Wells Cathedral,

Wells, Somerset, England

 Location

Wells cathedral
Somerset

Location : Wells, Somerset, England Built : 1176 1490

Denomination : church of England Style : Early English gothic

 History
A church was first established on site in 705 A.D. at Wells. Later
adjacent to its ruins the construction of wells cathedral began in 1175
A.D.

Among all European cathedrals, England is the closest to France on

account of the Norman Conquest which also influenced its church
architecture. (Normans were invaders from France lead by king William
who captured most of England in the 11th century A.D.)

Work on Wells Cathedral began in 1175 under Bishop Reginald, but

most of the cathedral construction was overseen by Bishop Jocelyn, a
local man with great ambitions for Wells.

Built between 1175 and 1490 A.D., Wells cathedral was the first
English cathedral to be built in the Early English Gothic style, with
pointed arches throughout.
 When the cathedral was completed, it already seemed too small for
the increasing grandness of the liturgy that characterized the period. So
it was important to find more room for the increasingly large ritual
processions for which a new spate of construction began in the 14th
century.

The work started by raising the central tower and beginning an eight-
sided Lady Chapel at the far east end (finished in 1326). The master
mason of this phase was Thomas of Whitney.

The order of construction of wells cathedral was:

I. The west faade, nave and transept : 1175 1239
II. The chapter house : around 1306
III. The east sections : 1320 1363
IV. The lady chapel : 1326

Wells cathedral has been described as the most poetic of the English
Cathedrals.
 Chapter house

North porch
Eastern/Lesser transepts
Western/larger transepts
N. tower
P
r
N. aisle e
A
s
l Lady
Principal doorway Nave Central tower Quire b Apse
t chapel
y
a
t
r
S. aisle e
r
y
S. tower
Western/larger transepts
Cloister Eastern/Lesser transepts
yard
English cathedrals were erected outside the town upon their own ground, unlike the
French cathedrals built in the middle of piled up confusion of houses.
 Architecture
A lot was similar in the French and
English cathedrals due to the Norman
Conquest. Nevertheless, the cathedrals
of England differ from those of France in
important aspects.

While French cathedrals advanced

rapidly towards realizing spatial unity,
English cathedral architecture
maintained the traditional additive
principle, with surprising successions of
architectural complexes fully
independent in them and loosely Pointed arches : an
connected to the main structure. important feature of early
English gothic
The west faade of
the cathedral with its
prominent buttresses
is wider than the
cathedral itself.

The towers on the

western faade are
widely separated in
order to give,
between them, a
harmonious and
undistorted view of
the central tower.
This is an inheritance
from Romanesque
tradition and is in
contrast with
continental gothic-is
a characteristic of
almost all English The west facade
cathedrals.
The west faade appears as a broad theatrical setting, its monumental quality
accentuated by the neighboring low building of the chapter house and the wide
expanse of grass in the front.

The west front is 100 feet

high and 150 feet wide and
stretches twice the width of
the nave. The facade is filled
with niches containing more
than 500 large sculptures.

The West front is composed

of a yellow stone,
inferior oolite, of the middle
Jurassic period

The greater part of the faade was erected in 1220-1239. The upper part of the
uncompleted towers (more sober and functional in design) was built in 14th and 15th
centuries. The southern tower stands out with its aesthetic treatment of the 14th
century and the northern tower with its richer decoration of the 15th century.
 The nave of the cathedral follows the French
model but reflects the spatial variance. All the
columns in the nave are decorated differently
which is the same with every opening in the aisle.

Clerestory The entire faade over ground level is built on

the principle of translucent wall formation. The
wall proper is hidden by a dense network of
arcades containing figures of kings and saints.

Unlike continental gothic, no intimate merging

of the horizontal and vertical takes place. Here
Trifolium the three divisions of the elevation (arcades,
triforium and clerestory) are underlined solely in
the horizontal sense.

Also between 1209 and 1213 work on the

Arcade cathedral was suspended. In this period, building
technology advanced so that bigger blocks of
masonry could be moved and incorporated into
the walls which can be seen on the walls of the
cathedral.
The ground plan makes clear that the choir, following upon the transept and the
crossing, is again constituted as an independent church. Further to the east we find
the lateral addition of two chapels, resembling a second transept. (This in fact
exists in other English cathedrals).

Lady Chapel was built in the extreme east. (Finished in 1326). The entry to the
Lady Chapel constitutes a continuation of the choir, but is lower in height.

The ground plan illustrates the growth of the cathedral into an independent
settlement.

At the western end, on the south side, there is an extensive cloister with an inner
courtyard about 60 by 40 yards, bordered by the bishops palace.

To the north, alongside the choir, stands an octagonal two storied chapter house,
with a gateway nearby leading to a row of clerical dwellings.
Quadripartite vault in the nave Lierne vault in the choir

Rib vault in the chapter house Star vault of the Lady chapel
When the cathedral was expanded
eastward (to accommodate more people),
the height of the central tower was
increased. As a result the central tower
became too heavy and became unstable.
To prevent it from collapsing, three scissor
arches were made in the year 1338 facing
north, south and west.
Three scissor arches, organ leading to the
choir and rib vault of the central tower
 The Wells clock, an astronomical
clock, is located in the
north transept. The surviving
mechanism, dated to between 1386
and 1392. It is the second-oldest
surviving clock in England.

The organ is present above the

entrance to the choir. The first
organ dates back to 1310 and is
believed to be built for the
installation of lady chapel
Thank You