The City of Wells, in the hundred of Wells Forum, at the southern foot of the great mountainous forest of Mendip, 19 miles south-west from Bath, the same distance south from Bristol, and 20 from Bridgewater, receives its name from a remarkable spring called St. Andrew’s Well, vulgarly Bottomless Well, which rises near the Bishop’s Palace, and, flowing in a copious stream, surrounds that structure with its waters, and thence transmits them through the south-west parts of the town.

The city is small, compact, and in general well- built and neatly paved. It is divided into four verderies, or wards, each of which is superintended by two verderers, or petty constables. The market-place, on the east side of the city, is wide and airy. Near the site of an ancient cross is the City Conduit, an elegant modern structure, "which, however, would have been a great ornament to the place had a slight alteration been made in its plan. It is a conduit rising on the spot where a beautiful hexagonal building of the same nature, erected by Bishop Beckington, previously stood. The taste and design of it are, in my opinion, faultless; but its shape, which is triangular, gives it a sort of thinness highly disagreeable to the eye."

The city was first incorporated by Reginald Fitz Joceline, in the time of Richard I., and afterwards the charter was confirmed by King John, who, in the eighth year of his reign, erected the city into a free borough. It was then styled the Master and Commonalty of the Borough of Wells; but in the 31st of Elizabeth it was incorporated by the name of the Mayor, Masters, and Burgesses of the City of Wells, and was to consist of a mayor, recorder, seven masters, a common-clerk, and sixteen common-council- men; whereof the mayor, recorder, and one of the masters, were to be justices of the peace in the said corporation, and the mayor and recorder to be of the quorum.

This city has sent representatives to parliament from the 26th Edward I.; they are chosen by the mayor and commonalty.

Ina, King of the West Saxons, in the year 704, founded a collegiate church here, and about 200 years afterwards, one of the bishops, consecrated by Phlegmund, archbishop of Canterbury, was appointed over King Ina’s College, at Wells, and the province of Somerset was assigned him for his diocese and seat of jurisdiction.

In the year 1087, John de Villula, the then bishop, being strongly attached to the city of Bath, where he derived his early fortune in the practice of physic, determined to fix his pontifical seat there. In this design he was encouraged by the monks of Bath, who petitioned him to unite the abbey and bishopric, and gave him 500 marks, with which he purchased the whole city, and then, renouncing Wells, assumed the title of Bishop of Bath. After this, great contentions arose between the people of Bath and Wells, which of those cities should be honoured with the episcopal seat, which were at length settled by the bishop’s arbitration; who ordained that in future the bishops should be styled Bishops of Bath and Wells; that each of the churches, when the see was vacant, should appoint an equal number of delegates, by whose votes the bishop should be chosen, and that he should be installed both at Bath and Wells.

The Cathedral is at the eastern extremity of the city; and the greater part of it as it now stands, was built in the year 1239, by Bishop Joceline de Wells, in the form of a cross, having a noble square tower, which rises at the intersection of the transepts with the body of the church, and two other towers, lower and of smaller dimensions, springing at the north and south sides of the west end. Having been built at different periods, some little dissimilarity of architecture occurs. The heavy hand of the Saxon artist may be discovered in the eastern members, whilst the western parts display a magnificent example of the richest and most superb masonry of the thirteenth century. The ornaments here consist of Gothic canopies, or niches, of light and airy design, supported by slender shafts of Purbeck marble, enriched with costly capitals, running in horizontal ranges one above another, round the whole western end and its accompanying towers. In these are placed the statues of the apostles and other dignified personages. The figures of the apostles occupy the highest tier of these recesses. The lowest hue of sculpture exhibits a whimsical specimen of Gothic taste in the way of design: the general resurrection is the subject; but the grotesque and monstrous appearance of the figures, which are starting from their temporary mansions of dust, evinces that the artist had not considered it with adequate seriousness.

"The multiplicity of figures which decorate the western end of Wells Cathedral, the beauty of the niches wherein they stand enshrined, the light appearance of the pillars, detached from the wall, and from each other, combine to form the most splendid and agreeable example of Gothic architecture."

The internal parts of the cathedral are of a more heavy character.

"Bishops and dignitaries occupy in profusion the consecrated dust covered by this noble pile, most of the internal decorations of which consist of monumental erections to their memory. Here Ina, of legislative fame, the first founder of the church, is said to repose.

"The northern transept contains a curious old specimen of the art of clock-making. It is a dial, constructed by a monk of Glastonbury, called Peter Lightfoot, about the year 1325, of complicated design and ingenious execution. On its face the changes of the moon and other astronomical particulars are contrived to be represented, and an horizontal framework, at the summit of the dial, exhibits, by the aid of machinery, a party of knights armed for the tournament, pursuing each other on horseback with a rapid rotatory motion.

"Connected with the Cathedral is the ChapterHouse, an octagonal building, remarkable only for the beautiful clustered shaft of Purbeck marble, which, rising from the centre of the area, ramifies above into many slender ribs supporting the roof of the edifice."

"The external appearance of the Bishop’s Palace, with its battlements and moats, its gates and redoubts, convey the idea of the sullen retreat of an ancient feudal chieftain, rather than what it really is, the elegant mansion of courtesy and literary taste."—Warner's Walk.

The number of inhabitants in the City of Wells, according to the last returns, are 5, 156, occupying 852 houses. The summer assizes for the county are held here alternately with Taunton and Bridgewater. The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday.

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WELLS is a city, municipal borough, market and assize town, head of a petty sessional division, union and county court district, with stations on the Great Western and London and South Western and Midland and Somerset and Dorset joint railways, and is 20 miles south-west from Bath, 20 south from Bristol, 20 east from Bridgwater, 32 north-east from Taunton and 120 by rail and 120 by road from London, in the Wells division of the county, hundred of Wells Forum, rural deanery of Shepton Mallet, archdeaconry of Wells and diocese of Bath and Wells. The city comprises within it the liberty of St. Andrew and the whole of the In parish of St. Cuthbert; it was incorporated 31 Elizh. (1588—9) and continued to be governed by the charter then granted until the passing of the “Municipal Corporations Act, 1835” (5 and 6 Wm. IV. c. 76); the municipality is now regulated by the “Municipal Corporations Act, 1882” (45 and 46 Vict, c. 50), and consists of a mayor, recorder, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors. The Autumn assizes for the county of Somerset are always held at Wells and the date has recently been fixed by Order in Council for November 1st, whilst the Summer assizes are held at Wells alternately with Taunton on the 5th June, and the quarter sessions at Easter and Michaelmas. Petty sessions for the city are held before the mayor and borough magistrates, and for this division before the county magistrates.

The borough returned two members to Parliament at least from, 23 Edward I. (1295), but was disfranchised by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868 (31 and 32 Vict. c. 48).

As a place of residence, Wells may be said to possess several important advantages, being situated on a deep bed of diluvial gravel, in a position of unusual attractiveness at the foot of the Mendip Hills, whose varied and sometimes richly wooded heights rising around furnish a grateful shelter; prominent among these is Dulcote Hill, a detached and craggy eminence, while on the south rises Glastonbury Tor. The city is abundantly supplied with water brought from the Mendip Hills as well as from the copious springs from which the name of the city is derived, and is well built, paved, and lighted with gas from works established under a special Act of Parliament, obtained in 1832, and by an Act entitled “The Wells Gas Act, 1867”: extensive drainage works have also been constructed.

The city of Wells owes its modern name to the springs of wells near the eastern end of the cathedral; in early times it was also known as “Welle,” “Welliae,” “Fonticuli,” and other names, all having reference to its remarkable springs, the chief of which, known as “St. Andrew’s Well,” still exists in the Palace gardens. Bishop Beckington, a liberal benefactor to the city, granted to the inhabitants the right to a continuous supply of water from this well, and this grant is still in force, the water being conveyed to the great conduit in the Market place, and thence flowing along the sides of the streets, forming a most interesting feature in the place: for this benefit the citizens bound themselves to make a yearly pilgrimage to the tomb of their benefactor, and there pray for the repose of his soul.

The London and South Western and Midland and Somerset and Dorset joint line branches off from the Bristol and Exeter section of the Great Western at Highbridge, a few miles from Bridgwater, and runs through Glastonbury to Wells; a line, formerly called the East Somerset, but now owned by the Great Western, was opened in 1862, from Wells to Shepton Mallet, and forms a junction with the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth branch at Witham Friary, a few miles from Chippenham. The Cheddar Valley branch of the Great Western railway was opened in 1871, with a junction at Yatton, thus placing the city in connection with Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and other important places.

Wells is said to be the only ancient city in England, which has not furnished a title of nobility.

The civil history of Wells, confined chiefly to a few royal visits, is of inferior interest: King John is recorded to have visited the place on seven different occasions; Henry VI. in 1449 and 1452; Henry VII. in 1497; Anne of Denmark, consort of James I. in 1613, and at a later period Cromwell was received by the citizens. After the defeat of Monmouth at Sedgmoor, July 5, 1685, a large number of the prisoners taken in that battle were confined at Wells, and received both temporal relief and spiritual, counsel from Bishop Ken.

Wells is essentially an ecclesiastical city, perhaps the-most remarkable of its kind in the world, and its existence and importance are almost wholly due to the religious foundations of which it was the seat. Before the time of Ina, King of the West Saxons, the place was but a little village; but soon after this pious prince obtained the crown, he founded a church (A.D. 704) on the site of the present cathedral; the town was first incorporated by Bishop Robert who succeeded to the see in 1136, and died about 1166. This charter was confirmed and extended by Reginald FitzJocelin, who became Bishop of Bath in 1174, and by Bishop Savaric, who succeeded Bishop Reginald in 1196, these two being the last of the foreign bishops, who held the see of “Somerset,” from the time of Edward the Confessor. From 1088 to 1244 the see held the name of “Bath” only, or “Bath and Glastonbury,” but on the death of Bishop Jocelin, in 1244, a dispute arose between the canons of Wells and the monks of Bath, as to their respective rights to nominate a bishop, and it was not settled until 1246, when on an appeal to Pope Innocent IV. it was ordered that these bodies should, in future elect jointly, that the elections should take place alternately at Bath and at Wells, that Roger of Salisbury, who had been chosen by the monks of Bath, should be the next bishop, and that he and his successors should bear henceforth the title of “Bath and Wells.” The first royal charter was granted by King John in the third year of his reign (1201), and by this it was constituted a free borough, and the townsmen and their heirs free burgesses: other charters were subsequently obtained by the citizens from Henry III. Edward I. Edward III. Richard II. Henry IV. and Henry VI.; in all these grants the privileges of the citizens were considerably limited by the power of the bishops, who, at that period, as tenants in capito under the crown, were overlords of the burgesses. Many of the disabilities under which the inhabitants laboured were removed by Queen Elizabeth, who (with the consent of Bishop Godwyn) in the thirty-first year of her reign (1588—9) granted two charters, one for municipal purposes and the other for regulating the ancient trading companies and increasing the powers of the Court of Record, which had existed here from, and probably before, the time of Bishop Savaric.

The noble cathedral is the great attraction to visitors, and, with its group of subordinate buildings, offers the most complete example of a secular cathedral (i.e. of the old foundation) now left to us. A fine view of the exterior is obtained from the south-east, across the moat and battlemented walls which surround the gardens of the episcopal palace, and from, the Shepton Mallet road; and from the spacious close, an admirable and scarcely inferior prospect is afforded of the three towers, the majestic west front, with its superb screen, the noble chapter house, and the unique chain bridge between the transept and the vicar’s college. The whole of the glorious west front, save the upper portion of the towers, was chiefly the work of Jocelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1205—41, and forms, as a whole, one of the most extraordinary examples of mediaeval sculpture in Europe. Here is seen at one view “a magnificent picture of the great doctrines of the Christian dispensation and its peculiar relations to this country.” From basement to gable it is full of rich and beautiful foliage of delicately wrought stonework, and is covered with sculptures in deep niches relieved by shafts of Kilkenny marble, constituting the earliest and most magnificent series of religious effigies disposed in this manner to be found in Europe, the whole being the work of an unknown English artist; the list includes 21 crowned kings, 8 queens, 31 mitred ecclesiastics, 7 knights, 14 nobles and princes, and upwards of 450 smaller figures, embodying the whole Christian scheme, from the Creation to the Day of Final Retribution, which crowns the central gable; on either side is portrayed the General Resurrection; above this is the Heavenly Hierarchy, while below our Saviour in his Majesty stand in the highest range the figures of the Twelve Apostles. For artistic skill and excellence, these sculptures are not surpassed by any similar and contemporaneous works on the continent, being full of action and gracefully draped, with very minute detail of costume carefully reproduced. The beautiful north porch has a parvise lighted by lancets in the gable, and is flanked by octagonal turrets with spirelets; on the east of the transept is a gallery of communication, passing from the chapter house and above the chain gate to the vicar’s college; the central tower is of three stages, the two uppermost ornamented with trefoiled panelling, pierced in the topmost stage for windows; the parapet is embattled, and the buttresses, are continued above it into crocketed pinnacles.

The ground plan comprises a choir of six bays with aisles, eastern transepts, ambulatory and pentagonal lady chapel at the east end, great central transepts with eastern chapels and western aisles, octagonal chapter house to the north of the choir, with a crypt below it; nave of ten bays with north porch and western and central towers, with 10 bells; on the south side are the cloisters, extending southwards from the south-west tower, and the western aisle of the south transept. The original entrance was by the doorway under the southwest tower, at one time insulated, for the proper entrance in the western front was blocked by the holding of three annual fairs in the cemetery before it. The nave has a triforium of extreme height, and a deeply recessed clerestory and stone roof, simple but grand in design, springing from short columns; but its most prominent feature consists in the double-curved stone arches, with circles in the spandrils supporting the central tower, remarkable alike for their wonderful boldness of outline and massive construction; the roof below the central tower is carved with rich fan-tracery; on the south side of the nave, in the central bay, is a minstrel’s gallery of Perpendicular date, and in the arcades are inserted two chantry chapels, both of the 15 th century-Bishop Bubwith’s on the north (1424), and treasurer Sugar’s (1489) on the south; against the latter a stone pulpit, with a legend from 2 Tim iv. 2, was erected by Bishop Knight in 1542. The main transept has chapels with Perpendicular screens on the east side, and sacristies on the west, and in the northern arm there remains the face of a curious astronomical clock, the original works of which, now in the South Kensington Museum, were constructed by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of Glastonbury, about the year 1325, and brought here from Glastonbury Abbey church at the time of the Dissolution: on the summit are four mounted knights, which on the striking of the clock at every hour, revolve in opposite directions, and seem to tilt at each other; a seated figure or “jack” at a little distance strikes the quarters with his spurred heels on two small bells within the church, and outside the transept two other figures of knights, in armour of the 15th century, strike the quarters on bells with their battle-axes; the works of the present clock are of modern date.

The entrance to the choir is through a screen of Decorated work, with arcading and a central doorway; it contains forty-one stone stalls, erected by Salvin in 1848—54, but retaining the ancient misereres of 1335; these are carved chiefly with illustrations of popular romance, monsters, or historical, legendary, allegorical and heraldic subjects; three pointed arches open into the choir transept beyond the altar, through which are seen the graceful arches and clustered columns of the lady chapel, the junction of which with the choir has been effected in the most masterly manner; the lady chapel was restored by Ferrey in 1842, when the ancient glazing of the eastern of the five stained windows, dating from 1320, was rearranged by Willement; the great east window is filled with ancient 14th century glass, arranged in three divisions, as a Jesse window, the central light containing the figures of Jesse, above this the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Child and over all the Crucifixion; of the other glass in the cathedral, that of the west window of the nave, brought from Rouen and Cologne, dates from the early part of the 16th century, and there are some fragments of the Perpendicular period in the windows of the nave and transept. The chapter house, an arcaded octagon, with a central pillar of Purbeck marble, and some Edwardian glazing in the tracery, is Early English, verging on Decorated, was completed 1293—1302; it has seven four-light Decorated windows, beneath which is a continuous arcade of fifty-one canopied niches, and being 20 feet higher than the floor of the cathedral, is approached by a fine flight of forty-eight stairs; in the staircase is a penitential cell. The crypt or sacristy, below the chapter house, built in 1286, communicates by; a passage with the north aisle and contains a cope chest; in the passage may be seen a stone cresset for a lamp. The cloisters, forming an irregular parallelogram to the south of the nave, are of 12 panes on the east and west, and of 13 on the south side, but have no north alley; the east alley, with the lavatory and upper library, was built in 1407—24; the west and south alleys, with the vaulting, in 1450—65; the library was furnished with books by Bishop Lake, 1616—26; was restored and furnished by Dean afterwards Bishop Creighton, Dr. Busby and others in 1670—80 and contains about 2,400 volumes including an Aldine Aristotle with M.S. notes by Erasmus, the Etymologicon of Isidore, a number of disused book chains, some of Bishop Ken’s books and all the chapter documents and charters relating to the cathedral, a curious relic of the 13th century, either a lantern or a canopy for the pyx and formerly in the crypt, is now preserved here.

The first church is believed to have been built here by King Ina: Bishop Robert (1135—1165) repaired, or rather rebuilt, the church that stood here in his time, and erected an apsidal presbytery, which he consecrated about 1150: the present church was mostly the work of Bishop Jocelin (Trotman) de Welles, a native of this city, who, as Bishop Godwin tells us, “pulled down the greater part of it, to witte, all the west end, built it anew from the very foundation, and hallowed or dedicated the choir on October 23, 1239,” to St. Andrew; these works, including the main transept, north porch and nave, were subsequently continued with interruptions, which are still visible in the masonry. The lady chapel, eastern transept and presbytery with the flying buttresses were built in the first haif of the 14th century, the triforium and clerestory of the choir being afterwards adapted to the new style; the central tower, completed in 1321, received its buttressing arches in 1340, the upper portion of the south-west or bell-tower was added by Bishop Harewell (1366—86) and the north-west tower was heightened in 1408—24. Late investigations lead to the belief that Dean John Godele (1305—1332) built portions of the fabric, which is constructed of Doulting stone, Chilcote has and Purbeck marble. The principal monuments are the following: In the north-east chapel, Bishop Creyghton, 1672, with mitred effigy bearing pastoral staff; Bishop Berkeley, 1581, an altar tomb, and near it an effigy of Friar Milton; in the south choir aisle Bishop Bytton, I. 1264, with an incised slab, the earliest existing in this country; in the chapel of St. John the Evangelist in the south-eastern transept is a table tomb with lofty canopy, assigned to Bishop Drokensford, keeper of the wardrobe, 1329; on the south side of the choir is the, tomb of Bishop Beckington, keeper of the great seal (ob. 1464—5), the prelate being represented by two recumbent life-size figures-one fully vested, as in life, on the upper slab of an open arched tomb, the other an emaciated effigy in a winding sheet in the space below; the attached chantry, with its beautiful stone canopy and iron screens, was removed by Salvin about 1850, and now stands against the east wall of the chapel of St. Calixtus, but the iron work has been dispersed into various portions: here are also the tombs of Bishop Bytton II. 1274, with effigy; Bishops Barwold, 1008; Ethelwyn, 1023, and Brythwyn, 1024, with mutilated effigies; and within the sacrarium, that of Bishop Still, 1607, with effigy in parliamentary robes; on the north side are those of Bishops Ralph de Shrewsbury, 1363, with effigy, and Giso, 1088, also with effigy; and there are others, mutilated, to Bishops Brithelm (955—73), Kinewald (973—85) and Alwyn (995— 1005), these being, as in other early instances, apocryphal figures executed in the Early English period: in one of the chapels of the north transept is an altar tomb with canopy to Bishop Cornish, provost of Oriel College, 1513, and in the north-east transept a tomb with effigy to Dean Forest, 1446; in the south transept are the tombs of Bishop Harewell, 1380, and Dean Husee, 1305, with alabaster effigies; Precentor Storthwaite, 1455, and Bishop de la Marchia, lord treasurer, 1302, both with effigies; and of Joan, daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Chedder kt. and wife of John (Talbot) Viscount Lisle, of Kingston Lisle, Berks (ob. 1464); in the nave is a slab said to cover the ashes of King Ina, who died c. 728, and brasses to Dean Edmund Goodenough, d. 1845, and to Bishop Bagot, d. 1854; and on the south side are stones, from which the brasses have been removed, to Bishops Haselshaw, 1308, and Ergham, 1400; the brass effigy of Bishop Jocelyn, 1247, now destroyed, was one of the earliest on record; in the south aisle of the lady chapel is a monument by Chantrey to John Phelips, of Montacute, and a memorial to the late Bishop Lord A. C. Hervey, who died in, 1894, consisting of a life-size recumbent figure in Carrara marble, by Thomas Brock esq. R.A. lying on a pallet, under a light stone canopy. The internal length of the cathedral, from east to west, is 383 feet, and the breadth of the nave 69 feet; length, 192 feet; the central tower is 157 feet in height, the western towers 130 feet; and the west front, 150 feet wide; the lady chapel was restored in 1842 by Mr. B. Ferrey, architect, and the choir, 117 feet in length, was thoroughly repaired and restored in 1848—54, under the supervision of Mr. Salvin; in 1872—3 the west front was generally restored, at a cost of £13,196, and in 1891 a, new iron bell cage was constructed and 2 new bells added, at a cost of £660. The cathedral registers date from the 14th century and there are charters of the 12th century. The cathedral stands in a district (formerly extra-parochial) called “the Liberty of St. Andrew”: the precincts of the church were formerly surrounded by lofty and massive walls, and the inclosure was entered at three several points through three gates of great strength and architectural beauty, all of which, though dilapidated, still remain; these gates, called respectively the Dean’s Eye, or Browne’s gate, on the north-west, the Chain gate (north), and Penniless porch, or the Bishop’s Eye (south-west) were the work of Bishop Beckington.

The Deanery, with the gatehouse, was built 1472—98; but the finest part of the present structure was the work of Dean Gunthorpe, about 1473. In 1498, King Henry VII. was entertained by Dean Gunthorpe on the occasion of his march to repress the rebellion headed by Perkin Warbeck, having with him, in Wells, an army of 10,000 men. The southern front was madernized in the days of Dean Bathurst and the drawing room panelled in the Renaissance style. A pastoral staff, with a jewelled head of Limoges enamel, and supposed to have belonged to, Savaric, bishop 1192—1205, was found here. The archdeaconry, originally of the time of Edward I. has a hall and timbered ceiling of the 15th century, and there are portions of the same date in the canonry house on the north-east.

The Vicars’ College, founded by Bishop Ralph in 1340—50 as the residence of the vicars choral, and situated on the north of the close, forms a charming oblong court, in a mixed Ecclesiastical and Domestic style, and originally consisted of 42 double-storied houses, 21 on each side, with a covered gallery leading across the chain gate into the cathedral; the hall (1340), with Perpendicular additions after 1565, retains its pulpit, and some mediaeval furniture, and an, ancient painting of the foundation by Bishop Ralph, of Shrewsbury; on the north side is at chapel (1408—25), and a library added by Bishop Beckington; the kitchen also remains; the chapel was restored, chiefly at the cost and through the exertions of the Rev. Edward Leighton Elwes M.A. vice-principal of the Theological College, 1876—9, and now rector of Woolbeding, Sussex.

The Bishop’s Palace with its grounds occupies an area of seven acres, and is one of the most perfect and interesting examples of castellated baronial mansions, as well as of early domestic architectural art, now existing; in the kingdom. The first foundation of the palace is attributed to Bishop Jocelyn (1205—42), but the present structure was the work of several different prelates and is defended by an embattled wall with an alure behind the parapet, built by Bishop Ralph de Salopia after 1329, and an outer gate house, with square flanking towers and a drawbridge suspended by chains across the broad fosse or moat surrounding the whole: the chapel, Early Decorated, built by Bishop Burnell (1274—92) has a stained east window, given by Bishop Law; it was restored by Bishop Bagot, who died in 1854: the great hall (120 feet by 70 feet), now in ruins, was also the work of Burnell, and here Abbot Whiting, of Glastonbury, was tried and infamously condemned to death, November 14th, 1539; in a later hall of the Jacobean period Bishop Ken (1684—91) sat down to, dinner every Sunday with his poor guests: in the gallery, 80 feet long, with a vaulted roof, carved door and panelled wainscot, is a collection of episcopal portraits, and the famous “abbot’s chairs:” the entrance is through a crypt, built in 1293, in which is an ancient lantern, originally hung in the crypt under the chapter house. Bishop Beckington repaired and beautified the palace and added the drawbridge and gateway, as well as the great gate leading from the Market place, a quadrangular structure, with octagonal turrets at the angles. Bishop Barlow, in 1550, granted the palace, with other church property, to the Duke of Somerset, and from him it was purchased by Sir John Gates: in the time of Cromwell it fell into the hands of the fanatical Puritan, Cornelius-Burgess, mentioned above, who destroyed and sold considerable parts of the buildings; but these devastations were somewhat remedied by Bishop Piers (1632—1670). Bishop Laud made many and extensive improvements, but Bishop Bagot has been its greatest benefactor in modern times. At the north-east angle of the moat a, little cascade marks the fall of the springs rising from the " bottomless well” of St. Andrew. The garden front is partly of the 13th century, and in the garden is a conduit, erected by Beckington, from which he conveyed water to another conduit near High Cross. The Bishops’ barn, an ancient building of stone, is now used as a skating rink.

The church of St. Cuthbert, originally a cruciform structure of stone of. Early English date, c. 1240, is now mainly of the later 14th century, exhibiting Perpendicular work with details of Decorated character, and consists of chancel with aisles and an original sacristy on the north side, clerestoried nave of six hays, aisles, with chantry chapels on both sides, transeptal chapels, north and south porches, each with a parvise and a, very fine embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing a clock and 8 bells, dating from 1683 to 1887; the chancel is very Early Perpendicular and retains three sedilia, and a water drain and aumbry on the south side, and on the north is a small door leading to the groined sacristy: the arches of the nave arcades are Early English, c. 1240, but the pillars were lengthened in the Perpendicular period, to the latter part of which the aisle walls, clerestory and roof may be assigned: the south transeptal chapel, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, contained a chantry, founded in 1403, by Thomas Tanner, of Wells; and against the east wall are the remains of a defaced altar, with a reredos representing “the root of Jesse,” erected in 1470: in the north transeptal chapel, or Lady Chapel, was a tabernacled altar of the 15th century; the reredos, with two tiers of niches was discovered in 1848 with other ornamental portions and statues which had been built up and hidden under successive coats of plaster: the beautiful modern reredos was presented by local Freemasons and incloses a bas-relief by Forsyth of “The Last Supper:” the stained east window was erected in 1853, and there is some other very good stained glass, including the west window, presented in 1872 by one of the churchwardens: the church was restored in 1878—9, at a cost of £1,513 and again in 1887—8, at a cost of £632, and during the period 1894—6 the roofs and stone work were restored at a further expense of about £1,150: the church, will seat 1,100 persons. The registers date from the year 1608. The living is a, vicarage, net yearly value from all sources £221, with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Wells, and held since 1870 by the Rev. John Beresford M.A. of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, prebendary of Wells, rural dean of Shepton Mallet and surrogate. The rectorial tithe rent-charges, commuted at £1,030, and formerly leased by the Dean and Chapter, are now held by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners: in the election of churchwardens, the out-parish warden is chosen by the parishioners and the in-parish warden by the Corporation from among their own body.

St. Thomas, EAST WELLS, is an ecclesiastical parish, formed April 10, 1858, from that of St. Cuthbert. The church of St. Thomas the Apostle is an edifice in the Decorated style, built in 1856—7 from designs by .S. .S. Teulon esq. of London, by Mrs. Dorothy Jenkyns, in memory of her husband, late Dean of Wells and Master of Balliol College, Oxford: the church consists of apsidal chancel, nave, aisles, north porch and a western tower, with pinnacles and spire, and contains a clock: the beautiful stained windows were principally presented by the members of Balliol College: there are 550 sittings. The register dates from the year 1858. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £290, with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Wells, and held since 1877 by the Rev. Joseph Stubbs Stubbs M.A. of St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and surrogate.

Ebenezer Baptist chapel was founded in 1814 and has registers from that date; the chapel affords 450 sittings; the Wesleyan chapel in Southover will seat 300 persons; and the Congregational chapel, in Union street built in 1750, has sittings for 350 persons; the Plymouth Brethren have a meeting room in Union street.

In Chamberlain street is a Carmelite nunnery with about 19 inmates, founded in 1875, on a certain property known as “The Vista,” purchased by the community in that year and colonised from the convent of Lanherne, in the parish of Mawgan-in-Pydar, Cornwall; the Convent church, begun in 1877, by the munificence of the late John Mercer esq. of Aston Hall, Lancashire, was completed in 1889, and has been dedicated to St. Joseph and St. Teresa; it is a building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, lady chapel and sacristy, and will seat 120 people; the Rev. Charles H. Chandler is the priest in charge.

St. Mary’s Convent (3rd order of St. Teresa) is situated in Chamberlain street; lady superior, Miss Louisa Charlotte Stones.

The Cemetery, at Portway, consecrated in 1855, consists of nearly 8 acres of land and has two mortuary chapels; it is under the control of a joint committee, of 18 members, 9 equally divided between the Town Council of Wells and the Out-St. Cuthbert’s Parish Council.

Wells Theological College was founded in 1840 by the late Bishop Law and is intended for graduates and others who are candidates for holy orders, the period of study extending over one year for graduates and two years for non-graduates; in addition to the regular course, lectures are given on pastoral theology and assistance is also afforded to all candidates for holy orders who may be entering on the Oxford and Cambridge preliminary examination; there are chapel services in addition to those of the cathedral, and students have opportunities for school teaching, parochial visitation and for giving addresses at mission services; the college is available for 40 students and is supported partly by endowment and otherwise by voluntary aid, some portion of its funds being annually expended in exhibitions to students. In 1889 the trustees purchased the old Archdeaconry house in the Cathedral green, which has been thoroughly restored, and was opened in 1890 as the permanent home of the college: it includes a library with a fine open timber roof of the 15th century, containing about 7,000 volumes and a, lecture room. The Rev. Hugh Penton Currie M.A. and prebendary of Wells, principal; Rev. Henry Leighton Goudge M.A. vice-principal; Rev. Fredk. William Drake M.A. chaplain; Rev. George Arthur Hollis M.A. lecturer.

The Town Hall, an inelegant structure, was erected in 1779, in place of an earlier edifice raised on pillars in the middle of the square and built by Bishop Knight (1541—54) and Dean Woolman: it includes spacious and convenient courts for the assizes and quarter sessions, and in the rear is a gaol for the temporary confinement of prisoners: in the council-chamber, a well-proportioned apartment, are portraits of Dr. Mews, the “fighting bishop,” who took the chief command of the artillery at the battle of Sedgmoor, July 5th, 1685; Bishop Creyghton (1670—2), presented by the late Mr. Thomas Serel; Bishops Hooper (1703—27) and Law (1824—45) and Lord Arthur Charles Hervey D.D. the late bishop: there are other portraits, attributed to Sir Peter Lely, of James I. and Charles II. and of the Right Hon. William Wyndham, who died here 17th June, 1740; and Archibald Harper, founder of the woolcombers' almshouses: the walls are adorned with some curious manuscripts of considerable local historical interest and value, including a letter of Charles I. requesting a loan of £500; an original writ for ship money &c.; at the entrance to the council-chamber are the busts of Bishops Beckington and Still, erected in facsimile from those of their tombs in the cathedral, by the late Mrs. John Derham, of this town, at the cost of the late Mr. Thomas Serel. The police here, consisting of one sergeant and three constables, are part of the county force and under the superintendence of the deputy chief constable.

The B Squadron of the North Somerset Imperial Yeomanry is stationed in the city and the Armoury of the K Company 3rd Volunteer Battalion of Prince Albert’s (Somersetshire Light Infantry) is in the Bishop’s Barn.

In the Market place is an ancient stone fountain and a cannon taken at Sebastopol in 1854.

The Wells Museum in Cathedral green, contains an interesting collection of objects, chiefly found in the county.

The Market House, adjoining the Town Hall, was built in 1835, and is a light and spacious structure. The market is held every Saturday and a large monthly market for cheese and cattle is held in, Market street on the first Saturday in every month. Fairs are held near the railway station on the 1st Tuesday in January, May, July, November and December.

In the vicinity of the city are two extensive paper mills and a leather board mill; in the town itself are corn mills and several brush manufactories.

The chief hotels are the Swan, from which a good view is obtained of the Cathedral, the Star, the Mitre and the White Hart: adjoining the Crown inn, on the south side of the Market place, is a curious timber-framed house, with windows supported on carved corbels and is especially interesting on the side towards the yard; in 1695 the celebrated William Penn is said to have preached from one of its windows: remains of similar character linger in other parts of the town, including some gabled fronts in Sadler street, and in St. John street, a portion of a wall with a singular window belonging to the hospital of St. John, founded by Bishop Hugh de Welles, before the middle of the 13th century, for a master and 10 brethren.

The County Lunatic Asylum for paupers, established in 1848, forms an extensive and substantial pile of buildings, pleasantly situated in a healthy locality, about a mile and a half from the city, on the Bath and Frome roads, and occupies 176 acres of land, with 56 additional acres leased and rented; there are now (1901) upwards of 850 patients and 100 attendants: besides the main building, there are two detached buildings occupied by women, holding 90 and 50 respectively and one holding 25 occupied by men: the management of the asylum is vested in a committes of visitors appointed jointly by the councils for the county of Somerset and city of Bath: in the grounds is a large chapel with a tower and spire and seating 500 persons; the asylum has also its own burial ground and mortuary chapel.

The Cottage Hospital, a building of stone, in St. Thomas street, opened in 1874, chiefly by the exertions of the late Bishop and Lady Arthur Hervey, was rebuilt in 1895, at the expense of the Rev. E. H. Plumptre D.D. dean of Wells 1881—91; it contains 13 beds and is supported by voluntary contributions.

The Corporation Infectious Diseases Hospital was erected in 1885 in Burcott road, and is available for 11 persons.

Wells has several richly endowed eleemosynary institutions. St. Saviour’s (or Bubwith’s) Almshouses, on the north side of St. Cuthbert’s churchyard, were founded by Bishop Nicholas Bubwith in 1437, and built by the executors of that prelate and endowed from funds provided by him for 24 poor persons, to be nominated alternately by the Dean of Wells and by the mayor for the time being: the entrance is from the street through an arched doorway, over which is a now vacant niche; the building originally consisted of a great hall, with a chapel at one end and a range of rooms along the side; the present chapel, placed at the east end, was restored by Bishop Bagot; at the west end is a two-storied building, formerly the, Guildhall, built by the executors of Bishop Bubwith and presented to the citizens, but disused on the erection of the present Town Hall and now utilised for the purposes of the hospital: an illuminated money chest of the 14th century, on a 16th century stand, is preserved here: the annual income, of the charity is about £730. Still’s Almshouses, adjoining Bubwith’s, were founded by Bishop Still, who died in 1607, leaving £500 for this purpose, and with an addition to his gift of £279, by Nathaniel Still, his son, lands were purchased and settled for the benefit of six poor men, to be nominated by the bishop for the time being. Bishop Edward Willes, who died in 1773, settled £1,200 for the benefit of four poor men, to be nominated by the bishop. The almshouses endowment has had numerous benefactors, including Clement Tudway esq. who gave £500, and died in 1815. The annual income of the whole of these almshouses is now about £1,000, and each of the inmates receives a weekly allowance of 7s. throughout the year, besides coals &c. Bricke’s Almshouses adjoin Still’s and were founded in 1637 by Walter Bricke for four poor burgesses of Wells: the endowment is vested in trustees, who nominate the inmates and pay them 7s. per week: the yearly income is about £100. Llewellyn’s Almshouses were founded by Henry Llewellyn, who died in 1614, for 12 poor women, each of whom receives a weekly payment of 5s.: the annual income is over £300. Harper’s Almshouses were founded by Archibald Harper, who died in 1713, for Jive poor men of the city, each receiving a weekly allowance of 6s.: the annual income is about £100. Charles’s Almshouses were founded by William Charles in 1824 for two poor women, each of whom receives a weekly allowance of 5s.: the annual income is about £26. Brittaine’s charity, originally for bread, to be given to second poor, is now under the provisions of a new scheme devoted in part to other objects: the portion of the income so diverted, amounting to about £100 yearly, is applied according to the discretion of the trustees. There are numerous other charities, with yearly revenues varying from £1 to £150.

The Recreation Grounds, near the Bishop’s Palace, comprise 6 acres of land, laid out in 1888, at a cost of £1,700.

The Cedars is the seat of Charles Clement Tudway esq. D.L., J.P.; Stoberry Park is the residence of Mrs. D. H. McLean; Beryl, the seat of the Earl of Mount-Cashell, stands on an eminence, and affords magnificent views of the surrounding country.

Charles Clement Tudway esq. D.L., J.P. and Lord Brougham and Vaux are the chief landowners. The soil varies, but generally sandy; subsoil, sand The land is chiefly in pasture. The area of St. Cuthbert-in-Parish is 668 acres; rateable value, £17,621; the area of the Liberty of St. Andrew, in Wells, is 52 acres; rateable value, £2,601; the population in 1891 was of St. Cuthbert-in-Parish, 4,464 (including 144 officers and inmates in the workhouse); and St. Andrew Liberty, 358. The population of St. Thomas the Apostle, East Wells, in 1891 was 1,002; the population of the municipal borough was 4,822.

By Local Government Board Order 15,658, March 24, 1884, all that part of St. Cuthbert Without civil parish within the municipal borough was added to St. Cuthbert In civil parish, and by Order 16,327, March 24, 1884, Broomclose Farm was transferred from Binegar to St. Cuthbert Without parish.

The parish of Out St. Cuthbert, under the “Local Government Act, 1894” (56 and 57 Vict. c. 73), is now governed by a Parish Council of 13 councillors, and divided into four wards, which contain the following places:-North Ward-Easton, Eastwater, Milton and Walcombe; South Ward-Dulcote and Worminster; East Ward-East and West Horrington, Chilcot and Whitnell; West Ward-Coxley and Burcott.

The area of St. Cuthbert Out parish is 14,890 acres; rateable value, £28,143; the population in 1901 was 3,497.

Petty Sessions are held at the Town hall about every three weeks on Mondays at 11.30 am. & at Glastonbury about every three weeks on Mondays at 11 am. & for the borough of Glastonbury the 4th Tuesday in each month; the following places are included in the petty sessional division:-Baltonsborough, Butleigh, Chewton Mendip, Dinder, Glastonbury(Borough), Meare, Worth Wootton, Priddy, Rodney Stoke, Sharpham, Street, Walton, Wells Saint Andrew Liberty, Wells Saint Cuthbert-in-Parish, St. Cuthbert-out-Parish, Westbury, West Pennard, Wookey.

WELLS UNION

Board day, Wednesday fortnightly at 10.30 a.m. at the Board Room, Workhouse.

The Union comprises the following places:-Baltonsboro’, Butleigh, Chewton Mendip, Dinder, Draycott, Glastonbury, Green Ore, Meare, North Wootton, Priddy, Rodney Stoke, St. Andrew (Liberty of), in Wells, St. Cuthbert-out-Parish, in Wells, St. Cuthbert-in-Parish, in Wells, Sharpham, Street, Walton, Westbury, West Pennard & Wookey. The population of the union in 1901 was 23,641; area, 66,646 acres; rateable value in 1901, agricultural land, £87,704, & buildings, £73,230.

Workhouse, built in 1837, a cost of £5,937, is available for 300 inmates & includes an infirmary, erected in the grounds in 1871 at a further cost of £1,600, containing 45 beds; the chapel was restored & refitted.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of Services

The Cathedral Church of St. Andrew; holy communion 8 & 11 am. the first & third Sundays in the month; 11 am. & 3 p.m.; daily 8 (holy communion) & 10 am. & 3 p.m. summer months & 10 am. & 4 p.m. winter months.

St. Cuthbert’s Church, Rev. Preb. John Beresford M.A. vicar; Rev. Thomas Boughton B.A. & Rev. John Wm. Plaxton M.A. curates; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

St. Thomas’ Church, Rev. Joseph Stubbs Stubbs M.A. vicar; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7.45 p.m.

School Church (in connection with St. Cuthbert’s), Dulcote; Sun. 2.45 p.m.; 2nd Sun. 3 p.m.

S.S. Joseph & Teresa (Catholic), Chamberlain st. Rev. Charles H. Chandler, priest; holy communion, 7.30 a.m. summer & 8 a.m. winter; mass, 10 am.; benediction, 6.30 p.m.; daily mass, 7 a.m. summer & 8 a.m. winter; holidays of obligation, mass 9 am.; Wed. & 1st Fri. benediction, 7.30 p.m.

Baptist, Union street; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Mon. 8 p.m.

Plymouth Brethren, Union street; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Mon. 8 p.m.

St. Cuthbert’s Mission Room, Southover; Sun. 6.30 p.m.

St. Cuthbert’s Mission Room, Launcherley, Sun. 6.30 p.m.

Congregational, Union street, Rev. George W. Seager; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Thur. 8 p.m.

Wesleyan Methodist, Southover, Rev. Luke Lewis Swift; 11 am. & 6.30 p.m.; Tues. 7.30 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.

Salvation Army, Priory road; Sundays, 7 & 11 am. & 3 & 6.30 p.m.; week days, 8 p.m.

SCHOOLS

Wells Theological College, Right Rev. George Wyndham Kennion D.D. Bishop of Bath & Wells, visitor; Rev. Prebendary Hugh Penton Currie M.A. principal; Rev. Henry Leighton Goudge M.A. vice-principal.

Wells Cathedral Grammar, North Liberty, believed to have been founded by Bishop Jocelin de Welles, about 1242, & extended by the Bishops Ralph de Salopi& & Beckington; the cathedral choristers are educated gratuitously; the new buildings were erected at the sole cost of the Rev. Canon Thomas Dehany Bernard & reconstituted, 1884; the school had previously been carried on for upwards of four centuries in the west cloisters of the cathedral; the Dean and Chapter of Wells, governors.

Wells High School for Girls, Cathedral green, Right Rev. Lord George Wyndham Kennion D.D. Bishop of Bath & Wells, patron.

Blue Schools for Boys & Girls, Portway, Tucker street, founded about 1641, by Ezekiel Barkham: subsequently other gifts were made for educational purposes by Adrian Hickes & Phillip Hodges. The schools were re-organized in accordance with the Endowed Schools Act by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, which came into operation in 1879 & was revised in 1889.

There are free scholarships, for boys & girls, which are given to scholars elected, after a competitive examination, from elementary schools, and to scholars attending the schools as paying scholars. The boys’ school has a science lecture room & chemical laboratory; the new girls' school was built in 1900; the annual net income is about £370.

Central National (mixed & infants), St. John st. erected in 1858—9, on the site of an ancient priory dedicated to St. John the Baptist, founded by Bishop Jocelyn & his brother Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, about 1206; this school was built by voluntary contributions, aided by a grant from the National Society, for 209 boys, 220 girls & 240 infants; average attendance, 160 boys, 150 girls & 146 infants.

A School Board of 7 Members was formed Jan. 9, 1883, for the united school district of Out St. Cuthbert, Wells & Priddy; E. A. Serel, 5 New street, Wells, clerk to the board & attendance officer; for particulars of schools, see under Wookey Hole, Easton, Horrington & Priddy.

St. Thomas’s National, St. Thomas street, erected in 1859 & enlarged in 1894, for 128 boys & 195 girls & infants, average attendance, 66 boys & 160 girls & infants.

Catholic (mixed), Union street, erected in 1888, for 118 children; average attendance, 76.