Did Churches Always Have Pews?

Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation. The rise of the sermon as a central act of Christian worship, especially in Protestantism, made the pew a standard item of church furniture.

Why did churches have box pews?

A box pew is a bench contained within wooden walls, creating an enclosed space to sit during services. ... In many churches only the lord of the manor and his family would sit within a box pew, while the rest of the congregation sat on open benches.

Why do churches have pews instead of chairs?

As churches began to see the need for seating, they also began to see an opportunity to raise funds for the church. This led to a common practice of selling pews to wealthier parishioners to have personal reserved seating in the church for their families.