 Medley shared this strong opposition to the charging of pew rents and published an article on "The Advantages of Open Seats" in the 1843 "Transactions" of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Association.His insistence on free and open church seating proved controversial when he became Bishop of Fredericton and embarked on a program of church building that began with Christ Church Cathedral and St. Anne's Chapel of Ease.Both the Cathedral and St. Anne's Chapel had free seats, and Bishop Medley refused to consecrate any new church in which pew rents were charged.