Bristol - Trinity Cathedral

One of Bristol's two famous churches is Trinity Cathedral, originally the church of an Augustinian house but raised to cathedral status in 1542 when Henry VIII created a new diocese. Apart from the chapter house nothing remains of the Norman abbey, consecrated in 1165. Construction of the present church spans almost six hundred years. The east end, superbly rebuilt in the Decorated style by Abbot Knowle, dates from between 1298 and 1330. The central tower and transepts were the next to be completed (by 1500), after which building stopped. The nave and towered west facade are 19th century. The cathedral is a hall church, a type unusual in England but quite common, for example, in southern Germany. It is built without triforium or clerestory, the aisles and nave being of the same height. The Decorated style is seen most clearly in the clusters of pillars and the ribbed vaulting.