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In the finale when they mention the Cloister bells ringing they also refer to the things down there,

The Cloister Wraiths. I thought the Cloister Bell was just a bell on the TARDIS, and did not refer to a race? Are they a Gallifreyan race, or a different race like the Sisterhood of Karn?

What race are these creatures?

Paul D. Waite
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  • I cleaned up your question a bit; does the new title accurately reflect what you're asking? Also, I don't fully understand your first sentence: what's the actual question there? – Rand al'Thor Dec 12 '15 at 15:00
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    The Cloisters aren't a race; they're the place underneath the citadel where the Matrix is kept. The things running around inside the Cloisters were called Cloister Wraiths but I don't think they're a separate race either... – KutuluMike Dec 12 '15 at 15:03
  • Yeah, the main question is definitely a dupe. As for the question about Cloisters, I'm still unsure what you're actually asking. There are the Cloisters (a place, as Mike said), the Cloister Bells (which were ringing in Gallifrey, and which also appear in TARDISes), and the Cloister Wraiths (which are the ghosts of Time Lords). – Rand al'Thor Dec 12 '15 at 15:09
  • i wanted to know if the cloister wraiths where a different race or where they some sort of time lords because the only time i had ever heard the word used was the bell in the tardis that was like a major warning i hope that clears it – daniel Dec 12 '15 at 19:48
  • as i now know they are ghosts of timelords – daniel Dec 12 '15 at 19:49
  • “i know its 2 questions but i thought id make it a season finale question as opposed to 2 different ones” — just to be crystal clear, if you have two questions, ask two questions, separately. One question per question. – Paul D. Waite Dec 12 '15 at 20:38

1 Answers1

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Most of what we know about the Cloisters comes from the series 9 finale Hell Bent. Obviously, spoilers ahead, with many quotes from this episode (all emphasis mine).

The Cloisters are a hellish place below the main city of Gallifrey.

OHILA: The Cloisters. Where else would he run, except into the greatest danger on Gallifrey. The hell of the Time Lords.

The Cloister Wraiths are the ghosts of Time Lords.

DOCTOR: The Cloister Wraiths. Sliders, we used to call them. They guard the Matrix. We're safe in here.
[...]
DOCTOR: When Time Lords die, their minds are uploaded to a thing called the Matrix. This structure, it's like a living computer. [...] The Sliders, they're just like the guard dogs, the firewall. Projections from inside the Matrix itself. The dead, manning the battlements.
CLARA: Was I supposed to understand any of that?
DOCTOR: The Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts, in a crypt, guarded by more ghosts.

The Cloisters also have bells, which must be related to the TARDIS's Cloister Bell in some unknown way:

RASSILON: Are all the bells ringing? The whole Cloister?
[...]
DOCTOR: It [the Matrix] can predict the future, generate prophecies out of algorithms, ring the Cloister bells in the event of impending catastrophe.

As for your second query about the Time Lords and the class system on Gallifrey, it's already been covered very well by @Richard here, making this part of your original question a duplicate.
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