AYAR 2023 Web

2023

Contents 

Singing the song of faith and 

justice 

Welcome 01 

As a thriving inclusive Christian 

community 

General 04 

Lent Group 05 

Congregation 05 

Choir and Music 06 

Children and Families 08 

Theology Book Group 10 

Meditation Group 11 

Bell Ringers 12 

As a church that makes a 

difference in the parish and 

beyond 

SMR Primary 14 

SMR Secondary 15 

As a recognised, welcoming 

heritage destination 

Heritage and Tours 22 

Volunteers 23 

North Transept Window 24 

As a sustainable and 

progressive organisation 

Commercial 27 

PCC Activity 28 

Electoral Roll 29 

Deanery Synod 30 

Diocesan Synod 32 

Safeguarding 34 

Finance 36 

Fabric 38 

Project 450 39 

Archaeological Research 41 

Treefest 16 

Community Engagement 17 

Charity Partners 20 

Photography: Emily Whitfield-Wicks, unless 

otherwise stated

A Year at Redcliffe 2023 

Singing the song of faith and justice 

Welcome 

2023 was a year of significant change 

within the staff team. 

After twenty years as part of the 

church community and as our 

Families and Youth Minister since 

2019, Becky James was farewelled at 

a special morning service on Sunday 4 

June. Becky had a huge impact on our 

engagement with children and 

families, growing our ministry to 

reach over 100 children, and they 

turned out in large numbers to mark 

the moment. Becky moved on having 

discerned a vocation to the 

priesthood and was ordained in 

Bristol Cathedral on Sunday 2 July, 

and again huge numbers of SMR folk 

were present to pray for and with her 

and to affirm her in her new ministry. 

For almost all the time that Becky has 

been part of SMR, Andrew Kirk had 

been our Director of Music. He took 

the bold decision to step out from full 

time employment to become a 

freelance musician. His final day with 

us was Sunday 30 April and was 

marked by two fantastic services. One 

focussed on his role within the life of 

the church congregation and the 

other representing his work across 

the city. Both very well attended 

underlining Andrew’s place in the 

musical life of the church and city. His 

contribution to the musical life of 

SMR will be remembered for, 

amongst other things, the 

introduction of girl choristers and the 

renovation of the organ. 

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After five years exercising priestly 

ministry at SMR, Rev Anthony Everitt 

sensed a new calling in his ministry. 

We thanked him for his contribution 

to the of this church on Sunday 26 

November and a dozen or so folks 

went to his licensing at St Francis 

Ashton Gate on Sunday 4 February 

2024. 

Not all staff moves were as visible. I 

was grateful to Claire Alsop for 

agreeing to take on the role of Acting 

Director of Music after Andrew’s 

departure and in the office, we said 

‘thank you and farewell’ to two of our 

admin team, Héloïse and Rebecca. 

Both made significant improvements 

in the administrative processes of the 

parish office, especially in the 

complex arrangements around 

rewriting contracts with harmonised 

terms and conditions following the 

TUPE process a few years ago. Both 

went on to pursue other avenues and 

are missed as much as Becky and 

Andrew. 

And not all the key personnel changes 

were staff members: after over 30 

years in charge of our church flowers 

and in her mid-90s, Mildred Ford 

stood down and was thanked, not 

with a bunch of flowers, but a 

beautiful glass vase! 

But it’s not just been farewells … we 

have also welcomed a whole string of 

new faces, not least Liz Hewitt taking 

over from Mildred! 

The final weeks of 2022 saw the 

appointment of Chris Whitwell as our 

Volunteer Coordinator. Along with 

Ellie Bowes, Visitor Services and 

Commercial Manager who started 

with us in March 2024, these are 

posts identified in a business plan 

written a few years’ ago to improve 

our offer to visitors, grow our footfall, 

and increase our income. Those 

targets are undoubtedly being met: 

for instance, income from hiring the 

church has risen from £3,000 to over 

£40,000 in under a year. The posts are 

funded for two years from a legacy, 

and we will need to work hard to 

ensure we have the funds to keep 

them in post. 

Also in March, Rev Laura Verrall-Kelly 

was licensed at a special service 

attended by people from SMR and 

other churches where she has served. 

Laura takes responsibility for 

managing our community 

engagement work and for leading our 

Christian community strand. David 

Cousins took extended parental leave 

last summer, giving Laura a great 

opportunity to get ‘under the skin’ of 

our community work. Alongside that 

her understanding of people and of 

church and of how we need to 

develop to be the best version of 

ourselves is outstanding. 

In September, we welcome our new 

Director of Music, Joe Cryan. Joe had 

an immediate impact at interview: 

tripping over, losing his shoe and 

walking into the girls’ rehearsal in his 

socks! That may not have been 

planned (but maybe it was??) but his 

planning and his expectations of 

those around him have had a 

significant impact on the music 

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making across the ranges of services 

we offer and beyond. Joe has brought 

a profoundly simple question with 

him: What does Bristol sound like? 

We look forward to hearing that 

answer in years to come. 

Then in November, Keilah Cadogan 

joined us. She has been appointed as 

our Children and Families Minister 

and she and Laura are very aware 

that this still leaves a gap in our 

ministry for young people. 

There are of course other comings 

and goings of people at St Mary 

Redcliffe. And over the last couple of 

years, we have mourned the deaths 

of Audrey Organ, Betty Tyley, Alan 

Stevens, Mary Mould, Clifford Stock, 

Wendy Roberts, Valerie Lee, Paul 

Wood, Jim Morgan, Ivor Watts, and 

David Biggs. 

Churches are the people: we are 

shaped by each and every one of 

them. We thank God for all those 

who have, and who continue, to 

mould and shape the life of St Mary 

Redcliffe. Individually and together, 

both here or on that distant shore, 

we continue to sing the song of faith 

and justice. 

- Dan Tyndall, Vicar 

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As a thriving inclusive Christian community 

General 

It feels surreal to think that this time 

last year, I had only been working at 

SMR in my new role as Associate 

Vicar for just over a month! In just 

over a year I have gone from newbie, 

trying to say ‘hello’ to as many people 

as I can, to feeling like I know so many 

of you better. Jack and I quickly felt at 

home at SMR, and we are so thankful 

to be here and serving with you as we 

continue to spread God’s love and 

hope in Redcliffe. 

Another highlight is what a joy it is to 

be part of the staff team at SMR. I 

truly think Dan has brought together 

a new team of people who are 

enthusiastic, creative, and passionate 

about all the multi-facets of SMR. As 

there are so many new people, there 

has been a lot to learn and get to 

grips with and personally, I am so 

thankful to you all for your grace, 

humour, and generosity as I have 

attempted to sing (!), remember 

which way I am walking in a service, 

and just generally understand each 

unique part of SMR. 

I read a previous ‘A Year in Redcliffe’, 

from 2021 which was, naturally, 

about the Covid-19 pandemic. I don’t 

wish to revisit those dark days of 

masks, isolation and little to no toilet 

roll in supermarkets too much, but I 

was struck by one thing and that is 

the resilience of this parish. The costof-living 

crisis has affected Redcliffe in 

a significant way. 

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As I spend time in The Hub, there has 

been a shift from people coming in 

and trying to make up excuses to use 

the space to people being open and 

blatant in needing to charge their 

phones, get warm, or seek help with 

finances. It has been a privilege to 

witness and at times be part of the 

love, dignity and kindness that is 

offered through The Hub. Despite the 

very hard circumstances many live in, 

despite the injustice of it all, people 

are resilient, and I feel we have 

created a space at The Hub where I 

have thought on more than one 

occasion… perhaps this is where Jesus 

would hang out if he came back 

today. Your giving, your time and your 

prayers all go towards supporting our 

work through The Hub. 

When I applied for Associate Vicar, I 

was struck by the unique nature of 

the role which is to nurture the 

gathered congregation and also the 

wider parish and see how these can 

be linked even further. As I continue 

to seek to develop discipleship and 

inclusivity at SMR, I equally look at 

how we can stand alongside our 

parish and ensure they know the 

hope, refuge, and safety everyone 

can find in their parish church. This of 

course is made possible by the 

amount of time you give to ensure 

each part of the church is kept going 

and reaching out- whether it’s serving 

a cup of tea, arranging beautiful 

flowers, or welcoming visitors – this 

all contributes to the whole of the 

SMR singing the song of faith and 

justice in Redcliffe and beyond. 

Let’s see what another year brings! 

- Laura Verrall-Kelly, Associate Vicar 

Lent Groups 

This course was all about finding 

waymarks that point the way forward 

in our Christian journey. These 

waymarks can be described as signs 

of Christ’s mission of bringing his 

Kingdom into our lives. In the 

sessions we looked for examples from 

well-known Bible stories, in both the 

Old and New Testaments, and 

recalled other examples from our 

own lives. In the first couple of 

sessions, we looked back on how 

such journeys begin, in all their 

variety. The other sessions looked at 

other stages of these journeys and 

how God offers a variety of 

encouraging and sometimes 

challenging signs along the way. 

Some have asked to have more 

groups through the year, maybe not 

all the time but as a set of short 5-6 

week courses at different points 

through the year. 

- Canon Stephen Spencer, Assistant Priest 

Congregation 

One of the tremendous privileges 

which comes with being a 

churchwarden at St Mary Redcliffe is 

the role of acting as the voice of the 

congregation. This means that we 

gather views from those we speak to 

over coffee or prior to the service or 

indeed at other moments. 

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We can pick up opinions, constructive 

criticism, and comments which we 

can then consider carefully before 

raising with Dan, Laura, Stephen, or 

others involved in the liturgy and life 

of our church. So, the highlights of 

last year are as follows: 

1. Continued increasing attendance, 

particularly at the 10.30 am service 

on Sunday, with people drawn from 

all ages and backgrounds in keeping 

with the current mix in our 

congregation, and providing a wealth 

of new ideas and energy which is 

really encouraging. This also includes 

both the regular Sunday services and 

other services such as the Christmas 

crib service where the church was 

packed! 

2. Support and enthusiasm for the 

many new events and musical items 

delivered by friends and partners of 

SMR which helps build our profile 

both locally and nationally. 


3. The congregation stepping up to 

support and fund the many charities 

we are linked to (eg. The Soup Run 

Trust and Treefest) and of course our 

successful Community Hub where 

many members volunteer and help 

the most vulnerable in our 

community. 

4. In a year which has seen very many 

changes in our people, the farewells 

to those moving on and welcomes to 

those happily arriving has been 

wonderful. 

- Belinda Philipson and Richard Dyton, 

Churchwardens 

Choir and Music 

It was announced at the start of the 

year that Andrew Kirk would be 

leaving Redcliffe after nearly two 

decades in his position as Director of 

Music. Two special farewell services 

were held on Sunday 30th April, 

where a variety of previous members 

of the SMR family returned to 

celebrate his musical ministry. 

During the summer term, our 

Assistant Organist Claire Alsop was 

appointed as Acting Director of 

Music, which she had done between 

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the previous 2 directors of music as 

well. 

During this time, Claire did most of 

the conducting, however Graham 

Alsop conducted some services along 

with Elin Davies and Willoughby 

Walshe-Grey, our two organ scholars 

at the time. There was one service 

where our Choral Scholars conducted 

the whole service between them, 

which was a great success. We were 

also fortunate to have composer and 

organist David Bednall come and 

accompany a couple of services. It is 

worth noting that the choir sang most 

of the Eucharist services without a 

conductor at all. The choir really had 

to step up their efforts and take a 

lead in the music making. This has led 

to some great moments - in a solo, 

for example, one of the trebles would 

just have to go for it, because there 

was no conductor to bring them in. 

This has had a lasting impact on many 

of the chorister’s confidence. 

During the summer term the choir 

did a special service of music for the 

coronation of King Charles III. The 

coronation theme continued with the 

annual Rush services, with music 

including two coronation anthems: 

Zadok the Priest by Handel, and I Was 

Glad by Parry. 

At the end of the summer term, we 

bid farewell to our Senior Organ 

Scholar, Elin Davies, who had been 

our organ scholar for 3 years while 

she studied at Bristol University. We 

also said goodbye to Tom Rattner and 

Poppy Walters who had been Choral 

Scholars here at St Mary Redcliffe. We 

are thankful for all their service over 

the past few years. 

In September, I was warmly welcome 

to the St Mary Redcliffe team. I 

arrived with a big question I wanted 

to centre my musical ministry around; 

“What does Bristol sound like?”. 

Through asking this question, I aim to 

ensure there is more diversity in the 

music performed here at St Mary 

Redcliffe, introducing pieces of music 

by female composers such as Sarah 

McDonald, Joanna Forbes-L’Estrange 

and Clara Schumann, as well as 

composers with global majority 

heritage such as Yshani 

Perinpanayagam, Moses Hogan and 

Christopher Harris. 

This mission was central to the 

Advent Procession. I had the privilege 

of composing some music to 

accompany the O Antiphons, the 

seven plainsong antiphons that are 

sung in the days leading up to 

Christmas Day. 

These antiphons were then translated 

into 7 different languages that are 

heard in our parish, including Farsi, 

Hindi, Mandarin, coded into Braille, 

and interpreted in sign language. This 

powerful service reflected all parts of 

our community in our worship, and 

something that I hope really set the 

musical tone for my time here at St 

Mary Redcliffe. 

We have also recruited more 

choristers, both children and adults, 

with us having to put out more chairs 

for our 9 Lessons and Carols, the first 

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service where the boys and girls sang 

together under my leadership as they 

did not fit into the choir stalls! The 

services featured some challenging 

music, including Jonathan Dove’s I am 

the Day, Tomás Luis de Victoria’s O 

Magnus Mysterium, and a jazzy finale 

by Peter Gritton. 

2024 is has already started as an 

exciting musical year, with a sold-out 

performance of Interstellar, the 

return of our weekly lunchtime 

recitals, and music being introduced 

to our Wednesday Eucharist. 

The music department would like to 

thank everyone for their support 

during 2023, and we look forward to 

continuing to work together as we 

sing the song of faith and justice 

throughout the rest of 2024 and 

beyond. 

- Joe Cryan, Director of Music 

Children and Families 

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now 

it springs forth, do you not perceive 

it? I will make a way in the wilderness 

and rivers in the desert.” - Isaiah 

43:19 

Before starting this role of Children’s 

and Families Minister, I was behind a 

desk - uncomfortable and praying to 

be positioned in a place of purpose, 

where I can freely share my faith and 

be around like-minded people. 

Presented with this opportunity a few 

months later I was in disbelief, but so 

happy to be propositioned with such 

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an amazing role at the church. I just 

knew it was God! 

Fast forward to being more familiar 

with ministry, I have been so 

welcomed and made to feel part of 

the team and community along with 

my children. Even though I haven’t 

been in this role for long, I have had 

the pleasure of working alongside a 

team of faith-filled leaders who have 

such enthusiasm and patience. 

In children’s church, I have been given 

the freedom and trust to teach how I 

feel the most comfortable teaching. 

Having good dialogue with the Clergy 

and Ministry team - and incredible 

children - has made it a smooth 

transfer from my predecessor Becky, 

who for many years did a wonderful 

job. 

Very quickly, I engaged in the hustle 

and bustle around the festive 

activities at St Mary Redcliffe, around 

Treefest and Christmas, going into the 

New Year. The children really enjoyed 

the creative activities we managed to 

come up with! 

I have different engagement levels in 

the group so having a balance of 

talking, reading and creating is 

important. As I am more of a visual 

learner, I can adapt easily to the fun 

side of exploring faith and learning 

new things. 

We have managed to be in Faithspace 

a few Sundays and the facilities are 

very fitting for the activities and 

games we play. 

We looked at exploring different 

emotions quite early on and looked at 

what the bible says and how God 

feels about our anxious thoughts, 

sadness, and happiness. It was really 

refreshing hearing the children speak 

comfortably on this subject and take 

away some good tools they can use 

through life. 

The children have been involved in 

services again which have been lovely 

to see. I’ve been feeling like a proud 

mum! I have a few very savvy readers 

who always ready to volunteer 

themselves and participate in small 

dramas. 

Some things I’m still looking to 

improve is the interest and capacity 

of Little Leaders (formerly known as 

Toddler Church), even though many 

of the previous children have 

outgrown it I still believe there is a 

place for it to stay and continue to 

bring in more future leaders. 

My aim is for youth church to be a 

vital part of the journey in the next 

steps of life. I’m also looking to team 

up with some locals who do activities 

like gardening, and go on some trips. 

And with the weather hopefully 

improving, we will be able to bring 

children’s church outside! 

A few little projects I’m setting myself 

are to sort out the children’s corner 

and give it a little make over. Having 

some cooking on Sundays where the 

children can get creative in the 

kitchen and get them involved more 

in the Redcliffe community, helping 

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others, and make a change to their 

environment. 

My ethos coming into this role was, 

and still is, allowing God to use me as 

a vessel and minster how I’m leading. 

I don’t want it to look like school or 

another place of being told what to 

do. I pictured freedom and a space of 

worship, vulnerability, and joy. 

Dancing and singing and setting new 

challenges and achieving goals. 

The progress so far has been 

remarkable and being part of a 

wonderful team is pleasure and a 

privilege. I’m so passionate about 

children and seeing their relationship 

with God flourish is beyond 

rewarding. I can’t wait to see what 

the future years have instore. 

- Keilah Cadogan, Children and Families Minister 

Theology Book Group 

The theology book club continues to 

meet between 8pm and 9.30 pm on a 

Thursday, about monthly. We have 

welcomed several new members this 

year. 

We usually spend a few meetings on 

one book, reading a chapter or two at 

a time. We have recently been 

looking at “Fellow Workers with God 

– Orthodox Thinking on Theosis” by 

Norman Russell. The title might 

sound a bit technical, but in fact, not 

least because of the way the book is 

written and the expert knowledge of 

one of our number, we are enjoying 

this book probably more than any we 

have looked at recently. We have 

enjoyed exploring, and sometimes 

being challenged by, a different 

tradition of spirituality, but also 

making connections with our own 

backgrounds and experiences. 

Before that we read “The Hardest 

Problem: God, Evil and Suffering” by 

Rupert Shortt, and before that 

“Politics and Mission: Rediscovering 

the Political Power of What Christians 

Do” by Martin Gainsborough. This 

was a stimulating but very short book 

(we only spent one evening on it), but 

our reading of it was timely as Martin 

had just moved from this diocese to 

be Bishop of Kingston. Last spring we 

read “Humbler Faith, Bigger God” by 

Sam Wells, which some of us found 

rather frustrating and disappointing. 

For all his fame as a writer, Wells did 

not persuade all of us, not this time 

anyway. The contrast between that 

and the Russell book is an object 

lesson in how a really good writer can 

open up unfamiliar (to most of us) 

areas in a really accessible but 

rigorous way, that brings the readers 

along rather than leaving them 

wondering where the last assertion 

emerged from. 

We also share interesting blog posts, 

and we find that the books we read 

very often lead us quickly down all 

sorts of unforeseen alleyways and we 

end up talking about all sorts of 

unexpected things. 

New members are always welcome. 

No prior knowledge is necessary! 

- Rev Simon Goodman, Curate 

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Meditation Group 

We are a branch of the UK World 

Community of Christian Meditation 

which is part of a global spiritual 

community united in the practice of 

meditation in the Christian tradition. 

“The best way to share the gift of 

meditation with others is to pray is 

with them. In real presence with 

others, we sense the deeper truth of 

our being and so learn to see beyond 

ourselves. That is why meditating 

regularly, whether daily or weekly, 

with the same community, is such a 

source of sustenance to our 

pilgrimage.” - John Main, Monastery 

Without Walls 

Our membership has increased over 

the last few years, and has always 

fluctuated due the people’s 

circumstances changing (mainly work 

commitments, lack of childcare etc). 

Current membership sits at 14. 

We meet every Tuesday evening in 

the St Mary Redcliffe (SMR) 

Undercroft from 6.15pm to 7.30pm. 

We warmly welcome new members, 

with or without experience of the 

Christian Meditation method and can 

help train you if necessary. 

Throughout the year we have held 

meeting both in person and online 

although internet issues made these 

difficult at times, meaning quite a few 

members were unable to attend. 

Since January 2024, I have been able 

to run our meetings online from the 

Undercroft, as well as in person, 

which has really helped those unable 

to attend in person due to work 

commitments or illness, who all really 

value the opportunity to meditate 

with us. 

In December, we held a 

Contemplative Advent service in 

conjunction with Rev Laura Verrall- 

Kelly, our associate Vicar, who is keen 

to run a contemplative service for 

each church season. We invited 

members from other meditation 

groups in Bristol & Bath to attend and 

were delighted to welcome 14 people 

to the service. 

If you wish to join us, please contact 

me - meditation@needlevision.co.uk 

- Liz Hewitt, WCCM Group Coordinator 

Bell Ringers 

Our magnificent ring of twelve bells 

are rung predominantly by the St 

Mary Redcliffe Guild of Ringers, which 

was established in 1950 and has 

around fifty members. We have 

continued to practice on Thursday 

evenings and have rung for weddings 

and Sunday services with support 

from our friends at Bristol Cathedral, 

St Stephen’s, Christ Church and from 

as far afield as Wells Cathedral and 

Trowbridge in Wiltshire. Resident 

members of The University of Bristol 

Society of Change Ringers (UBSCR) 

also ring with us, and throughout 

2023 have had their own slot to ring 

at Redcliffe before Evensong on the 

first Sunday of each month, which has 

been well received by the Guild and 

UBSCR alike. The bells of Redcliffe are 

also extremely popular with visiting 

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bell ringers from all over the United 

Kingdom, especially those who like to 

ring peals. A peal is often described 

as the marathon of bell ringing and 

requires each ringer to sound their 

bell 5,000 times in a unique sequence 

(known as a change) that must not be 

repeated. On bells as large as ours, a 

peal takes just under four hours to 

complete and there is no stopping for 

a break! 

One peal in 2023 was rung by 

members of the Derby Diocesan 

Association of ringers to 

commemorate the 60th anniversary 

of the end of the Bristol Bus Boycott, 

which was associated with the 

replacement of the Edward Colston 

stained glass windows. Another very 

special peal was rung by The Guild to 

commemorate the Coronation of King 

Charles III in May. In October, we 

entered the South West 12-Bell 

Striking Contest at Trowbridge, 

Wiltshire, which comprised of nine 

teams ringing the same set piece, 

known as a method. Three judges 

listened intently for the quality of the 

rhythm of the ringing being produced 

and marked faults against each team 

for inconsistences and errors. 

Redcliffe were awarded second place 

with a score of 78%, just 1% behind 

the winning team from St Stephen’s, 

Bristol. 

12


There were some individual 

achievements throughout the year 

for some of our ringers in the form of 

quarter peals, which are quarter 

lengths of peals and last about an 

hour. Sebastian Small rung his first 

quarter peal on twelve bells, which 

was also Matthew Jerome’s first as 

conductor on twelve. The conductor 

oversees the piece of ringing, and it is 

their role to ensure that no changes 

are repeated. Josh Hutchinson scored 

his first quarter peal of Yorkshire 

Surprise Maximus, which is the name 

of a method. In July, we were pleased 

to see that after many years ringing at 

Redcliffe, Phill Butler finally circled all 

bells to quarter peals, meaning that 

he has now rung at least one quarter 

peal on every bell. Every year, we like 

to ring on other bells and in October 

we were treated to an outing to the 

Midlands where we visited several 

churches including St Nicholas at 

Warwick, Rugby St Andrew - which 

has two rings of bells in two separate 

towers, and the magnificent Coventry 

Cathedral. 

We are always very happy to 

welcome members of the 

congregation and friends up the 

tower to see what we do. If you are 

interested in watching the ringing, 

seeing the bells, learning more about 

the Guild or are interested in learning 

to ring, then please get in touch via 

the parish office. 

- Gareth Lawson, Ringing Master (former) 

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As a church that makes a difference in the parish and 

beyond 

SMR Primary 

A few weeks into starting my role at 

SMR, I was asked to sign up and 

become an Academy Board Member 

(a bit like a governor) of St Mary 

Redcliffe Primary - quite the baptism 

of fire! 

I wonder if you know or have been to 

the school? Whether you are familiar 

with the place or not, the school 

represents us, and they are part of 

our family - it’s important that we 

know, understand and importantly, 

pray for them. There truly is ‘a 

feeling’ when you walk in. That 

‘feeling’ is like when you walk into a 

sacred space, and you feel a sense of 

peace and God’s presence. And 

despite slightly more noise (!), you 

unmistakably sense God’s presence in 

that school. Their vision statement is 

‘rooted in love’, a wonderful way to 

capture the heart of what they are 

trying to do. Rooted in love is at the 

heart of what the teachers are trying 

to do, placing a high value on 

education, and yet recognising that 

for a child to truly flourish they know 

and understand that they are loved. 

My intention for joining the Academy 

Board has been to provide Spiritual 

and Pastoral support and input to 

both the staff team and children. This 

14


has happened in various ways. Firstly, 

I have been going in to take 

assemblies at regular moments in the 

year, this has included assemblies on 

Remembrance, Harvest, Advent and 

Christmas, Lent, and Easter. I have to 

say, unpacking these big and 

sometimes complicated themes for 

primary school-age children is a 

challenge – how do I use language 

that they will understand? How do I 

explain heavy topics such as death? 

And importantly, every time, how do I 

communicate something of God’s 

love? All of this is to be done in a neat 

15 minutes! But nothing will beat that 

feeling after I have finished, feeling 

like I have had a special time with 

such bright and engaging children. 

The other way in which I have 

partnered with the school is by 

helping with the Religious Education. 

I think this is my highlight. The head 

of RE at the school identified the 

need to provide more ‘hands-on’ 

learning to which I said, let’s bring 

every year group to the church to 

learn about their topic… yes, this was 

a lot to organise, but so worth it. It 

has been such a joy welcoming in 

around 90-100 children at a time as 

we tackle big questions like ‘why did 

Jesus have to die for us?’ or ‘what is 

sin?’. I’ll always appreciate how these 

meetings impact my own faith - 

causing me to have to think on the 

spot and communicate the gospel in 

an accessible way. One child once 

asked, ‘If God is love, why don’t some 

people have homes?’. What a brilliant 

question. 

I still feel like I am listening to the 

needs of the school and trying not to 

assume them. There is much change 

that has happened in the school over 

the year and my hope is that I have 

been able to provide a space for staff 

and children alike to process and talk. 

As I continue to build a relationship 

with the school, let us all pray that 

each child and staff member will 

know that they are rooted in love. 

- Laura Verrall-Kelly, Associate Vicar and 

Academy Board Member of SMR Primary 

SMR Secondary 

The last couple of years at SMRT 

Secondary and Sixth Form have been 

full of change and renewal. Del 

Planter started as Head Teacher in 

September 2022 following on from 

Elizabeth Gilpin who retired after 

many years as Head Teacher. Mr 

Planter and the Senior Leadership 

Team of the School have focused 

their efforts on the Alive model 

essentials of Safe Boundaries, Good 

Relationships, and Empowered 

Learning. As with schools across 

Bristol, SMRT has been recovering 

from both the short- and longer-term 

impacts of the pandemic. However, 

this has not held the pupils back from 

excellent achievements ably 

supported by the teachers and staff 

at the school. Results for both GCSE 

and A Levels were positive in the 

summer of 2023 and the teaching, 

activities, worship, and community at 

the school is going from strength to 

strength in 2023/24. 

15


I started as a School Governor at 

SMRT in October 2022 and took on 

the role of Chair of Governors in May 

2023. It has been a steep learning 

curve, and I am indebted to Dan 

Tyndall for his help and support on 

the Board of Governors and all the 

other Foundation Governors, 

especially Claire Alsop, and most 

recently Julia Harrow who, along with 

three new parent governors, has just 

joined the Governing Body. I would 

particularly like to thank Greca Warr 

who recently stepped down as a 

Governor after serving for several 

years. We are always on the lookout 

for new Governors so please do 

contact me if you are interested in 

taking on a role on the team. 

The connection between SMRT and 

Redcliffe Church continues to be 

strong through the regular Eucharist 

services at the school as well as 

services (e.g. Christmas Carol service) 

and concerts held in the Church, and 

of course through the children in the 

choir and our congregation. Laura 

Verrall-Kelly is now working regularly 

with the Chaplain, Joshua Newton, 

and we are sure to only see our 

interactions blossom from here on. 

- Stephen Brooke, Chair of Governors at St Mary 

Redcliffe and Temple School 

Treefest 

I am pleased to announce that 

Treefest 2023 was a huge success 

with more trees, more visitors, and 

more choirs. It was wonderful to see 

the church full of smiling happy faces 

as they enjoyed the creativity on 

show and the church full of glorious 

music. 

72 trees were entered by local 

charities, children’s groups, church 

groups, businesses, and individuals, 

with lots from new organisations. 

Visitor numbers were up this year to 

6500 – 7000, it’s hard to be accurate 

at busy times. 

We raised £6428.59 which was 

divided equally between the Bristol 

Women’s Centre run by The Nelson 

Trust and The Hub managed by the St 

Mary Redcliffe Community Team. 

Every day the church was filled with 

music provided by 30 local choirs and 

musicians, who love performing in 

such a special place. I now have a 

waiting list of choirs wishing to 

perform during Treefest. A wonderful 

addition this year was a craft fair in 

the Undercroft with a pop-up café 

serving hot chocolate & mulled wine, 

all organised by our Events Manager 

Ellie Bowes. Another new addition 

was late night opening on Friday & 

Saturday evenings until 8pm plus the 

introduction of a lunchtime 

contemporary Carol service for local 

businesses on Thursday and a Family 

Carol service on Saturday evening, 

with the evening ending with a 

performance by Batala – a reggae 

Samba drum Band, which certainly 

had us all dancing. 

As with any event like this, there are 

many people to thank for their hard 

work & support. Treefest would not 

be possible without the generous 

support of our sponsors, this year 

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PHOTO: Redcliffe Hub Facebook Page 

being Redcliffe & Temple Business 

Improvement District and Evelyn 

Partners. Their generosity helped us 

to make Treefest 2023 a huge 

success. 

Special thanks must be given to all 

the people who volunteered to 

welcome visitors as stewards during 

Treefest. It was so lovely to see new 

faces volunteering to be stewards 

alongside our regular stewards. 

A big thank you, must also be given to 

the SMR Refreshments team who 

provided tea, coffee, and cake from 

Cakesmiths, a local baker, to visitors, 

every day. 

Finally, thanks to all the SMR staff 

who provided support during 

Treefest. It may surprise you to know 

we have already started planning 

Treefest 2024 - which will be our 19th 

year - with our first meeting in 

January. We need you to consider 

how you might help, I need more 

help organising the event, 

if you can offer time to work on 

planning Treefest 2024, please 

contact me on treefest18@gmail.com 

to discuss what you can offer. 

- Liz Hewitt, Treefest Coordinator 

Community Engagement 

Redcliffe Hub 

Our aim is to create a community 

where people living in Redcliffe 

believe that they can shape the 

environment around them. For us this 

means: 

1. For people in Redcliffe to have a 

sense of ownership, belonging and 

safety. 

2. A local culture of people connecting 

with each other and having a sense of 

connection to the area. 

3. SMR ‘leading from the back’, 

encouraging and supporting local 

people to create the environment 

they want. 

17


Summary 

Through 2023 we have developed 

new connections and groups as 

people become more engaged in the 

local area alongside coordinating 

support and activities for children and 

young people. 

Headline achievements include... 

• Local people developing and 

leading community projects and 

events that they want to see 

including a Summer Community 

Festival, a meal and event on 

Christmas Day, a fitness class, and 

a Saturday coffee morning. 

• Ten drop-in sessions per week for 

people needing information and 

support. 

• A weekly community meal where 

people come together to share 

food. 

• A series of asylum welcome events 

for new residents in a Redcliffe 

hotel. 

• Holiday activities for local children 

including free lunches for those 

receiving Free School Meals 

• Recognition of our successful work 

through funding from Quartet, 

National Lottery, the NHS, and 

Bristol City Council. 

• Supporting several local families to 

speak at a full cabinet meeting in 

City Hall about their housing 

issues. 

Community 

Our shop unit community hub 

continues to be a thriving heartbeat 

of community activity with activity 

groups on health, training, education, 

food support, wellbeing, and advice 

services. 

One of the big successes of our work 

is that local people are leading 

projects and events that they want 

and need. We had two of our local 

volunteers organise Christmas 

celebrations for those, like 

themselves, who did not have places 

to go at Christmas. The result was 

that we opened The Hub on 

Christmas Day and Boxing Day for 20 

people to have a full Christmas 

Dinner, share presents, games, and 

talk. 

A lady attending our Somali Women’s 

group wanted a fitness class for some 

of her neighbours. We supported her 

to apply for some funding to get an 

instructor and find a community 

room free of charge. The result was a 

weekly class that is improving the 

physical and mental health of a group 

of BAME women. 

A resident of the hotel knew that 

Asylum Seekers new to the area 

wanted to learn English and she was 

keen to volunteer and develop her 

teaching skills. We offered to host in 

The Hub and supported her to find 

teaching materials. We then had a 

weekly English Conversation Club led 

by an asylum seeker resident in a 

Redcliffe hotel. 

Our drop-in sessions provided 

invaluable support for people 

navigating the cost-of-living crisis, 

loneliness, mental health, digital 

exclusion, and language barriers. We 

18


helped local people access the 

support that they were entitled to 

and ensured that they had 

information on what was available to 

them. 

Through hearing about the issues 

that people were facing we were able 

to advocate on their behalf. We 

collected eight statements from 

families experiencing very poor 

housing conditions in their Bristol City 

Council tenancies. These tenants then 

spoke in front of a full Council Cabinet 

meeting including the Mayor to 

highlight the barriers they were 

facing. 

Our weekly community meal brought 

people together around a shared 

meal to connect, support each other 

and enjoy themselves over a game of 

bingo and chat. 

We held three Asylum welcome 

events in different community venues 

to welcome new people to the area 

and connect existing residents with 

those who had recently arrived into 

asylum hotel accommodation. 

The Treefest event at St Mary 

Redcliffe Church showcased the work 

of The Hub as we collected boxes 

from the different groups we support 

(Lunch club, youth group, drop-in, 

community meal, Somali Kitchen) and 

built a tree demonstrating the how 

community is founded on different 

groups coming together. 

We successfully ran our first induction 

programme for community 

volunteers. We had eight people 

attend who are currently unable to 

work due to their health and we 

covered topics basic safeguarding, 

health and safety, customer service 

and collected information to develop 

their own personal development 

plans. 

Children and Young People’s Activities 

2023 started with the exciting 

appointment of our Youth Worker 

Katie Bignell. Our support for children 

and young people through the year 

included a weekly youth group, sports 

projects, play sessions for asylum 

seekers and holiday playschemes for 

local children with attendance 

growing through the year in all our 

groups. 

Our approach is to deliver youth 

services in spaces and places familiar 

to children and young people in 

Redcliffe, were they feel a sense of 

safety and belonging. We involve 

people from the local area in the 

planning and delivery so that children 

and young people build long-term 

trusted community-based 

relationships with people that are 

accessible and relatable to them. 

Our youth group has continued 

running weekly at Faithspace 

providing invaluable support for 

children aged 8-14 in periods where 

they have often had little other 

activity. 89 children attended the 

group through the year, taking part in 

arts, crafts, cooking games and sport. 

By the end of the year, we had 30 

children regularly attending. 

19


We coordinated activities for children 

and young people in the area during 

each of the school holidays with a 

focus on providing food for children 

who need it. We saw over 150 

children and young people in our 

holiday activities through the year. In 

total we offered 22 days and over 88 

hours of activities during the school 

holidays providing each of them with 

meals and activities. 

- David Cousins, Community and Youth Work 

Manager 

Charity Partners 

When I started in early March 2023, 

one of the first things that Dan gave 

me was a list of charities to contact 

that we have partnered with and if 

we can contact them again. I have to 

say, this is a great way to start a new 

role! Being able to contact a list of 

amazing charities in Bristol who do 

vital and incredible work in the city 

was a privilege and to ask the simple 

question of, is there anything we can 

do to help? 

Of all the meetings I had I was 

impacted once again by the 

devastation of the cost of living crisis 

on our society. Of course, there is the 

impact on people, but also, the 

impact it has had on charities and 

businesses. Charities are seeing an 

increase in their service, a bigger 

demand to provide support, coupled 

with rising costs they have to incur … 

electricity, petrol and food. 

Something that I think we do well is 

providing a space for charities to have 

a platform to spread their message 

and service. Not long after I first 

started, I wanted to mark Refugee 

Sunday. This is an opportunity for 

churches to raise awareness and 

welcome those who live in the 

community that are asylum seekers 

or refugees. This sparked an idea, 

that those seeking asylum and fleeing 

from their country are our 

neighbours, whether physically or 

metaphorically within God’s family. 

Tying in with our new windows that 

ask the question from Luke’s Gospel 

‘And who is my neighbour?’ a sermon 

series was born. In June 2023 we had 

a three-week sermon series on this 

very topic. Firstly, hearing from 

Beloved, a charity that works with 

women who want to leave the sex 

industry of which there are 

establishments within our parish. 

Secondly, we heard from our very 

own Andy Carruthers who spoke 

about the reality of the lives of many 

in our Parish through the work of The 

Hub and finally, he heard from Sam 

Saeedipoor from Aid Box, a refugee 

who shared his moving story with us 

on Refugee Sunday. After the service, 

we ate snacks provided by Salah, our 

neighbour who is a refugee who set 

up a catering company as a way to 

send money home to her family still 

trying to flee from Sudan. After all 

these services, we allowed people to 

give, talk to and volunteer their time 

to these great charities who work 

with our neighbours. 

There are two last notable occasions 

where we partner with charities 

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within our year that are vital to 

acknowledge. Firstly, the huge 

success of Treefest this year, led by Liz 

Hewitt and a team of volunteers as 

well as significant involvement from 

the staff team, we pulled off the 

biggest Treefest to date with 

increased visitors meaning money 

donated to different charities 

represented. The two sponsor 

charities this year were The Hub and 

also Bristol Women’s Centre. Once 

again, we gave our platform to them 

for their message to be spread, their 

work celebrated and an opportunity 

to raise money for them. 

happy to give out fresh, homemade 

soup made with love to our 

neighbours in need. 

Reflecting back, I am so proud of how 

we have partnered with, championed 

and given to all these charities and 

more. There is always more we can 

do, but it is important to 

acknowledge where we might have 

had a part to play in spreading God’s 

love and justice for all this year. 

- Laura Verrall-Kelly, Associate Vicar 

Secondly, our Lent partner this year 

was Bristol Soup Run Trust. As well as 

plenty of opportunities to give 

financially to them we also had Tony 

Colletto, Chair of Charity, speak to us 

at the 10.30am service as well having 

our Big Church Cook-A-Long where I 

was astonished by the amount of 

people that signed up willing to chop, 

whizz up and make two batches of 

soup. Bristol Soup Run Trust use our 

car park every evening to give out 

warm soup and snacks to those who 

are in need. To be able to partner 

with them in the incredible work they 

do was an honour and they were so 

21


As a recognised, welcoming heritage destination 

Heritage and Tours 

This year, we have held two 

exhibitions in St John’s Chapel; the 

first on William Hogarth’s altarpiece 

and the second on the medieval 

water pipe that was gifted by Robert 

de Berkeley in 1190. The latter was 

timed to coincide with the Pipe Walk 

which saw a record turn-out. These 

were the first two in what will 

become a rolling programme of 

exhibitions on subjects pertinent to 

the history of the church. These 

exhibitions will provide an outlet for 

the historical research that is being 

carried out by me and others. During 

2024, we will present an exhibition to 

mark the 450th anniversary of Queen 

Elizabeth’s 1574 visit to Bristol – 

influential in the naming of Project 

450 - and her links with St Mary 

Redcliffe. 

We also launched a new fold-out map 

to support self-guided tours and – 

with funding from The Canynges 

Society - produced a series of new 

thematic heritage films to build 

knowledge of the church and its 

history. These can be accessed on the 

church website. 

Our guided tour programme has gone 

from strength to strength this year, 

supported by new volunteers who’ve 

been recruited by Chris Whitwell, our 

Volunteer Coordinator. Tours now 

take place on Saturdays as well as 

Fridays and we are seeing increased 

bookings since switching to a new 

booking platform called Get Your 

Guide. This has resulted in an 

increased flow of revenue for the 

church, which we hope will continue 

to grow during the Spring and 

Summer. During the next year we 

22


hope to develop new tours on specific 

aspects of the church (stained glass, 

roof bosses, medieval graffiti) and 

expand to cover more areas of the 

church, including the crypt and 

ringing chamber. 

- Rhys Williams, Heritage Development Manager 

Volunteering 

In my role at St Mary Redcliffe, I have 

the great privilege of being able to 

spend some of my time talking and 

connecting with a number of our 

wonderful volunteers who give their 

time freely to the ongoing thriving of 

the church and its wider mission. 

I have been recently struck by what a 

powerful and significant act of choice 

volunteering really is. I see that at 

play in different areas of life and as 

volunteers, we probably don’t 

consider this on a day-to-day basis, 

we just get on with whatever our role 

is because it is normal to us, or it has 

simply become a part of our routine. 

But it is important to stop for a 

moment and reflect on what a 

difference our volunteers make and 

how significant their contribution is 

to the life of SMR. 

It feels important to acknowledge 

here that so much of the ongoing 

thriving and work of St Mary Redcliffe 

is made possible because of that 

powerful choice to give time and to 

spend time investing into the life of 

the church and its surrounding 

communities. Thank you to each one 

of you who volunteers at SMR in 

whatever capacity – you are hugely 

valued. 

At SMR, there are an incredible 

number of ways to get involved and 

there are more than 30 different roles 

and opportunities for volunteers 

which is amazing! Those roles range 

from worship related functions to 

wider community-based work and 

heritage focussed roles, among many 

others. 

With all of these roles and 

opportunities, it can be challenging to 

keep track of everything, but we have 

well over 100 people volunteering 

their time in over 30 different ways, 

spanning many hours over the course 

of each week and across all seasons 

of the year. 

Over the last year, we have seen new 

volunteers join us and some 

volunteers step back. This is often the 

natural cycle of volunteering in any 

organisation. We have made 

ourselves more visible to other 

volunteer networks across Bristol and 

seen people connect with us for the 

first time through this greater 

presence. 

We have been able to expand our 

tour guiding capabilities with more 

guides joining the team and also 

increased our stewarding provision 

across the winter months. This is both 

helpful and important as it gives us a 

better idea of the numbers of people 

who visit the church during those 

times. From initial counts, it is 

23


extremely encouraging to know that 

we continue to welcome and receive 

local and global visitors in large 

numbers, even in those times that we 

might define as “quiet”! I am 

incredible grateful to those who were 

able to help with this. 

There are often challenges associated 

with volunteering and a place like 

SMR can never have too many 

volunteers! Looking ahead into the 

coming year, we are hoping to put 

ourselves in an even stronger position 

to be able to invite more volunteers 

into a meaningful and positive 

experience with us. 

To all those who already volunteer at 

SMR, please hear a heartfelt thanks 

and know that all of your 

contributions are hugely valued. 

- Chris Whitwell, Volunteer Coordinator 

North Transept Window 

After 18 months of hard work, we 

submitted a full faculty to the 

Chancellor for approval in January 

2023. The faculty asked for 

permission: 

to replace the 4 panels dedicated to 

Edward Colston in the central North 

Transept window; 

to install protective grilles to the 

outside of the lower third of the main 

window including the new panels; 

to install an interpretation board 

beneath the window to explain the 

reasons why the panels were 

redesigned and how; 

To move the brass plaque which 

marks the occasion when the bells 

were rung to commemorate the 200- 

year anniversary of the abolition of 

slavery currently sited near the bell 

tower entrance to beneath the 

central window in the North Transept. 

On June 7th 2023 we finally received 

permission from the Chancellor to 

replace the Colston Dedication panels 

and install the new design by Ealish 

Swift. A summary of his Judgement & 

reasoning is: 

“I am satisfied that the four small 

portions of the huge North transept 

window are of little or no heritage 

significance, particularly in the 

context of this ancient Church. 

In direct contradistinction to the 

Rustat case, this is an attempt to 

correct a false narrative of the life of 

Edward Colston. The memorial 

window urges those who contemplate 

to reflect on his life and ‘Go thou and 

do likewise’. Now that the extent of 

his involvement in the slave trade is 

clear, it is entirely inappropriate for 

that to be the exhortation. Even 

accepting that we are all sinners, the 

contrast between his own life and the 

seven Corporal Acts of Mercy is too 

jarring to be acceptable in a church. 

I also accept that in a multi-cultural 

and diverse parish the apparent 

acceptance or celebration of such a 

life, even with an explanatory board 

would be offensive and, arguably 

impossible. 

24


a) The option to do nothing is clearly 

inappropriate. The petitioner and her 

team have researched assiduously the 

life of Edward Colston and have 

discovered evidence that makes the 

doing nothing wholly wrong. To leave 

it as it is will be perceived as the 

Church’s support for the memorial. 

b) To leave it in place with an 

explanatory board is inappropriate for 

the same reasons. 

c) To leave the blank windows in place 

would draw attention to the window 

but would also, in my view, suggest 

that the Church either supported the 

original window or was not 

attempting to use this as a missional 

opportunity. 

d) To replace the windows with the 

proposed alternatives appears to me 

to be entirely consonant with S 35 

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of 

Churches Measure 2018. 

There is no indication that the 

introduction of the windows will 

cause anything but slight harm to the 

significance of the church as a 

building of special architectural or 

historic interest. I am also satisfied 

that the work and mission of the 

church are being hindered by the 

presence of the window and their 

replacement would assist pastorally 

in this multi-cultural and diverse 

parish. 

I am satisfied that the Faculty should 

pass the seal for the reasons set out 

above. The conditions of the grant of 

the Faculty are: 

(a) The colouring of the panels is to 

match as closely the rest of the 

window and 

(b) the works are to be carried out 

under the close supervision of the 

architect. 

The Church of England and the 

historical behaviour of this parish 

Church in excusing the life of Colston 

have a journey of repentance to 

make. To excuse or ignore the slave 

trade is a sin. 

As to encourage parishioners to look 

at a memorial to a slave trader and to 

be encouraged to ‘Go thou and do 

likewise’ is not only grotesque but 

entirely contrary to the Gospel 

command to love one another and 

flies in the face of the model of life set 

out in the Seven Corporal Acts of 

Mercy that Colston’s life was stated to 

exemplify.“ Justin Gau, Chancellor 

June 2nd 2023 

Holywell Glass were commissioned to 

fabricate of the new panels as 

detailed in the faculty. Timings were 

reduced due to St Mary Redclifee 

being invited to host the City-Wide 

Bus Boycott Anniversary celebration 

to be held in Bristol in late August 

because of the depiction of the 

Bristol Bus Boycott in the second new 

panel. Due the shortened timings, 

Steve Clare - Director of Holywell 

Glass commissioned Dora Mc 

Cormack - a leading Bristol based 

Glass painter- to undertake the 

fabrication and Holywell Glass would 

oversee the work and install them by 

the end of August. Dora worked 

25


closely with Ealish Swift- Designer & 

and NTW committee - to ensure the 

designs were an accurate 

representation of her design. 

The North Transept window project 

including the fabrication and 

installation of the new panels, 

interpretation & memorial panels was 

fully funded by a legacy from a family 

within the St Mary Redcliffe 

Congregation. The Executors of this 

legacy were actively involved with all 

decisions re the North Transept 

window and quite specific as to how 

the money is spent. 

The new panels were installed on 

23rd – 25th August and unveiled 

during the celebration of the Bristol 

Bus Boycott held within St Mary 

Redcliffe Church on Wednesday 30th 

August. 

A service of Dedication was held on 

Sunday 5th November during which 

the Bishop Viv of Bristol, dedicated 

the new panels. 

The NTW working committee are 

currently finalising the design of the 

Interpretation board. We hope to 

complete this work before the faculty 

deadline of 5th June 2024 but 

anticipate this will take longer as 

need to seeking permission from the 

Archdeacon to install two boards so 

that we can fully explain the reasons 

why the original panels were 

removed and the process of selecting 

the new design. 

I’m delighted to say that we have 

been granted an award for this 

project undertook by the Diocesan 

Advisory Board, in recognition of the 

exceptional standard of 

workmanship. 

- Liz Hewitt, Chairperson of the North Transept 

Window Working Party 

PHOTO: BBC News 

26


As a sustainable and progressive organisation 

Commercial 

In 2023 we dramatically increased 

commercial activity at SMR, an 

essential step in supporting the 

ministry, mission, and maintenance of 

the church for generations to come. 

There have been huge, positive steps 

towards sustainability over this last 

year and I would like to take a 

moment to thank all the volunteers, 

staff, and members of the local 

community that have worked 

tirelessly to make that a possibility. 

This continued commitment allows us 

to make strides towards becoming a 

welcoming heritage destination as 

well as a progressive, sustainable 

organization. 

Events 

For the first time SMR decided to 

actively focus on increasing events in 

church as more than just an income 

generator, but also as a way to build 

new audiences and communities. An 

estimated 17,000 additional visitors 

came through our doors in 2023 via 

the events program. As part of this 

focus on events there has also been a 

steep increase in events revenue, 

27


increasing by 230% from 2022 to 

2023. 

A key factor is developing a varied 

and exciting events program that 

looks to engage, inspire, and surprise. 

In February, we hosted ‘Ophelia’ as 

part of the Bristol Light Festival, and 

since then we have welcomed two 

film screenings (including Bristol Film 

Festival with the incredible 1920 

silent horror masterpiece The Cabinet 

of Doctor Caligari). Candles have 

illuminated the nave with Fever Up 

concerts, and community choirs have 

stunned audiences as part of the 

Christmas Star Concert fundraiser for 

Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity - 

the funds of which go to improving 

the health and happiness of every 

patient in 10 local hospitals. This 

success would have been impossible 

were it not for the commitment of 

the church community, in particular 

our wonderful volunteers giving their 

time and energy to ensure that each 

event is a success. We are slowly 

developing an excellent reputation as 

a centre for arts, culture, and 

community, something we are hoping 

to build across 2024. 

As part of this push towards 

becoming a welcoming, recognized 

heritage destination we have started 

to develop a tours program on Fridays 

and Saturdays. This has given us a 

fantastic opportunity to showcase the 

historical significance of SMR and its 

importance within Bristol’s history 

and landscape. We have achieved this 

through the dedication of a team of 

exceptional guides who bring their 

enthusiasm, passion, and expertise to 

their roles. In 2023 we sold 280 

tickets online for public guided tours, 

however, there also has been a 

marked increase in school tours, an 

area that will be developed over the 

next year. In 2024 we are planning to 

develop tours of our tower, allowing 

the public to explore formerly 

inaccessible areas of the church. 

Shop 

The shop has had an increase in both 

the range of items and annual 

income, rising by over 40% from 

2022. Our shop volunteer Jackie has 

been supporting this through her 

continued commitment to the church 

shop and has taken an active role in 

choosing stock. As visitor numbers 

increase in the upcoming year we 

hope to be able to continue this 

growth trajectory. We have lots of 

exciting plans in 2024, so watch this 

space! 

Visitor Experience 

Visitor experience has never been 

more important. To achieve our 

mission statement, it Is paramount to 

be constantly looking for ways to 

engage, inspire, and welcome new 

audiences. One way we developed 

this in 2023 was creating a new 

children’s trail to link with 

‘Unicornfest’, a trail across the city 

raising money for leukaemia care. 

This ‘Mythical Beasties’ trail was 

aimed at younger children and gave 

families a free activity to do on a rainy 

day - the feedback from this was 

overwhelmingly positive and, as a 

28


result, we will be developing more of 

these in the near future. A Visitor 

Experience Strategy is now in place 

which will start to come into fruition 

across 2024 and potentially 2025. 

This will include everything from new 

signage (kindly funded by Canynges 

Society) to new donation boxes. A 

major goal is improving our 

accessibility across the church and 

churchyard, something that is a 

priority for both our visitors and 

volunteers and a key focus in the next 

year. 

- Ellie Bowes, Visitor Services & Commercial 

Manager 

PCC Activity 

2023 saw the PCC’s quarterly meeting 

finding a new home in the warmth of 

The Hub, going to further show the 

incredible versatility of this inviting 

space. 

Among many topics carefully 

reflected upon over the year, the PCC 

voted in November for St Mary 

Redcliffe to join Inclusive Church, a 

network of churches, groups and 

individuals uniting around a shared 

vision of togetherness. SMR strongly 

believe in a celebrating and affirming 

every person and do not discriminate, 

so we are grateful to be part of this 

wonderful group. The network won’t 

try and make us do or be anything we 

are not already doing or becoming, 

but rather our main – and best – 

reason to join was summed up by a 

PCC member who simply asked: how 

do people know we are a thriving, 

inclusive church? For several years, 

that powerful description has been 

one our key themes within our overall 

vision of singing the song of faith and 

justice. Look out for more visibility of 

our participation in this scheme 

coming soon! 

I joined in November 2023 as the new 

Governance and Administration 

Officer, which saw me also take the 

role as PCC Secretary, and I attended 

my first meeting in January 2024. 

How wonderful it continues to be, to 

see our diverse and passionate PCC 

and various committees collaborating 

and discussing matters with thorough 

attention to detail, and kindness and 

understanding. I look forward to 

many more meetings in the future, 

and seeing firsthand how much love 

and hard work goes into ensuring St 

Mary Redcliffe continues to sing the 

song of faith and justice. 

- Sam Love, Governance & Admin Officer 

Electoral Roll 

In May 2023, our Electoral Roll sat at 

a solid 280 members. During our 

2024 review, 14 names of those no 

longer with us or having left the area 

took us down to 266, before 50 

additions to the roll took us to a 

staggering 319, 50 of whom reside in 

the parish. This is the first time our 

electoral roll has been >300 in over a 

decade. 

Once every six years, the preparation 

of new church electoral rolls takes 

place, which means that everyone 

must come off and re-apply. The next 

occasion for this new roll will be next 

29


year in 2025, and this will be 

communicated in church to make 

sure nobody is missed! 

- Sam Love, Electoral Roll Officer 

Deanery Synod 

In December, our former Area Dean, 

Revd Becky Waring (St Martin’s 

Knowle), was appointed Acting 

Archdeacon of Bristol, and Revd Tim 

Godden (St Peter’s Bishopsworth) 

assumed the role of Acting Area Dean 

in her place; we give thanks for their 

work and hold them in our prayers. 

Synod reports: the Deanery typically 

holds four Synod meetings per 

calendar year, albeit the meeting at 

the start of each is incorporated in 

the report for the Annual Parochial 

Church Meeting. Moving on, 

Transforming Church. Together (TC.T) 

– the strategy for culture change in 

the Diocese begun in 2019 – featured 

in the Report for 2022-23 which 

focused on its introduction in the 

Deanery at a presentation-plusworkshop 

for the January ‘23 Synod 

given by Revd Chris Dobson (Adviser 

for Parish Discipleship 

PHOTO: Eleanor Vousden 

30


and Evangelism). This year’s report 

also features TC.T and a single 

meeting from the quota for the year 

(three meetings were held in 2023- 

24). 

Synod, 3rd February ‘24: the final 

meeting was a Saturday morning 

Brunch (at St Peter’s), with speakers 

and workshop as before, led by Revd 

Lee Barnes (Adviser for Fresh 

Expressions of Church) with Revd 

Chris Dobson facilitating. Synod took 

the theme “Dreams”, articulated as 

dreams for oneself, one’s church, 

one’s community, the city and the 

wider church, clear in the 

understanding that dreams co-exist 

with reality. Members held in prayer 

the community of Knowle West, its 

teenagers lost to violent crime and 

their bereaved, and its clergy. 

Discussion yielded many dreams. 

Noted individually, these were 

discussed in small groups, shared 

amongst representatives of the 

parishes, collected, and the notes 

pinned to a map of the Deanery to 

form a ‘dream map’ to be held in the 

Deanery ready for re-use (see image 

on previous page) – the Synod Brunch 

on 4th May being an opportunity to 

continue the discussion. Regarding 

TC.T, the minute for the February 

meeting that “TC.T aims to focus 

where churches put their energy, 

starting with a single step towards 

their vision” resonates with desire of 

Synod and Diocese to share 

experience and knowledge between 

parishes and to equip people for 

mission – for instance (as minuted) in 

piloting Small Group Training for laity 

involved in such work. Synod minutes 

capture the range and depth of 

engagement, and the planning 

involved. 

Leadership: the Deanery is led by 

Chapter (the Deanery clergy); Synods 

are organised by its Deanery 

Leadership Team (DLT), a mix of 

clergy and laity. The DLT has recently 

engaged a new lay member, and over 

this triennium has begun to think of 

Synods in terms of TC.T strategy – so 

it was helpful when Richard Leaman 

(Diocesan Secretary) joined its 

November meeting to discuss TC.T 

and help clarify its potential for 

parishes and the Deanery as a whole 

alongside its life in the Diocese. 

If deaneries occupy a somewhat 

liminal space between diocese and 

parish, Lay Chairs join the Bishops, 

Archdeacons, Area Deans and staff at 

Hillside House twice yearly to hear 

and consider news, and hear about 

and feed into plans. In November we 

heard about the TC.T conference 

dates and, led by Revd Chris Dobson, 

shared our reactions to General 

Synod’s decision concerning Living in 

Love and Faith. We also heard from 

Chris about lay training opportunities, 

including a 2-part Diocesan course on 

conflict resolution designed by Bridge 

Builders for laity and clergy. I am glad 

to see this made available (it is 

excellent). 

Deanery involvement, then, is both a 

clear opportunity to understand 

Diocesan direction of travel, as 

31


demonstrated at the February TC.T 

conference for clergy and laity that I 

attended, and to grow one’s faith and 

connections. I feel that aspects of 

TC.T need clarity but please visit 

Bristol Diocese online to learn more 

about it. Bishop Neil’s conference 

remarks are especially relevant to our 

local journey; noting National 

Church’s substantial financial grant to 

TC.T, he concludes: 

“And one key thing to hold on to 

today is going to be working across 

boundaries, however you want to 

define those. So how do you work 

with a neighbour; one particular 

parish boundary you might cross; 

what might this look like in 

deaneries? […] We’ve designed and 

built and discerned a programme that 

is built on values and these key 

priorities: following Jesus, serving 

people, transforming communities.” 

- Eleanor Vousden, PCC Member and Deanery 

Synod Rep 

Diocesan Synod 

My name is Auriol Britton, singer, 

writer, actor, campaigner - also 

known as the blind lady who sings. 

I am a member of the Bristol 

Diocesan Synod and Board of Finance 

Ltd. By virtue of this, I am Ex Officio 

on the Deanery Synod and Saint Mary 

Redcliffe Parochial Church Council. 

The Church of England is divided into 

42 dioceses. The diocesan synod is 

the running council of the diocese. 

The word synod is derived from the 

Greek, meaning council. It is said that 

the Church of England is canonically 

led and synodically governed. 

There are usually three meetings of 

the diocesan synod per year. Each 

meeting begins with a short act of 

worship. Each one also receives 

reports from the Bishop's Council - 

the standing committee of the synod 

- and from the General Synod, the 

national governing body of the 

Church of England, one level above 

us. Each diocesan synod also hears a 

bishop's address. 

At the synod held in June 2023, the 

meeting unanimously adopted the 

accounts and financial statement for 

2023. The auditors, Mazars LLP, were 

reappointed. The Diocesan Board of 

Finance Ltd manages about £73.2 

million of funds, which represents a 

fall in recent times. Much of their 

assets is in land and buildings. The 

diocese has a deficit of around £600- 

800 K per year, but is determined to 

keep numbers of stipended clergy 

stable. Richard Bacon was elected as 

the new chairman of the Board of 

Finance. 

Questions were asked about the 

Bristol diocese's link with a diocese in 

Uganda, given the Ugandan Church's 

decision to support their 

government's anti-homosexuality bill. 

The bishop undertook to look into the 

matter, but many do not want to lose 

the close relationship built up 

between both dioceses, over many 

years. 

The annual safeguarding report was 

presented. The safeguarding team 

32


capacity has been increased. The 

diocese is working on the Pioneer 

Pathway Pilot Project, a national 

safeguarding case management 

system. Called My Concern, it pools 

records, dioceses can track the 

movement of people between areas, 

identify concerns. 

Alice Kemp, diocesan disability 

adviser, talked about hidden 

disabilities - giving three examples - 

and the hidden disability sunflower 

lanyard scheme, which the board of 

finance has signed up to. PCC's are 

encouraged to do likewise, for the 

sum of £60. 

At the November 2023 meeting of 

the diocesan synod, members 

approved changes to Standing 

Orders, the rules of the synod, and 

the formula - how many seats on the 

synod each deanery has, for instance 

- was also approved. 

Synod authorised the spending of the 

budget for 2024 totalling: 

£13.983.578. Usually, one would 

expect the diocesan budget to be 

around £10 million, but the higher 

amount, supported by reserves, 

reflects spending on carbon 

neutrality, including budgeted 

spending on £10 K grants for 

churches towards green upgrades. 

The diocese usually runs a deficit 

budget. Although the diocese has 

money, this is unsustainable in the 

long run. It has a plan to have a 

balanced budget by 2029. The 

diocese is aware of a need to be 

realistic about how much churches 

can afford to contribute in terms of 

parish share. 

The diocesan secretary stated that 

the Diocesan Board of Finance is fully 

responsible for the care and 

maintenance of All Saints Church, 

Corn Street, now closed, where the 

grave of Edward Colston is situated. 

However, the roof must be repaired, 

before a constructive use for the 

building can be discerned, reflecting 

on and lamenting the past, whilst 

transforming the church into 

something meaningful and positive. 

The synod discussed Transforming 

Church. Together. This is the diocese's 

latest strategy. It is a sort of all things 

to all people way forward, including: 

youth engagement, environmental 

action, inclusivity for all, priority 

communities - a Wild Church had 

been established, in North Wiltshire. 

At the March 2024 meeting of 

diocesan synod, in her address, 

bishop Vivienne Faull stated that 

buildings are not essential to the life 

of God or the Church, and that the 

way forward for churches was not 

benevolent societies paying to keep 

the fabric together, but in mission - 

lively worshipping communities which 

care. 

The synod heard that the Deanery 

School, Swindon, in the Diocese of 

Bristol Academies' Trust, had been 

obliged to close, and that other 

schools in the same multi academy 

trust were being moved to other 

providers. (this is different from the 

Diocesan Board of Education). There 

33


was acknowledgement that 

governance at the school had been 

inadequate, and that lessons needed 

to be learned. In terms of the 

diocese's ambitions regarding carbon 

net zero, the meeting heard that work 

is being done to improve insulation 

and energy efficiency of clergy homes 

- more green energy provisions, such 

as photovoltaics, the trialling of 

infrared heating systems. 24 churches 

in the diocese have been given gold 

eco' awards, more churches are 

forwarding better information about 

their energy usage. There are 

increasing numbers of eco' 

champions in churches. However, 

energy audits, usually supplied by 

Inspired Efficiency, are running 

behind, and at the time of the synod, 

only 3 churches have received £10 K 

grants for green upgrades. 

More time was spent discussing 

Transforming Church. Together. I 

asked a question about the money 

paid by the Church of England 

centrally, in respect of historic slavery 

- everyone seems to have heard 

about the £100 million, but no-one 

seems to approve of it. Could we 

have better communication as 

regards this. The idea was much 

welcomed, the diocese agreed to do 

a filmed presentation on the subject 

at a future synod, and put a link to 

this on their website. I shall try to 

interest people centrally in the 

Church in doing something similar. 

We are looking to form a large, 

diverse, new Diocesan Synod this 

summer. We need as many really 

interesting people as possible, so if 

you would like to stand for election in 

the Bristol South Deanery, please let 

me know by the end of April, thank 

you. I can be contacted by email on 

auriol.britton@gmail.com. 

- Auriol Britton, PCC Member and Diocesan 

Synod Rep 

Safeguarding 

St Mary Redcliffe Church is 

committed to providing a safe and 

nurturing environment for all 

members of our congregation, 

especially children, young people, 

and vulnerable adults. As part of our 

ongoing efforts to ensure the safety 

and well-being of everyone involved 

in our community, this safeguarding 

report outlines the policies, 

procedures, and initiatives 

implemented by the church. 

Policy Framework: Our safeguarding 

policy is based on the principle that 

every individual has the right to be 

protected from harm and abuse. This 

policy, which can be found on our 

website, applies to all members of 

the church, including clergy, staff, 

volunteers, and visitors. Key elements 

of our policy include: 

Safe Recruitment: All individuals 

involved in working with children, 

young people, or vulnerable adults 

undergo thorough background 

checks, including Disclosure and 

Barring Service (DBS) checks where 

applicable. 

34


Training and Awareness: Regular 

training sessions on safeguarding 

issues are provided to all staff and 

volunteers. This includes recognising 

signs of abuse, appropriate reporting 

procedures, and maintaining 

professional boundaries. 

Codes of Conduct: Clear codes of 

conduct are in place to guide the 

behaviour of all individuals within the 

church community. This includes 

guidelines for appropriate 

interactions with children, young 

people, and vulnerable adults. 

Reporting Procedures: Robust 

reporting procedures are established 

to ensure that any concerns or 

suspicions of abuse are promptly 

reported to the appropriate 

authorities, including the local 

safeguarding team and relevant law 

enforcement agencies. 

Support and Advocacy: We provide 

support and advocacy for victims of 

abuse, ensuring that they receive the 

necessary assistance and guidance to 

access appropriate services and 

support networks. 

The safeguarding policy is actively 

implemented and monitored through 

various channels: 

Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO): St. 

Mary Redcliffe Church has appointed 

me as parish safeguarding officer in 

2020 who and I am responsible for 

overseeing the implementation of the 

safeguarding policy, providing 

guidance to staff and volunteers, and 

ensuring compliance with legal 

requirements. 

Regular Review and Updates: The 

safeguarding policy is reviewed and 

updated on an annual basis to reflect 

changes in legislation, best practices, 

and emerging risks. 

35


Feedback and Consultation: We 

actively seek feedback from members 

of the congregation, staff, and 

volunteers to identify areas for 

improvement and ensure that 

safeguarding measures remain 

effective and relevant. 

External Audits: Periodic external 

audits are conducted to assess the 

effectiveness of our safeguarding 

practices and identify any areas for 

improvement. 

In addition to training sessions for 

staff and volunteers, St. Mark's 

Church is committed to raising 

awareness of safeguarding issues 

within the wider community. This 

includes: 

Sermons and Discussions: 

Incorporating safeguarding themes 

into sermons, discussions, and 

educational programs to promote 

understanding and awareness among 

congregation members. We held a 

special service on 19 November, 

which was designated as 

Safeguarding Sunday, where through 

our reading and prayers and the 

sermon safeguarding was given 

special attention. 

Informational Materials: We can 

provide informational materials and 

resources on safeguarding topics, 

including signs of abuse, reporting 

procedures, and support services. 

Community Engagement: Engaging 

with local organisations, schools, and 

community groups to raise awareness 

of safeguarding issues and promote 

collaborative efforts to protect 

vulnerable individuals. This is very 

much evident in the work done by 

our Community Hub. 

Conclusion 

At St. Mary Redcliffe Church, 

safeguarding is a fundamental aspect 

of our mission to create a welcoming 

and secure environment for all 

members of our community. Through 

comprehensive policies, rigorous 

implementation, and ongoing 

education, we are committed to 

ensuring the safety and well-being of 

children, young people, and 

vulnerable adults. We remain vigilant 

in our efforts to prevent abuse, 

support victims, and uphold the 

highest standards of care and 

compassion within our church and 

beyond. 

- Esther Keller, Parish Safeguarding Officer 

Finance 

2023 has been a year filled with 

activity and progress for the St Mary 

Redcliffe Finance Team. Our financial 

reports show a year of considerable 

achievements in generating income, 

coordinating staff, and engaging with 

the community. This success is a 

result of thoughtful strategic 

decisions and the unwavering 

commitment of our volunteers and 

staff. 

This year, our total income was 

£984,099, a slight decrease from the 

£1,048,765 recorded in 2022. 

However, we saw a notable increase 

in trading income, largely due to the 

36


new roles coordinating volunteer 

engagement and events. Their efforts 

have allowed us to significantly 

expand our community and 

fundraising events, leading to an 

increase in revenue from these 

activities. Specifically, income from 

trading activities rose to £75,806 in 

2023, up from £39,665 in 2022. 

Our Community Hub has made 

significant fundraising efforts, gaining 

strong support from the National 

Lottery, Bristol City Council, and the 

Quartet Foundation, among others. 

These funds have been crucial in 

supporting our initiatives and keeping 

our operations viable. 

Our total expenditure for the year 

was £1,031,992, an increase from last 

year's £998,114. This rise is primarily 

due to our expanded activities 

supported by increased staffing, as 

well as enhanced community 

engagement and the upkeep of our 

facilities, making them welcoming, 

safe and warm. 

We continue to collaborate closely 

with the Church Lands Charity to 

manage essential funds that support 

the church's ministry. We've also 

made changes in financial 

administration in 2023 to improve 

efficiency and effectiveness, which 

will continue into 2024. Our financial 

management remains robust, 

supported by a strong team and 

treasurer, this year marking our 

preparatory work for a zero-based 

2024 budget as well as improving our 

financial processes and planning. This 

was challenging but has enabled the 

church to better understand our 

financial position and plan more 

effectively for the future. 

Our financial stability is strong, 

evidenced by a significant increase in 

cash reserves. These reserves, largely 

consisting of legacy income, have 

transitioned into readily available 

funds. It's important to note that 

these are designated for specific uses 

and planned expenses. Our cash on 

hand increased to £370,395 from 

£218,507, reflecting a solid financial 

base. 

That said our ambition over key 

activities such as P450 and ongoing 

visitor experience ensures that we 

continue to improve the financial 

health and stability of the church so 

that these important projects can be 

fulfilled. 

2023 has been a landmark year with 

the full reopening of our church. This 

reopening, along with the work of our 

events and engagement team, has led 

to a substantial increase in visitor 

numbers, enhancing our community 

engagement and boosting income 

through increased footfall. The 

church's active participation in 

community life and the increased use 

of our facilities have been crucial to 

this success. 

The financial year 2023 has been one 

of considerable success and growth 

for our organization. The increased 

staffing, coupled with strategic 

community engagements and 

effective fundraising, have positioned 

37


us well for the future. We are 

committed to ensuring that these 

successes continue to support our 

mission and help us serve our 

community effectively. 

- Samuel Williams, PCC Treasurer 

Fabric 

There were two major projects this 

year: the new window panels in the 

north transept window, covered 

reported separately within this 

report; and the cleaning and repair of 

the exterior of the south porch. The 

latter rescued the Madonna and Child 

from accumulated grime, revealing a 

lovely pale stone; and made good 

several examples of damage to the 

stonework. This also provided useful 

experience against the day when we 

come to the much larger challenge of 

cleaning the whole north side of the 

church; and showed how to provide 

ramped access to the west door when 

the south porch was inaccessible. 

For the rest it was a matter of 

addressing a number of smaller flaws, 

some of them identified by the 2022 

quinquennial review or regular checks 

on the condition and safety of the 

building and its surrounds, such as 

loose or damaged paving, and the 

cleaning of the heating trenches 

throughout the church. There was 

also a good deal of preparatory work 

in specifying and applying for 

faculties or other permissions for 

works to be carried our during 2024 

or later: a comprehensive review of 

the conditions of the gates in the 

38


churchyards, on all of which work was 

found to be needed; changes 

designed to improve access, 

particularly for those with mobility 

problems, such as handrails on the 

upper flights of the north steps; 

repairs to floor tiles; and studies to 

determine the best way of installing 

photovoltaic cells on the high roofs to 

cut running costs and contribute to 

the bishop’s target of a carbonneutral 

diocese by 2030. We 

continue to look to the longer term, 

identifying major works that will be 

needed within the next 10-20 years, 

and to the integration of such things 

with the works forming part of 

Project 450. 

- Richard Wallace, Fabric Officer 

Project 450 

Since Covid, Project 450 has been 

going through a process of review to 

determine whether the scheme that 

had reached the RIBA 2 design stage 

at the end of 2019 is still appropriate 

in terms of nature, scale and form, 

still fundable, and still financially 

sustainable in a post-Covid world. As 

part of this process, during the last 

year, reviews of the Business Plan and 

Fundraising Strategy have been 

carried out by two independent 

consultancies, Counterculture and 

The Fundraising Practice. While this 

work has demonstrated that some 

aspects of the project will need to be 

rethought, thankfully, the various 

reports have demonstrated that the 

project remains viable. Key 

recommendations are that elements 

of the Business Plan need to be 

reformulated, that the project will 

need to work to a target of around 

£10-12 million and that the project 

will need to be realised in phases. 

A significant step forward was taken 

in September 2023, with the 

appointment of Alex Notay as Project 

450 Chair. Since becoming involved, 

Alex has overseen a project reset, 

which has involved taking stock of our 

current position, defining next steps, 

and mapping out a strategy for 

making significant progress during the 

coming year. Part of this process has 

involved resetting the relationship 

with Bristol Planning Department 

following the departure from Bristol 

City Council of Peter Westbury, the 

Planning Manager who was case 

officer for Project 450, and the 

appointment of a new Director of 

Planning, Simone Wilding. In 

September, Alex and the project team 

met with Simone, John Smith – the 

Interim Executive Director of the 

Growth and Regeneration – and Pete 

Insole Head of Urban Design and 

Principal Historic Environment Office - 

now the case officer for Project 450 – 

to talk about the church’s proposals 

and how they fit in with Bristol City 

Council’s objectives for the Redcliffe 

and Temple area. This meeting went 

very well and the P450 project team 

were subsequently invited to City Hall 

for a workshop to further discuss the 

project. Senior staff from Bristol 

Museums, with whom the church has 

been working on plans to rehouse 

William Hogarth’s altarpiece, were 

39


also present to help ensure a joinedup 

approach towards Project 450 

within Bristol City Council. It was clear 

from these meetings that the 

Planning Department remains 

supportive of Project 450 and will 

continue to work with the project 

team towards what we all hope will 

be a successful planning application. 

Following the funding review carried 

out by the Fundraising Practice, a 

major next step will be to apply to the 

National Lottery Heritage Fund for 

funding to support the next stage of 

development. One of the key findings 

of the review process has been that 

the four strands of the church’s work 

and vision – worship, heritage, 

community, and sustainability – 

become more integrated, so that we 

can embed the principle of increasing 

wellbeing and community benefit in 

all aspects of the church’s work. This 

integrated approach will help define 

the next iteration of architectural 

design. 

In the meantime, the staff team is 

working on a new version of the 

organisational business plan that help 

to define the new proposals and 

looking at new methods of audience 

research to fully understand our 

various audiences and define a 

strategy for making St Mary Redcliffe 

40

available to many more members of 

the many communities in Redcliffe 

and Bristol. 


and P450 Board Member 

Archaeological Research 


During the meetings detailed above, 

the Planning Department requested 

that the church carry out a noninvasive 

ground penetrating radar 

analysis to enhance our 

understanding of the site and its 

underground conditions. This work is 

intended to build on the findings of 

the Assessment of Archaeological 

Potential that was completed in 2022 

and inform the next generation of 

design proposals by looking at 

potential historical voids in the 

eastern end of the south churchyard 

and either side of the Lady Chapel. 

We know, for example, that Oatley’s 

Undercroft was initially planned to 

run on a north/south axis along the 

eastern boundary of the churchyard, 

possibly utilising a pre-existing 

subterranean room that is indicated 

on C19th plans of the church and 

churchyard. 

As well as fulfilling its immediate 

purpose, the study has given us the 

opportunity to also look in more 

detail at the church building itself. We 

have long suspected that there are 

subterranean conditions beneath the 

church that we do not fully 

understand. The primary evidence for 

this, are the remains of a westprojecting 

medieval staircase in the 

crypt space beneath the Lady Chapel. 

The staircase leads downwards from 

just inside the Lady Chapel screen 

and would seem to indicate that 

there was once a subterranean space 

beneath the ambulatory/chancel area 

with which the staircase 

communicated. There is also 

evidence of blocked up passageways 

on the south wall of the north 

transept crypt and a blocked-up 

ladder beneath a grill in the North 

Transept floor that, again, are 

suggestive of underground conditions 

that are outside the scope of our 

current knowledge and 

understanding. 

41

Having decided that we should use 

the opportunity of the GPR study to 

see if we could discover more, we 

included in the GDPR scan brief 

investigations in the relevant areas of 

the church. We are waiting for the 

resulted of the GDPR scans. If these 

spaces exist, they have the potential 

to transform our understanding of 

the church and its historical usage, 

which is quite an exciting prospect. 

Watch this space. 



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