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south of it the piscina, usually formed by a recess in theeastern extremity of the south wall, and used to wash thesacred vessels, to contain which, when not in use, was pro-vided an aumbry or cupboard near the piscina, and taken outof the thickness of the south or north wall, furnished with adoor and means of securing it. Adjacent to the piscina aresometimes found, especially in the larger churches, seats forthe officiating priests. These sedilla, as they are termed,consisted of stone or wooden seats, varying in number fromone to five, the more usual number being three, raised ingradation one above the other, according to the rank of theclergy who were to occupy them ; when of stone, they aremore generally cut out of the thickness of the wall ; when ofwood, they may be movable. Westward of these, disposed oneach side of the chancel, are the seats for the choristers, con-sisting of two or three rows, one in front of the other and alittle below it. Occasionally these seats are returned in frontof the rood screen, and in that case they always face eastwardtoward the altar.

In the north wall of some chancels is found an archedrecess, which sometimes contained a stone tomb, occasionallythat of the founder ; this was the holy sepulchre on whichthe ceremonies commemorative of our Lord’s burial andresurrection were celebrated at the season of Easter . Wherethere is no sepulchre, a movable wooden structure wasemployed for the purpose.

Tlie principal feature of the chancel is the altar. This isan elevated table of an oblong shape, constructed of eitherwood or stone; in the first ages of the church, up to thefifth century, they were generally made of the former mate-rial, though stone wa^ recommended by Pope Sylvester ,early in the fourth century. The council of Hippo forbadthe use of wood, as did also that of Epone, in France , at thecommencement of the sixth century, from which period theyhave been made of stone. Stone altars were disused inEngland at the Reformation, and so few survived the turmoilsof tins period, and of the succeeding rebellion, that we havescarcely an entire example left; those in the chantries andside-chapels are almost the only ones that escaped destruction.The high altar of Arundel church, Sussex, which was pre-served by being enclosed in wood, will give us a fair idea oftheir form and construction. It consists of a slab 12 feet sixinches long, by 4 feet wide, and 2^ inches in thickness, sup-ported on a solid stone 3 feet 6 inches in height, and quiteplain; in some cases, however, the front and sides werecarved in panels arid various devices, and richly coloured.Sometimes the slab is supported on stone legs, and sometimeson brackets, as at Broughton Castle, Oxford ; it was gene-rally marked on its upper surface with five crosses in reces-sion, one in the centre, and one in each corner, representingthe five wounds of our Lord. In the church of Porlock, Somer-setshire , the crosses do not appear on the slab, but are foundin the centre panel in the face of the supporting masonry.

That part of the east wall immediately above the altar isfrequently ornamented with a reredos of tabernacle work, ora series of enriched arches ; sometimes this space is occupiedby a triptych, or painting of three compartments, often repre-senting the crucifixion.

“Pertaining to the high altar,” says Mr. Bloxam, in hisvaluable little manual, “ which was covered with a frontaland cloths, and anciently enclosed at the sides, with curtainssuspended on rods of iron projecting from the wall, was acrucifix, which succeeded to the simple cross placed on thealtars of the Anglo-Saxon churches ; a pair of candlesticks,generally with spikes instead of sockets, on which lights ortapers were fixed ; a pix, in which the host was kept reservedfor the sick ; a pair of cruets, of metal, in which were con-

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tained the wine and water preparatory to their admix ture ^the eucharistic cup ; a sacring bell; a pax table, of silver

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other metal, for the kiss of peace, which took place

before the host was received in communion ; a stoup, or s .of metal, with a sprinkle for holy water ; a censer, or thuri ■and a ship—a vessel so called—to hold frankincense; acnmatory, an offering basin, a basin which was used whenpriest washed his hands ; and a chalice and paten.” ..

Another part of the furniture of the chancel is the crede ,table, or table of prothesis, on which the elements were pj ^previous to consecration, usually situate on the north sithe altar. This is of much smaller dimensions than ^altar, sometimes of stone richly panelled, as at the chuteHoly Cross, near Winchester, and Fyfield, Berks, wh er ^is in shape semi-octagonal ; they were sometimes _ al ”. 9 .wood, a specimen of which is pointed out at ChipP ^Warden, Northamptonshire , the date of which is A.u. *

The credence is very frequently found in the form of aabove the piscina, and under the same niche and canopy• ^We must not forget to mention the lettern, or desk, ^whence the lessons were read, which was placed atwestern end of the chancel; it was generally of brass, s ^times in the shape of an eagle with expanded wing 3 >sometimes forming a sloping desk, with the slope on o ^two sides, in all cases supported on an ornamental s ^Eastward of this, immediately in front of the altar-step s > j tthe fald-stool, a low, sloping desk, at which the priestat the Litany . ,

The chancels of our old churches vary so much in s ,zeproportion, that it is impossible to lay down any rUwhich their dimensions may be determined ; we always ^them, however, of sufficient space to form a prominent ^ ^in the building ; sometimes they are as long, or longer^ ^the nave, but this practice we would not recomnienadoption. It may be laid down as a general rule, tn< ^ g0chancel be well defined and fully developed, yet notgreat length as to prevent the voice of the celebrantheard throughout the nave; on an average, we may £>_ ptlength of 30 feet as a standard for most modern church g (of course this dimension will vary with the size and wi ^ 0 f

the church. The materials and workmanship in this Pthe edifice should always be of the very best descript 10 ^ ^the ornamentation more rich and frequent; care m 1 0 (taken to avoid the use of any decoration except sucha strictly religious character, and adapted to its P ar ^s'situation: all meretricious ornament should be at on

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carded ; severity is wanted, not display.

CHANDELIER, a candlestick, lamp, &c. suspeia chain, rope, orr bracket.

CIIANDRY, a room where candlesare kept.

CHANNEL, a canal, or long gutter,surface of a body.

Channel op the Larmier, a hollow soffit, or can:the corona, which forms the pendent on the front. <- )l . gChannel op the Volute, in the Ionic capital jgkhollow spiral, sinking between the fillets. See CanaIIonic Volute. j fo f

Channel Stones, in paving, are those P r S.P, e rain-gutters or channels, for collecting and turning onwater with a current. -

CHANTLATE, in building, a piece of wood tfi Jl,near the ends of the rafters, and projecting beyond .. e ii {to support two or three rows of tiles, so placed as to pthe rain-water from trickling down the walls. rh il P e ^

CHANTRY, or Chauntry, was anciently a churcendowed with lands, or other yearly revenues, for the