THE  MISERICORDS  OF  WELLS  CATHEDRAL

The 64 misericords at Wells constitute the largest set in the West Country. It was on the vigil of St Martin in 1325 that the dean, John de Godelee, and the chapter ordained that new stalls should be constructed to replace the old ones which were decayed, and that the cost was to be borne by the canons themselves. In 1337 many of the non-resident canons had still not paid their share and so these defaulters were taxed to raise the £200 still required. The stalls remained in the cathedral for five hundred years until the Nineteenth Century when it was decided to replace them. Their destruction in 1848 was a tragic loss to all those who have any respect for antiquity, but luckiliy many of the misericords themselves escaped destruction by being built into the new stalls.