#wells cathedral

The Most Poetic

The St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Wells, (Somerset, England).

Built between 1180 and 1490, this cathedral mixes different currents of English Gothic architecture.

One of the major architectural innovations of this building is the addition in the 14th century of inverted arches known as “scissor arches”, at the level of the transept crossing. This technique, which breaks the monotony of the traditional sequences of ogival arches, permits to better distribute and support the weight of the bell tower which rises at this location, while consolidating the entire structure.

(The photographs show, in order: the Lady Chapel, photograph by David Iliff ; the inverted arch, idem ; the facade at sunset, photograph by StuJoPhoto ; the arches, photograph by Gary Ullah ; the organ, photograph by David Iliff ; the bell tower, photograph by Prosthetic Head ; the nave, photograph by David Iliff ; detail of the facade, photograph by Hadrianus1959 ; the facade, photograph by Michael D Beckwith ; and finally, the vault, photograph by Texasrancher99. The original photographs have been modified)