Sea of Steps at Wells Cathedral: Architectural gem
The breathtaking ‘Sea of Steps’ at Wells Cathedral in Somerset dates from 1286.
These beautiful steps show many hundreds of years wear by members of the chapter and clergy and pupils from the Cathedral School in Wells.
And now, the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the cathedral every year.
The steps appear to flow up and around the corner into the Chapter House hence the name “Sea of Steps”.
In 1903, photographer Frederick Evans took a famous photo and titled it "A Sea of Steps."
This photograph (the black and white image above) is widely regarded as Evans' finest architectural image.
Today, prints of this famous photograph can be found in several major museums across the world.
These include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Moderns Art in New York and the National Gallery of Canada.
Indeed, you may well have also seen these famous steps in BBC’s ‘Wolf Hall’ & Lionsgate’s ‘Becoming Elizabeth’.
The exquisite Chapter House (pictured below) was begun around 1286 and is one of the high points of 13th-century architecture in Britain.
The Wells Chapter House is the only octagonal chapter house to be built as a first storey on top of an undercroft, which was the ‘strong room’ of the cathedral.
We would not be at all surprised if people come to Wells just to see the Chapter House and ascend the very worn set of wide stone stairs!
The Chapter House is amazing, with its central pier sprouting 32 vaulting ribs, but the staircase to reach it is equally notable; it curves and undulates like flowing water.
When you enter you are immediately struck by the sheer height of the vaulting, supported on that one clustered central shaft.
On a sunny day, light streams into the chapter house, creating vivid coloured patterns on the floor and the stone seats around the outside of the chamber.
The sense of space is enhanced because the floor is kept completely clear, creating a huge, echoing space.
Look carefully at the carved heads decorating the stalls; each is unique.
Some are fearsome, even grotesque. Some quite obviously represent important people; church officials or patrons perhaps. and some are engagingly humorous, with comical expressions!
The cathedral itself, built between 1175 and 1490, is the earliest English Cathedral to be built in the Gothic style.
Set in the medieval heart of Wells, the iconic cathedral has been described as “the most poetic of the English Cathedrals”.
Wells Cathedral has unique features that separate it from other English cathedrals, including its iconic West Front and the beautiful ‘scissor arches’ supporting the central tower.
It also features one of the largest collections of historic stained glass in the country.
The Cathedral also boasts the famous Wells Clock (which is considered to be the second oldest clock mechanism in Great Britain) and one of only four chained libraries in the UK.
If you approach the cathedral from the market place, walk into the centre of the wide green lawn that leads away from the west doors and look up.
Before you is one of the most glorious examples of medieval architecture in England; the west front of Wells Cathedral.
Built in the 13th century and attributed to Thomas Norreys, this extraordinary piece of work is really art on a very, very grand scale.
The entire front, from ground level to the highest pinnacle, seems to overflow with statues, peering out from ornate niches, almost jostling for space.
The effect is simply jaw-dropping, and almost completely overwhelms the three west doorways, which have been compared to a trio of rabbit holes set in a mountainside.
Free daily tours of the Cathedral are available all year, except Sundays.
Alternatively, you can discover hidden spaces and chambers, explore the south transept roof space and marvel at the nave from a very different perspective via the Cathedral's popular and longer High Parts tours.
Another gem in Wells is Vicars Close - claimed to be the oldest purely residential street with original buildings surviving intact in Europe.
Vicars’ Close was built over 650 years ago to house the Vicars’ Choral and it continues to be inhabited by their successors today.
Vicars’ Close is unique, as it’s physically connected to Wells Cathedral.
If you ever had time, Wells is an incredible place to visit, stepped with history!
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