Historically, if a community in England's has a cathedral it is called a city. That's why often you will find small towns in England called a city. The smallest of this is Wells in south west England.
在英格蘭你可能發現一些細小的市鎮稱為城市，因為傳統上如果一個市鎮有一家大教堂，它就可以自稱為城市。 位於西南部的韋爾斯就是英格蘭最細小的城市。
If you go to Wells, you have to visit the Cathedral which was built between 1175 to 1490. However, prior to that an old church had already been on the same spot since 705. The cathedral was the first to be built using what was then a new architectural style from France, this later became to be known as the new Gothic style.
The front of the cathedral is called the West Front and is 100 feet (30 m) high and 147 feet (45 m) wide. Built of limestone, they think it used to be painted in bright colours as previously flakes of paint were found on the surface. Some say the colourful front made the cathedral look like a gigantic picture book. If that was true, it would have been even more beautiful than it is today.
如果你到韋爾斯一定要參觀在1175年至1490年建成的大教堂。 其實早在705年同一地點已有一座教堂，所以這個城市的歷史十分悠久。 當時建造這座大教堂用了從法國傳入的新派建築風格，就是我們現在熟悉的新哥德風格。
教堂的前面高100英尺(30米) 闊147英尺(45米) 用石灰石建造。 過往專家在石的表面發現一些未剝落的彩色漆油，相信這座大教堂可能曾經油上七彩鮮艷的顏色。如果是真的話，它應該是像一本很大的彩圖繪本，比我們現今看到的大教堂更漂亮。
The West Front has a magnificent display of statues and represents the finest medieval carving in England. Originally there were around four hundred but now only three hundred remain. They include angels, the twelve apostles, and many other religious figures including of course Jesus and Virgin Mary. Many of these statues are life-sized or larger.
大教堂的前面曾經有四百多座石灰石的雕像，可惜現在只剩下三百多座。這些雕像手工精細，栩栩如生，有不少比真人還要高。雕像有不同的宗教人物，例如小天使，十二門徒，當然還有耶穌及聖母像。 這一系列的雕像可說是英格蘭中世紀時代，最出色的手工雕像。
I arrived at Wells quite late in the afternoon and couldn't get inside the cathedral, but I have something better for you. This beautiful street next to the Cathedral is Vicars' Close, and was built over 650 years ago. It is very well preserved and said to be the only completely medieval street in the UK.
我到達韋爾斯時，時間已不早，錯過了參觀大教堂。但我想跟你分享另外一個景點。 這是已經有超過650年歷史的牧師街 。它保存得非常好，傳說是全英國唯一一條只有中世紀時代建築物的街道。
Forty four houses were originally built for the vicars of the cathedral hence the name of the street, but now only 27 are inhabited. The most stunning feature of this street are the iconic chimney shafts. Originally the houses had normal chimneys, but by the mid 15th century the Vicars had started to burn coal instead of wood and it is believed that the chimneys were extended for this reason. You can see the original chimneys and the extension if you look carefully. Another interesting feature of this street is that it looks longer from one end than the other. That's because the width of the street at one end is narrower by 10 feet. I took the photos above and below from different ends of the street. Do you see the difference in street length?
街上原本建有44間給大教堂的牧師居住的房子， 因而得名 。現在只剩下27家有人居住。 街上最令人驚嘆的特色，是高高的煙囪。在15世紀牧師由燒柴改為燒炭取暖，相信是這原因所以加建變這些高聳的煙囪。 牧師街另一個特色是由一邊向前望，街頭會比從另一邊回望時顯得更遠。 原來街上的寬度有一邊是比另外一邊窄了十英尺，才會引至這個效果。你從這兩張照片的街頭距離長短，可以看的出嗎?
Wells also has many other interesting historical architectures such as Bishops Palace. This is the main entrance and as soon as you walk towards it you already feel that you're walking back into the medieval times.
韋爾斯城市還有不少其他很有歷史價值的建築物例如主教皇宮。 從這座皇宮大門進入，馬上已感覺到像要回到中世紀時代。
There is a moat surrounding the palace but you can't see it in this photo and they were doing restoration works which made it very messy so I didn't take any phots. Next you have to go through the gatehouse.
皇宮週邊有一條護城河，當時正在進行維修工程沒有拍照。要過護城河就要經過這道護城閘才能進入主教皇宮範圍。
This is the Croquet Lawn, and the 800 year old Bishop Palace on the left. It was winter time and they were nearly closing for the day so there weren't many people about.
主教皇官在左邊。當時是冬天而且時候不早，遊客比較少。
This is the ruins of The Great Hall. The Great Hall was built around 1290 and was used by the Bishop to entertain guests. It was a massive building which reflected the power held by the Bishop during his time and from the beautiful tall arch windows one can imagine its grandeur in its heydays. Sadly, it fell into disrepair over the years and most of the walls had to be demolished.
這是大禮堂，建於大約13世紀末。是主教用來宴客的地方。 禮堂的大小可以反映出當時主教的地位及勢力。從那高昂的拱形窗戶，我們可以想像當時這個大禮堂是何等的宏偉。 可惜經過多年來的風吹雨打，現在大禮堂是只剩下這一面牆壁。
There is so much more to England's smallest city Wells, such as wandering through the quaint streets and visiting the pub which used to be the The Olde City Jail, but I'll leave you to explore that for yourself.
英格蘭最細小的城市韋爾斯其實還有很多景點值得去看。例如走走這些別緻的街道，或者探訪這家以前是監獄的酒吧。這些景點我就留給你們自己去探索吧!
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Wow it's a very interesting fact....I think not many people will know about these small cities in England....thanks for sharing and great photography.
Thanks for reading
Nice write up. Well done.
Upvoted! :)
Thanks
How long have you been in the UK? How long on steemit?
I'm from UK hence my username, and have been on Steemit since July. Hope you are enjoying it on Steemit
Really big cathedral and surroundings. But why is it the smallest city? Land size? Or population?
It should be by population, but if your google it the City of London is actually listed as the smallest city in England. However, since Wells have the sign up in their city, I figured I'd go with it
Traveled a lot in UK but never made it to Wells. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing info and shots.
PS - couldn't find this post on worldmap?
My neck of the woods so very convenient for me.
I forgot! Can you believe that?! When I didn't see an auto response I thought the map was down again!
I see it now - friends live about an hour south, are hoping to visit them next year so will add it to our to-do list!
英國的城市不是行政區域嗎？有教堂就可以變成城市啊？
英國的城市景觀真的好美，像是生活在中古世紀，好有感覺。
要大教堂才可以，一般的教堂不可以。
大教堂的主持人在教會級數較高，所以以前一個地區有大教堂地位就不一樣。但這個稱呼現在是有名無實，跟行政管理沒關係。
I was there and i have to admit you describe the place pretty well :)
Thanks! When did you go? Did you see any other places?
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Despite being the smallest city in England, the cathedral and surrounding buildings are impressive. The landscape is really nice
It is in deed a very beautiful little city.
If you did not write about the difference of the street length I would have never realize on my own. That feature is remarkable enough, The architecture of this small city is very attractive and very well preserved. Very informative post Thanks for sharing
You're welcome.
I really liked the Vicars' Close and I think they have a major restoration program going on at the Cathedral right now as the limestone statues are rather difficult to perserve
in Uk they look efficient in preserving their architecture don't they?
Once you they're gone, they're gone forever, so I think its very important to preserve the past
I agree with you it is very important
有意思 虽然是最小的城市 看上去好像景点还挺多呢
麻雀雖小，五臟俱全
好迷人。。。也没感觉那么小
以城市來講，比大城市如倫敦當然是很小。但以一個鎮，還可以。有足夠景點花大半天。
Ahahah I need to practice my Mandarin in Taiwan!!! This is much more difficult than my friends on we chat!
Beautiful photography!!! So, I have a question. You wrote "Forty four houses were originally built for the vicars of the cathedral hence the name of the street, but now only 27 are inhabited." <--- Could you imagine yourself living in these houses in the 15th century?
I think back in those days it would have been quite nice as the church would have looked after you well
Stunning photographs. The architecture is unbelievable. You have definitely captured these buildings in a beautiful way. It's too bad it has fallen into disrepair. I love the little pub! Great post! Following you now!
Thank you!!!
Thank you for the information