Wells Cathedral, Somerset

Address

Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Cathedral Green, Wells BA5 2UE

Theme

Anglican Cathedrals in England (43)

Comments by

Peter Hildebrand

Overview

The principal joy of Wells is its collection of medieval and renaissance glass, and in particular the magnificent Tree of Jesse window, or ‘Golden’ window, highlighted below.

The earliest glass dates from the late 13th century, in two windows on the west side of the chapter house staircase. Other gems include

St Katherine’s chapel, with its beautiful quarries from the mid-1400s and French renaissance panels from Rouen c.1520. (There is a further panel of c.1507, attributed to Arnold of Nijmegen in the north transept.)
The Lady Chapel, which has some original glass from the 1320s, including some fine grisaille work. Much of the glass is in fragments, but the main east window is largely a sympathetic restoration by Thomas Willement in 1845.
The three lancet west window. Re-glazed several times due to storm damage, the current scheme dates from the 1660s. It was repaired in 1813 and the central light was largely replaced by A. K. Nicholson between 1925 and 1931.

Highlight

Quire east window, Tree of Jesse - The Golden window

Artist, maker and date

Medieval glaziers, c.1340

Reason for highlighting

The Golden or Jesse window was installed at the east end of the Quire as part of a seven window scheme and is one of the best examples of mid-14th century glass painting in England.

The combination of yellow and green glass and the application of the relatively new technique of silver stain gave the window its popular name of the ‘Golden window’.

Recently the window has undergone an extensive programme of restoration and repair by Holy Well Glass, so that it is now looking better than it has for many years. Take a pair of binoculars along to enjoy the fine detail in the glass.

Highlighted dates at this location

c.1340 (Go to date search)