The first church was established here in 705 AD. It was dedicated to Saint Andrew. The only remains of this first church are some excavated foundations which can be seen in the cloisters. The baptismal font in the south transept is the oldest surviving part of the cathedral which is dated to c.700 AD.
Two centuries later, the seat of the diocese was shifted to Wells from Sherborne. The first Bishop of Wells was Athelm (circa 909), who crowned King Athelstan. Athelm and his nephew Saint Dunstan both became Archbishops of Canterbury. It was also around this time that Wells Cathedral School was founded.
The present structure was begun under the direction of Bishop Reginald de Bohun, who died in 1184.
Wells Cathedral dates mainly from the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries; the nave and transept are masterpieces of Early English architecture. It was largely complete at the time of its dedication in 1239.
The bishop responsible for the construction was Jocelyn de Wells, one of the bishops at the signing of Magna Carta. Jocelyn's buildings included the Bishop's Palace, a choristers' school, a grammar school, a hospital for travellers and a chapel. He also built a manor at Wookey, near Wells. The master mason associated with Jocelyn was Elias of Dereham (died 1246). Jocelyn lived to see the church dedicated but, despite much lobbying of Rome, died in 1242. Cathedral status was granted in 1245. Masons continued with the enrichment of the West Front until about 1260.
King John was excommunicated between 1209 and 1213. During this time, work on the cathedral was suspended. In this period, building methods advanced so that bigger blocks of masonry could be moved and put into the walls. The effect of this advance can be seen on the walls of the cathedral; at a point in the building's walls, the blocks of stone increase in size.
By the time the building was finished, including the Chapter House (1306),
it already seemed too small for the developing liturgy, in particular the increasingly grand processions. A new spate of building was therefore started by Bishop John Drokensford. He heightened the central tower and began a dramatic eight-sided Lady chapel at the far east end, finished by 1326. Thomas of Whitney was the master mason.
Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury followed. He continued the eastward extension of the quire. He also built Vicars' Close and the Vicars' Hall, to give the men of the choir a secure place to live and dine, away from the town with all its temptations.
He enjoyed an uneasy relationship with the citizens of Wells, partly because of his imposition of taxes. He surrounded his palace with crenellated walls and a moat and drawbridge. The Palace was now a castle.
The appointment of William Wynford as master mason in 1365 marked another period of activity. He was one of the foremost architects of his time and, apart from Wells, was engaged in work for the king at Windsor and at New College, Oxford University and Winchester Cathedral. Under Bishop John Harewell, he built the south-west tower of the West Front and designed the north west, which was built to match in the early 15th century. Inside the building he filled in the early English lancet windows with delicate tracery.
In the fourteenth century, the central piers (upright supports) of the crossing (where the building forms a cross) started sinking under the weight of the crossing tower. 'Scissor arches' were inserted to brace and stabilize the piers as a unit. The building was now complete, and it looked much as it does today.
Santa Maria Assunta (Siena)
Siena Cathedral (Italian "Duomo di Siena", officially Santa Maria Assunta) is a Cathedral in Siena, Italy. It is the seat of the archbishop of Siena. The cathedral was built between 1215 and 1263. The was another church there beforehand. The Cathedral is known all over Italy for its "stripes". These were made by using different kinds of stone. It is also a unfinished building as well.
Caen
Caen ( pronounced "can" (/kɑ̃/);) is a city in France. It is the capital city of Basse-Normandie and Calvados. The river Orne flows through it. Today, about 110,000 people live there ("intra muros", inside the city); the urban area has about 370,000 people. The city has a very long history; the name probably has Gaulish origins (from "cato" Military activity; and "mago" field; probably something like "place where the troops exercised"). A campus of the École de management de Normandie is in the city.
Caen is twinned with:
St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral
St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral is the Cathedral in Brussels. It is named in honour of St. Michael and St. Gudula. In Dutch it is called Sint-Michiels- en Sint-Goedelekathedraal, usually shortened to "Sint-Goedele". In French it is called Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule.It is the main church of the bishop of Brussels and Mechelen.
There already was a shrine (or chapel) to Saint Michael there in the 8th century. The Cathedral was begun in 1226. Building finished when the belltower (or belfry) was done, at the end of the 15th century. The cathedral is built in Gothic style. As it is the main Church of the Kingom of Belgium, there are often royal ceremonies (marriages, funerals) there.
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral (official French: Notre-Dame de Strasbourg,German: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg, Our Lady of Strasbourg) is the Cathedral in Strasbourg. The cathedral was built in Gothic style. The belltower is 142 m high. It was the highest building in the world from 1647 to 1874. It is currently the second-highest cathedral in France, after Rouen Cathedral, which is 9m higher, at 151m. In 1880, Cologne Cathedral was finished (157m), and later Ulm minster (at 161m), the highest Cathedral in the World.
Considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture. Nevertheless, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late, Gothic architecture. Erwin von Steinbach is credited for major contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318.
Victor Hugo described it as a "gigantic and delicate marvel". The cathedral is visible far across the plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine.
An Al-Qaeda plot to bomb the adjacent Christmas market was prevented in 2000 by French and German police.
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Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is an Anglican church in Ely, Cambridgeshire. It is the main church of the diocese of Ely, and the seat of the Bishop of Ely. The city of Ely is about 20 km north of Cambridge.
The Cathedral is known locally as "the Ship of the Fens", because of its prominent shape which towers above the surrounding flat landscape. The fens were once wet and marshy: a wetland habitat. The Fenland in East Anglia includes Ely, but is today mainly drained. It is now low-lying farmland.
The first Christian building on the site was founded by Etheldreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia.She set up and ruled a monastery at Ely in 673, and, when she died, a shrine was built there to her memory.
The present cathedral was started by Abbot Simeon (1082–1094) in 1083. The Anglo-Saxon church was demolished, but some of its relics, such as the remains of its benefactors, were moved to the cathedral. The main transepts were built early on, crossing the nave below a central tower, and are the oldest surviving part of the cathedral. Construction work continued throughout the 12th century. The Western transepts and tower were completed in an exuberant Romanesque style with a rich decoration of intersecting arches and complex mouldings.