Wells is the ‘City of Bells’. The bells from St Thomas, St Cuthbert and the cathedral all ring on the hour. Wells Cathedral has the world’s heaviest ring of 10 bells. The famous astronomical clock in the north transept of the cathedral is considered to be the second-oldest clock in the British Isles. When it strikes every 15 minutes, jousting knights rush around the clock, while the ‘quarter Jack’ bangs the quarter hours with his heels.
A photograph and text about the Quarter Jacks, Wells Cathedral.
The text reads: This photo shows the clock face situated on the outside wall of Wells Cathedral and was installed in the 15th century. It has two Quarter Jacks in the form of knights in armour which every 15 minutes rotate to ring the bells hanging above them. It is driven by the same mechanism as the astronomical clock inside the cathedral.
An original map of Wells from Ordnance Survey dated 1831.
A painting and text about St Cuthberts Mill – Salle.
The text reads: The ‘Salle’ comes from the French word for large hall and some of the wooden brackets used for storing the paper are the original ones from when the mill opened in 1738. This limited edition artwork was created by local artist Kim Lintern. It is printed on St Cuthberts paper and is one of a series of 10 artworks that the mill commissioned from Kim.
A painting and text about St Cuthberts Mill – cylinder mould machine.
The text reads: This limited edition artwork was created by local artist Kim Lintern. It is printed on St Cuthberts paper and is one of a series of 10 artworks that the mills commissioned from Kim. St Cuthberts Mill is fortunate to have one of the few remaining cylinder mould machines left in the world. It is now over 100 years old and was originally built in 1907.
A photograph of the limestone quarry at Dulcote near Wells, photographed by manager William Bailey c1910.
Old prints and photographs of Wells Cathedral.
A photograph entitled View from Draycott Steep II, by Jake Vincent.
External photograph of the building – main entrance.
If you have information on the history of this pub, then we’d like you to share it with us. Please e-mail all information to: pubhistories@jdwetherspoon.co.uk