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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. It has been called "unquestionably one of the most beautiful" and "most poetic" of English cathedrals.
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. The stonework of its pointed arcades and fluted piers bears pronounced mouldings and carved capitals in a foliate, "stiff-leaf" style. Its Early English front with 300 sculpted figures is seen as a "supreme triumph of the combined plastic arts in England". The east end retains much ancient stained glass. 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 It is a Grade I listed building.
The earliest remains of a building on the site are of a late-Roman mausoleum, identified during excavations in 1980. An abbey church was built in Wells in 705 by Aldhelm, first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Sherborne during the reign of King Ine of Wessex. It was dedicated to St Andrew and stood at the site of the cathedral's cloisters, where some excavated remains can be seen. The font in the cathedral's south transept is from this church and is the oldest part of the present building. In 766 Cynewulf, King of Wessex, signed a charter endowing the church with eleven hides of land. In 909 the seat of the diocese was moved from Sherborne to Wells.
The first bishop of Wells was Athelm (909), who crowned King Æthelstan. Athelm and his nephew Dunstan both became Archbishops of Canterbury. During this period a choir of boys was established to sing the liturgy. Wells Cathedral School, which was established to educate these choirboys, dates its foundation to this point. There is, however, some controversy over this. Following the Norman Conquest, John de Villula moved the seat of the bishop from Wells to Bath in 1090. The church at Wells, no longer a cathedral, had a college of secular clergy.
The cathedral is thought to have been conceived and commenced in about 1175 by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, who died in 1191. Although it is clear from its size that from the outset, the church was planned to be the cathedral of the diocese, the seat of the bishop moved between Wells and the abbeys of Glastonbury and Bath, before settling at Wells. In 1197 Reginald's successor, Savaric FitzGeldewin, with the approval of Pope Celestine III, officially moved his seat to Glastonbury Abbey. The title of Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury was used until the Glastonbury claim was abandoned in 1219.
Savaric's successor, Jocelin of Wells, again moved the bishop's seat to Bath Abbey, with the title Bishop of Bath. Jocelin was a brother of Hugh (II) of Lincoln and was present at the signing of the Magna Carta. Jocelin continued the building campaign begun by Reginald and was responsible for the Bishop's Palace, the choristers' school, a grammar school, a hospital for travellers and a chapel. He also had a manor house built at Wookey, near Wells. Jocelin saw the church dedicated in 1239 but, despite much lobbying of the Pope by Jocelin's representatives in Rome, did not live to see cathedral status granted. The delay may have been a result of inaction by Pandulf Verraccio, a Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England and Bishop of Norwich, who was asked by the Pope to investigate the situation but did not respond. Jocelin died at Wells on 19 November 1242 and was buried in the choir of the cathedral; the memorial brass on his tomb is one of the earliest brasses in England. Following his death the monks of Bath unsuccessfully attempted to regain authority over Wells.
In 1245 the ongoing dispute over the title of the bishop was resolved by a ruling of Pope Innocent IV, who established the title as the "Bishop of Bath and Wells", which it has remained until this day, with Wells as the principal seat of the bishop. Since the 11th century the church has had a chapter of secular clergy, like the cathedrals of Chichester, Hereford, Lincoln and York. The chapter was endowed with 22 prebends (lands from which finance was drawn) and a provost to manage them. On acquiring cathedral status, in common with other such cathedrals, it had four chief clergy, the dean, precentor, chancellor and sacristan, who were responsible for the spiritual and material care of the cathedral.
The building programme, begun by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, Bishop in the 12th century, continued under Jocelin of Wells, who was a canon from 1200, then bishop from 1206. Adam Locke was master mason from about 1192 until 1230. It was designed in the new style with pointed arches, later known as Gothic, which was introduced at about the same time at Canterbury Cathedral. Work was halted between 1209 and 1213 when King John was excommunicated and Jocelin was in exile, but the main parts of the church were complete by the time of the dedication by Jocelin in 1239.
By the time the cathedral, including the chapter house, was finished in 1306, it was already too small for the developing liturgy, and unable to accommodate increasingly grand processions of clergy. John Droxford initiated another phase of building under master mason Thomas of Whitney, during which the central tower was heightened and an eight-sided Lady chapel was added at the east end by 1326. Ralph of Shrewsbury followed, continuing the eastward extension of the choir and retrochoir beyond. He oversaw the building of Vicars' Close and the Vicars' Hall, to give the men who were employed to sing in the choir a secure place to live and dine, away from the town and its temptations. He had an uneasy relationship with the citizens of Wells, partly because of his imposition of taxes, and he surrounded his palace with crenellated walls, a moat and a drawbridge.
John Harewell raised money for the completion of the west front by William Wynford, who was appointed as master mason in 1365. One of the foremost master masons of his time, Wynford worked for the king at Windsor, Winchester Cathedral and New College, Oxford. At Wells, he designed the western towers of which north-west was not built until the following century. In the 14th century, the central piers of the crossing were found to be sinking under the weight of the crossing tower which had been damaged by an earthquake in the previous century. Strainer arches, sometimes described as scissor arches, were inserted by master mason William Joy to brace and stabilise the piers as a unit.
By the reign of Henry VII the cathedral was complete, appearing much as it does today (though the fittings have changed). From 1508 to 1546, the eminent Italian humanist scholar Polydore Vergil was active as the chapter's representative in London. He donated a set of hangings for the choir of the cathedral. While Wells survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries better than the cathedrals of monastic foundation, the abolition of chantries in 1547 resulted in a reduction in its income. Medieval brasses were sold, and a pulpit was placed in the nave for the first time. Between 1551 and 1568, in two periods as dean, William Turner established a herb garden, which was recreated between 2003 and 2010.
Elizabeth I gave the chapter and the Vicars Choral a new charter in 1591, creating a new governing body, consisting of a dean and eight residentiary canons with control over the church estates and authority over its affairs, but no longer entitled to elect the dean (that entitlement thenceforward belonged ultimately to the Crown). The stability brought by the new charter ended with the onset of the Civil War and the execution of Charles I. Local fighting damaged the cathedral's stonework, furniture and windows. The dean, Walter Raleigh, a nephew of the explorer Walter Raleigh, was placed under house arrest after the fall of Bridgwater to the Parliamentarians in 1645, first in the rectory at Chedzoy and then in the deanery at Wells. His jailor, the shoe maker and city constable, David Barrett, caught him writing a letter to his wife. When he refused to surrender it, Barrett ran him through with a sword and he died six weeks later, on 10 October 1646. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the choir before the dean's stall. During the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell no dean was appointed and the cathedral fell into disrepair. The bishop went into retirement and some of the clerics were reduced to performing menial tasks.
In 1661, after Charles II was restored to the throne, Robert Creighton, the king's chaplain in exile, was appointed dean and was bishop for two years before his death in 1672. His brass lectern, given in thanksgiving, can be seen in the cathedral. He donated the nave's great west window at a cost of £140. Following Creighton's appointment as bishop, the post of dean went to Ralph Bathurst, who had been chaplain to the king, president of Trinity College, Oxford and fellow of the Royal Society. During Bathurst's long tenure the cathedral was restored, but in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, Puritan soldiers damaged the west front, tore lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows, smashed the organ and furnishings, and for a time stabled their horses in the nave.
Restoration began again under Thomas Ken who was appointed by the Crown in 1685 and served until 1691. He was one of seven bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign King James II's "Declaration of Indulgence", which would have enabled Catholics to resume positions of political power, but popular support led to their acquittal. Ken refused to take the oath of allegiance to William III and Mary II because James II had not abdicated and with others, known as the Nonjurors, was put out of office. His successor, Richard Kidder, was killed in the Great Storm of 1703 when two chimney stacks on the palace fell on him and his wife, while they were asleep in bed.
By the middle of the 19th century, a major restoration programme was needed. Under Dean Goodenough, the monuments were moved to the cloisters and the remaining medieval paint and whitewash removed in an operation known as "the great scrape". Anthony Salvin took charge of the extensive restoration of the choir. Wooden galleries installed in the 16th century were removed and the stalls were given stone canopies and placed further back within the line of the arcade. The medieval stone pulpitum screen was extended in the centre to support a new organ.
In 1933 the Friends of Wells Cathedral were formed to support the cathedral's chapter in the maintenance of the fabric, life and work of the cathedral. The late 20th century saw an extensive restoration programme, particularly of the west front. The stained glass is currently under restoration, with a programme underway to conserve the large 14th-century Jesse Tree window at the eastern terminal of the choir.
In January 2014, as part of the Bath film festival, the cathedral hosted a special screening of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. This provoked some controversy, but the church defended its decision to allow the screening.
In 2021, a contemporary sculpture by Anthony Gormley was unveiled on a temporary plinth outside the cathedral.
Since the 13th century, Wells Cathedral has been the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Its governing body, the chapter, is made up of five clerical canons (the dean, the precentor, the canon chancellor, the canon treasurer, and the archdeacon of Wells) and four lay members: the administrator (chief executive), Keeper of the Fabric, Overseer of the Estate and the chairman of the cathedral shop and catering boards. The current bishop of Bath and Wells is Peter Hancock, who was installed in a service in the cathedral on 7 June 2014. John Davies has been Dean of Wells since 2016.
Employed staff include the organist and master of choristers, head Verger archivist, librarian and the staff of the shop, café and restaurant. The chapter is advised by specialists such as architects, archaeologists and financial analysts.
More than a thousand services are held every year. There are daily services of Matins, Holy Communion and Choral Evensong, as well as major celebrations of Christian festivals such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and saints' days. The cathedral is also used for the baptisms, weddings and funerals of those with close connections to it. In July 2009 the cathedral undertook the funeral of Harry Patch, the last British Army veteran of World War I, who died at the age of 111.
Three Sunday services are led by the resident choir in school terms and choral services are sung on weekdays. The cathedral hosts visiting choirs and does outreach work with local schools as part of its Chorister Outreach Project. It is also a venue for musical events such as an annual concert by the Somerset Chamber Choir.
Each year about 150,000 people attend services and another 300,000 visit as tourists. Entry is free, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation towards the annual running costs of around £1.5 million in 2015.
Construction of the cathedral began in about 1175, to the design of an unknown master-mason. Wells is the first cathedral in England to be built, from its foundation, in Gothic style. According to art historian John Harvey, it is the first truly Gothic cathedral in the world, its architects having entirely dispensed with all features that bound the contemporary east end of Canterbury Cathedral and the earlier buildings of France, such as the east end of the Abbey of Saint Denis, to the Romanesque. Unlike these churches, Wells has clustered piers rather than columns and has a gallery of identical pointed arches rather than the typically Romanesque form of paired openings. The style, with its simple lancet arches without tracery and convoluted mouldings, is known as Early English Gothic.
From about 1192 to 1230, Adam Lock, the earliest master-mason at Wells for whom a name is known, continued the transept and nave in the same manner as his predecessor. Lock was also the builder of the north porch, to his own design.
The Early English west front was commenced around 1230 by Thomas Norreys, with building and sculpture continuing for thirty years. Its south-west tower was begun 100 years later and constructed between 1365 and 1395, and the north-west tower between 1425 and 1435, both in the Perpendicular Gothic style to the design of William Wynford, who also filled many of the cathedral's early English lancet windows with delicate tracery.
The undercroft and chapter house were built by unknown architects between 1275 and 1310, the undercroft in the Early English and the chapter house in the Geometric style of Decorated Gothic architecture. In about 1310 work commenced on the Lady Chapel, to the design of Thomas Witney, who also built the central tower from 1315 to 1322 in the Decorated Gothic style. The tower was later braced internally with arches by William Joy. Concurrent with this work, in 1329–45 Joy made alterations and extensions to the choir, joining it to the Lady Chapel with the retrochoir, the latter in the Flowing Decorated style.
Later changes include the Perpendicular vault of the tower and construction of Sugar's Chapel, 1475–1490 by William Smyth. Also, Gothic Revival renovations were made to the choir and pulpitum by Benjamin Ferrey and Anthony Salvin, 1842–1857.
Wells has a total length of 415 feet (126 m). Like Canterbury, Lincoln and Salisbury cathedrals, it has the distinctly English arrangement of two transepts, with the body of the church divided into distinct parts: nave, choir, and retro-choir, beyond which extends the Lady Chapel. The façade is wide, with its towers extending beyond the transepts on either side. There is a large projecting porch on the north side of the nave forming an entry into the cathedral. To the north-east is the large octagonal chapter house, entered from the north choir aisle by a passage and staircase. To the south of the nave is a large cloister, unusual in that the northern range, that adjacent the cathedral, was never built.
In section, the cathedral has the usual arrangement of a large church: a central nave with an aisle on each side, separated by two arcades. The elevation is in three stages, arcade, triforium gallery and clerestory. The nave is 67 feet (20 m) in height, very low compared to the Gothic cathedrals of France. It has a markedly horizontal emphasis, caused by the triforium having a unique form, a series of identical narrow openings, lacking the usual definition of the bays. The triforium is separated from the arcade by a single horizontal string course that runs unbroken the length of the nave. There are no vertical lines linking the three stages, as the shafts supporting the vault rise above the triforium.
The exterior of Wells Cathedral presents a relatively tidy and harmonious appearance since the greater part of the building was executed in a single style, Early English Gothic. This is uncommon among English cathedrals where the exterior usually exhibits a plethora of styles. At Wells, later changes in the Perpendicular style were universally applied, such as filling the Early English lancet windows with simple tracery, the construction of a parapet that encircles the roof, and the addition of pinnacles framing each gable, similar to those around the chapter house and on the west front. At the eastern end there is a proliferation of tracery with repeated motifs in the Reticulated style, a stage between Geometric and Flowing Decorated tracery.
The west front is 100 feet (30 m) high and 147 feet (45 m) wide, and built of Inferior Oolite of the Middle Jurassic period, which came from the Doulting Stone Quarry, about 8 miles (13 km) to the east. According to the architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor, it is "one of the great sights of England".
West fronts in general take three distinct forms: those that follow the elevation of the nave and aisles, those that have paired towers at the end of each aisle, framing the nave, and those that screen the form of the building. The west front at Wells has the paired-tower form, unusual in that the towers do not indicate the location of the aisles, but extend well beyond them, screening the dimensions and profile of the building.
The west front rises in three distinct stages, each clearly defined by a horizontal course. This horizontal emphasis is counteracted by six strongly projecting buttresses defining the cross-sectional divisions of nave, aisles and towers, and are highly decorated, each having canopied niches containing the largest statues on the façade.
At the lowest level of the façade is a plain base, contrasting with and stabilising the ornate arcades that rise above it. The base is penetrated by three doors, which are in stark contrast to the often imposing portals of French Gothic cathedrals. The outer two are of domestic proportion and the central door is ornamented only by a central post, quatrefoil and the fine mouldings of the arch.
Above the basement rise two storeys, ornamented with quatrefoils and niches originally holding about four hundred statues, with three hundred surviving until the mid-20th century. Since then, some have been restored or replaced, including the ruined figure of Christ in the gable.
The third stages of the flanking towers were both built in the Perpendicular style of the late 14th century, to the design of William Wynford; that on the north-west was not begun until about 1425. The design maintains the general proportions, and continues the strong projection of the buttresses.
The finished product has been criticised for its lack of pinnacles, and it is probable that the towers were intended to carry spires which were never built. Despite its lack of spires or pinnacles, the architectural historian Banister Fletcher describes it as "the highest development in English Gothic of this type of façade."
The sculptures on the west front at Wells include standing figures, seated figures, half-length angels and narratives in high relief. Many of the figures are life-sized or larger. Together they constitute the finest display of medieval carving in England. The figures and many of the architectural details were painted in bright colours, and the colouring scheme has been deduced from flakes of paint still adhering to some surfaces. The sculptures occupy nine architectural zones stretching horizontally across the entire west front and around the sides and the eastern returns of the towers which extend beyond the aisles. The strongly projecting buttresses have tiers of niches which contain many of the largest figures. Other large figures, including that of Christ, occupy the gable. A single figure stands in one of two later niches high on the northern tower.
In 1851 the archaeologist Charles Robert Cockerell published his analysis of the iconography, numbering the nine sculptural divisions from the lowest to the highest. He defined the theme as "a calendar for unlearned men" illustrating the doctrines and history of the Christian faith, its introduction to Britain and its protection by princes and bishops. He likens the arrangement and iconography to the Te Deum.
According to Cockerell, the side of the façade that is to the south of the central door is the more sacred and the scheme is divided accordingly. The lowest range of niches each contained a standing figure, of which all but four figures on the west front, two on each side, have been destroyed. More have survived on the northern and eastern sides of the north tower. Cockerell speculates that those to the south of the portal represented prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament while those to the north represented early missionaries to Britain, of which Augustine of Canterbury, St Birinus, and Benedict Biscop are identifiable by their attributes. In the second zone, above each pair of standing figures, is a quatrefoil containing a half-length angel in relief, some of which have survived. Between the gables of the niches are quatrefoils that contain a series of narratives from the Bible, with the Old Testament stories to the south, above the prophets and patriarchs, and those from the New Testament to the north. A horizontal course runs around the west front dividing the architectural storeys at this point.
Above the course, zones four and five, as identified by Cockerell, contain figures which represent the Christian Church in Britain, with the spiritual lords such as bishops, abbots, abbesses and saintly founders of monasteries on the south, while kings, queens and princes occupy the north. Many of the figures survive and many have been identified in the light of their various attributes. There is a hierarchy of size, with the more significant figures larger and enthroned in their niches rather than standing. Immediately beneath the upper course are a series of small niches containing dynamic sculptures of the dead coming forth from their tombs on the Day of Judgement. Although naked, some of the dead are defined as royalty by their crowns and others as bishops by their mitres. Some emerge from their graves with joy and hope, and others with despair.
The niches in the lowest zone of the gable contain nine angels, of which Cockerell identifies Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In the next zone are the taller figures of the twelve apostles, some, such as John, Andrew and Bartholomew, clearly identifiable by the attributes that they carry. The uppermost niches of the gable contained the figure of Christ the Judge at the centre, with the Virgin Mary on his right and John the Baptist on his left. The figures all suffered from iconoclasm. A new statue of Jesus was carved for the central niche, but the two side niches now contain cherubim. Christ and the Virgin Mary are also represented by now headless figures in a Coronation of the Virgin in a niche above the central portal. A damaged figure of the Virgin and Christ Child occupies a quatrefoil in the spandrel of the door.
The central tower appears to date from the early 13th century. It was substantially reconstructed in the early 14th century during the remodelling of the east end, necessitating the internal bracing of the piers a decade or so later. In the 14th century the tower was given a timber and lead spire which burnt down in 1439. The exterior was then reworked in the Perpendicular style and given the present parapet and pinnacles. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes it as "outstanding even in Somerset, a county famed for the splendour of its church towers".
The north porch is described by art historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "sumptuously decorated", and intended as the main entrance. Externally it is simple and rectangular with plain side walls. The entrance is a steeply arched portal framed by rich mouldings of eight shafts with stiff-leaf capitals each encircled by an annular moulding at middle height. Those on the left are figurative, containing images representing the martyrdom of St Edmund the Martyr. The walls are lined with deep niches framed by narrow shafts with capitals and annulets like those of the portal. The path to the north porch is lined by four sculptures in Purbeck stone, each by Mary Spencer Watson, representing the symbols of the Evangelists.
The cloisters were built in the late 13th century and largely rebuilt from 1430 to 1508 and have wide openings divided by mullions and transoms, and tracery in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The vault has lierne ribs that form octagons at the centre of each compartment, the joints of each rib having decorative bosses. The eastern range is of two storeys, of which the upper is the library built in the 15th century.
Because Wells Cathedral was secular rather than monastic, cloisters were not a practical necessity. They were omitted from several other secular cathedrals but were built here and at Chichester. Explanations for their construction at these two secular cathedrals range from the processional to the aesthetic. As at Chichester, there is no northern range to the cloisters. In monastic cloisters it was the north range, benefiting most from winter sunlight, that was often used as a scriptorium.
In 1969, when a large chunk of stone fell from a statue near the main door, it became apparent that there was an urgent need for restoration of the west front. Detailed studies of the stonework and of conservation practices were undertaken under the cathedral architect, Alban D. R. Caroe and a restoration committee formed. The methods selected were those devised by Eve and Robert Baker. W. A. (Bert) Wheeler, clerk of works to the cathedral 1935–1978, had previously experimented with washing and surface treatment of architectural carvings on the building and his techniques were among those tried on the statues.
The conservation was carried out between 1974 and 1986, wherever possible using non-invasive procedures such as washing with water and a solution of lime, filling gaps and damaged surfaces with soft mortar to prevent the ingress of water and stabilising statues that were fracturing through corrosion of metal dowels. The surfaces were finished by painting with a thin coat of mortar and silane to resist further erosion and attack by pollutants. The restoration of the façade revealed much paint adhering to the statues and their niches, indicating that it had once been brightly coloured.
The particular character of this Early English interior is dependent on the proportions of the simple lancet arches. It is also dependent on the refinement of the architectural details, in particular the mouldings.
The arcade, which takes the same form in the nave, choir and transepts, is distinguished by the richness of both mouldings and carvings. Each pier of the arcade has a surface enrichment of 24 slender shafts in eight groups of three, rising beyond the capitals to form the deeply undulating mouldings of the arches. The capitals themselves are remarkable for the vitality of the stylised foliage, in a style known as "stiff-leaf". The liveliness contrasts with the formality of the moulded shafts and the smooth unbroken areas of ashlar masonry in the spandrels. Each capital is different, and some contain small figures illustrating narratives.
The vault of the nave rises steeply in a simple quadripartite form, in harmony with the nave arcade. The eastern end of the choir was extended and the whole upper part elaborated in the second quarter of the 14th century by William Joy. The vault has a multiplicity of ribs in a net-like form, which is very different from that of the nave, and is perhaps a recreation in stone of a local type of compartmented wooden roof of which examples remain from the 15th century, including those at St Cuthbert's Church, Wells. The vaults of the aisles of the choir also have a unique pattern.
Until the early 14th century, the interior of the cathedral was in a unified style, but it was to undergo two significant changes, to the tower and to the eastern end. Between 1315 and 1322 the central tower was heightened and topped by a spire, which caused the piers that supported it to show signs of stress. In 1338 the mason William Joy employed an unorthodox solution by inserting low arches topped by inverted arches of similar dimensions, forming scissors-like structures. These arches brace the piers of the crossing on three sides, while the easternmost side is braced by a choir screen. The bracing arches are known as "St Andrew's Cross arches", in a reference to the patron saint of the cathedral. They have been described by Wim Swaan – rightly or wrongly – as "brutally massive" and intrusive in an otherwise restrained interior.
Wells Cathedral has a square east end to the choir, as is usual, and like several other cathedrals including Salisbury and Lichfield, has a lower Lady Chapel projecting at the eastern end, begun by Thomas Witney in about 1310, possibly before the chapter house was completed. The Lady Chapel seems to have begun as a free-standing structure in the form of an elongated octagon, but the plan changed and it was linked to the eastern end by extension of the choir and construction of a second transept or retrochoir east of the choir, probably by William Joy.
The Lady Chapel has a vault of complex and somewhat irregular pattern, as the chapel is not symmetrical about both axes. The main ribs are intersected by additional non-supporting, lierne ribs, which in this case form a star-shaped pattern at the apex of the vault. It is one of the earliest lierne vaults in England. There are five large windows, of which four are filled with fragments of medieval glass. The tracery of the windows is in the style known as Reticulated Gothic, having a pattern of a single repeated shape, in this case a trefoil, giving a "reticulate" or net-like appearance.
The retrochoir extends across the east end of the choir and into the east transepts. At its centre the vault is supported by a remarkable structure of angled piers. Two of these are placed as to complete the octagonal shape of the Lady Chapel, a solution described by Francis Bond as "an intuition of Genius". The piers have attached shafts of marble, and, with the vaults that they support, create a vista of great complexity from every angle. The windows of the retrochoir are in the Reticulated style like those of the Lady Chapel, but are fully Flowing Decorated in that the tracery mouldings form ogival curves.
The chapter house was begun in the late 13th century and built in two stages, completed about 1310. It is a two-storeyed structure with the main chamber raised on an undercroft. It is entered from a staircase which divides and turns, one branch leading through the upper storey of Chain Gate to Vicars' Close. The Decorated interior is described by Alec Clifton-Taylor as "architecturally the most beautiful in England". It is octagonal, with its ribbed vault supported on a central column. The column is surrounded by shafts of Purbeck Marble, rising to a single continuous rippling foliate capital of stylised oak leaves and acorns, quite different in character from the Early English stiff-leaf foliage. Above the moulding spring 32 ribs of strong profile, giving an effect generally likened to "a great palm tree". The windows are large with Geometric Decorated tracery that is beginning to show an elongation of form, and ogees in the lesser lights that are characteristic of Flowing Decorated tracery. The tracery lights still contain ancient glass. Beneath the windows are 51 stalls, the canopies of which are enlivened by carvings including many heads carved in a light-hearted manner.
Wells Cathedral contains one of the most substantial collections of medieval stained glass in England, despite damage by Parliamentary troops in 1642 and 1643. The oldest surviving glass dates from the late 13th century and is in two windows on the west side of the chapter-house staircase. Two windows in the south choir aisle are from 1310 to 1320.
The Lady Chapel has five windows, of which four date from 1325 to 1330 and include images of a local saint, Dunstan. The east window was restored to a semblance of its original appearance by Thomas Willement in 1845. The other windows have complete canopies, but the pictorial sections are fragmented.
The east window of the choir is a broad, seven-light window dating from 1340 to 1345. It depicts the Tree of Jesse (the genealogy of Christ) and demonstrates the use of silver staining, a new technique that allowed the artist to paint details on the glass in yellow, as well as black. The combination of yellow and green glass and the application of the bright yellow stain gives the window its popular name, the "Golden Window". It is flanked by two windows each side in the clerestory, with large figures of saints, also dated to 1340–45. In 2010 a major conservation programme was undertaken on the Jesse Tree window.
The panels in the chapel of St Katherine are attributed to Arnold of Nijmegen and date from about 1520. They were acquired from the destroyed church of Saint-Jean, Rouen, with the last panel having been purchased in 1953.
The large triple lancet to the nave west end was glazed at the expense of Dean Creighton at a cost of £140 in 1664. It was repaired in 1813, and the central light was largely replaced to a design by Archibald Keightley Nicholson between 1925 and 1931. The main north and south transept end windows by James Powell and Sons were erected in the early 20th century.
The greater part of the stone carving of Wells Cathedral comprises foliate capitals in the stiff-leaf style. They are found ornamenting the piers of the nave, choir and transepts. Stiff-leaf foliage is highly abstract. Though possibly influenced by carvings of acanthus leaves or vine leaves, it cannot be easily identified with any particular plant. Here the carving of the foliage is varied and vigorous, the springing leaves and deep undercuts casting shadows that contrast with the surface of the piers. In the transepts and towards the crossing in the nave the capitals have many small figurative carvings among the leaves. These include a man with toothache and a series of four scenes depicting the "Wages of Sin" in a narrative of fruit stealers who creep into an orchard and are then beaten by the farmer. Another well-known carving is in the north transept aisle: a foliate corbel, on which climbs a lizard, sometimes identified as a salamander, a symbol of eternal life.
Carvings in the Decorated Gothic style may be found in the eastern end of the buildings, where there are many carved bosses. In the chapter house, the carvings of the 51 stalls include numerous small heads of great variety, many of them smiling or laughing. A well-known figure is the corbel of the dragon-slaying monk in the chapter house stair. The large continuous capital that encircles the central pillar of the chapter house is markedly different in style to the stiff-leaf of the Early English period. In contrast to the bold projections and undercutting of the earlier work, it has a rippling form and is clearly identifiable as grapevine.
The 15th-century cloisters have many small bosses ornamenting the vault. Two in the west cloister, near the gift shop and café, have been called sheela na gigs, i. e. female figures displaying their genitals and variously judged to depict the sin of lust or stem from ancient fertility cults.
Wells Cathedral has one of the finest sets of misericords in Britain. Its clergy has a long tradition of singing or reciting from the Book of Psalms each day, along with the customary daily reading of the Holy Office. In medieval times the clergy assembled in the church eight times daily for the canonical hours. As the greater part of the services was recited while standing, many monastic or collegiate churches fitted stalls whose seats tipped up to provide a ledge for the monk or cleric to lean against. These were "misericords" because their installation was an act of mercy. Misericords typically have a carved figurative bracket beneath the ledge framed by two floral motifs known, in heraldic manner, as "supporters".
The misericords date from 1330 to 1340. They may have been carved under the direction of Master Carpenter John Strode, although his name is not recorded before 1341. He was assisted by Bartholomew Quarter, who is documented from 1343. They originally numbered 90, of which 65 have survived. Sixty-one are installed in the choir, three are displayed in the cathedral, and one is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. New stalls were ordered when the eastern end of the choir was extended in the early 14th century. The canons complained that they had borne the cost of the rebuilding and ordered the prebendary clerics to pay for their own stalls. When the newly refurbished choir opened in 1339 many misericords were left unfinished, including one-fifth of the surviving 65. Many of the clerics had not paid, having been called to contribute a total sum of £200. The misericords survived better than the other sections of the stalls, which during the Protestant Reformation had their canopies chopped off and galleries inserted above them. One misericord, showing a boy pulling a thorn from his foot, dates from the 17th century. In 1848 came a complete rearrangement of the choir furniture, and 61 of the misericords were reused in the restructured stalls.
The subject matter of the carvings of the central brackets as misericords varies, but many themes recur in different churches. Typically the themes are less unified or directly related to the Bible and Christian theology than small sculptures seen elsewhere within churches, such as bosses. This applies at Wells, where none of the misericord carvings is directly based on a Bible story. The subjects, chosen either by the woodcarver, or perhaps by the one paying for the stall, have no overriding theme. The sole unifying elements are the roundels on each side of the pictorial subject, which all show elaborately carved foliage, in most cases formal and stylised in the later Decorated manner, but with several examples of naturalistic foliage, including roses and bindweed. Many of the subjects carry traditional interpretations. The image of the "Pelican in her Piety" (believed to feed her young on her own blood) is a recognised symbol for Christ's love for the Church. A cat playing with a mouse may represent the Devil snaring a human soul. Other subjects illustrate popular fables or sayings such as "When the fox preaches, look to your geese". Many depict animals, some of which may symbolise a human vice or virtue, or an aspect of faith.
Twenty-seven of the carvings depict animals: rabbits, dogs, a puppy biting a cat, a ewe feeding a lamb, monkeys, lions, bats, and the Early Christian motif of two doves drinking from a ewer. Eighteen have mythological subjects, including mermaids, dragons and wyverns. Five are clearly narrative, such as the Fox and the Geese, and the story of Alexander the Great being raised to Heaven by griffins. There are three heads: a bishop in a mitre, an angel, and a woman wearing a veil over hair arranged in coils over each ear. Eleven carvings show human figures, among which are several of remarkable design, conceived by the artist specifically for their purpose of supporting a shelf. One figure lies beneath the seat, supporting the shelf with a cheek, a hand and a foot. Another sits in a contorted manner supporting the weight on his elbow, while a further figure squats with his knees wide apart and a strained look on his face.
Some of the cathedral's fittings and monuments are hundreds of years old. The brass lectern in the Lady Chapel dates from 1661 and has a moulded stand and foliate crest. In the north transept chapel is a 17th-century oak screen with columns, formerly used in cow stalls, with artisan Ionic capitals and cornice, set forward over the chest tomb of John Godelee. There is a bound oak chest from the 14th century, which was used to store the chapter seal and key documents. The bishop's throne dates from 1340, and has a panelled, canted front and stone doorway, and a deep nodding cusped ogee canopy above it, with three-stepped statue niches and pinnacles. The throne was restored by Anthony Salvin around 1850. Opposite the throne is a 19th-century octagonal pulpit on a coved base with panelled sides, and steps up from the north aisle. The round font in the south transept is from the former Saxon cathedral and has an arcade of round-headed arches, on a round plinth. The font cover was made in 1635 and is decorated with the heads of putti. The Chapel of St Martin is a memorial to every Somerset man who fell in World War I.
The monuments and tombs include Gisa, bishop; † 1088; William of Bitton, bishop; † 1274; William of March, bishop; † 1302; John Droxford; † 1329; John Godelee; † 1333; John Middleton, died †1350; Ralph of Shrewsbury, died †; John Harewell, bishop; † 1386; William Bykonyll; † c. 1448; John Bernard; † 1459; Thomas Beckington; † died 1464; John Gunthorpe; † 1498; John Still; † 1607; Robert Creighton; † 1672; Richard Kidder, bishop; † 1703; George Hooper, bishop; † 1727 and Arthur Harvey, bishop; † 1894.
In the north transept is Wells Cathedral clock, an astronomical clock from about 1325 believed to be by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of Glastonbury. Its mechanism, dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century and the original moved to the Science Museum in London, where it still operates. It is the second oldest surviving clock in England after the Salisbury Cathedral clock.
The clock has its original medieval face. Apart from the time on a 24-hour dial, it shows the motion of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, and the time since the last new Moon. The astronomical dial presents a geocentric or pre-Copernican view, with the Sun and Moon revolving round a central fixed Earth, like that of the clock at Ottery St Mary. The quarters are chimed by a quarter jack: a small automaton known as Jack Blandifers, who hits two bells with hammers and two with his heels. At the striking of the clock, jousting knights appear above the clock face.
On the outer wall of the transept, opposite Vicars' Hall, is a second clock face of the same clock, placed there just over seventy years after the interior clock and driven by the same mechanism. The second clock face has two quarter jacks (which strike on the quarter-hour) in the form of knights in armour.
In 2010 the official clock-winder retired and was replaced by an electric mechanism.
The first record of an organ at this church dates from 1310. A smaller organ, probably for the Lady Chapel, was installed in 1415. In 1620 an organ built by Thomas Dallam was installed at a cost of £398 1s 5d.
The 1620 organ was destroyed by parliamentary soldiers in 1643. An organ built in 1662 was enlarged in 1786 and again in 1855. In 1909–1910 an organ was built by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, with the best parts of the old organ retained. It has been serviced by the same company ever since.
Since November 1996 the cathedral has also had a portable chamber organ, by the Scottish makers, Lammermuir. It is used regularly to accompany performances of Tudor and baroque music.
The first recorded organist of Wells was Walter Bagele (or Vageler) in 1416. The post of organist or assistant organist has been held by more than 60 people since. Peter Stanley Lyons was Master of Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Director of Music at Wells Cathedral School in 1954–1960. The choral conductor James William Webb-Jones, father of Lyons's wife Bridget (whom he married in the cathedral), was Headmaster of Wells Cathedral School in 1955–1960. Malcolm Archer was the appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers from 1996 to 2004. Matthew Owens was the appointed organist from 2005 to 2019.
There has been a choir of boy choristers at Wells since 909. Currently there are 18 boy choristers and a similar number of girl choristers, aged from eight to fourteen. The Vicars Choral was formed in the 12th century and the sung liturgy provided by a traditional cathedral choir of men and boys until the formation of an additional choir of girls in 1994. The boys and girls sing alternately with the Vicars Choral and are educated at Wells Cathedral School.
The Vicars Choral currently number twelve men, of whom three are choral scholars. Since 1348 the College of Vicars had its own accommodation in a quadrangle converted in the early 15th century to form Vicar's Close. The Vicars Choral generally perform with the choristers, except on Wednesdays, when they sing alone, allowing them to present a different repertoire, in particular plainsong.
In December 2010 Wells Cathedral Choir was rated by Gramophone magazine as "the highest ranking choir with children in the world". It continues to provide music for the liturgy at Sunday and weekday services. The choir has made many recordings and toured frequently, including performances in Beijing and Hong Kong in 2012. Its repertoire ranges from the choral music of the Renaissance to recently commissioned works.
The Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir is a mixed adult choir of 25 members, formed in 1986 to sing at the midnight service on Christmas Eve, and invited to sing at several other special services. It now sings for about 30 services a year, when the Cathedral Choir is in recess or on tour, and spends one week a year singing as the "choir in residence" at another cathedral. Although primarily liturgical, the choir's repertoire includes other forms of music, as well as performances at engagements such as weddings and funerals.
The cathedral is home to Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society (WCOS), founded in 1896. With around 160 voices, the society gives three concerts a year under the direction of Matthew Owens, Organist and Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Concerts are normally in early November, December (an annual performance of Handel's Messiah) and late March. It performs with a number of specialist orchestras including: Music for Awhile, Chameleon Arts and La Folia.
The bells at Wells Cathedral are the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world, the tenor bell (the 10th and largest), known as Harewell, weighing 56.25 long hundredweight (2,858 kg). They are hung for full-circle ringing in the English style of change ringing. These bells are now hung in the south-west tower, although some were originally hung in the central tower.
The library above the eastern cloister was built between 1430 and 1508. Its collection is in three parts: early documents housed in the Muniment Room; the collection predating 1800 housed in the Chained Library; and the post-1800 collection housed in the Reading Room. The chapter's earlier collection was destroyed during the Reformation, so that the present library consists chiefly of early printed books, rather than medieval manuscripts. The earlier books in the Chained Library number 2,800 volumes and give an indication of the variety of interests of the members of the cathedral chapter from the Reformation until 1800. The focus of the collection is predominantly theology, but there are volumes on science, medicine, exploration, and languages. Books of particular interest include Pliny's Natural History printed in 1472, an Atlas of the World by Abraham Ortelius, printed in 1606, and a set of the works by Aristotle that once belonged to Erasmus. The library is open to the public at appointed times in the summer and presents a small exhibition of documents and books.
Three early registers of the Dean and Chapter edited by W. H. B. Bird for the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners – Liber Albus I (White Book; R I), Liber Albus II (R III) and Liber Ruber (Red Book; R II, section i) – were published in 1907. They contain with some repetition, a cartulary of possessions of the cathedral, with grants of land back to the 8th century, well before hereditary surnames developed in England, and acts of the Dean and Chapter and surveys of their estates, mostly in Somerset.
Adjacent to the cathedral is a large lawned area, Cathedral Green, with three ancient gateways: Brown's Gatehouse, Penniless Porch and Chain Gate. On the green is the 12th-century Old Deanery, largely rebuilt in the late 15th century by Dean Gunthorpe and remodelled by Dean Bathurst in the late 17th century. No longer the dean's residence, it is used as diocesan offices.
To the south of the cathedral is the moated Bishop's Palace, begun about 1210 by Jocelin of Wells but dating mostly from the 1230s. In the 15th century Thomas Beckington added a north wing, now the bishop's residence. It was restored and extended by Benjamin Ferrey between 1846 and 1854.
To the north of the cathedral and connected to it by the Chain Gate is Vicars' Close, a street planned in the 14th century and claimed to be the oldest purely residential street in Europe, with all but one of its original buildings intact. Buildings in the close include the Vicars Hall and gateway at the south end, and the Vicars Chapel and Library at the north end.
The Liberty of St Andrew was the historic liberty and parish that encompassed the cathedral and surrounding lands closely associated with it.
The English painter J. M. W. Turner visited Wells in 1795, making sketches of the precinct and a water colour of the west front, now in the Tate gallery. Other artists whose paintings of the cathedral are in national collections are Albert Goodwin, John Syer and Ken Howard.
The cathedral served to inspire Ken Follett's 1989 novel The Pillars of the Earth and with a modified central tower, featured as the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral at the end of the 2010 television adaptation of that novel. The interior of the cathedral was used for a 2007 Doctor Who episode, "The Lazarus Experiment", while the exterior shots were filmed at Southwark Cathedral.
An account of the damage to the cathedral during the Monmouth Rebellion is included in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1889 historical novel Micah Clarke.
The cathedral provided scenes for the 2019–2020 television series The Spanish Princess.
"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience."
-Henry Miller
Josh fondles my new Kindle in the movie theater before Watchmen starts.
Jeepers creepers! Where d'you get those peepers? After a little inaction on the painting front I thought it would be best to get my hand back in with a little easy sunny painting on a sunny afternoon. With no idea on what I was going to paint, all i had was a blank door down the mews staring at me and eventually decided a face would see me right. After about half an hour of glaring at the door I decided I'd just pick up a paintbrush and start. The devil makes work for idle hands and all that jazz. A short time later, and after using a few spraycans (which i said i wouldn't use), I give you 'Peepers'. What exactly it's on about is for you to decide...
Cheers
id-iom
Photographers and Videographers in action at Adiyogi Shiva Statue unveiling ceremony in Chikkaballapur, Karnataka.
As it was two years ago today. So far, no one is to blame. No one has been held to account. Hundreds of other buildings across the country have the same recipe cladding but little action has been taken. And Boris Johnson prioritises tax cuts for the already wealthy in his bid for Tory leadership.
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. It has been called "unquestionably one of the most beautiful" and "most poetic" of English cathedrals.
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. The stonework of its pointed arcades and fluted piers bears pronounced mouldings and carved capitals in a foliate, "stiff-leaf" style. Its Early English front with 300 sculpted figures is seen as a "supreme triumph of the combined plastic arts in England". The east end retains much ancient stained glass. 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 It is a Grade I listed building.
The earliest remains of a building on the site are of a late-Roman mausoleum, identified during excavations in 1980. An abbey church was built in Wells in 705 by Aldhelm, first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Sherborne during the reign of King Ine of Wessex. It was dedicated to St Andrew and stood at the site of the cathedral's cloisters, where some excavated remains can be seen. The font in the cathedral's south transept is from this church and is the oldest part of the present building. In 766 Cynewulf, King of Wessex, signed a charter endowing the church with eleven hides of land. In 909 the seat of the diocese was moved from Sherborne to Wells.
The first bishop of Wells was Athelm (909), who crowned King Æthelstan. Athelm and his nephew Dunstan both became Archbishops of Canterbury. During this period a choir of boys was established to sing the liturgy. Wells Cathedral School, which was established to educate these choirboys, dates its foundation to this point. There is, however, some controversy over this. Following the Norman Conquest, John de Villula moved the seat of the bishop from Wells to Bath in 1090. The church at Wells, no longer a cathedral, had a college of secular clergy.
The cathedral is thought to have been conceived and commenced in about 1175 by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, who died in 1191. Although it is clear from its size that from the outset, the church was planned to be the cathedral of the diocese, the seat of the bishop moved between Wells and the abbeys of Glastonbury and Bath, before settling at Wells. In 1197 Reginald's successor, Savaric FitzGeldewin, with the approval of Pope Celestine III, officially moved his seat to Glastonbury Abbey. The title of Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury was used until the Glastonbury claim was abandoned in 1219.
Savaric's successor, Jocelin of Wells, again moved the bishop's seat to Bath Abbey, with the title Bishop of Bath. Jocelin was a brother of Hugh (II) of Lincoln and was present at the signing of the Magna Carta. Jocelin continued the building campaign begun by Reginald and was responsible for the Bishop's Palace, the choristers' school, a grammar school, a hospital for travellers and a chapel. He also had a manor house built at Wookey, near Wells. Jocelin saw the church dedicated in 1239 but, despite much lobbying of the Pope by Jocelin's representatives in Rome, did not live to see cathedral status granted. The delay may have been a result of inaction by Pandulf Verraccio, a Roman ecclesiastical politician, papal legate to England and Bishop of Norwich, who was asked by the Pope to investigate the situation but did not respond. Jocelin died at Wells on 19 November 1242 and was buried in the choir of the cathedral; the memorial brass on his tomb is one of the earliest brasses in England. Following his death the monks of Bath unsuccessfully attempted to regain authority over Wells.
In 1245 the ongoing dispute over the title of the bishop was resolved by a ruling of Pope Innocent IV, who established the title as the "Bishop of Bath and Wells", which it has remained until this day, with Wells as the principal seat of the bishop. Since the 11th century the church has had a chapter of secular clergy, like the cathedrals of Chichester, Hereford, Lincoln and York. The chapter was endowed with 22 prebends (lands from which finance was drawn) and a provost to manage them. On acquiring cathedral status, in common with other such cathedrals, it had four chief clergy, the dean, precentor, chancellor and sacristan, who were responsible for the spiritual and material care of the cathedral.
The building programme, begun by Reginald Fitz Jocelin, Bishop in the 12th century, continued under Jocelin of Wells, who was a canon from 1200, then bishop from 1206. Adam Locke was master mason from about 1192 until 1230. It was designed in the new style with pointed arches, later known as Gothic, which was introduced at about the same time at Canterbury Cathedral. Work was halted between 1209 and 1213 when King John was excommunicated and Jocelin was in exile, but the main parts of the church were complete by the time of the dedication by Jocelin in 1239.
By the time the cathedral, including the chapter house, was finished in 1306, it was already too small for the developing liturgy, and unable to accommodate increasingly grand processions of clergy. John Droxford initiated another phase of building under master mason Thomas of Whitney, during which the central tower was heightened and an eight-sided Lady chapel was added at the east end by 1326. Ralph of Shrewsbury followed, continuing the eastward extension of the choir and retrochoir beyond. He oversaw the building of Vicars' Close and the Vicars' Hall, to give the men who were employed to sing in the choir a secure place to live and dine, away from the town and its temptations. He had an uneasy relationship with the citizens of Wells, partly because of his imposition of taxes, and he surrounded his palace with crenellated walls, a moat and a drawbridge.
John Harewell raised money for the completion of the west front by William Wynford, who was appointed as master mason in 1365. One of the foremost master masons of his time, Wynford worked for the king at Windsor, Winchester Cathedral and New College, Oxford. At Wells, he designed the western towers of which north-west was not built until the following century. In the 14th century, the central piers of the crossing were found to be sinking under the weight of the crossing tower which had been damaged by an earthquake in the previous century. Strainer arches, sometimes described as scissor arches, were inserted by master mason William Joy to brace and stabilise the piers as a unit.
By the reign of Henry VII the cathedral was complete, appearing much as it does today (though the fittings have changed). From 1508 to 1546, the eminent Italian humanist scholar Polydore Vergil was active as the chapter's representative in London. He donated a set of hangings for the choir of the cathedral. While Wells survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries better than the cathedrals of monastic foundation, the abolition of chantries in 1547 resulted in a reduction in its income. Medieval brasses were sold, and a pulpit was placed in the nave for the first time. Between 1551 and 1568, in two periods as dean, William Turner established a herb garden, which was recreated between 2003 and 2010.
Elizabeth I gave the chapter and the Vicars Choral a new charter in 1591, creating a new governing body, consisting of a dean and eight residentiary canons with control over the church estates and authority over its affairs, but no longer entitled to elect the dean (that entitlement thenceforward belonged ultimately to the Crown). The stability brought by the new charter ended with the onset of the Civil War and the execution of Charles I. Local fighting damaged the cathedral's stonework, furniture and windows. The dean, Walter Raleigh, a nephew of the explorer Walter Raleigh, was placed under house arrest after the fall of Bridgwater to the Parliamentarians in 1645, first in the rectory at Chedzoy and then in the deanery at Wells. His jailor, the shoe maker and city constable, David Barrett, caught him writing a letter to his wife. When he refused to surrender it, Barrett ran him through with a sword and he died six weeks later, on 10 October 1646. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the choir before the dean's stall. During the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell no dean was appointed and the cathedral fell into disrepair. The bishop went into retirement and some of the clerics were reduced to performing menial tasks.
In 1661, after Charles II was restored to the throne, Robert Creighton, the king's chaplain in exile, was appointed dean and was bishop for two years before his death in 1672. His brass lectern, given in thanksgiving, can be seen in the cathedral. He donated the nave's great west window at a cost of £140. Following Creighton's appointment as bishop, the post of dean went to Ralph Bathurst, who had been chaplain to the king, president of Trinity College, Oxford and fellow of the Royal Society. During Bathurst's long tenure the cathedral was restored, but in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, Puritan soldiers damaged the west front, tore lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows, smashed the organ and furnishings, and for a time stabled their horses in the nave.
Restoration began again under Thomas Ken who was appointed by the Crown in 1685 and served until 1691. He was one of seven bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign King James II's "Declaration of Indulgence", which would have enabled Catholics to resume positions of political power, but popular support led to their acquittal. Ken refused to take the oath of allegiance to William III and Mary II because James II had not abdicated and with others, known as the Nonjurors, was put out of office. His successor, Richard Kidder, was killed in the Great Storm of 1703 when two chimney stacks on the palace fell on him and his wife, while they were asleep in bed.
By the middle of the 19th century, a major restoration programme was needed. Under Dean Goodenough, the monuments were moved to the cloisters and the remaining medieval paint and whitewash removed in an operation known as "the great scrape". Anthony Salvin took charge of the extensive restoration of the choir. Wooden galleries installed in the 16th century were removed and the stalls were given stone canopies and placed further back within the line of the arcade. The medieval stone pulpitum screen was extended in the centre to support a new organ.
In 1933 the Friends of Wells Cathedral were formed to support the cathedral's chapter in the maintenance of the fabric, life and work of the cathedral. The late 20th century saw an extensive restoration programme, particularly of the west front. The stained glass is currently under restoration, with a programme underway to conserve the large 14th-century Jesse Tree window at the eastern terminal of the choir.
In January 2014, as part of the Bath film festival, the cathedral hosted a special screening of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. This provoked some controversy, but the church defended its decision to allow the screening.
In 2021, a contemporary sculpture by Anthony Gormley was unveiled on a temporary plinth outside the cathedral.
Since the 13th century, Wells Cathedral has been the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. Its governing body, the chapter, is made up of five clerical canons (the dean, the precentor, the canon chancellor, the canon treasurer, and the archdeacon of Wells) and four lay members: the administrator (chief executive), Keeper of the Fabric, Overseer of the Estate and the chairman of the cathedral shop and catering boards. The current bishop of Bath and Wells is Peter Hancock, who was installed in a service in the cathedral on 7 June 2014. John Davies has been Dean of Wells since 2016.
Employed staff include the organist and master of choristers, head Verger archivist, librarian and the staff of the shop, café and restaurant. The chapter is advised by specialists such as architects, archaeologists and financial analysts.
More than a thousand services are held every year. There are daily services of Matins, Holy Communion and Choral Evensong, as well as major celebrations of Christian festivals such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and saints' days. The cathedral is also used for the baptisms, weddings and funerals of those with close connections to it. In July 2009 the cathedral undertook the funeral of Harry Patch, the last British Army veteran of World War I, who died at the age of 111.
Three Sunday services are led by the resident choir in school terms and choral services are sung on weekdays. The cathedral hosts visiting choirs and does outreach work with local schools as part of its Chorister Outreach Project. It is also a venue for musical events such as an annual concert by the Somerset Chamber Choir.
Each year about 150,000 people attend services and another 300,000 visit as tourists. Entry is free, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation towards the annual running costs of around £1.5 million in 2015.
Construction of the cathedral began in about 1175, to the design of an unknown master-mason. Wells is the first cathedral in England to be built, from its foundation, in Gothic style. According to art historian John Harvey, it is the first truly Gothic cathedral in the world, its architects having entirely dispensed with all features that bound the contemporary east end of Canterbury Cathedral and the earlier buildings of France, such as the east end of the Abbey of Saint Denis, to the Romanesque. Unlike these churches, Wells has clustered piers rather than columns and has a gallery of identical pointed arches rather than the typically Romanesque form of paired openings. The style, with its simple lancet arches without tracery and convoluted mouldings, is known as Early English Gothic.
From about 1192 to 1230, Adam Lock, the earliest master-mason at Wells for whom a name is known, continued the transept and nave in the same manner as his predecessor. Lock was also the builder of the north porch, to his own design.
The Early English west front was commenced around 1230 by Thomas Norreys, with building and sculpture continuing for thirty years. Its south-west tower was begun 100 years later and constructed between 1365 and 1395, and the north-west tower between 1425 and 1435, both in the Perpendicular Gothic style to the design of William Wynford, who also filled many of the cathedral's early English lancet windows with delicate tracery.
The undercroft and chapter house were built by unknown architects between 1275 and 1310, the undercroft in the Early English and the chapter house in the Geometric style of Decorated Gothic architecture. In about 1310 work commenced on the Lady Chapel, to the design of Thomas Witney, who also built the central tower from 1315 to 1322 in the Decorated Gothic style. The tower was later braced internally with arches by William Joy. Concurrent with this work, in 1329–45 Joy made alterations and extensions to the choir, joining it to the Lady Chapel with the retrochoir, the latter in the Flowing Decorated style.
Later changes include the Perpendicular vault of the tower and construction of Sugar's Chapel, 1475–1490 by William Smyth. Also, Gothic Revival renovations were made to the choir and pulpitum by Benjamin Ferrey and Anthony Salvin, 1842–1857.
Wells has a total length of 415 feet (126 m). Like Canterbury, Lincoln and Salisbury cathedrals, it has the distinctly English arrangement of two transepts, with the body of the church divided into distinct parts: nave, choir, and retro-choir, beyond which extends the Lady Chapel. The façade is wide, with its towers extending beyond the transepts on either side. There is a large projecting porch on the north side of the nave forming an entry into the cathedral. To the north-east is the large octagonal chapter house, entered from the north choir aisle by a passage and staircase. To the south of the nave is a large cloister, unusual in that the northern range, that adjacent the cathedral, was never built.
In section, the cathedral has the usual arrangement of a large church: a central nave with an aisle on each side, separated by two arcades. The elevation is in three stages, arcade, triforium gallery and clerestory. The nave is 67 feet (20 m) in height, very low compared to the Gothic cathedrals of France. It has a markedly horizontal emphasis, caused by the triforium having a unique form, a series of identical narrow openings, lacking the usual definition of the bays. The triforium is separated from the arcade by a single horizontal string course that runs unbroken the length of the nave. There are no vertical lines linking the three stages, as the shafts supporting the vault rise above the triforium.
The exterior of Wells Cathedral presents a relatively tidy and harmonious appearance since the greater part of the building was executed in a single style, Early English Gothic. This is uncommon among English cathedrals where the exterior usually exhibits a plethora of styles. At Wells, later changes in the Perpendicular style were universally applied, such as filling the Early English lancet windows with simple tracery, the construction of a parapet that encircles the roof, and the addition of pinnacles framing each gable, similar to those around the chapter house and on the west front. At the eastern end there is a proliferation of tracery with repeated motifs in the Reticulated style, a stage between Geometric and Flowing Decorated tracery.
The west front is 100 feet (30 m) high and 147 feet (45 m) wide, and built of Inferior Oolite of the Middle Jurassic period, which came from the Doulting Stone Quarry, about 8 miles (13 km) to the east. According to the architectural historian Alec Clifton-Taylor, it is "one of the great sights of England".
West fronts in general take three distinct forms: those that follow the elevation of the nave and aisles, those that have paired towers at the end of each aisle, framing the nave, and those that screen the form of the building. The west front at Wells has the paired-tower form, unusual in that the towers do not indicate the location of the aisles, but extend well beyond them, screening the dimensions and profile of the building.
The west front rises in three distinct stages, each clearly defined by a horizontal course. This horizontal emphasis is counteracted by six strongly projecting buttresses defining the cross-sectional divisions of nave, aisles and towers, and are highly decorated, each having canopied niches containing the largest statues on the façade.
At the lowest level of the façade is a plain base, contrasting with and stabilising the ornate arcades that rise above it. The base is penetrated by three doors, which are in stark contrast to the often imposing portals of French Gothic cathedrals. The outer two are of domestic proportion and the central door is ornamented only by a central post, quatrefoil and the fine mouldings of the arch.
Above the basement rise two storeys, ornamented with quatrefoils and niches originally holding about four hundred statues, with three hundred surviving until the mid-20th century. Since then, some have been restored or replaced, including the ruined figure of Christ in the gable.
The third stages of the flanking towers were both built in the Perpendicular style of the late 14th century, to the design of William Wynford; that on the north-west was not begun until about 1425. The design maintains the general proportions, and continues the strong projection of the buttresses.
The finished product has been criticised for its lack of pinnacles, and it is probable that the towers were intended to carry spires which were never built. Despite its lack of spires or pinnacles, the architectural historian Banister Fletcher describes it as "the highest development in English Gothic of this type of façade."
The sculptures on the west front at Wells include standing figures, seated figures, half-length angels and narratives in high relief. Many of the figures are life-sized or larger. Together they constitute the finest display of medieval carving in England. The figures and many of the architectural details were painted in bright colours, and the colouring scheme has been deduced from flakes of paint still adhering to some surfaces. The sculptures occupy nine architectural zones stretching horizontally across the entire west front and around the sides and the eastern returns of the towers which extend beyond the aisles. The strongly projecting buttresses have tiers of niches which contain many of the largest figures. Other large figures, including that of Christ, occupy the gable. A single figure stands in one of two later niches high on the northern tower.
In 1851 the archaeologist Charles Robert Cockerell published his analysis of the iconography, numbering the nine sculptural divisions from the lowest to the highest. He defined the theme as "a calendar for unlearned men" illustrating the doctrines and history of the Christian faith, its introduction to Britain and its protection by princes and bishops. He likens the arrangement and iconography to the Te Deum.
According to Cockerell, the side of the façade that is to the south of the central door is the more sacred and the scheme is divided accordingly. The lowest range of niches each contained a standing figure, of which all but four figures on the west front, two on each side, have been destroyed. More have survived on the northern and eastern sides of the north tower. Cockerell speculates that those to the south of the portal represented prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament while those to the north represented early missionaries to Britain, of which Augustine of Canterbury, St Birinus, and Benedict Biscop are identifiable by their attributes. In the second zone, above each pair of standing figures, is a quatrefoil containing a half-length angel in relief, some of which have survived. Between the gables of the niches are quatrefoils that contain a series of narratives from the Bible, with the Old Testament stories to the south, above the prophets and patriarchs, and those from the New Testament to the north. A horizontal course runs around the west front dividing the architectural storeys at this point.
Above the course, zones four and five, as identified by Cockerell, contain figures which represent the Christian Church in Britain, with the spiritual lords such as bishops, abbots, abbesses and saintly founders of monasteries on the south, while kings, queens and princes occupy the north. Many of the figures survive and many have been identified in the light of their various attributes. There is a hierarchy of size, with the more significant figures larger and enthroned in their niches rather than standing. Immediately beneath the upper course are a series of small niches containing dynamic sculptures of the dead coming forth from their tombs on the Day of Judgement. Although naked, some of the dead are defined as royalty by their crowns and others as bishops by their mitres. Some emerge from their graves with joy and hope, and others with despair.
The niches in the lowest zone of the gable contain nine angels, of which Cockerell identifies Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In the next zone are the taller figures of the twelve apostles, some, such as John, Andrew and Bartholomew, clearly identifiable by the attributes that they carry. The uppermost niches of the gable contained the figure of Christ the Judge at the centre, with the Virgin Mary on his right and John the Baptist on his left. The figures all suffered from iconoclasm. A new statue of Jesus was carved for the central niche, but the two side niches now contain cherubim. Christ and the Virgin Mary are also represented by now headless figures in a Coronation of the Virgin in a niche above the central portal. A damaged figure of the Virgin and Christ Child occupies a quatrefoil in the spandrel of the door.
The central tower appears to date from the early 13th century. It was substantially reconstructed in the early 14th century during the remodelling of the east end, necessitating the internal bracing of the piers a decade or so later. In the 14th century the tower was given a timber and lead spire which burnt down in 1439. The exterior was then reworked in the Perpendicular style and given the present parapet and pinnacles. Alec Clifton-Taylor describes it as "outstanding even in Somerset, a county famed for the splendour of its church towers".
The north porch is described by art historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "sumptuously decorated", and intended as the main entrance. Externally it is simple and rectangular with plain side walls. The entrance is a steeply arched portal framed by rich mouldings of eight shafts with stiff-leaf capitals each encircled by an annular moulding at middle height. Those on the left are figurative, containing images representing the martyrdom of St Edmund the Martyr. The walls are lined with deep niches framed by narrow shafts with capitals and annulets like those of the portal. The path to the north porch is lined by four sculptures in Purbeck stone, each by Mary Spencer Watson, representing the symbols of the Evangelists.
The cloisters were built in the late 13th century and largely rebuilt from 1430 to 1508 and have wide openings divided by mullions and transoms, and tracery in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The vault has lierne ribs that form octagons at the centre of each compartment, the joints of each rib having decorative bosses. The eastern range is of two storeys, of which the upper is the library built in the 15th century.
Because Wells Cathedral was secular rather than monastic, cloisters were not a practical necessity. They were omitted from several other secular cathedrals but were built here and at Chichester. Explanations for their construction at these two secular cathedrals range from the processional to the aesthetic. As at Chichester, there is no northern range to the cloisters. In monastic cloisters it was the north range, benefiting most from winter sunlight, that was often used as a scriptorium.
In 1969, when a large chunk of stone fell from a statue near the main door, it became apparent that there was an urgent need for restoration of the west front. Detailed studies of the stonework and of conservation practices were undertaken under the cathedral architect, Alban D. R. Caroe and a restoration committee formed. The methods selected were those devised by Eve and Robert Baker. W. A. (Bert) Wheeler, clerk of works to the cathedral 1935–1978, had previously experimented with washing and surface treatment of architectural carvings on the building and his techniques were among those tried on the statues.
The conservation was carried out between 1974 and 1986, wherever possible using non-invasive procedures such as washing with water and a solution of lime, filling gaps and damaged surfaces with soft mortar to prevent the ingress of water and stabilising statues that were fracturing through corrosion of metal dowels. The surfaces were finished by painting with a thin coat of mortar and silane to resist further erosion and attack by pollutants. The restoration of the façade revealed much paint adhering to the statues and their niches, indicating that it had once been brightly coloured.
The particular character of this Early English interior is dependent on the proportions of the simple lancet arches. It is also dependent on the refinement of the architectural details, in particular the mouldings.
The arcade, which takes the same form in the nave, choir and transepts, is distinguished by the richness of both mouldings and carvings. Each pier of the arcade has a surface enrichment of 24 slender shafts in eight groups of three, rising beyond the capitals to form the deeply undulating mouldings of the arches. The capitals themselves are remarkable for the vitality of the stylised foliage, in a style known as "stiff-leaf". The liveliness contrasts with the formality of the moulded shafts and the smooth unbroken areas of ashlar masonry in the spandrels. Each capital is different, and some contain small figures illustrating narratives.
The vault of the nave rises steeply in a simple quadripartite form, in harmony with the nave arcade. The eastern end of the choir was extended and the whole upper part elaborated in the second quarter of the 14th century by William Joy. The vault has a multiplicity of ribs in a net-like form, which is very different from that of the nave, and is perhaps a recreation in stone of a local type of compartmented wooden roof of which examples remain from the 15th century, including those at St Cuthbert's Church, Wells. The vaults of the aisles of the choir also have a unique pattern.
Until the early 14th century, the interior of the cathedral was in a unified style, but it was to undergo two significant changes, to the tower and to the eastern end. Between 1315 and 1322 the central tower was heightened and topped by a spire, which caused the piers that supported it to show signs of stress. In 1338 the mason William Joy employed an unorthodox solution by inserting low arches topped by inverted arches of similar dimensions, forming scissors-like structures. These arches brace the piers of the crossing on three sides, while the easternmost side is braced by a choir screen. The bracing arches are known as "St Andrew's Cross arches", in a reference to the patron saint of the cathedral. They have been described by Wim Swaan – rightly or wrongly – as "brutally massive" and intrusive in an otherwise restrained interior.
Wells Cathedral has a square east end to the choir, as is usual, and like several other cathedrals including Salisbury and Lichfield, has a lower Lady Chapel projecting at the eastern end, begun by Thomas Witney in about 1310, possibly before the chapter house was completed. The Lady Chapel seems to have begun as a free-standing structure in the form of an elongated octagon, but the plan changed and it was linked to the eastern end by extension of the choir and construction of a second transept or retrochoir east of the choir, probably by William Joy.
The Lady Chapel has a vault of complex and somewhat irregular pattern, as the chapel is not symmetrical about both axes. The main ribs are intersected by additional non-supporting, lierne ribs, which in this case form a star-shaped pattern at the apex of the vault. It is one of the earliest lierne vaults in England. There are five large windows, of which four are filled with fragments of medieval glass. The tracery of the windows is in the style known as Reticulated Gothic, having a pattern of a single repeated shape, in this case a trefoil, giving a "reticulate" or net-like appearance.
The retrochoir extends across the east end of the choir and into the east transepts. At its centre the vault is supported by a remarkable structure of angled piers. Two of these are placed as to complete the octagonal shape of the Lady Chapel, a solution described by Francis Bond as "an intuition of Genius". The piers have attached shafts of marble, and, with the vaults that they support, create a vista of great complexity from every angle. The windows of the retrochoir are in the Reticulated style like those of the Lady Chapel, but are fully Flowing Decorated in that the tracery mouldings form ogival curves.
The chapter house was begun in the late 13th century and built in two stages, completed about 1310. It is a two-storeyed structure with the main chamber raised on an undercroft. It is entered from a staircase which divides and turns, one branch leading through the upper storey of Chain Gate to Vicars' Close. The Decorated interior is described by Alec Clifton-Taylor as "architecturally the most beautiful in England". It is octagonal, with its ribbed vault supported on a central column. The column is surrounded by shafts of Purbeck Marble, rising to a single continuous rippling foliate capital of stylised oak leaves and acorns, quite different in character from the Early English stiff-leaf foliage. Above the moulding spring 32 ribs of strong profile, giving an effect generally likened to "a great palm tree". The windows are large with Geometric Decorated tracery that is beginning to show an elongation of form, and ogees in the lesser lights that are characteristic of Flowing Decorated tracery. The tracery lights still contain ancient glass. Beneath the windows are 51 stalls, the canopies of which are enlivened by carvings including many heads carved in a light-hearted manner.
Wells Cathedral contains one of the most substantial collections of medieval stained glass in England, despite damage by Parliamentary troops in 1642 and 1643. The oldest surviving glass dates from the late 13th century and is in two windows on the west side of the chapter-house staircase. Two windows in the south choir aisle are from 1310 to 1320.
The Lady Chapel has five windows, of which four date from 1325 to 1330 and include images of a local saint, Dunstan. The east window was restored to a semblance of its original appearance by Thomas Willement in 1845. The other windows have complete canopies, but the pictorial sections are fragmented.
The east window of the choir is a broad, seven-light window dating from 1340 to 1345. It depicts the Tree of Jesse (the genealogy of Christ) and demonstrates the use of silver staining, a new technique that allowed the artist to paint details on the glass in yellow, as well as black. The combination of yellow and green glass and the application of the bright yellow stain gives the window its popular name, the "Golden Window". It is flanked by two windows each side in the clerestory, with large figures of saints, also dated to 1340–45. In 2010 a major conservation programme was undertaken on the Jesse Tree window.
The panels in the chapel of St Katherine are attributed to Arnold of Nijmegen and date from about 1520. They were acquired from the destroyed church of Saint-Jean, Rouen, with the last panel having been purchased in 1953.
The large triple lancet to the nave west end was glazed at the expense of Dean Creighton at a cost of £140 in 1664. It was repaired in 1813, and the central light was largely replaced to a design by Archibald Keightley Nicholson between 1925 and 1931. The main north and south transept end windows by James Powell and Sons were erected in the early 20th century.
The greater part of the stone carving of Wells Cathedral comprises foliate capitals in the stiff-leaf style. They are found ornamenting the piers of the nave, choir and transepts. Stiff-leaf foliage is highly abstract. Though possibly influenced by carvings of acanthus leaves or vine leaves, it cannot be easily identified with any particular plant. Here the carving of the foliage is varied and vigorous, the springing leaves and deep undercuts casting shadows that contrast with the surface of the piers. In the transepts and towards the crossing in the nave the capitals have many small figurative carvings among the leaves. These include a man with toothache and a series of four scenes depicting the "Wages of Sin" in a narrative of fruit stealers who creep into an orchard and are then beaten by the farmer. Another well-known carving is in the north transept aisle: a foliate corbel, on which climbs a lizard, sometimes identified as a salamander, a symbol of eternal life.
Carvings in the Decorated Gothic style may be found in the eastern end of the buildings, where there are many carved bosses. In the chapter house, the carvings of the 51 stalls include numerous small heads of great variety, many of them smiling or laughing. A well-known figure is the corbel of the dragon-slaying monk in the chapter house stair. The large continuous capital that encircles the central pillar of the chapter house is markedly different in style to the stiff-leaf of the Early English period. In contrast to the bold projections and undercutting of the earlier work, it has a rippling form and is clearly identifiable as grapevine.
The 15th-century cloisters have many small bosses ornamenting the vault. Two in the west cloister, near the gift shop and café, have been called sheela na gigs, i. e. female figures displaying their genitals and variously judged to depict the sin of lust or stem from ancient fertility cults.
Wells Cathedral has one of the finest sets of misericords in Britain. Its clergy has a long tradition of singing or reciting from the Book of Psalms each day, along with the customary daily reading of the Holy Office. In medieval times the clergy assembled in the church eight times daily for the canonical hours. As the greater part of the services was recited while standing, many monastic or collegiate churches fitted stalls whose seats tipped up to provide a ledge for the monk or cleric to lean against. These were "misericords" because their installation was an act of mercy. Misericords typically have a carved figurative bracket beneath the ledge framed by two floral motifs known, in heraldic manner, as "supporters".
The misericords date from 1330 to 1340. They may have been carved under the direction of Master Carpenter John Strode, although his name is not recorded before 1341. He was assisted by Bartholomew Quarter, who is documented from 1343. They originally numbered 90, of which 65 have survived. Sixty-one are installed in the choir, three are displayed in the cathedral, and one is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. New stalls were ordered when the eastern end of the choir was extended in the early 14th century. The canons complained that they had borne the cost of the rebuilding and ordered the prebendary clerics to pay for their own stalls. When the newly refurbished choir opened in 1339 many misericords were left unfinished, including one-fifth of the surviving 65. Many of the clerics had not paid, having been called to contribute a total sum of £200. The misericords survived better than the other sections of the stalls, which during the Protestant Reformation had their canopies chopped off and galleries inserted above them. One misericord, showing a boy pulling a thorn from his foot, dates from the 17th century. In 1848 came a complete rearrangement of the choir furniture, and 61 of the misericords were reused in the restructured stalls.
The subject matter of the carvings of the central brackets as misericords varies, but many themes recur in different churches. Typically the themes are less unified or directly related to the Bible and Christian theology than small sculptures seen elsewhere within churches, such as bosses. This applies at Wells, where none of the misericord carvings is directly based on a Bible story. The subjects, chosen either by the woodcarver, or perhaps by the one paying for the stall, have no overriding theme. The sole unifying elements are the roundels on each side of the pictorial subject, which all show elaborately carved foliage, in most cases formal and stylised in the later Decorated manner, but with several examples of naturalistic foliage, including roses and bindweed. Many of the subjects carry traditional interpretations. The image of the "Pelican in her Piety" (believed to feed her young on her own blood) is a recognised symbol for Christ's love for the Church. A cat playing with a mouse may represent the Devil snaring a human soul. Other subjects illustrate popular fables or sayings such as "When the fox preaches, look to your geese". Many depict animals, some of which may symbolise a human vice or virtue, or an aspect of faith.
Twenty-seven of the carvings depict animals: rabbits, dogs, a puppy biting a cat, a ewe feeding a lamb, monkeys, lions, bats, and the Early Christian motif of two doves drinking from a ewer. Eighteen have mythological subjects, including mermaids, dragons and wyverns. Five are clearly narrative, such as the Fox and the Geese, and the story of Alexander the Great being raised to Heaven by griffins. There are three heads: a bishop in a mitre, an angel, and a woman wearing a veil over hair arranged in coils over each ear. Eleven carvings show human figures, among which are several of remarkable design, conceived by the artist specifically for their purpose of supporting a shelf. One figure lies beneath the seat, supporting the shelf with a cheek, a hand and a foot. Another sits in a contorted manner supporting the weight on his elbow, while a further figure squats with his knees wide apart and a strained look on his face.
Some of the cathedral's fittings and monuments are hundreds of years old. The brass lectern in the Lady Chapel dates from 1661 and has a moulded stand and foliate crest. In the north transept chapel is a 17th-century oak screen with columns, formerly used in cow stalls, with artisan Ionic capitals and cornice, set forward over the chest tomb of John Godelee. There is a bound oak chest from the 14th century, which was used to store the chapter seal and key documents. The bishop's throne dates from 1340, and has a panelled, canted front and stone doorway, and a deep nodding cusped ogee canopy above it, with three-stepped statue niches and pinnacles. The throne was restored by Anthony Salvin around 1850. Opposite the throne is a 19th-century octagonal pulpit on a coved base with panelled sides, and steps up from the north aisle. The round font in the south transept is from the former Saxon cathedral and has an arcade of round-headed arches, on a round plinth. The font cover was made in 1635 and is decorated with the heads of putti. The Chapel of St Martin is a memorial to every Somerset man who fell in World War I.
The monuments and tombs include Gisa, bishop; † 1088; William of Bitton, bishop; † 1274; William of March, bishop; † 1302; John Droxford; † 1329; John Godelee; † 1333; John Middleton, died †1350; Ralph of Shrewsbury, died †; John Harewell, bishop; † 1386; William Bykonyll; † c. 1448; John Bernard; † 1459; Thomas Beckington; † died 1464; John Gunthorpe; † 1498; John Still; † 1607; Robert Creighton; † 1672; Richard Kidder, bishop; † 1703; George Hooper, bishop; † 1727 and Arthur Harvey, bishop; † 1894.
In the north transept is Wells Cathedral clock, an astronomical clock from about 1325 believed to be by Peter Lightfoot, a monk of Glastonbury. Its mechanism, dated between 1386 and 1392, was replaced in the 19th century and the original moved to the Science Museum in London, where it still operates. It is the second oldest surviving clock in England after the Salisbury Cathedral clock.
The clock has its original medieval face. Apart from the time on a 24-hour dial, it shows the motion of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the Moon, and the time since the last new Moon. The astronomical dial presents a geocentric or pre-Copernican view, with the Sun and Moon revolving round a central fixed Earth, like that of the clock at Ottery St Mary. The quarters are chimed by a quarter jack: a small automaton known as Jack Blandifers, who hits two bells with hammers and two with his heels. At the striking of the clock, jousting knights appear above the clock face.
On the outer wall of the transept, opposite Vicars' Hall, is a second clock face of the same clock, placed there just over seventy years after the interior clock and driven by the same mechanism. The second clock face has two quarter jacks (which strike on the quarter-hour) in the form of knights in armour.
In 2010 the official clock-winder retired and was replaced by an electric mechanism.
The first record of an organ at this church dates from 1310. A smaller organ, probably for the Lady Chapel, was installed in 1415. In 1620 an organ built by Thomas Dallam was installed at a cost of £398 1s 5d.
The 1620 organ was destroyed by parliamentary soldiers in 1643. An organ built in 1662 was enlarged in 1786 and again in 1855. In 1909–1910 an organ was built by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, with the best parts of the old organ retained. It has been serviced by the same company ever since.
Since November 1996 the cathedral has also had a portable chamber organ, by the Scottish makers, Lammermuir. It is used regularly to accompany performances of Tudor and baroque music.
The first recorded organist of Wells was Walter Bagele (or Vageler) in 1416. The post of organist or assistant organist has been held by more than 60 people since. Peter Stanley Lyons was Master of Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Director of Music at Wells Cathedral School in 1954–1960. The choral conductor James William Webb-Jones, father of Lyons's wife Bridget (whom he married in the cathedral), was Headmaster of Wells Cathedral School in 1955–1960. Malcolm Archer was the appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers from 1996 to 2004. Matthew Owens was the appointed organist from 2005 to 2019.
There has been a choir of boy choristers at Wells since 909. Currently there are 18 boy choristers and a similar number of girl choristers, aged from eight to fourteen. The Vicars Choral was formed in the 12th century and the sung liturgy provided by a traditional cathedral choir of men and boys until the formation of an additional choir of girls in 1994. The boys and girls sing alternately with the Vicars Choral and are educated at Wells Cathedral School.
The Vicars Choral currently number twelve men, of whom three are choral scholars. Since 1348 the College of Vicars had its own accommodation in a quadrangle converted in the early 15th century to form Vicar's Close. The Vicars Choral generally perform with the choristers, except on Wednesdays, when they sing alone, allowing them to present a different repertoire, in particular plainsong.
In December 2010 Wells Cathedral Choir was rated by Gramophone magazine as "the highest ranking choir with children in the world". It continues to provide music for the liturgy at Sunday and weekday services. The choir has made many recordings and toured frequently, including performances in Beijing and Hong Kong in 2012. Its repertoire ranges from the choral music of the Renaissance to recently commissioned works.
The Wells Cathedral Chamber Choir is a mixed adult choir of 25 members, formed in 1986 to sing at the midnight service on Christmas Eve, and invited to sing at several other special services. It now sings for about 30 services a year, when the Cathedral Choir is in recess or on tour, and spends one week a year singing as the "choir in residence" at another cathedral. Although primarily liturgical, the choir's repertoire includes other forms of music, as well as performances at engagements such as weddings and funerals.
The cathedral is home to Wells Cathedral Oratorio Society (WCOS), founded in 1896. With around 160 voices, the society gives three concerts a year under the direction of Matthew Owens, Organist and Master of the Choristers at the cathedral. Concerts are normally in early November, December (an annual performance of Handel's Messiah) and late March. It performs with a number of specialist orchestras including: Music for Awhile, Chameleon Arts and La Folia.
The bells at Wells Cathedral are the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world, the tenor bell (the 10th and largest), known as Harewell, weighing 56.25 long hundredweight (2,858 kg). They are hung for full-circle ringing in the English style of change ringing. These bells are now hung in the south-west tower, although some were originally hung in the central tower.
The library above the eastern cloister was built between 1430 and 1508. Its collection is in three parts: early documents housed in the Muniment Room; the collection predating 1800 housed in the Chained Library; and the post-1800 collection housed in the Reading Room. The chapter's earlier collection was destroyed during the Reformation, so that the present library consists chiefly of early printed books, rather than medieval manuscripts. The earlier books in the Chained Library number 2,800 volumes and give an indication of the variety of interests of the members of the cathedral chapter from the Reformation until 1800. The focus of the collection is predominantly theology, but there are volumes on science, medicine, exploration, and languages. Books of particular interest include Pliny's Natural History printed in 1472, an Atlas of the World by Abraham Ortelius, printed in 1606, and a set of the works by Aristotle that once belonged to Erasmus. The library is open to the public at appointed times in the summer and presents a small exhibition of documents and books.
Three early registers of the Dean and Chapter edited by W. H. B. Bird for the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners – Liber Albus I (White Book; R I), Liber Albus II (R III) and Liber Ruber (Red Book; R II, section i) – were published in 1907. They contain with some repetition, a cartulary of possessions of the cathedral, with grants of land back to the 8th century, well before hereditary surnames developed in England, and acts of the Dean and Chapter and surveys of their estates, mostly in Somerset.
Adjacent to the cathedral is a large lawned area, Cathedral Green, with three ancient gateways: Brown's Gatehouse, Penniless Porch and Chain Gate. On the green is the 12th-century Old Deanery, largely rebuilt in the late 15th century by Dean Gunthorpe and remodelled by Dean Bathurst in the late 17th century. No longer the dean's residence, it is used as diocesan offices.
To the south of the cathedral is the moated Bishop's Palace, begun about 1210 by Jocelin of Wells but dating mostly from the 1230s. In the 15th century Thomas Beckington added a north wing, now the bishop's residence. It was restored and extended by Benjamin Ferrey between 1846 and 1854.
To the north of the cathedral and connected to it by the Chain Gate is Vicars' Close, a street planned in the 14th century and claimed to be the oldest purely residential street in Europe, with all but one of its original buildings intact. Buildings in the close include the Vicars Hall and gateway at the south end, and the Vicars Chapel and Library at the north end.
The Liberty of St Andrew was the historic liberty and parish that encompassed the cathedral and surrounding lands closely associated with it.
The English painter J. M. W. Turner visited Wells in 1795, making sketches of the precinct and a water colour of the west front, now in the Tate gallery. Other artists whose paintings of the cathedral are in national collections are Albert Goodwin, John Syer and Ken Howard.
The cathedral served to inspire Ken Follett's 1989 novel The Pillars of the Earth and with a modified central tower, featured as the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral at the end of the 2010 television adaptation of that novel. The interior of the cathedral was used for a 2007 Doctor Who episode, "The Lazarus Experiment", while the exterior shots were filmed at Southwark Cathedral.
An account of the damage to the cathedral during the Monmouth Rebellion is included in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1889 historical novel Micah Clarke.
The cathedral provided scenes for the 2019–2020 television series The Spanish Princess.
Vivitar PN2011.
Tri-X, 3-4 stops overexposed then developed at 400, D-76 1+1. Scanned by digital camera and lightbox.
All information is provided in good faith but, on occasions errors may occur. Should this be the case, if new information can be verified please supply it to the author and corrections will then be made. This memorial has been compiled with additional information from Ancestry.co.uk and by kind permission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
WILMSLOW TOWN WAR MEMORIAL
CHESHIRE
1914 -1919
ACTON John Private 34999, 3rd Cheshire regiment died 25th May 1921 age 29. Son of Annie Acton, of 9, Milwain Drive, Heaton Chapel, Stockport, and the late Robert Acton. Born at Wilmslow. Buried at Wilmslow Cemetery, Cheshire.
AINSWORTH Cyril, Private 16175, 2nd Scots Guards killed in action 30 March 1918. Born and lived in Wilmslow enlisted in Stockport. At rest in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux, France.
ASHTON Eli. Sergeant 18973, A Battery, 86th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery killed in action 27 April 1917. Born in Chester, Cheshire Husband of Emma Jackson (formerly Ashton), of South Lodge, Doventry, Cockermouth, Cumberland. At rest in Anzin-St. Aubin British Cemetery, France.
AUSTIN Samuel. Private 276521, 2/5th Manchester Regiment killed in action 21 March 1918. Born and lived in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France.
BAILEY Arthur. Private 11058, 18th Manchester Regiment killed inaction 22 March 1918. Born in Wilmslow lived in Reddish, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
BAILEY Harry. Private 27034, 1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry killed in action 20 November 1917. Born at Stockport and lived in Wilmslow. At rest in Ribecourt British Cemetery, Nord France.
BAILEY Joseph Arnold, Corporal 10046, 1st King's Shropshire Light Infantry died of wounds 14th November 1914 age 20. Son of Joseph and Rose M. Bailey, of Chancel Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. buried at Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Extension, France.
BEAUMONT Thomas Somerville Captain, 2/8th Manchester Regiment killed in action 24th September 1917 age 37. Son of James William and Emily P of Baronald, Wilmslow and husband of Blanche, now Mrs Blanche Fraser Bryant of 13 Rue Perronet, Neuiley-Sur-Seine, Seine, France. Buried at Oost Dunkerque Bains now at Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery, Belgium
BELL John Charles, Private 497737, 540th Home Service Employment Coy. Labour Corps died 20th February 1918. Buried at Alderley Edge Cemetery, Cheshire.
BERISFORD Ernest. Private 564489, 14th Welsh Regiment died 22 August 1918 aged 19. Son of Fredrick and Martha Berisford, of Manchester Rd., Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Bagneux British Cemetery, Gezaincourt, Somme, France
BIRTLES Albert. Private 1603, 1/5th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 6 May 1915. Born in Wilmslow At rest in Spolibank Cemetery, Belgium
BIRTLES Stanley. Private 73078, 7th London Regiment formerly 70984, 106th Training Reserve Battalion died of wounds 20 May 1918. Born and raised in Wilmslow. At rest in Bagneux British Cemetery, Gezaincourt, Somme, France.
BLACKSHAW John. Private 1800, 1/5th Cheshire Regiment died 18 June 1915 aged 21. Son of William and Margaret Blackshaw, of 5, River Street, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Blauwepoort Farm Cemetery, Belgium.
BOOTH Ernest. Ordinary Seaman. MerseyZ/5942 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve at Royal Navy Depot, Crystal Palace, London died of broncho pneumonia and cardiac failure 9 October 1918 aged 17. His mother was informed of his death on the 18th
Son of Edward A. and Janet Booth, of 7, Park Road., Wilmslow. At rest St Bartholomew Churchyard, Wilmslow, Cheshire.
BOOTH Leonard. Sapper WR/290362, formerly 290362 98th Light Railway, Railway Operating Division, Royal Engineers died 23rd November 1918 aged 20. At 33 General Hospital, Haifa, Palestine. His father Arthur was granted a war gratuity 12th April 1919. At rest in Haifa War Cemetery, Israel and Palestine including Gaza.
Some notes from what remains of his army records. He joined up aged 18 and 1 month on the 30 November 1915 and posted to the army reserve to await his call up. His father, Arthur of 54 Davenport Green, Wilmslow was his next of kin. He was mobilized on the 25 January 1917. Posted to France 17 February 1917 to 9 April 1917, Uk from 10 April 1917 to 16 December 1917. Embarked England for Egypt 17 December 1917 disembarked, Egypt 31 December 1917 and died of pneumonia 25 November 1918
BOUGHEY Thomas Yates Sergeant 291559, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 23rd July 1918 age 31. Son of Alfred and Fanny Boughey, of Davenport Green, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Buried at Raperie British Cemetery, Villemontoire, France.
BOWERS William. Private 243739, 13th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 23 November 1917 aged 36. Son of Thomas and Miranda Bowers, of Nursery Lane, Wilmslow; husband of Ellen Bowers, of Alma Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Cambrin Military Cemetery, France.
BOWKER Samuel A Private 6459, 1st Manchester Regiment died of wounds 18th October 1916. 33, born at Old Church,Wilmslow. Son of Peter and Elizabeth of Rectory View Wilmslow. In 1901 he had already joined the 3rd Manchesters stationed at Farnborough,Hampshire. Buried at Basra War Cemetery, Iraq.
BRADBURY Charles. Private 377556, 2/10th Manchester Regiment died 30 July 1917 aged 30. Husband of Mary Bradbury, of 19, Prestage Street, Longsight, Manchester. Native of Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Coxyde Military Cemetery, Belgium.
BRADLEY Archie Private 401211, 17th Manchester Regiment killed in action 22ndMarch 1918. Son of James and Agnes of South Oak Lane, Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, France.
BRADLEY George, Private 9490, 2nd Cheshire Regiment died 11th December 1918. Son of George and Mary Bradley, of Wilmslow, Cheshire. Buried at Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria.
BRADLEY J. It may be the following person. Lance Corporal 10330 John Bradley, 2nd Cheshire Regiment killed in action 17 August 1915. Born and enlisted at Stockport. At rest in Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery, Belgium.
BRANDON George, Sergeant CH/8401, (RMR/B987). 1st R.M. Bn. Royal Navy Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry died 13th November 1916 age 40. Son of the late George Brandon; husband of the late Elizabeth Brandon. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
BRANDRETH Frank (MM) Private 49943, 11th Cheshire Regiment died 5th Sep 1918. Son of Robert John and Sarah Ann of Dean Row and brother of Robert John who also fell. Holder of the Military Medal. Buried at Cologne Southern Cemetery, Germany.
BRANDRETH Robert John Private 39896, 10th Cheshire Regiment Born at Dean Row, Wilmslow killed in action 15th July 1917 age 32. Son of Robert John and Sarah Ann of Dean Row and husband of Edith Green (formerly Brandreth), of 13, Oak Cottage, Styal, Manchester, and brother of Frank who also fell. Native of Wilmslow.Buried at Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery, Belgium .
BREWERTON Roland Henry 2nd Lieutenant, 8th attached to 19th King’s Liverpool Regiment died 30 April 1918. Son of William A. and Constance Brewerton, of East Bank, Marple, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.
BREWERTON, William Leslie. Private 228465, 1st posted to the 18th London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers, died 23 August 1918 age 21. Son of William Arthur and Constance C. L. Brewerton, of East Bank, Marple, Cheshire. Born at Wilmslow Buried at Achiet-Le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension, France
BROUGHTON James. Lance Corporal 244711, 4/5th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment killed in action 26 October 1917 son of John and Ellen of Finney Green, Wilmslow.
BROUGHTON Joseph, Private 27203, 15th Royal Scots died 8th August 1916. Son of John and Ellen of Finney Green, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Buried at Wilmslow Cemetery, Cheshire At rest in Wilmslow Cemetery, Cheshire.
BROUGHTON Victor Stafford, Private 275929, 1/7th Manchester Regiment died 28th March 1918 age 29. Son of Edward and Sarah Broughton, of Church Walk, Chapel Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France
BURGESS John Arthur. Private 27609, 3rd Cheshire Regiment died 4 May 1917 aged 19. Son of John Burgess, of 11, New Street, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Savona Memorial, Italy.
BURGESS Sydney. Private 260886, 1st Border Regiment died 15 October 1918 aged 20. Son of Hugh and Emma Burgess, of Rose Lea, Chapel Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Dadizeele New British Cemetery, Belgium.
BURGESS Thomas, Private 34839, 8th Cheshire Regiment died at Mesopotamia 13 January 1917. At rest in Amara War Cemetery, Iraq.
BUSHILL George,(MM) Private 290717, 1st Gordon Highlanders killed in action 23rd October 1918 age 32. Son of Sarah Bushill, of Manchester Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, and the late Charles Bushill. Holder of the Military Cross Buried at Romeries communal Cemetery Extension, France
CAMM Ernest. Private 1874, a Coy 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died 16 September 1915 aged 19. Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Camm, of Park Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Weston Mill Cemetery, Plymouth, Devon.
CHADWICK Charles Bailey, Private 85622, 29th Durham Light Infantry died 4th October 1918. Son of Mrs. B. Chadwick, of Mill St., Wilmslow. Buried at Kandahahar Farm Cemetery, Belgium
CHESTERS George, Private 303088, 2/8th Manchester Regiment born at Handsforth, near Wilmslow and was killed in action 12th September 1917 in Belgium and is buried at Ypres reservoir Cemetery, Belgium.
CLARKE Herbert. Private 28754, 9th South Lancashire Regiment killed in action 16 September 1918. Born at Cheadle Hulme, enlisted at Wilmslow. At rest in Karasouli Military Cemetery, Greece.
CLEGG John Hamer. Captain, 10th Manchester Regiment died of wounds 4 June 1915. Son of Charles and Mary Clegg nee Hamer. In 1911 he was living with his parents at Oakleigh, Wilmslow, Cheshire, occupation, cotton spinner. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey including Gallipoli
COOPER George Harold. Private 302248, 1/8th Manchester Regiment died 12 April 1918 aged 20. Son of Elizabeth Cooper, of Chancel Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France.
COLE Harry. Private 290311, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 26 March 1917. Born in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial, Palestine including Gaza.
COLE William. Private 1917, 1/5th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 29 April 1915. Born in Wilmslow. At rest in Spoilbank Cemetery, Belgium.
COLLIER George Edward, Private 12664,9th Cheshire Regiment died 11 December 1918 age 21.Son of John and Elizabeth Collier, of Wallworth Terrace, Morley, Wilmslow, Manchester. Native of Stockport. Holder of the Military Medal, this is not shown on the memorial. At rest in Awoingt British Cemetery, France
COOPER Arthur Corporal 439028, 7th Canadian Engineers died 8th October 1916. Born 4th July 1886 at Styal, Cheshire. His next of kin was Mary Ann Cooper, nee Arrowsmith of Grove Street, Wilmslow. His occupation in England was a locomotive engineer. He had previously served 2 years with the 4th Cheshire Regiment. He enlisted on the 21 December 1914 at Kenora. Commemorated on the Vimy Memorial, France.
COOPER George Harold. Private 302248, 1/8th Manchester Regiment died of wounds 12 April 1918. Lived at Wilmslow. Son of George and Elizabeth Cooper nee Yates of Wilmslow. At rest in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, France
COX Arthur Reginald. Lance Corporal 17322, 20th Manchester Regiment killed in action 1 July 1916. Born and raised in Wilmslow. At rest in Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz, Somme, France.
COX Claude Hubert, Private 116101, 7th, Canadian Infantry (British Columbia Regiment) died 20th April 1917 age 25. Son of Owen William and Ella Wills Cox, of Wilmslow. At rest in Etaples Military Cemetery, France
CUNINGHAM Alexander Martin. Gunner 98261, 111th Heavy Battry, Royal Garrison Artillery died 17 March 1917 aged 30. Son of John Robert and Martha Cuningham, of Wilmslow, Cheshire; husband of Edith Marie Cuningham, of 22, High St., Cheadle, Cheshire. At rest in Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No1, Somme, France
DAVIES John Cecil. Rifleman S32368, 4th Rifle Brigade, formerly M/296514 Royal Army Service Corps died 24 October 1918. Born at Stretford Lancashire lived at Wilmslow, Cheshire. Son of William and Arist Davies, of Rostherne, Knutsford, Cheshire. At rest in Kirechkoi-Hortakoi Military Cemetery, Greece.
DEAN E Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC.
DODGE Walter Robert (MM). 2nd Lieutenant, 20th Manchester Regiment died 2 October 1917 aged 24. Son of Mary Dodge and the late Walter Lloyd Dodge; husband of Mabel Dodge, of 24, Thelwall Avenue, Wilbraham Rd., Fallowfield, Manchester. Native of Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood, Belgium.
DODSON Herbert Leigh Midleton. Lieutenant, Army Service Corps attached to 46 Squadron formerly 73 Squadron, Royal Air Force died 25 August 1918 aged 23. Son of George and Rosa Lee Dodson, of "Mellor Brook," Spath Rd., Didsbury, Manchester. At rest in Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery, Haucourt, France.
EDWARDS Daniel. Sapper 151477, 256 Tunnelling Coy, Royal Engineers died 30 April 1918 aged 34. Son of Daniel and Mary Edwards, of Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in St, Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France.
EDWARDS Rupert Edwards. Private 31890, 1/5th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment killed in action 1 October 1918. Born in Wilmslow. At rest in Proville British Cemetery, France.
ENTWISTLE Charles Egerton, Lieutenant, 8th Manchester Regiment died of wounds received in action 22nd March 1918 age 23. Son of Egerton and Emma of Riverdale, Hawthorn Grove, Wilmslow. Buried at British Cemetery, Marchelpot, France now at Roye New British Cemetery France
FORD James Desmond, Ordinary Seaman, Mersey.Z/2522, Royal Navy depot, Crystal Palace died 6th January 1917 age 19. Buried at Alderley Edge Cemetery, Cheshire
GARNER Fred. Private 11704, 1st Cheshire Regiment killed in action 6 March 1915 aged 43. Born in Wilmslow. Husband of Mrs. E. S. Garner, of 9, Ince St., Heaton Norris, Stockport. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
GARNER Herbert, Private 47249, 12th West Yorkshire Regiment died 5 June 1917. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
GARNER Robert . Private 18558, 1/6th Cheshire Regiment died 20 September 1917 aged 29. Son of Robert and Caroline Garner, of Church Street, Wilmslow; husband of Annie Garner, of Bourne St., Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
GIBSON Harry. Private 59122, 9th Cheshire Regiment died 21 March 1918. Born and raised in Wilmslow. Son of Harry and Betty Gibson, of Alma Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
GLENNON John. Lance Corporal 15504, B Coy 11th Manchester Regiment died 26 September 1916 aged 31. Born at Didsbury Lancashire, lived at Greenheys, Manchester, enlisted at Wilmslow. Son of Joseph and Elizabeth Glennon, husband of Annie Glennon, of 58, Park Street, Greenheys, Manchester. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
GLOVER Arnold Edgar. Private 44962, 14th Northumberland Fusiliers died 30 May 1918 aged 20. Son of Frederick and Fanny Glover, of 5, Oak Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, Aisne, France.
GRAHAM George Frederick. Private 18660, 389 Protection Coy, Royal Defence Corpskilled in action 14 February 1917 aged 19. Son of William and Elizabeth Graham, of 22, South Oak Lane, Fulshaw, Wilmslow. At rest in St Bartholomew Churchyard, Wilmslow, Cheshire
GREENNALL George (M.M.) Private 16985, 11th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 20 April 1918. Born at Knutsford, lived in Wilmslow, both in Cheshire. Son of Mrs. H. Lamb, husband of Edith Annie Greenall, of 11, Elizabeth Street, West Gorton, Manchester. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.
GRIMSHAW Cresswell Young. Private 26086, 16th Cheshire Regiment died 19 August 1917 aged 22. Son of Ernest and Charlotte Grimshaw. Born and enlisted at Stockport, Cheshire. Son of Ernest Harry and Charlotte Elizabeth Ann Reid Grimshaw nee Williamson
At rest in Villers-Faucon Communal Cemetery, Somme, France.
Permission request to j1dove1 8.11.17
GRIMSHAW Raymond Hayes. Corporal 11821, 15 Platoon, D Coy, 19th Manchester Regiment killed in action 1 July 1916 aged 20. Born at Wilmslow and lived at Handforth, son of Richard Mary Grimshaw, nee Lunn of Wilmslow Road, Handforth, Cheshire Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
Some notes from what remains of his army records.
He joined up on the 7 September 1914 aged 19 years and 5 months. Occupation, warehouseman, lived with his parents and siblings at Laburnam Cottage, Handforth. Embarked Southampton for France on S.S. Queen Alexandria Promoted to Corporal in the field 11 December 1916, killed in action 1 July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
GROVES Ernest. Rifleman R/7559, 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps died 29 September 1915. Lived at Wilmslow, Cheshire. Son of Samuel Joseph and Sarah, nee Boon. Commemorated on the Loos Memorial, France.
HAMNETT Richard Walley Driver T2/15946, 1st Coy, 55th Train Divison Royal Army Service Corps [The family memorial has his date of death as 19 January 1920] CWGC has his date of death as 6th January 1919 age 23. Son of William Jones Hamnett and Mary Ellen of Wilmslow. Buried at St Bartholomew’s Churchyard Wilmslow
HARDY Frank Arnold. Private 8999, 9th, formerly 2nd King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry died 30 April 1918 aged 32. Born at Wilmslow, enlisted at Stockport son of Samuel and Mary Ann Hardy, nee Leech. Husband of Beatrice B. Hardy, of 6, Lindow Terrace, Alderly Edge, Manchester. At rest in Reu-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, France.
HELLING Charles Henry. Drummer 31428, 8th South Lancashire Regiment died 21 October 1916 aged 27. Son of George and Mary Helling, of Oak Meadows, Heyes Lane, Alderley Edge, Cheshire; husband of Emma Helling, of 2, Rockside Terrace, Matlock Bank, Derbyshire. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
HELM Frank. 2nd Lieutenant, 8th Manchester Regiment died 4 June 1915 aged 34. Son of John and Mary Helm, late of Lindfield, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey including Gallipoli
HENSHALL Charles. Private 103080, 47th Canadian Infantry died 27 September 1918 aged 34. Born 15 September 1884 to William and Mary Henshall, of Holly Cottage Davenport Green, Wilmslow, Manchester, England. At rest in Bourlon Wood Cemetery, France.
HEWITT John Private 26945, Prince of Wales Volunteers South Lancashire Regiment died of wounds 1 August 1917 age 25. Son of Reuben and Betsy. At rest in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension Nord France
HOBSON Andrew. Private 50470, 6th Cheshire Regiment died 25 September 1917 aged 34. Husband of Constance Margaret Hobson, of "Stapleton," Mount Pleasant, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Godewaersvelde British Cemetery, Nord, France
HODGKINSON A. Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC.
HOWARTH A. Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC.
JENKINS Arthur, Rifleman 4941, 1/1st Monmouthshire Regiment died 25 September 1916 aged 22. Son of John and Harriet Jenkins, of Lacey Green, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Berles-Au-Bois Churchyard Extension, France.
JOHNSON Sydney/Sidney. Private 61053, 23rd Cheshire Regiment died 31 August 1918 aged 41. Husband of Mrs. Johnson, of "Birchwood," Nursery Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Rue-Du-Bois British Cemetery, Vieux-Berquinn, Nieppe-Bois, Nord France.
JONES Ernest. Sapper 3508, 6th Field Coy, Australian Engineers died 1 December 1916 aged 26. Son of James and Ellen Jones, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, husband of Sarah Lily Jones, of Holly Cottage, Muston, Bottesford, England. At rest in Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, Somme, France.
JORDAN George Edward. Lance Corporal G/7445, 8th Royal West Kent Regiment died 17 December 1916 aged 32. Son of George Edward and Mary Ann Jordan, of 31, Fulshaw Avenue, Wilmslow, Manchester. Born at Smythesdale, Victoria, Australia. At rest in Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France
KELSALL John Slater. Private 75904, 9th Royal Welsh Fusiliers died 2 May 1918 aged 37. Son of Thomas and Mary Jane Kelsall, of 18, Park Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire; husband of the late Bertha Kelsall. At rest in Esquelbecq Military Cemetery, France.
KETTELL Frederick. Petty Officer 237408, Royal Navy on HMS Black Prince died 31 May 1916 aged 25. Born 19 November 1890 at Newcastle, Staffordshire to Daniel and Sarah Ann Kettell, of 8, Shirley Street, Longport, Burslem, Staffs, husband of Ada Kettell, of Brook Cottage, Morley, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.
KNOTT Frederic William. Second Lieutenant, 9th Yorkshire Regiment died 7 June 1917 aged 25. Son of Herbert and Ada S. W. Knott, of "Sunny Bank," Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
LEE Jack, Military Cross, Captain, 6th Cheshire Regiment died 31 July 1917 aged 26. Son of Mrs. I. N. Lee, of Woodside, Wilmslow, Manchester; husband of Agnes Muriel Tattersall (formerly Lee), of Whitecroft Park Road, Timperley, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
LEE William Herbert. Private 3207, 1/7th Manchester Regiment died 24 December 1915 aged 33. Son of William and Isabella Newton Lee, of Woodside, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery, Turkey including Gallipoli.
LEECH Percy Ewart. Gunner 112845, C Battery, 51st Brigade, Royal Field Artillery died 21 March 1918 aged 22. Son of Thomas and Emma Leech, of Altrincham Road, Wilmslow, Manchester.
At rest in Roye New British Cemetery, Somme, France.
LEWIS A. Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC.
McCLUNAN Harold. Private 412507, 20th Canadian Infantry died 24 July 1916. Born 24 March 1897 in Manchester, England, occupation farm hand. He joined up 20 January 1916, son of Edward and Evelyn of Kingswood, Cavendish Road, Kersal, Manchester. His mother, was his next of kin. At rest in Ridge Wood Military Cemetery, Belgium.
McGANN James William. Private 14064, 15th Cheshire Regiment died of wounds 19 August 1917. Born and raised in Wilmslow. At rest in Tincourt New British Cemetery, Somme, France.
MACKENZIE Percy Private King’s Shropshire Light Infantry died 18 August 1916 aged 24. Son of Annie MacKenzie, of 58, High Street, Cheadle, Manchester, and the late James MacKenzie; husband of Hilda Daisy MacKenzie, of Chapel Larle, Wilmslow, Manchester. Born at Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz, Somme, France.
MANSELL John. Private 45829, 9th Cheshire Regiment died 4 November 1918. Husband of Emily Mansell, of "Anfield," Wycliffe Avenue, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Wellington Cemetery, Rieux-En-Cambresis, France
MARTINDALE John Bell. Lieutenant and Adjutant, LancashireFusiliers attached to Loyal North Lancashire Regiment died 1 August 1918 aged 31. Son of John Johnstone Martindale and Jessie Martindale, of "Lansdowne," Hawthorn Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Senlis French National Cemetery, France.
MASON Godfrey Jackson. Second Lieutenant, 1/6th attached to 1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers died 30 January 1918 aged 21. Son of William James and Mary Eliza Mason, of Holmelands, Styal, Cheshire. At rest in Gorre British and Indian Cemetery, France.
MASSEY Dan. Private 35748, 12th Cheshire Regiment died of wounds 19 September 1918. Son of James and Sarah Elizabeth Massey nee Sumner. In 1911 he was living with parents and siblings at Pump Court, Manchester Road, Wilmslow. At rest in Sarigol Military Cemetery, Kriston, Greece.
MASSEY George. Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC.
George and George Lee may be one of the same person.
MASSEY George Henry. Private 291886, 7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, formerly 4315 Cheshire Regiment killed in action 26 March 1917. Born at Wilmslow. At rest in Gaza War Cemetery, Israel, Palestine including Gaza.
MASSEY George Leigh/Lee. Private 49322, 9th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 20 September 1917. Son of Richard and Elizabeth Ann Massey, nee Johnson, now Mrs Burgess. Of Hawthorn Walk, Wilmslow. Occupation (1911) errand boy for a bootmaker Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.
MASSEY Harry. Private 290993, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died of wounds 4 October 1918. Lived in Wilmslow, enlisted at Macclesfield. At rest in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium
MASSEY Thomas Private 36756, 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers killed in action 11 November 1916. Born at Wilmslow, Cheshire, enlisted at Colwyn Bay, Denbigh. At rest in Essex Farm Cemetery, Belgium.
MATTHEWS Arthur. Private 24539, 8th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment died 9 June 1917 aged 31. Son of Annie Matthews, of Rectory View, Wilmslow, and the late John James Matthews; husband of Mary Matthews, of Holly Cottage, Alma Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
MELLOR Harry. Lance Corporal 266666, 9th Cheshire Regiment. Born at Stockport, Cheshire, killed in action 27 March 1918. His widow Emily was granted a war gratuity 18 December 1919.Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
MILBURN Robert Stanley. (D.C.M.) Private 6181, 1/5th York and Lancaster Regiment died 22 October 1916 aged 27. Son of Robert John Milburn, husband of Edith Ann Milburn, of 182, Gorton Rd., Reddish, Stockport. At rest in Hebuterne Military Cemetery, France.
MILLER Edwin Frederick. Private 11617, 2nd Devonshire Regiment killed in action 10 March 1915. Born in Stockport. Commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, France.
MOORE Thomas Cain, Private 29269, 7th East Yorkshire Regiment died 25 January 1918 aged 32. Son of John and Emma Moore, of 32, Faraday Rd., Winnington, Northwich. At rest in Hermies Hill British Cemetery, France.
Wills and Admin, Ancestry. He lived at 32 Faraday Road, Winnington Northwich, Cheshire died on date stated. His effects went to Emma, wife of John Moore.
MORGAN James Rowland. Private 766563, 1/28 Artist Rifles, London Regiment killed in action 24 March 1918. Born in Manchester, lived in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
MORGAN William Edward. Able Seaman R/1780 , Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, Regimental Depot, Royal Naval Division. Born 12 January 1887 at Crewe, Cheshire. Died of influenza 31 October 1918 aged 32 at Cambridge Auxiliary Military Hospital, Aldershot. Son of William and Sarah Morgan, of 3, Clifton St. Crewe; husband of Annie Morgan, of Hill Top, Wilmslow. At rest in Crewe Cemetery, Cheshire.
MORRELL Henry. Military Medal. Sergeant M2/119391, 611th Mechanical Transport Coy, Army Service Corps attached to 46th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, died 26 June 1918. Born at Wilmslow, lived in Southport. At rest in Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
MORRELL Thomas, Sapper 97779, 75th Field Coy, Royal Engineers killed in action at Ypres 6th September 1917 age 32. Son of William and Sarah of Davenport Green, Wilmslow. Buried at Bleuet Farm cemetery, Belgium.
MOTTERSHEAD Hugh Joshua Private 27059, 6th South Lancashire Regiment [ British Expeditionary Force] died 27 Oct 1916 age 29. Native of Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Kirkee 1914-1918 Memorial, India
MOTTRAM George Arthur, Corporal 62144, B Battery, 48th Army Brigade, Royal Field Artillery killed in action 5th September 1918 age 24. Son of George and Amelia of Hawthorn Street, Wilmslow and brother in law of Bernard William Rawson who also died from wounds in 1918. Buried at Sucrerie British Cemetery, France
MOTTRAM William Henry. Private 82002, Machine Gun Corps, formerly 2714, Royal Scots died 25 June 1917. Son of George and Jessie Victoria nee Poole of Hawthorn Street, Wilmslow, husband of S. Mottram, of 9, Belmont Road, Beckenham, Kent. At rest in St Bartholomes Churchyard, Wilmslow, Cheshire.
NOPPEN Eric, Private 28492, 2/4th Territorial Force, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, formerly 109304, Royal Army Service Corps, killed in action 26th October 1917 age 22. Son of Hendrik and Louisa. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
OUSEY Frank Bourne, Private 34995, 10th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 14 July 1916. Born 1895 in Wilmslow son of Frank and Fanny, nee Bourne. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
OWEN William George. Private 1226, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died 10 August 1915 aged 25. Husband of Annie Owen, of Booth Terrace, South Oak Lane, Fulshaw, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey including Gallipoli.
PARKINSON William. Private 32/469, 1/4th Northumberland Fusiliers died 28 March 1918 aged 28. Son of John and Mary Parkinson, of 29, Johnson St., Eldon Lane, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham; husband of Edith Elsie Evans (formerly Parkinson), of 36, Park Rd., Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France.
PEDLEY John. Private 18098, 19th Manchester Regiment killed in action 23 July 1916. Born at Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, lived at Wilmslow son of John and Martha nee Turnbull. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
PELL George. Private 77633, 16th Royal Welsh/Welch Fusiliers, formerly 44280 Cheshire Regiment killed in action 26 August 1918. At rest in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France.
PLATT Frank Lindsay. Captain and Adjutant, 3rd attached 1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry died 21 March 1918 aged 29. Son of Ernest and Jessie C. Platt, of Varden House, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy, France.
POTTS Fred. Private, (Memorial has L/Cpl) 27201, 12th Royal Scots died 15 May 1917 aged 23. Son of Luke and Elizabeth Potts, of Poplar Farm, Lindow Common, Wilmslow. At rest in Lower Withington Wesleyan Methodist Chapelyard, Cheshire.
PRICE Eric Private Manchester Regiment. (Information source for name, rank and regiment. St Bartholomew’s Church War Memorial, Wilmslow) No person with the stated information is listed with the CWGC.
PROUDMAN Christopher, Sergeant 7437, 1st Cheshire Regiment killed in action 27 July 1916. Born in Manchester, enlisted at Stockport. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
PUGH Matthew James. Private 48471, 2/6th North Staffordshire Regiment, formerly M/296598 Motor Transport Royal Army service Corps missing in France 21 March 1918 age 19. Son of Tom and Nancy of Fulshaw, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France
PUGH Walter Private 23278, 6th King’s Own Royal Lancashire Regiment [B.E.F.] died 13th August 1916. Resident of Wilmslow and is buried at Amara War Cemetery, Iraq
QUARTERMAN G It may be the following person Corporal 201019, George Quarterman, 5th Tank Corps died 11 October 1918 aged 28. Son of John and Sarah Quarterman. Served in a Friends' Amb. Unit as a voluntary motor ambulance mechanic in March, 1915, in France. At rest in Buisigny Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
Wills and Admin, Ancestry. He lived at 51 Beaconfield Terrace, Northampton and died on date stated. His effects went to his brother, reverend John Richard Quarterman.
N.B. This is the only G (with varients) Quarterman listed with the CWGC. Quartermaine has also been researched with negative results.
RATHBONE Alfred. Private 69237, 1st East Lancashire Field Ambulance Royal Army Corps, killed In action 26 June 1918 aged 24. Born at Cheadle, enlisted at Wilmslow both of Cheshire. He enlisted aged 21 years and 11 months on the 7 October 1915 at RAMC Depot, Aldershot. He lived at Stockton Farm, Wilmslow. Nephew of Mary Rathbone of "Low Wood," 30, Alexandra Road, Southport. At rest in Bertrancourt Military Cemetery, Somme, France.
RAWSON Bernard William, Driver 118689, 524th Heavy Battery, Royal Field Artillery died 29th November age 29. Husband of Marion Elizabeth, nee Mottram and brother in law of Arthur Mottram who fell and who is also mentioned on this headstone of the Mottram Family. Buried at St Bartholomew’s Churchyard, Wilmslow
RIGBY Charles. Private 50185, 9th Cheshire Regiment died 14 August 1917. Born at Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord France.
RIGBY Joseph Charles. (MM) Private 48124, 1st South Wales Borderers killed in action 5 October 1918. Born in Wilmslow. At rest in Savy British Cemetery, France.
RIGG Harry, Sergeant 781413, 102 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (T.F.) killed in action 5 August 1917. Born at Wilmslow to Joel and Mary Alice nee Wild of (1901) 3 Church Lane, Nantwich, Cheshire. His mother, Mary A was granted a war gratuity 26 March 1918 revised 20 November 1919. At rest in Sanctury Wood Cemetery, Belgium.
Permission granted from Helen helenhehir1 Ancestrr FT 9.11.2017
ROBERTS James Makant. 2nd Officer S.S. Stuart Prince (Newcastle) Mercantile Marine died 22 March 1917 aged 39. Son of James Holdsworth Roberts and Ellen Roberts, of "Wintrath," Bridgefield Avenue, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Born at Lower Broughton, Manchester. Commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London.
ROWBOTHAM Frank. Rifleman B/293426, (CWGC have B/203426) 1st Rifle Brigade, formerly R/8443 King’s Royal Rifle Corps killed in action 19 October 1916. Born and raised in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
RUSHTON John. Private 250746, 16th Manchester Regiment died of wounds 9 August 1917. Lived at Wilmslow, Cheshire. In 1911 he was living with his parents Alfred and Jane and his siblings at Button Hall, Dean Row, Wilmslow. Occupation, Clerk, shipper in a cotton mill. At rest in St,Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France.
SENIOR Herbert Godbert. Lieutenant, 8th Manchester Regiment attached to 2nd Royal Berkshire Regiment died 29 May 1918 aged 21. Son of Herbert and Harriet Senior, of Bollinholme, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Soissons Memorial, France.
SHAW Francis, Private 2270, D Coy, 8th Manchester Regiment, East Lancashire regiment, Territorial Division who passed away at Alexandria, Egypt 18th December 1914 age 21. Youngest son of Thomas William Francis and Agnes. Buried at Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt
SHUTTLEWORTH Frank. Private 2656, 1/23rd London Regiment died 26 May 1915 aged 24. Son of Samuel Shuttleworth, of Council School, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial, France.
SLATER George. Private 643595, Labour Corps formerly 8643, Royal Welsh Fusiliers died 10 May 1919 aged 32. Son of Simeon and E. Ann Slater, of The Bungalow, Hawthorn Street, Wilmslow. At rest in Wilmslow Cemetery, Cheshire.
SMITH Charles Anthony. Private 25678, B Coy, 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers died 11 October 1917 aged 23. Son of Frederick and Mary Ann Smith, of Poplar Farm, Moor Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium
SNAPE Ernest. Gunner 43420, 12th Battery, Royal Field Artillery died 22 October 1917 aged 28. Son of William and Emma Snape, of Wilmslow; husband of Florence Snape, of 7, New Street, Moor Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in The Huts Cemetery, Belgium
STARK John McDonald. Private 40325, 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers died of wounds 24 April 1917. Born at Wilmslow, enlisted at Manchester. In 1911 he was living with his parents, John Bowie and Margaret, nee Gallacher at South Oak Lane, Wilmslow. Occupation aged 13, School milk boy on a farm. Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.
Some notes from what remains of his army records. He enlisted aged 17 years and 10 months. Home address given as Balmoral, Hawthorne Street, Wilmslow. He was posted to 4th Reserve, Royal Scots Fusiliers as private 2599. Embarked and disembarked at France 31 August 1916. He marched into Infantry Base Depot, Etaples 3 September 1916. He was later transferred to the 2nd Royal Scot Fusiliers as private 40325. His mother was his next of kin and she was living at Hawthorn Street, Wilmslow.
SUMNER John. Private 268190, A Coy, 1/6th Cheshire Regiment died 31 July 1917 aged 33. Son of James and Mary Sumner, of Morley Green, Morley, Wilmslow; husband of Laura Sumner, of 7, Oak Lane. Fulshaw, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
SWINDELLS Arthur. Private PS/7144, 2nd London Regiment killed in action 1 July 1916/ Born and raised in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
SWINDELLS John. Private 290174, 1/7th Cheshire regiment killed in action 26 March 1917. Born in Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Jeruslam Memorial, Israel and Palestine including Gaza.
SWINDELLS Leonard. Private 34140, 8th Yorkshire Regiment died 18 October 1917 aged 23. Son of James and Margaret Swindells, of Bollin Walk, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.
TAYLOR John Tyson. Second Lieutenant, 4th South Lancashire Regiment attached to 1/4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment died 17 October 1918. Son of John Tyson Taylor and Maria Isobel Taylor, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, husband of Blanche Taylor, of Ingfield House, Deepcar, Sheffield. At rest in Cambrin Military Cemetery, France.
THIRLWALL Albert. Private, Signaller 14157, 10 Cheshire Regiment died 20 May 1916 aged 27. Son of Frederick Stanley, and Alice Maud Thirlwall, of The Hough, Macclesfield Rd., Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Loos Memorial, France.
THIRLWALL Stanley. Private 70647, 1/7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers died 6 November 1917 aged 24. Son of Frederick Stanley and Alice Maud Thirlwall, of The Hough, Macclesfield Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Beersheba War Cemetery, Palestine including Gaza.
THORLEY John. Guardsman 22978, 4th Grenadier Guards killed in action 12 October 1917. Born in Wilmslow. Killed In Action Friday 12th October 1917 aged 25. At rest in Poelcapelle British Cemetery, Belgium.
THORNHILL Hubert Burrington. Captain, 1st Devonshire Regiment, attached to 2nd Royal West Kent Regiment, died 25 March 1919 aged 24. Son of Hubert Rowsell Thornhill and Martha Mary Thornhill, nee Waldron, husband of Dorothy Thornhill, of Springfield, Cumnor Hill, Oxford. At rest in Basra War Cemetery, Iraq.
TIMPERLEY William Henry. Private G/83112 Royal Fusiliers posted to rd London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers died 17 May 1918 aged 19. Son of William and Mary Ann Timperley, of Parsonage Green, Wilmslow, Manchester. At rest in Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery, France.
TORKINGTON William, Private 26668, 8th Cheshire Regiment killed in action 30th April 1917 age 21. Son of John Walker and Mary of Egerton Villa, Altrincham Road, Wilmslow. On the family headstone at St Bartholomew’s Churchyard, Wilmslow he is buried at Adhaim, Mesopotamia. The CWGC have him being commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq .
TOWNEND E Unable to find the correct record for this person listed with the CWGC
TOWNLEY William Henry [Croix de Guerre] Corporal 12724, 6th King’s Own Scottish Borderers killed In action 4 July 1916. Born and lived in Manchester. At rest in London Cemetery and Extension, Longueval, Somme, France.
TURNER Charles Herbert. Private 72491, 2nd Royal Fusiliers died 17 October 1918 aged 24. Son of the Rev. H. W. Turner and Mrs. Turner, of 15, Highfield Estate, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Born Bolton, Lancs. At rest in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium.
TURNER T It may be the following person. Private 204087, 1/5th South Lancashire Regiment (Volunteers) died of wounds 7 May 1918. Born at Stockport. At rest in Etaples Military Cemetery, France.
TUSON Thomas Edwin. Private 15481, 10th Coy. Machine Gun Corps, formerly 21333, East Lancashire Regiment died of wounds Thursday 20th July 1916 aged 25. Born 1891 at Preston, enlisted at Wilmslow, son of William and Catherin. At rest in Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France.
WAREHAM William George. Corporal 275764, A Coy 2/7th Manchester Regiment died 28 March 1918 aged 19. Son of Thomas William and Sophia Wareham, of 20, South Oak Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester. Born at Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent. At rest in Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France.
WEST Wiliiam. Sergeant 1016, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died 22 August 1915 aged 24. Son of John and Eliza West, of The Lodge, Holly Rd., Wilmslow, Cheshire; husband of Mary West, of Pexhill, Henbury, Macclesfield. At rest in Hill 10 Cemetery, Turkey including Gallipoli.
WHITEHEAD Edgar Leech. Private 251587, 1/6th Manchester Regiment, killed in action 24th July 1918 aged 36. Lived at Wilmslow, enlisted at Manchester, son of Edwin and Hannah Whitehead, nee Leech of Ashton-under-Lyne. At rest in Bertrancourt Military Cemetery, Somme, France.
WHITWAM Bertie. Private PLY/17618, Royal Marine Light Infantry, Plymouth Division. Born 18 February 1897 at Moss Side, Birmingham, killed in action 4 March 1915 aged 18 at Kumkale, his grave was not located. He was the son of Annie Elizabeth Oakley, formery Whitwam of Oakgon, Moor Lane, Wilmslow. In 1911 he was living with his mother and stepfather, Samuel Oakley of Manchester Road, Wilmslow. Occupation, apprentice painter. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey including Gallipoli
WILKINSON Frederick Arthur, Sergeant 8336, C Coy, 17th Manchester Regiment killed in action on the Somme near Mantaubam 1st July 1916 age 26. Son of Thomas Haworth and Sarah Jane of “Waltham”, Wilmslow. Buried at Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz, France
WILKINSON William Oscar, Captain, 7th Cheshire Regiment, formerly PS/4275, Royal Fusiliers, killed in action 5 August 1917. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
WILLIAMS Edgar Maurice. Private 20893, D Coy, 22nd Manchester Regiment died 1 July 1916 aged 20. Son of Edgar and Gertrude Williams, of The Knoll, Chapel Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire.
WILLIAMS Sidney. Private 31415, 8th South Lancashire Regiment died 13 June 1917 aged 21. Son of Daniel and Annie Williams, of 4, Rectory View, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
WILLIAMSON Harry. Private 17165, 2nd Grenadier Guards died 28 March 1915 aged 21. Son of Alfred and Alice Williamson, of Oakland Cottage, Deanrow, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Bethune Town Cemetery, France.
WOOD Alfred. Private 49108, 1st Cheshire Regiment, formerly 4824, Cheshire Regiment, killed In action 25 September 1916. Born at Styal, enlisted at Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
WOOD Frederick Arthur. Rifleman Z/2210, 3rd Rifle Brigade, killed In action 21 March 1915. Born at Longsight Lancashire, son of Christopher Preston Wood and Annie nee Hope. Lived at Wilmslow. Commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium.
WOODHOUSE Walter. Private 3407, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died 1 October 1915 aged 18. Son of Mrs. Hannah Sophia Woodhouse, of Church Street, Wilmslow, Manchester. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey including Gallipoli.
WOORE Percival Ernest. Corporal 11973, D Coy (Lewis Gun Detachment) 16th Manchester Regiment died 31 July 1917 aged 25. Son of Joseph Henry and Tryphena Woore, of Lacey Avenue, Wilmslow, Cheshire. Commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
WORSLEY Harold. Rifleman S/13602, A Coy, 1st Rifle Brigade died 4 May 1917 aged 21. Son of Henry Herbert and Mary Worsley, of 123 Lacy Avenue, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun, France.
WORSLEY John. Private CH/1425(S) Royal Marine Light Infantry, 223rd Machine Gun Coy, Royal Naval Division died 21 March 1918 aged 25. Son of Henry Herbert and Mary Worsley, of Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, France.
WORTH George. Driver T3/028074, 2nd Divisonal Train, Army Service Corps died 4 November 1918 aged 26. Born and raised in Wilmslow. At rest in Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt, Somme, France
WORTHINGTON Thomas Alfred, Private 65462, The Kings Liverpool Regiment died 1st March 1917 age 39. Son of Thomas and Margaret of Wilmslow and husband of Elizabeth Jane, nee Frost of 72 Bank Street, Macclesfield. Buried at St Bartholomew’s Churchyard, Wilmslow .
WRENCH Arthur, Military Medal, Lance Corporal 16026, 10th Manchester Regiment killed in action 26 April 1918. Born at Cheadle, enlisted at Stockport both in Cheshire. Son of William and Harriet, nee Boswell. Husband of Charlotte Wrench. Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
SCOTT Arthur Blake. 2nd Lieutenant, 1/7th Cheshire Regiment died 26 March 1917 aged 36. Son of Joseph and Sarah Scott, of Sarala, Wilmslow, Cheshire. At rest in Gaza War Cemetery, Palestine including Gaza.
This is a totally inaction figure of Imhotep known as “The Mummy” with heavy – I mean real heavy! – Sarcophagus by Diamond Select. The figure is 7.8 inches tall. Although the figure does not have any point of articulation, the presence is just great and highly movie accurate.
*Kyoto, Japan*
With an open mind enter into the mysteries of nature, and with inaction master the principle of change
(unknown Judo master)
Keep your faith in beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone.
(Roy R. Gibson)
An ICON for Kyoto
Sunset, viewed from the rear. The 'Clear Water temple' was famous for its giant pillars of wood supporting the main temple complex. The wooden structures stood more than a century.
Cruising past the Hungarian Parliament I spotted this little boat and thought that the resemblance to the USS Monitor was remarkable. I thought it must be a mock-up or a recreation, perhaps for a movie, of the original. Imagine my surprise when I Googled "Budapest Monitor" and discovered its history. I have some detail below taken from Wikipedia on its history but it is far from a 'mock up' and has a history in warfare that rivals the original Monitor!
Wiki: SMS Leitha or Lajta Monitor Museumship was the first river monitor in Europe and the oldest and also the only remaining, fully restored warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
The monitor was an innovation in the history of warship construction. The first European river monitors were constructed by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, namely the SMS Leitha and SMS Maros, and since then the river warships of the Monarchy were built in pairs. According to the customs of that time, river warships were named after the rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The names were chosen to reflect the dual (Imperial and Royal, Austrian and Hungarian) nature of the monarchy; thus, one of the ships received an Austrian name, the other one a Hungarian. This is the reason why this warship was named after the Austrian river Leitha (in Hungarian "Lajta"), while her sister ship was named after a Hungarian river, the Maros.
And: 1878–1914
Leitha was first saw action in 1878 in the occupation of Bosnia, when the Monarchy invaded Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had been under Turkish rule until that time. The ship actively participated in battles on the Sava river.[5]
WWI
The bombardment of Belgrade by an Austro-Hungarian monitor
At the outbreak of the war, Leitha was about to be demobilized. However it was decided to deploy Leitha, together with her sister ship, Maros, again. By then they were the oldest fighting warships in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1914 (11 August – 1 December) Leitha was in action again on the Sava.[6] The first Hungarian war hero of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, sailor János Huj, serving aboard Leitha, was killed in these battles (12 August).[7] The ship's greatest damage occurred in October 1914, during the first occupation of Belgrade, when the turret suffered a direct hit, all the crew inside being killed. Following this serious damage, she was withdrawn for repairs. In 1915 she received one Škoda 66 mm (2.6 in) SFK L/42 gun.[8] Afterwards, she became the flagship of the Danube flotilla participating in the second occupation of Belgrade. She was in action against the Romanian troops crossing the Danube, and also supported the Central Powers crossing of the Danube at Svishtov.
1919
After the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had lost World War I, its naval fleet had to be demobilized.[9] Yet, the short-term Soviet Republic in Hungary in 1919, urged the reinstatement of the Danube fleet, therefore the vessel, by that time renamed Lajta was deployed once more. In this period, she fought against the Czech interventionist troops between Komárom and Esztergom. In the same year in June, Lajta and her sister ship, Maros took an active part in the so-called "monitor-revolt", named after these monitors taking part in it, which was one of the first anti-communist rebellions in the world. A military takeover was to be organized in Budapest as a demonstration against the current communist dictatorship, and a very important part would have been naval support from the Danube. When the monitors appeared on the river, they hoisted the red-white-green national flag, instead of the Soviet red one. People welcomed them, but the revolt was soon suppressed by Hungarian communist forces. During the "monitor-revolt", Captain László Csicsery died on board Lajta.
HEALTH - October 30, 2010 - La Cigale - Paris, France
To read our review of the show and see the full set of photos, click here
Photo by Charlotte Zoller © 2010
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“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind.” -Leonardo da Vinci
He is smoking a beedi which is an Indian equivalent of cigarette (for all those who don’t know about it ;) ). It doesn’t have a filter and produces much more smoke. Being a non-smoker that’s all I can tell you about the beedi but in case you want to read more here is a good link.
"Tobacco smoking is widely prevalent in both developed and developing countries. It is one of the important preventable causes of premature death(1). In developing countries, it has been estimated that nearly 50% of men are dependent on some from of tobacco use whereas less than 5% of women are smokers
Various forms of tobacco smoking are practiced here, including cigarettes, beedis, chilum (clay pipe), chutta (reverse smoking) and hukka (hubble-bubble), the first two being the predominant types in urban areas. It is generally assumed that beedi smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking although there is no scientific documentation of this belief. Beedis are made from sun-cured tobacco rolled in tendu leaf wrapper (Diospyrus melanoxylon or Diospyrus ebenum) about 6 cm long and do not have filters. "
View It large and on black here ...
Please see other Images from India here ...
FR >> Jökulsárlón est une lagune glaciaire, au sud du glacier Vatnajökull. Ce lac atypique est formé par la fonte du glacier, duquel des blocs de glace se détachent et dérivent jusqu'à la mer. Face à un tel spectacle, impossible de rester indifférent ! Le paysage est époustouflant, autant par son immensité que par son silence et sa pureté. Une vraie claque pour moi durant ce voyage en Islande !
Concernant cette photo, je l'aime bien mais plusieurs choses me gênent dans la composition. Je la partage donc avec vous pour avoir votre avis ;).
A VOIR SUR FOND NOIR >> Cliquez sur l'image !
--
EN >> Will be translated soon !
Follow my photo-activity and become "fan" on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mike-Photos/168805877534?ref=ts).
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Quotes About Krishna
Quotes tagged as "krishna" (showing 1-30 of 39)
Christopher Pike
“It doesn't matter. You are what you are. I am what I am. We are the same-when you take the time to remember me.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna, red-dice 61 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Can't you ever be serious?' I said, mortified.
'It's difficult,' he said. 'There's so little in life that's worth it.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: divakaruni, krishna, life, palace-of-illusions, panchaali, seriousness 54 likes Like
Christopher Pike
“The truth is always simpler than you can imagine.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna 47 likes Like
“The only way you can conquer me is through love and there I am gladly conquered”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: krishna, love, mohit-k-misra, moht-misra 38 likes Like
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction- he is a wise man.”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: holy-bhagwat-gita, krishna, mohit-k-misra 16 likes Like
“It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinativefaculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too. — Krishna; Chapter 15, verse 15”
― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
tags: hinduism, krishna 11 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Christ attained the ultimate spiritual oneness through prayer and devotion, Moses and Mohammed through prayer, Buddha and all the Indian sages through intense meditation and so did I. And so can you.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 3 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Just like love becomes consummated upon the attainment of orgasm, all the faith and divinity in the world reach their ultimate existential potential upon the attainment of Absolute Unitary Qualia or simply Absolute Godliness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Alan W. Watts
“When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control, it proliferates law of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important than what has actually been done. [...] The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed.”
― Alan W. Watts
tags: democracy, esotericism, government, krishna, philosophy, politics, tao, zen 2 likes Like
“Gujarat is my home state, welcome to the land of Krishna, Gandhi, Sardar & now it's Narendrabhai”
― Mukesh Ambani Vibrant Gujarat 2015
tags: gandhi, gujarat, krishna, narendra-modi, sardar 2 likes Like
Manasa Rao Saarloos
“I haven’t been to a temple in years, never been forced. My folks always said, marry a nice human being, religion doesn’t matter. They said your god is inside you! Don’t you forget that. Krishna, Jesus, Allah, are all one. Follow vegetarianism as far as you can, but you can choose your own diet, doesn’t matter. Believe in god, but for you and not because the world asks you to. Forgive and forget to be at peace. Do not believe in revenge, believe in karma!!”
― Manasa Rao Saarloos
tags: allah, forgive-and-forget, god, hinduism, jesus, karma, krishna, marriage, parenting, religion-and-philoshophy, spirituality, vegetarianism 2 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause. And it is all because people never attempt to reach the fountain-head. They are content only to comply with the customs of their forefathers and instructions on some books, and want others to do the same. But, to explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, fundamentalism, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, religious-extremism, religious-faith, religious-terrorism, religious-violence, self-realization, terrorism, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Vikrmn
“Forgive all before you go to sleep, you'll be forgiven before you get up. – Lord Krishna.”
― Vikrmn, Corpkshetra
tags: 10-golden-steps-of-life, 10gsl, ca-vikram-verma, chartered-accountant, forgive, forgiven, get-up, golden, inspirational, krishna, life, lord-krishna, motivational, sleep, steps, vikram, vikram-verma, vikrmn, vv 2 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“But Krishna was a chameleon.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: identity, krishna, palace-of-illusions 1 likes Like
Padma Viswanathan
“Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace.”
― Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao
tags: arjuna, bhagavad-gita, enlightenment, fear, krishna, life-s-mysteries, mysteries, peace, terror 1 likes Like
Sandeep Sharma
“The moment when your heart’s rhythm synchronises with the chants of the holy temple, you find God in your soul. It was noisy yet peaceful. They were all dancing in the packed hall, with eyes closed and hands swinging up in the air. It was as if the motto of life was nothing but to enjoy this very moment and taste the love of the almighty.”
― Sandeep Sharma, Let The Game Begin
tags: god, krishna, life-and-living, mathura 1 likes Like
Vivian Amis
“All suffering is caused by one belief....the belief in separation”
― Vivian Amis, The Lotus - Realization of Oneness
tags: buddha, business, end-to, family, friends, god, harmony, home, jesus, krishna, love, missery, oneness, partnership, peace, quotes, realization, self, suffering, war, world 1 likes Like
“You don’t need validation or approval from anyone but yourself. Even if the entire world goes against, disagrees with or attempts to crush you, stand up for what you believe in, and stand up alone if you have to! It’s better to die while living your own truth than to live in the truth of another. Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagavad Gita pointed this out when he said;
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
Integrity is the key to freedom. It’s only your own truth that can ‘set you free.’ It’s perfectly fine if your truth doesn’t match that of others because the experience of physical reality is a completely subjective one. It doesn’t make either of you wrong, as long as you’re both being true to yourselves, that’s all that matters.”
― Craig Krishna, The Labyrinth: Rewiring the Nodes in the Maze of your Mind
tags: beliefs, believe-in, bhagavad-gita, destiny, identity, integrity, key, krishna, opinions, perfection, stand-up, truth 1 likes Like
“Show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in full. We are not after titles and designations. We must teach by personal example. Do this and the future of our movement will be glorious.”
― Prabhupada Dasa
tags: krishna 1 likes Like
“When you think you know Everything, you know NOTHING! When you think you know Nothing.. You become KRISHNA- THE UNKNOWN !”
― True Krishna Priya
tags: consciousness, krishna, soul 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you emerge from the state of absolute divinity, the self within you becomes Christ – it becomes Buddha – it becomes Moses – it becomes Krishna. The sage who emerges from the state of non-duality begins to perceive the self as Christ, not Christ as Christ – the self as Moses, not Moses as Moses – the self as Mohammed, not Mohammed as Mohammed – the self as Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
“Narada Muni says - Whether you consider the human to be an eternal jivatma or a temporary body, or even if you accept an indescribable opinion that he is both eternal and temporary, you do not have to lament in any way. There is no cause for lamentation other than the affection which has arisen out of delusion. (1.13.44)”
― Srimad Bhagavatam
tags: krishna, spiritual 1 likes Like
“To become free from sinful life, there is only simple method: if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the beginning of bhakti.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: beginings, bhakti, krishna, krishna-conciousness, method, sin, surrender 0 likes Like
“So it is our request that you try to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't try to distort it by your so-called education. Try to understand Kṛiṣṇa as He is saying. Then you will be benefited. Your life will be successful.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: benifit-of-doubt, education, krishna, krishna-consciousness, life, life-quotes, study, successful-living, understanding 0 likes Like
Chaitanya Charan Das
“Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought”
― Chaitanya Charan Das, Gita for Daily Enrichment
tags: chanting, god, krishna, meditation, spirituality, yoga 0 likes Like
“If by studying Bhagavad-gītā one decides to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately freed from all sinful reactions.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: freedom, karma, krishna, krishna-consciousness, reactions, sin, study, surrender 0 likes Like
“By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: consciousness, devotion, god, gods-grace, krishna, krishna-conciousness, scriptures, service, study, supreme-love 0 likes Like
Jarett Sabirsh
“being attached to any one philosophy or religion
dwelling on moot differences and wanting to fit in
despite the path all are led Home in time
following an alternative pathway is certainly no crime
Krishna, Buddha, Allah or Zohar Kabbalah
devoted nonviolently, one is led to Nirvana
Hindu Sages, Zen Masters or Christian Mystics
many tongues, but identical truth spoken from their lips
mentioning Self or no-self or God is Father or Mother
according to their culture emphasizing one method or another
allness vs. nothingness, meditation vs. prayer
devotion in practice is all you should care
when Truth reveals itself you're beyond all conception
then not a single man-made word will hold any traction”
― Jarett Sabirsh, Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem
tags: buddha, buddhism, god, krishna, meditation, religion, spirituality 0 likes Like
“The perfection of yoga, therefore, does not terminate in voidness or impersonalism; on the contrary, the perfection of yoga is attained when one actually sees the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
From “no thing”, movement arises naturally.
From inaction, comes action.
From emptiness, comes shape and form.
And from stillness, comes energy and flow.
~Gabriella Goddard
The building was derelict, but was the focus of some controversy in the 1980s, when conservationists blamed various governments for inaction in preserving the building. It was finally torn down in 1995.
Quotes About Krishna
Quotes tagged as "krishna" (showing 1-30 of 39)
Christopher Pike
“It doesn't matter. You are what you are. I am what I am. We are the same-when you take the time to remember me.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna, red-dice 61 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“Can't you ever be serious?' I said, mortified.
'It's difficult,' he said. 'There's so little in life that's worth it.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: divakaruni, krishna, life, palace-of-illusions, panchaali, seriousness 54 likes Like
Christopher Pike
“The truth is always simpler than you can imagine.”
― Christopher Pike, The Red Dice
tags: krishna 47 likes Like
“The only way you can conquer me is through love and there I am gladly conquered”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: krishna, love, mohit-k-misra, moht-misra 38 likes Like
“One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction- he is a wise man.”
― Gopi Krishna
tags: holy-bhagwat-gita, krishna, mohit-k-misra 16 likes Like
“It is I who remain seated in the heart of all creatures as the inner controller of all; and it is I who am the source of memory, knowledge and the ratiocinativefaculty. Again, I am the only object worth knowing through the Vedas; I alone am the origin of Vedānta and the knower of the Vedas too. — Krishna; Chapter 15, verse 15”
― Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
tags: hinduism, krishna 11 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Christ attained the ultimate spiritual oneness through prayer and devotion, Moses and Mohammed through prayer, Buddha and all the Indian sages through intense meditation and so did I. And so can you.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 3 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Just like love becomes consummated upon the attainment of orgasm, all the faith and divinity in the world reach their ultimate existential potential upon the attainment of Absolute Unitary Qualia or simply Absolute Godliness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Alan W. Watts
“When it comes down to it, government is simply an abandonment of responsibility on the assumption that there are people, other than ourselves, who really know how to manage things. But the government, run ostensibly for the good of the people, becomes a self-serving corporation. To keep things under control, it proliferates law of ever-increasing complexity and unintelligibility, and hinders productive work by demanding so much accounting on paper that the record of what has been done becomes more important than what has actually been done. [...] The Taoist moral is that people who mistrust themselves and one another are doomed.”
― Alan W. Watts
tags: democracy, esotericism, government, krishna, philosophy, politics, tao, zen 2 likes Like
“Gujarat is my home state, welcome to the land of Krishna, Gandhi, Sardar & now it's Narendrabhai”
― Mukesh Ambani Vibrant Gujarat 2015
tags: gandhi, gujarat, krishna, narendra-modi, sardar 2 likes Like
Manasa Rao Saarloos
“I haven’t been to a temple in years, never been forced. My folks always said, marry a nice human being, religion doesn’t matter. They said your god is inside you! Don’t you forget that. Krishna, Jesus, Allah, are all one. Follow vegetarianism as far as you can, but you can choose your own diet, doesn’t matter. Believe in god, but for you and not because the world asks you to. Forgive and forget to be at peace. Do not believe in revenge, believe in karma!!”
― Manasa Rao Saarloos
tags: allah, forgive-and-forget, god, hinduism, jesus, karma, krishna, marriage, parenting, religion-and-philoshophy, spirituality, vegetarianism 2 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause. And it is all because people never attempt to reach the fountain-head. They are content only to comply with the customs of their forefathers and instructions on some books, and want others to do the same. But, to explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, fundamentalism, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, religious-extremism, religious-faith, religious-terrorism, religious-violence, self-realization, terrorism, transcendentalism 2 likes Like
Vikrmn
“Forgive all before you go to sleep, you'll be forgiven before you get up. – Lord Krishna.”
― Vikrmn, Corpkshetra
tags: 10-golden-steps-of-life, 10gsl, ca-vikram-verma, chartered-accountant, forgive, forgiven, get-up, golden, inspirational, krishna, life, lord-krishna, motivational, sleep, steps, vikram, vikram-verma, vikrmn, vv 2 likes Like
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
“But Krishna was a chameleon.”
― Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Palace of Illusions
tags: identity, krishna, palace-of-illusions 1 likes Like
Padma Viswanathan
“Perhaps terror and peace became the same thing when life's mysteries were unveiled. In the Bhagavad Gita, when Krishna reveals his divine form at Arjuna's request, Arjuna is terrified at seeing what no mortal can stand to see. But the end to human doubt surely must also bring with it a definite, final peace.”
― Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao
tags: arjuna, bhagavad-gita, enlightenment, fear, krishna, life-s-mysteries, mysteries, peace, terror 1 likes Like
Sandeep Sharma
“The moment when your heart’s rhythm synchronises with the chants of the holy temple, you find God in your soul. It was noisy yet peaceful. They were all dancing in the packed hall, with eyes closed and hands swinging up in the air. It was as if the motto of life was nothing but to enjoy this very moment and taste the love of the almighty.”
― Sandeep Sharma, Let The Game Begin
tags: god, krishna, life-and-living, mathura 1 likes Like
Vivian Amis
“All suffering is caused by one belief....the belief in separation”
― Vivian Amis, The Lotus - Realization of Oneness
tags: buddha, business, end-to, family, friends, god, harmony, home, jesus, krishna, love, missery, oneness, partnership, peace, quotes, realization, self, suffering, war, world 1 likes Like
“You don’t need validation or approval from anyone but yourself. Even if the entire world goes against, disagrees with or attempts to crush you, stand up for what you believe in, and stand up alone if you have to! It’s better to die while living your own truth than to live in the truth of another. Lord Krishna in the holy Bhagavad Gita pointed this out when he said;
“It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.”
Integrity is the key to freedom. It’s only your own truth that can ‘set you free.’ It’s perfectly fine if your truth doesn’t match that of others because the experience of physical reality is a completely subjective one. It doesn’t make either of you wrong, as long as you’re both being true to yourselves, that’s all that matters.”
― Craig Krishna, The Labyrinth: Rewiring the Nodes in the Maze of your Mind
tags: beliefs, believe-in, bhagavad-gita, destiny, identity, integrity, key, krishna, opinions, perfection, stand-up, truth 1 likes Like
“Show yourself as an ideal Vaisnava, then you are my representative in full. We are not after titles and designations. We must teach by personal example. Do this and the future of our movement will be glorious.”
― Prabhupada Dasa
tags: krishna 1 likes Like
“When you think you know Everything, you know NOTHING! When you think you know Nothing.. You become KRISHNA- THE UNKNOWN !”
― True Krishna Priya
tags: consciousness, krishna, soul 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
Abhijit Naskar
“Once you emerge from the state of absolute divinity, the self within you becomes Christ – it becomes Buddha – it becomes Moses – it becomes Krishna. The sage who emerges from the state of non-duality begins to perceive the self as Christ, not Christ as Christ – the self as Moses, not Moses as Moses – the self as Mohammed, not Mohammed as Mohammed – the self as Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost
tags: brainy-quotes, buddha, buddhahood, christ, christianity, consciousness-mind-brain, consciousness-quotes, divine-self, harmony-quotes, hinduism, islam, krishna, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness-quotes, moses, muhammad, muhammad-pbuh, neurotheology, nirvana, nondual-philosophy, nondualism, nonduality, peace, pearls-of-wisdom, philosophy, philosophy-quotes, self-realization, transcendentalism 1 likes Like
“Narada Muni says - Whether you consider the human to be an eternal jivatma or a temporary body, or even if you accept an indescribable opinion that he is both eternal and temporary, you do not have to lament in any way. There is no cause for lamentation other than the affection which has arisen out of delusion. (1.13.44)”
― Srimad Bhagavatam
tags: krishna, spiritual 1 likes Like
“To become free from sinful life, there is only simple method: if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is the beginning of bhakti.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: beginings, bhakti, krishna, krishna-conciousness, method, sin, surrender 0 likes Like
“So it is our request that you try to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't try to distort it by your so-called education. Try to understand Kṛiṣṇa as He is saying. Then you will be benefited. Your life will be successful.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: benifit-of-doubt, education, krishna, krishna-consciousness, life, life-quotes, study, successful-living, understanding 0 likes Like
Chaitanya Charan Das
“Meditation is defined by not just the mode of thinking, but also the object of thought”
― Chaitanya Charan Das, Gita for Daily Enrichment
tags: chanting, god, krishna, meditation, spirituality, yoga 0 likes Like
“If by studying Bhagavad-gītā one decides to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately freed from all sinful reactions.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: freedom, karma, krishna, krishna-consciousness, reactions, sin, study, surrender 0 likes Like
“By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
tags: consciousness, devotion, god, gods-grace, krishna, krishna-conciousness, scriptures, service, study, supreme-love 0 likes Like
Jarett Sabirsh
“being attached to any one philosophy or religion
dwelling on moot differences and wanting to fit in
despite the path all are led Home in time
following an alternative pathway is certainly no crime
Krishna, Buddha, Allah or Zohar Kabbalah
devoted nonviolently, one is led to Nirvana
Hindu Sages, Zen Masters or Christian Mystics
many tongues, but identical truth spoken from their lips
mentioning Self or no-self or God is Father or Mother
according to their culture emphasizing one method or another
allness vs. nothingness, meditation vs. prayer
devotion in practice is all you should care
when Truth reveals itself you're beyond all conception
then not a single man-made word will hold any traction”
― Jarett Sabirsh, Love All-Knowing: An Epic Spiritual Poem
tags: buddha, buddhism, god, krishna, meditation, religion, spirituality 0 likes Like
“The perfection of yoga, therefore, does not terminate in voidness or impersonalism; on the contrary, the perfection of yoga is attained when one actually sees the Personality of Godhead in His eternal form.”
― A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
The receding waters of the dying river Murray reveal an old ship wreck. The buoy at the front used to be a couple of feet above water and the locals used to tie their boats up at the jetty on the left.
Drought and over allocation of water has killed off what used to be a mighty stretch of river, now just a smelly green thin channel of water.