“Whatever else the student and lover of Gothic architecture omits, he must not omit to visit Exeter. He will find it fresh and different from anything he has seen before. Its unique plan, without central or western towers, the absence of obstructive piers at the crossing, the consequently uninterrupted vista, the singleness and unity of the whole design, the remarkable system of proportions, based on breadth rather than height, the satisfying massiveness and solidity of the building, inside and outside, and at the same time the airiness and lightness of the interior, the magnificence of its piers of marble, the delightful colour-contrast of marble column and sandstone arch, the amazing diversity of the window tracery, the exquisite carving of the corbels and bosses, the abundant and admirable Tudor work, the wealth of chantries and monuments, the superb sedilia, screen and throne, the _misereres_, the vaults, the extraordinary engineering feats from which its present form results, the originality of the west front and of the whole interior and exterior, place Exeter in the very forefront of the triumphs of the Mediæval architecture of our country.”--(F. B.) WELLS DEDICATION: ST. ANDREW. SPECIAL FEATURES: WEST FRONT; EAST END; INVERTED ARCHES IN NAVE; CHAPTER-HOUSE; CARVINGS OF CAPITALS; CHAIN-GATE. The site of this beautiful cathedral had long been sacred to the Britons on account of its wells, or springs, when the early Christians on coming to Glastonbury placed these waters under the protection of St. Andrew. King Ina’s house of secular canons was established here in 704, not far from the older Glastonbury, which, according to legend, was established by Joseph of Arimathea. At the beginning of the Tenth Century, a new bishopric was founded by Edward the Elder for the province of Somerset; and the Abbot of Glastonbury was made Bishop of Wells. “Seen from a distance, the picturesque group of towers and pinnacles derives increased effect from the beauty and variety of the surrounding landscape. On one side rises the long ridge of the Mendips, with its rocky outliers; whilst in the southern distance the lofty peak of Glastonbury Tor lifts itself above the marches, marking the site of what was generally believed, throughout the Middle Ages, to have been the earliest Christian church in Britain, if not the first in Christendom. The Cathedral itself seems to nestle under its protecting hills; and the waters of the Bishop’s moat, sparkling in the sunshine, indicate the spring or great well which led King Ina to establish his church here, and which had perhaps rendered the site a sacred one as well in the days of the Druids as in those of that primitive British Christianity which disappeared before the heathendom of the advancing Saxons.