Churches contain the history of a place- in some cases a thousand years or more. Hexham abbey is extraordinary- it has Roman altars, a Saxon crypt, late medieval paintings- the whole history of Britain is there.
In early Victorian times posh churches used to employ women to act as pew openers. Their job was to see people into their pews and close the doors after them. Rich people paid rent on pews and I suppose part of the pew opener's job was to make sure nobody sat in a pew they weren't entitled to.
In the later Victorian era there was a revulsion against this kind of class distinction- and a lot of radical clergymen insisted on getting rid of the old box pews. I remember reading about one man whose first act on moving into his new parish was to set about the pews with an axe- followed by a bonfire in the churchyard. It's therefore quite rare to find well-preserved sets like this. I particularly like the shiny little knobs.
In some places the pews were so high-sided that you couldn't see your fellow worshippers- only the preacher in his pulpit. Worship, in these circumstances, became an essentially private, family affair.
I've been in many churches in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts that have box pews. There are also still a few churches in Estonia that have box-pews although most have been removed. They were a hold-over from the German Rittenshaft period.
Medieval churches didn't have seats- except in the choir for the clergy. According to Wikipedia, pews were largely an innovation of the Protestant Reformation. You couldn't really expect people to sit through enormously long sermons without offering them somewhere to sit.
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The doors on the pews make me giggle though... like the worshipers might need to be locked in some time!
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In the later Victorian era there was a revulsion against this kind of class distinction- and a lot of radical clergymen insisted on getting rid of the old box pews. I remember reading about one man whose first act on moving into his new parish was to set about the pews with an axe- followed by a bonfire in the churchyard. It's therefore quite rare to find well-preserved sets like this. I particularly like the shiny little knobs.
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I really like it! It's amazingly cozy, like a house, like the chancel is the--oh, the dining room.
So to speak.
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What a cool church! I'd go there every Evensong. It's just lovely.
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