Bristol Cathedral was not raised to the status of a cathedral until 1542 by Henry VIII but a building of size and importance has stood on the site since medieval times and possibly before. In around 1140 a monastery run by Augustinian canons was founded by Robert Fitzharding. Fitzharding supported Henry II and was the founder of the Berkeley family and castle. The consecration of the of the Augustinian Abbey took place on Easter Day, 1148. Only the eastern section of the building has survived from medieval times. The nave was rebuilt in the middle of the last century by George Edmund Street after the Norman nave fell into decay. Unusually, the Augustinian builders chose to build the church with aisles as high as the centre, a style found more commonly in Germany where the style is called Hallenkirche or hall-church. The existing chapter-house dates back to 1150.
The Augustinian Abbey at Bristol founded by Robert Fitzharding was consecrated on Easter day in the presence of the Bishops of Worcester, Exeter, St. Asaph and Llandaff.
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