Wood Carvings in English Churches: I. Stalls and Tabernacle Work. II. Bishop's Thrones and Chancel Chairs.Bond, Francis
History
Wood Carvings in English Churches: I. Stalls and Tabernacle Work. II. Bishop's Thrones and Chancel Chairs.
Bond, Francis
Choir stalls; Church decoration and ornament; Wood-carving
The number of stalls in the uppermost row was regulated in a collegiate
church by the number of prebends founded in the church; in a monastic
church by the number of monks in the monastery. At Westminster the number
of monks between 1339 and 1538 varied from 49 to 52, 47, 30; in the upper
stalls there was accommodation for 64. At Southwell there were 16
prebendaries; at times some of these were foreigners, and never visited
Southwell or England; the rest stayed in their country parishes, and it was
sometimes with great difficulty that a single prebendary could be got
together to take charge of the Minster services; they had, however,
deputies; and for them and their masters the two western bays of the
present choir were probably appropriated. And for the meetings of this
collegiate body, which were held seldom, and which hardly ever had an
attendance of more than a half dozen prebendaries, one of the most
magnificent Chapter houses in {26} England was built. At Wells there were
54 canons or prebendaries, each with his own separate estate or prebend;
the greater number of them resided on their prebendal estates in the
country; only on rare occasions did they come up to Wells, and then
probably only for the time occupied by some important meeting; even on such
occasions there seem never to have been more than 20 canons present.[10]
Nevertheless stalls were duly provided for the whole 54, and the Psalter
was divided into 54 portions for daily recitation by the Bishop and his
canons. Each of these absentee canons at Wells had or was expected to have
a deputy in the form of a "vicar choral" who was paid by him a small
stipend called "stall-wages." A beautiful street of little houses--one of
the loveliest things in that loveliest of English cities--built for the
vicars, still survives at Wells; others at Hereford, Lincoln, Chichester
and elsewhere. At Wells the first and highest row of stalls was in practice
occupied by the senior canons, the priest-vicars and deacons; the second
row by junior deacons, subdeacons and others; the third row by choristers
on the foundation; in front of that was a seat for choristers on probation.
The seating of the choirs, however, naturally differed with the
constitution of the collegiate body. Beverley Minster was not a cathedral
proper; but its church and its establishment were on cathedral scale, and
there are no less than 68 stalls. At Beverley the exact position in the
upper row of the provost, treasurer, chancellor, clerk of the works, and
other dignitaries was definitely settled in 1391 by Thomas Arundel,
Archbishop of York. He directed that the clerks or vicars should occupy the
lower stalls, each in front of the canon, his master; and that the
choristers should sit in front of the clerks. "Clerici vero et omnes et
singuli in secunda forma qui libet coram magistro suo. Pueri vero seu
choristae ante clericos predictos loca sua teneant ut fieri consuevit etiam
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