History

Wells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.

The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace and Wells Cathedral. During the Middle Ages these wells were thought to have curative powers.

Although the population, recorded in the 2001 census, is only 10,406, it has had city status since 1205.