Bristol Cathedral

Bristol Cathedral - full name The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity - is the city's Church of England cathedral. The grade I listed building offers much of interest, including unique architectural features, unusual memorials and a historic organ.

From its position on College Green, the cathedral presents a harmonious view of tall Gothic windows and pinnacled skyline that belies the fact it was constructed over a period of more than 700 years.

Bristol Cathedral was founded as St Augustine's Abbey in 1140. The chapterhouse, the abbey gatehouse and a second Romanesque gateway remain intact from its initial phase of building, as do fragments of the original abbey church.

Rebuilding continued intermittently over the next few centuries. In 1542, three years after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the building was opened as cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol, and was dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

A new nave, matching the style of the eastern end, was added between 1868 and 1877, signalling the 19th century's Gothic Revival.

The eastern end of the cathedral is highly unusual for a number of reasons: It was conceived as a "hall church", meaning that the aisles are the same height as the choir. This is a rare feature in Britain, of which Bristol Cathedral is the most significant example. It is also unique in that its medieval spaces contain not one, but three distinctive vaults, and it has the tallest Quire arches in England, standing 15m (just over 50ft) high.

The Berkeley memorials, which are set into niches in the wall, are two unusual and often-reproduced monuments.