We enter the nave where we find simple elegance-enabled practical service. Originally there was only one gallery but in 1822-1823 the upper tier was added to accommodate five hundred Sunday School children. The full capacity with both galleries was one thousand five hundred to one thousand seven hundred people. All is designed for the practical purpose of auditory clarity. The reformer Martin Bucer had made the case in the sixteenth century that the end of all ceremonies in the church is the effective building up of faith in Christ, and for this it is necessary that the things said and done in the sacred assemblies should be well understood by all present, and the things said in prayers and thanksgivings should be said out of the faith and spirit by all present. This concern for audio clarity was seen in the parliamentary church building act of 1818, passed before the upper tier was added here, which stated that these church buildings were to be built with a view to accommodating the greatest number of persons at the smallest expense within the compass of an ordinary voice.
The visitor can experience one of the effects of the care taken with audio precision by walking a few steps down the central aisle and standing between the pillars at each end of the curve of the first gallery. Turn to face the organ, and while facing the clock count aloud to five.