CLTV ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Religious Life. 



Bristol is a cathedral city. It was founded as the head of a diocese 

 in 1542, and was known as one of the foundations of Henry VIII. In 

 1836 it was united with the See of Gloucester, but a recent act of 

 parliament has been passed constituting the city once more as the head 

 of a diocese, and a new bishop, known as the Bishop of Bristol, has just 

 been appointed. 



Many of the churches of Bristol are very ancient fabrics, having- 

 been built many centuries ago. This particularly refers to the ancient 

 wards of the city. We can scarcely imagine that there was a population 

 in the ancient city at any time sufficiently large to fill all the central 

 churches ; but I have reason to think that many of these churches were 

 built in association with ancient guilds. With the growth of the city 

 many fine structures have been erected nearer the outskirts. Bristol in 

 the past was known as " a city of churches," and in its more extended 

 form it has not belied its reputation. The rehgious instruction of the 

 people is not by any means confined to the Church of England. There 

 are many free churches in the city which have histories quite as inter- 

 esting, in regard to their foundation, as some of the churches of the 

 establishment, and there are records in some of the free churches to-day 

 of men who have suffered martyrdom within the city boundaries for 

 liberty of conscience. Those were the days of religious intolerance, but,, 

 happily, those days are long past, and we may safely prophesy, are 

 never likely to return. 



Before leaving this part of my subject I ought to saj^ that one of 

 your strongest Protestant churches in Canada and the United States is 

 the Methodist Church : this had its home in Bristol ; it was here the 

 first Methodist chapel was built. It has now passed away from the 

 original foundation, and is used by Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. In 

 the suburbs of Bristol the old chapel still stands which was built by 

 John Wesley in connection with the school which he established for tho 

 education of ministers' sons. The school has been pulled down, and the 

 site is now used as a reformatory, but the old chapel still exists in its 

 primitive form (as well as the pulpit from which Wesley preached) 

 and is now used for devotional exercises in connection with the re- 

 formatory. 



Both the Anglican and the free church communities of Bristol have 

 possessed as their pastors some of the finest spirits of their age. 



Bishop Butler, the writer of the well known " Analogy " upon which 

 Mr. Gladstone has recently been writing — presided over the Cathedral 

 for twelve years, and is buried within its precincts, whilst amongst the 

 free churches I might mention such names as John Foster, Eobert Hall, 

 Dr. Gotch, Dr. Carpenter, and his daughter, Mary Carpenter — the zealous. 



