81. TRANSEPT WEST WINDOWS

There are in fact two windows in the West wall of this transept. The four lancets depict (from left) Ruth, Naomi, David and Zerubbabel. There is a scene at the bottom of each lancet. The descriptions are (from left): • Whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. • They called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. • I have found David my servant. With my holy oil have I anointed him. • They praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.          PLAN

82. CHAPEL OF SAINT CALIXTUS

On the East side of the transept, the Chapel of St Calixtus is reserved for private prayer. The front of the chapel is lined with stained wood panelling, as is the simple altar. Behind the altar hangs an unusual and memorable crucifixion scene. Below is the text: ‘Hereby perceive we the love of God.’

83. CHAPEL WINDOW AND EFFIGY

The window depicts St Dunstan and King Edward the Confessor. Dunstan (909 – 988 AD) was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. Edward the Confessor (c 1003 – 1066), also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. There seems to be some doubt about the effigy at the side of the chapel: Dean Hussee (1302-5) or Precentor Thomas Boleyn (1470). The card insert indicates that the latter is correct.

84. ST MARTIN’S CHAPEL

 The adjacent Chapel of St Martin has been reconditioned as a memorial to the men of Somerset who fell in the 1914 – 1918 War. The colourful reredos behind the altar shows the seated risen Christ with kings on both sides, bringing their gifts and allegience. The verse below reads: ‘All kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall do him service,’ – a rendition of Psalm 72:11.

85. CHAPEL WINDOW AND EFFIGY

The three lancet window depicts St George, St Martin of Tours, and King Alfred. Saint Martin of Tours (316 or 336 – 397) was Bishop of Tours in France. He is best known for the account of his using his military sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. This story is illustrated in the top part of the window. The effigy under the window is William Byconyll (1448).

86. RETURN TO THE CROSSING

We leave the South transept and return to the crossing. Looking through the scissor arch we see the crossing vaulting which lies directly beneath the central tower. The central disk is removable to allow building materials to be hoisted up into the tower.

87. VIEW TO WEST WINDOW

From the crossing we can look West over the nave altar and along the central aisle to the West window.

88. VIEW TO THE EAST, ORGAN

Looking in the other direction we see the rather plain quire screen carved by Mr Roger Large, with the organ pipes above. The present organ dates back to an instrument built by Henry Willis in 1857 (containing pipework of Samuel Green from 1786). This was enlarged by Harrison and Harrison in 1910 and was substantially rebuilt by them in 1973/4. It now consists of 67 stops – five divisions spread across four manuals.

89. THROUGH TO QUIRE, LECTERN

We pass through the gateway in the quire screen, where ahead we can see the quire lectern. This is a wooden version of the more usual brass eagle lectern, with the eagle standing upon a globe, and the whole lectern supported by thee lions. The lectern usually supports a large Bible from where the scripture is read during smaller services. The high altar can be seen in the background.

90. ORGAN AND QUIRE VAULTING

The organ is interesting when viewed from the quire. At the top of the two large towers we can see four carved medallion profiles outlined in red, which are portraits of the great English church composers S. S. Wesley, C. V. Stanford, Byrd and Purcell. Two of the orginal wooden angels at the top of the case are here reinstated and the entire case is resplendent in coats of gold leaf. The vaulting in the quire is 14th century lierne vaulting – notice the extra ribs ... and the many bosses!

91. QUIRE

The quire stalls are not ornate in the way they are carved, although the misericords are noteworthy. A particularly attractive feature of the quire stalls is the set of armourial hangings which were given to the Cathedral by the scholar Polydore Vergil in the early 16th century. Each hanging has an elaborate white canopy supported by two plain silver columns.

92. QUIRE DETAIL

The richly coloured backs to the seats were worked in the mid 20th century by members of the Cathedral Needlework Guild.

93. QUIRE PULPIT, CATHEDRA

Just East of the quire stalls we come to the quire pulpit to the North and the cathedra to the South. The cathedra is the seat of the bishop, and its location in this Church is what gives Wells Church the title ‘Cathedral’. The back panel of the cathedra portrays an image of St Andrew, the patron saint of Wells Cathedral. St Andrew is usually identified by the diagonal cross on which it is said he was crucified.

94. SANCTUARY AREA

We come to the sanctuary area, noting the high altar with its crucifix and two candles. A large candlestick stands on either side, and to the left is a large icon of Christ. The elaborate altar cloth picks up some of the architectural features of the vaulting of the Cathedral. A group of seven statues form a line high above the altar.    

95. HIGH ALTAR

The sanctuary area in a Cathedral corresponds to the ‘Holy of Holies’ in the Old Testament temple. In former times, the high altar was the place from which the priest would have administered the Eucharist, but these days the nave altar is more generally used for this purpose. The high altar would be used on special occasions.

96. SANCTUARY STATUES AND JESSE TREE WINDOW

In this set of seven statues, the figure of Christ is seated at the centre. But who are the others? • Wells Cathedral has a rare example of an intact 14th-century Jesse Tree window which survived the iconoclasm of the 17th-century and the losses of World War II. A Jesse Tree window seeks to outline the lineage of Christ. The window is located high up in the eastern end of the choir. The colours of this window are red, yellow, green, white and brown, with very little blue. The window is wide for its height, having seven lights, and being topped by tracery. ...

97. JESSE WINDOW

... Consequently, the tendrils of the Tree spread out sideways and the central panel has only three figures: the reclining Jesse at the bottom; the Blessed Virgin holding the Christ Child in her arms and above, the crucified Christ. There are fourteen more figures in the window, identifiable in some cases by their attributes, such as David’s harp and Solomon’s model of the Temple of Jerusalem. [Photo Credit: Andrewabbott Wikimedia] This completes our tour of Wells Cathedral.