Having Comfy Chairs in Church Is More Important Than ...

C hurch of England Christians will be used to spending uncomfortable hours listening to sermons on traditional Victorian pews. But that experience may soon be a thing of the past as a Church of England court ruled that plans to replace them withcomfortable seating would encourage more people to attend. Allowing one vicar to replace pews with modern upholstered chairs , Chancellor for the Diocese of Rochester John Gallagher said there was "no theological basis" for the retention of pews and overruled the objections of conservationists.

Management at St Margaret's Church in Rainham applied to install the stainless steel chairs which will be upholstered with blue fabric, a plan which they say is popular among their congregation. V icar the Revd Judy Henning, alongside wardens Janet Garnons-Williams and Desiree Willis, said parishioners strongly favoured them over heavier wooden chairs as they would be 70 per cent cheaper, easier to move and stack and provide "relief from the timber interior". The plans, which are part of a 63,833 overhaul of the church, were opposed by the Victorian Society, which said the chairs would not be in keeping with the character of the building.

The building is Grade One listed and parts of it date back to the 14th century. In a letter to the court Sophia Laird, of the Society, said it wished to "register strong objection to the proposed chairs which will cause gratuitous harm to this listed building. "They make no attempt to blend in with the existing joinery or character of the building.

"The incongruous and inappropriate design and colour of these chairs will cause harm to the character of the church." T he church argued that many churches and cathedrals had introduced similar chairs, and said the blue colouring would "add some colour and brightness" to the area and match carpets and kneelers. Mr Gallagher ruled that the "need and desirability" of comfortable chairs outweighed any argument against having them.

He also criticised the Society for failing to visit the church or contact its management before lodging its objection. "Had the Victorian Society been able to visit the church and see for themselves, first hand, the layout and what had been done elsewhere in the church, and been able to engage with the petitioners on what was proposed and needed, much time and expense might have been avoided," he said. He added that this failure to contact the church's management meant the charity had been unaware that the chairs would be removed and stacked when not in use, reducing their impact on how the interior looked.

Mrs Garnons-Williams said the plans, which will remove pews in three areas of the church, would also allow it to hold social events such as coffee mornings and concerts more easily. "When our church was built it was the centre of the community and we're really keen that it should be that again," she said. A spokesman for the society said they were "disappointed" with the decision and added "We only have the resources to visit a fraction of the churches we're involved with, and this wasn't a particularly important case for us.

" P riests have to apply to the local church court for permission to make changes which affect the look of a church. The Victorian Society frequently challenges church plans to remove or change interiors. It is campaigning against Bath Abbey's decision to remove some of its Victorian pews to make way for underfloor heating.

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