[A Piscina from Gillingham Church, Kent]

Drawing of an architectural detail from St Mary the Virgin's Church, in Gillingham village in Kent. This is a piscina found in the wall of the chancel. Most medieval churches had a piscina besides the altar. This was a basin and drain set in the wall, used to wash the vessels used during mass. After the Reformation, piscinas were redundant although they remained an architectural fitting of the church.