West gallery music

West gallery music, also known as Georgian psalmody, is the sacred music (metrical psalms, with a few hymns and anthems) sung and played in Church of England parish churches, as well as nonconformist chapels, from 1700 to around 1850. In the late 1980s, west gallery music experienced a revival and is now sung by several west gallery "quires" (choirs).

The term "west gallery" derives from the wooden galleries which in the 18th century were constructed at the west end of typical churches, and from which the choir would perform. Churches were built in a standard layout, with the nave running from east-west away from the altar, so that the west gallery or choir, would face the altar, the same way as, but above, the church-goers. Victorians disapproved of the Georgian galleries, and most were removed during restorations in the 19th century.