Cathedrals · South West England
Bristol Cathedral
England's only true hall-church cathedral, with unique star-shaped vaulting.
Oliver Dixon — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Best time of year
- Year-round
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Bristol Cathedral — founded in 1140 as the Augustinian Abbey of St Augustine, refounded as a cathedral in 1542 — is the only English example of a 'hall church', where nave and aisles share a single roof line. The 14th-century east end has unique star-shaped vaulting and the Eastern Lady Chapel preserves rare medieval polychrome decoration.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St Augustine, founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148. It became the cathedral of the new diocese of Bristol in 1542, after the Dissolution of the monasteries. It is a Grade I listed building. The earliest surviving fabric is the late 12th century chapter house, which contains some of the first uses of pointed arches in England. The eastern end of the church is medieval, the oldest part being the early 13th century Elder Lady Chapel. The remainder of the east end was rebuilt in the English Decorated Gothic style during the 14th century as a hall church, with aisles the same height as the central choir. In the 15th century the transepts were rebuilt and the central tower added. The nave was incomplete when the abbey was dissolved in 1539 and demolished; a Gothic Revival replacement was constructed in the 19th century by George Edmund Street, partially to the original plans. The western towers, designed by John Loughborough Pearson, were completed in 1888. In addition to the cathedral's architectural features, it contains several memorials and an historic organ. Little of the original stained glass remains, with some being replaced in the Victorian era and further losses during the Bristol Blitz.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Bristol Cathedral was founded as St Augustine's Abbey in 1140 by Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy local landowner and royal official who later became Lord Berkeley. As the name suggests, the monastic precinct housed Augustinian canons. The original abbey church, of which only fragments remain, was constructed between 1140 and 1148 in the Romanesque style, known in England as Norman. The Venerable Bede made reference to St Augustine of Canterbury visiting the site in 603ACE, and John Leland had recorded that it was a long-established religious shrine. William Worcester recorded in his Survey of Bristol that the original Augustinian abbey church was further to the east of the current site,…
Architecture
{|class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;" |+The dimensions of Bristol Cathedral |- !scope="col"| Feature !scope="col"| Dimension |- !scope="row"| Total length, external | 300 ft |- !scope="row"| Total length, internal | 284 ft |- !scope="row"| Length of nave | 125 ft |- !scope="row"| Width, including aisles | 69 ft |- !scope="row"| Length of transept | 115 ft |- !scope="row"| Width of transept | 29 ft |- !scope="row"| Height to vault in nave | 52 ft |- !scope="row"| Height to vault in choir | 50 ft |- !scope="row"| Area | 22556 sqft |} Bristol Cathedral is a grade I listed building which shows a range of architectural styles and periods. The 14th century eastern arm has been…
Visiting
Bristol Cathedral was used as a location in the 1978 film The Medusa Touch under the guise of a fictional London place of worship called Minster Cathedral. It was also used as a location for BBC TV's 2015 production of Wolf Hall, for the coronation scene.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.4519, -2.6017
- District
- Bristol, City of
- Parish
- Bristol, City of, unparished area
- Postcode
- BS1 5TL
- Parliamentary constituency
- Bristol Central
- Official site
- www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk
Sources
- manual: bristol-cathedral (manual)
- wikipedia: Bristol Cathedral (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Bristol Cathedral?
- Bristol Cathedral is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode BS1 5TL), in the parish of Bristol, City of, unparished area.
- When was Bristol Cathedral built?
- Dates from the medieval period.
- Is Bristol Cathedral a listed building?
- Bristol Cathedral is officially recognised as Grade I listed.
- How do I get to Bristol Cathedral?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode BS1 5TL. It sits within the Bristol Central parliamentary constituency.