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.
The Misericords survived better than the other sections of the Stalls, which during the Protestant Reformation had their Canopies chopped off and Galleries inserted above them.[128]
The subject matter of the carvings of the central brackets as Misericords varies, but many themes recur in different Churches. Typically, the themes are less unified or directly related to the Bible and Christian theology than small sculptures seen elsewhere within Churches, such as Bosses.
This applies at Wells, where none of the Misericord carvings is directly based on a Bible story.[129] The subjects, chosen either by the Woodcarver, or perhaps by the one paying for the Stall, have no over-riding theme.
The subject matter of the carvings of the central brackets as Misericords varies, but many themes recur in different Churches. Typically, the themes are less unified or directly related to the Bible and Christian theology than small sculptures seen elsewhere within Churches, such as Bosses.
This applies at Wells, where none of the Misericord carvings is directly based on a Bible story.[129] The subjects, chosen either by the Woodcarver, or perhaps by the one paying for the Stall, have no over-riding theme.
Wells Cathedral by Drone.
Available on YouTube
The sole unifying elements are the Roundels on each side of the pictorial subject, which all show elaborately carved foliage, in most cases formal and stylised in the Later-Decorated manner, but with several examples of naturalistic foliage, including Roses and Bindweed.[128][129]
Many of the subjects carry Traditional interpretations. The image of the “Pelican in her Piety” (believed to feed her young on her own blood) is a recognised symbol for Christ’s love for the Church. A cat playing with a mouse may represent the Devil snaring a human Soul.[129]
Some of the Cathedral’s fittings and monuments are hundreds of years old. The round Font in the South Transept is from the former Saxon Cathedral and has an Arcade of Round-Headed Arches, on a round Plinth. The Font cover was made in 1635 and is decorated with the heads of Putti.
The Chapel of Saint Martin is a Memorial to every Somerset man who fell in World War I.[132] The Bishop’s Throne dates from 1340, and has a panelled, canted front and Stone Doorway, and a deep, nodding, cusped, Ogee Canopy above it, with three-stepped Statue Niches and Pinnacles.
There is a bound Oak Chest from the 14th-Century, which was used to store the Chapter Seal and key documents. Opposite the throne, is a 19th-Century Octagonal Pulpit on a coved base with panelled sides, and steps up from the North Aisle.
In the North Transept is Wells Cathedral Clock, an Astronomical Clock from about 1325, believed to be by Peter Lightfoot, a Monk of Glastonbury.[134] Its mechanism, dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th-Century and the original moved to the Science Museum in London, where it still operates. It is the second-oldest surviving Clock in England after the Salisbury Cathedral Clock.[135]
In the North Transept is Wells Cathedral Clock, an Astronomical Clock from about 1325, believed to be by Peter Lightfoot, a Monk of Glastonbury.[134] Its mechanism, dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th-Century and the original moved to the Science Museum in London, where it still operates. It is the second-oldest surviving Clock in England after the Salisbury Cathedral Clock.[135]
PART TWENTY-FOUR FOLLOWS.
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