Chevening Estate Act 1987
There shall be a body corporate known as the Board of Trustees of the Chevening Estate (in this Act referred to as “the Board”).
The Board shall be the trustee of the trusts contained in the trust instrument as amended by this Act and shall have the functions conferred by this Act and by that instrument as so amended.
In this Act “the trust instrument” means the trust instrument set out in the Schedule to the Chevening Estate Act 1959.
Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Board.
On the appointed day there are hereby transferred to and vested in the Board, as trustee under the trust instrument as amended by this Act,—
all the property and rights which, immediately before that day, are held by any of the Chevening trustees on the trusts contained in the trust instrument; and
any liability or obligation to which, immediately before that day, any of the Chevening trustees are subject in their capacity as trustees under that instrument.
In this section “the Chevening trustees” means the persons who, immediately before the appointed day, are “the Bank” or “the Administrative Trustees” for the purposes of the trust instrument.
References in this section to property, rights, liabilities or obligations are references to any property, rights, liabilities or obligations whether or not capable of being transferred or assigned.
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, any legal proceedings or applications to any authority pending immediately before the appointed day by or against any of the Chevening trustees in their capacity as trustees under the trust instrument shall be continued by or against the Board.
Anything done before the appointed day in the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed by the trust instrument shall, in so far as it relates or is capable of relating to any time on or after that day, have effect as if it had been done in the exercise or performance of the corresponding power or duty conferred or imposed by that instrument as amended by this Act.
The trust instrument shall have effect on and after the appointed day subject to the amendments specified in Schedule 2 to this Act.
Any reference to the trust instrument— shall, in relation to any time on or after the appointed day, be construed as a reference to the trust instrument as so amended.
in the Chevening Estate Act 1959 or any other enactment, or
in any instrument or other document,
In consequence of the provisions of this Act, section 2 of the Chevening Estate Act 1959 (tax provisions) shall have effect on and after the appointed day with the following amendments—
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in subsection (8) (relief from stamp duty) paragraph (b) is hereby repealed and in paragraph (c) for the words “the Bank or the administrative trustees” there shall be substituted the words “ the Board ”; and
in subsection (10) (definitions) for the words “ “the Bank”, “the administrative trustees”” there shall be substituted the words “the Board” .
This Act may be cited as the Chevening Estate Act 1987 and this Act and the Chevening Estate Act 1959 may be cited together as the Chevening Estate Acts 1959 and 1987.
This Act shall come into force on such day as the Lord Privy Seal may by order made by statutory instrument appoint (in this Act referred to as “the appointed day”).
Section 1(4).
The Board shall not be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown. The members of the Board and any secretary or other staff employed by the Board shall not be regarded as civil servants and any property of the Board shall not be regarded as property of, or held on behalf of, the Crown.
The Board shall consist of the following members— At least one of the persons for the time being appointed under sub-paragraph (1)(b) above shall be a person experienced in estate management and forestry. The appointment of a member under sub-paragraph (1)(b) or (c) above shall be by an instrument signed by the Minister responsible. A member appointed under sub-paragraph (1)(b) or (c) above shall hold office for life unless— Any member appointed under sub-paragraph (1)(e) above shall hold office in accordance with the terms of his appointment. Any appointment or election of a person as an Administrative Trustee under— which is in force immediately before the appointed day shall have effect on and after that day as an appointment under paragraph (b), (c) or (e), as the case may be, of sub-paragraph (1) above. In this paragraph “the Minister responsible” means—
The Lord Privy Seal shall be the chairman of the Board, but if he is absent from any meeting the members present may choose one of their number to be the chairman for the purposes of that meeting. Subject to sub-paragraphs (1) above and (4) below, the Board may regulate its own procedure. In doing so, the Board may make arrangements for any of its functions, other than the power to acquire or dispose of land, to be discharged by committees consisting of at least three members of the Board; and, if the arrangements so provide, anything done under them by a committee shall have effect as if done by the Board. The quorum for meetings of the Board or any committee shall be not less than three but neither the Board nor any committee shall reach a decision by correspondence unless all the members of the Board or, as the case may be, the committee have agreed in the correspondence to that decision. The validity of any proceedings shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members of the Board or by any defect in the appointment of a member.
Members of the Board shall be entitled to be paid out of the trust property—
such expenses as they would be entitled to be so paid if they (and not the Board) were the trustees of the trusts contained in the trust instrument as amended by this Act; and
in the case of members who are solicitors or engaged in any other profession or business, such professional or other charges as are for the time being authorised by that instrument.
The fixing of the seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of a member of the Board or the secretary to the Board. A document purporting to be duly executed under the seal of the Board, or to be signed on the Board’s behalf, shall be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be so executed or signed.
Section 3(1).
Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, the word “Board” shall be substituted for the words “Administrative Trustees”, “Bank” and “Relevant Person” wherever occurring. In clause 1 (definitions)— The Board shall stand possessed of the Chevening Estate and of the Contents upon the trusts in this and the next five following Clauses set forth In clause 9 (persons who may exercise the powers conferred by section 29 of the Settled Land Act 1925) the words from “so long” onwards shall be omitted. In clause 10 (Bank to hold land to order of Settled Land Act trustees) the words from “but so” onwards shall be omitted. In clause 16 (power to sell Contents) the words from the beginning to “then” shall be omitted. For clause 17 (duty to maintain inventory of contents and insurance) there shall be substituted the following clause— In clause 21 (trusts of the Chevening Trust Fund)— in clause 23 (application of capital money)— Clauses 24 to 28 and the heading relating to clause 24 (which relate to the appointment and proceedings of the administrative trustees) shall be omitted. In clause 30 (trustees for the purposes of the Settled Land Act 1925 to be successively the Bank, the Administrative Trustees and the Bank, and the Bank to be special executor)— Clause 35 (power of Bank to charge for its services as trustee) shall be omitted. In clause 36 (trustee charging provision) for the words “Any Trustee for the time being hereunder being” there shall be substituted the words “ Any member of the Board for the time being who is ”. In the testimonium, for the words “the Bank has caused its Common Seal” there shall be substituted the words “ Coutts & Company have caused their Common Seal ”.
In clause 5 (which provides that in certain events the trusts in favour of the Nominated Person shall absolutely determine and trusts in favour of the Canadian High Commissioner shall arise) after the words “absolutely determine” there shall be inserted the words “ (but without prejudice to Clauses 5A and 6A hereof) ”. Clause 6 (trusts in favour of the United States Ambassador to arise upon the determination of the trusts in favour of the Canadian High Commissioner) shall be re-numbered as clause 5A and for the words “United States Ambassador” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted the words “ Nominated Person ”. After clause 5A there shall be inserted the following clause— Clause 7 (Chevening Estate, Contents and Trust Fund to be held for the National Trust absolutely upon the determination of the trusts in favour of the United States Ambassador) shall be re-numbered as clause 6A and in that clause for the words following “Contents” there shall be substituted the words “ shall be held upon trust to permit the Nominated Person to occupy, use and enjoy the same as a furnished country residence and estate for such period or periods continuous or discontinuous as the Nominated Person may think fit. ” After clause 6A there shall be inserted the following clause— In consequence of the amendments made by sub-paragraphs (1) to (5) above—
In the Second Schedule (which describes those parts of the estate referred to as “the Specified Land”, whose disposal the trust instrument prohibits) there shall be added at the end the words “ except so much thereof as lies to the south of Ovenden Road or to the south or east of Sundridge Road ”.
For clause 12 (which provides that the powers to sell, lease, exchange or mortgage shall not apply to the specified land or Chevening House and shall not be exercisable in respect of any other part of the estate without the approval of the Prime Minister) there shall be substituted the following clause— In clause 32 (matters to be considered when exercising certain powers, including leasing) for the words “(other than Chevening House and the Specified Land)” there shall be substituted the words “ (being land in relation to which the power is exercisable) ”. After the Second Schedule there shall be added the following Schedule—
In clause 23 (application to the Chevening Trust Fund of the provisions of the Settled Land Act 1925 relating to capital money) for the words “subject to the last preceding Clause” there shall be substituted the words “ subject to Clauses 22 and 23A hereof ”. After clause 23 there shall be inserted the following clause—
The following provisions (being covenants performed, interests determined, conditions satisfied and matters connected with the Settlor’s death) shall be omitted— In consequence of the omission of clause 4(i) the words “after the death of the Settlor” shall be substituted for the words from “after the determination” to “Clause 4(i) hereof”—