Our first stop today was the Somerset Heritage Center. These are a few of their samplers.
Notice the wonderful griffin on this one.
The next stop is one of my favorite cities in England: Wells.
This lovely little 'street' is called the Vicar's Close.
The cathedral is absolutely amazing! It was built between 1175 and 1490. Its architecture is entirely Gothic and mostly in the Early English style of the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
The stunning arches in the middle are called scissor arches. These arches were constructed from 1338-48 as an engineering solution to a very real problem. By 1313 a high tower topped by a lead covered wooden spire had been constructed but, as the foundations were not stable, large cracks began to appear in the tower structure. In fear of a total collapse, several attempts at internal strengthening and buttressing were made, until the famous ‘scissor arches’ were put in place by master mason William Joy as a final solution. (Info from http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/)
There is a wonderful clock inside the cathedral (notice the bell ringer in the upper right).
The clock is considered to be the second oldest clock mechanism in Britain, and probably in the world, to survive in original condition and still in use. The original works were made about 1390 and the clock face is the oldest surviving original of its kind anywhere. When the clock strikes every quarter hour, jousting knights rush round above the clock and the Quarter Jack bangs the quarter hours with his heels. (Info from http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/)
The outside clock is equally wonderful and was placed there just over seventy years later and is connected with the inside mechanism.
For more information about this stunning cathedral see this article on Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Cathedral) and the cathedral site (http://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/history/historical-highlights/).
Our last stop was the Wells & Mendip Museum. They had a number of samplers but the lighting conditions were not ideal.
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