More tea vicar?

My mum and dad are moving house. The house they live in is a cottage that's about 400 years old and full of history. However, some bizarre history turned up the other day which is truly amazing.

My mum had a call from the estate agent telling her not to worry because the woman who is buying their house "has taken out indemnity insurance" against the church demanding payments for repairs. My mum explained that she hadn't got "the faintest bloody idea" what she was talking about. Well, it transpires that the woman who's buying the house has a very efficent solicitor who uncovered a bizarre element in the original deeds of the house.

In short, the owners of the house are legally bound to pay for repairs to the local church (which is nearly 2 miles from the house) as deemed neccessary by the Church of England. Seriously. It's just about the wierdest thing I've ever heard. My parents have lived there since 1979 and all that time, the local church could have demanded cash to pay for a new roof, some groovy pews or a spanking new font. My mum reminded me of a case from years ago in a nearby village where this happened to another homeowner who actually lost a court battle to avoid paying his local church thousands of pounds in repairs. Unbelievable.

I suppose you could plead aethiesm...