Seating in the medieval church

 In nine pages (p120ff) Nicholas Orme tells us more than we could possibly imagine about this difficult and controversial subject (Going to church in medieval England). 

Sometimes there was little or no seating. Some people were desperate to sit in the chancel, others were keen to exclude them. The church often tried to reserve it for the clergy, but it lost that battle. Patrons and some great persons thought they had a right to sit there. Choirs would sit there in due course. People wanted a better view. Or some privacy. Or comfort. Or assistance with standing and kneeling. Or even warmth. You may have had to / been able to bring your own seat. Or pay to sit in one. People fought over their seats. Or took one another to court over the subject. Did the seating, like the church, belong to the Rector, or not? Was it part of the church building? Sometimes seats were linked to dwellings. Normally seating was according to rank. Churchwardens had the power to assign seating. You might be able to move to a better vacated seat, but you might have to pay extra for the upgrade. Often men and women sat separately, but people would sometimes sit with their families and servants. Sometimes children and servants would sit together. Sometimes seating seems only to have been provided for women. People sometimes wanted to be buried near their seat. Once people had seats, they weren't meant to stand up without reason or wander about. Seating was of course conducive to nice long sermons.