with the north of England by way of Gloucester, Worcester,
Birmingham and Derby. Both companies use the central station, Temple Meads.

The nucleus of Bristol lies to the north of the river. The business centre
is in the district traversed by Broad Street, High Street, Wine Street and
Corn Street, which radiate from a centre close to the Floating Harbour. To
the south of this centre, connected with it by Bristol Bridge, an island is
formed between the Floating Harbour and the New Course of the Avon, [v.04
p.0579] and here are Temple Meads station, above Victoria Street, two of
the finest churches (the Temple and St Mary Redcliffe) the general hospital
and other public buildings. Immediately above the bridge the little river
Frome joins the Avon. Owing to the nature of the site the streets are
irregular; in the inner part of the city they are generally narrow, and
sometimes, with their ancient gabled houses, extremely picturesque. The
principal suburbs surround the city to the west, north and east.

_Churches, &c._--In the centre of Bristol a remarkable collection of
architectural antiquities is found, principally ecclesiastical. This the
city owes mainly to a few great baronial families, such as the earls of
Gloucester and the Berkeleys, in its early history, and to a few great
merchants, the Canyngs, Shipwards and Framptons, in its later career. The
see of Bristol, founded by Henry VIII. in 1542, was united to that of
Gloucester in 1836; but again separated in 1896. The diocese includes parts
of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and a small but populous [Sidenote:
Cathedral.] portion of Somerset. The cathedral, standing above the
so-called Canons' Marsh which borders the Floating Harbour, is pleasantly
situated on the south side of College Green. It has two western towers and
a central tower, nave, short transepts, choir with aisles, an eastern Lady
chapel and other chapels; and on the south, a chapter-house and cloister
court. The nave is modern (by Street, 1877), imitating the choir of the
14th century, with its curious skeleton-vaulting in the aisles. Besides the
canopied tombs of the Berkeleys with their effigies in chain mail, and
similarly fine tombs of the crosiered abbots, there are memorials to Bishop
Butler, to Sterne's Eliza (Elizabeth Draper), and to Lady Hesketh (the
friend of Cowper), who are all interred here. There is also here William
Mason's fine epitaph to his wife (d. 1767), beginning "Take, holy earth,