Off in Somerset, snugly tucked away at the foot of the Mendip Hills,
lies one of the most charming cathedrals to be seen anywhere, and, in
the opinion of Fergusson, certainly the most beautiful in England. The
fact that it has grouped about it more perfect ecclesiastical buildings
than any other church of its size, and also that the town which grew up
around is very interesting, combine to make Wells a peculiarly
delightful place. The distant prospects of it are very attractive,
whether you stand upon Moulton Hill and look toward its western facade,
or view the eastern end with the group of adjoining buildings from the
top of Thor Hill. Even when you have come down into the quiet town and
the cathedral is near at hand, the approach to it continues to be most
picturesque, first through a battlemented gateway in one corner of the
market square, and then across a lovely lawn shaded by fine trees. The
ample proportions of the rugged west front are saved from the appearance
of excessive breadth because of the perpendicular lines lent by the
buttresses built against it. A most attractive feature of this great
facade is the unusual collection of carved figures beneath canopies with
which, at the close of the thirteenth century, it was lavishly adorned.
There are over six hundred in all, carved of stone from a local quarry,
and originally gilded and coloured. Nearly all are of life-size, and
represent not only Biblical characters, but also kings and queens of the
Saxon, Norman, and Plantagenet dynasties. Within the building the scene
is one of exceptional splendour and beauty. Even what elsewhere might
prove ugly is here turned to artistic account, as, for example, when the
stability of the great central tower demanded a strengthening arch
across the nave at that point, it was rendered a decorative feature by
placing above it another arch inverted so that the lines should sweep
upward as well as downward. An odd and unusual position was selected for
the chapter-house--above and to the north of the chancel--and nothing
could be more delightful than the way in which the old stone stairway
bends gently up to it. East of the chancel is a fine roomy Lady chapel.
The entrance to this chapel is provided by the removal of the lower
third of the east wall of the chancel, the middle third being stone wall
with empty niches, and the upper third a great arched window of seven
lancets containing a Tree of Jesse in the Decorated manner, above
which, in the traceries, is shown the Judgment Day. This is known as the
"Golden Window," and Canon Church calls it "one of the most remarkable
in England for simplicity and harmony and richness of colouring, for the
force of character in the faces, and the stately figures in flowing
mantles of green and ruby and gold, like Arab chiefs; figures such as
some artists in the last Crusading host under Edward might have seen and
designed, and so different from the conventional portraiture of Bible
characters." Although this window is less lofty than the similar one at
Bristol, it does not seem so incomplete and cut off, because we have
here the recumbent figure of Jesse across the bottom of the five central
lancets, a feature lacking at Bristol. Another point of difference is
that the convolutions of the vine do not here enclose the seventeen
figures of the descendants, but instead they stand under canopies, of
which, however, only the topmost ones have pinnacles. The broad borders
have the same design throughout, viz., gold crowns alternated with
colour, which changes from red to blue in each successive lancet. The
backgrounds within the canopies also alternate red and blue, always
contrasting with the colour outside. Almost all the small personages
are draped in either green or yellow, and four have undergarments of
red. Though their colouring is splendid, the figures are rather too
crowded. The two most easterly lights on each side of the chancel are
contemporary with the east window--they are each of three lancets
and contain single figures, occupying about half the height of the
embrasure, and have no pedestals below them. So similar is the treatment
here to that at Bristol that it seems safe to assign the same date to
both (1320). The tracery lights around the choir ambulatory still retain
their Decorated glazing. To the right and left just before we enter the
Lady chapel are single windows containing fragments of ancient glass.
The Lady chapel itself is finely illuminated by five large windows of
five lancets each containing figure and canopy work. One should remark
the unique pedestals consisting of golden lions or bears surmounted by
the characteristic ball-flower ornament. Very interesting, also, are the
tracery lights, which consist of pyramids of small trefoil openings,
four at the base, then three, then two, then one. They are reminiscent
of the tracery lights of the Lichfield Lady chapel, but here the glazier
has been more adroit in the use of his opportunities. Instead of putting
a head alone in each opening, he has availed himself of the broader
space at the bottom to put in the shoulders as well. These little busts
adjust themselves admirably to the trefoils. Although the glass which
once filled the octagonal chapter-house is all gone save that up in the
traceries, those remnants are of interest because the disposal of the
designs against the red backgrounds is reminiscent of the work at
Tewkesbury and Gloucester. The great west window of the nave has
seventeenth and eighteenth century glass at the sides, and in the centre
a fine sixteenth century French panel showing the beheading of St. John.
This bears the date 1507 and a Gascon inscription, and was bought by
Bishop Creyghton during the time that he was sharing the exile of
Charles II. on the Continent. This provokes the comment that not only
is there a small amount of sixteenth century glass in England, but
curiously enough much of it proves upon inspection to have been made
across the Channel. Before leaving this noble interior one should notice
a feature of quaint interest. In the south choir aisle stands the
monument to Bishop Bytton (1524), long renowned for his cures of
toothache. After his canonisation this tomb was resorted to by pilgrims
seeking relief from that malady, and so famous were the cures that we
find carved upon the capitals of piers on the west side of the south
transept, and again in the north transept, little men whose sufferings
from toothache are reproduced in the most detailed and dramatic manner.
[Illustration: "GOLDEN WINDOW," WELLS CATHEDRAL
Notice graceful setting, permitting a glimpse through into the
Lady Chapel beyond. The large Tree of Jesse rising from the
loins of the Patriarch is portrayed in colours of almost
barbaric richness]
No matter by which road we leave Wells, one should look back more than
once to enjoy the charming views of the cathedral and its Close.