The bulletin

Call Number
NX 252
Created/Published
Sydney, N.S.W.: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 1880-1984
Issue
Vol. 63 No. 3279 (16 Dec 1942)
Images
28
View Catalogue

Text

The Bulletin  

“The Bulletin,” Vol. 63.-No. 3279  

Wednesday, December 16, 1942  

Price 6d.  

Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia, for Transmission by Post as Newspaper.  

Seppelts  

WELLS’ CATHEDRAL.  

THE ancient,' but magnificent, Somerset city of Wells, lying  

at the foot of those Mendip hills to which Chesterton once  

made happy and poetic reference, is but six miles from  

Glastonbury, “the home of Christianity in Britain,” and some  

19 or 20 miles south-west of Bath by rail, somewhat less  

“by air.” Wells without its cathedral, one of the noblest  

and most magnificent of all the secular churches of England,  

would be merely small country town, with agriculture as  

its mainstay and other industries represented by breweries,  

flour and paper mills, on small scale. It is venerable burgh  

all the same, being first chartered by King John, of Magna  

Charta fame, in 1202 and elevated to the position of municipal  

borough by Queen Elizabeth. From the time of Edward  

down to 1867 it returned two members to Parliament and was,  

in fact, typical “pocket-borough” in pre-reform days. It is,  

however, in the ecclesiastical field its importance is and “always  

has” been of the first order. The name is derived from  

numerous hot springs in the vicinity known by that of  

Scotland’s patron saint. In this locality, so long ago as the  

year 704, collegiate church was founded. During Saxon  

times it was one of the most important towns in the Kingdom  

of Wessex, and in 905 was made the seat of bishopric by  

King Edward the Elder, when its ecclesiastical status rapidly  

grew. That growth was not unassociated with trouble. Some-  

where about 1091 Bishop John de Villule moved the see to  

Bath, and for some time Wells’ ceased to be an Episcopal  

city. This was none to the liking of clergy and laity in Wells,  

and serious trouble started, the secular clergy of Wells and  

the “regulars” of Bath being the vanguards of the opposing  

forces. After many struggles it was in 1139 arranged, by  

way of compromise, that the diocesan should take the title  

of “bishop of Bath and Wells,” which “remaineth unto this  

day,” and should be elected by delegates appointed partly by  

the monks of Bath and partly by the canons of Wells. The  

foundation attached to the Cathedral Church of Wells consisted  

of college of secular canons of St. Augustine, governed by  

dean, sub-dean, chancellors and other officials. The existing  

cathedral, illustrated, was begun by Bishop Joceline shortly  

after his election to the episcopate in 1220, and the greater  

part of the building was completed before his death in  

1244, indicating his lordship was possessed of great energy  

or driving-power. The eastern part of the church was first  

taken in hand, the choir being consecrated for use long before  

the completion of the nave, the western portion of which, with  

its superb series of statues in the fagade, was carried out from  

1250 to 1300. The upper half of the two western towers has  

never been built. The noble and well-designed central tower,  

160 feet high, was built about 1340. The late Dr. J. Henry  

Middleton, F.S.A., Slade Professor of Fine Art at Cambridge  

University, great authority, penned glowing description  

of the cathedral almost 60 years ago, from which the following  

excerpts are taken: “The whole church is building of very  

exceptional splendour and beauty Its plan consists of  

nave and two aisles with two short transepts, each with  

western aisle and two eastern chapels. The choir and its  

aisles are of unusual length, and behind the high altar are  

two smaller transepts, beyond which is the very richly  

decorated Lady Chapel, with an eastern semi-octagonal apse,  

...On the north of the choir is the octagonal chapter-house,  

the vaulting of which springs from slender central shaft.  

As the church belongd to the secular clergy it was not neces-  

sary to place the chapter-house in its usual position by the  

cloister... .The oak stalls and bishops’ throne in the choir are  

magnificent examples of fifteenth-century woodwork.... The  

great glory of the church and that which makes it unique  

among the many splendid buildings of medieval England is  

the wonderful series of sculptured figures which decorate the  

exterior of the west front—the work of English sculptors of  

the latter part of the thirteenth century—a series which shows  

that at this time England was, as far as the plastic art is  

concerned, in no degree inferior of Germany and France, or  

even Italy, if we except the work done by Niccola, the  

sculptor of the wonderful baptistry pulpit at Pisa. The whole  

of the fagade, 147 feet wide, is covered with this magnificent  

series; there are nine tiers of single figures under canopies, over  

600 in number, mostly large life-size... .these represent angels,  

saints, kings and queens of the Saxon, Norman and Plan-  

tagenet dynasties, and bishops and others who had been  

benefactors to the see. There are also 48 reliefs with subjects  

from Bible history and immense representations of the Last  

Judgment and the Resurrection, the latter containing about  

150 figures. The whole composition is devised so as to  

present comprehensive scheme of theology and history  

evidently thought out with much care and ingenuity.”  

GRAPE VINEGAR  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-532744797

APA citation

(1880). The bulletin Retrieved July 26, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-532744797

MLA citation

The bulletin Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 1880. Web. 26 July 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-532744797>

Harvard/Australian citation

1880, The bulletin John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, Sydney, N.S.W viewed 26 July 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-532744797

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  |
  | title=The bulletin.
  | year=1880
  | section=105 volumes : illustrations (chiefly coloured), portraits (chiefly coloured) ; 30-40 cm.
  | issn=0007-4039
  | series=John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues).
  | issue=Vol. 63 No. 3279 (16 Dec 1942)
  | location=Sydney, N.S.W
  | publisher=John Haynes and J.F. Archibald
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-532744797
  | id=nla.obj-532744797
  | access-date=26 July 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

Citations are automatically generated and may require some modification to conform to exact standards.

Download

Select the images you want to download, or the whole document.

Available formats
TIF high resolution
Include
All
Current

Or select a range of images:

Selected: 1 - 28 (28 Images)

Order

You can order a copy of this work from Copies Direct.

Copies Direct supplies reproductions of collection material for a fee. This service is offered by the National Library of Australia

Include

Or select a range of images:

1 - 28 (28 Images)

Share

Share on Twitter

Share on Facebook

What can I do with this?

Copyright varies by issue and article

Reason for copyright status
Serials have an open range of dates.

Copyright varies with each issue and article. You may have full rights to copy, or may be able to copy only under some circumstances, for example a portion for research or study. Order a copy where circumstances allow or Contact us for further information.

Copyright status was determined using the following information:

Material type
Literary, dramatic or musical work

Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply.

For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Share Close

Copy and paste one of these options to share this book elsewhere.

NOTE: We've tested EMBED on blogspot.com blogs as well as self-hosted Wordpress blogs. This feature will NOT work on wordpress.com blogs.

About this book Close