| St Mary le Port Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Bristol Central | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°27′17″N2°35′30″W / 51.4547°N 2.5916°W |
| Completed | 15th century |
| Demolished | (partially) 24 November 1940 |
St Mary le Port is a ruined parish church in the centre of Bristol, England, situated in Castle Park on what remains of Mary le Port Street.
St Mary le Port is said to have been founded in Saxon times after Anglo-Saxon foundations were found during archaeological excavations [1] and Saxon pottery was found nearby. [2] The church was rebuilt and enlarged between the 11th and 16th centuries.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries the church was a very popular centre of evangelical, Protestant, and Calvinist teaching within Anglicanism.
The church was bombed in the Second World War on 24 November 1940 during the Bristol Blitz. John Piper painted an evocative picture of the bombed St Mary le Port. This image appears on the 1/6d British commemorative stamp, part of a set of four paintings by British artists issued in 1968. All that remains of the church is the 15th-century tower, a Grade II listed building, [3] and a scheduled monument [4] surrounded during the latter years of the 20th century by the incongruous modernist buildings of Norwich Union and the Bank of England, which by the 2020s were both empty and had become semi-derelict eyesores, with further redevelopment proposed. [5] [6]
After the bombing in 1940 the congregation and their rector, William Dodgson-Sykes, moved to St John on the Wall Church, where the congregation remained, in gradually declining numbers, till this church building was closed for worship by the Church Commissioners in 1984 (after a protracted struggle by the congregation). The remaining congregation then moved to the Chapel of Foster's Almshouses, and joined the Church of England (Continuing) in 1995. [7] The C of E (Continuing) no longer lists a congregation in Bristol; some of the congregation joined with the new Free Presbyterian Church (Ulster) congregation in Horfield, Bristol.
Although many of the parish records of St Mary le Port church were destroyed when the church was bombed, some archive material is held at Bristol Archives (Refs. P. StMP) (online catalogue) and P.St JB/MLP (online catalogue) including copies of baptism, marriage and burial registers. The archive also includes records of the incumbent, churchwardens, parochial church council, charities and schools, plus deeds.
The church's clergy have included:
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. The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158, 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. The church is so large it is sometimes mistaken for Bristol Cathedral by tourists. The building has Grade I listed status, the highest possible category, by Historic England.
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing. No universally accepted example survives above ground. Generally preferring not to settle within the old Roman cities, the Anglo-Saxons built small towns near their centres of agriculture, at fords in rivers or sited to serve as ports. In each town, a main hall was in the centre, provided with a central hearth.
John Loughborough Pearson was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation. He worked on at least 210 ecclesiastical buildings in England alone in a career spanning 54 years.
All Souls Church is a conservative evangelical Anglican church in central London, situated in Langham Place in Marylebone, at the north end of Regent Street. It was designed in Regency style by John Nash and consecrated in 1824.
Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University of Durham through the Common Awards Scheme, though the college sets its own curriculum. Many of its students are training for ordination in the Church of England; and hence there is a strong vocational aspect to the courses it provides. It also has students of other Christian denominations, as well as students who are intending to serve within various forms of lay ministry. The college also has a significant number of students studying for research degrees at masters and doctoral levels. All of Trinity's postgraduate research courses are validated by the University of Aberdeen.
Bristol is a city with a population of nearly half a million people in south west England, situated between Somerset and Gloucestershire on the tidal River Avon. It has been among the country's largest and most economically and culturally important cities for eight centuries. The Bristol area has been settled since the Stone Age and there is evidence of Roman occupation. A mint was established in the Saxon burgh of Brycgstow by the 10th century and the town rose to prominence in the Norman era, gaining a charter and county status in 1373. The change in the form of the name 'Bristol' is due to the local pronunciation of 'ow' as 'ol'.
Bristol, the largest city in South West England, has an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from the medieval to 20th century brutalism and beyond. During the mid-19th century, Bristol Byzantine, an architectural style unique to the city, was developed, and several examples have survived.
William Sykes, born in Barrow-in-Furness, was first Curate of St John's Church, Tunbridge Wells; Vicar of Hillsborough and Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield, 1895–1919; Vicar of Audley, Staffordshire, 1919–1928; first President of the Sovereign Grace Union 1913–1930.
The Gospel Magazine is a Calvinist, evangelical Christian magazine from the United Kingdom, and is one of the longest running of such periodicals, having been founded in 1766. Most of the editors have been Anglicans. It is now published bi-monthly.
Castle Park is a public open space in Bristol, England, managed by Bristol City Council. It is bounded by the Floating Harbour and Castle Street to the south, Lower Castle Street to the east, and Broad Weir, Newgate and Wine Street to the north. Its western boundary is less obviously defined and has been the subject of controversy, perhaps because the area around High Street and St Mary le Port Church, though not part of the park and always intended for development, is often considered at the same time as the park.
St Mary sub Castro, or St Mary de Castro, or St Mary in Castro, is a church in the grounds of Dover Castle, Kent, south-east England. It is a heavily restored Anglo-Saxon structure, built next to a Roman lighthouse which became the church bell-tower. St Mary serves the local population and the army and is the church of the Dover Garrison.
Colchester in Essex, England, has a number of notable churches.
The Church of St John the Baptist in Bristol, also known as St John on the Wall, is a historic church in the care of heritage charity the Churches Conservation Trust. The upper church and its medieval vaulted crypt is located at the lower end of Broad Street and is built into the old city's medieval walls.
St Thomas the Martyr is a former Church of England parish church on St Thomas Street in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol.
Saint Mary's Church, is the civic church for the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England. Originally founded in circa 634, St Mary's has been the mother church of Southampton since its inception. The present building, now the sixth incarnation of a church on this site, dates mostly to a rebuilding from 1954 to 1956, following its destruction in the Southampton Blitz, except for the notable Grade II listed tower and spire, which date from 1912 to 1914.
The parish church of St Mary and St Cuthbert is a Church of England church in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. The site has been used for worship for over 1100 years; elements of the current building are over 950 years old. The oldest surviving translation of the Gospels into English was done here, by Aldred between 947 and 968, at a time when it served as the centre of Christianity from Lothian to Teesside.
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted, is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It stands on the main High Street of the town and is recognisable by its 85-foot (26 m) clock tower.
All Saints' Church, also known as Lydd Church or The Cathedral on the Marsh, is a church in Lydd, Kent, South East England. It belongs to the Diocese of Canterbury. All Saints is the longest parish church in Kent at 199 feet (61 m), and also has one of the tallest towers in the county at 132 feet (40 m). The church is thought to incorporate a small Romano-British basilica possibly built in the 5th century, though most of the current fabric is medieval. It was associated with local fraternities or guilds in the 15th century and could seat 1,000 people at a time. Severely damaged by World War II bombing, the church was subsequently restored and is now a Grade I listed building.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in Guildford in Surrey, England; the church's Anglo-Saxon tower is the oldest surviving structure in the town. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the author Lewis Carroll, preached here and his funeral was held in the church in 1898. Coming under the Diocese of Guildford, the church has been Grade I listed since 1953.
Mary le Port Street was an important thoroughfare from an early stage in the development of the settlement of Bristol, England, linking the area around St Peters Church and, later, Bristol Castle with the Saxon core of the town to the west at High Street, Wine Street, Corn Street and Broad Street. It was heavily damaged by aerial bombing in 1940, and was relegated to an unnamed service road and footway in post-war reconstruction of the area.
