St Mary le Port Church, Bristol

St Mary le Port Church
Location within Bristol
General information
Town or city Bristol
Country England
Coordinates 51°27′17″N 2°35′31″W / 51.454789°N 2.592076°W / 51.454789; -2.592076
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 the area known as Castle Park.

History

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.

Photograph, c.1940, showing the remains of the church from the south east, following the Bristol Blitz bombing raid. Other bombed buildings and the tower of All Saints' Church are also visible.

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 1/6 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 Ancient Monument[4] which during the latter years of the 20th century was surrounded by the buildings of Norwich Union and the Bank of England.

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.[5] 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.

Archives

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.

Clergy of St Mary-le-Port church

The church's clergy have included:

- son of William Sykes (first President of the Sovereign Grace Union)
- Principal of the Bible Churchmen's Missionary and Theological College, later part of Trinity College, Bristol
(Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society, now Crosslinks[9]
- Head of the Irish Church Missions

See also

References

  1. ↑ M Q Smith, The Medieval Churches of Bristol, University of Bristol (Bristol branch of the Historical Association), 1970, p. 4.
  2. ↑ Bristol in the Early Middle Ages, University of Bristol (Bristol branch of the Historical Association), 1971, p6.
  3. ↑ "Tower of Church of St Mary-le-Port". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Bristol" (PDF). Bristol City Council. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  5. ↑ C of E (Continuing) Journal
  6. ↑ "Waddy - Wrigley". The Methodist Archives Biographical Index. University of Manchester John Rylands University Library. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Tabb - Tyerman". The Methodist Archives Biographical Index. University of Manchester John Rylands University Library. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Scottish Ministers (Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae)". Retrieved 29 June 2011.
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