Misericords

St Mary's Hospital Chapel contains twenty-four stalls and their original desks, with lifting seats and brackets for the occupants to lean on while standing, known as misericords.
 

The supports of the brackets are carved with a splendid series of grotesques, human figures and foliage, earlier in date than those in the Cathedral choir.  The name 'misericord' comes from the Latin language and means 'to have pity on'.