The sanctuary is the part of the chancel where the high altar is
situated and it is worth spending a few minutes here.
The
Jacobean altar rails which enclose the sanctury are quite superb. In
1634 Archbishop Laude ordered that all churches should be furnished with
altar rails: at that time it was not uncommon for the people to bring
dogs into church who do not differentiate between a table leg and a
tree! In 1698 Three pounds two shillings and sixpence was paid for the
present altar rails.
The Reredos (the screen covering the wall behind the altar) is the work of Robert "Mousey" Thompson, a well known contemporary English woodworker. His trademark of a small carved mouse can be seen here and also on the chairs in the Wellington Chapel which are also his work.
There is a stall of three seats adjacent to the altar called miserere stalls. These are of finer workmanship than those in the choir and are thought to have come from Kikstall Abbey in Leeds when King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.
In
the central part of the chancel is the choir. The most notable features
here are the Miserere Stalls and the organ. Lift up the seats around the
edge of the choir and you will find a variety of little stools - 'misericords'
- which were used by priests in days gone by during the long services in
which they had to stand. Each one is a work of woodcarving with a
different subject. They make an interesting study.
The oldest examples of woodcarving in the church are probably to be
found in the choir. As you leave the choir, back towards the nave altar
are two masks on the ends of the stalls.