A Petition dated 3rd July 1998 has been presented to Her Majesty The Queen as Visitor of the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, ("the Abbey") by Dr Martin Neary requesting that She should resolve a dispute between him and the Dean and Chapter. Her Majesty has appointed me to be her Commissioner for the purposes of exercising Her visitatorial jurisdiction to determine the Petition.
The Abbey was created a Collegiate Church and Royal Peculiar by Royal Charter of 21st May 1560 which provided that it should be governed by a Dean and twelve Prebendaries who came to be known as Canons or Canons Residentiary. Only four Canonries are now filled and the four incumbents together with the Dean form the Dean and Chapter in whom is vested the Government of the Abbey.
Dr Neary was until his dismissal on 22nd April 1998 Organist and Master of the Choristers of the Abbey and, as such, a collegiate officer by virtue of the statute of 1560. The Abbey Charter of 1560 empowered the Dean to appoint and remove collegiate officers and a supplemental charter of 1951 abolished freehold tenure for inter alios future Organists and Masters of the Choristers.
Dr Neary's appointment as Organist and Master of the Choristers ("Organist") took effect from 1st January 1988 in terms of an agreement which he signed on 28th November 1996. On 20th March 1998 Dr Neary was suspended on full pay. On 9th April 1998 a disciplinary hearing took place before the Dean, Dr Arthur Wesley Carr, and on 22nd April 1998 Dr Neary was dismissed with immediate effect.
After I had been appointed to be Her Majesty's Commissioner I was asked by Counsel to determine at the same time a dispute between Mrs Neary and the Dean and Chapter. On 6th December 1988 Mrs Neary was appointed as temporary part-time secretary to Dr Neary, working a two and a half day week. This appointment was confirmed in April 1989. In December 1991 she was appointed as concert secretary which increased her part-time work to three days a week. She also was suspended on 20th March and dismissed on 22nd April 1998. A minute of submission to me as Arbitrator has been presented.
At a preliminary hearing it was determined that the procedure should be by way of a hearing de novo rather than an appeal against the Dean's decision following the disciplinary hearing. The hearing before me took place on twelve days and not only was evidence adduced by witnesses on both sides but a very large number of documents were produced and referred to.
At this stage it is convenient to describe the administration of the Abbey so far as relevant to the Petition and to give a brief summary of the events leading up to the dismissal of Dr and Mrs Neary. These fall naturally into two chronological periods namely 1st January 1988 to 6th April 1994 ("the first period") and the latter date to 22nd April 1998 ("the second period").