November 1140—Present. Bristol Cathedral; Founded 1140-42; Dissolved 9 Dec 1539; Episcopal Diocesan Cathedral Since 1542; Called the “Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity”

November 1140—Present.  Bristol Cathedral;  Founded 1140-42;  Dissolved 9 Dec 1539;  Episcopal Diocesan Cathedral Since 1542;  Called the “Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity”

Bristol, UK is about 107 miles due west of London.

Associated with Augustinian Canons Regular.  Founded 1140-42 by Robert Fitzharding.

Bristol Cathedral From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bristol Cathedral Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity The West front of Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral shown within Bristol 51°27′06″N 2°36′03″WCoordinates: 51°27′06″N 2°36′03″W Location Bristol Country England Denomination Church of England Website bristol-cathedral.co.uk Architecture Style Norman, Gothic, Gothic Revival Years built 1220–1877 Specifications Length 300 feet (91 m)[1] Nave length 125 feet (38 m)[1] Width across transepts 29 feet (8.8 m)[1] Nave height 52 feet (16 m)[1] Choir height 50 feet (15 m)[1] Administration Diocese Bristol (since 1543) Province Canterbury Clergy Dean David Hoyle Precentor Nicola Stanley Canon(s) Robert Bull, Canon Pastor Bristol Cathedral — official dedication The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity — is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140, it became the seat of the bishop and cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol in 1542. Located on College Green, across which its architecture can be seen to advantage, the cathedral presents a harmonious view of tall Gothic windows and pinnacled skyline that belies the fact that it was constructed over a period of more than 700 years. The cathedral has much of interest including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and an historic organ. Contents  ·         1 History of the building ·         2 Architectural features o    2.1 A hall-church o    2.2 Vaulting o    2.3 Street's nave o    2.4 Pearson's fittings o    2.5 Street and Pearson's west front o    2.6 Chapter house o    2.7 Architectural specifications ·         3 Decoration and monuments ·         4 Chapter ·         5 Other burials ·         6 Music o    6.1 Organ o    6.2 Organists o    6.3 Choirs ·         7 Media ·         8 Other cathedrals in Bristol ·         9 See also ·         10 Notes ·         11 External links History of the building Bristol Cathedral in an 1873 engraving, still incomplete. Bristol Cathedral was founded as St Augustine's Abbey in 1140 by Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy local landowner and royal official. 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. Further stone buildings were erected on the site between 1148 and 1164. Three fine examples of this phase survive, the chapterhouse and the abbey gatehouse, now the diocesan office, together with a second Romanesque gateway, which originally led into the abbot's quarters.[2] T.H.B. Burrough describes the former as the finest Norman chapter house still standing today.[3] Under Abbot David (1216–1234) there was a new phase of building, notably the construction in around 1220 of a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, abutting the northern side of the choir. This building, which still stands, was to become known as the "Elder Lady Chapel". The architect, referred to in a letter as 'L', is thought to have been Adam Lock, master mason of Wells Cathedral. The stonework of the eastern window of this chapel is by William the Geometer, of about 1280. Under Abbot Edward Knowle, a major rebuilding of the Abbey church began. Between 1298 and 1332 the eastern part of the abbey church was rebuilt in the English Decorated Gothic style. Rebuilding appears to have ceased for about a hundred years, then, in the mid 15th century, the transept and central tower were constructed. Abbot John Newland, (1481–1515), began the rebuilding of the nave, but it was incomplete at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The partly built nave was demolished and the remaining eastern part of the church closed until it reopened as a cathedral under the secular clergy. In an edict dated June 1542, Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer raised the building to rank of cathedral of a new Diocese of Bristol. The new diocese was carved out of the neighbouring dioceses and Paul Bush,[4] (d. 1558) a former royal household chaplain, was created the first Bishop of Bristol. The new cathedral was dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity,[1][5] With the 19th century's Gothic Revival signalling renewed interest in Britain's ancient architectural heritage, a new nave, harmonious in style with the eastern end, was added between 1868 and 1877 by George Edmund Street. The opening ceremony was on 23 October 1877. However the west front with its twin towers, designed by John Loughborough Pearson, was only completed in 1888.[6] The bells have a variety of dates and include two from 1726, one from 1740 and two from 1789 all made by the Bilbie family.[7] Architectural features A hall-church The unique "lierne" vaulting of the choir and tower can be seen here from Street's nave, with clustered columns and Purbeck marble shafts. Bristol Cathedral is a grade I listed building. Tim Tatton-Brown writes of the 14th century eastern arm as "one of the most interesting and splendid structures in this country."[8] The eastern end of Bristol Cathedral is highly unusual for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was conceived as a "hall church", meaning that the aisles are the same height as the choir. While a feature of German Gothic architecture, this is rare in Britain, and Bristol cathedral is the most significant example. In the 19th century, Street designed the nave along the same lines.[1] The effect of this elevation means that there are no clerestory windows to light the central space, as is usual in English Medieval churches. All the internal light must come from the aisle windows which are accordingly very large.[9] In the choir, the very large window of the Lady chapel is made to fill the entire upper part of the wall, so that it bathes the vault in daylight, particularly in the morning. Because of the lack of a clerestory, the vault is comparatively low, being only about half the height of that at Westminster Abbey. The interior of the cathedral appears wide and spacious. The architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner wrote of the early 14th-century choir of Bristol that "from the point of view of spatial imagination" it is not only superior to anything else in England or Europe but "proves incontrovertibly that English design surpasses that of all other countries" at that date.[10] Vaulting Vaulting of the choir The second remarkable feature of Bristol Cathedral is the vaulting of its various medieval spaces. The work that was carried out under Abbot Knowle is unique in this regard, with not one, but three unique vaults. In vaulting a roof space using stone ribs and panels of infill, the bearing ribs all spring from columns along the walls. There is commonly a rib called the ridge rib which runs along the apex of the vault. There may be intermediate or "tierceron" ribs, which have their origin at the columns. In Decorated Gothic there are occasionally short "lierne" ribs connecting the bearing and tierceron ribs at angles, forming stellar patterns. This is the feature that appears at Bristol, at a very early date, and quite unlike the way that "lierne" ribs are used elsewhere. In this case, there is no ridge rib, and the lierne ribs are arranged to enclose a series of panels that extend the whole way along the centre of the choir roof, interacting with the large east window by reflecting the light from the smoothly-arching surfaces. From the nave can be seen the intricate tracery of the east window echoed in the rich lierne pattern of the tower vault, which is scarcely higher than the choir, and therefore clearly visible. The two aisles of the choir both also have vaults of unique character.[9] Street's nave Street's design followed the form of the Gothic choir. On a plan or elevation it is not apparent that the work is of a different era. But Street, wisely, left the glory of Bristol's medieval work unrivalled. He designed an interior that respected the delicate proportions of the ribs and mouldings of the earlier work, but did not imitate their patterns. Street's nave is vaulted with a conservative vault with tierceron ribs, rising at the same pitch as the choir, and visually leading the eye to it in a way that is very satisfactory. Pearson's fittings The Lady Chapel During the 16th century, the space for cathedral services must have been very cramped. This necessitated a radical rearrangement of the cathedral's furnishings. Once the nave was completed, the arrangement of the choir could also be returned to something like its Pre-Reformation form. Pearson was responsible for this rearrangement, and the designing of new fittings, including the chancel screen. The cathedral has two unusual and often-reproduced monuments, the Berkeley memorials. These are set into niches in the wall, and each is surrounded by a canopy of inverted cusped arches. Pearson's screen, completed in 1905, echoes these memorials in its three wide arches with flamboyant cusps. Street and Pearson's west front The structure of the church was completed with the Pearson's towers in 1888. The rose window is uncommon in English facades. This facade is probably more Spanish than English in its overall composition, being somewhat like that of Burgos Cathedral, but without its spires. It is rather wide for its height, and has only one, very large, richly decorated portal. Unlike English Gothic cathedrals, Bristol has a rose window above the central doorway, in the French or Spanish Style. The details, however, are clearly English, owing much to the Early English Gothic at Wells Cathedral and the Decorated Gothic at York Minster. Chapter house The chapter house The late Norman chapter house, situated south of the transept,[1] contains some of the first uses of pointed arches in England.[11] It also has a rich sculptural decoration, with a variety of Romanesque abstract motifs.[12] In both of these aspects there are close similarities with the abbey gatehouse, supporting the view that the two structures were built around the same time in the 12th century, as put forward by George Edmund Street in the 19th century.[11][13] The approach to the chapter house is through a rib-vaulted ante-room 3 bays wide, whose pointed arches provide a solution to that room's rectangular shape. Carved pointed arches also appear in the decoration of the chapter house itself. Here they arise from the intersections of the interlaced semicircular arcading, which runs continuously around the walls. The chapter house has a quadripartite ribbed vault 7.5 m (25 ft) high. The ribs, walls and columns display a complex interplay of carved patterns: chevron, spiral, nailhead, lozenge and zigzag.[14][15] The chapter house has 40 sedilia lining its walls, and may have originally provided seating for more when it was the meeting room for the abbey community.[15] In 1714 it was refurbished to become a library, and its floor was raised by about 1 m (3 ft). Its east end was damaged in the Bristol Riots of 1831, requiring considerable restoration, and at that time or later the library furnishings were removed. In 1832, when the floor was lowered again, a Saxon stone panel depicting the Harrowing of Hell was found underneath.[14] Architectural specifications The Berkeley Tombs: detail from an 1873 engraving. Most of the medieval stonework, particularly the Elder Lady Chapel, is made fromlimestone taken from quarries around Dundry and Felton with Bath stone being used in other areas. The two-bay Elder Lady Chapel, which includes some Purbeck marble, lies to the north of the five-bay aisled chancel and presbytery. The Eastern Lady Chapel has two bays, the sacristy one-bay and the Berkeley Chapel two bays. The exterior has deep buttresses with finials to weathered tops and crenellated parapetswith crocketed pinnacles.[1] The west front has two large flanking three-stage towers. On the rear outer corners of the towers are octagonal stair turrets with panels on the belfry stage. Between the towers is a deep entrance arch of six orders with Purbeck marble colonnettes and enriched mouldings to the arch. The tympanum of the arch is an empty niche.[1] The dimensions of Bristol Cathedral: Total length, external 300 ft 91.4 m Total Length, internal 284 ft 87 m Length of nave 125 ft 38 m Width, including aisles 69 ft 21 m Length of transept 115 ft 35 m Width of transept 29 ft 9 m Height to vault in nave 52 ft 16 m Height to vault in choir 50 ft 15 m Area 22,556 ft² 2096 m² Decoration and monuments[edit] Effigy of John Newland Richard Hakluyt's memorial The south transept contains the important late Saxon stone panel of the Harrowing of Hell. The high altar stone reredos are by John Loughborough Pearson of 1899. The three rows of choir stalls are mostly from the late 19th century with Flamboyant traceried ends. There are also 28 misericords dating from 1515–1526, installed by Robert Elyot, Abbot of St. Augustine's, with carvings largely based on Aesop's fables. In the Berkeley chapel is a very rare candelabrum of 1450 from the Temple church in Bristol. The monuments within the cathedral include recumbent figures of: ·         Abbot Walter Newbery (d.1473) ·         Abbot William Hunt (d.1481) ·         Abbot John Newland (d.1515) ·         Lord Berkeley (d.1326) ·         Thomas Berkeley (d.1243) The chest tomb to Bishop Bush (d.1558) includes six fluted Ionic columns with an entablature canopy. Further early monuments include: ·         a perpendicular reredos to Robert Codrinton (d.1618) ·         a marble wall tablet to Phillip Freke (d.1729) ·         the chest tomb of Maurice Berkeley (d.1368) ·         an oval slate wall tablet to Ronsland Searchfield (d.1622) ·         the dresser tomb of Henry Newton (d.1599) ·         the coffin lid of Abbot David (d.1234) ·         a dresser tomb of Dame Joan and Sir John Young (d.1606) by Samuel Baldwin[disambiguation needed] ·         a dresser tomb to Sir Charles Vaughan ·         memorial tablet to Richard Hakluyt (d. 1616) More recent monuments from the early 18th century to 20th century include: ·         Mrs Morgan (d.1767) by John Bacon to the design of James Stuart ·         a bust by Bailey to Robert Southey (d.1843) ·         an obelisk by J Paine to William Powell (d.1769) ·         a monument by Bailey to William Brane Elwyn (d.1841) ·         Elizabeth Charlotte Stanhope (d.1816) by Richard Westmacott ·         Emma Crawfuird (d.1823) by Francis Legatt Chantrey ·         a memorial plaque to Mary Carpenter (d.October 1877) ·         an effigy to Dean Francis Pigou (d.1916) by Newbury Abbot Trent Chapter The pulpit in the nave ·         Dean – The Very Revd David Hoyle (since 29 May 2010 installation) ·         Canon Precentor – The Revd Canon Nicola Stanley (since 2014)[16] ·         Canon Pastor – The Revd Canon Robert Bull (since 2011)[17] Other burials This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ·         Alfred Ainger ·         Joseph Butler ·         Walford Davies ·         Maurice de Berkeley ·         Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley ·         Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley ·         Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley ·         Paul Bush (bishop), first Bishop of Bristol (1542–1554) of the new diocese ·         Rowland Searchfield, English academic and Bishop of Bristol (1619–1622) ·         Thomas Westfield, Bishop of Bristol (1642–1644) ·         Thomas Howell (Bishop of Bristol) (1644–1645) ·         Gilbert Ironside the elder, Bishop of Bristol (1661–1671) ·         William Bradshaw (bishop), Bishop of Bristol (1724–1732) ·         John Conybeare, Bishop of Bristol (1750–1755) ·         Robert Gray (bishop of Bristol) (1827–1834), buried in graveyard attached to the cathedral Music Organ The organ The organ was originally built in 1685 by Renatus Harris at a cost of £500.[18] This has been removed and repaired many times; however some of the original work, including the case and pipes, is incorporated into the present instrument, which was built by J. W. Walkers & Sons in 1907, to be found above the Stalls on the North side of the Choir. It was further restored in 1989.[19][20] Prior to the building of the main organ, the cathedral had a chair organ, which was built by Robert Taunton in 1662.[21] Organists See also: List of musicians at English cathedrals The earliest known appointment of an organist of Bristol Cathedral is Thomas Denny in 1542. Notable organists have included the writer and composer Percy Buck and the conductor Malcolm Archer. The present Organist is Mark Lee and the Assistant Organist Paul Walton.[22] Choirs The first choir at Bristol probably dates from the Augustinian foundation of 1140. The present choir consists has twenty eight choristers, six lay clerks and four choral scholars. The choristers include fourteen boys and fourteen girls, who are educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, the first government-funded Choir Academy in England. Choral evensong is sung daily during term.[23] The Bristol Cathedral Concert Choir was formed fifty years ago and comprises sixty singers who present large scale works such as Bach's St Matthew's Passion.[23] The Bristol Cathedral Consort is a voluntary choir drawn from young people of the city. They sing Evensong twice a month.[23] Bristol Cathedral Chamber Choir was reformed in 2001 and is directed by assistant organist Paul Walton.[23] Media 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. [1] It's also the college of the characters of Skins. Other cathedrals in Bristol Bristol is also home to a Roman Catholic cathedral, Clifton Cathedral. The Church of England parish church of St. Mary Redcliffe is so grand as to be occasionally mistaken for a cathedral by visitors. See also ·        List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom ·        Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England ·        English Gothic architecture ·        Church of England ·        Grade I listed buildings in Bristol ·        Churches in Bristol ·        List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson Notes Stained glass window by Charles Eamer Kempe 1.     ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j "Cathedral Church of St Augustine, including Chapter House and cloisters". Images of England. Retrieved 16 March 2007. 2.     Jump up^ Joseph Bettey, St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (Bristol Branch of the Historical Association 1996), pp.1, 5, 7. 3.     Jump up^ Burrough, THB (1970). Bristol. London: Studio Vista. ISBN 0-289-79804-3. 4.     Jump up^ Nicholls & Taylor "Bristol Past & Present" 3vols. 1881 5.     Jump up^ Joseph Bettey, St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (Bristol Branch of the Historical Association 1996), pp.7, 11–15, 21, 24–5. 6.     Jump up^ Joseph Bettey, Bristol Cathedral: The rebuilding of the nave (Bristol Branch of the Historical Association 1993). 7.     Jump up^ Moore, James; Roy Rice; Ernest Hucker (1995). Bilbie and the Chew Valley clock makers. The authors. ISBN 0-9526702-0-8. 8.     Jump up^ Tim Tatton-Brown and John Crook, The English Cathedral, (2002) New Holland, ISBN 1-84330-120-2 9.     ^ Jump up to:a b Alec Clifton-Taylor, The Cathedrals of England, Thames and Hudson (1967) 10.  Jump up^ Nikolaus Pevsner, The buildings of England: North Somerset and Bristol, (1958) Penguin. 11.  ^ Jump up to:a b Gomme, A.; Jenner, M.; Little, B. (1979). Bristol: an architectural history. London: Lund Humphries. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-85331-409-8. 12.  Jump up^ Foyle, Andrew (2004). Pevsner Architectural Guide, Bristol. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-300-10442-1. 13.  Jump up^ Oakes, Catherine (2000). Rogan, John, ed. Bristol Cathedral: History and Architecture. Charleston: Tempus. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-7524-1482-8. 14.  ^ Jump up to:a b Oakes, Catherine (2000). Rogan, John, ed. Bristol Cathedral: History and Architecture. Charleston: Tempus. pp. 78–83. ISBN 0-7524-1482-8. 15.  ^ Jump up to:a b Sivier, David (2002). Anglo-Saxon and Norman Bristol. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus. pp. 125–127. ISBN 0-7524-2533-1. 16.  Jump up^ "Stanley NV". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 5 January 2013. (Subscription required) 17.  Jump up^ "Bull RD". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 5 January 2013. (Subscription required) 18.  Jump up^ Crotchet, Dotted (November 1907). "Bristol Cathedral". Musical Times (The Musical Times, Vol. 48, No. 777) 48 (777): 705–715. doi:10.2307/904456. JSTOR 904456. 19.  Jump up^ "Organ". Bristol Cathedral. Archived from the original on 19 January 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007. 20.  Jump up^ "Bristol Cathedral". Bristol Link. Retrieved 28 June 2007. 21.  Jump up^ "Letters to the editor – July 1981". British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS). Retrieved 28 June 2007. 22.  Jump up^ Bristol Cathedral 2013, retrieved 1 March 23.  ^ Jump up to:a b c d Bristol Cathedral Choirs, retrieved 1 March 2013 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bristol Cathedral. ·        Bristol Cathedral Website ·        Diocese of Bristol ·        Bristol Past: The Abbey Gatehouse ·        A history of Bristol Cathedral choir school and choristers ·        Panoramic tour of the cathedral ·        Panoramic interior picture of the cathedral (Requires Flash)