By the early 16th century most of England's great churches contained at least one chantry chapel.  In such a chapel, a priest was paid to sing masses for the soul of the chapel's dead founder to hasten its release from the torments of Purgatory.

The Abbey's Chantry was built by William Birde, Prior of Bath from 1499 to 1525. The carving that decorates the Chantry is a fine example of the art of the stonemason in early Tudor England.