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A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly one inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, and they are traditionally the largest side chapel of a cathedral, placed eastward from the high altar and forming a projection from the main building, as in Winchester Cathedral. Most Roman Catholic, as well as some Evangelical-Lutheran and Anglican cathedrals still have such chapels, while mid-sized churches have smaller side-altars dedicated to the Virgin.[1][2][3]

The occurrence of lady chapels varies by location and exist in most of the French cathedrals and churches where they form part of the chevet. In Belgium they were not introduced before the 14th century; in some cases they are of the same size as the other chapels of the chevet, but in others (probably rebuilt at a later period) they became much more important features. Some of the best examples can be found in churches of the Renaissance period in Italy and Spain.[4]

Saint-Riquier Abbey, France

It was in lady chapels, toward the close of the Middle Ages, that innovations in church music were allowed, only the strict chant being heard in the choir.[5]

In late Old English, the word lady belonged to a declension of feminine nouns which were uninflected for the singular possessive, and the name lady chapel is a fossilized vestige. It is properly understood as ‘(Our) Lady’s Chapel’.[6]

In England

In the 12th century, legends surrounding King Lucius of Britain, the apostles Fagan and Duvian described them as having erected the Lady Chapel at Glastonbury Abbey as the oldest church in Britain;[7] the accounts are now held to have been pious forgeries. The earliest English lady chapel of certain historicity was that in the Saxon cathedral of Canterbury; this was transferred during the rebuilding by Archbishop Lanfranc to the west end of the nave, and again shifted in 1450 to the chapel on the east side of the north transept. The lady chapel of Ely Cathedral is a distinct building attached to the north transept, which was built before 1016.[8] At Rochester the current lady chapel is west of the south transept[4] (which was the original lady chapel, and to which the current chapel was an extension).

Probably the largest lady chapel was built by Henry III in 1220 in Westminster Abbey. This chapel was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, much in excess of any foreign example, and extended to the end of the site now occupied by Henry VII’s Lady Chapel.[4] Also in 1220, the office of Warden of the Lady Chapel was established, with the responsibility for the Lady altar, and its sacred vessels, candles and other accoutrements.[9] The Lady Chapel at Lichfield Cathedral, funded by Bishop Walter de Langton, 1315-1336, has architectural affinities with Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Among other notable English examples of lady chapels are those at the parish church at Ottery St Mary, Thetford Priory, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral, Wimborne Minster and Highfield Church in Hampshire. The Lady Chapel was built over the chancel in Compton, Guildford, Surrey; Compton Martin, Somersetshire; and Darenth, Kent. At Croyland Abbey there were two lady chapels.[4] The Priory Church at Little Dunmow was the lady chapel of an Augustinian priory, and is now the parish church. The Lady Chapel in Liverpool Cathedral is another, more recent, example. Consecrated in June 1910, it was designed by George Gilbert Scott and is noteworthy for its size and beauty.

Salisbury and Truro cathedrals have an eastern chapel that is equivalent to a lady chapel but with a different name, as a result of the whole church being dedicated to Mary.

Places

The Lady chapel of Evangelical-Lutheran Linköping Cathedral, with its 1987 altarpiece containing scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Purification of the Virgin. On the predella are ten roses cast in bronze, which refer to the Hail Mary and the rosary.[10]

Canada

Ireland

Lady chapel of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin

New Zealand

Russia

South Africa

Sweden

  • The Lady Chapel of Uppsala Cathedral, which includes a statue of the Virgin Mary installed in 2005[11]
  • The Lady Chapel of Strängnäs Cathedral, which includes a medieval statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary made from an oak tree[12]
  • The Lady Chapel of Gustaf Vasa Church, at which the Holy Mass is offered on Sunday at 6 pm, Tuesday at 8 am, and Wednesday at 12 noon[13]
  • The Lady Chapel of Skellefteå County Parish Church, at which the Mass is celebrated every Wednesday at 6 pm[14]
  • The Lady Chapel of Norrtälje Church

United Kingdom

United States

Lady Chapel, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) (Episcopal)

See also

References

  1. ^ Oggins, Robert S. (2000). Cathedrals. p. 43. ISBN 0-281-05349-9.
  2. ^ Duckworth, Penelope (2004). Mary: The Imagination of Her Heart. pp. 125–126. ISBN 1-56101-260-2.
  3. ^ Yates, Nigel (2000). Buildings, Faith and Worship: The Liturgical Arrangement of Anglican Churches 1600-1900. Oxford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-19-827013-3.
  4. ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
  5. ^ Alston, George Cyprian. “Chapel”, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 3 Dec. 2013
  6. ^ “Extended Grammar”.
  7. ^ William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum [The Deeds of the Kings of the English]. c. 1140. Translated by J.A. Giles as William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Earliest Period to the Reign of King Stephen, p. 21. Henry G. Bohn (London), 1847.
  8. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). “Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary” . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  9. ^ Harvey, Barbara F. The Obedientiaries of Westminster Abbey and Their Financial Records, C. 1275-1540. Boydell Press. p. 95.
  10. ^ “Altarskåpet i Domkyrkans Mariakapell” (in Swedish). Church of Sweden. 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  11. ^ Lennox, Dennis (20 August 2023). “Travel: Postcard from Uppsala, Sweden”. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  12. ^ “The Lady chapel” (in Swedish). Church of Sweden. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  13. ^ “A Room for Worship and Community” (PDF). Church of Sweden. p. 2. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  14. ^ “Veckomässa” (in Swedish). Church of Sweden. 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  15. ^ White, Norval, and Elliot Willensky. AIA Guide to New York City. 5th edition New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.