WELLS CATHEDRAL

	The Wells The wells, which gave the city its name, are the corner stone of the development of this area from prehistoric times.
	Minster Church of St Andrew Legend has it that permission to found The Minister was given by Ine King of Wessex around 705.
	Wells Cathedral In 909 the large diocese of Sherbourne was split and the minster church of St. Andrew became the first Wells Cathedral.
	Links with the old Cathedral The sole surviving furnishing from the Anglo-Saxon Cathedral is the font which now stands in the south transept.

	The West Front This is the image by which the present cathedral is best known and is one of its great glories. .
	An Architectural Walk through the Building The present cathedral was begun around 1180, on a new site to the north of the old. Started nearly 10 years before Lincoln and more than 40 years before Salisbury.
	Architects – Old and New Wells is a peaceful and joyful cathedral. It is a prayer in stone and glass. In rooms dimly glimpsed beyond there are shadows and shafts of light beckoning pilgrim or seeker to discover what lies within.

	Introduction Like many buildings which have stood for centuries, the Cathedral has had periods of great contrast.
	Original Building The greater part of the original building took shape under Bishop Jocelyn "of Wells".
	Extensions Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury followed, continuing with the eastward extension of the quire and the retro- quire beyond with its forest of pillars.
	The Clock The famous Wells clock was probably in place by 1390. Bishop Ralph Erghum, who had previously been Bishop of Salisbury and had installed a clock there in 1386, seems to have brought his clockmaker with him to Wells.
	Bekynton Bishop Bekynton (1443 - 1465) was a good bishop, a distinguished diplomat and a prolific builder. He was first tutor, then secretary of state to King Henry VI.
	Changes of Monarch By the time Henry VIII came to the throne the cathedral and all its surrounding buildings were complete and substantially as they are today.
	Creyghtone, Ken and Kidder On the restoration of Charles II, Robert Creyghtone, who had been his chaplain in exile, was appointed first dean and later bishop in Wells.
	Restoration There followed a period of gentle decline and decay with many bishops being more absent than present and several deans appointed from the laity.