St Mary Redcliffe from the north west, showing tower, spire, nave and hexagonal porch
St Mary Redcliffe
Location in Bristol
Location
Redcliffe, Bristol, England
Denomination
Church of England
Churchmanship
Broad Church
Website
https://www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk
History
Founded
c. 1158
Dedication
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Architecture
Functional status
Active
Heritage designation
Grade I
Designated
8 January 1959
Style
Early English Gothic, Decorated Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic, Gothic Revival
Years built
1185-1872
Specifications
Length
250 feet (76 m)
Nave height
55 feet (17 m)
Spire height
262 feet (80 m) to capstone
274 feet (84 m) including weathervane
Bells
15 (ring of twelve plus extra treble, flat sixth and service bell)
Tenor bell weight
50 long cwt 2 qr 21 lb (5,677 lb or 2,575 kg)
Administration
Province
Canterbury
Diocese
Bristol
Archdeaconry
Bristol
Deanery
Bristol South
Parish
St Mary Redcliffe with Temple Bristol and St John the Baptist, Bedminster
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, widely known as St Mary Redcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city of Bristol, England.[1] The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158,[2] with the present building dating from 1185 to 1872. The church is considered one of the country's finest and largest parish churches as well as an outstanding example of English Gothic architecture.[3] The church is so large it is sometimes mistaken for Bristol Cathedral by tourists.[4] The building has Grade I listed status, the highest possible category, by Historic England.[5]
The church is notable for its many large stained glass windows, decorative stone vaults, flying buttresses, rare hexagonal porch and massive Gothic spire. With a height of 274 feet (84 m)[6] to the top of the weathervane, St Mary Redcliffe is the second-tallest structure in Bristol and the sixth-tallest parish church in the country. The church spire is a major Bristol landmark, visible from across the city and until the completion of Castle Park View in 2020, it was the tallest structure ever to have been erected in Bristol.[7]
St Mary Redcliffe has received widespread critical acclaim from various architects, historians, poets, writers and monarchs. Queen Elizabeth I, on a visit to the church in 1574, described St Mary Redcliffe as "The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England";[8] Simon Jenkins gives St Mary Redcliffe the maximum five-star rating in his book 'England's Thousand Best Churches', one of only eighteen to receive such a rating, describing it as a "masterpiece of English Gothic"; and Nikolaus Pevsner says that "St Mary Redcliffe need not fear comparison with any other English parish church".[9][10]
^A Church Near You. "St Mary Redcliffe". Church of England. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^Madan, William Nigel (1921). A short guide to St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. Harold B. Lee Library. [Bristol : Came & Cave].
^Ross, David. "St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol | Historic Bristol Guide". Britain Express. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^"St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol". TripAdvisor. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^Historic England. "Church of St Mary Redcliffe (Grade I) (1218848)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
^Flannery, Julian (2016). Fifty English steeples: the finest Medieval parish church towers and spires in England. New York, New York: National Geographic Books. pp. 170–181. ISBN 978-0-500-34314-2. OCLC 958378015.
^Cork, Tristan (5 January 2020). "Historic moment for Bristol as it gets new tallest building". BristolLive. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^"Queen Elizabeth I". St Mary Redcliffe. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^Jenkins, Simon (2000). England's thousand best churches. Internet Archive. London ; New York : Penguin Books. pp. 233–235. ISBN 978-0-14-029795-9.
^Pevsner, Nikolaus (1958). North Somerset and Bristol. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin books. ISBN 0-14-071013-2. OCLC 8991318.
The Church of StMary the Virgin, widely known as StMaryRedcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city...
StMaryRedcliffe and Temple School (informally referred to as 'StMaryRedcliffe', 'Redcliffe' or 'SMRT') is a Church of England voluntary aided school...
StMaryRedcliffe Pipe Walk is an annual tradition which sees participants follow the route of a conduit that runs from a water source in the Knowle area...
patron of the arts in Bristol, particularly concerning the church of StMaryRedcliffe in Bristol, "The crown of Bristol architecture". Following the death...
houses a 1756 William Hogarth triptych painted for the high altar of StMaryRedcliffe. The church also has statues of King Edward I (moved from Arno's Court...
fame. Chatterton was born in Bristol where the office of sexton of StMaryRedcliffe had long been held by the Chatterton family. The poet's father, also...
He gave money to schools in Temple (one of which went on to become StMaryRedcliffe and Temple School) and other parts of Bristol, and to several churches...
Elizabeth Landon This is an extract from the StMaryRedcliffe official website: William Canynges of Redcliffe Street - merchant, five-times Mayor of Bristol...
1775, William Watts, a plumber, started converting his house, near StMaryRedcliffe Church, into the world's first shot tower, in order to make lead shot...
Street Bridge, circling Queen Square then heading to Castle Park via StMaryRedcliffe and Temple Circus. The final mile and a half take place in the Old...
General Hospital. They may also once have linked with the crypt of StMaryRedcliffe. A survey in 1953 and 1954 explored and mapped the accessible portions...
Transit, a proposed American light-rail system StMaryRedcliffe and Temple School, a school located at Redcliffe, Bristol Thomas J. Smrt (born 1928), American...
(1571) St Olave's Grammar School (1571) StMaryRedcliffe School (1571) (merged with Temple Colston School for girls (1709) and is now StMaryRedcliffe and...
William II Canynges (d.1474), as depicted on his canopied tomb in StMaryRedcliffe Church, showing the couped heads of three Moors wreathed at the temples...
working with his brother Henry. The name Redcliffe was chosen due to Godwin's connections with StMaryRedcliffe in Bristol. This square was given to the...
Bristol. He was brought up in Redcliffe, where his father ran the York House pub. He sang in the church choir at StMaryRedcliffe. Wedlock was educated at...
Cathedral. The 278 ft (85 m) high spire is clearly influenced by that of StMaryRedcliffe, Bristol. The present church retains many fittings from the earlier...
in Westbury on Trym. The 12th century also saw the foundation of StMaryRedcliffe, renowned as one of the finest examples of the 15th century Perpendicular...
Organist of St. Andrew's Church, Hingham, Norfolk 1893 - 1895 Organist of St. Mary the Virgin, Hayes, Kent 1895 - 1906 Organist of StMaryRedcliffe 1906 -...
1795, the two friends married sisters Sara and Edith Fricker, in StMaryRedcliffe, Bristol, but Coleridge's marriage with Sara proved unhappy. By 1804...
William Joy as they are similar to the work at Wells Cathedral and StMaryRedcliffe. The choir is separated from the eastern Lady Chapel by a 14th-century...
Place in the parish of Wraxall in Somerset and of the parish of Saint MaryRedcliffe in Bristol, was a wealthy merchant at Bristol, then in Gloucestershire...
Blessed Virgin Mary parish church, part of a World Heritage Site StMaryRedcliffeStMaryRedcliffe Bristol Bristol England StMaryRedcliffe parish church...
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