The New Murrey and Blue blog

We’re often told that the medieval period was one of bright colours. The interiors of castles and great houses were painted with vivid scenes, and the churches and cathedrals were brilliantly decorated. It’s one thing to know this, but quite another to actually see what it might have been like. The above illustration of Wells Cathedral shows how it might have appeared prior to the 14th/15th century addition of the two West Front towers we know today and that Stillington would have seen. It really is quite incredible.

The picture below is how Turner saw the cathedral in 1795, after Monmouth’s rebels stripped it of lead for ammunition, when it was more or less as we see it now.