Pulpit

Pulpit, the elevated stage or desk in a church from wliieh sermons are preached. They were formerly erected also in the refectories of monasteries, in cloisters, and in public thoroughfares; there is one in the outer court of Magdalen College, Oxford. In former times the pulpits in churches were invariably placed in the nave, the officiating priests and other occupants of the choir removing thither during the delivery of the sermon. Many churches in England contain ancient pulpits, either of wood or stone, especially in Somersetshire and the neighbouring counties. Few of these are earlier than the Perpendicular period; but at Beaulieu, in Hampshire, there is a rich example of Early English or early Decorated date. Stone pulpits were often constructed in the face of the wall and were approached by a hidden staircase.