A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat like the Biblical object) is a small wooden shelf underneath folding seats in churches installed to provide some level of comfort for those standing during long periods of prayer. Others have been destroyed by fire or by natural decay. Fortunately there are many hundreds left. There are a particularly fine set of original fifteenth century misericords beneath the choir stalls in St Botolph's church, Boston, Lincolnshire, also known as The Stump