ber of
quite majestic proportions, covered by a wooden roof and lighted on
either side by some tall 2-light Dec. windows. At the W. end stood the
buttery and above it the solar (a "sunny" drawing-room). The palace
appears to have been sold by Bishop Barlow to Protector Somerset, and
upon the dispersal of Somerset's ill-gotten gains it passed into the
hands of Sir J. Gates, who unroofed the building for the sake of its
lead and timber. The ruin of the fabric was completed by Dean Burgess
(_temp._ Cromwell), who used it as a quarry for the repair of the
Deanery. A kind of poetic justice eventually overtook both these
depredators. Gates lost his head and Burgess his liberty. A
particularly picturesque bit of the palace is the N. face overlooking
the moat. The dead surface of the wall is prettily broken by some
projecting oriel windows, the insertion of Bishop Clarke (1523-40). The
gardens are delightful, and are watered by St Andrew's well which
gushes from its hidden sources to overflow into the moat. A visitor may
occasionally enjoy the mild sensation of seeing a bevy of swans ring a
bell for their dinner. To the right of the broad public walk which runs
along the W. side of the moat is the city recreation ground in which
will be noticed the old episcopal barn. It is a good example of a
mediaeval granary, and is said to be of the same age as the N.W. tower
of the Cathedral. It has an unusual number of buttresses.

[Illustration: THE PALACE GATEWAY, WELLS]

It is the misfortune, not the fault, of the subordinate churches of a
cathedral city that they arouse but a languid interest in the already
surfeited sight-seer. Wells has one other church which merits more than
a passing attention. St Cuthbert's is a Perp. building of generous
dimensions. It possesses an exceedingly fine tower of the best Somerset
type--massive and graceful--belonging to the same class as the towers
of Wrington and Evercreech, but spoilt by a want of proportion between
the upper and lower stages. The interior of the church is spacious and
imposing, and contains a good panelled roof. The E.E. capitals of the
piers and some old roof marks suggest that it was originally an E.E.
cruciform fabric, altered by Perp. builders, and heightened by the
erection of a clerestory. There is documentary evidence that a "public
collection" was made in 1561 to repair the havoc caused by the collapse
of the central tower. The transeptal chapels were once brilliant with