Wells Cathedral

The extent to which the design of Wells Cathedral was a breakaway from Romanesque can be appreciated by comparison with contemporary work at St. David's. Well's multishafted columns are crowned by capitals which include figures of birds, animals and men as well as foliage. Much of this delight in carving was the result of the adoption of the pointed chisel, replacing the Norman axe, but the spirit of the new departure is also different, and Wells can fairly claim to be the prototype of Gothic.