all that my soul holds dear." Of Fitz-Harding's abbey of St Augustine,
founded in 1142 (of which the present cathedral was the church), the
stately entrance gateway, with its sculptured mouldings, remains hardly
injured. The abbot's gateway, the vestibule to the chapter-house, and the
chapter-house itself, which is carved with Byzantine exuberance of
decoration, and acknowledged to be one of the finest Norman chambers in
Europe, are also perfect. On the north side of College Green is the small
but ornate Mayor's chapel (originally St Mark's), devoted to the services
of the mayor and corporation. It is mainly Decorated and Perpendicular. Of
the churches within the centre of the city, the following are found within
a radius of half-a-mile from Bristol Bridge. St Stephen's church, built
between 1450 and 1490, is a dignified structure, chiefly interesting for
its fan-traceried porch and stately tower. It was built entirely by the
munificence of John Shipward, a wealthy merchant. The tower and spire of St
John's (15th century) stand on one of the gateways of the city. This church
is a parallelogram, without east or west windows or aisles, and is built
upon a fine groined crypt. St James's church, the burial place of its
founder, Robert, earl of Gloucester, dates from 1130, and fine Norman work
remains in the nave. The tower is of the 14th century. St Philip's has an
Early English tower, but its external walls and windows are for the most
part debased Perpendicular. Robert FitzHamon's Norman tower of St Peter,
the oldest church tower in Bristol, still presents its massive square to
the eye. This church stands in Castle Street, which commemorates the castle
of Robert, earl of Gloucester, the walls of which were 25 ft. thick at the
base. Nothing remains of this foundation, but there still exist some walls
and vaults of the later stronghold, including a fine Early English cell.
Adjacent to the church is St Peter's hospital, a picturesque gabled
building of Jacobean and earlier date, with a fine court room. St Mary le
Port and St Augustine the Less are churches of the Perpendicular era, and
not the richest specimens of their kind. St Nicholas church is modern, on a
crypt of the date 1503, and earlier. On the island south of the Floating
Harbour are two of the most interesting churches in the city. Temple
church, with its leaning tower, 5 ft. off the perpendicular, retains
nothing of the Templars' period, but is a fine building of t