When I visit somewhere unfamiliar for work I often try to sneak some photography in too, but that brings the challenge of finding the right location. For my trip to Bristol in February I asked Google for suggestions of ‘interesting architecture in Bristol’ and it came up with Clifton Cathedral. To be honest, until that point I had no idea there even was a cathedral in Clifton so my curiosity was piqued. I discovered it’s a Catholic Cathedral, completed in the early 1970s in the brutalist style, so that was all the information I needed to put it at the top of my ‘must visit’ list!
Inside I found a cavernous space, designed to seat 2000 people, with no one’s view obscured by pillars. The concrete spire stands above a large geometric space, supported by a huge concrete ring beam, and that alone created some amazing combinations of shapes and lines.
Around the cavernous central space are areas with a lower ceiling, but even these offered some fascinating lines and dramatic contrasts of light.
Some of the stained glass has beautiful colours, but even here I was drawn to the contrasts of light and shade, so monochrome seemed the right choice. On a sunny day I might have decided differently!
More hexagonal accents…
The ceiling above the central part of the Cathedral is decorated with three dimensional wooden triangles and the soft light was catching them perfectly to create add more depth than one would expect from a two dimensional photograph.
Photos taken 14 February 2025