Chantry chapels

Chantry chapels

A chantry is a special, often private, chapel within a church dedicated to a particular benefactor or benefactor's family. It is where prayers for the benefactor's soul were said.

Many Chantry chapels are extremely ornate and would have been costly to build. Some were added to the original church structure as a side chapel whilst others occupy a prominent place in the body of the church.

Rich landowners endowed some chantries during their lifetime. This meant that the chantry priest would be obliged to celebrate masses for the land-owner's well being on earth and his soul after death. Others were endowed by guilds and societies for the benefit of their members.

It is said that those with the largest purses (and the heaviest consciences) benefited most from chantries. People with small incomes also raised the money to pay for a mass to be said for their soul.

Chantry building stopped at the time of the English Reformation (Dissolution of the Chantries in 1547) because prayers for a soul were not part of the "new style' religion.

The cessation of the ancient tradition of saying prayers for the dead had a massive impact on daily life.

The dissolution of the chantries meant that "chantry money' held in trust by guilds and corporations was confiscated. The state declared it was assigned to "superstitious objects'.