Monday 2 May 2011

Wells Cathedral - from the outside

Although I took quite a while to explore the Cathedral, I was having to be careful with my money, and thought it a bit of an imposition to pay £3 to be allowed to take internal photographs, so I am afraid there are outer ones only. HERE is a link to the fabulous misericords (which sadly I didn't get to see). Amazing carving. And HERE is a link to the cathedral's history. The scissor arches look so modern . . .

The magnificent front with statues of Saints. Imagine this when it was painted and brilliant with colour.


I'm rather intrigued by the "starfish" at the top!

The warm yellow stone of the School of Music.

Part of the lady Chapel and Chapter House.

The architecture of buildings adjacent to the Cathedral was equally stunning.

A gorgeous house, and doesn't the light green of the tree stand out beautifully?

The Vicars' Close. These were built in the middle of the 14th C by Bishop Ralph de Salopia for the Canon's vicars, which numbered about 50 at that time. At the north end of the close you can just see a beautiful 15th C chantry which was built by Bishop Bubwith for the vicars and which Bishop Beckington had a library built above.

The next post will be about our wonderful day out in Edward Thomas country (Steep in Hampshire).

6 comments:

  1. that is a beautiful building, but I agree with you about the cost to take photos inside x

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  2. Have you been inside St Cuthberts church? It's free and has the most amazing painted ceiling.

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  3. Kath - I did look at it - next time we're in Wells, we will definitely visit it (and YOU too!) Thanks for that.

    dubgirl - it was more a thing of principal with me. Neither did I donate the suggested £6 to see round the cathedral . . . The budget I had was extremely tight . . .

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  4. What wonderful photos. I have just had a catch up of your posts ...wish we had markets like that ...what a wonderful cushion that was too. Hope you get some joy with selling your house ...you just need some one to fall in love with it.

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  5. More lovely photos. I bet the Vicars` Close was a hotbed of gossip and intrigue in its day!

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  6. It's years since I visited Wells but I do remember walking down Vicars Close and thinking how lovely it was. I remember the outside of the cathedral too but I don't think we went inside. I've not come across charges for taking photos in cathedrals in this country so far though I've paid abroad to take interior photos of various buildings.

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