What is Wells, Somerset?
[[File:Wells-14-Vicar's Close-Hauseingang-1989-gje.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Vicar's Close]] '''Wells''' is a city in the [[county]] of [[Somerset]]. It is in the [[district]] of [[Mendip]]. The only other [[city]] in [[Somerset]] is the much larger [[Bath (city)|Bath]]. In 2018 there were 12,000 people living in Wells.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/help/localstatistics|title=Local statistics - Office for National Statistics|website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> [[Wells Cathedral]] is in Wells. The [[cathedral]] is very popular with visitors to Wells. The cathedral has a school attached to it. The school specializes in music (as well as normal school subjects). [[Timothy K. Murray]], composer, was a student there. The city of Wells is named after springs in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wells.gov.uk/|title=Welcome to the Wells City Council website - Wells City Council serving England's smallest Cathedral City|website=www.wells.gov.uk}}</ref> It is the second smallest city in the United Kingdom after [[St Davids]] in Wales. The area of Somerset was known in past centuries as a stronghold of taxation avoidance and liquor [[smuggling]] (from ships wrecked on the coast). In the 18th century the Bishop of Bath and Wells used to travel with half-a-dozen armed soldiers, and no doubt they were needed. The city has been there since Roman times, indeed it was originally a Roman settlement.<ref>Medieval town, Wells. Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2010. [https://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/24810]</ref> == References == {{reflist}} {{English Cities|nocat=yes}} {{UK-stub}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Cities in Somerset]] [[Category:Mendip]]