Christ on The Cross

We arranged with our hostess to have breakfast early so that we could attend the Eucharist service on Easter morning in Wells Cathedral. Our hostess was also hoping to attend the service with  her husband (who was not normally home for Easter). When we arrived for breakfast we found that in addition to the fruit platter three Lindt chocolate bunnies had also been placed on the table. After breakfast Mr C dropped mum and I off by the Cathedral so that we could find some seats whilst he parked the car.

Everyone in the congregation was very welcoming. The service, led by the Bishop of Taunton, was moving and uplifting; she gave a sermon on life and death using personal accounts of family deaths and the more recent attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt. At one point in the service, just as the choir responded to the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer, I noticed that, high up in the Cathedral, the figure of Christ on the Cross was fully illuminated by the sun and bright rays of fanned light streaming through a window across the scissor arches where the figure of Christ is situated.

When the service had finished we left through the main doors of the Cathedral which are normally closed and shook hands with the Bishop as we made our way into the Cathedral precinct. At this point Mr C informed me of something that I had completely missed whilst the service was taking place. Whilst the Eucharist was taking place two of the other guests from the B&B had entered the Cathedral through one of the side doors hoping to visit as tourists!!!

The Bishop's Palace

Mum and I went for a cup of tea in the Cathedral cafe whilst Mr C went to fetch my camera and his bag from the boot of his car. When these had been retrieved Mr C joined us for a cup of tea and once we had been suitably refreshed we made our way to the Bishops Palace Garden to see the palace, gardens and chapel. The morning sun was lovely and sunny but there was a chilly wind. When we had finished exploring the Bishops Palace Garden we had lunch in the Cathedral cafe before setting off on a scenic drive through the Chedder Gorge ending up in Wookey Hole where we indulged in ‘naughty’ ice cream.

Monty

After this bit of naughtiness we headed back to Stoberry House so that we could enjoy the parts of the gardens we didn’t view yesterday before it was time to freshen up before dinner. As we wandered round the lower garden Monty accompanied us for a short while before he disappeared further afield.

Through the Ancient Gateway

We dined in Rugatino’s which is an Italian restaurant attached to the Ancient Gatehouse Hotel. The food was good and the service was excellent. As we made our way back to Stoberry House we once again encountered sheep in the road before we could enjoy one last nightcap ahead of our journey home the next morning.

Sweet Dreams

10 Comments CherryPie on Apr 26th 2017

10 Responses to “Wells – Day Three”

  1. The Yum List says:

    I am in awe at how they constructed such magnificent ceilings in the past.

  2. Amfortas says:

    What a splendid place to visit and the Easter service ‘looked’ grand in your word picture. Almost as grand as the beautful ‘framed’ Crucifix flanked by Mary and Joseph (?). What a stunning sight and so deliberate.

    The only ‘downside’ from this old Catholic POV was the lady bishop. I shakes me ‘ead, even while I tips me ‘at to the High Mass and am pleased you had such a pleasant (and Holy) Easter.

    • CherryPie says:

      I quite understand your point of view about lady bishops, even though I have a different view (not because I am or woman or from an Anglican perspective). The best way for me to explain why my view differs is that it is due to my own spiritual journey. And that is a point for a conversation rather than an essay :-)

      It was a High Mass, with due reverence and the service was Grand. There are no services like this locally (or at least I have not found one yet). I go on personal pilgrimage journeys to seek out ‘Holy’ services…

      The figure of Christ on the Cross is accompanied by Mary his mother on the left and his disciple John on the right. I wish you could have seen the display of the fanned rays of light across this figure of Christ on Easter morning. It was a take your breath away sort of a moment.

  3. Chrysalis says:

    Oh Cherie – the photo of the light on Christ the cross is just beautiful :) I think you should send it in for photo competition, it’s magnificent! :)

    PS – I also loved the photo of your tour guide, Monty the Catty Cat Cat (because I love all fur babies) and the photo of the garden/grounds and pond from the post below, but that photo of the light on Christ on the Christ is a once-in-a-lifetime shot, just beautiful, very moving. Thank you for sharing it with us!

    • CherryPie says:

      The image of Christ on the Cross is beautiful and magnificent, you would have loved to see the display of fanned light on Easter morning.

      Monty is delightful, I was sad to hear he had been so ill. But he had recovered enough to escort the house guest around his garden ;-)

  4. He he… You’re not going to believe this!
    I still haven’t been inside this cathedral before.

    Just outside ;)
    Maybe next time.

    • CherryPie says:

      The inside is well worth a visit.

      Knowing how you like to get into places for free… you should visit over Easter weekend when normal admission charges are wavered. We chose to donate when visited (not when we attended the service) over that weekend.

      • Ha ha.. I didn’t even know you have to pay to get into this cathedral!
        There are quite a lot of them that require you to pay in the West Country.
        Salisbury, Gloucester, Bath Abbey, etc. Ha ha… It must be a local thing.

        • CherryPie says:

          Most Cathedrals require an entrance fee from visitors.

          I am quite happy to pay to enter them (as a visitor) because if they had no money the buildings would fall into disrepair.

          The only Cathedral that I have visited that does not require an entrance fee is Durham. This Cathedral does not allow photographs to be taken inside and there is no option to pay for a photography permit!