Wells Cathedral (Part Fourteen).

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 sculptures on The Great West Front of Wells Cathedral include standing figures, seated figures, half-length Angels and narratives in high relief. Many of the figures are life-sized or larger. Together, they constitute the finest display of Mediæval carving in England.[5]

The Lady Chapel, 

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 8 July 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

The strongly-projecting Buttresses have tiers of Niches which contain many of the largest figures. Other large figures, including that of Christ, occupy the Gable. A single figure stands in one of two later Niches high up on the Northern Tower.

In 1851, the archæologist Charles Robert Cockerell published his analysis of the iconography, numbering the nine sculptural divisions from the lowest to the highest.

He defined the theme as “a calendar for unlearned men” illustrating the doctrines and history of the Christian Faith, its introduction to Britain and its protection by Princes and Bishops.[102] He likens the arrangement and iconography to the Te Deum.[103]

Ceiling Vault, The Lady Chapel,

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 9 December 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to Cockerell, the side of the façade that is to the South of the Central Door is the more Sacred and the scheme is divided accordingly.[104] The lowest range of Niches each contained a standing figure, of which all but four figures on the West Front, two on each side, have been destroyed.

More have survived on the Northern and Eastern sides of the North Tower. Cockerell speculates that those to the South of the Portal represented Prophets and Patriarchs of the Old Testament, while those to the North represented early Missionaries to Britain, of which Augustine of Canterbury, 

Saint Birinus, and Benedict Biscop, are identifiable by their attributes.[105]

In the second zone, above each pair of standing figures, is a Quatrefoil containing a half-length Angel in relief, some of which have survived.[106] Between the Gables of the Niches are Quatrefoils that contain a series of narratives from the Bible, with the Old Testament stories to the South, above the Prophets and Patriarchs, and those from the New Testament to the North.[107]

Fan Vaulting, Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 9 December 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIFTEEN FOLLOWS.