Creating church furniture to serve local communities

church furniture

Shaping church interiors to meet the needs of modern day worship and community activities is a design adventure that we have enjoyed being involved in time and again.

Many churches have a rich architectural heritage and need to sympathetically evolve the space, so it can be used flexibly to serve the needs of their congregation and local population now and in the future.

Places of worship are often used for a variety of purposes including private prayer, worship, junior church, brownies and cubs, community meetings, events, concerts, coffee mornings and assemblies…to name but a few.

So, it’s never been more important that bespoke church furniture reflects the values and activities of the setting.

Leading design approach

Here at Dovetailors, we have been designing and manufacturing bespoke church furniture for the ecclesiastical market for many years.

We are fortunate enough to have worked closely with parish churches, monasteries, church schools and cathedrals.

Our ambitious team of Master Craftsmen have extensive knowledge and skills in this specialist field and understand perfectly how church furniture must be engineered with precision to fit the needs and requirements of the setting.

With an established reputation in this area, we take great care to understand the character of the building to achieve a design that complements the historic nature of the space, taking into account any important architectural features.

Bespoke church furniture

Undoubtedly, churches are evolving to meet their communities’ changing and future needs so it’s essential that bespoke church furniture is designed to complement and reflect these changes whilst also considering the solemn purpose of the furniture and the architectural significance of the setting.

We have undertaken many commissions over recent years and continue to do so. In 2015, we worked on an exciting project with Sheffield Cathedral to design three ceremonial chairs for a Maundy Thursday service, one of which was used by the Queen.

More recently, we were commissioned to deliver a bespoke project for an Anglican monastery in Mirfield to design a Paschal candle stand. We developed a striking design, a majestic 2.5 metre high-tree like spiral made of solid oak and with a floor diameter of nearly 50cms. We are always mindful that church furniture designs need to be practical and the stand can therefore be split in two to allow it to be moved easily.

As we look to the future, we are keen to expand our work as specialist ecclesiastical furniture makers applying our expertise to help shape the interior of churches, so they can continue to thrive and support their local communities.

Find out more about our work to design innovative bespoke church furniture.