Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St Andrew
West front of Wells Cathedral
51°12′37″N 2°38′37″W / 51.2104°N 2.6437°W / 51.2104; -2.6437
Location	Wells, Somerset
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	wellscathedral.org.uk
History
Dedication	Saint Andrew
Consecrated	23 October 1239
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed building
Designated	12 November 1953[1]
Style	Gothic (Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular)
Years built	1176 – c. 1490,[1][2]
Specifications
Length	126.5 m (415 ft)[3]
Width	20 m (66 ft)[3]
Width across transepts	47 m (154 ft)[3]
Nave height	20.5 m (67 ft)[3]
Number of towers	3
Tower height	38 m (125 ft) (western)[3] 55 m (180 ft) (crossing)[3]
Bells	10
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Bath and Wells (since c. 909)
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Michael Beasley
Dean	Anne Gell (Acting)
Precentor	Mary Bide (Acting)
Chancellor	Megan Daffern
Archdeacon	Anne Gell (Wells)
Laity
Organist(s)	Alexander Hamilton (Acting)[4]

Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a Roman Catholic cathedral from around 1175 to replace an earlier church on the site since 705, it became an Anglican cathedral when King Henry VIII split from Rome. It is moderately sized for an English cathedral. Its broad west front and large central tower are dominant features.^[5] It has been called "unquestionably one of the most beautiful"^[6] and "most poetic" of English cathedrals.^[7]

Its Gothic architecture is mostly inspired from Early English style of the late 12th to early 13th centuries, lacking the Romanesque work that survives in many other cathedrals. Building began about 1175 at the east end with the choir. Historian John Harvey sees it as Europe's first truly Gothic structure, breaking the last constraints of Romanesque.^[8] The stonework of its pointed arcades and fluted piers bears pronounced mouldings and carved capitals in a foliate, "stiff-leaf" style.^[9] Its Early English front with 300 sculpted figures^[7] is seen as a "supreme triumph of the combined plastic arts in England".^[10] The east end retains much ancient stained glass.^[7] Unlike many cathedrals of monastic foundation, Wells has many surviving secular buildings linked to its chapter of secular canons, including the Bishop's Palace and the 15th-century residential Vicars' Close.^[5] It is a Grade I listed building.^[1][11]