Wells Cathedral, Wells

All of Wells Cathedral I can vouch for is the grounds and external appearance. Why? Because it is absolutely RUINOUSLY expensive to gain entrance to the cathedral. I forget now exactly how much the fee was, but sufficient for both my other half and myself to actually start laughing at the effrontery of charging that kind of money to look round an old building, however beautiful. And we have happily paid up for tourist attractions in notoriously expensive York and Bath, so go figure just how pricey it must have been.

The grounds, however, I admit really are lovely, especially on such a pleasant sunny day as the one when we visited. The cathedral itself from outside is also beautiful. And that is all I know, or will ever know!

Wells is one of the most impressive cathedrals from the outside, with its ornate west front, spectacular by day and when lit up at night. The surrounding area is also attractive. we took a tour of the building, which was good, though it isn’t possible to get right up the tower as in some cathedrals. My favourite thing in the building is the medieval clock with jousting knights who rush round every quarter hour. One of the knights gets knocked from his horse every time the clock strikes, but he gets back on for the next time. This has been happening for hundreds of years, and the poor little chap has the dents and bruises to show for it, but he keeps going, knocked off, getting back up again. You can get a nice postcard of him, as I did.

I have been to Wells catherdral on many occasions in my life and to be honest churches and catherdrals are my cup of tea but I have to say Wells catherdral is a beatiful building to look at. The building is very detail inside and out and it is an amazing piece of art and workman ship. There are some amazing stain glass windows with very detailed pictures on them.

Upon entering the Catherdral you are ment by a tour guide and donation boxes the recomended donation is £5 a person. Which for me I though was a lot but i guess if you are interested in that sort of thing it is well worth it.

If you choose to be taken round by a tour guide they will show you around the Catherdral and point out information and about the history of the building. I have never done this i am happy just to stroll around looking at anything that interests me.

My favorite times at the Catherdral have not been inside but actually on the Catherdral green which is a lovely well maintained area to enjoy a picnic and a few games. We have done this several times over the summer months in the evenings. We meet up with friends there children and chill out. The green is partolled by police at times to prevent damage and keep it safe adn looking nice.

This cathedral is thought by some to equal that in Chartres. I couldn’t say, as I have never had the pleasure of visiting that one, but I have been to Wells many, many times and now I live nearby, I am very happy to come, even just to drive past and see the view at night.
It’s a special place. Wonderful to walk past, sit on the meadow in front. Or come inside and experience the peace and special atmosphere. Despite its busy comings and goings, this is a beautiful place to stop and think in. Those who like to meditate or pray describe beautiful feelings within these hallowed walls. There are lovely carol concerts at Christmas! And the music here is wonderful anytime. I have often been lucky to stumble in on a rehearsal, for choir and/or organ.
They have a very good cafe here as well. These things can be important. They even cater to those amongst us who have tricky diets…there is a choice of cakes for those wanting no sugar and no gluten, for example. I shall never forget the time I brought a friend of mine here. She took a picture of me with the cakes we had chosen for our treat! She still talks about it now. Cake’s not the reason to come here, but it’s not a bad addition to a day-trip now, is it?

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.

I love sitting outside on the grass when the market is on, especially if the weather is nice. People in wells are very friendly, the atmosphere of the place is really calm, and the Cathedral itself is beautiful.

Ma visite de cette élagante cathédrale rmeonte à quelques années déjà, et pourtant le souvenir reste intact. Planté au milieu d’un grand espace elle ébloui par sa présence, sa grandeur, elle en impose, en “jette” en langage plus familier. Et une fois rentrer l’impression reste la même : grandeur, majestuositée. Un chef d’oeuvre, accueillant et calme. un petit havre de paix, comme souvent pour les édifice religieux.

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.

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.