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The Church of St Cuthbert is an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
parish church in
Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, England, dating from the 13th century. It is often mistaken for the
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
. It has a fine Somerset stone tower and a superb carved roof. It is a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.


History

The dedication of the church to
St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...
suggests
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
origins. Originally an Early English building (13th century), from which the arcade pillars survive, it was much altered in the
Perpendicular Period Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...
(15th century), when the
clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
and angel roof were added to the seven-bay aisled nave. It is built of Doulting ashlar stone to most of the south side. The north side is rubble with ashlar dressings. The north transept (St Catherine's Chapel) has the remains of its 13th century
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...
on the east wall, which was rediscovered in 1848. The south transept which is otherwise known as The Lady Chapel has another stone reredos dating from 1470, based on the Tree of Jesse theme. Until 1561 the church had a central tower which either collapsed or was removed, as a result of alterations to the structure and decoration of the church in line with the changes in theological and liturgical practice during the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. It has been replaced with the current tower over the west door. Bells were cast for the tower by Roger Purdy. The present tower, the third highest in Somerset, is of 3 stages, with the top stage occupying half the total height. The height to the battlements is 123 feet (37 metres), and when the top stones of the pinnacles are included, the total height is 151 feet (46 metres). The nave's coloured ceiling was repainted in 1963 at the instigation of the then Vicar's wife, Mrs Barnett. During the restoration works in the 1960s a 15th-century carved and panelled ceiling was found above the side chapel which had been covered with plaster during the 18th or 19th century. In 1975 a lightning strike caused one of the tower pinnacles to fall through the roof of the nave and damage the nave floor. The replacement pinnacle remained much paler than the other three for some years. There is a carved wood pulpit of 1636, with an elaborate stair and two carved coats of arms, of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
, and Charles II.


Organ

The church contains a pipe organ originally by Henry Lincoln dating from 1820. It was rebuilt by William Sweetland of Bath in 1864, George Osmond of Taunton in 1959 and Percy Daniel in 1984. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.


Filming location

The church played an important role in the feature film '' Hot Fuzz'', which was filmed largely in Wells (which became the fictional town of Sandford); most notably the church fete scene where Adam Buxton's character is killed by a falling part of the church tower masonry. In the early 1970s a lightning strike caused a pinnacle to fall through the nave roof, which may have inspired the scene.


Parishes

* Wells St Cuthbert In * Wells St Cuthbert Out


See also

*
List of ecclesiastical parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells The ecclesiastical parishes within the Diocese of Bath and Wells cover the majority of the ceremonial counties of England, English county of Somerset and small areas of Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The cathedra, episcopal seat ...


References


External links


St Cuthbert's Church, Wells website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Church Of Saint Cuthbert 13th-century church buildings in England 15th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in Somerset St. Cuthbert's Church Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District Church of England church buildings in Mendip District