Pews in churches were not widely used in the early Middle Ages, when most people stood during the services. The ‘weak went to the wall’ to sit on a stone bench. Wooden benches were introduced into English churches during the C14th, and became widespread during the C15th.
Until the mid C20th, it was common practice to rent pews in churches to families or individuals as a principal means of raising income. Pew rental emerged as a source of controversy in the 1840s and 1850s, especially in the Church of England. The legal status of pew rents was, in many cases, very questionable.
Founded in 1818, the Incorporated Church Building Society was the principal voluntary Society for promoting the building, enlargement, re-seating, and restoration of Anglican Churches throughout England and Wales. Set up by lay church-members, in response to a huge increase and redistribution in the population and because of a lack of state aid, ICBS was the foremost Society in building and restoring churches throughout the most active period of church building since the Middle Ages.
Many hundreds of thousands of new spaces were provided in parish churches. The extra accommodation built was designed and constructed on the principle that it was to be available free of charge so that it was suitable for the poor.
The administration of the society was transferred in 1982 to the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, which has now been succeeded by the National Churches Trust.