Diocese of Bristol

Bristol Cathedral stands in the heart of Bristol, its grey stone rising above College Green. The diocese covers parts of South Gloucestershire and north Wiltshire, reaching as far east as Swindon. The Bishop of Bristol leads the diocese, with the cathedral serving as the Episcopal seat. The diocese traces its roots to the 16th century, when Bristol first became a separate see in 1542. Before the Reformation it belonged to Worcester, and later it merged briefly with Gloucester. In 1897 it was reconstituted with its present boundaries, and many historic records are kept by Bristol Archives. Visitors enter a building begun in the 12th century and completed in the 19th. The nave’s vaulted ceiling soars overhead, and the Berkeley Chapel houses medieval tombs. The cathedral close is a quiet rectangle of grass and trees beside College Green, where pedestrians pass between the cathedral and the city.