Both as regards woodwork and carving, the stalls are rightly considered masterpieces, in the latter respect, on account of the infinite variety of
subjects, profusion of figures and extreme delicacy of ornamentation. The finish and detail are truly extraordinary.
The scenes represented belong to two different classes:
1. On the stalls proper, including the seats, but excepting the elbow or hand-rests, and on the hand-rails and panels of the passages leading from the low stalls to the high stalls, are represented the Story of the Creation from Adam to Job, and the Life of the Virgin.
2. On the elbow-rests of the stalls and—alternated with clusters of leaves—on the pendentives of the canopy, subjects taken from the lives of the burgesses and artisans at the beginning of the 16th century (especially the handicrafts then practised), fables (the Fox preaching to the Hens) and satirical or fanciful scenes are depicted.
In the biblical and other subjects dealt with, the buildings, costumes, insides of houses, furniture and various accessories belong to the time when they were carved. Consequently, in addition to their artistic value, the stalls form an historical document of great value.