St Cuthbert, Wells
St Cuthbert, Wells
The Church of St Cuthbert on St Cuthbert Street is the Grade I parish church of Wells, Somerset, a large thirteenth- and fifteenth-century church often mistaken for Wells Cathedral, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
- Location
- Wells, Somerset
- Country
- England
- County
- Somerset
- City / town
- Wells
- Address
- St Cuthbert Street, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2AW
- Postcode
- BA5 2AW
- Built
- C13 nave arcades; C15 Perpendicular exterior, clerestory and west tower; crossing tower lost 1561
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Cuthbert
- Diocese
- Bath and Wells
- Parish
- St Cuthbert, Wells
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Early English and Perpendicular
- Materials
- Doulting ashlar (south); rubble with ashlar dressings (north)
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
The Cuthbert dedication suggests a Saxon origin. Historic England and the listing description record a thirteenth-century Early English fabric, of which the nave arcade pillars survive, recast in the fifteenth century with a Perpendicular exterior, clerestory and angel roof over a seven-bay aisled nave. The south side is largely Doulting ashlar; the north is rubble with ashlar dressings. A central crossing tower collapsed or was taken down in 1561 during Reformation alterations; the present three-stage west tower, the third highest in Somerset, rises 123 feet to the battlements and 151 feet to the pinnacles. The north transept (St Catherine’s Chapel) retains a thirteenth-century reredos rediscovered in 1848; the south transept (Lady Chapel) has a Jesse reredos of 1470. A 1636 carved pulpit bears the arms of Charles I and Charles II. The coloured nave ceiling was restored in 1963. The church is the parish church of Wells St Cuthbert, not the cathedral.