Nonconformist Contributions to the Story of Pews, Benches and Chairs
- Date: Friday 2nd March 2012
- Venue: Carr’s Lane Church Centre, Carr’s Lane, Birmingham B4 7SX
One consequence of the current pressure to remove pews from places of worship is the realization that the subject of historic seating in churches and chapels has been little studied. An impressive new publication from the Ecclesiological Society (Pews, Benches and Chairs) has helped to rectify this for the Church of England, but its findings are not entirely applicable to other denominations. This conference focuses on aspects of seating in Nonconformist places of worship, in an attempt to understand some of the things that may be significant about the historic seats in chapels and meeting houses.
- 10.00 Registration and coffee
- 10.30 David M Butler, Quaker seating
- 11.20 Ian Serjeant, From joiner to architect: James Simpson and the design of pews
- 12.10 Jeremy Lake, Seats in Cornish chapels: what is significant?
- 13.00 Lunch
- 14.00 Christopher Wakeling, Sitting around: Nonconformist shapes of worship
- 14.50 Angela Connelly, Wesleyan Alhambras: tip-up seats in Central Halls
- 15.40 Panel discussion: Past practice and current applications
- 16.00 Conference ends
Carr’s Lane URC Centre is less than five minutes’ walk from Moor Street Station, and ten minutes’ walk from New Street.
Conference fee (including refreshments and buffet lunch): £30 for members of the Chapels Society, £35 for non-members, £15 for full-time students.