Chain Gate, Wells
{{Short description|Gateway in Wells, Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
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| image = Chain Gate, Wells.JPG
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| completion_date = c1460
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The Chain Gate in Wells, Somerset, England, is an entrance gateway adjacent to the north side of Wells Cathedral, controlling access from St Andrew Street to the Cathedral Green within the Liberty of St Andrew. It is a Grade I listed building. It was built around 1460 to link the cathedral to Vicars' Close.
History
The Chain Gate was built around 1460 for Bishop Thomas Beckington,{{cite book |last1=Tudsbery-Turner |first1=Stephen |title=Wells Through Time |date=2011 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |isbn=9781445632063 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUmoAwAAQBAJ&q=Chain+Gate%2C+Wells&pg=PT22}} to provide easy access to and from the cathedral and Vicars' Close which had been built for the Vicars Choral.{{cite book |title=Somerset: The complete guide |last=Bush |first=Robin |authorlink=Robin Bush (historian) |year=1994 |publisher=Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=978-1874336266 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/221 221–222] |url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush/page/221 }} The Chain Gate enabled the vicars to enter the cathedral for services or meetings in the chapter house without entering the public realm or cope with inclement weather.{{cite news |last1=Goodall |first1=John |title=In the cathedral's shadow: The Cathedral Close, Wells |url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/in-the-cathedrals-shadow-the-cathedral-close-wells-171689 |accessdate=26 March 2020 |work=Country Life |date=28 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129032052/http://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/in-the-cathedrals-shadow-the-cathedral-close-wells-171689 |archive-date=29 January 2018 |url-status=live }}
An undated sketch by Henry Edridge (1768–1821) shows the Chain Gate in the late 18th or early 19th century, with a much taller wall than exists today alongside the road approaching the gate.{{cite web|last=Edridge|first=Henry|title=Henry EdridgeWells. A Gothic Gateway and Old Houses, the Tower of the Cathedral Just Visible|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/edridge-wells-a-gothic-gateway-and-old-houses-the-tower-of-the-cathedral-just-visible-t10102|publisher=Tate|accessdate=25 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233049/http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/edridge-wells-a-gothic-gateway-and-old-houses-the-tower-of-the-cathedral-just-visible-t10102|archive-date=2 December 2013|url-status=live}}
Architecture
The Chain Gate is a two-storey building of Doulting stone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof.{{National Heritage List for England |num=1382904 |desc=The Chain Gate, with approach staircase|accessdate=26 March 2020}} The lower level comprises a wagon gate flanked on both sides by pedestrian gates. The upper level provides a passageway between the Chapter House of the cathedral and Vicars' Close.{{cite web|title=The Chain Gate, with approach staircase|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/15283|work=Somerset Historic Environment Record|publisher=Somerset County Council|accessdate=20 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003094909/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/15283|archive-date=3 October 2016|url-status=live}} It is supported by three arches, one for carts (now cars) and two for pedestrians. There is a slight bend within the passageway as the entrance to the cathedral, via the approach staircase past the Chapter House, and that in Vicars Hall were not exactly opposite each other. It is topped by a battlemented parapet. In the walls are niches with statues of saints.{{cite book |last1=Dearmer |first1=Percy |title=Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells. A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See |date=2010 |publisher=Library of Alexandria |isbn=9781465542700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o3Tdcg7W9UEC&q=Chain+Gate%2C+Wells&pg=PT80}} It also shows the arms of Bishop Beckington on a shield.{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Thomas Larkins |title=The History and Antiquities of the Vicars Close Wells, Sommersetshire |date=1836 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bc5cAAAAcAAJ&q=Chain+Gate&pg=PP20}}
References
{{Commons category|Chain Gate, Wells}}
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Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1460
Category:Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District