Wells Cathedral
The trip from Bath to Wells takes about an hour on the bus. I was staying in Bath with a friend on a trip to visit mutual friends while also visiting Bristol’s Cathedrals, Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury. For the journey, sit on the top deck, at the front, as you get great views of the countryside during the ride and be startled as the occasional tree branch makes contact with the bus’ roof.
Wells has had city status since medieval times, because of the presence of Wells Cathedral. It is often called England's smallest city, However, it has a larger area and population than the City of London, but unlike the City of London, it is not part of a larger urban agglomeration.
Wells gets its name from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the marketplace and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral. There was a small Roman settlement in the area that became more important and grew under the Anglo-Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church there in 704. The city became a trading centre based on cloth making and Wells is notable for its 17th-century involvement in both the English Civil War and Monmouth Rebellion.
The cathedral and the associated religious and medieval architectural history provide much of the city’s employment. It has a variety of sporting and cultural activities and houses several schools including The Blue School, a state coeducational comprehensive school that was founded in 1641, and the independent Wells Cathedral School, which was founded around 909 and is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom.
Wells has been an ecclesiastical city of importance since the 8th century. Parts of the current cathedral building date back to the tenth century. It is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, Lady Chapel and windows, and the scissor arches which support the central tower. The west front is said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe, retaining almost 300 of its original medieval statues, carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone.
Its Gothic architecture is mostly in the Early English style of the late 12th – early 13th centuries, lacking the Romanesque work that survives in many other cathedrals. The building began about 1175 at the east end with the choir. The stonework of its pointed arcades and fluted piers bears pronounced mouldings and carved capitals in a foliate, "stiff-leaf" style. The east end retains much ancient stained glass. Unlike many cathedrals of monastic foundation, Wells has many surviving secular buildings linked to its chapter of secular canons, including the Bishop's Palace and the 15th-century residential Vicars' Close.
The Chapter House, at the top of a flight of stone stairs, leading out from the north transept is an octagonal building with a fan-vaulted ceiling. Wells Cathedral clock is famous for its 24-hour astronomical dial and set of jousting knights that perform every quarter-hour. The cathedral has the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world. The tenor bell weighs just over 56 CWT (6,272 lb, 2,844 kg).
Here are some photos of this magnificent building.
