Following Creighton's appointment as Bishop,
Ralph Bathurst, who had been Chaplain to the King, President of
Trinity College, Oxford, and Fellow of the
Royal Society, became Dean. During Bathurst's long tenure, the Cathedral was restored, however, in the
Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, Puritan soldiers damaged the West Front, tore Lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows, smashed the Organ and furnishings, and, for a time, stabled their horses in the Nave.
Restoration began again under Bishop
Thomas Ken, who was appointed by the Crown in 1685 and served until 1691. He was one of seven Bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign
King James II's "
Declaration of Indulgence", which would have enabled Catholics to resume positions of political power, but popular support led to their acquittal. Ken refused to take the Oath of Allegiance to
William and Mary, because James II had not Abdicated and, with others, known as the
Nonjurors, was put out of Office. His successor,
Bishop Kidder, was killed in the
Great Storm of 1703, when two Chimney Stacks on the Palace fell on him and his wife, while they were asleep in bed.
The 13th-Century West Front, Wells Cathedral, by Thomas Norreys.
As a synthesis of form, architectural decoration and figurative sculpture,
it is considered to be unsurpassed in Britain.
Photo: 27 October 2010.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
(Wikimedia Commons)
By the middle of the 19th-Century, a major
restoration programme was needed. Under
Dean Goodenough, the Monuments were moved to the Cloisters and the remaining Mediaeval paint and
whitewash was removed in an operation known as "The Great Scrape".
Anthony Salvin took charge of the extensive restoration of the Choir. Wooden Galleries, that had been installed in the 16th-Century, were removed and the Stalls were given Stone Canopies and placed further back within the line of the Arcade. The Mediaeval Stone
Pulpitum Screen was extended in the centre to support a new
Organ.
The Late-20th-Century saw an extensive restoration programme, particularly of the West Front. The Stained-Glass is currently under restoration, with a programme underway to conserve the large 14th-Century
Jesse Tree Window, at the Eastern Terminal of the Choir.
On the lowest levels, many statues are lost,
but this group of Saints remains
at the back of the North Tower.
Photo: 9 December 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Since the 13th-Century, Wells Cathedral has been the Seat of the
Bishop of Bath and Wells. Its Governing Body, the
Chapter, is made up of five Clerical Canons (the Dean, the Precentor, the Canon Chancellor, the Canon Treasurer, and the Arch-Deacon of Wells) and four Lay Members: The Administrator (Chief Executive), Keeper of the Fabric, Overseer of the Estate and the Chairman of the Cathedral Shop and Catering Boards. The current Bishop of Bath and Wells is
Peter Hancock, who was installed in a Service in the Cathedral on 7 June 2014. The present Dean is
John Clarke.
Employed Staff include the Organist and Master of Choristers, Head
Verger, Archivist, Librarian and the Staff of the Shop, Café and Restaurant. The Chapter is advised by specialists, such as Architects, Archaeologists and Financial Experts.
More than a thousand Services are held each year. There are Daily Services of
Matins, Holy Communion and Choral Evensong, as well as major celebrations of Christian Festivals, such as
Christmas,
Easter,
Pentecost and
Saints' Days.
The Cathedral is also used for the Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals of those with close connections to it. In July 2009, the Cathedral hosted the Funeral of
Harry Patch, the last
British Army Veteran of
World War I, who died at the age of 111.
This is a fully-dressed Traditional Verger's Gown.
Note the Velvet Trimming down the front,
and Velvet Chevrons on the Sleeves. The Verger has a White Jabot at the throat.
Source: www.vgdd.org, [The Vergers' Guild Of The Diocese Of Dallas],
which is my site and contains my photographs
and which are available to anyone who wants them.
This File: 25 January 2006.
(Wikipedia)
Three Sunday Services are led by the resident Choir (during the School Terms) and Choral Services are sung on weekdays. The Cathedral hosts visiting Choirs and is involved in outreach work with local schools, as part of its Chorister Outreach Project. The Cathedral is also the venue for musical events, such as an Annual Concert by the
Somerset Chamber Choir.
Each year, approximately 150,000 people attend Services, and another 300,000 visit as tourists. Entry is free, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation towards the annual running costs, which were around £2 million (approx. US$3.3 million) in 2010.
Construction of the Cathedral began about 1175, to the design of an unknown architect. Wells is the first Cathedral in England to be, from its Foundation, built in the Gothic Style. According to art historian
John Harvey, it is the first truly Gothic Cathedral in the world, its architects having entirely dispensed with all the features that bound the contemporary East End of Canterbury Cathedral and the earlier buildings of France, such as the East End of the
Abbey of Saint Denis, to the Romanesque.
Unlike these Churches, Wells has Clustered Piers, rather than Columns, and has a Gallery of identical Pointed Arches, rather than the typically-Romanesque form of Paired Openings. The Style, with its simple Non-Traceried
Lancet Arches and Convoluted Mouldings, is known as
Early-English Gothic.
Wells Cathedral's Central Tower,
seen from the Cloisters.
Photo: 27 October 2010.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
From about 1192 to 1230, Adam Lock, the earliest Architect at Wells for whom a name is known, continued the Transept and Nave in the same manner as his predecessor. Lock was also Builder of the North Porch, to his own design.
The Early-English West Front was commenced around 1230, by Thomas Norreys, with building and sculpture continuing for thirty years. Its South-West Tower was begun 100 years later and constructed between 1365 and 1395, and the North-West Tower between 1425 and 1435, both in the
Perpendicular Gothic Style, to the design of William Wynford, who also filled many of the Cathedral's Early-English
Lancet Windows with delicate
Tracery.
The Chapter House,
Wells Cathedral.
Photo: 9 July 2014.
Source: Own work.
Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
(Wikimedia Commons)
Between 1275 and 1310, the
Undercroft and Chapter House were built by unknown architects, the Undercroft in the Early-English Style and the Chapter House in the Geometric Style of
Decorated Gothic.
PART FOUR FOLLOWS
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