Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION, reported by ALEXANDER TAIT, CLERK OF SESSION, one of the reporters for the faculty.
Subject_2 MANSE.

Mr Michael Greenlawat Creich
v.
His Heritors

Date: 31 July 1778

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The repairing of manses is committed to the presbytery of the bounds, and, if any dispute shall happen between them and the heritors, it is competent to apply to the Court of Session for redress, either by advocation or suspension. Disputes have occurred, what is meant by the reparation of a manse ? It seems too strict an interpretation of this, to maintain, that if a manse has once had a thatched roof, and that this proves insufficient, that the heritors can never be obliged to give it a slate one ; or if it is built of brick, and part of it fails, that the part which fails should not be rebuilt with stone. This interpretation is too narrow : the point in view is, to give the incumbent a competent and sufficient manse, at the sight of the presbytery. But, on the other hand, it does not appear that a presbytery has any power to oblige the heritors to make a manse larger, or to build a wing to it, when formerly it had none ; nor even to decorate a manse, or make it more convenient in the inside, while at the same time it is sufficient without. These points oocurred this day, 11th July 1776.

Mr Greenlaw wished to have the walls of his manse raised 18 inches,—to have a slate roof instead of a thatched one,—and to have garrets. The Presbytery gave decreet accordingly ; but, in a suspension, the Lord Hailes, Ordinary, suspended the letters, and, on advising petition and answers, the Lords demurred, and remitted to the Ordinary, who had suspended the letters simpliciter, to hear parties further.

Accordingly his Lordship did hear parties further,—ordered a visitation of the manse, by Mr Paterson, a man of skill and of character, and an architect: Meantime the heritors, of their own accord, made several reparations upon the manse, particularly on the roof, which they thatched of new, and agreed to some further internal reparations suggested by Mr Paterson: still, however, Mr Greenlaw stuck by the decreet of Presbytery, insisting not only for a slate roof, but for a blue slate roof,—to have the walls heightened, and garrets made, &c. On report of Lord Hailes, of date 31st July 1778, Lord Hailes, Lord Monboddo, and Lord Covington, thought that the Presbytery had power to order a manse to be repaired, but not to be enlarged : they had power, no doubt, to see that every minister was provided in a competent manse ; but after this was once done, to their satisfaction, by a formal declaration, that the manse was sufficient, or by tacit acquiescence, they could demand no after enlargement of it. Lord Gardenstone and Lord Westhall thought this construction too strict, and that, in every event, every minister ought to have a competent manse. Upon the question, “ The Lords, in place of the reparations on the manse and offices in question, specified in the Presbytery's decreet, approved of the reparations made and agreed to be made thereon, in terms of Mr Paterson's report, and remitted to the Ordinary to proceed accordingly,” &c.