Stall, the technical English name for the seats in churches reserved for the clergy and choir, and usually lining the choir or chancel on both sides, sometimes in two or more rows. In cathedrals and other large churches they are generally enclosed at the back with a high screen, and are often surmounted with pinnacled canopies of tabernacle work, the backs and arms being usually carved in a more or less ornate manner. At the west end are often 'return' stalls, facing east, for the dean, warden, chancellor, or other dignitaries.
In Henry VII.'s Chapel (1502-20), Westminster Abbey, the dark oak choir stalls, with their finely-carved Miscereres (q.v.), are appropriated to the Knights of the Bath, and the lower seats to their squires; and each stall bears its occupant's armorial bearings in brass, with a sword and banner above. At Winchester, Chester, Windsor, and King's College, Cambridge, are also fine examples of stalls.