St Mary Redcliffe Project 450: Project Overview
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<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Church<br />
Facilities Development<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong><br />
Building a sustainable future for one of England’s finest parish churches.
Singing the<br />
of faith and
song<br />
justice...
Introduction<br />
Building a sustainable future for one of England’s finest churches<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Church is an internationallyrenowned<br />
masterpiece of English Gothic<br />
architecture, once described by Elizabeth I as:<br />
the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church<br />
in England.<br />
A member of the Major Churches Network, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong> welcomes around 50,000 annual visitors<br />
from around the world, attracted by its astonishing<br />
architectural beauty, its wealth of heritage stories, its<br />
monuments, artefacts, and rich 800-year history.<br />
Today, the church is home to a thriving Christian<br />
community and - in its capacity as a major citycentre<br />
parish church within an area of multiple<br />
deprivation - provides vital services to local people<br />
through its community centre, The Hub.<br />
While <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is magnificent and muchloved,<br />
it has been recognised for many years that<br />
significant improvements are needed to address<br />
key issues pertaining to its facilities and the welcome<br />
the church is able to provide to its visitors.<br />
To address these issues, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> PCC<br />
(Parochial Church Council) has, for several years,<br />
been planning a major development of its facilities,<br />
which it has called <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong>.<br />
The project is named to commemorate <strong>450</strong> years<br />
since Queen Elizabeth I’s visit to Bristol in 1574, but<br />
its emphasis is on the future of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>:<br />
broadening access to the church, achieving longterm<br />
sustainability and securing one of England’s<br />
finest churches for future generations.<br />
The new facilities will be designed to support the<br />
church in realising the key objectives expressed in its<br />
Vision <strong>St</strong>atement:<br />
To be<br />
• A thriving Christian Community<br />
• A welcoming heritage destination<br />
• A church that makes a difference in the parish<br />
• A progressive and sustainable organisation.<br />
These include limited level access to the nave, the<br />
lack of accessible facilities, such as toilet and cafe,<br />
and the lack of auxiliary spaces that are needed to<br />
support the full range of activities associated with a<br />
major parish church and internationally-significant<br />
visitor destination.<br />
IMAGE: <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> from the South Churchyard
<strong>Project</strong> summary<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will:<br />
Make <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> fully accessible by creating<br />
a lift and entrance to the nave alongside new<br />
accessible facilities, adjacent to the main entrance<br />
to the church.<br />
Improve our welcome to visitors by creating an<br />
engaging street-level visitor facility along <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
Way, in partnership with Visit Bristol. Enhanced<br />
wayfinding and orientation will make it easier for<br />
visitors to enjoy the church and its new facilities.<br />
Transform the presentation of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s<br />
rich heritage by creating new exhibition spaces<br />
within the new visitor facility, and opening up<br />
the medieval North Transept Crypt - currently<br />
inaccessible to the public - as a permanent exhibition<br />
space within the historical church building.<br />
Enhance knowledge of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> and its<br />
site by uncovering and representing the medieval<br />
churchyard wall, rooting new development in an<br />
enhanced understanding of the church and its<br />
historical context.<br />
Create a new home for William Hogarth’s <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong> altarpiece, one of the most important<br />
historical artefacts associated with the church and a<br />
work of international significance.<br />
Open up the Processional Way as part of an initiative<br />
to create new routes around and through the church,<br />
defining it as a key point of interchange between<br />
north and south <strong>Redcliffe</strong>.<br />
Position the church as the focal point of a rapidly<br />
developing <strong>Redcliffe</strong>, a key site along the Brunel<br />
Mile that defines the eastern gateway to Bristol<br />
Harbourside and the city.<br />
Create new opportunities for income generation<br />
by creating a new cafe and shop, new hireable<br />
community, education and music facilities, and<br />
carrying out work to the fabric of the historical<br />
church that will allow access to unseen areas and<br />
support an expanded programme of guided tours.<br />
Provide much-needed support for local people by<br />
creating new crêche, kitchen and education facilities<br />
in the south churchyard, building on our existing<br />
community programme.<br />
Support and expand our work with young people,<br />
both within the congregation and in the local area,<br />
by creating a new Children’s Church and educational<br />
facility in the south churchyard<br />
Build on our rich musical heritage by creating a new<br />
music facility in the south churchyard that will act<br />
as a new home for the church choirs and a centre<br />
for an enhanced programme of musical outreach.<br />
Better position <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> to act as a partner<br />
to other community, heritage, arts, cultural and<br />
educational establishments in Bristol, developing<br />
opportunities for collaboration, fundraising and the<br />
exchange of ideas and resources.<br />
IMAGE: <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> in its urban context
Supporting our community<br />
Targeted facilities to answer the needs of local people<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Church is committed to being a<br />
‘church that makes a difference in the parish’, with<br />
a rich history of reaching out to connect with and<br />
support residents living nearby. Through its work<br />
in the community, the church seeks to be a good<br />
neighbour to the people in this parish regardless of<br />
their age, gender, race, and religion.<br />
Perhaps the most significant area of growth for<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> during and since Covid is<br />
the important work of its community team in<br />
addressing acute local need: within the Parish of<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>, and immediately adjacent to the<br />
church, <strong>Redcliffe</strong> South is ranked one of the 3.6%<br />
most deprived areas in England in the Indices of<br />
Multiple Deprivation (IMD).<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s community team has had a<br />
significant postive impact on the local community<br />
through its work at The Hub community centre on<br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong> Hill. The Hub builds upon the foundations<br />
of community work undertaken during the last<br />
five years and upon the many strengths within the<br />
neighbourhood of <strong>Redcliffe</strong>. Led by the church,<br />
and involving a range of community partners, our<br />
work from The Hub reaches all sections of an oftenoverlooked<br />
community.<br />
During the last year the team has provided<br />
vital support for asylum seekers who are being<br />
accomodated in the former Mercure hotel directly<br />
opposite <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>.<br />
Working within the community allows the church<br />
significant insight into the specific needs of the local<br />
people. We know there is a great need for spaces<br />
that can be used for community learning, as well as<br />
crèche and kitchen facilities that, because of spatial<br />
limitations, cannot be accommodated within the<br />
existing community facility.<br />
How <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will help<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will help <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> build on the<br />
important work that takes place in The Hub by using<br />
the oustanding heritage of the church, the green<br />
spaces of its churchyard and newly built facilities to<br />
help address community need.<br />
This will include making <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s<br />
world-class heritage available to a wider audience,<br />
promoting inclusivity and wellbeing.<br />
To answer the specific needs, mentioned above<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a new community facility –<br />
including a kitchen, crèche and community learning<br />
space - as part of a new complex of buildings in<br />
the south churchyard that will also house facilities<br />
for our Children’s Church and a new home for our<br />
choirs.<br />
When these spaces are not in use by members of<br />
the community, they will be hired out to generate<br />
income that will be fed back into the church’s<br />
community work, making its programme of<br />
activities financially sustainable.<br />
IMAGE: The Hub, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s community centre on <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Hill, near to the church
Inviting people in<br />
An engaging visitor welcome at street level<br />
For a variety of reasons, many Bristolians do not<br />
visit or use <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>. Some are daunted by<br />
the prospect of entering a grand historical building;<br />
others find the idea of engaging with a site of<br />
Christian worship problematic; some are unsure<br />
about what they will find inside the church and<br />
nervous about what might be expected of them upon<br />
entering the building.<br />
To help remedy this and broaden engagement from<br />
people across the city, we would like to improve<br />
our offer to visitors, making the church a more<br />
welcoming place for all members of the community.<br />
To help achieve this, <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a new<br />
visitor welcome at street level along <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Way<br />
to complement the main entrance to the church<br />
through the North Porch.<br />
A new permeable frontage will provide a friendly<br />
point of engagement for visitors and encourage<br />
those who are not used to visiting historical<br />
buildings, and who might not feel comfortable<br />
climbing the grand staircase to our main entrance, to<br />
cross the threshold and discover the church.<br />
The new entrance from <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Way will lead to<br />
a visitor welcome point and tourist information<br />
gateway - operated in partnership with Visit Bristol<br />
- that will support wayfinding, orientation, and<br />
information-sharing, and promote partnerships with<br />
other organisations across the city.<br />
From here visitors will be able to access a suite of<br />
improved, updated and accessible facilities including<br />
a new café, shop and toilets.<br />
IMAGE: A view of the north side of the church, with <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Way in the foreground
Promoting fairness and inclusivity<br />
A welcoming church that’s accessible for everyone<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s mission is rooted in its core<br />
values of compassion, inclusivity and justice, so<br />
it is important that access to the church building<br />
and the activities that take place within is<br />
equitable and available to all.<br />
Creating level access to the church is difficult due<br />
to the church’s position on its eponymous red cliff,<br />
which means that the main entrance is accessed<br />
by multiple flights of steps.<br />
Key facilities such as toilets and café that exist<br />
beneath the level of the nave to the north of<br />
the church are also accessed by steps and are,<br />
consequently, inaccessible to mobility-impaired<br />
people.<br />
Currently, those who are unable to use the main<br />
entrance are directed towards the south entrance,<br />
which involves navigating a circuitous, uphill<br />
journey. A temporary portaloo located in the south<br />
churchyard is currently the only accessible toilet<br />
available to visitors.<br />
To address this, <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a lift from<br />
ground level near the main entrance to the church<br />
that will link with a new entrance to the North Aisle<br />
through historical fabric in the area between the<br />
North Porch and North Transept.<br />
The lift will allow everyone to access the church<br />
from the north, which is the main point of arrival.<br />
Key facilities such as a new toilets facility to the<br />
north of the church will also be made accessible by<br />
this important intervention.<br />
IMAGE: <strong>St</strong>eps to the the main north entrance, a significant access challenge for the church
Understanding our audiences<br />
Responding to the needs of local communities<br />
Building on analytical work that has been<br />
carried out during the last five years, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong> has - during the last year - instigated a<br />
programme of work to help better understand its<br />
audiences.<br />
This work will help the church to plan activities<br />
across the various strands of its work to ensure<br />
that the church is properly responsive to the<br />
needs of the richly diverse communities of<br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong>, Bristol and the wider area.<br />
To this end we have recently appointed an<br />
Audiences Consultant to work with departmental<br />
managers to build a robust culture of audience<br />
engagement and assessment.<br />
We will then carry out a process of analyis to<br />
identify audiences that we know about but have yet<br />
to engage, as well as audiences that might not have<br />
formed part of the church’s thinking to date.<br />
The findings will be used to create an audience<br />
strategy that will inform the church’’s planning for<br />
the next five years and beyond, helping to define<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> planning and outcomes.<br />
This work will help to embed a sustainable culture<br />
of audience engagement and evaluation that will<br />
infom the church’s long-term development plans<br />
and ensure that the church is responding to a<br />
significantly wider range of users and potential users.<br />
As part of this process we will be analysing our<br />
existing community and visitor research data to<br />
build a picture of the church’s current audiences.<br />
IMAGE: Audience members enjoying a musical performance during the church’s annual Treefest event
Reflecting diversity through music<br />
Building on a long and distinguished musical tradition<br />
For centuries, music has been central to life at<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>: our historic church, which<br />
enjoys associations with Handel and the Wesley<br />
family, boasts a long and distinguished musical<br />
tradition that transcends time. The superb <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
church organs have, for centuries, been nationally<br />
renowned, while generations of choristers have<br />
enriched our worship through song.<br />
We are now focused on weaving together this rich<br />
musical tradition with our mission as a thriving and<br />
inclusive Christian community that makes a positive<br />
difference in the parish and beyond.<br />
With this aspiration in mind, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
Director of Music, Joe Cryan, is developing a new<br />
community-focused approach to music-making, by<br />
asking, “What does Bristol sound like?”<br />
My aim, while maintaining our rich English choral<br />
heritage, is to question how we can make it reflect<br />
the Bristol we are today. We need to ensure that<br />
our music reflects the diverse city that we are at<br />
the centre of, allowing anyone, regardless of age,<br />
experience, creed or background to enjoy the beauty<br />
of music. We are on a journey to ‘sing the song of<br />
faith and justice’ together through the power of<br />
music making.<br />
To support this new community-focused vision for<br />
music at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>, <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a<br />
new home for the church choirs that will be used as<br />
a base for the expansion of our musical practice and<br />
outreach during the coming years.<br />
The facility, which will be located in the south<br />
churchyard, will sit alongside those dedicated to<br />
education and community; a proximity which<br />
will encourage interaction between the church’s<br />
musical practice, school groups and members of<br />
the local community, helping to develop a holistic<br />
relationship between the four component parts of<br />
the church’s vision:<br />
To be<br />
• A thriving Christian Community<br />
• A welcoming heritage destination<br />
• A church that makes a difference in the parish<br />
• A progressive and sustainable organisation.<br />
IMAGE: Members of the church choirs
Serving our young people<br />
A new Children’s Church and educational facility to support learning and development<br />
One of the great success stories of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
as a centre of Christian worship is its popular and<br />
growing Children’s Church, which takes place<br />
during Sung Eucharist on a Sunday.<br />
For many years, the Children’s Church took place<br />
in the Undercroft, which also housed the church<br />
café from Monday to Saturday. This dual-use<br />
arrangement was problematic because Children’s<br />
Church needed to be entirely packed away during<br />
the week and there was not enough storage space<br />
or room for equipment.<br />
While the vaulted and pillared Undercroft is a<br />
useful and popular space, it is not ideal for engaging<br />
with groups of children: an issue which has been<br />
exacerbated by the need to accommodate more<br />
people as the Children’s Church has grown.<br />
In recent years the Children’s Church has used<br />
alternative facilities in the local area, such as<br />
Faithspace, which is remote from the church and<br />
therefore impractical.<br />
An important feature of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s outreach<br />
is its work with educational establishments and the<br />
welcome it extends to local schools.<br />
In the past, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> has employed an<br />
Education Worker to undertake a range of activities<br />
designed to engage local school children with the<br />
history of the church and Christian worship.<br />
Previously, this work focused on Christian worship<br />
and responded, primarily, to the Religious <strong>St</strong>udies<br />
curriculum. <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> provides an opportunity<br />
for <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> to broaden its offer to schools<br />
by expanding provision to cover a wider range of<br />
subject areas, including English Literature, History,<br />
Art, Maths and Science.<br />
In addition to its role as a home for our Children’s<br />
Church, the new education hub will support this<br />
expansion by acting as a classroom facility and base<br />
for visiting school groups.<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a new education hub that<br />
will provide a home for Children’s Church within<br />
the newly-built south churchyard complex. This<br />
new facility will include appropriately designed<br />
learning areas, separate toilets and storage space for<br />
equipment. Proximity to the church, with access<br />
through the Priest’s Door, will allow Children’s<br />
Church to easily interact with worship in the Nave.<br />
IMAGE: Sporting activities for local children, arranged and supported by the church’s community team
Enhancing one of England’s finest churches<br />
A programme of cleaning, re-presentation, and opening new areas within the medieval church<br />
One of the primary ambitions of <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> is to<br />
improve access to, and better present, the historical<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Church.<br />
The re-presentation and opening up of the medieval<br />
church building will constitute a central part of a<br />
programme of improvements that will enhance<br />
the enjoyment of visitors by offering new ways to<br />
engage with the church, improved storytelling and a<br />
significantly enhanced overall experience.<br />
A major part of this will be the creation of a new<br />
high- and low-level visitor route that will enable<br />
visitors to move upwards through the building, from<br />
the currently inaccessible medieval Crypt spaces,<br />
to Nave level and up again into the higher areas of<br />
the historical building, including the Church Tower<br />
and Roof, the Ringing Chamber, the Spire, the<br />
Chatterton Room and the Easter Vestry.<br />
These opening up of these evocative hidden spaces<br />
- all currently inaccessible and, therefore, removed<br />
from the visitor experience - will constitute a major<br />
achievement in enhancing the enjoyment of visitors<br />
and promoting knowldege of the church.<br />
The creation of a new route around the hidden<br />
spaces of the church will also have a significant<br />
impact on the church’s ability to generate income by<br />
facilitating bookable ‘behind the scenes’ tours and<br />
opening up new areas for events.<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will also include a series of works to the<br />
historic fabric of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> that will improve<br />
the presentation of the church building and provide<br />
opportunities for public engagement.<br />
These will include:<br />
• conservation and cleaning of the exterior<br />
stonework as part of a major outward representation<br />
of the church to the city of Bristol;<br />
• conservation, cleaning and representation of the<br />
North Porch, both the main entrance and one<br />
of the most significant parts of the historical<br />
church building<br />
• conservation of the great west window<br />
• conservation of the medieval stained glass<br />
• cleaning of the interior of the medieval Lady<br />
Chapel<br />
In addition, the project will facilitate the renovation<br />
and display of the church’s significant collection of<br />
heritage artefacts.<br />
This will include:<br />
• conservation of the church’s medieval armoire,<br />
an artefact of European significance<br />
• conservation and display of the church’s<br />
collection of silverware<br />
• conservation and display of the church’s<br />
collection of embroidered vestments and altar<br />
frontals<br />
IMAGE: The magificent vaulted ceiling above the chancel at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>
IMAGE: C16th statue of Elizabeth I in <strong>St</strong> John’s Chapel (The American Chapel)
Telling our stories<br />
Exciting new spaces for exhibition, interpretation and storytelling<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is rich in history, having played a<br />
significant role in the development of <strong>Redcliffe</strong> and<br />
Bristol since the 1100s. The church is associated with<br />
a cast of characters that includes Queen Elizabeth,<br />
William Canynges, John Cabot, Admiral William<br />
Penn, William Hogarth, George Frideric Handel,<br />
Thomas Chatterton, Samuel Johnson, Samuel<br />
Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. It has strong<br />
links with medieval and early modern maritime<br />
exploration, the Tudor age, eighteenth-century art<br />
and music, the development of English Romanticism<br />
and the colonisation of North America and the<br />
Caribbean. A focus for current research is contested<br />
history and the church’s links with slavery.<br />
The church holds a significant collection of artefacts,<br />
including church plate dating from the early modern<br />
period, richly embroidered vestments, a collection<br />
of historical images and extensive archives. A wealth<br />
of related artefacts and documents, dating back to<br />
the 1100s, is held by Bristol Museums, Galleries and<br />
Archives, much of which is not on display.<br />
The most significant example is William Hogarth’s<br />
altarpiece, a highly unusual work in the context of<br />
Hogarth’s oeuvre that was commissioned by the<br />
church during the mid-C18th, at the height of the<br />
artist’s fame.<br />
Apart from their inherent worth, these artefacts are<br />
valuable in that they support understanding of the<br />
church and its history, as well as that of the wider<br />
city. Displayed and interpreted appropriately, these<br />
items would help <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> tell its stories<br />
to visitors, vastly improving the visitor experience<br />
at the church and helping to promote wellbeing<br />
through access to heritage.<br />
While there is huge potential for a muchenhanced<br />
presentation of heritage at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong>, currently the church lacks exhibition and<br />
interpretation spaces that would allow it to display<br />
and interpret its collections and tell the many stories<br />
that together constitute its history.<br />
To solve this problem, <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will create a series<br />
of new exhibition and interpretative spaces within<br />
the new street-level visitor welcome, including a<br />
purpose-built home for Hogarth’s altarpiece. These<br />
new spaces will interact with a new permanent<br />
exhibition within one of the most significant and<br />
currently unseen spaces within the historical church<br />
building; the C14th North Transept Crypt, which is<br />
currently used as rehearsal space for the choir.<br />
Upon entering the new welcome areas, visitors<br />
will, amongst other things, have the option to visit<br />
the Hogarth altarpiece, or view information and<br />
artefacts relating to the history of the church.<br />
A route through the new facilities will lead to<br />
the North Transept Crypt, which will contain a<br />
permanent exhibition about the history of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong><br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong> and its role within the developing city.<br />
Historical routes from the crypt to the North<br />
Ambulatory and North Aisle will allow fascinating<br />
insights into the nature and usage of the historical<br />
church and new ways of encountering the current<br />
church building.<br />
Mobility impaired visitors will be able to move<br />
between this area and the body of the church by<br />
using the new lift.
Better understanding our past<br />
Rooting new development in the historical context<br />
For nearly a millennia, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> has sat on a<br />
spur of red cliff, overlooking its parish, the harbour<br />
and the city. For many centuries, change was<br />
gradual, as successive generations of people lived<br />
in, worked in, and developed the areas surrounding<br />
the church. During this time important institutions,<br />
such as the medieval Mansion House of the Diocese<br />
of Salisbury, which was located to the north-west of<br />
the church, and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit that<br />
once stood near its the south west corner were either<br />
repurposed or destroyed, and were largely forgotten.<br />
Unprecedented change that damaged the church’s<br />
surroundings occurred during and after the second<br />
world war, when the areas around the church were<br />
irreversibly altered, first by enemy action during<br />
the Bristol Blitz and secondly by the councilled<br />
destruction of buildings within the parish.<br />
The subsequent imposition of a system of dual<br />
carriageways on two sides of the church, further<br />
contributed towards the church’s dislocation from its<br />
local community, the harbourside and the city.<br />
This degree of change makes it difficult to imagine<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s historical context - knowledge<br />
of which is crucial to a full understanding and<br />
appreciation of the church and its history.<br />
Recent work, commissioned as part of <strong>Project</strong><br />
<strong>450</strong>, has shed new light on the changing nature of<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>’s immediate surroundings and<br />
transformed our understanding of the archaeological<br />
conditions in the churchyard and adjacent streets.<br />
Ongoing work is looking in detail at little<br />
understood conditions beneath the church building,<br />
including the medieval crypt below the Lady<br />
Chapel; an area of research that has the potential<br />
to transform our understanding of the historical<br />
church building.<br />
This history is significant in the context of our<br />
development plans because the new visitor facility<br />
to the north of the church will be created in front<br />
of the medieval wall that defined the extent of<br />
the medieval churchyard, and on the site of a<br />
complex of structures that had their origin in the<br />
medieval Manor House - the remnants of which<br />
were removed at the beginning of the great C19th<br />
restoration of the church.<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will respond to this contextual<br />
understanding of the site by uncovering and representing<br />
the medieval church wall that still exists<br />
below ground. The little-known but significant<br />
heritage context to the north of the church, relating<br />
to the medieval Manor House, will inform the<br />
development of our new buildings, helping to ensure<br />
that the site’s heritage is preserved and visitors’<br />
understanding of the church and its historical<br />
context is enhanced.<br />
Existing knowledge and new findings will be<br />
interpreted and presented in the new exhibition<br />
spaces located in the new visitor complex to the<br />
north of the church and in the medieval North<br />
Transept Crypt.<br />
IMAGE: A C19th image of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>, prior to the restoration of the church spire
Responding to the present<br />
Building capacity to address the needs of an expanding parish<br />
The <strong>Redcliffe</strong> and Temple areas of Bristol are<br />
currently undergoing major changes that will have a<br />
significant long-term impact on <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>.<br />
For many years, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> has worked<br />
in partnership with <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Neighbourhood<br />
Development Forum, the local community group<br />
that produced the <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Neighbourhood Plan,<br />
envisaging the church at the centre of a major<br />
holistic redevelopment of <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Way and its<br />
adjacent areas.<br />
In recent years this community-led process has<br />
been overtaken by major developments at <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
Quarter, <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Quay, <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Way and in the<br />
Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, that will combine<br />
to transform <strong>Redcliffe</strong> during the next decade, vastly<br />
increasing the numbers of people living within the<br />
parish.<br />
In addition, major improvements are being made to<br />
Bristol Temple Meads which are likely to result in<br />
significant increase in rail passengers arriving in the<br />
city near to <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong>.<br />
The church’s strategic position on the major arterial<br />
route that connects the Bristol’s main transport hub<br />
with the harbourside district, means that it is likely<br />
to experience a significant increase in visitors and is<br />
ideally placed to welcome these visitors, acting as a<br />
major heritage gateway to the city.<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> will better enable <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
to serve the hugely increased numbers of people<br />
living in its parish, as well as visitors to its rapidly<br />
developing locality, by creating new facilities that<br />
will accommodate more visitors and enable the<br />
church to build capacity through income generation<br />
and reinvestment.<br />
IMAGE: Proposed development at <strong>Redcliffe</strong> Wharf, a key site between the church and Bristol Harbourside
Building lasting partnerships<br />
Creating a network of links with organisations across the city, and beyond<br />
<strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> presents an unprecedented opportunity<br />
for <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> to play a central role in the<br />
developing city by forming mutually beneficial<br />
partnership with heritage, arts, cultural, community<br />
and educational organisations in Bristol.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> already enjoys good relationships<br />
with key organisations such as Bristol Museums,<br />
with which it is working to create a new home for<br />
Hogarth’s altarpiece, Visit Bristol, with which it is<br />
working to create a tourist information gateway at<br />
the church, and <strong>Redcliffe</strong> BID, which works with<br />
local businesses to improve the local area. The<br />
church’s community team works in partnership with<br />
community-focused organisations across the city,<br />
including Bristol City Council.<br />
Recent research commissioned by the church has<br />
identified opportunities to expand its engagement<br />
with major Bristol institutions, for example, through<br />
potentially significant partnerships with The<br />
University of Bristol and the University of the West<br />
of England to support the church in developing its<br />
collections and interpretation.<br />
Research on Hogarth’s altarpiece has identified<br />
potential national partnerships with The Foundling<br />
Hospital, <strong>St</strong> Bartholomew’s Hospital and the<br />
National Gallery that would raise the profile of the<br />
church significantly.<br />
The focus of <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> is to build capacity and<br />
increase activity to support long-term organisational<br />
sustainability. In part, this vision will be achieved<br />
through the strategic formation of partnerships with<br />
third party organisations, developing opportunities<br />
for collaboration, fundraising and the exchange of<br />
ideas and resources.<br />
The church’s new visitor, community and education<br />
facilities will significantly increase the scope for such<br />
partnership work across the organisation.<br />
IMAGE: The unveiling of the church’s new stained glass panels, during an event to mark the 60th anniversary of Bristol Bus Boycott
Helping to protect our planet<br />
Building towards a sustainable future<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is committed to becoming a net<br />
zero carbon organisation by 2030, a goal that is<br />
aligned with the wider environmental commitment<br />
of the Church of England, which recognises that<br />
the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s<br />
creation and a fundamental injustice.<br />
Work to make <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> a greener<br />
organisation has been in progress for several years<br />
and, in recognition of this work, the church was<br />
recently awarded an A Rocha UK Silver Eco Church<br />
Award in recognition of its efforts to care for God’s<br />
earth in each of the following areas: worship and<br />
teaching; management of buildings and land:<br />
community and global engagement; and lifestyle<br />
Work to improve the environmental performance<br />
of the historical church building is ongoing under<br />
the auspices of the Fabric Committee, with the<br />
committee currently preparing a major project that<br />
will install photovoltaic cells on the roof of the nave<br />
during the next few years.<br />
The church is also carrying out temperature studies<br />
to inform a new solution for heating the church - a<br />
project that will see <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> linked to<br />
the Bristol Heat Network, which will become a<br />
city-wide, fossil-free heat network across Bristol.<br />
The development of the heat network will provide<br />
low-carbon, reliable heat to the community while<br />
creating jobs and delivering social value. The<br />
decarbonisation of heat is also a crucial step in<br />
achieving Bristol’s goal to become a carbon-neutral<br />
city by 2030.<br />
The church’s approach to organisational<br />
development, including the creation of new facilities,<br />
is consistent with the work carried out to date by <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> and with the wider aspirations of the<br />
Church of England.<br />
The principle of environmental sustainability has<br />
been built into <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> from its inception, and<br />
a key requirement of the <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> design brief<br />
is that the new facilities must meet BREAAM<br />
certification standards relating to net zero, whole<br />
life performance, health and social impact and<br />
biodiversity.<br />
Accordingly architectural planning work<br />
has incorporated strategies to minimise the<br />
environmental impact of the scheme and<br />
maximise its potential to provide environmental<br />
benefits. These strategies include green planting,<br />
enhancements to the landscape around the church,<br />
the considerate use of materials, natural and<br />
passive environmental strategies, and a ‘fabric-first’<br />
approach to sustainability.<br />
Lastly the Ecological Assessment and <strong>St</strong>rategy<br />
has defined a series of compensation measures<br />
to mitigate the impact of <strong>Project</strong> <strong>450</strong> on wildlife<br />
- specifically bats and birds - alongside a series of<br />
interventions that will significantly enhance the<br />
ecological value of the site.<br />
IMAGE: Wildflower meadow planted by local volunteers, organised by <strong>Redcliffe</strong> and Temple BID and Avon Wildlife Trust
Information<br />
Contact<br />
0117 231 0060<br />
parish.office@stmaryredcliffe.co.uk<br />
www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk<br />
The Parish Office<br />
12 Colston Parade<br />
<strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />
Bristol BS1 6RA<br />
@stmaryredcliffe<br />
#stmaryredcliffe<br />
@stmaryredcliffe<br />
@stmaryredcliffe