In medieval times clergy were required to stand when praying. The services were often very long.

By the Norman period clergy were allowed to perch on a 'misericord' - a shelf on a hinged seat. Misericord (from misericordia) literally means 'pity'.

By the 1500s the carving under the shelf had become an art form. Beverley Minster has 68, the largest set in the country.