The Guild Chapels

The Guild Chapels. . , These chapels were established in the side aisles. They were commissioned in the 14th and 15th centuries for thee use of the Mercantile Guilds in the City. , , They were primarily chantries – endowed chapels in which Masses were sung for the Souls of deceased members – but the various guilds also used them as meeting places for the settlement of guild affairs, as well as for common worship on the festivals of their patronal saints. The chapels as a rule had private entrances and were not open to the public. Each guild contributed to the upkeep of its chapel, to ornaments and vestments, and to the maintenance of chantry priests. In 1522, besides the vicar and 18 priests, there were six chantry priests at St Michael's. At the end of the 15th century there appear to have been ten altars besides the high altars, each with its chapel and chantry. , , In 1548 religious guilds, any chantries attached to guilds, and all personal chantries and obits came to an end, and their possessions passed four years later into the hands of the mayor, bailiffs, and community of the city.