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Cathedral Church of the Holy & Undivided Trinity,
College Green,
Bristol, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church has (or had) a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1142, and we understand it is still open.

"The Cathedral, situated in College-green, is a noble structure, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It was originally the collegiate church of the monastery of St Augustine, and was founded by Robert Fitzhardinge in the year 1142, who came into England with William the Conqueror. It was so far advanced in the year 1148 as to be ready for consecration. The nave was taken down some years previously to the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, up to which time extensive improvements and alterations had been going on, and it has never been rebuilt. The chapter room and the abbey gateway at the western end of the cathedral are beautiful specimens of the Anglo-Norman style of architecture. In 1860 the cathedral underwent a thorough repair and alteration; all the old pews and benches were removed, and the seating is now effected by means of chairs, whereby the accommodation is much improved and increased. It will easily hold 1000 persons; the edifice is 174 feet in length, and 56 feet in height. The chancel, choir, ante-choir, and aisles are of the same height. The tower rises to 127 feet. The chancel contains several stained glass windows, the work of Mr. Bell, artist, of Bristol. The edifice also contains many handsome and interesting monuments, executed by Chantrey, Bacon and others. By the Bishop's Throne, a very handsome brass has been placed to the memory of Bishop Butler, who lies buried here." [Extract from Webster & Co.'s Postal and Commercial Directory of the City of Bristol, and County of Glamorgan, 1865]

Note: Webster's account states that Robert Fitzhardinge came to England with William the Conqueror, but this is understood to be incorrect. Various sources online, including the account of Robert Fitzharding on Wikipedia, give a date of birth circa 1095 - in other words, over 30 years after the Conquest, and during the final years of the reign of William Rufus - "he was one of the very few Anglo-Saxon noblemen who managed to retain their noble status in Norman England and successfully integrate with the Norman nobility, if not the only one".

The book Bristol and Its Environs (1875), published by the British Association, quotes Chatterton, who "likens Religion's self to a grey friar, who, with sad visage and slow pace, approaches the town of Bristow, and seeing the city full of soldiers and merchantmen with few saints among them, is about to retire in despair. But the heavenly visitant is met by Fitzharding, who promises to raise a tall minster for prayer and praise, where he himself would become a monk, and Religion should find secure repose".

The Bristol Town Plan of 1884 shows the Cathedral had a medium sized graveyard which shared the south side of the church with the site of the Great Cloister. Surrounding the Cloister are buildings belonging to the former St Augustine's Abbey (St Augustine the Great), and the Bishop's Palace. The church of St Augustine the Less once stood to the east of the Abbey, but it was demolished in 1962.

Denomination

Now or formerly Church of England.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church is located at OS grid reference ST5835472701. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Cathedral Church of the Holy & Undivided Trinity, Bristol shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Bristol shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Bristol, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• A link to an article from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, on Robert Fitzharding (null) (verified 2018-11-22)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.