note should be taken of the skilful way in
which a structural necessity has been turned to artistic advantage in
the erection of the flying buttresses. In the earlier work they exist,
but are hidden away as unsightly props beneath the roof of the aisles.
Their artistic possibilities having caught the eye of the builder, they
are here brought out into the light, and form a very pleasing feature
in the general design. The visitor should now return to the cathedral
in order to inspect the _Vicars' Close_, one of the unique features of
Wells. The flight of stairs which gives entrance to the chapter-house
leads also by a covered bridge--known as the _Chain Gate_--across the
street into the Close, and thus forms a private passage whereby the
singers may pass from the church to their quarters. The public have to
find their way by returning to the street. Pass under the chain-gate,
turn sharply to the left under another archway, and the Close is before
you. It is a quaint oblong court closed at one end by the entrance
gateway, and at the other by a chapel. On either side is a "quiet range
of houses" with picturesque gables and high chimneys. Note the
"canting" escutcheons of Swan, Sugar, and Talbot, Beckington's
executors, on some of the chimneys. The houses, which were intended as
the abode of the college of singing clerks, have been much modernised;
but one or two still retain some semblance of their original design.
The idea of gathering the singers together into a fraternity was Bishop
Ralph's. He provided them with these picturesque dwellings, and gave
them the common dining-hall which forms the upper storey of the
entrance gateway. This is said to be one of the most beautiful examples
of mid-14th-cent. domestic architecture in the country. It was enlarged
subsequently by Rich. Pomeroy (_temp._ Hen. VIII.), and Bishop
Beckington's executors are said to have built the chapel at the other
end of the Close. Regarded now-a-days as a devotional superfluity by
the singers, it has been turned over to the Theological College. The
chapel and muniment room above should be inspected, but admission
cannot now be obtained to the hall. Before leaving the Cathedral
precincts note on the same side of the road as the Vicars' Close (in
order, westwards): (1) the _Archdeacon's House_, now used as the
College library, (2) the _Deanery_--an embattled residence with
gatehouse and turrets, built by Dean Gunthorpe, 1472-98 (the imposing
character