Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral, Wells, England, begun c. 1175
Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

[@Tflexxx02]

The scissor arches are really spectacular. A great example of being presented with a problem (not enough structure for the tower above), and coming up with a solution that apparently works structurally, along with being aesthetically beautiful. My admiration for the people who worked on this church.

[@pauldavies8638]

I have sung in there as a head chorister in the 1970s.

[@fabrisse7469]

Thank you for this. Having been there, I can attest to the sheer awe the West Facade and the Scissor Arches elicit. I had no idea, though, that the holes in the Facade were to allow music. That's lovely. PS Wells is a city.

[@mariasoledadfernandez8170]

Traducir al español

[@monsieurm6975]

Wells Cathedral, interesting as I am a Gothic architecture geek; luckily this popped up and I am so glad it did come across my desk. What a beautiful, elaborate and exceptionally detailed facade on the cathedral; it is very clear of the influence of high Gothic French architecture - the vaulting inside at 6.09 is a beautiful example of English influence. A beautiful cathedral , looking forward to doing more research into Wells. Thanks for posting ! Cheers.

[@NonLinearArts]

I appreciate your work very much. Thank you for creating Smarthistory!

[@smarthistoryvideos]

Thank you for the kind words, we very much appreciate them.

[@vanderleapaiva]

Superb job! It is so pleasant to listen and watch this video! Thanks to all the team involved, you are really making history!

[@Sasha0927]

When I started this video, I had the thought that these cathedrals were blending into one another, but Wells gave me a lot of novelty to work with and distinguish it from the rest. I love the quatrefoil holes created for singers / trumpets - it must've been amazing to hear. I'm wondering who the figureheads on the gallery are. And there's nothing like a good Easter egg, so I'm especially fond of toothache guy. 😂

[@scottnyc6572]

Just coming from the Lincoln Cathedral history.Arriving at this cathedral,it is by far a true masterpiece in its own right.The front face is like no other cathedral I’ve ever seen.I was also impressed by it shear strength of thickness.I would’ve imagined there was a lot of controversial back and forth during the time when designing the scissor arch.Thank You!!

[@rolloalquiros2812]

Extremely beautiful church. Both of you are amazing historians.

[@antoinemozart243]

The facade is stunning.

[@MrTorleon]

Thank you for your interesting and informative ' short ' documentary, you were able to fit a lot into a relatively tight time frame. Wells Cathedral is astonishing to walk around, as is the Cathedral Close and the Bishops Palace. Brilliant !

[@russellhogben6628]

I love Wells Cathedral and have visited it many times. It seems to have a warmth somehow that lofty and austere French cathedrals somehow lack. However I always thought the west towers looked somehow truncated and incomplete as if the final stages hadn’t been built. A further stage with pinnacles to match the tower imo would give the west end the vertically it lacks.

[@onefeather2]

Agree , I have thought they needed to be finished with spirals or something tall., It looks ike the top has been chopped off.❤️

[@gregmcevoy1]

Glorious.

[@hhh-vw4yc]

i'm amazed to find professional polish subtitles here! while i'm fluent in english i still need to learn and use proper polish art history terms, and there are very few reliable art history resources in polish. thanks and keep up the good work!

[@owenreed772]

That was really interesting and lovely.

[@curiousworld7912]

This must be the third or fourth time I've watched this, as Wells is my favorite of the English Gothic cathedrals. Thank you for being thorough in the time allowed. :)

[@frankparsons1629]

The Gallery is the Triforium. Above that is the Clerestory (windows). In the South Transept is the font, and a very rare survivor being of pre-Conquest date c.900. It was moved from the old Anglo-Saxon church which used to lay immediately to the south of the present cathedral. A bit of history - Wells was known as Fontinetum in the Anglo-Saxon period. This may be a survival from the Roman name, which derives from a series of springs rising to the E of the present cathedral - one of which was dedicated to St. Andrew by the C8. The site has a complex history: sometime in the Roman period a mausoleum with a subterranean burial chamber was constructed 50m to the W of this well.

[@CymruEmergencyResponder]

Good video, but my only point would be that, because Wells has a cathedral, it is a city not a town. It’s official name is the City of Wells.

[@phillipwelsh4792]

Awesome! I’m loving this

[@rebelembassy7527]

Great video really well done

[@glendazwambag5774]

Great job!

[@maaan8494]

Lichfield cathedral also has a large amount of figures on the front and they also say that one is quite unique XD

[@onefeather2]

It looks like the top of the cathedral has been chopped off or never finished. But what a awesome cathedral.💗📖

[@drrush3421]

The most beautiful abbey I’ve been to

[@MH-ms1dg]

love your work! please do Beauvais Cathedral!

[@davidharrison7825]

Out of many of these videos this cathedral has stuck out to me, I need to visit at some point

[@Insperato62]

Visit the Bishops Garden, too. A bit expensive, but so worth it - you can also see the wells which give the city its name. The Bishops Palace has a beautiful ambiance as well.

[@kevothebassistto4147]

I wIsh to worship and minister as a bassist in this church one day

[@michaelmotola2]

I love the video but I think that the Breaking in the Habit provides a better answer to the papal infallibility when it contradicts some definitive teaching.

[@shannonbowman5990]

❤

[@smarthistoryvideos]

Don't miss Gloucester, Peterborough, York, Reims, Amiens (I could go on...).

[@timothyputzier5956]

Amazing west words

[@normandate4495]

Hi that was like really cool!

[@Hoakaloa]

so far my searches have not revealed any other place where scissor arches have been employed

[@smarthistoryvideos]

Though less obvious, have a look at Salisbury: smarthistory.org/salisbury-cathedral/

[@ufukcan8369]

I have a problem with adding Turkish subtitles. I have homework. About this structure please subtitle is Turkish.

[@glomibabel1894]

please york, gloucester, ely, peterborough, exeter, norwich, lichfield

[@smarthistoryvideos]

See: smarthistory.org/ely-cathedral/ and smarthistory.org/ely-cathedrals-lady-chapel/ We hope to have a new video on Gloucester before too long.

[@steviechampagne]

It’s so funny to me when people ignorantly claim these people were primitive or uncultured, when these are the buildings they built and operated in

[@richardwhitehouse2514]

You start the video by calling Wells a town. I am sure you realise that Wells is a city.

[@smarthistoryvideos]

Yes, thank you. We understand the British distinction and should have honored the city with that term. Being American interlopers, we opted instead for the collaquial which distinguishes a town as simply a place bigger than a village and smaller than a city. Wells with a population of less than 20,000 is for us a small town but with a great and venerable history. As you likely understand, we seek to make our videos accurate but also as accessible as possible and hope the residents of this Cathedral City forgive us.