Bishop of Bristol

“ He took refuge at Oxford, and on the death of Thomas Westfield [q. v.] , bishop of Bristol, was selected by Charles I to succeed him in that important stronghold, just recovered to the royal cause, the king, we are told, 'promising himself good effects from his great candour, solid judgment, sweet temper, and the good repute in which he was held' (ib.) He was consecrated by Ussher in August 1644, and was the last bishop consecrated in England for sixteen years. Howell's episcopate was short and disastrous. Bristol was surrendered to Fairfax by Prince Rupert on 10 Sept. ”

“ They only spoke when the spirit moved them, but a good many spoke when a spirit moved them. Some denominations were better without a minister, and some ministers would be better without denominations. In the city of Bristol there was room enough for all, and they need not spend time in attacking each other, but might do the work God sent them to do. They had one present that night—a broad-minded gentleman who did his work like the Bishop, and minded his business, and did not interfere with other people—Mr. ”

“ Pearson his Lordship’s Secretary, under his Direction, there are these words:
“And the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham (late of Bristol) for promoting so good a design is disposed and ready to give the sum of £400 towards the Endowment of the new intended Vicarage, &c.”
Which words in the first copy ran thus, “And the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Bristol, &c.,” He p. 30being then Bishop of the See of Bristol; And I have heard his Lordship repeat those words in perusing the said Copy. ”

“ At Manchester the episcopate was represented by the Bishops of Manchester, Oxford, Sydney, Mauritius, and, we believe, British Columbia; at Bristol by those of Gloucester and Bristol, Chichester, Ely, and Antigua; and the Archbishop of Armagh would, we believe, have been there had not business detained him. A bishop of this generation ought never to fear entering into a debate, even at a mixed meeting of clergy and laity. He may not be agreed with, but he certainly would be treated with respect and gain in future influence. ”

“ In 1837 he was appointed dean of Bristol, when he finally left Cambridge. His friend Sedgwick wrote on his departure : 'A friend of thirty years' standing, with whom an unkind word or an unkind thought never passed, is not to be replaced' (ib. p. 431) . He held the deanery of Bristol only a few months, being nominated to the see of Hereford, vacated by the death of Bishop Edward Grey, brother to Earl Grey, the premier. ”

“ Bristol was a member of the Royal Manor of Barton. At an early date, probably in Heptarchic times, a town grew up on the peninsula between the river Avon and its tributary the Frome; the existence of silver pennies of Ethelred the Unready, which were coined here, shows that it was at that time a burgh with the usual privilege of a mint. The reader will remember that it was the principal seaport of the western coast, and the principal emporium of the slave-trade in Saxon men, women, and children until Bishop Wulstan succeeded with difficulty in suppressing the nefarious traffic. ”

“ George, Brandon Hill, Bristol. The parish was large, the people poor, the income small. The dean and chapter were the patrons, and Norris felt it his duty to take the parish himself. He therefore moved permanently to Bristol. His own church and people were admirably cared for, and he also threw himself zealously into diocesan work. In 1876 he became rural dean of Bristol, and in 1877 vicar of the historic church of St. Mary Redcliffe. In 1881 the bishop made him archdeacon of Bristol, a post which led in the following year to the resignation of his incumbency. ”

“ Fifteen of the other twenty-five redistributed castles were committed to prelates {1223}. Bristol was transferred to its diocesan bishop, Jocelyn of Bath, from Bishop Pandulf of Norwich; the other fourteen had been in the charge of laymen. Jocelyn of Bath was also entrusted with one of these castles, Sherborne; eleven were committed to the bishops (in one case the archbishop) of the dioceses in which they respectively stood; the other two—Windsor and Odiham—to Archbishop Stephen. ”

“ Burnett’s “History of Bristol” mentions a commission opened by Bishop William of Wykham, in August, 1403, for enclosing Lucy de Newchurch, an anchoritess in the hermitage of St. Brendon in Bristol. Richard Francis, an ankret, is spoken of as inter quatuor parietes pro christi inclusus in Langtoft’s “Chronicle,” ij. ”

“ Ecgbert should aim at that number. It may here be noted that in this year of grace 1908 there are still only nine diocesan bishops in the Northern Province, besides the archbishop, and five of these nine have been created in the lifetime of some of us. Bristol knows to its heavy cost that Ripon was the first of the five.
[59]
But Bede points out, and here we come to very interesting matter, that the negligence of some former kings, and the foolish gifts of others, had left it very difficult to find a suitable see for a new bishop. The monasteries were in possession everywhere. ”

“ A council was summoned to meet at Bristol on 11 Nov., and was largely attended by bishops and barons of the king's party, who swore fealty to him. The lords chose as regent William Marshall, earl of Pembroke, with the title of ‘rector regis et regni,’ gave him charge of the king's person, and associated with him as his chief counsellors the legate and the Poitevin bishop of Winchester (cf. Stubbs, Select Charters, p. 329; Constitutional History, ii. 20) . Henry remained at Bristol until after Christmas, and thence went to Oxford, where a council of his party was held in the middle of January. ”

“ He obtained royal favour and was made chaplain to Henry VIII, who, on the foundation of the bishopric of Bristol, selected Bush as the first bishop of the new see (Rot. Parl. 34 Hen. VIII, p. 2) . His consecration took place in the parish church of Hampton, Middlesex, on Sunday, 25 June 1542 (Strype's Cranmer, lib. i. c. 241) . ”

“ Bristol saw a series of riots, and during them 289 suffered greatly from fire, and the Bishop’s palace was reduced to ashes.
Everywhere the popular fury settled with special bitterness and hatred upon the bishops; because, as teachers of the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth, the “common people” expected sympathy from them. A cry arose, from one end of England to the other, for their expulsion from the Upper Chamber; and proposals even for the abolition of the House of Lords were constant and very popular. For such extreme measures no speaker was so eloquent and so powerful as Mr. O’Connell. ”

“ The bishopric of Bristol is a standing difficulty. Henry VIII. planted the bishopstool at Bristol, and made Dorset the diocese. From this the union of Gloucester and Bristol was a natural revulsion. The cry for a separate bishopric of Bristol is equally natural now. But it is an equally natural cry that the abiding frontier of the diocese of Somerset, already slightly nibbled at, must not be further disturbed by any patched-up bishopric of "Bath and Bristol," or nobody knows what. Bristol in temporal matters belongs neither to Gloucestershire nor to Somerset; it is a free city. ”

“ There Popery is intolerant. In France the wings of Romanism are clipped; and if the patronage of the state were withdrawn, as very likely it may before long, the crumbling edifice would fall.
The Rev. Mr. Thomas, the pastor of Highbury Chapel, is a man of superior intellect, and we heard a very fine sermon from him.
I never was in a place where there are so many local charities as I find at Bristol. Every ailment of man seems here to be provided with its needed cure; and as for orphan asylums and refuges for the aged, blind, strangers, &c., they are every where to be found. ”

“ The houses in Bristol are not the handsomest that I have seen. The old churches have a very rugged appearance, and many of them are very ancient. In the afternoon I accompanied Bro. James, Brother T. Waugh, and others, to attend a Missionary Meeting at the village of Downend, five miles from Bristol. At the hour appointed the little chapel was filled with hearers. The meeting commenced by singing and prayer, after which several ministers addressed the meeting on the subject of missions. ”

“ Ellicott's episcopate lasted for forty-two years. He threw himself vigorously in diocesan work, improving the efficiency of his clergy, showing himself sympathetic to all schools of thought, helping the establishment of the Gloucester Theological College, and raising in Bristol 85,000l. for the restoration of the 'truncated and nave-less' cathedral. He promoted the work of church extension, forming in Bristol in 1867 the Church Aid Society, and encouraging the Bristol Church Extension Fund. ”

“ Henceforth, for almost exactly sixty-six years, Bristol is to be inseparably associated with his name. Could he have foreseen, on that Lord's day, what a work the Lord would do through him in that city; how from it as a centre his influence would radiate to the earth's ends, and how, even after his departure, he should continue to bear witness by the works which should follow him, how his heart would have swelled and burst with holy gratitude and praise,—while in humility he shrank back in awe and wonder from a responsibility and an opportunity so vast and overwhelming! ”

“ About the middle of this century a new church, not yet advanced to the dignity of a cathedral, was commenced at Oxford, and by the year 1180 it was sufficiently advanced to allow of the translation of the relics of S. Frideswide to their new shrine. In 1142 was founded the Abbey of Bristol, and its church was consecrated on Easter Day, 1148, although the completion of the buildings occupied the attention of the abbots for many years after. Southwell Minster was also building during the first half of the twelfth century ”

“ Standing while the Lord's Prayer is read (Vol. ix., p. 127.) .—A custom noted to prevail at Bristol: in connexion with it, it would be interesting to ascertain in what churches there still remain any usages of by-gone days, but which have generally got into desuetude. It is probable that in some one or other church there may still exist a usage handed down by tradition, which is not generally recognised nor authorised in the present day. Perhaps by means of our widely spread "N. & Q.," and the notes of its able contributors, this may be ascertained. ”

“ In 1247 a new course was cut for the river Frome which vastly improved the harbour, and in the same year a stone bridge was built over the Avon, bringing Temple and Redcliffe into closer touch with the city. The charter granted by Henry III. in 1256 was important. It gave the burgesses the right to choose coroners, and as they already farmed the geld payable to the king, Bristol must have been practically independent of the king. The growing exclusiveness of the merchant gild led to the great insurrection of 1312. ”

“ Once a day, I can manage quite well. Bristol was a refreshing place indeed. Congregations were very large, and a most gracious gale of divine influences attended the word preached. Being under a positive promise to come here before I left England, I embraced this opportunity. Through mercy, I preached last night, and find no hurt this morning. Many young people, I hear, are under great awakenings. May such hostilities never cease! O to begin to begin to wage an eternal war with the devil, the world, and the flesh. Still continue to help me, dear Sir, with your prayers. ”

“ On his release in March 1671, it was decided that he should visit Bristol for one month, and he did so in the following May. While there the whole congregation signed a call to him to remain with them, and presented it to him as he was leaving. The London church straightway elected Hardcastle assistant pastor, but he declined the post on 3 July 1671, and 31 July started for Bristol without obtaining ‘any letter of dismission.’ The place of meeting in Bristol having been let for a warehouse, rooms were taken on Lamb's Pavement, at the lower end of Broadmead (20 Aug. 1671) . ”

“ The bishopric of Bristol is the least wealthy ecclesiastical promotion which confers the dignity of a mitre. Its revenue is generally stated to amount to no more than five or six hundred pounds per annum. ”

“ If they are wise they will give him a good living, and then make him a canon as soon as possible. There's nothing like preferment to sober a man down in the Church."
"Yes," sighed Lady Caroline Rosse, the elder daughter, who was getting somewhat passée, and was deeply interested in Church work; "what a beautiful voice he has, and such a wonderful face! Really, he looked almost inspired at times. He would make quite an ideal bishop, and, you know, some quite young men are being made bishops now-a-days." ”

“ The helpers were often reminded that the supreme object of the institutions, founded in Bristol, was to prove God's faithfulness and the perfect safety of trusting solely to His promises; jealousy for Him must therefore restrain all tendency to look to man for help. Moreover, they were earnestly besought to live in such daily and hourly fellowship with God as that their own unbelief and disobedience might not risk either their own power in prayer, or the agreement, needful among them, in order to common supplication. ”

“ The Bristolians, under the instigation of the Earl of Gloucester, were partisans of the ex-empress Matilda; and wherever the King or his adherents had estates they came to seize their oxen and sheep, and carried men of substance into Bristol as captives, with bandaged eyes and bits in their mouths. From other towns as well as Bristol came forth plunderers, with humble gait and courteous discourse; who, when they met with a lonely man having the appearance of being wealthy, would bear him off to starvation and torture, till they had mulcted him to the last farthing. ”