Pew

[1] The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirteenth century, originally placed against the walls of the nave.

[3] The rise of the sermon as a central act of Christian worship, especially in Protestantism, made the pew a standard item of church furniture.

[4] Hence the use or avoidance of pews could be used as a test of the high or low character of a Protestant church: describing a mid-19th century conflict between Henry Edward Manning and Archdeacon Hare, Lytton Strachey remarks with characteristic irony, "Manning had been removing the high pews from the church in Brighton, and putting in open benches in their place.

Alternatively, wealthier inhabitants often expected more prestigious seating in reward for contribution to the material upkeep of the church, such as the erection of galleries.

Sometimes the church may also provide stations on certain rows that allow the hearing-impaired to use headsets in order to hear the sermon.

[1] These kneelers essentially have long, usually padded boards which run lengthwise parallel to the seating bench of the pew.

[10] William James Conybeare commented on the pew system in his "Church Parties" article in the Edinburgh Review of 1853, stating that it was the Anglicans who had adopted the slogan "Equality within the House of God".

[12] Many Anglo-Catholic parishes were founded at this time as "free and open churches" characterized by their lack of pew rentals.

[13] In mid-century reforms, pews were on occasion removed from English churches to discourage rental practices.