Wells as a place in England can be confusing. If you live in East Anglia you will associate the name with a small fishing port on the north Norfolk Coast, much loved by sailors. However when it comes to England’s smallest city, and a fantastic cathedral, because never forget that what defines a city from a town is the presence of a cathedral, and in this instance we are talking about Wells in Somerset in England, some one hundred and twenty miles south west of London.
The Cathedral City of Wells is a medieval gem, which was at its absolute peak during the Middle Ages. It was at that time that the absolutely spellbinding Cathedral Church of St. Andrew was built.
Constructed on the site of an eighth century Saxon cathedral, it gives you an idea centuries later of how affluent the City, or town at that time of Wells was.
How lucky for those of us who visit in the twenty first century, that for centuries after it was prominent, Wells seemed to go to sleep, and this enabled it to preserve its character and heritage unspoiled for those who wish to see it today.
The Cathedral of St. Andrew may be one of Britain’s smallest Cathedrals, nevertheless it towers over the beautiful, and perfectly preserved limestone town of Wells, which lies literally in its shadow.
It will come as no surprise to discover that Wells is England’s smallest city, but is very definitely worth a visit, if only to see the magnificent cathedral with its recently restored west facade, which is heavily ornamented with six tiers of 365 carved life sized figures. These figures make up the most extensive collection of medieval sculpture in England. When you also consider they were completed in the early part of the thirteenth century that is wonder enough in itself. Then when you add to that the fact that they illustrate every biblical story that is imaginable so that the illiterate masses could understand them by just looking.
The twin towers of the facade were not added for another two hundred years, in fact in the fourteenth century, and such was the workmanship it is quite impossible to determine that they were built after a gap of two hundred years..
When you enter the cathedral, what you will find is a quintessentially Gothic interior. You will see a very ingenious engineering solution, to support the central tower. You can only wonder at the criss crossed scissor arches that still without adjustment support the tower today, some six hundred and seventy years later.
The north transept has England’s oldest clock, the second oldest in the world having been built in 1392, and every hour you must make sure you are there at least once. On the hour there is a fanfare of tilting knights and their armoured steeds. A moment to treasure by anyone’s standards.
If you have some time to spare please visit Wells in Somerset, you will be so glad you visited the Cathedral of St Andrew
Author Resource:
Ian has been writing travel articles for ten years now. His newest interest is in finding an Outdoor Security Camera http://outdoorsecuritycamerasinfo.com and has been impressed by the Motion activated security camera at http://outdoorsecuritycamerasinfo.com/Motion-Activated-Security-Camera.html
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