| In the beginning,
12th century, there were no pews. |
Pews did not appear in English churches until the fifteenth century. In 1462 we know there were no pews at Holy Trinity, because the deacons’ duties included sweeping the floors. So what did you do if you wanted to sit down? You went to the wall on the south side of the nave and sat on the low ledges, see {1} below. These are not unique to Trinity and gave rise to the expression “the weakest go to the wall”. They were the equivalent of those seats near the front of buses where a notice says, ”Please give up this seat if somebody else needs it more than you”. |
| Mid-sixteenth century |
The earliest mention of anything like congregational pews at Trinity occurs in the time of George Brooche (vicar, 1554 – 1568). During this time seats were fitted in Saint Thomas’s Chapel. By 1573 the mayor had a seat, records show that they had to hew out part of one of the pillars in order to fit it. Quite what the ordinary congregation sat upon during those days it is difficult to say – were they long pews like the current ones or more like settles? |
| 1622 |
A gallery was added, probably because the next door Saint Michael’s (the to-be-blitzed cathedral) had had a gallery fitted in 1614. Its use is unknown; whether it was for minstrels as well as the organist or ordinary congregation is unclear – certainly it was not for a robed choir, because the robed choir was abolished after the Reformation and did not return to Trinity until 1863. |
| 1623 | There were sufficient seats in the building for a book to be started which listed the rent paid by those rich enough to hold one |
| 1632 | The seats were numerous enough for the book to be laid out in detail. Seats on the southern side were the more popular, then those in the gallery and then those on the north side. |
| Early eighteenth century |
There were 604 seats, but only 431 were let (perhaps those at the back were too distant to be worth making money out of, or perhaps the congregation was too small to fill them). Fines for non-payment were devoted to such purposes as buying a fire-engine for the church’s use (£6.30 in 1739). The organ was in a gallery by 1740, and some woodwork was replaced in 1741 and used as a ‘pew’. |
| 1764 |
The
church obtained
a faculty from the diocese for new galleries with pews in them. They
were built in two stages, taking six years, so perhaps they did
not have all the money available when they applied to the authorities
to start
the work. Click here for drawings of the interior at this time. |
| 1855 |
The Georgian galleries and all pews at ground level were replaced with the present furniture when the church’s interior was completely re-ordered from 1855. |
| 1930 |
By this date the pews which the Victorians installed have already been removed from the Saint Thomas’s Chapel and the Archdeacon’s Court. The choirstalls have been brought down a bay within the chancel. |
| The current church interior is essentially an arrangement made by the Victorians when they replaced what their ancestors added. |
Click on the thumbnails for a larger picture.
| {1} Low ledge for those tired during the service. | Pews | Choir stalls |
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| Rear pews | Rear pews close up | |
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| Detail carving - heads of the wood carvers | Detail
carving |
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