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 rioting mob, impatient that progress towards electoral reform was too slow, broke into the Chapter House and burnt the Cathedral records that were stored there. When the room was restored workers found a mysterious stone carving. This carving, which is known as the ‘Harrowing of Hell’ is mounted on a wall in the South Transept. It depicts a Jesus figure lifting Adam and Eve from the gates of Hell represented by the gaping mouth of a Leviathan. The carving. The rough cut sandstone carving is none foot tall and is believed to date form just before 1066. Apart from that, its original use and setting is a complete mystery.
The Elder Lady Chapel is considered to be a fine example of English Decorated architecture. This dates from 1220 and considering that this is just fifty years after the completion of the Chapter House, is in a completely different style. The arches are pointed and the roof is unflustered. The carvings here are fanciful and exquisite. They show mythical beasts, Bible stories and allegories from Aesop’s fables. Our guide showed us a carving in which a goat was playing the violin while a monkey was playing the pan pipes.
The starburst tombs, which are unique to Bristol, can be found in the Southern Aisle, Lady Chapel and Northern Aisle. In each tomb, an arch in the form of an inverted octagon spans a recess. These ostentatious tombs were originally built for the Berkeley family who were the direct descendents of Robert Fitzharding. The Berkeley’s were a very rich family who gave generously to the Abbey. These tombs are somewhat overbearing. Although the Berkeleys looked upon the Abbey church as a family mausoleum the starburst tombs in the Lady Chapel were reserved for the leading abbots.
When the tour reached the South Aisle the guide pointed out the remarkable height of the building. The arches from which the vaulting springs are 50 feet above the floor making this the tallest aisle in England. There is a great sense of airiness here. On a sunny day light pours in through a stained glass window known as the New Window which celebrates the Holy and Undivided Trinity. The entire structure is cleverly built to make the most of the light. The Abbey church was constructed as a Hall Church. Although found in Germany these are uncommon in Britain. The north and south aisles are the same height as the choir. The building also makes use of lierne vaulting. These are arches which take the weight internally rather than throwing the weight onto external flying buttresses. This is ingenious engineering and has the advantage that there are non internal shadows from the buttresses.
The second part of the tour looked at the building after 1542 when its purpose changed from that of an abbey to that of a cathedral. The cathedral now had to house a much larger congregation which was problematic. At the time of the dissolution the abbey was part way through a rebuilding program and nave was in ruins. In 1539 the nave such, as it was, was pulled down and built over. Until 1877, when a new nave was completed, the cathedral congregation was cramped around the choir, north and south aisles and the tower crossing.
The Victorian nave were deliberately built not to detract from the medieval Abbey church.
At the end of the tour we found toilets and a small refectory café at the end of a cloister passage near the Chapter House. A small church yard garden can be accessed from the café. This is a quiet place awaf from the nearby bustle of a major city centre.
One of the very special charms of Bristol Cathedral is that it is a place full of history which is not overtly geared up for tourism. It is possible to visit and enjoy this place with a real sense of discovery. It is unusual.