St Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican
parish churchA parish church, in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
located in the
RedcliffeRedcliffe is a district of the English port city of Bristol, adjoining the city centre. It is bounded by the loop of the Floating Harbour to the west, north and east, the New Cut of the River Avon to the south and Temple Way and Temple Gate to the south-east...
district of the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
port city of
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
, close to the city centre.
Background
The church is
Grade I listed,
- the tallest building in Bristol
- the second tallest Anglican parish church in the country after St. James Church, Louth
St. James' Church, Louth is a parish church in the Church of England in Louth, Lincolnshire, England.-History:It is a medieval building. At tall, it has the tallest spire in England of any Anglican parish church, and the second highest spire of any parish church after the Roman Catholic Church of...
- the third tallest parish church in the country after the Roman Catholic Church of St. Walburge, Preston and St. James Church, Louth
St. James' Church, Louth is a parish church in the Church of England in Louth, Lincolnshire, England.-History:It is a medieval building. At tall, it has the tallest spire in England of any Anglican parish church, and the second highest spire of any parish church after the Roman Catholic Church of...
.
The church was described by Queen Elizabeth I as "
the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England.",
History
Parts of the church date to the beginning of the 12th century. However, most parts are the work of 15th-century masons. The strong vertical lines of the
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church direct the eye upwards, giving the impression of great space and height. The upper part of the
spireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit."...
, missing since being struck by lightning in 1446, was replaced in 1872 to a height of 292ft (90m).
In 1571, what was to become
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple SchoolSt Mary Redcliffe and Temple School is a Church of England Voluntary Aided school for 11-18 year-olds situated in the inner-city suburb of Redcliffe , Bristol...
was formed in a chapel in the churchyard. The church and school have remained closely linked in many aspects of their operations.
Thomas ChattertonThomas Chatterton was an English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry. He died of arsenic poisoning, either from a suicide attempt or self-medication for a venereal disease .-Childhood:...
was born in the house next to the church in 1752, and his writings were inspired by the church, in which he acted as
sextonA sexton is a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard.In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger....
and used a room over the south porch as a study.
During the Second World War a bomb exploded in a nearby street, throwing a
railRail tracks are the surface structures that support and guide trains or other rail-guided transportation vehicles.Most familiarly they consist of* two steel rails on which the vehicle wheels run,...
from the
tramA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
way over the houses and into the churchyard of St Mary Redcliffe, where it became embedded in the ground. The rail is left there as a monument.
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Architecture and decoration
The north
porchA vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
has an inner component dating from 1200, with black
Purbeck MarblePurbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
columns, and an outer hexagonal portion built in 1325 which is
ogeeAn ogee is a curve, shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel...
-cusped with a
MoorishMoorish architecture is a term used to describe the articulated Islamic architecture which developed in North Africa and south-western Europe, especially the Iberian Peninsula, where Islamic civilisation came into contact with Berber, Greco-Roman, Visigothic and other traditions...
appearance.
Much of the medieval church decoration was lost during the
ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
and the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first and second civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war saw fighting between supporters of...
. A
wrought-ironthumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content, in comparison to steel, and has fibrous inclusions, known as slag. This is what gives it a "grain" resembling wood, which is visible when it is etched...
chancel screen built by William Edney in 1710 still stands under the tower.
The church is adorned with monuments to individuals from the history of the city, including Sir William Penn (the father of
William PennWilliam Penn was an English founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future U.S. State of Pennsylvania. He was known as an early champion of democracy and religious freedom and famous for his good relations and his treaties with...
, founder of
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
). His
helmA helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from sword blows and arrows...
and
half-armourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat...
are hung on the wall, together with the tattered banners of the
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
ships that he captured in battle.
Little of the early stained glass remains. In the west window of St John's Chapel, for instance, the medieval glass barely survived the destruction (said to have been caused by
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
's men). Most of the higher portions went untouched, but others were severely damaged. In some cases the windows were impossible to repair, and clear glass was eventually introduced to replace the missing scenes.
The choir have released numerous recordings, as well as touring Europe and North America.
In the times of
Queen AnneAnne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702, succeeding her brother-in-law, William III of England and II of Scotland...
, and partially funded by her, the interior of St Mary Redcliffe was decorated in the flamboyant
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
style.
The
VictorianThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
stained-glass windows were created by some of the finest studios of that period.
The tower contains four bells dating from 1763 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the
Bilbie familyThe Bilbie family were bell founders and clockmakers based initially in Chew Stoke, Somerset and later at Cullompton, Devon in south-west England from the late 1600s to the early 1800s....
.
Hogarth's tryptych
A great
altarpieceAn altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
tryptych by
William HogarthWilliam Hogarth was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from excellent realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral...
was commissioned in 1756 to fill the east end of the
chancelIn architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
. The
churchwardenA churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, or parochial church council.-Responsibilities of...
s paid him £525 for his paintings of the
Ascension flanked by
The Sealing of the Sepulchre and the
Three Marys at the Tomb. This was removed from the church by mid-Victorian liturgists and stored at various sites, including a tobacco warehouse (as this provided suitable humidity), before being displayed at the
Bristol City Museum and Art GalleryThe Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. It is run by the city council with no entrance fee. It holds designated museum status, granted by the national government to protect outstanding museums...
; it is now stored in the redundant church of
St Nicholas, BristolSt Nicholas is a church in St Nicholas Street, Bristol, England.The first church was founded before 1154, with a chancel extending over the south gate of the city. The gate and old church were demolished to make way for the rebuilding of Bristol Bridge and the church was rebuilt in 1762-9 by James...
.
Organ
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The first
pipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and loudness throughout the keyboard compass...
in the church, built by Harris and Byfield in 1726, was of three manuals and 26 stops. In 1911 a four-manual 71-stop organ was built by
Harrison & HarrisonEstablished in 1861 and based in Durham, Harrison & Harrison Ltd are a British company that make and restore pipe organs. They are well known for their work on instruments such as King's College Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and the Royal Festival Hall....
. Towards the end of his life Arthur Harrison said that he regarded the organ at St Mary Redcliffe as his "finest and most characteristic work". This view has been echoed since by other notable organists.
Kevin BowyerKevin John Bowyer is a English organist, known for his prolific recording and recital career and his interest in playing unusual, modern and extremely difficult compositions.-Biography:...
recorded
SorabjiSorabji is a surname of Parsi origin.*Cornelia Sorabji , first woman barrister from India, social reformer, and writer.*Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji was a Parsi composer who lived in Britain....
's First Organ Symphony on it in 1988, for which the organ was an "ideal choice"; the notes to the recording describe the church as "acoustically ideal, with a reverberation period of 3½ seconds", and notes that the organ has "a luxuriousness of tone" and "a range of volume from practically inaudible to fiendishly loud". This organ was restored most recently in 1990, but remains essentially as Arthur Harrison designed it in 1911.
In January 2009, the organ builders Harrison & Harrison began to dismantle the organ in a process of renovation that will last 18 months. Most of the pipes will be taken away to the builders' workshop, but the largest 16ft and 32ft pipes will be cleaned on site. The renovation will cost around £800,000.
List of Organists
Organist
- Nelme Rogers 1727 - 1772
- John Allen 1772 - 1816
- Cornelius Bryan 1818 - 1840
- Edwin Hobhouse Sircom 1840 - 1855
- William Haydn Flood 1855 - 1862
Organist and Choirmaster
- Joseph William Lawson 1862 - 1906
- Ralph Thompson Morgan 1906 - 1949
- Kenneth Roy Long 1949 - 1952
- Ewart Garth Benson 1953 - 1968 (continued as Organist until 1987)
Choirmaster
- Peter Fowler 1968
- Bryan Anderson 1968 - 1980
- John Edward Marsh 1980 - 1987
Director of Music and Organist
- John Edward Marsh 1987 - 1994
- Anthony John Pinel 1994 - 2003
- Andrew William Kirk 2003
Assistant Organist
- John Edward Marsh 1976 - 1980
- Colin Hunt 1980 - 1990
- Anthony John Pinel 1990 - 1994
- Graham Alsop 1994 - 2003
- Graham & Claire Alsop 2003
Railway
The Bristol Harbour Railway used to run through a tunnel under the churchyard, between Bathurst Basin and .
External links