Chancel Or Choir
he CHANCEL or CHOIR contains stalls used by the Cathedral Choir and Canons of the cathedral. The stall on the right with the extended canopy is the Dean’s Stall. There have been variations in the number and arrangement of the stalls over the years. Choir members occupied these stalls until 1944, at which time the singers were moved to the organ gallery at the opposite end of the building. Happily in 1999, at the recommendation of the newly appointed Cathedral Choirmaster, the Cathedral Choir now occupies their stalls once again.
The parclose (separating arcades) dividing the chancel from the chapels, match in styling the oak rood screen that once spanned the width of the cathedral and divided the chancel from the nave. The screens were installed in 1895 as a memorial to Bishop Edward Randolph Wells. Unfortunately, the rood screen was removed and destroyed in the early 1930s.