Stretten en le Field. St. Michael pews

[Albert]

Two queries about church at Stretten........
How rare is it to have pews where the congregation sit facing each other?
Never seen that before as normally they all face the Altar.

Second query is what is that large raised slabbed area in the grounds? It's about 40 foot square on the west side. The slabs are not old gravestones and there is no inscription.

Ta.
Albert

[Chris]

Albert -

This link is to one of the more factual descriptions of the church, with some very good high quality photography -

www.rutlandchurches.co.uk/#/stretton-en-le-field-leicester/4535931508

The last photograph is of the pews taken from the pulpit, one suggestion I have been given (from a highly anonymous but well informed source) is that the pews are possibly very old fashioned family pews. Way back when you hired the pews, so needed space for the whole family, and seating round three side of the pew would be more space efficient than having all seating facing the pulpit (only one lot of "leg room" required) - just a theory. The write up (with the web link) is that the Victorian era seemed to bypass the church, so pews etc. were never "modernised".

The concrete slab can be clearly seen on Google Earth - but no informed theories about it's purpose. Keep the dignitary's feet dry, something buried underneath (plague pit) ??

Chris

p.s. Appleby Magna is in the web sites "to do" list of churches.

[Albert]

Thanks Chris for all that.....is there nothing this man doesn't know?

[Deleted]

Before the 19th century when the Oxford Movement encouraged re-ordering of churches with the Communion Table as a focus, the focus of the service was the Pulput, which was usually a three decker placed somewhere in the Nave, often against the North wall. The bottom seat was occupied by the Parish Clerk, the Parson used the second level as a reading desk to conduct the office (Mattins or Evensong) and ascended to the top level to Preach.

Seating was arranged to face the pulpit, hence the seats on either side of the box pews which appear to face backwards from the east end and the chancel of the church. Orton on the Hill also has original C18 furnishings with seats like this in the pews.

Communion only took place 3 times a year, at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas, and the Congregation went into the chancel and stood to take communion (there were no choir stalls there in those days).

[Deleted]

I would add that choir stalls in village churches were a Victorian innovation, as were pipe organs. In the middle ages only Collegiate churches, Abbeys, and Cathedrals had choir stalls. As far as music in Appleby and Stretton pre 19th Century it was usual to have a village band in a gallery at the back of the church.