Wells Cathedral

This is a a beautiful Gothic cathedral with a very ornate front, very interesting and unusual "scissor" vaulting inside, which people often take to be modern but which dates to the 14th century, many interesting details such as the faces in the chapter house, and the second oldest clock in England (the mechanism of which is supposedly the 2nd oldest in the world but is now in London), and with the oldest functioning clock face in world. The clock if fun to watch when it chimes because of the figures of knights jousting during the chimes.

There is also an Anglo-Saxon font which is over 1000 years old.

The cathedral in Wells is stunning, a must do, when you visit Wells in Somerset. Stunning architecture, amazing to think all the carvings are done in stone. It is located on a very lovely grass green in the wonderful city of Wells.

Wells is England's smallest city, with a population of around 10,000, but at its heart contains one of the best preserved collections of mediaeval ecclesiastical buildings in Europe. (And it's close enough to Bath to make an easy day out by car.)


The centrepiece of the city is the Cathedral itself. Although there has been a church here since 705, the present building was begun in 1180 as an abbey church, with an associated monastic community. It was the first church in England to use the then-new pointed gothic arch throughout. Like many cathedrals, it was built over several hundred years, and the architectural styles reflect this, with a transition from Early English through to Perpendicular.


The bulk of the building - nave, west front and the crossing - was completed by 1245, and the amazing Chapter House by 1306. The central tower was enlarged and the eight-sided Lady Chapel at the East End completed by 1326. The most dramatic feature of the interior is a pair of inverted 'scissor arches' underneath the main arch of the nave at the crossing, inserted around 1340 to prevent the enlarged tower collapsing. They've done their job well, as the tower is still standing, albeit without its spire which burned down in the 15th Century!


As ever, it is the detail which provides the delight: the carving at the top of the main nave columns depict birds and animals, mythical beasts and ordinary men and women going about their everyday lives in the 1200s. The stonemasons had a sense of humour too - they included a man suffering toothache and a fox running off with a goose. The East Window contains a Jesse Tree, dated at 1340; and the Chapter House, with its central column and elaborate fan-vault, is truly sublime. And like many English cathedrals, it still has its original astronomical clock, dating from 1390.


But many regard the glory of Wells to be its West Front, built between 1209 and 1250. With the two towers, it is 100 feet high and 150 feet wide - twice the width of the Nave behind. This was essentially designed as a huge sculpture gallery, with niches for over 500 figures. The West Front is unique in retaining over 300 of its original medieval statues - claimed to be the largest single collection of original mediaeval statuary, in situ, in Europe. An added delight is that the Cathedral Green is still preserved in front of the West front, affording a splendid picture-postcard view.


Nearby, other buildings worth visiting are the remains of the moated 14th century Bishop's Palace; the Vicar's Close - a whole street of 14th century houses and an early example of mediaeval town planning; the four 15th Century entrance gates which guard the Cathedral precinct; and the impressive 15th century parish church of St Cuthbert, with its fine Perpendicular tower.


Finally, don't miss the wells that give Wells its name: these natural springs, attractively modelled into a water garden, produce thousands of gallons of water an hour, which flows into the moat and then via special gutters along Wells' main streets.


The photos show the West Front, the scissor arches from the Nave, and the Gate-House and moat of the nearby Bishop's Palace.

Most outstanding of all cathedrals I have seen all across Europe! Do not miss ot. Truly awe inspiring and beautiful and impressive!!

A phemenonal example of 12th century architecture. Extraordinary feat considering these were medievial times Has the 2nd oldest working clock in the world. Breathtaking. You are standing in a piece of history built 300 years before Columbus. Mind boggling.

Since we had just toured the Bishop's Palace and my mom broke a toe on our first day, she enjoyed resting on a bench outside the cathedral while I went inside to explore.

This cathedral was absolutely stunning -- it was the biggest and most well maintained cathedral I have been to in years (right up there with Chartres!). I liked it better than Durham Cathedral because it was so much more open and spread out than that hilltop cathedral. I think my mom made a wise choice!

One of my favorite spots in the cathedral was the library - it was up a spiral staircase and full of books that are written by hand and illustrated - chained and locked behind gates. It smelled like old books and felt like I could stay there for hours admiring the books.

Here's another place that I highly recommend and would be content to visit again.

Without a doubt, this is my favorite Cathedral in in England and perhaps the world fo r that matter. There is something magical about how it is nestled in the small village of Wells. It is impressive to be sure, but it is also somehow down to Earth, a cathedral for all people. I love relaxing out on the grassy courtyard and just looking up a its Gothic architecture.

The inside is equally amazing, and I love walking up the stairs to the Bishops close. Climbing up those stone steps, polished from centuries of foot traffic, I felt transported to another age. The cathedral's astronomical clock is also another amazing feature, and I think the only thing like it might be the clock in Prague's central square. In fact, I thought it was so cool that I even went to the gift shop and purchased a box embossed with its clock face design.

Whenever I am in Wells, this cathedral is my first stop..even before hitting a pub and believe me that is saying a lot ;)

Most enjoyable, we got there just in time to the the famous clock strike on thw hour. When we were entering the bells were peeling, as we walked around someone was practicing on the organ and then as if that was not enough, the choir started to practice.

It's difficult to know where to start with a building like this. I guess we all know what an old cathedral looks like, so I don't need to go on too much about that. Of course it's amazing. What I will say is that this place is huge. Going in you see a huge open space, but that's just the start as beyond that visible part it goes back and back into more chapels. You can also climb up stone steps so old they've worn down by inches, to an old meeting room. Or walk around the cloisters. There's a shop, and nice gardens.


I actually attended an event in Wells, which included a charity auction which was held in the Cathedral. It was an amazing and unique venue. The church staff/clergy also attended, and were lovely and friendly.


It's free to go in, though they do welcome a donation.

The cathedral is absolutely beautiful. My favourite out of the cathedrals i have visited i think.
The building is so intricate. I think that you need to spend a lot of time there to fully appreciate it. The size of the Cathedral is daunting! The ceilings are absolutely amazing. Its such a nice calm space to spend some time in. And its really lovely to have a walk around outside as well as inside, Wells is a lovely friendly town.