From the Back Cover
Bristol Cathedral may not be on the tourist route along with Canterbury and Winchester but it richly repays the visitor. The Saxon carving of the Harrowing of Hell is the most striking pre-Conquest monument in the whole country; the Norman chapter house is equally fine; from the medieval period the carving of the thirteenth-century Elder Lady Chapel is exquisite and the misericords in the choir stalls include the legend of Reynard the fox. Finally the magnificent hall-church nave dates from the nineteenth century.
Within this architecturally exciting and varied cathedral there is stained glass from many periods and monuments from medieval to modern times. The latter contribute much to the history of the building which started life as St Augustine's Abbey, founded in 1140 by Robert Fitzharding, a friend of Henry I. At the time of the Reformation the monastery was suppressed and the nave destroyed, but three years later the remaining buildings were designated as a cathedral. Amid many turbulent events, the Bristol Riots of 1831, at the time of the Great Reform Bill, saw the total destruction of the Bishop's Palace.
All this - the monastery/cathedral's glorious architecture and chequered history - is recaptured in this beautifully illustrated account, thanks to the research of four local experts and the deft editing of Canon John Rogan. At last Bristol Cathedral has a study worthy of it - which can be savoured not only by visitors but anyone who values England's great architectural tradition.
