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The chapter-house
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Notable visitors, such as royalty and prelates,
were received by the community in the chapter-house,(4)
and it was here that those conducting a visitation of the abbey
would have read out their injunctions. Benefactors might formalise
their grants here or be received into the confraternity of the house,(5)
and it was in the chapter-house at Kirkstall as at other
religious houses in England and Wales that the community
gathered for the last time and surrendered their abbey to Henry
VIIIs commissioners.
Whilst the chapter-house was the setting for
the public correction of those who transgressed the rules, it was
also used for private confession when the monks confessed wrongful
thoughts or feelings such as anger, laziness or jealousy.
The chapter-house at Kirkstall was unusual, for
it consisted of two square rooms and was accessed by two doorways.
Whereas the western room (outer) dates from the late twelfth century
and is Norman in design, the eastern, or inner, room was rebuilt
in the thirteenth century and is Gothic in style. It was common
for abbots to be buried in chapter-houses, but the incorporation
of stone coffins within the walls of the eastern half of the chapter-house
at Kirkstall is exceptional.
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