Although
Bishop Reginald was responsible for the very early stages
c1180, the greater part of the original building took
shape under Bishop Jocelyn "of Wells", so
named because he was a local Somerset man and had the
burning ambition to restore to Wells its cathedral status.
He oversaw the construction of the Nave and most of
the West Front. Simultaneously he was building the central
part of the present Bishop's Palace and a residence
at nearby Wookey. He lived to see the church dedicated,
but despite much lobbying of Rome, died before cathedral
status was finally granted in 1245.
By the time the building was finished, including the
Chapter House(1306), it already seemed too small for
the developing liturgy, in particular the increasingly
grand processions. So, a new spate of expansive building
was initiated. Bishop John Drokensford started the proceedings
with the heightening of the central tower and the beginnings
of a dramatic eight sided Lady Chapel at the far east
end, finished by 1326. Thomas of Whitney was the master
mason, a man of considerable repute. |
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