Definition
parcloses
noun
- Plural of parclose; screens or partitions, typically made of wood or stone, that enclose a chapel, tomb, or altar in a church.
Usage: architectural; chiefly British; historical
Examples
- The medieval church featured ornate parcloses that separated the side chapels from the main nave.
- Parcloses were commonly used in Gothic architecture to create private spaces within larger ecclesiastical buildings.
- The stone parcloses in the cathedral were carved with intricate religious imagery.
- Wooden parcloses divided the church into distinct functional areas for different services.
- Historians studied the remaining parcloses to understand the original layout of the 15th-century chapel.