Pew Rents

Pew rents were a source of additional revenue in many churches from the early 17th Century until the 20th century where worshipper rented seats in order of social precedence. This was a practice followed by Methodists particularly Wesleyans from the early 1800s through to the 1930s when the practice died.

There is an interesting section in W E Tate's book "The Parish Chest," Phillimore [2010] pp90-93 about Pew Rents in Anglican churches, but the classic work on the subject is "The History of Myddle" by Richard Gough, Folio Society [1983] which was originally published in 1834.