The New Diocese and its Clerical Elite

Abstract The establishment of the diocese of Bristol in 1542 signalled the creation of a new clerical elite in the city. Unlike their medieval counterparts, however, the cathedral clergy were not an integral part of a diverse clerical community nor did they enjoy independence from the lay elite. Their roles as clerical tax collectors and ecclesiastical judges separated them from the parochial clergy whose lives they regulated, while their superior educational qualifications and multiple preferments gave them more in common with the lay elite than with the lesser clergy, whose qualifications were declining. They were nevertheless subordinate to the lay elite, largely because of institutional realities. The new diocese, which could not have been erected without local lay support, was poorly endowed and its existence continuously threatened. Its clergy were extremely vulnerable to local lay influence except during the reign of Mary when new personnel relied on the Crown. Although canons were required by the cathedral statutes to preach and to maintain a grammar school, lay-controlled institutions lessened the cathedral clergy’s influence in these areas.