In some instances a side table of stone or wood was used
for this purpose; and a fine credence table of stone, the sides of which
are covered with panelled compartments, is still remaining on the south
side of the choir, St. Cross Church, near Winchester[190-+].
[Illustration: Ambrie or Locker, Chaddesden Church, Derbyshire.]
The credence table, or shelf above the piscina, must not be confounded
with the _ambrie_ or _locker_, a small square and plain recess usually
contained in the east or north wall, near the altar. In this the chalice,
paten, and other articles pertaining to the altar were kept when not in
use. The wooden doors formerly affixed to these ambries have for the most
part either fallen into decay or been removed, but traces of the hinges
may be frequently perceived; and a locker in the north wall of the chancel
of Aston Church, Northamptonshire, still retains the two-leaved wooden
door. Sometimes shelves are set across the lockers. In the east wall of
Earls Barton Church, Northamptonshire, is a large locker divided into two
unequal parts by a stone shelf inserted in it; and in the north aisle of
Salisbury Cathedral are two large triangular-headed lockers or ambries,
each which[TN-5] contains two shelves.
Within the north wall of the chancel, near the altar, a large arch, like
that of a tomb, may often be perceived; within this the _holy sepulchre_,
generally a wooden and movable structure, was set up at Easter, when
certain rites commemorative of the burial and resurrection of our Lord
were anciently performed with great solemnity; for on Good Friday the
crucifix and host were here deposited, and watched the following day and
nights; and early on Easter morning they were removed from thence with
great ceremony, and replaced on the altar by the priest.
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