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Over the years the church has always tried to be relevant and reach out to its parishioners.

"The point the current bishop is always making is 'changing churches for changing communities in order to change lives'," said Dr Robert Dunning, a historian who has charted the Diocese's past.

Technology has always played a part - whether it be from the railways enabling the bishop to visit more of the parish easily or from the advent of the Internet allowing people to have easy access to their message and to find out about events.

When the Diocese was first set up the bishop was appointed by the king so it was not a particularly religious position however that gradually changed over time.

So how does the Diocese appeal to people of today? One way is for churches to be opened up and used for different, non-traditional events.

Elizabeth was filmed at Wells cathedral

"Clearly villages aren't the same as what they were hundreds of years ago - post offices have gone for instance - but the church building - what is it there for? And can it be used for something else as well? Concerts? And if you do, you have to somehow be able to move the pews. And if you are going to have concerts which last longer than church services, then you'll need a loo and a kitchen," said Dr Dunning.

Wells Cathedral was used for the filming of Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchett. Not only did the film showcase the cathedral, but it also provided them with much needed money as the cathedral costs a few thousand each day to run.

The Bishop Palace has been used as a location for programmes such as The Antiques Roadshow and the grounds have been used for sculpture exhibitions.

Modernise message

Away from the church buildings, many pastors are reaching out to people in alternative ways.

Shane is the pastor at H Church

Shane Dean, 36, a pastor in Weston-super-Mare and former journalist, said: "It’s very hard [to get non-church-goers interested] and that's the situation we find ourselves in England today.

"It's not something people think of doing. If we're brutally honest, we're probably not in the top 100 of places people would want to go to for entertainment; it's cinema, it's the pub; church won't even get a look-in."

He said a church is literally a place where Christians meet - whether that be in a school, cafe or nightclub.

"I think we need to go back to basics of what church is all about which is really a place where you can show God's love in a relevant way to peoples' lives.

"It’s hard for people to come through the doors of a church but easier for them to go to a pub."

He said the focus of their church is not just Sunday mornings as some people might not be able to attend that service because they've had a hard week at work or a late Saturday night, so they hold meetings at times which are convenient.

Street pastors help revellers

"Our niche are people who have never been to church or those who are fed up with traditional church which is probably the majority of people in Weston-super-Mare.

"The message stays exactly the same - all we've done is modernise it."

Street pastor schemes whereby pastors help revellers out in the early hours are being run in Taunton and Yeovil. 

But there are limits as to what a church can do. A children group was banned from a church hall in Taunton because their yoga lessons were "unchristian".

"A lot of the things which are done and the way they are done are the ways they were done 500 years ago," said Dr Dunning.

"All those things and the church services are still dating back 2,3,400 years. But that's its strength as well as its weakness."