Queen Victoria's pew goes under the hammer at Northumberland auction house

The Victoria Pew, also known as The Royal Pew, graced the interior of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh for 138 years.

Borders farmer Kevin Clark, from Denholm, spotted the quantity of interestingly carved oak stored in a container on a builder’s yard in Edinburgh a few years ago.

“No one knew its origin, but as the oak floorboards in the container next door were being steadily fed into a bonfire, I bought it, partly out of interest but also to save it from the flames,” said Kevin.

The timber was removed to a shed in Dalkeith where it remained safely stored until recently when the owner recently needed the space.

Intrigued to know more about his find, Ken visited the National Library in Edinburgh, and with the help of a friendly librarian they secured leads which led to St Giles Cathedral.

“After speaking to the Cathedral Archivist and trawling through piles of old photographs the rest was easy and relatively simple to reconstruct,” said Kevin.

The oak pieces had originally formed the ‘The Victoria Pew’ designed in 1872 by William Hay as part of a major renovation and restoration project at the Cathedral.

It did not remain in its original position for long, however, as the wall to which it was attached was removed during further renovations in 1878.

Extended and totally remodelled, the pew was repositioned as a vestibule at the west entrance where it remained, after being thought too gloomy, it was replaced by glass panels in 2010.

Kevin revealed: “Apparently Queen Victoria never like it and I toyed with the idea of using it in the renovation of our farmhouse, but it’s just too big and the gothic style is a bit out of place.

"I don’t have the exact measurements but the whole structure would measure approx. 6.5/7 m long and 4.5/5 m high.

"It’s a bit sad to see it go, but hopefully someone will recognise its historical significance and huge potential.”

Lots 233-239 which include a carved oak crest, doors, seats and columns will be auctioned at Railton’s in Wooler on Saturday, October 10.

For more details visit https://www.railtons.co.uk/

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

If you can, please do pick up a copy when you are at the shops. Thank you for your support.