the fourth and fifth piers, mark the point of change eastward: the
masonry of piers, walls and aisle walls is in small courses of stone;
westward, the blocks are larger, eastward, small human heads project at
the angles of the pier-arches and westward there are none; eastward, the
tympana of the triforium arcade are filled with carvings of grotesque
animals and small heads at the corners, and westward, the tympana are
filled with foliage and ornamented with larger heads. There are also
other differences.
“Certainly it is an unusual instance of an architect deliberately
setting himself to complete the works of an earlier period in
faithful accordance with the original plan; and we may well be
grateful to him for his modesty.
“All the carving is most interesting and beautiful: the caps and
corbels of the vaulting shafts; the little heads at the angles of
the arches, which are vivid sketches of every type of contemporary
character; and the carvings in the tympana, which are best in the
seventh, eighth and ninth bays (counting from the west end), those
on the north excelling in design and execution, while those on the
south are more grotesque. But the capitals of the piers are the
best of all, and the most hurried visitor should spare some time
for the study of these remarkable specimens of sculpture, vigorous
and lifelike, yet always subordinated to their architectural
purpose. Those in the transepts[4] are perhaps the best, but the
following in the nave should not be missed:--
North side, Sixth Pier (by north porch): Birds pluming their wings:
Beast licking himself: Ram: Bird with human head, holding knife
(?).
“Eighth Pier. Fox stealing goose, peasant following with stick:
Birds pruning their feathers. (Within Bubwith’s Chapel) Human
monster with fish’s tail, holding a fish: Bird holding frog in his
beak, which is extremely long and delicate.
“Ninth Pier. Pedlar carrying his pack on his shoulders, a string of
large beads in one hand. Toothless monster with hands on knees.
“South side, Seventh Pier. Birds with human heads, one wearing a
mitre.
“Eighth Pier. Peasant with club, seized by lion: Bird with curious
foliated tail (within St. Edmund’s chapel). Owl: Peasant with
mallet (?).”
If we look back towards the west end of the Nave we note an arcade of
five arches, the middle one widest of all to accommodate the two small
arches of the doorway. The three lancet windows are Perpendicular,
remodelled, and some of their dogtooth moulding, medallions in the
spandrels and little corbel heads of Early English work remain. There is
a gallery below the sill of the window.
The two western towers form two small transepts that project beyond the
aisles. Each is connected with the aisle by an arch. The Chapel of the
Holy Cross under Bubwith’s Tower (north) is the choir-boys’ vestry. The
chapel under Harewell’s Tower (south) is used by the bell-ringers. An
Early English doorway leads from it into the Cloister.
“The nave, as far as the piers of the central tower, consists of
ten bays, divided by octangular piers, with clustered shafts in
groups of three. The capitals are enriched with Early English
foliage, much of which is of unusually classical character,--one of
the many indications of a lingering local school, with its Norman
traditions. Birds, animals and monsters of various forms--among
which is the bird with a man’s face, said to feed on human
flesh--twine and perch among the foliage. Above the pier arches
runs the triforium, very deeply set, and extending backward over
the whole of the side aisles. The roof retains its original
position. (The whole arrangement should be compared with the Norman
triforia of Norwich and Ely, both of which extend over the
side-aisles; but their exterior walls have been raised and
Perpendicular windows inserted). The narrow lancet openings toward
the nave are arranged in groups of three, with thick wall-plates
between them. The head with each lancet is filled with a solid
tympanum, displaying foliage and grotesques, of which those toward
the upper end of the south side are especially curious. At the
angles of the lancets are bosses of foliage and human heads, full
of character. In the upper spaces between each arch are medallions
with leafage. Triple shafts, with enriched capitals, form the
vaulting-shafts, the corbels supporting which deserve examination.
A clerestory window (the tracery is Perpendicular, and was inserted
by Bishop Beckington (1443-1464)) opens between each bay of the
vaulting, which is groined, with moulded ribs and bosses of foliage
at the intersections.”--(R. J. K.)
In the clerestory of the sixth bay on the south side there is a =Music
Gallery=, early Perpendicular, the front of which consists of three
panels with large quartrefoils containing shields. It is very fine, but
not equal to the Minstrels’ Gallery in Exeter. It is finished with an
embattled cornice.
The aisles of the Nave are of the same architectural character as the
Nave itself. Among the striking capitals are:
Fifth shaft. Peasants carrying sheep, with a dog.
Ninth shaft. Man in a rough coat carrying foliage on his back.
Tenth shaft. Mason carrying a hod of mortar and a mallet; opposite side
of arch: Peasant in hood with staff and opposite this two heads,
evidently with toothache.
The greater part of the glass of the =West Window= was collected by Bishop
Creyghton in 1660-1670, excellent Sixteenth Century representations of
the history of _John the Baptist_. Possibly Creyghton added the figures
of _King Ina_ and _Bishop Ralph_ in the other lights, for the southern
one also bears his arms. The top and bottom of the middle light are said
to have come from Rouen in 1813.
Now we will examine the =transepts=.
“The transepts seem to have been built before the nave, but some of
the carved work of the capitals and corbels is of later date than
the nave. The capitals on the west side of both transepts are among
the finest in England. Many refer to the toothache.
“North Transept: first Pier.--(Inside the Priest Vicars’ vestry) A
prophet(?) with scroll on which there is no name: Man carrying
goose. (Outside) Head with tongue on teeth.
“Second Pier.--Aaron writing his name on a scroll: Moses with the
tables of stone.
“Third Pier.--Woman with a bandage across her face. Above this cap
the corbel consists of a seated figure, naked, with distorted mouth
and an agonised expression.
“South Transept, second pier (from the south end). Two men are
stealing grapes, one holds the basket full, the other plucks
grapes, holding a knife in his other hand: The farmers in pursuit,
one carries a spade and
the other a pitchfork: The man with the fork, a vigorous figure, catches
one thief: The man with the spade hits the other (whose face is most
woe-begone) on the head.
“Third pier.--Woman pulling thorn out of her foot: Man with one eye,
finger in his mouth: Baboon head: Cobbler; this figure shows very
plainly the method of shoemaking at this time; the cobbler in his apron,
sits with the shoe on one knee, his strap passes over the knee and round
the other foot, his foot is turned over so as to present the side and
not the sole to the strap: Woman’s head with long hair.
“Fourth pier.--Head perfectly hairless: Elias P. (the prophet) with hand
on cheek as if he, too, has the toothache: Head in hood, with tongue on
the one remaining tooth.
“It may be well here to say a word about the general classification of
these earlier capitals, since their date is a matter of great
architectural interest. I would venture to divide them into five
groups--
“(1) Those of the three western bays of the choir: simple carved foliage
of distinctly Norman character, as in the north porch: these belong to
the time of Reginald (1174-1191).
“(2) The four eastern bays of the nave and its aisles. Some of these may
belong to the first period, though later than the choir: they are more
advanced in the foliage, and teem with grotesque birds and beasts. Some,
however, of the caps in these bays are of quite different character;
they contain _genre_ subjects of perfectly naturalistic treatment, very
different to the St. Edmund of the north porch capital; but exactly
similar to the figure caps of the transepts. They must therefore have
been carved later than the death of Saint William Bytton.
“(3) The western bays of the nave. These, which are of much less
interest, belong to the period of Jocelin’s reconstruction (1220-1242).
They are characteristic examples of rich stiff-leaf foliage, freer than
that of the earlier work, but much less varied and without either human
figures or grotesques.
“(4) On the eastern range of transept piers. These would seem also to
come within Jocelin’s period, with the exception of the third pier of
the south transept.
“(5) On the western range of transept piers, with which must be
classed those later caps already referred to in the nave under
group 2. Their date is settled by the fact that they abound in
unmistakable representations of the toothache. Now Saint William
Bytton died in 1274, and his tomb became immediately famous for
cures of this malady. In 1286, the chapter decided to repair the
old work, no doubt because the offerings at his tomb had brought
money to the church.”--(P. D.)
In studying these fascinating grotesques, however, we have neglected to
examine the two chantries in the nave--=Bishop Bubwith’s= and =Dean
Sugar’s=. They are opposite one another and are alike in general
characteristics. The screen work and cornices of Bubwith’s composed of
light and elaborate tracery are very much admired. Light doorways permit
entrance. The altar here was dedicated to St. Saviour. Bishop Bubwith
(who built the north-west tower) died in 1424. His arms, containing
holly-leaves, are beautifully carved.
Sugar’s Chantry, about sixty years later in date, is even more
elaborate. Like Bubwith’s, it is hexagonal and the canopy over the altar
is vaulted with delicate fan-tracery. Critics now consider it the finer
of the two.
Adjoining Sugar’s Chantry the stone =Pulpit=, built in the reign of Henry
VIII., calls for attention. In front are the arms of Bishop Knight, who
built it and who is buried near it (he died in 1547). Beside it, is a
brass lectern presented in 1660; upon this rests a Bible of the same
date.
In the =South transept=, we find the =Font=, interesting because it is the
one relic of Bishop Robert’s Norman church. It may have stood in the
earlier Saxon cathedral. The cover is Jacobean.
In the south end of the south transept is the =Tomb of Bishop de Marchia=
(died 1302). The effigy of the bishop, lying in a recess under a canopy
bristling with crockets and finials and brilliant with scarlet and
crimson, green and gold, is very striking. Some of the angels
surrounding the figure are charming. It is interesting to compare this
with the =Tomb of Lady Lisle=, also adorned with crockets and brightly
coloured.
Perpendicular stone screens divide the transepts from their small
chapels. The chapels of the south transept are =St. Martin’s= (now the
canon’s vestry) and that of =St. Calixtus=, enclosed on the side of the
choir-aisle by some beautiful ironwork from Beckington’s tomb. On the
south side of St. Calixtus’s chapel we must pause to examine =Dean
Husse’s tomb=, of alabaster, and noted for its carved panels even in this
cathedral of splendid carvings.
=St. David’s Chapel= in the =north transept= compels us to pause again to
look at the capital of the second transept pier--a handsome head with
curls and a smile on his face--and a fine corbel carved into the form of
a lizard eating leaves of a plant with berries. In this chapel lies an
interesting effigy of =Bishop Still= (1543-1607) in a red robe lined with
white fur. Next comes the =Chapel of the Holy Cross= in which is the =tomb
of Bishop Cornish= (died 1513), thought also to have been used as the
Easter Sepulchre, where the Host was laid during Holy Week.
The north transept contains a relic of the past that delights every one
who happens to be there at the striking of the hour. The famous clock
that once belonged to Glastonbury Abbey is still in working order. A
little figure known locally as “Jack Blandiver” kicks the quarters with
his heels on two little bells and at the hour four figures on horseback
above the clock rush around and charge each other. The curious clock was
made by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of the abbey. It was said to have been
in constant use at Glastonbury for 250 years before it was removed to
Wells at the Dissolution of the monasteries.
From the east aisle of the north transept a door opens to the =Staircase=
that leads to the Chapter-House and also to the celebrated Chain-Gate,
or carved bridge that connects the Vicars’ College with the Cathedral.
Through this gallery the Vicars could pass from their own Close into the
Cathedral. The common hall of their college (1340) opens from it.
“There are few things in English architecture that can be compared
with it for strange impressive beauty; the staircase goes upward
for eighteen steps and then part of it sweeps off to the
Chapter-house on the right, while the other part goes on and up
till it reaches the chain-bridge; thus the steps lie, worn here and
there by the tread of many feet, like fallen leaves, the last of
them lost in the brighter light of the bridge. Here one is still
almost within the cathedral, and yet the carts are passing
underneath, and their rattle mixes with the sound of the organ
within.
“The main gallery of the Chain-Gate is shut off by a door, which,
if it were kept open, would make the prospect even more beautiful
than it is. Two corbels which support the vaulting-shafts of the
lower staircase should be noticed; they both represent figures
thrusting their staves into the mouth of a dragon, but that on the
east (wearing a hood and a leathern girdle round his surcoat) is as
vigorous in action as the figure on the west side is feeble. A
small barred opening in the top of the east wall lights a curious
little chamber, which is reached from the staircase that leads to
the roof.”--(P. D.)
The =Chapter-House= is famous among these beautiful adjuncts to English
cathedrals. It has been called “a glorious development of window and
vault.” It was built in the latter half of the Geometrical period
(1280-1315). Note the profusion of ball-flower ornament round the
windows and the ogee dripstones outside.
“Of octagonal plan, its vaulting ribs branch out from sixteen
Purbeck shafts which cluster round the central pillar, typifying
the diocesan church with all its members gathered round its common
father, the bishop. Each of the eight sides of the room is occupied
by a window of four lights, with graceful tracery of an advanced
geometrical type. These windows, which are among the finest
examples of the period, have no shafts, but their arch mouldings
are enriched with a continuous series of the ball-flower ornament.
Most of the old glass in which ruby and white are the predominant
colours, remains in the upper lights. Under the windows runs an
arcade which forms fifty-one stalls, separated into groups of seven
by the blue lias vaulting-shafts at the angles, but in the side
which is occupied by the doorway there are only two stalls, one on
either side of the entrance. Two rows of stone benches are under
the stalls, and there is a bench of Purbeck round the base of the
central pier.”--(P. D.)
Another authority says:
“At the springs of the arches are sculptured heads full of
expression, kings, bishops, monks, ladies, jesters; and at the
angles, grotesques of various kinds. A line of the ball-flower
ornament is carried round above the canopies.
“The double arches at the entrance show traces of a door on the
exterior. Remark the curious boss in the vaulting, composed of four
bearded faces. The diameter of the chapter-house is fifty feet, its
height forty-one feet. Its unusual, and indeed unique, features
are--its separation from the cloisters from which the chapter-house
generally opens; and its crypt, or lower story, which rendered
necessary the staircase by which it is approached.
“A most striking view of the chapter-house is obtained from the
fourth angle of the staircase, close to the doorway of the Vicars’
College. The effect of the double-door arches with their tracery,
of the central pier, the branched ribs of the vaulting, and the
fine windows is magnificent; and when the latter were filled with
stained glass, must have been quite unrivalled. The chapter-house
is by no means the least important of the many architectural
masterpieces which combine to place Wells so high in the ranks of
English cathedrals.”--(R. J. K.)
The =Crypt=, finished by 1286, represents the last development of the
Early English style. It was used as the treasury where valuables were
kept. It is reached by a dark passage from the north-choir-aisle. The
odd corbels should be noted. The walls are very thick, the windows
narrow with wide splays and the vaulting-ribs spring from round and
massive pillars with much effect. This Crypt is unusually high, because
the many springs at Wells would not permit of a subterranean chamber.
But again we have been led astray from the main body of the Cathedral.
Returning the same way, we again enter the north transept and stand
beneath the splendid fan-tracery vault of the tower, a vault, beautiful
as it is, that hides the lantern with its arcades. These, however, can
be seen during the ascent of the tower.
The =Screen= dates from the Fourteenth Century.
“The first impression on entering the choir will not readily be
forgotten. Owing to the peculiar and most beautiful arrangement of
the Lady-chapel and the retro-choir, to the manner in which the
varied groups of arches and pilasters are seen beyond the low altar
screen, to the rich splendours of the stained glass, to the
beautiful architectural details of the choir itself, and to the
grace and finish of the late restorations, it may safely be said
that the choir of no English cathedral affords a view more
impressive or more picturesque. It is difficult to determine
whether the effect is more striking at early morning, when the
blaze of many-coloured light from all the eastern windows is
reflected upon the slender shafts of Purbeck and upon the vaulted
roof, or at the late winter services, when the darkened figures of
saints and prophets in the clerestory combine with the few lights
burning at the choristers’ stalls to add something of mystery and
solemn gloom to the maze of half-seen aisles and chapels.
“The first three piers and arches of the choir are Early English,
of the same character as those of the nave and transepts, and are
probably the work of Bishop Jocelin. The remaining portion,
including the whole of the vaulting as well as the clerestory above
the first three bays, is very rich early Decorated (geometrical)
and deserves the most careful study.
“The tabernacle work and the window tracery of the first three
bays, although of the same date, are less rich than those of the
eastern half of the choir. In this latter portion remark the triple
banded shafts of Purbeck, carried quite to the roof as
vaulting-shafts, and the tabernacle-work occupying the place of the
triforium, deeper and wider than in the lower bays. Under each arch
is a short triple shaft, supporting a bracket richly carved in
foliage. The sculpture of the capitals and of these brackets is
very good and should be noticed. The foliage has become
unconventional, and has evidently been studied from nature. Its
diminutive character, as compared with the Early English work in
the nave, is very striking.
“The east end of the choir is formed of three arches divided by
slender piers above which is some very rich tabernacle-work,
surmounted by an east window of unusual design. At the back of the
altar, and between the piers, is a low diapered screen, beyond
which are seen the arches and stained windows of the retro-choir
and Lady-chapel.”--(R. J. K.)
The stone vault is unusual, a sort of “coved roof,” Freeman calls it,
“with cells cut in it for the clerestory windows.”
The three western bays are Bishop Reginald’s of the Twelfth Century.
Here we are in the very oldest part of the Cathedral. Triple
vaulting-shafts of Purbeck marble are carried down to the floor.
“The clerestory windows contain flowing tracery of an advanced and
not very good type. In some the plain mullions are carried on
through the head of the window and intersect each other. Above the
tabernacle-work of the east end is the EAST WINDOW of seven lights,
the last bit of the Fourteenth Century reconstruction, the last
flicker of Decorated freedom. Its curious tracery is still
beautiful, doubly so for the glass it enshrines, but the rule and
square of Perpendicular domination have already set their mark upon
it; the two principal mullions run straight up to the window head,
and part of the tracery between them is rectangular.”--(P. D.)
The Cathedral possesses sixty-four =Misericords=, from the old
choir-stalls, regarded as among the best examples of mediæval
wood-carving in England. The skilful hand of the carver has wonderfully
represented griffins fighting, mermaids, apes, goats, dragons, wyverns,
popinjays, cats, foxes, peacocks, monsters, angels, eagles, hawks,
rabbits, kings, peasants--and many other birds, animals and grotesques.
The soft yet brilliant light sifts in from the =Jesse Window= above the
high altar. We lift our eyes and with some pains discern the twining
branches of the vine with the recumbent figure of Jesse at the base,
resting his head on his hand. From him rises the leading shoot of the
tree, with the figures of the Virgin and the Child each with radiant
nimbus and beneath a golden canopy. The tendrils of the vine enwreath
prophets, priests and kings,--the ancestors of the Babe of Bethlehem.
Above is a representation of the _Crucifixion_; and at the very
[Illustration: WELLS: NAVE, EAST]
[Illustration: WELLS: SOUTH-WEST]
top of the window, the outstretched wings of the Holy Spirit.
The choir-aisles are of the same character as the choir itself and are
entered from the transepts through ogee arches, ornamented with crockets
and finials.
The south-choir-aisle contains the =Tomb of Saint William Bytton=, at
which (the oldest incised slab in England) offerings were made by those
suffering from toothache, as we have already seen. Further away is the
=Tomb of Beckington=, surrounded by a beautiful iron-screen of the same
date as the tomb (1452). The carving is very fine, especially the wings
of the angels. A little colour is left here and there. His effigy rests
upon it, with old and wrinkled face. This bishop said mass for his own
soul here in January, 1452, thirteen years before he died.
In the south-east transept, we find the =Chapel of St. John Baptist=,
where a Decorated piscina with canopy deserves attention.
At the extreme end of the north-choir-aisle is =Saint Stephen’s Chapel=
and at the extreme end of the south-choir-aisle is the corresponding
=Saint Catherine’s Chapel=. Both contain effigies of bishops, tombs and
monuments. Between and back of these is the Lady-Chapel.
We now return to the =Retro-choir=. Four slender piers of Purbeck marble
bear up the vault. The arrangement of the columns should be particularly
noticed here. It is hard to realise that this =Retro-choir= was merely a
device for connecting the Lady-Chapel with the Choir, it seems so
entirely a part of the scheme.