Wells Cathedral - Wooooah!

The west front stopped us in our tracks with its extravagant sculptured façade and confusion of niches. Once inside I had to make a drawing of the great scissor arches at the crossing. I have seen nothing like these before or since. The diocese (Bath and Wells) was created in 1244 so the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew was perhaps the first English Gothic cathedral.

Much of Wells is in the Decorated style, and contrasts from most other English medieval cathedrals, which have parts in the earlier beefy Norman style. However in the south transept is the Saxon font from the earlier church of 705. The north transept gives admission to an exquisite chapter house. This is a perfect example of the Decorated style, there are delicate ball-flower decorations surrounding each window arch, and vault bosses with beautiful leaf designs.

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