Legal neutrality, public benefit and religious charitable purposes: Making sense of Thornton v Howe

Thornton v Howe (1862) concerned a trust to promote the works of Joanna Southcott, a millenarian prophetess. Sir John Romilly's assertion of legal neutrality towards religion sits uneasily with the outcome of the case, but a contextual study shows that Romilly was sincere and that in its heyday Southcott's sect was a significant group with particular attraction for women. By the time of this litigation, however, her dwindling following was ill-equipped to administer the inadequate trust fund and prolonged litigation. Although Romilly's neutrality approach was correct at the time, it was overtaken by the impetus for greater scrutiny of religious charitable purposes through a requirement of public benefit.