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<\/a>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Abbey of St Peter & Paul became the cathedral of the rechristened Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury from 1090\u20131245. In that year Pope Innocent IV decreed that henceforth the diocese would be known as Bath and Wells, with its cathedral in Wells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our way to the cathedral, we passed the parish church of St Cuthberts and a pretty historical street of Almshouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nAnd finally the impressive West front of Wells Cathedral appeared in our view.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its Gothic architecture is mostly inspired from the early English style of the late 12th 13th centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We joined a tour of the cathedral and spent exactly an hour with our witty and knowledgeable tour guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The culmination of the tour was watching the Astronomical clock strike 1pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n