The Wells, Bishop's Palace Gardens - Wells - geograph

Wells St Andrew, or St Andrew Liberty, or derivations thereof, was a

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, and later a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, containing

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

(which is dedicated to

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

) and surrounding land, in

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

Bishop Jocelin established the area as a liberty, so as to be free from civil jurisdiction, in 1207.Somerset County Council
Somerset Historic Environment Record: Wells Liberty The liberty was founded to provide housing for the canons of the cathedral, who were secular clergy. The Liberty encompassed broadly situated to the east of the city centre of

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 ...

. 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 Vicars' Close. The Bishop's Palace was already surrounded by walls, but in 1286 Bishop Burnell obtained a

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...

, so as to build gated walls around the wider cathedral close and adjacent residential complex of canons; this licence was repeated in 1340 for Bishop

Ralph of Shrewsbury Ralph of Shrewsbury (died 1363) was an English medieval bishop and university chancellor. Life From 1328 to 1329, Ralph was Chancellor of the University of Oxford. On 2 June 1329 Ralph was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells and consecrated on 3 ...

. The building of the walls is believed to have filled a number of roles, including defending the ecclesiastical territory in a time of hostilities between religious and civic authorities, displaying the authority of the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

, and possibly also in part as an element in the landscaping of the cathedral close and palace. Access to this walled area was controlled by a number of gatehouses and other gateways; many of these buildings still exist: the Bishop's Eye, Brown's Gatehouse, the

Chain Gate The Chain Gate ( ar, باب السلسلة, ) is one of the gates to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compund on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was previously known as David's Gate. It was also known as ( Gate of the Law Court), named afte ...

, the Penniless Porch (all four constructed under Bishop Beckington, c. 1450-60) and the gateways at both ends of Vicars' Close. Much of the walls remain extant too, though in places have been reduced in height or have purposeful gaps. In places buildings formed the walled perimeter, especially facing the city centre; a notable gap in this built-up perimeter now exists opposite the Swan Hotel on Saddler Street, which allows for the hotel a direct view of the cathedral and a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

by the Cathedral Green. The Liberty included further surrounding land and property owned by and with close connections to the cathedral, its bishop, and its clergy. Parts of the Liberty not within its walled precinct consisted of much the present-day site of the

Wells Cathedral School Wells Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school located in Wells, Somerset, England. The school is one of the five specialist musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom, along with Chetham's School of Music, the ...

, as well as a small area of the city centre including the Town Hall, some surrounding buildings and down to the Bishop's Barn on Silver Street. The Town Hall was originally the site of one of the canon's houses.English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey
(2003) ''An archaeological assessment of Wells'' p 20 The residents of the Liberty had specific rights in relation to seating in the cathedral and were exempt from contributing to the fees for upkeep of the city. The giving of

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...

to the poor attracted beggars into the Liberty which annoyed the residents in the 17th and 18th centuries. There were also conflicts over jurisdiction between the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral and the city authorities.

19th and 20th centuries

Its population was recorded by national censuses carried out from 1801 to 1931, and during this period was generally between 300 and 400 residents. Wells St Andrew became a civil parish in 1866 which subsequently merged in 1933 with

Wells St Cuthbert In Wells St Cuthbert In, sometimes St Cuthbert In, was a civil parish covering the larger part of the small city of Wells, in Somerset, England. The parish was named for the Church of St Cuthbert, Wells and was created in 1866. The historic ecclesi ...

to form the present-day civil parish of Wells, which covers all of the city; local government for Wells in this period was provided largely by Wells

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

Present-day

The area of the former liberty retains a distinct character within the present-day city of Wells, and is still largely owned by the diocese, though with many areas open to the public (including the Bishop's Palace and gardens). Through the northern part are streets named The Liberty (historically "North Liberty") and East Liberty.

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps continue to label the area with "St Andrew".

References

{{coord, 51.2104, -2.642, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Wells Cathedral Former civil parishes in Somerset Liberties of England Diocese of Bath and Wells History of Somerset