Bristol Cathedral

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Front view of the cathedral

The Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity , officially: The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity , is a cathedral of the Anglican English Church in the English city of Bristol . It is known under the name "Bristol Cathedral". It was founded in 1140 and in 1542 became the seat of the bishop and cathedral of the Diocese of Bristol. The harmonious view of high Gothic windows and battlements disguises the fact that the cathedral was built over a period of over 700 years. The cathedral is particularly interesting because of its unique architectural features, features unusual monuments and a historic organ. The external appearance is characterized by the characteristic Bath Stone .

History of the building

Bristol Cathedral was founded as St Augustine's Abbey in 1140 by the wealthy landowner and royal official Robert Fitzharding . The original abbey church, of which only fragments remain, was built between 1140 and 1148 in the Romanesque style. In England this style is also often referred to as the Norman style. Other stone buildings were erected on the site between 1148 and 1164, including the chapter house and the gatehouse of the abbey, as well as another Romanesque gate that originally led into the abbot's living quarters.

New buildings were erected under Abbot David (1216–1234). These include, in particular, a chapel built around 1220, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary , which adjoins the north side of the choir . This building, which still stands today, is known as the Elder Lady Chapel. An extensive modernization of the abbey church began under Abbot Edward Knowle. Between 1298 and 1332 the eastern part of the abbey church was rebuilt in the Anglo- Gothic style. In the middle of the 15th century the transept and the central tower were built.

Under Abbot John Newland (1481-1515) the expansion and renovation of the nave began , which could not be completed until the complete dissolution of the monastery in 1539. The only partially completed nave was torn down and the rest of the eastern part of the church was closed.

In a decree of June 1542, Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer elevated the building to the rank of cathedral and made it the bishopric of Bristol. The new cathedral was dedicated to the holy and undivided Trinity . Between 1868 and 1877 a new nave in the style of the eastern part of the church was added through George Edmund Street. The grand opening took place on October 23, 1877. The western front with its two towers, however, was not completed until 1888. The five bells were all made in the same workshop between 1726 and 1789.

Architectural features

View into the nave of the cathedral
View into the choir of the cathedral with the high altar in the background

Hall church

The eastern part of the cathedral is very unusual for a number of reasons. It was designed so that the aisles are the same height as the choir . While this is common in German Gothic , it is rare in Great Britain and Bristol Cathedral is the prime example of such a hall church . The vault is only about half the height of Westminster Abbey , yet the interior of the cathedral appears wide and spacious.

Vault

Another peculiarity and notable characteristic of Bristol Cathedral is the vaulting of the various medieval rooms. The work carried out under Abbot Knowle is unique in this regard and consists of not just one but three unique vaults.

Nave

Georg Edmund Street based his design for the nave of the church on the shape of the Gothic choir. At first it is not evident that this is the work of a completely different epoch. However, Street designed the interior in such a way that he respected the fine proportions of the ribs and moldings of earlier work without imitating the patterns. The nave has a conservative vault and is the same height as the choir.

Pearson's outfit

During the 16th century, the space in the cathedral was very cramped during services. This made a radical change to the interior of the cathedral necessary. After the main nave had been completely built, the choir could be redesigned in the form from before the Reformation. Pearson was responsible for this redesign including the sanctuary. The cathedral has two unusual and often imitated monuments known as Berkeley memorials . They are set in wall niches and surrounded by a canopy of inverted, pointed arches.

Street and Pearson's West Front

The west facade of the cathedral as a whole is influenced by Spanish rather than English and is similar to the Gothic cathedral of Burgos in Spain, but without its pinnacles . It is quite wide in relation to its height and has only one, very large and richly decorated portal. In addition, the cathedral has a rose window in the French or Spanish style above the central entrance gate, which is unusual for English Gothic cathedrals. The details, however, are clearly English and owed to the early English Gothic of Wells Cathedral and the Gothic of York Minster.

Architectural description

The cathedral has a total length of 91.4 meters outside and 87 meters inside. The longship is 38 meters long and 21 meters wide. The transept is 35 meters long and 9 meters wide. The vault is 16 meters high in the nave and 15 meters high in the choir. The total area of ​​the cathedral is 2,096 m².

organ

View of the organ
View of the organ

The organ goes back to an instrument that was built in 1685 by the organ builder Renatus Harris. Of this instrument, the two organ cases on both sides of the choir in particular are still present, as well as their prospect pipes (Great Open Diapason and Open Diapason as still sounding stops ). In the course of time this organ has been changed and expanded several times, especially with its own pedal mechanism . In 1860 the instrument was completely rebuilt, and most recently in 1907 by the organ builder JW Walker & Sons (London), whereby a large part of the existing pipe material was recycled and supplemented with new registers. Today the instrument has 63 registers on four manuals and a pedal. The actions are electric.

Great Organ C – c 4
1. Double Open Diapason 16 ′
2. Open diapason (large) 8th'
3. Open diapason (medium) 8th'
4th Open Diapason (small) 8th'
5. Stopped diapason 8th'
6th Forest flute 8th'
7th Principal (large) 4 ′
8th. Principal (small) 4 ′
9. Flood 4 ′
10. Twelfth 2 23
11. Fifteenth 2 ′
12. Mixture III
13. Fittings III-IV
14th Double trumpet 16 ′
15th Trumpet 8th'
16. Clarion 4 ′
Choir Organ C – c 4
17th Open diapason 8th'
18th Stopped diapason 8th'
19th Viol di Gamba 8th'
20th Gemshorn 4 ′
21st Flood 4 ′
22nd Fifteenth 2 ′
23. Piccolo 2 ′
24. Sesquialtera II
25th Double Dulciana 16 ′
26th Dulciana 8th'
Tremulant
Swell Organ C – c 4
27. Bourdon 16 ′
28. Horn diapason 8th'
29 Open diapason 8th'
30th Stopped diapason 8th'
31. Dulciana 8th'
32. Vox Angelica 8th'
33. Principal 4 ′
34. Harmonic flute 4 ′
35. Twelfth 2 23
36. Fifteenth 2 ′
37. Mixture III
38. Contra fagotto 16 ′
39. horn 8th'
40. oboe 8th'
41. Vox Humana 8th'
42. Clarion 4 ′
Tremulant
Solo organ C – c 4
swellable
43. Harmonic flute 8th'
44. Gamba 8th'
45. Voix Celeste 8th'
46. Harmonic flute 4 ′
47. Cor Anglais 16 ′
48. Clarinet 8th'
49. Orchestra oboe 8th'
Tremulant
not swellable
50. Tromba 8th'
Pedal Organ C – g 3
51. Double Open Diapason 32 ′
52. Open Diapason I 16 ′
53. Open Diapason II 16 ′
54. Violone 16 ′
(Continuation)
55. Contra gamba 16 ′
56. Bourdon 16 ′
57. Dulciana 16 ′
58. Principal 8th'
(Continuation)
59. cello 8th'
60. Stopped diapason 8th'
61. Octave Quint 5 13
62. Fifteenth 4 ′
(Continuation)
63. Flood 4 ′
64. Trombones 16 ′
65. Trumpet 8th'

literature

  • Harry Batsford, Charles Fry: The Cathedrals of England , 7th Edition, BT Batsford Ltd., London 1948

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Harry Batsford, Charles Fry: The Cathedrals of England , p. 11
  2. Complete organ information on Bristol Cathedral website
  3. To the disposition

Web links

Commons : Bristol Cathedral  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '7.7 "  N , 2 ° 36" 6.8 "  W.