The Cathedral Church of St. Andrew

This Anglican cathedral is located in the city of Wells in Somerset. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells and is the mother church of the diocese. It was built between 1175 and 1490. It is moderately sized for a medieval cathedral of the period and has been called ‘one of the most beautiful and most poetic’ of English cathedrals.

The style of architecture is Gothic and is mostly in the Early English style of the late 12th and 13th centuries. In 1310, work commenced on the construction of the Lady Chapel and also reconstruction of the central crossing tower. Both of these were in the Decorated Gothic style. Due to the heightening of the central tower, which was also topped by a spire, the piers which supported it began to show signs of stress. A unique solution was found by inserting ‘scissor arches’ on three sides of the crossing under the tower. These, supplemented by hidden buttresses, redistributed the stresses and braced the tower.

Dimensions: 

Length: 126.5m        Width: 20m        Width across transepts: 47m                                              Nave height:  20.5m        Number of towers:  3       Height of Tower:  55m (crossing)