Everything about Wells totally explained
Wells is a small
cathedral city and
civil parish in the
Mendip district of
Somerset,
England, on the southern edge of the
Mendip Hills.
The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to
Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the
Bishop's Palace and
cathedral. During the Middle Ages these wells were thought to have curative powers.
Although the population, recorded in the 2001 census, is only 10,406, it has had city status since 1205. This was confirmed and formalised by Queen
Elizabeth II by
Letters patent issued under the
Great Seal dated
April 1,
1974.
History
The City was a
Roman settlement but only became an important centre under the
Saxons when
King Ine of Wessex founded a
minster church in 704. Two hundred years later, this became the seat of the local Bishop; but by 1091, this had been removed to
Bath. This caused severe arguments between the canons of Wells and the monks of Bath until the bishopric was renamed as the 'Diocese of Bath & Wells', to be elected by both religious houses. Wells became a borough some time before 1160 when Bishop Robert granted its first charter. Fairs were granted to the City before 1160.
Wells was listed in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as
Welle, from the
Old English wiells, however earlier names for the settlement have been identified. These include
Fontanetum in a charter of 725 granted by King Ina to Glastonbury, and
Fontuculi.
Tydeston has also been recorded although this may relate to a hill settlement to the south east of Wells.
Tidesput or
Tithesput furlang relates to the area east of the Bishops garden in 1245.
English Civil War
During the
English Civil War, Parliamentarian troops used the Cathedral to stable their horses and damaged much of the ornate sculpture by using it for firing practice.
William Penn stayed in Wells shortly before leaving for
America, spending a night at The Crown Inn. Here he was briefly arrested for addressing a large crowd in the market place, but released on the intervention of the Bishop of Bath & Wells.
Bloody Assizes
Wells was the final location of the
Bloody Assizes on
September 23 1685. In a makeshift court lasting only one day, over 500 men were tried and the majority sentenced to death.
PoW camps
During
World War II, Stoberry Park in Wells was the location of a
Prisoner of War camp, housing
Italian prisoners from the
Western Desert Campaign, and later German prisoners after the
Battle of Normandy. Penleigh Camp on the Wookey Hole Road was a German working camp.
Railways
Wells has had three railway stations. The first station,
Priory Road, opened in 1859 and was on the Somerset Central Railway (later the
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway) as the terminus of a short branch from
Glastonbury. A second railway, the East Somerset, opened a branch line from
Witham in 1862 and built
a station to the east of Priory Road. In 1870, a third railway, the
Cheddar Valley line branch of the
Bristol and Exeter Railway from
Yatton, reached Wells and built yet another station, later called
Tucker Street. Matters were somewhat simplified when the
Great Western Railway acquired both the Cheddar Valley and the East Somerset lines and built a link between the two that ran through the S&DJR's Priory Road station. In 1878, when through trains began running between Yatton and Witham, the East Somerset station closed, but through trains didn't stop at Priory Road until 1934.
Priory Road closed to passenger traffic in 1951 when the S&DJR branch line from Glastonbury was shut, though it remained the city's main goods depot. Tucker Street closed in 1963 under the Beeching Axe, which closed the Yatton to Witham line to passengers. Goods traffic to Wells ceased in 1964.
Today
Following construction of the
A39/
A371 bypass, Wells has returned to being a pleasant market city situated at the foot of the Mendip Hills. It has all the modern conveniences plus charm, interesting shops, hotels and restaurants. The local football side is
Wells City F.C., past winners of the
Western League.
Governance
Wells is part of the UK Parliament constituency of
Wells. Its
Member of Parliament is
David Heathcoat-Amory of the
Conservative Party.
Wells is within the
South West England European Parliament constituency.
Wells City Council has sixteen councillors, elected from three wards: Central, St.Thomas and St.Cuthbert. Wells elects five councillors to
Mendip District Council from the same three wards. Wells has one councillor on the Somerset County Council.
Education
The Blue School, founded in 1654, is a state
comprehensive school and has been awarded
Specialist science college status.
Wells Cathedral School, founded in 909, is an
independent school that has a Christian emphasis and specialises in high-level musical tuition.
The
primary schools in Wells are Stoberry Park School, St Cuthbert's Church of England Infants School, St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School, and Wells Central CofE Junior School.
Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is the cathedral of the
Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells. Parts date back to the 10th century. It is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, Lady Chapel and windows, and the scissor arches which support the central tower. Together with the
Bishop's Palace (still used by the
Bishop of Bath and Wells) Wells has been an ecclesiastical City of importance for hundreds of years. The cathedral is a grade I
listed building.
The cathedral is notable for:
- the west front – said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe, containing 356 individual figures carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone.
- the east end of the nave – an unusual scissored arch design of striking beauty, which saved the cathedral's central tower from collapse. In 1338, the original construction was found to be weakening underneath the tower (the West side had sunk 100 mm (4 inches). About 1340, the Master Mason, William Joy, implemented his ingenious solution of the inverted arch to redistribute the weight on the foundations by 10% from west to east.
- the Chapter House – at the top of a flight of stone stairs, leading out from the north transept. It is an octagonal building with a fan-vaulted ceiling. It is here that the business of running the cathedral is still conducted by the members of the Chapter, the cathedral's ruling body.
- Wells Cathedral clock is famous for its 24 hour astronomical dial and set of jousting knights that perform every quarter hour.
- the heaviest ring of 10 bells in the world. The tenor bell weighs just over 56 CWT (6,272 lb, 2,844 kg) and is the 5th heaviest ringable bell in the world.
Tourism and architecture
Wells is a popular tourist destination, due to its historical sites, its proximity to
Bath and
Stonehenge and its closeness to the Somerset coast. Also nearby are
Wookey Hole Caves, the
Mendip Hills and the
Somerset Levels. Wells is part of the
West Country Carnival circuit. Somerset cheese, including
Cheddar, is made locally.
A walled precinct, the Liberty of St Andrew, encloses the twelfth century
Cathedral, the
Bishop's Palace, Vicar's Close and the residences of the clergy who serve the cathedral.
The Bishops Palace has been the home of the Bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The hall and chapel are particularly noteworthy, dating from the 14th century. There are of gardens including the springs from which the city takes its name. Visitors can also see the Bishop's private Chapel, ruined Great Hall and the Gatehouse with portcullis and drawbridge beside which the famous
mute swans ring a bell for food
Vicars' Close – the oldest existing street in the world,
The Church of St. Cuthbert – often mistaken for the cathedral, the church has a fine Somerset stone tower and a superb carved roof. Originally an Early English building (13th century), it was much altered in the Perpendicular period (15th century). Until 1561 the church had a central tower which either collapsed or was removed, and has been replaced with the current tower over the west door. Bells were cast for the tower by
Roger Purdy.
Wells in popular culture
Literature
Elizabeth Goudge used Wells as a basis for the fictional Cathedral city of Torminster, in her book
City of Bells
Film and television
Wells has been used as the setting for several films:
The Canterbury Tales (1973)
A Fistful of Fingers (1994)
The Libertine (2005)
The Golden Age (2007)
Hot Fuzz (2007)
The cathedral interior stood in for Southwark Cathedral during filming for the Doctor Who episode The Lazarus Experiment.
Notable residents
John Keate – born in Wells 1773, went on to become headmaster at Eton where he restored discipline with the birch, and once flogged 80 boys in one day.
Jocelin of Wells – native of Wells, Bishop, aided in creation of Magna Carta and largely responsible for the construction of the cathedral.
Herbert. E. Balch – cave explorer and founder of Wells Museum.
Mary Bignall-Rand – Gold medalist and world record breaker in the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Edgar Wright – film and television director. Directed Hot Fuzz, which was filmed in the city. Its star Simon Pegg also lived in the city for a while.
James Keene – professional footballer formerly of Portsmouth FC, playing for IF Elfsborg in SwedenFurther Information
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