n the
N. of it the S. wall of the church (with two large windows), at right
angles to which the dormitories extended (the mark of the gable is
still visible on the wall). Beyond the E. wall of the court are
supposed to have been the chapter-house and the prior's residence. At
the E. of the nave of the church is the tower, which was originally
central, the chancel having been destroyed. It is 15th-cent. work, but
is believed to case an earlier 13th-cent. core. The vault has fan
tracery. N. of the church are the remains of the chantry (now a cider
cellar), originally founded by Robert Courtenay, father of William,
showing on the outside three Perp. windows and buttresses, and
containing the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury, with a ruined piscina
on the pier of one of the pillars. S.E. of the church is the court-room
(now a cow-house), which is sometimes styled the refectory, but
erroneously, since there is no fireplace. It is assigned to the early
part of the 15th cent. The barn (14th cent.) has Dec. doorways, rounded
buttresses on either side of the main entrance, and remains of finials.

_Wookey_, a village 2 m. W. from Wells, with a station on the G.W.R.
Cheddar branch. The church--chiefly Perp., with a blend of E.E.--is
interesting. The tower stair turret carries a lofty spirelet. Note
within (1) E.E. columns in N. aisle; (2) squints, especially the one on
N., combined with piscina. On the S. side of the sanctuary is a small
Perp. chapel decorated with modern frescoes, containing a plain
altar-tomb to Thos. Clarke and wife, 1689. In the churchyard is the
base of a cross. Near the church is Mellifont Abbey, built on the site
of the old rectory, and ornamented with fragments of the original
building. The Court, a farm-house in the fields, was once a manorial
residence of the Bishops of Bath and Wells. It has an E.E. doorway.

_Wookey Hole_ is a cavern (1-1/2 m. away) which gives its name (said to
be a corruption of _ogof_, Celtic for "cavern") to the village. It is
the oldest known cave in Great Britain, and was once inhabited (legend
asserts) by an ancient witch. It may be reached either from Wookey
Station or, just as easily, from Wells. Proceed through the hamlet to
the large paper-mill and inquire at the farm opposite for a guide (fee,
1s. 6d.; 1s. each for two or more). A pathway runs up the L. bank of
the stream which feeds the paper-mill, and ends abruptly in a
precipitous wall of rock. The stream, which is the