page_title: Vicars' Close, Wells
section_title: Vicars' Chapel and Library
hierarchical_section_title: Vicars' Close, Wells / Vicars' Chapel and Library
caption_attribution_description: English: The Vicars Chapel, Vicars Close - Wells Situated at the end of the cul-de-sac that is Vicars Close, is a former private chapel that is now used as a schoolroom. It was built for Bishop Bubwith or Bishop Stafford in c.1424-1430. Grade I Listed.
context_page_description: Vicars' Close, in Wells, Somerset, England, is claimed to be the oldest purely residential street with original buildings surviving intact in Europe.John Julius Norwich called it "that rarest of survivals, a planned street of the mid-14th century". It comprises numerous Grade I listed buildings,
  comprising 27 residences, built for Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury, a chapel and library at the north end, and a hall at the south end, over an arched gate. It is connected at its southern end to the cathedral by way of a walkway over Chain Gate.
  The Close is about 460 feet long, and paved with setts. Its width is tapered by 10 feet to make it look longer when viewed from the main entrance nearest the cathedral. When viewed from the other end it looks shorter. By the nineteenth century the buildings were reported to be in a poor state of repair, and part of the hall was being used as a malt house. Repairs have since been carried out including the construction of Shrewsbury House to replace buildings damaged in a fire.
  The Vicars' Hall was completed in 1348 and included a communal dining room, administrative offices and treasury of the Vicars Choral.
context_section_description: The chapel was built between 1424 and 1430 at the north end of the close. It is eight degrees out of alignment with the rest of the close. This is because the northern wall of the chapel was built on top of the old wall enclosing the Liberty of St Andrew. The Liberty encompassed 52 acres (21 ha) broadly situated to the east of the city centre of Wells. The main part of the Liberty formed a walled precinct within the city (which was otherwise not walled) and this included Wells Cathedral, the Cathedral Green, the Bishop's Palace, the Old Deanery, and the Vicars' Close. To compensate for the misalignment of the chapel the roof slopes to the west so that it appears level from the close.
  Most of the Vicars' Chapel is rubble masonry however the south face which can be seen from the close is of white Conglomerate quarried locally. The shields on the wall are those of Nicholas Bubwith, suggesting that construction was started during his reign as bishop between 1407 and 1424, and John Stafford who was bishop from 1424 until 1443 suggesting that construction was completed under his episcopate. The lower floor was a chapel, and a spiral stair led up to the library. The chapel was dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Katherine. It is now used by the chaplain of Wells Cathedral School. The interior is decorated with 19th century gesso work by Heywood Sumner.
caption: Vicars' Chapel and Library
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