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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

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