Wells is the smallest city in England and home of Wells Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells.
There was an ongoing tussle for control in the diocese between the canons of Wells and the monks of the Bath Abbey of St Peter and Paul.
The Abbey of St Peter & Paul became the cathedral of the rechristened Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury from 1090–1245. In that year Pope Innocent IV decreed that henceforth the diocese would be known as Bath and Wells, with its cathedral in Wells.
On our way to the cathedral, we passed the parish church of St Cuthberts and a pretty historical street of Almshouses.
And finally the impressive West front of Wells Cathedral appeared in our view.
Built as a Roman Catholic cathedral from around 1175, it became an Anglican cathedral when King Henry VIII split from Rome. It is moderately sized for an English Cathedral and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and poetic of English Cathedrals.
Its Gothic architecture is mostly inspired from the early English style of the late 12th 13th centuries.
We joined a tour of the cathedral and spent exactly an hour with our witty and knowledgeable tour guide.
The culmination of the tour was watching the Astronomical clock strike 1pm.
The astronomical clock is in the North transept of the cathedral and the surviving mechanism was dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century and was eventually moved to the Science museum in London, where it continues to operate.
Against a background of stars, the Sun (the large gilded star on the outer ring) moves in a circle, and indicates the time using the 24-hour analogue dial, which is marked in Roman numerals from I to XII, then from I to XII again. Noon is at the top of the dial reflecting the position of the Sun in the sky at this time.
In the corners, four angels hold the four cardinal winds. These may be generating the power that makes the universe operate.
The minutes are indicated by a smaller star on the ring inside.
The inner circle shows the moon; the central moon symbol is much larger than the outer sun symbol. A pointer indicates the age of the moon, between 1 and 30 days. The black and white disk above the centre shows the moon’s phase. The white disk rotates once in a synodic month. Opposite the Moon circle is a weighted pivoted disc, containing a small painting of Phoebe, representing the Moon.
At the centre of the dial, the ball represents the Earth, and the clouds suggest the same.
Above the clock and to the right is a figure, known as Jack Blandifers, or Blandiver, who hits a bell with a hammer held in his right hand and two bells hung beneath him with his heels. A set of jousting knights also chase each other every 15 minutes.
Before the highlight of the one hour tour (which was free and highly recommended) we were guided through the various parts of the cathedral. Some highlights are below along with some narrative I remember from the guide.
There are a plethora of carvings on top of all the pillars. Many of these have little religious meaning and it is believed that the stone masons had a fairly liberal agenda whilst working on the cathedral. The lizard on the right below was estimated by a local professional to take an entire month to carve. And there are so many carvings!
The scissor arches, which often visitors believe to be later, modern additions were actually constructed from 1338-48 as an engineering solution to a very real problem.
By 1313 a high tower topped by a lead covered wooden spire had been constructed but as the foundations were not stable large cracks began to appear in the tower structure.
In fear of a total collapse, several attempts at internal strengthening and buttressing were made, until the famous ‘scissor arches’ were put in place by master mason William Joy as a solution.
The Jesse stained glass window from the 14th century is one of the most beautiful examples of Medievalglass in the country. The window, in its dominant colours of green and gold, depicts a Jesse tree and shows the family and ancestors of Christ, Jesse being the father of King David.
It dates from about 1340 and, considering its age, is still remarkably intact.
One of the most exquisite features is the chapter house also on the north side, approached via a delightfully timeworn staircase and covered by a particularly attractive vaulted ceiling. It is one of the highlights of the building and shouldn’t be missed. The cloisters on the south side are also a delight to wander through and were one of the last major additions to the cathedral.
Vicars’ Close was built over 650 years ago to house the Vicars’ Choral and it continues to be inhabited by their successors today. Vicars’ Close is unique, physically connected to Wells Cathedral and the oldest intact medieval street in Europe (1348) still used for its original purpose.
