chapel hall.
Judges:
Lord Denning MR, Donovan and Pearson LJJ
Citations:
[1962] 1 WLR 1091
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v Henning (Valuation Officer) HL 1964
The House was asked whether the Mormon Temple at Godstone was exempt from rates as a ‘place of public religious worship’.
Held: The words could not apply to places used for religious worship from which the public was excluded.
Lord Pearce . .
Cited – Gallagher (Valuation Officer) v Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints HL 30-Jul-2008
The House considered whether certain properties of the Church were subject to non-domestic rating. Various buildings were on the land, and the officer denied that some fell within the exemptions, and in particular whether the Temple itself was a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Rating, Ecclesiastical
Updated: 05 May 2022; Ref: scu.272216