Holy lands

Holy smoke! The sleepy old Church of England is a greedy, money-grubbing property tycoon. This month, it emerged that since 2010 the church has laid claim to minerals under 585,000 acres of land, including territory it doesn’t actually own. Its current holdings amount to only 105,000 acres, but it retains the underground mineral rights to vast areas that used to belong to the church.

And it’s making damn sure it retains those rights. The church has sent letters to thousands of people, telling them they don’t own the gilt-edged minerals below its land. In its defence, the church says it’s just doing its statutory duty in registering the rights. But all the same, it’s the latest in 1,400 years of buccaneering property ventures for the English church, going back to 597 ad, when St Augustine built Canterbury Cathedral on a prime piece of Kent real estate. St Paul’s Cathedral, founded in 604 ad, followed soon afterwards.