Churches and Cathedrals

NB: The places listed here are active places of worship, so might be closed to casual visitors if there are services in progress. Note also that some smaller churches are often locked in order to prevent theft and vandalism. Some request a voluntary donation from visitors to cover the costs of preservation and upkeep. Extinct church buildings are covered in the Rocks & Ruins section of this guide.

Bath

BATH ABBEY
City centre, Bath BA1. Zone A. Generally open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1-2.30pm & 4.30-5.30pm Apr-Oct, shorter hours in winter. Requested donation of £2.50 adult/£1 child, student. Ffi: 01225 422462, www.bathabbey.org • By comparison with Bristol, Bath's ecclesiastical history is somewhat less complicated, and though there are a number of old churches worth looking at, this is the star attraction. It's a place that's had a lot of ups and downs - the original Anglo-Saxon abbey church was pulled down in Norman times, in favour of a much bigger place (which they couldn't afford, so it fell to bits). Building work on the present site started in 1499, but when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries it fell to ruin again, although it was restored in subsequent years. The Abbey tends to be overlooked on Bath's tourist trail because there are so many other big attractions, and that's a shame, because inside it's an absolutely glorious place. It’s the last major Gothic church to have been built in England, and it’s grand, dignified and full of light. If you're doing the tourist thing or like your history, then under no circumstances miss out on the Bath Abbey Heritage Vaults Museum(open Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, admission £1, under-16s free. Ffi: 01225 422462). These are restored 18th-century cellars with displays tracing the 1,600-year history of the Abbey with objects found on the site, some dating back to Saxon times and earlier, including a fourth-century Roman curse in which the word 'Christian' makes its first known appearance in Britain.

Bristol

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL
College Green. Zone A. Usually open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-5.30pm & Sun 7.30am-5pm. See website for details of public guided tours over the summer season. Ffi: www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk • Originally a 12th-century abbey church, this place was closed down during the dissolution of the monasteries and opened again in 1542 when Bristol got its own bishop. Historically, the diocese of Bristol was never a wealthy one, and this place was always sort of in competition with the very grand parish church of St Mary Redcliffe, south of the river. Much of the building you see now wasn’t completed until the 18th and 19th centuries. Interesting bits include the Elder Lady Chapel with medieval animal carvings, the Saxon carving of the Harrowing of Hell near the entrance to the Chapter House (dating back to before the Norman Conquest, and found being used as a coffin lid in the 1830s), and lots of interesting roof-bosses in the north transept, including a depiction of the murder of King Edward II. With its memorials to people you might vaguely have heard of, it's a repository of the highways and byways of local history, all the way up to a poignant series of stained-glass windows commemorating the various civil and military services of the Second World War. Because of its comparatively humble history it doesn't fetishise its past or try to be some frozen heritage monument. It wants you to know it's a proper working church that's living in the real world.

CHRIST CHURCH
Broad St. Zone A • Much loved locally on account of the 'quarter jacks' (the little chaps on the clock outside, who strike their bells every quarter of an hour). It's well worth looking inside, too. A glorious, bright, airy and frightfully elaborate church, built in the 1790s for the great and good of the town, it exudes Anglican self-confidence of the sort they don't do any more. Easily the most beautiful church interior in Bristol and likely to turn the head of the most hardened atheist. If you’re down this way, you should also look at the nearby St Stephen’s , off St Stephen’s Street; this is one of the oldest working churches in town, with a lot of interesting things inside, including the tomb of the man who invented the blanket. Allegedly.

CLIFTON CATHEDRAL
Pembroke Rd , Clifton . Zone A. Ffi: www.cliftoncathedral.org.uk • The Roman Catholic cathedral of SS Peter & Paul opened in 1973, with a relentlessly modern design which many of the parishioners didn’t much like. But actually it marked the coming of age of the RC - i.e. mostly Irish - community in a city where, not that long before, they were barely tolerated and regarded by some protestant die-hards as agents of Satan. Nowadays, it's regarded with a lot of affection, a classic of confident 1960s Catholic design that, among other things, succeeded in making services more inclusive by ensuring that, even with a capacity congregation of 900, no-one is more than 15 metres from the altar.

THE LORD MAYOR'S CHAPEL
College Green. Zone A • The only church in England owned and run by a local council and still holding regular services. This little building crams in more history than most places that are twice as big. Originally part of a medieval monastery and hospital for the sick and poor, it's very elaborate inside, featuring several extremely ornate memorials and tombs to the great and good who once ruled Bristol with hardly any interference from London. This is where you get a real grasp of the enormous wealth and power the merchant classes had when Bristol was England's second city. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries it was used by the city's Huguenot community (French protestants fleeing persecution by Louis XIV) - a reminder that asylum seekers have been an important facet of local life for a very long time. Not always open, so see noticeboard outside for details of opening times (and services).

THE NEW ROOM
The Horsefair, Broadmead. Zone A. Open Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, admission free. Ffi: 0117 926 4740, www.newroombristol.org.uk • Part museum and part church, this is where John Wesley set up the first Methodist chapel in 1739, though most of what you see nowadays dates back to a makeover they did on the place about 10 years later. Anyway, this place is pretty much the cradle of Methodism, which nowadays has 75 million adherents worldwide, but which started with one man preaching in the open air to the poor of Bristol and Kingswood. Wesley set up this place not long after, where, as well as holding services, there was a schoolroom and a dispensary for the poor and he returned here for a few weeks every year for the rest of his life. You can look round the chapel, see displays on the history of Methodism and look over JW's living quarters (and also where his brother Charles, composer of hymns stayed for a while). If you contrast this austere and unpretentious place with the gilded splendour of Christ Church, you can see for yourself, more than 250 years on, exactly how religion in this city divided along very precise lines of wealth and class. You also get some idea of exactly how dangerous and revolutionary these working- and middle-class "enthusiasts" must have appeared to the establishment. Admission to The New Room is free, but groups can also pay for tours with expert guides - phone or see website for details.

ST MARY REDCLIFFE
Redcliffe Way . Zone A. Usually open to public Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 8am-7.30pm. Ffi: www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk • Back in the 20th century, some bright spark down the Council House thought it would be a good idea to run a bloody great dual carriageway around two sides of Bristol’s most famous and interesting church. This could well be the greatest planning crime in the city’s history. Anyways, the place dates back to medieval times, and benefited enormously from vast donations from the merchant classes, particularly the Canynges family, one of the most powerful business clans in England in the 15th century. William Canynges, shipping magnate and friend of King Edward IV actually has two memorials. Elizabeth I famously called the place "The fairest, goodliest parish church in all of England", though there’s no evidence she ever said anything of the sort. It was also here that 18th-century boy-genius Thomas Chatterton grew up, acquiring his taste for forgery by reading the church's medieval documents. All these and many, many more historical resonances make it well worth a visit. Don't miss the memorial to the church cat in the graveyard (they joke that it attended more services here than many of the clergy) or the lump of tram-rail embedded in the grass by a WW2 air raid. There’s a rather nice café in the crypt, The Undercroft, which is open 10am-4pm Mon-Fri.

Elsewhere

GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL
Gloucester . Zone D. Generally open Mon-Fri 7.30am-6pm, Sat 7.30am-5.15pm, Sun 7.30am-4pm, requested donation of £3 per adult visitor. Ffi: 01452 528095, www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk • The original abbey was built in early Norman times on the site of an even earlier Anglo-Saxon monastic foundation. Much of the present building, though, was restored in the 19th century. Nonetheless, it's pretty spectacular, and has a lot of history to show off, including the tomb of King Edward II (murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle in a manner most foul); the spectacular tomb was restored recently in honour of the 700th anniversary of his accession. Glos cathedral is probably the most entrepreneurial church in the region - they've come up with all sorts of wheezes to get money out of visitors (but fair dos; these buildings don't look after themselves). There are a number of tours and exhibitions on offer at extra cost, and it's definitely worth shelling out the extra for the 260-step climb up the tower to see the medieval bell and the views over Gloucester and surrounding countryside. If you're taking children, don't forget to tell them that part of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' was filmed here

MALMESBURY ABBEY
Malmesbury, Wilts. Zone C. Usually open daily 10am-4pm. Ffi: www.malmesburyabbey.com • One of the Days Out Guide’s favourite religious buildings round these parts, not for any particular architectural merits, but because the place has so many wonderful stories… A big church nestling in the ruins of a much bigger church and all in the middle of a very pleasant old Wiltshire market town which would be pleasanter if it wasn't being destroyed by bloody cars. The abbey was founded in Anglo-Saxon times by the great St Aldhelm, a truly impressive and wonderful character who attracted crowds to his preaching by clowning and singing. For almost 1,000 years this was one of the most impressive and important religious buildings in the south of England. Athelstan, King of England from 924 to 939, was buried here; the tomb's still there but his mortal remains are thought to have been nicked. It was also home to the monk Elmer (or Eilmer), who made himself a set of wings, jumped off the tower, flew a bit, then crashed, swearing that it would have been fine if only he'd had a tail. The intrepid Elmer is celebrated in a stained-glass window in an obscure corner of the church - make sure you seek him out. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the abbey spent the next 350 years gradually falling to pieces, even though it was still being used as the parish church. Twentieth-century restoration work stopped the rot, but there's always plenty of work needs doing, so cough up when you visit. Don't miss the exhibition of ancient documents and books upstairs, and, in the graveyard outside, look out for the last resting place of Hannah Twynnoy, a local barmaid in the 18th century who is almost certainly the only Malmesbury resident ever to have been mauled to death by a tiger!

PRINKNASH ABBEY
Cranham, Glos GL4 8EX. Zone C. Ffi: www.prinknashabbey.org • The abbey is set in the middle of a huge monastic estate which was once one of the most powerful in the region until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. It's also the site of the (separately run) bird and deer park (see Animals & Nature section). The estate was in private hands until the 1920s, then a group of Benedictine monks from Caldey Island in Wales moved back in to start a community. Until last year they lived and worshipped in a huge, angular building which is now closed to the public and is being converted to old people’s homes. The monks now live in older buildings on another part of the estate. There's a nice cafe and a big gift shop selling religious items and things manufactured by the monks, including incense. The gift shop is also the point of entry for the Great Orpheus Pavement, a re-creation of an immense Roman mosaic pavement depicting the story of Orpheus and Eurydice which was uncovered by archaeologists elsewhere in Gloucestershire. There's a separate admission charge for this but it's definitely worth seeing.

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL
Salisbury , Wilts. Zone D. Usually open daily 7.15am-6.15pm, requested donation for 2008 TBC, but last year was £5 adult/£4.25 senior, student/£3 ages 5-17/£12 family. Ffi: 01722 555120, www.salisburycathedral.org.uk • Salisbury and Wells are the two essential stops on the region's churchy tourism circuit, and though it pains our local pride to say it, this one's the daddy. Salisbury is one of the greatest cathedrals in Europe, partly because it was almost all built in the 13th century and has had very little bits added on since. What the half-a-million visitors to the cathedral and close see here this year will be pretty much what pilgrims would have seen back in Henry V's time. This year the place celebrates the 750th anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral when the building work was completed in 1258, so there are going to be lots of special events going on, aimed at tourists and pilgrims alike. The interior of the building is stunningly beautiful, all the more awesome when you consider it was built without the assistance of any modern construction techniques or technologies. Added attractions include guided tours of the tower (332 steps up a spiral staircase, extra charge) and England’s oldest working clock. In a special exhibition in the Chapter House you can see one of only four remaining copies of Magna Carta. The Days Out Guide was also very taken with the more modern artworks both inside and outside the cathedral, especially the weirdly beautiful water feature in the middle of the building. Maybe that’s just us. Wonderful place, and if you want to make a long day of it, combine with a visit to Mompesson House (which is actually within the cathedral close) and/or Stonehenge.

WELLS CATHEDRAL
Wells. Zone B. Usually open daily 7am-7pm (closes 6pm Oct-Mar), requested donation of £5.50 adult/£4 senior/£2.50 child. Ffi: 01749 674483, www.wellscathedral.org.uk • No other religious building in the Bristol/Bath area comes close to this magnificent and imposing medieval cathedral. And if it looks impressive now, think what it must have looked like in its heyday, when the 500 or so life-size statues of saints on the west front would have been painted. And now picture yourself as an uneducated medieval peasant pitching up and seeing it for the first time and maybe also hearing the choir singing from the hidden galleries inside - that's one reason everyone believed in God back then. And we've not even gone inside yet! At this point, we ought now to launch into a brief history of the ancient rivalries between Wells and Glastonbury, or the joys of its scissor arches and exquisite fan-vaulting... But, really, just go see for yourself. While you're in Wells, make sure you have a good wander around the Vicars' Close and, if you like, take a look at the Bishop's Palace and Gardens (21 Mar-25 Oct opening times: Sun-Fri 10.30am-6pm, Sat 10.30am-2pm, admission £5.50 adult/£4.40 conc/£1.10 ages 12-18/accompanied under-12s free. Ffi: 01749 678691, www.bishopspalacewells.co.uk). The palace tends to get overlooked by a lot of visitors, but it's well worth it: a 13th-century building complete with moat and some very nice gardens.

Smaller Churches

There’s not enough room in this guide to mention the dozens of smaller churches in the area that are worth visiting. If you're into ecclesiastical tourism, you're best off getting hold of a decent book such as Simon Jenkins's ' England's Thousand Best Churches' (Penguin Books). We’d also recommend ‘The Shell Guide to English Parish Churches’ by Robert Harbison (1992), though it’s out of print now. There's also a brilliant website (www.churchcrawler.co.uk) put together by an enthusiast that offers a superb guide to Bristol churches.

The Churches Conservation Trust

 Churches matter, even if you’re an atheist. They matter hugely because they tell us huge amounts about the past of any community. Not just the dusty theological stuff, either. Tombs, monuments, memorials, stained-glass windows and all the other fixtures and fittings are packed with fascinating human stories, often strange and humorous stories as well as tragic ones. If you're seriously interested in churches, check out the Churches Conservation Trust, who look after hundreds of old Anglican churches around the country which are no longer used for regular worship. Many of these places are of great architectural or historic interest, and lots of them are hidden away in pleasant or obscure bits of countryside. Some are open to the public all the time and some can only be visited by getting in touch with a keyholder. They maintain dozens of them in Somerset, Glos and Wilts, and a few in Bristol, including the amazing St John the Baptist church which is actually set into the old city walls at the bottom of Broad Street. Find out more at www.visitchurches.org.uk and, if you can, punt them a few quid. It’s a very, very good cause.

Venue Days Out Guide - Bristol and Bath's best excursion guide. To order your copy ring 0117 942 8491. Only £1.95.