Lady Chapel

A Lady house of prayer or woman sanctuary is a conventional term for a church devoted to "Our Lady", the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially those inside a basilica or other extensive church. The houses of prayer are otherwise called a Mary church or a Marian sanctuary, and they were generally the biggest side sanctuary of a basilica, put eastbound from the high special stepped area and shaping a projection from the principle working as in Winchester Cathedral. Most Roman Catholic and numerous Anglican houses of prayer still have such sanctuaries, while medium sized holy places have littler side-special stepped areas devoted to the Virgin.

The event of woman houses of prayer differs by area and exist in the greater part of the French basilicas and temples where they shape some portion of the chevet. In Belgium they were not presented before the fourteenth century; now and again they are of indistinguishable size from alternate sanctuaries of the chevet, however in others likely reconstructed at a later period they turned out to be substantially more vital highlights. Probably as well as can be expected be found in temples of the Renaissance time frame in Italy and Spain. It was in woman houses of prayer, towards the end of the Middle Ages, that developments in chapel music were permitted, just the strict serenade being heard in the choir.