The iconic Churchwarden pipe has really come back into its own recently. The German company Vauen has had a major hit with its Auenland (Lord of the Rings) series and pipe users in Europe and handmadepipe.com China have taken notice. These are some truly unique pieces, called “Churchwardens” in English and “Lesepfeifen” (reading pipes) in German. But what is it about this shape that makes it so special? Where did it get its name, and what is its history? The Beden Pipes team are breaking it all down for you in this feature, and presenting the interesting tale behind these long-stemmed beauties.
What is special about a Churchwarden?
The Churchwarden is immediately recognizable by its lengthy mouthpiece or stem, usually nicely curved. The stems range in length from 8 to 18 inches (20 to 45 cm). Fun fact: it is the only pipe in the pipe family that is classified by the stem, not the bowl form.
There are bent pipes in the Churchwardens you see today. The bowls are much smaller than your regular pipe and are usually in the form of the Dublin, Apple or Billiard. They’re normally constructed of briarwood although you can also buy them in meerschaum.
You pretty much need to be sitting down to appreciate one with that extra-long stem. These used to be really popular for smoking while reading a good book since the long stem keeps the bowl completely out of your field of sight. Exactly why the Germans had it right with the moniker “Lesepfeife” – literally “reading pipe”.
A Completely New Smoking Experience
The Churchwarden pipe is a whole different animal from the typical short-stem pipe. If you were to use one word to describe it, it would be “dry”. We’re very sure every pipe smoker knows just how much weight that word carries.
When you smoke a Churchwarden the moisture from the smoke condenses inside that lengthy stem. By the time the smoke reaches the mouthpiece it’s wonderfully cool, dry and any sharp bite is totally mellowed out. But there’s a problem you can’t ignore: as the moisture goes back down the stem it tends to gather at the bottom of the bowl.
If you want to get the most out of a reading pipe, you need to practice a bit. How you pace your draws is how you control the experience, and it takes some feel and intuition to find the sweet spot. Puff too lightly or too slowly and the pipe will just keep coming out. Blow too hard or too rapidly, and the pipe gets way too hot. And when that happens, all that moisture in the long stem is rushing down to the lowest point. This gives you a soggy bowl and a rather terrible flavor.
History & Origins: What’s a Churchwarden?
It is a pipe that is famously known in English as a “Churchwarden”. The humorous (and widely accepted) explanation behind the moniker is that older churchwardens – who were often huge guys with decent-sized beer bellies – loved to smoke their pipes in optimum comfort. They had to be long enough to keep the bowl on their stomachs when they sat back on a chair.
Before the 19th century, clay or pottery was used to make pipes until it was found that briar wood was the ultimate durable pipe material. The trouble? Those materials couldn’t stand the heat thus a long curved stem was absolutely necessary to cool the hot smoke down before it got to your mouth.
The actual take-off for the manufacture of clay pipes was in the 17th century, based on British and American models. English mercenaries arrived in 1606 to help protect the Dutch city of Gouda, and in fact brought the pipe-making craft to the city. Later King James I (the guy that followed Queen Elizabeth I) had a zero tolerance policy for smoking which sent a ton of British pipe makers packing to the Netherlands.
Eventually Gouda became the center of pipe workmanship. Yes, that city is also historically a center for beer and clay pipes — and, of course, Gouda cheese. In 1660 the Gouda Pipe Makers Guild was founded and in the 18th century their clay pipes were hugely popular. The famous Churchwarden shape was very certainly perfected by the direct ancestors of those Gouda artisans who were turning out these incredibly long, fragile clay pipes back in the day.
Vauen’s Auenland Series and The Hobbit Effect
The Churchwarden has made a huge resurgence in the last decade or two, partly because to the Hobbit movie trilogy. The century-old German pipe company Vauen was riding that wave, and when it dropped the Auenland line it promptly blew up.
In Europe or Asia tons of pipe fans have started with an Auenland as their very first Churchwarden. It’s really popular and curiously enough we’re seeing a lot of younger smokers being pulled into the hobby by this particular series. It provides not only a killer smoking experience, but also is a finely built piece of German artisanship. Vauen even went so far as to make a special pipe stand for the series, designed like a tree branch.
Paul Becker: The Father of the Modern Reading Pipe
And we can’t mention Churchwardens without a major nod to another German pipe maestro who accomplished wonders for the style, Paul Becker.
Since the mid-1980s, Becker has been a top-tier pipe artist, father of the modern reading pipe. He awakened the Churchwarden up from a lengthy snooze in the 90s and put it back on the map. His reading pipes have a great trademark feature, you can remove the extended stem extension and replace it with a typical short stem. This means you may go back and forth between a conventional pipe and a Churchwarden whenever you like. To top it all off, Becker’s craftsmanship is impeccable, with finishes and grade of briar that are completely top shelf.
(We’ll be launching a special, deep-dive piece covering Paul Becker and his reading pipes shortly!)
The recent craze about Churchwarden pipes only demonstrates that great classics never quite go out of style – traditional can be completely modern. If you’re after a quality, European-made reading pipe, Beden Pipes has you covered with the entire line of genuine Vauen Auenland pipes, along with a hand-picked selection of handcrafted pipes from Paul Becker himself.
