Wells Cathedral (Part Twenty-Two).

The Great West Front,

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 30 April 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution:

Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

Another well-known carving is in the North Transept Aisle: a Foliate Corbel, on which climbs a Lizard, sometimes identified as a Salamander, a symbol of Eternal Life.[113][123]

In the Chapter House, the carvings of the fifty-one Stalls include numerous small heads of great variety, many of them smiling or laughing. A well-known figure is the Corbel of the Dragon-Slaying Monk in the Chapter House Stair.

The large continuous Capital that encircles the Central Pillar of the Chapter House is markedly different in style to the Stiff-Leaf of the Early-English period. In contrast to the bold projections and undercutting of the earlier work, it has a rippling form and is clearly identifiable as Grapevine.[124]

Wells Cathedral Choir.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Wells Cathedral has one of the finest sets of Misericords in Britain.[128][129] Its Clergy has a long tradition of singing or reciting from the Book of Psalms each day, along with the customary daily reading of the Holy Office.

In Mediæval times, the Clergy assembled in the Church eight times daily for the Canonical Hours. As the greater part of the Services was recited while standing, many Monastic or Collegiate Churches fitted Stalls, whose seats tipped up to provide a ledge for the Monk or Cleric to lean against.

These were called “Misericords”, because their installation was an Act of Mercy.[128] Misericords typically have a carved figurative bracket beneath the ledge, framed by two floral motifs known, in Heraldic manner, as “supporters”.[128]

“Lux Aurumque”.

Composed by: Eric Whitacre.

Sung by: Wells Cathedral Choir.

Available on YouTube

HERE

The Misericords date from 1330 to 1340.[128] They may have been carved under the direction of Master Carpenter John Strode, although his name is not recorded before 1341.

He was assisted by Bartholomew Quarter, who is documented from 1343.[128] They originally numbered ninety, of which sixty-five have survived.[130] Sixty-one are installed in the Choir, three are displayed in the Cathedral, and one is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.[128]

New Stalls were ordered when the Eastern End of the Choir was extended in the Early-14th-Century. The Canons complained that they had borne the cost of the rebuilding and ordered the Prebendary Clerics to pay for their own Stalls.[128]

When the newly-refurbished Choir opened in 1339, many Misericords were left unfinished, including one-fifth of the surviving sixty-five. Many of the Clerics had not paid, having been called to contribute a total sum of £200 [Editor: £100,000, today].

My Performance at Wells Cathedral (First Half).

Available on YouTube

HERE

PART TWENTY-THREE FOLLOWS.