Medieval chapels

Chantry Chapel, BuckinghamSome houses had their own private chapels so that the lord of the manor could worship without having to mingle with people in the village. Some medieval villages had chapels of ease if the nearest church was many miles away. Other chapels were set up as chantry chapels either attached to or within a church. Do a search for medieval chapels on Buckinghamshire's Heritage Portal and find the answers to the following questions:

  1. Who did Queen Elizabeth I grant a chapel on Haddenham green to in the sixteenth century?
  2. A chapel in Soulbury is attached to a manor house, what is its name?
  3. Which chapel was converted to a barn and brewhouse?
  4. Find three medieval chapels that are or were inside churches. Mark them on your map of medieval chapels in Buckinghamshire, attached to this page.
  5. Find three medieval chapels that are known from historic records only. Mark them on your map of medieval chapels in Buckinghamshire, attached to this page.

 

Buckingham chantry chapel

Buckingham Chantry Chapel has played many roles other than a chapel and for longer, too! Historians think it was built in the twelfth century as part of St John's hospital but was given to the house of St Thomas of Acon in the thirteenth century and they converted it into a chantry chapel. A chantry chapel was a place where prayers and masses were sung for the souls of the dead so Chantry Chapel doorthey could get to heaven quicker. People would leave money to chantry chapels in their will to get the priests, or sometimes monks, to pray for them. Chantry chapels were closed during Henry VIII's reign and this building was turned into a school in 1546, which only closed in 1907. Look at the Buckingham Chantry Chapel records and find out the answers to these questions:

  1. When was the building first restored?
  2. When was it reroofed?
  3. When was the bell turret added?
  4. What is the date of the door in the chapel?
  5. Who owns the chapel now?
  6. What is it used for now?

Go back to find more Changes in the landscape.