The surrender of the Durham monastery did not mark the end of the road, for it was also a cathedral, the administrative centre of the diocese, and Henry VIII was not abolishing dioceses. Just as the last Prior became the first Dean, and the best-qualified monks became the new cathedral clergy, so John Brimley, the last Cantor, merely changed his title too, for he became the first Master of the Choristers (and Organist). No doubt the same boys continued as well.

The new order of worship replaced the monastic round of services with Matins and Evensong, but the boys did not at first sing at these every day. This emerges from the section of the Statutes that dealt with the duties of the Master of the Choristers, for it excused him from attending the weekday services so that he could teach the boys. Their statutory number as regards payment was set at ten, but there were no doubt other boys being prepared so that vacancies caused by voices breaking could immediately be filled. As well as teaching the boys what they had to sing, the Master of the Choristers was officially responsible for their common manner and how they behaved at table. This is somewhat surprising, for at Durham until 1902 the choristers were not required to be boarders, and there is no evidence that any were before the late nineteenth century.

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