It was usual for abbots and important people, such as noble benefactors, to be buried in monastic chapter-houses. The monks gathered in the chapter-house daily for about an hour to attend the chapter meeting, so called as a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict was read aloud to the monks who sat on wooden or stone benches around the walls. The abbot or his deputy who presided occupied a pulpit in the eastern part of the room and there was also a lectern here for the reader.

The chapter meeting opened with a reading of the martyrology, to commemorate the saints celebrated that day, and this was followed by a short morning prayer (the Pretiosa). Thereafter a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict was read and this marked the real start of the proceedings. On Sundays and feast days a passage from either the Cistercian Customs (the Book of Usages) or the Statutes of the General Chapter was read and explained. An office to commemorate the dead concluded the liturgical part of the meeting. Disciplinary matters were then addressed. Each monk was invited to step forward to confess his sins before the community. He prostrated himself on the floor, asked pardon and awaited judgement. Those who were not forthcoming were ‘accused’- out of charity - by their brethren, so that they too could be judged and corrected, and progress unhindered on the road to salvation. Punishment usually consisted of fasting, demotion or beating, but in more extreme circumstances, such as murder or sodomy, the offender might face imprisonment or expulsion.