The lay-brothers' choir
occupied the six western bays of the nave. It was the last part
of the church to be built, and was
not completed until after the community had relocated here in 1177.
The lay-brothers’ choir was separated from the monks’ half
of the church by a partition known as the rood screen, which bore
an image of the Crucified Christ. The lay-brothers, like the monks,
had two entrances to the church, one which provided access during
the day, the other for the night office of Vigils.
Whenever the lay-brothers celebrated their Hours in
the church, they would have occupied inward-facing wooden choir
stalls, similar to those used
by the monks. At the Mass and
the Hours, the seniormost lay-brother sat nearest the altar, but
this order was reversed when the brethren
assembled in the church after dinner for grace. Although the two
choirs were divided by the rood screen, a central door in this
partition would have allowed for some contact between the two communities.
Still, they essentially remained apart and whilst the lay-brothers
would have heard the monks chanting, they would have seen little
of what went on in the eastern part of the church. The monks, in
contrast, would not – or should not – have seen or
heard the lay-brothers, who celebrated the Hours in silence, so
as not to disturb the monks.
With the demise of the lay-brothers in
the mid-thirteenth century, their choir stalls were removed and this
area of the church
was restructured to provide space for processions and side chantries.
Here, ordained members of the community could say private
masses and offer prayers for benefactors.