This is the ornate Screen that separates the Choir and High Altar from the congregation in the Nave. Many Cathedrals in England started out as Monasteries and it was common practice to seperate the Monks from the general congregation. It is worth remembering that seating in the Nave is a relatively recent addition to churches and cathedrals, In early medieval times and before that the congregation stood for the whole service. This is Bristol Cathedral, Avon & Somerset.
Bristol Cathedral, Avon & Somerset, England. From the Twelfth Century this cathedral has been a place of daily prayer and a place where the city and diocese has marked great occasions.
Bristol Cathedral, Avon & Somerset, England. From the Twelfth Century this cathedral has been a place of daily prayer and a place where the city and diocese has marked great occasions.
Those of you that are interested in the technical aspects of Photography, this image is ~ a 50% crop of the full sized frame. It demonstrates one of the great features of the Canon EOS 5D Mk.II, cropability. You can crop for England if necessary, and for my type of photography, the reason to own the Canon EOS 5D Mk.II (or the Canon EOS 1Ds Mk.III, Nikon D3X or the Sony Alpha A900). I would not have been able to achieve this with the old 5D.
Bristol Cathedral was founded as St Augustine's Abbey in 1140 by Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy local landowner and royal official. As the name suggests, the monastic precinct housed Augustinian canons. The original abbey church, of which only fragments remain, was constructed between 1140 and 1148 in the Romanesque style, known in England as Norman. Further stone buildings were erected on the site between 1148 and 1164. Three fine examples of this phase survive, the chapterhouse and the abbey gatehouse.