Asymmetrical bench or pew

Just got back from a trip to Sydney.


Saw this pair of wooden benches (or, pews?) in a lounging area of a museum, and thought they were interesting.


They're not part of an exhibit: they're just for sitting on, while waiting for your kids to finish drawing. 

Why are they asymmetrical? The right ends are capped, but the left ends are open.


I asked the two staff members on duty -- but neither of them had noticed the benches' asymmetry.


The benches are old enough that I don't **think** the creator would have done it just to be "funky". (But, maybe?)

 

There's two of them -- which suggests that these are part of a set.


The Lady thinks that maybe they're church pews -- and that the ends along the aisle were open, and the "closed" end was near the wall. But if so, why not just make **both** ends open?

She also suggested that the "open" end was done that way to conserve wood.  But it doesn't seem like it would save enough wood to bother:  seems like it would be faster to make benches where both ends were the same.

 

Any ideas?


--GG