A pew is a long bench seat with a back, used for seating the congregation in a church or chapel. As antique furniture, pews are typically made of oak or pine, with solid ends, a backrest and sometimes a book ledge or kneeler rail, and they are sold either in their original lengths or reduced to more domestic proportions.
Fixed seating became common in English parish churches from the late medieval period, when carved oak bench ends with poppyhead finials were produced, particularly in East Anglia and the West Country. Box pews, enclosed with doors and panelled sides, were installed by many families in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while the Victorian church restoration movement replaced many earlier fittings with open pine and pitch-pine pews in Gothic Revival style. Large numbers have since come onto the market as churches are reordered or closed. Buyers should look for solid construction, good colour and carved ends, and check for woodworm and later alterations. Pews make practical seating at a kitchen table, in a boot room, hall or garden room, and their long, simple lines suit both country and contemporary interiors.
