Benchtable

Bench-table (bane) is a line of stone seats occurring in churches, cloisters, and porches. Mediaeval benches are found in England and France, but where in Spain and Italy, where kneeling only was permitted, as in England even in the time of archbishop Arundel, when all persons sat on the floor in sermon- time. When permanent pews, or benches for the purpose of hearing sermons, were built in the 15th century, the bench-table disappeared. In the latter part of the 17th century the French began to use fixed seats.