A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type of these. Second, a chapel is a place of worship, sometimes interfaith, that is part of a building, complex, or vessel with some other main purpose, such as a school, college, hospital, palace or large aristocratic house, castle, barracks, prison, funeral home, cemetery, airport, or a military or commercial ship. Third, chapels are small places of worship, built as satellite sites by a church or monastery, for example in remote areas; these are often called a chapel of ease. A feature of all these types is that often no clergy were permanently resident or specifically attached to the chapel.
Chapel of St Michael and St George at St Paul's Cathedral in London
The Tsrviz Chapel in Armenia, one of the oldest chapels in the world
The Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Italy (pictured), and the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, two of the most famous palace chapels of Europe
Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic chapel on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, and they were traditionally the largest side chapel of a cathedral, placed eastward from the high altar and forming a projection from the main building, as in Winchester Cathedral. Most Roman Catholic and many Anglican cathedrals still have such chapels, while mid-sized churches have smaller side-altars dedicated to the Virgin.
Saint-Riquier Abbey, France
Lady chapel of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Lady chapel of Guildford Cathedral, UK
Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral, UK. Virgin Mary statue by David Wynne.