Ecclesiastical Commissioners

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners (Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England), established by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1836, were a body corporate in England and Wales created to manage Church of England assets and use the income to fund the extension of the Church's ministry, particularly in urban areas.

Also in 1836, the Tithe Commutation Act 1836, allowed for the substitution of tithes (payment in kind) with money payments. From Medieval times, tithes had traditionally been a tenth of annual produce or earnings, taken as a tax for the support of the Church of England, typically in the form of crops or livestock. Following this Act of Parliament, tithes were "commuted", usually for an annual amount of monetary payment, often to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners or direct to a specific member of the clergy or church, or to the land owner. Legislation in 1925, 1936, and 1951 further reduced tithe payments, but it wasn't until the Finance Act 1977 that tithes were finally abolished. 

In 1948, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners merged with the administrators of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and are now known as the Church Commissioners. The Church Commissioners continue to manage the Church of England's assets today. The Church of England own extensive amounts of land, including rural estates, urban developments, commercial properties, and agricultural land.