Historical aspects

Following the Protestant Reformation in England, Catholic worship was prohibited and the open building of Catholic churches only became legal again in 1790. But it was not until the political emancipation of 1829 that the spirit of English Catholics grew strong enough to openly construct a church in Bristol.

The work started in 1834, but the building was soon hit by troubles like those which simultaneously delayed the construction work on Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge nearby. The church site like many hillside areas of Bristol, proved treacherous, and the original design had to be abandoned due to foundation problems. Then the priest responsible was declared bankrupt and retired to Belgium.

In 1846 the then Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Ullathorne started a fund to roof the building. Charles Hansom contrived an interesting, if unattractive timber roof structure based on the principles of inverted ship construction and the building was opened in September 1848.

Two years later, in 1850, with the restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy in England by Pope Pius IX, Clifton was created an Episcopal See, and the Church of the Twelve Apostles became the proCathedral until such time as a more fitting Cathedral Church could be constructed. In the years that followed, the growth of the proCathedral parish was supported by immigration from Ireland and the continent of Europe. During the Second World War many American service personnel attended the proCathedral from their nearby bases as they trained and prepared for the D Day invasion of Europe in 1944. As the years passed the temporary timber building of 1848 continued to deteriorate, and it became clear that a major restructuring would have to be undertaken. 

© Peter Harrison 2001