[This is the eighteenth of a series of articles giving a brief description of each of England's 26 ancient Anglican cathedrals together with a sketch of a person, activity or institution connected to the area]
One of the finest cathedrals in England
is Wells Cathedral in the modest
city of Wells (England’s
smallest), Somerset,
built between 1175 and 1490. It has a wealth of features architecturally,
wonderful stone carving and fine medieval stained glass.
 |
| Wells Cathedral |
One of its most striking aspects is its early English West
Front with some 300 surviving carved figures, making a splendid ensemble.
 |
| Detail of carvings on the West Front |
Another famous sight is the 1338 “ scissors arch” supporting
the Nave, an ingenious medieval solution
to the problem of subsidence following an earthquake; the piers needed to be
shored up and the arch was inserted – rather intrusive but beautifully
executed.
 |
| Scissors arch at Wells |
The Cathedral also boasts a delightfully delicate Chapter
House, a pleasant Cloister, fine stiff-leaf carved foliage on many capitals,
excellent misericords and some of England’s
best medieval stained glass windows in the East End
and Lady Chapel.
The cathedral was damaged during Monmouth’s Rebellion in
1685 – the soldiers stripped lead off the roof to make bullets. In 1703 the
bishop was killed in his bed when a pillar fell on him during The Great Storm
and the cathedral was neglected thereafter. The Victorian architect Anthony
Salvin undertook a vigorous restoration programme known as “The Great Scrape”,
but Wells remains very beautiful and should be on every tourist’s itinerary.
 |
| Medieval stained glass at Wells |
The Cathedral Close is interesting too. Its Vicars’ Close
is the only surviving 14th century complete street in England, while
the Bishop’s Palace, moated and fortified, is testimony to the occasionally
uneasy relations between clergy and townspeople in medieval times.
 |
| The Bishop's Palace, Wells |
------------------------------------
Cheddar Cheese originated in the village of Cheddar
about 9 miles North-West of Wells. For many years, Cheddar was only allowed to
be so named if it were produced within 30 miles of Wells Cathedral. The name is
no longer protected and Cheddar is produced on an industrial scale (50% of all
British cheese output) and globally in Australia,
Canada and the United States.
 |
| Somerset Cheddar Cheese |
The original Cheddar was hard, white and rather
sharp-tasting. It is still hard but cheese makers now produce a variety of
strengths and it is often artificially coloured orange. Its reputation suffered
during and 9 years after WW2 when food rationing forced the almost exclusive
production of inferior “Government Cheddar” irreverently known as “mousetrap
cheese”. However good Cheddar is now made in the West Country: some of the best
is matured in Wookey Hole, the deep cave system nearby.
I am fond of the traditional Ploughman’s Lunch, a staple in British
pubs, comprising a pint of ale, a hunk of bread, a good slice of Cheddar and a
spoonful of pickle or chutney.
 |
| Cheddar maturing in Wookey Hole |
I have to confess however that my favourite English cheese
is blue Stilton rather than Cheddar. While Cheddar has a tendency to be bland,
Stilton is always sharp and pungent, while still being creamy, a miraculous
combination first exploited in the 1730s. I enjoy it most when a round Stilton
is served wrapped in a linen napkin and a spoon is provided to dig out this
crumbly ambrosial delicacy. Best of all the Stilton can be wondrously
accompanied by a generous glass of Port. Heaven!
 |
| Heavenly Stilton |
SMD
21.11.12
Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment