The Vicars' Hall Including Number 28

The Vicars' Hall Including Number 28, Wells

Assembly and dining hall for the Vicars Choral, completed in 1348 for Bishop Ralph. The building was slightly extended by J.M. Parker in the mid-19th century. It is constructed of local coursed rubble stone with Doulting ashlar dressings, and has a Welsh slate roof between stepped coped gables.

The plan is T-shaped. The building is two storeys tall. The north elevations comprise five bays, with the fourth bay projecting as a staircase and Chequer tower. At ground floor level, bays one and two are served by a four-centre moulded-arched throughway. Bay three contains a small two-light flat-headed window with transom, whilst bay five has a pointed-arched doorway with a three-light flat-headed window above. The first floor features an oriel window to bay one, which is four-light with a sub-arcuated transomd window below it and four shield panels beneath, topped by a parapet. To the right is a canopied statue niche followed by two two-light curvilinear-traceried windows with moulded reveals and no labels. Bay five has a three-light oriel of simpler detail, representing a small addition of around 1862.

The tower projects forward across three bays and has corner buttresses rising to less than half-height, a string course, and a battlemented parapet. At ground-floor level is a pointed moulded archway with side columns and capitals to the middle order, with a rectangular slit window above at mezzanine level. At first-floor level is a two-light perpendicular-traceried pointed-arched window without label, part of a small early 15th-century addition over the stairway. In the south-west corner of the tower wing, at its junction with the main block, stands a small octagonal service stair turret with a pyramidal roof. The east return of the stair tower features a matching porch arch, then three non-glazed two-light windows running up the line of the stairs, a small rectangular window under the stairs, and three two-light windows set under a slight lower return parapet.

The south elevation to St Andrew Street is in similar style, but the second bay from the left is now obscured by the Chain Gate, added in 1459. The through passage arch is divided into pedestrian and waggon arches, with a timber gate to the former and a wrought-iron gate, probably 19th century, to the latter. The upper windows are matching two-light curvilinear-traceried windows with an oriel at the east end.

The throughway interior has a lierne vault, with pointed-arched doorways in the centre of the east wall and at the south end of the west wall. The ground-floor rooms, now occupied by the Freemasons and formerly comprising the store-room and cellar, have walls and ceilings said to have been decorated by William Burges.

The staircase porch has a lierne vault of almost fan character. A pair of 18th-century gates stands across the bottom of the stone steps, which feature a heavy wall-mounted handrail, possibly medieval in origin.

The main hall has a plain wooden barrel roof with pilaster panels. The windows contain four-centred rear arches and retain some original stained glass. Other early features include a fireplace with a medieval painting over it, two wooden statues apparently of 14th-century date on the east wall, wall panelling possibly of 15th to 16th-century date, a large bread bin fitting probably from 1348, medieval benches, and two restoration tables. The adjoining kitchen has a stone floor and retains the spit and a Somerset stone sink.

Over the staircase, the Chequer room has an arch-braced collar truss roof with curved windbraces, probably dating from around 1420 to 1440. Features include a fireplace enlarged around 1500, a piscina, a cupboard, and a seal-chest. The windows were unglazed until 1912 and retain their wooden shutters.

Opening off the Chequer room is the Muniment room, which contains circa 1420 filing cabinets in which all the drawers are of slightly different shape and size, ensuring none could be replaced in the wrong position. Similar surviving examples of medieval armoires are recorded at St George's, Windsor Castle, and at Winchester College.