WELLS

A compact cathedral city suspended in amber, Wells boasts some of the finest examples of medieval architecture in Europe

- JENNY ROWE

Wells may be lesser-known compared to the Roman spa city of Bath just a 45-minute drive northeast, and Somerset’s town of cheesy renown, Cheddar (25 minutes northwest), yet it warrants just as much attention, as a visit to its magnificent Bishop’s Palace will quickly attest.

Today’s Bishop of Bath and Wells can still call the 800-year-old Bishop’s Palace home, albeit only a small section of it. The vast majority of the palace (and it is vast) is open to the public thanks to the Palace Trust and offers an atmospheric insight into the lives of its earliest inhabitants.

Passing beneath a medieval archway known as the Bishop’s Eye, you are greeted with the less than welcoming but nonetheless impressive sight of the palace’s ramparts, complete with a moat, drawbridge and portcullis. Built by Bishop Ralph in c.1341, its fortifications announced the church’s political influence and authority.

Inside, the grandeur continues, with a large episcopal chapel and the ruins of the Great Hall, both built for Bishop Burnell, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Edward I, at the end of the 13th century. The latter is the third largest secular hall in England after Canterbury and Westminster Palace, highlighting the great power once wielded by England’s littlest city.

Within its grounds, the palace’s 14-acre RHS partner gardens harbour the flowing springs, or wells, from which the city earned its name. Look out for the pair of mute swans that have been resident since the 1850s (in various incarnations) and who are trained to ring a bell at the gatehouse when they want to be fed.