Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal SeeDearmer, Percy
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See
Dearmer, Percy
Wells Cathedral
The western aisle of the south transept is open; that of the north
transept is cut off by a Perpendicular stone screen, which is solid in
the southern bay, and through carved in the northern. The latter is,
however, boarded up, and used as the vestry of the priest-vicars, the
other being the vestry of the vicars-choral. From the priest-vicars'
vestry a door leads into a small chamber now used for the water
supply, and over the doorway there is a small and pretty figure of a
woman under a little niche.
There are a very few fragments of Early Perpendicular glass in some of
the upper lights of the nave and transept windows. There are also two
modern windows at the west end of the nave, and one in the south
transept, of which I have been unable to discover the actual
designers' names.
TRANSEPT CHAPELS.--ST. MARTIN'S, where the obits of Savaric and
Jocelin were celebrated, is separated by a solid Perpendicular screen
from the adjoining chapel of St. Calixtus. It is now used as the
canons' vestry. Partly blocking the old Early English doorway is the
tomb of _Biconyll_, who was chancellor in 1454. His will, with a good
deal of information about him, is given in the _Somerset Proceedings_
for 1894, by Mr A.S. Bicknell, a descendant. The name was originally
Bykenhulle (A.S. for Beacon Hill), and has been spelt in forty-seven
different ways. His effigy lies on the tomb, dressed in cassock, long
surplice, and _cappa nigra_ or choral cope. The ends of the almuce can
be seen in the opening of the cope, and its hood hangs over the
shoulders.
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