John Bryant

Excavations at Minster House, Bristol, 1992 John Bryant

Minster House, removed in 1883, adjoined the south-west corner of Bristol Cathedral. The cathedral was created in 1542 from the former St Augustine's Abbey, which had been the head house in England of the Victorine branch of the Augustinian canons. Minster House was used as a prebendal house from 1542 and had formerly been accommodation for the abbey's prior. Most of the house remains dated from the fifteenth century onwards but did include one wall of twelfth century date. The excavation uncovered part of the western claustral range or cellarium, dating from the twelfth century but rebuilt in the fourteenth century, including a bell tower and outer parlour. Evidence for bell-founding and tile production was also found, while there were finds from all periods from the 1100s onwards. This book looks at the history, archaeology and finds, and includes nineteenth century illustrations of Minster House.