Bell's Cathedrals

The Cathedral Church of Wells

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About this book

Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells is by the Rev. Percy Dearmer, with forty-six illustrations, and is dated London, 1899, second edition revised. Its title page calls it a description of the cathedral's fabric and a brief history of the episcopal see. A general preface says the series of monographs was planned to give visitors to the great English cathedrals accurate, well-illustrated guide-books.

Much of the text weighs the evidence for who built what. Documents and a charter recently found are used to show that Bishop Reginald, in office from 1174 to 1191, began the present church himself, and the author sets out which parts of the choir, transepts, north porch and nave are his. Other passages compare Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular work, note Norman tooling on the masonry, and list bishops with their dates.