Designs for new choir stalls for the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula

The interior of the Chapel Royal was controversially rearranged in 1876-77 by John Taylor (1833-1912), who removed the eighteenth-century gallery and box pews, and the Baroque pulpit and reredos. In 1912 the Chaplain requested new choir stalls because ‘the boys have to sit on chairs and the result is very unsightly’. The work – accompanied by some debate as to whether or not cushions should be provided for the soldiers – was carried out by the Office of Works under the direction of Frank Baines, whose signature appears on this drawing. Baines later became a leading preservationist and was involved with the stabilising of Rievaulx Abbey, Eltham Palace and Westminster Hall, among other buildings.