Frodsham History Society unearths eighteenth-century seat roll from St Laurence Church

Recently, while cataloguing their archives, Frodsham and District History Society found a seat rent roll from St Laurence Church, dating from April 12 1784.

This fascinating document, also called a seat register, can tell us a great deal about eighteenth-century Frodsham, as it lists the local people who were wealthy enough to reserve a spot for themselves in church.

At this time, well-to-do families would pay for a pew – the closer to the front the better and more expensive – in a physical testament to their social status.

The seat would then be passed down through the generations, or put up for sale if there was no one to inherit it.

Those who could not afford to rent a pew were relegated to the 'free seats' at the back, which made up only one fifth of the seating available in some churches.

The practice became controversial in the 1840s and 1850s, as critics noted its questionable legality, as well as its exclusionary effect on the poorer members of a congregation.

The seat roll found by Frodsham History Society details the ancient and present owners of St Laurence's pews, as well as the towns they belonged to.

It has now gone to Cheshire Record Office for safekeeping.

Many thanks to Gill Baxter from Frodsham History Society for giving us an insight into this great find!