There is a lovely film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Under the Greenwood Tree" where the wealthiest citizen of the village (a striving farmer) sits very much by himself in what almost looks like an enlarged Roman Catholic confessional box, complete with sliding screen, while the rest of the congregation sits together in the pews. The box is used as a symbol of this character's absurdly amusing and pitiable pomposity and appears several times during the very enjoyable story. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465653/ On 6/20/2012 1:00 PM, Ron Lankshear wrote: > This page discusses ownership > > <http://chestofbooks.com/real-estate/Real-Property-Interests-Law/Sec-359-Pews-and-burial-rights.html> > > I did see them in very old CofE church in Amsterdam > I was allowed to sit on them > > Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds > Bush/Chiswick) > try my links > http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/ > > > On 2012-06-21 2:49 AM, David Beames wrote: >> Pews were rented by "upper-class" families for their exclusive use, but I've also transcribed a number of wills where those pews were bequeathed down the generations, sometimes with great care, as though they were a valuable property. >> >> Is it possible that the permanent use of a pew could have been bought, perhaps for a large lump sum? >> >> Or could the local Squire (or the owner of the benefice) have his own private pew built and installed? >> I can't believe that (for instance) the Lovells would have rented a pew at Minster Lovell:-) >> >> DaveB > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Oxfordshire FHS "wills library" is at http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/ , > with references to 47,347 people and 3,980 testators. Can you offer a will? > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OXFORDSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >