Penniless Porch

The Penniless Porch, located on Market Place in Wells, dates from around 1450 and was built by Bishop Bekynton, serving as a gateway to Cathedral Green. Constructed from Doulting ashlar stone with a lead roof, the structure communicates with and is used by the occupants of the adjacent property at No. 16.

The porch is three stories high and features a single bay, visible on its west and north sides. It incorporates a plinth, moulded strings between floors, and a battlemented parapet. A distinctive octagonal turret is located at the south-west corner. The west face showcases a four-centred arch adorned with rosettes and carved spandrels bearing the initials “TB” (Thomas Bekynton) interwoven with foliage. Above the arch are two windows on the first floor; a double-light and a single-light window featuring cinquefoil cusping to ogee tracery under flat heads. Between the windows is a carved angel figure holding a coat of arms, with additional shields set within cusped recesses below the windows. The second floor has two panelled windows with two lights each, underpanelled, with worn statue niches situated between them and to either side.

The north face features a simpler four-centred arch with an arched label. A corbelled panelled feature is visible in the northwest corner at first floor level, and a double-ogee arched statue recess is to the left. The upper floors are otherwise rough-rendered and plain, with a string course and a battlemented parapet. An angled buttress is present at the northeast corner, alongside a rendered lean-to building set in front of the main east section.

Two doorways are found within the south wall: one plain four-centred, and the other a late 18th-century pedimented feature with an elaborate lierne vault.

Internally, there is a single room on each of the three upper levels. The first floor displays 17th-century panelling with pilasters, including panelling to seats within the window embrasures. A bolection-mould fireplace is located on the east wall. A recess, possibly a former garderobe, is situated behind a 17th-century door in a four-centred arch in the southeast corner. A spiral staircase in the southwest corner has stone treads for the lower flight and wooden treads for the upper flight. The upper room features a two-bay arch-braced roof with wind-bracing, with large moulded brackets or corbels on the south side and a small cusped lancet window.

Historically, the porch is named for its association with beggars seeking alms, with a stone bench running along the east wall.