St John's Wotton is a church I tried to get into umpteen times before finally begging one of the churchwardens to let me in some while ago. It isn't a church that's been very affected by the Catholic Movement, and its best feature is the bleak and rather strange Evelyn Chapel which you are very much not allowed to photograph, but it has a wonky sanctuary lamp and a nice, elaborate reredos flanked by curtains on rods.
Meanwhile the mid-Victorian pews have these little folding shelves, which I was told might have been to rest top hats on. They only feature on one side of the church, so there may be something to this story, and they indicate the chaps' side.
or the side for the posh parishioners?
ReplyDeleteAh well, in our day you don't have to have a Y chromosome to wear a top hat in church, but it was rather different when St John's Wotton put its pews in : )
ReplyDeleteNot that even then you should be *wearing* it, of course, you should take it off instantly on entry.
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