It is now generally believed to have been the work of Bishop Reginald, Jocelyn's predecessor. The eastern portion is the work of Bishop Ralph (1329-1363), the Lady Chapel was finished in 1326. All this is therefore Decorated, and windows of the same style have been inserted in the earlier western portion. There were two Lady Chapels adjoining the cloisters, but these were ruthlessly destroyed by Bishop Barlow in 1552. The Cloister does not possess the usual features of a monastic church. It is unusually large, and there are only three walks, the north being absent. The wall of the east walk is Early English, built by Jocelyn, but the rest was rebuilt by Bishop Bubwith; the west and south walks by Bishop Beckington and finished soon after his death. The style is Perpendicular. The grotesque bosses are interesting. An Early English doorway leads to the palace. Over the west walk is the singing-school, and over the east the library. Beckington's rebus (a beacon and a tun) occurs in the bosses. The garth is known as "Palm Churchyard" from the yew tree in the centre. Branches of yews were carried in processions on Palm Sunday, and this probably accounts for the prevalence of yew trees in churchyards. The cloisters have been made the receptacle of many monuments removed from the Cathedral. The Library over the east walk, built by Bubwith, has about 3000 volumes, and contains the books belonging to Bishop Ken. An Aldine edition of Aristotle has the autograph and notes of Erasmus, and there are several important MSS., the chains which formerly attached the books to the desks, a thirteenth-century pyx-cover, and a crozier of the same period.
The Bishop's Palace, unfortunately much restored in 1846, is one of the finest examples of a thirteenth-century house existing in England. It was begun by Jocelyn. The great hall, now in ruins, built by Bishop Burnell (1275-1292) for the purpose of great entertainments, was destroyed by Barlow. The chapel is Decorated. The gatehouse, moat and fortifications were constructed by Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury. The Deanery was built by Dean Gunthorpe in 1475, chaplain to Edward IV. On the north is the famous Vicar's Close, which has forty-two houses, constructed mainly by Bishop Beckington (1443-1464), with a common hall erected by Bishop Ralph (1340), and chapel by Bubwith, but altered a century later for the use of the Vicars-Choral. We notice the old fireplace, the pulpit from which one of the brethren read aloud during meals, and an ancient painting representing Bishop Ralph making his grant to the kneeling vicars, and some additional figures painted in the time of Elizabeth.
The Interior
Few will fail to be impressed by the many beauties of this glorious Nave, which we will gaze at from the west end. It is rather narrow, but the proportions are good, and the magnificent clustered columns and enriched capitals, the groups of bearing shafts, grotesque carvings, and the fine vault, all combine to form a noble structure. The curious inverted arches at the east end of the nave are remarkable. These were added early in the fourteenth century to save the collapsing central tower; and so skilfully was the work done that the object of the builders was completely accomplished. The nave has generally been assigned to Jocelyn, but architects have noticed that it is only a little removed from the Norman style, and recent investigators have shown that the greater part is the work of Bishop Reginald (1171-1191). The four eastern bays are assigned to him, and the rest to Jocelyn. A close inspection will reveal several points of difference between the earlier and later work. The heads of a king and bishop between the fourth and fifth piers (counting from the west) mark the change. The difference may be thus tabulated[13]—
| East | West |
| Masonry in small courses of stone. | The blocks are larger. |
| Small human heads at angles of piers. | No heads. |
| Grotesque animals in tympana of triforium. | Foliage and larger heads. |
| Medallions above triforium sunk in the wall. | Flush with the wall. |
| Capitals plainer. | More ornamented and richer. |
The piers are octagonal with clustered shafts. The capitals are enriched with foliage. Birds, animals and monsters twine and perch among the foliage. The triforium arcade is continuous, and composed of lancet openings. The clerestory windows have Perpendicular tracery inserted by Beckington. The roof is vaulted, with bosses of foliage. The Music Gallery stands in the central bay on the south side erected in Perpendicular style, and near it formerly was another gallery supported by two brackets, on which are carved the heads of a king and bishop. The curious and grotesque carvings should be carefully studied. The west end has an arcade of five arches. Above are three lancets with dog-tooth moulding and Perpendicular tracery. The glass was collected by Dean Creyghton on the Continent during his exile with Charles II., and represents the life of St. John Baptist. Its date is 1507. The other windows have the figures of King Ina and Bishop Ralph. The north and south aisles correspond with the nave in their architecture. Perpendicular tracery has been inserted in the windows. Under the north-west tower is the Chapel of the Holy Cross, now used as a vestry, and the opposite Chapel is now used by the ringers. There are two beautiful chantries in the nave—one is Bishop Bubwith's Chapel (1421), with much mutilated east end; the other is Sugar's Chantry, formerly dedicated to St. Edmund. Hugh Sugar, dean of Wells, died in 1489. The fan-tracery of the roof, the niches and the cornice of angels are worthy of notice. The Pulpit was erected by Bishop Knight (1541-1547). The lectern is by Bishop Creyghton, who erected the west window, and shared Charles II.'s exile. The Transepts are rather earlier than the nave, and are part of Reginald's work. They have aisles, and the capitals of the piers are richly sculptured. In the South Transept we see on the west Elias, a woman extracting a thorn from her foot, a man with toothache, the grape-stealers and their fate. On the east there is only foliage and no figures. The Chapel of St. Calixtus is on the east, containing the beautiful monument of Dean Husse (1305), with its finely-carved panels. The subjects are the Annunciation, God the Father, and some ecclesiastics. The other Chapel is that of St. Martin, now a vestry, and has the tomb of a Chancellor of Wells (1454). In the transept are the monuments of Lady Lisle (1464), wife of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and of Bishop William de la Marchia (1302). The Font is Norman, and probably the only remaining link with the early church built by Bishop Robert (1136-1166). The cover is Jacobean. The North Transept resembles the south. Here we see again a series of strange carvings, amongst which are Moses and Aaron, man with goose, woman with toothache. The reason why so many representations of this distressing malady occur is that the shrine of St. William Bytton (1274) was famous for its cures of persons so suffering. On the east are the Chapels of St. David, with tomb of Bishop Still (1607), and Holy Cross with tomb of Bishop Kidder (1703). Another tomb is that of Bishop Cornish (1513). The famous Clock is here with its tilting knights and human-shaped striker, who perform wondrous things when the expiration of each hour summons them to action. We will not dispel the curiosity of the visitor by any description of the performance, which is popular, and should not be missed.
The Tower is of Early English date as far as the roofs, and has a fine fan-tracery vault. As we have said, it was raised in the Decorated period, and the superstructure caused a dangerous settlement, which was counteracted by the inverted arches, and some flying buttresses.
The Choir-Screen is Decorated, and has not been improved by modern restorers. Above it is the organ, a modern instrument, which replaces the old organ erected by Dean Creyghton.
The Choir is very beautiful, but it is only a shadow of what it was before the evil hand of the restorer rested heavily upon it. It is terrible to contemplate the mischief which has been accomplished here in the fatal restoration of 1848. However, it would have been difficult to efface all its beauties, and some of these happily remain. The three west bays are probably Reginald's work, and were formerly attributed to Jocelyn; the rest is Decorated, and two of the west piers have been converted into this style. There is no triforium, its place being taken by rich tabernacle work. At the east end there are three graceful arches; and above these rich tabernacle work, and a large window of seven lights with Late Decorated tracery. There is a lierne vault. The vandals of the nineteenth century destroyed nearly all of the old woodwork, and substituted canopies of Doulting stone. The pulpit is modern; the throne was erected by Beckington, but has unfortunately been much restored. The Misereres have happily been saved, and are very remarkable. They are Early Decorated, and can scarcely be surpassed. Amongst the many curious subjects are a mermaid, griffin and various monsters, two goats butting, cats, peacock, cock, fox and geese, lions, rabbits, etc.
