by Nick Ford

Created on: July 29, 2010

Part of the charm of the English cathedral is that each one is different. Bristol Cathedral is conveniently situated close to the town centre. It is different because scholars think that Bristol Cathedral might have been built to resemble the great hall of a Medieval Castle.

From the outside Bristol Cathedral seems unremarkable. It looks rather like a large parish church looking out across the College Green towards the Council Chambers. Most the building is dressed in a pale yellow sandstone though there are hints of an older masonry using red sandstone from a local quarry. There is squat central tower accompanied by two flanking towers at the West End.

Access to the cathedral is through the North Porch which is close to the West End. Once inside the nave extends to the left. The Cathedral shop which sells basic souvenirs and guide books is to the right at the base of one of the West End towers. During the week one is welcomed by members of the Mother’s Union. Each Saturday, and by appointment in the week, guided tours are available. These are free and last about an hour.

Although the tour musters at the back of the nave it begins in earnest in the Chapter House. This is a quieter place where the guides can explain the history of the Cathedral. Our guide explained that there may have been an Anglo Saxon chapel nearby which was dedicated to St Jordan. The archaeological evidence for this chapel was lost when College Green was re-landscaped in the 1930s. The existing religious foundation was established by Robert Fitzharding in 1140. Fitzharding established the Abbey of St Augustine and a community of Canons lived on the premises. Much later, in the time of Henry VIII the Abbey was dissolved. The building became the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in 1542.

The guide said that there were a few treasures within the Cathedral that a visitor might otherwise miss. He listed these as the Chapter House, The Harrowing of Hell, carvings in the Elder Chapel, Starburst tombs and the Lierne vaulting.

The first part of the tour looks at the remains of the Abbey which include the Crossing, Chapter House, Choir, North and South Aisle and Two Lady Chapels.

The Chapter House is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in England. This oblong building with a rib vaulted roof was built between 1154 and 1164. The walls and ribs are richly carved with geometric designs. The dog toothed ribs are characteristic of the Romanesque period.

In 1831 a

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