Galilee (2)

Galilee a porch or chapel, usually at the west end of a church, where the monks collected on returning from processions, and where females were permitted to visit their relatives among the monks; also a portion of the church, usually a step lower than the rest of the church, deemed less sacred than the remainder of the edifice, and beyond which women were not permitted to pass. Three of them remain in England, at Durham, Lincoln, and by cathedrals. The galilee at Durham has five aisles and three altars, and the consistory court is held in it; that of Lincoln is at the south-west corner of the south transept, and is cruciform in shape; while that of Ely differs little from an entrance porch. (G.F.C.)