(Revisiting? Click here for list of new
pages)
There follows a list of Bristol Churches, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox, past and present, within the Bristol County boundary. Brief comments follow, together with the present status of the building. A link to a more detailed page on this site or another site is provided where appropriate, usually through the heading, or in the case of multiple sites via a separate button. The list is alphabetical but ignoring "Holy" or "Saint." The church is Anglican (Church of England) unless mentioned. Scroll down for details or use the search box below - although this will search my entire content not just the Bristol pages.
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If anyone has any old pictures of Bristol churches, especially those of churches since demolished, rebuilt or altered, please contact me with details! Although I have built up a fair collection of cuttings, brochures and photos there are some churches I have only poor pictures of and there are others that I have never seen pictures of at all. Thank you.
Visually Bristol has spread beyond its boundaries. Please note that the churches at Filton, Patchway, Frenchay, Downend, Mangotsfield, Kingswood, Soundwell, Hanham (all South Gloucestershire) and Leigh Woods (North Somerset) & Whitchurch (North-East Somerset) are outside of the city boundary, and therefore not on the Anglican/Roman Catholic list. However details on some of the outlying non-Conformist churches may be found on the relevant page(s).
BRISTOL Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity
Bristol's medieval cathedral founded in 1542 by Henry VIII. The abbey church of St Augustine became the cathedral church. The nave and west towers are work by G.E.Street. Famous Norman chapter-house, two walks of the cloisters and the abbey gateway survive from monastic times.
CLIFTON Cathedral of St Peter & St Paul (Roman Catholic)
Modern replacement opened 1973 of the Pro Cathedral of the Apostles. (see below)
The church was begun on a grand scale in 1834, but structural problems were encountered and a scaled down version opened in 1848. It was used as the cathedral of the new diocese of Clifton founded in 1850 but never consecrated. Some remodelling, notably the west front in 1870. When the new cathedral was built, the old church became a store, then a school. Some of the windows are preserved in the new church of St Patrick, Redfield (see below). I visited in March 2000 when the buildings were deteriorating fast. I took some distressing pictures which are now on-line for you all to see. After several abortive plans, the church was converted into student accomodation and the buildings at the rear were demolished and replaced with new blocks of flats.
1885 by W.Wood Bethell. In use, but interior subdivided to form church (chancel, E end of nave and aisles), hall and rooms (sadly) with interior reversed.
1903-4 by G.F.Bodley, never finished ("temporary" west wall). In use
1907-15 by C.F.W.Denning. In use. To the north, the first church by Crisp 1889-93, now a hall.
1907-13 by W.V.& A.R.Gough. In use but plans to subdivide the interior to create hall/rooms and smaller worship area in progress.
1899-1901 Sir George Oatley. Never completed, planned west front built onto the shortened nave. In use.
Medieval, C18 tower. Now a Religions Field Studies Centre. Pews removed, otherwise most fittings remain.
1963-7 by Potter & Hare, replacing G.E.Street's church of 1864-8 burnt out in World War Two. G.F. Bodley's narthex of 1900 and the base of the tower (with new spire) survive. In use.
1904-9 by E.H.Lingen-Barker, never finished ("temporary" west wall). In use. Recent alterations on the north side to connect to new church hall (old halls destroyed by arson).
1912-3 by W.V.& A.R.Gough. One of Bristol's largest suburban churches, known as the "Cathedral of East Bristol". In use.
c1955 by F.L.Hannam, incorporating parts (not all in situ) of the war-bombed predecessor. Major alterations 2017-19 included a new entrance foyer and toilets, the screening off of the aisle and a new pointed arched ceiling over the nave and chancel. In use
1819-20 on medieval site. Destroyed in 1940, ruins cleared 1956. Churchyard (with Birdcage Walk) survives, church site lawned and with plaque. (Link to current status page)
1956. In use
C18 site, church rebuilt 1872-3 by J.C.Neale. Closed 1958 and demolished 1962. Flats on site.
1844-5 by S.J.Hicks. Demolished 1969. Site now a park, churchyard wall,path and lamp bracket over entrance still survive (Nov 97).
Church mission hall, 1900-1 by Sir George Oatley (who also planned a huge church alongside Greenbank Road), converted into a permanent church 1926 by reversing the orientation and the addition of a chancel by P Hartland-Thomas. In use.
1902-5 by H.M.Bennett. War damage repaired. Interior badly subdivided c1979 to form church, hall and rooms. In use
1896-7 by W.V.Gough, burnt out in World War 2, and demolished 1954. Whiteladies Health Centre on the site.
1956, in use.
Medieval. Slightly damaged in WW2 and shamefully demolished in 1962. The site was vacant for over 20 years and now the Royal Hotel has extended over the site.
1971-2 by Michael Jenner, shared with Methodists. 80ft tower removed as unsafe 1985. In use. Demolished 2014, replaced by housing and a new parish church and centre.
St Augustine of Canterbury, CLIFTON (Roman Catholic)
1842 for the Clifton Mission whose church of the Apostles had run into construction difficulties (see Pro-Cathedral above). Became conventual and enlarged 1850, rededicated to St Catherine of Siena, closed 1898 and became a store. Parts survive in the Schools complex below the Pro-Cathedral. Future Uncertain (January 2001).
1843 by S.T.Welch. Closed 1955 and used as school assembly hall, before becoming community centre. Demolished in 1983 for the rebuilt Malcolm X Community Centre on site.
1938 by C.W.Denning. Nave demolished in 1980s and replaced by flats. Crossing and transepts serve as hall and the chancel as the church. In use.
1861 by Pope, closed 1890 and demolished 1894. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THIS CHURCH?
1894 by W Bassett-Smith. In use, but the interior has been re-ordered.
Mission from St John, Fishponds. Church planned but never built.
Completed 1968, James Leask. In use.
1902-3 by D Webb, extended 1928-9 but never finished ("temporary" west wall). New porch and reordered 1973. Plans (2007) to complete the church at the west end.
St Bonaventure, BISHOPSTON (Roman Catholic)
1900-9 by Pugin & Pugin, altered by J Bevan 1922,1927 & 1936. Was Franciscan, the adjoining friary buildings now house the offices of the RC diocese of Clifton.
1956. Closed, last mass was held here on 1st February 2004. The church is now demolished and the site redeveloped.
St Catherine of Siena see St Augustine of Canterbury, CLIFTON
Mission from St Matthew, in existence 1875-c1945.
1883-5 By C.F.Hansom. Last service held in 1958, the church being demolished shortly afterwards. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY PICTURES OF THIS CHURCH ?
A medieval site, the church rebuilt 1786-90 by William Paty. In use.
1843-4 (Charles Dyer), steeple 212ft 1859 (John Norton), aisles 1885 (W.Bassett Smith). In use.
1934 by W Rudman. In use.
1951-2. In use
1964 by J.Ralph Edwards, completed 1971 by John Maggs. In use.
1930-1 by C.W.Denning. Subdivided c1990 to create parish hall and rooms in the west part of the nave and N. transept. In use
1854-6 by S.B.Gabriel and J.H.Hirst. Wrecked by High Explosive bomb 9th/10th April 1941 and ruins cleared.
First church 1854 by Charles Hansom in East Street. Part of this remains as Bedminster Library. Moved to Temple area of the City (see below). New church 1922 in Dean lane, the successor of the city site. Architect J.Bevan Jr.(?). The church has been closed because of structural problems and services transferred to the nearby school. Website in 2021 still reporting this as a temporary arrangements whilst waiting for the reopening of the church.
1872-4, from East Street. Closed when new church built in Bedminster. Became a garage for a while but has since been demolished.
1st church coverted from a farm building 1949-50 by T.H.Burrough. Replaced by new church 1959 by Burrough & Hannam. This church demolished after the new church and centre on a slightly different site were completed in early 2000.
1932 by P Hartland Thomas. In use
Mission church of St Paul, Southville, and now its church hall. Bellcote removed 1991. Used as a church 1990-1 whilst storm damage to St Paul was repaired. The building is now converted into flats.
Original church converted from a school (when?). S aisle added 1913, N aisle and sanctuary 1928. Closed 1992 and now screen printers and offices. Interior subdivided and false floor inserted.
Built c1910 as a hall, converted into a church by P Hartland Thomas 1930. The church closed in 1978, the building was a Sign and Printing company in its later years. Demolished in 2006. The wooden font is now at St Mary Magdalen, Lockleaze.
1926-8 by Sir George Oatley, completed to a different plan in 1993. In use
1865-9 by John Norton. Declared redundant 1974 and demolished except for the tower which is incorporated into Elderly Persons' Flats which echo the bulk of the church as was.
1860-3 by Pope & Bindon. Redundant 1937 and demolished 1939, a victim of wholesale slum clearance in the area which became industrial. The parish rooms survive though, now in use as a motor repair shop.
Medieval, demolished 1820. Along with All Saints and Christ Church one of three churches standing at the crossroads of the medieval city.
1886-7 by J.Bevan. Blitzed 1941 and demolished. New church on site by Robert Potter 1951-3. In use
Mission church from Holy Trinity Horfield, ?1932. Stood in Dovercourt Road. The new church of St Mary Magdalen in the centre of Lockleaze replaced it.
1868-70 by J.C.Neale. Was in the way of the outer circuit road, declared redundant and then unsafe and demolished with indecent haste 1975, the day the church was "listed" for preservation. The church hall, inscribed St Gabriel's Mission, still survives.
1823 by Sir Robert Smirke. Now a celebrated concert venue, often used by BBC Radio 3. Few alterations to date to the main church but applications pending to replace the pews (October 1997) and create more suitable entrances. This was completed in 1999.
Originally 1753, rebuilt 1846 by Hicks, and again 1879-80 following a fire by P.E.Massey. Demolished 1976 and flats now on the site. The church was unsafe but the tower survived being dynamited until this was repeated. The school to the west became the church but this too closed 1989 and after years of neglect and vandalism converted into flats in 2000-1.
c1908 by Pugin & Pugin. In use
Medieval, chapel-of-ease to St Leonard. Gone by 1673. See St Leonard, City.
Chapel of the convent 1858-9, which occupied Arno's Court. This building is now a hotel, and the front and side wall of the chapel now incorporated into the restaurant.
Temporary church 1935, replaced in 1958. In use.
1936 by A.R.Gough. In use.
St James Priory Church, CITY (now Roman Catholic)
Largely Norman. Redundant 1984, reopened 8th Sept 1993 as RC church and in monastic use once more, by the Little Brothers of Nazareth. The High Victorian outer N aisle has been screened off.
1867 by Pope & Bindon, originally for the Bristol Female Penitentiary who paid for it. Demolished post-war, date unknown.
1859-62 by Pope & Bindon, deconsecrated 1928 to become St Andrew's hall. The BBC used it 1939-45 and divided it into two floors. Upper floor used as church 1945-51 when it reverted to a church hall again on the unification of St Andrew and Christ Church parishes. Demolished c1975. Flats on site.
Pre-conquest site (1003), often rebuilt, the last 1855 by John Norton. Blitzed, the ruins surviving until1967 before being demolished. Churchyard survives as a park among ever-encroaching commercial properties.
St John the Baptist, CITY (St John's-on-the-Wall)
Medieval, the steeple built over one of the medieval gates to the city. In the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
1910 by E.H.Lingen-Barker, in use. Its predecessor, of corrugated iron survived to the east until 1971.
Medieval, stood in the burial ground belonging to St Nicholas, City, and may have been the original parish church of St Nicholas. The cemetery was in "The Back", between the modern-day Welsh Back and Queen Charlotte Street (originally Back Street). It seems to have gone by 1673.
1841 by S.J.Hicks, chancel 1864 by S.B.Gabriel. Redundant 1984 and converted to auction rooms and offices for a media company 1990.
Bristol's first post-restoration catholic church, 1790, in Trenchard Street. Remained in use until 1861 when it was converted into school and rooms for St Mary on the Quay. Frontage and doorway survive incorporated into new flats.
1923-5 by Sir Frank Wills. In use
1844-9 by S.B.Gabriel. Sold for new use in November 1999. Changes made to the windows, some doors replaced by metal. Converted into housing 2004-5.
1889, converted to a mosque in the 1960s. Replaced by current building c1980, with minaret and onion dome. (Email 5Sep06 from Karen Baxter - Not converted to a mosque till at least 1963, as my grandfather who lived at 1 Pylle Hill kept an eye on it and it was sold after I was born in 1961. It was a chapel for a while and then disused, grandfather kept an eye on to make sure vandals didnt destroy it.)
1898, originally a hall, consecrated 1931. Closed 1953. Now converted into dwellings.
Medieval, stood immediately west of St John, also on the wall. Pulled down after 1580 but during demolition work in the 1960s an arch was discovered, photographed and presumably destroyed.
1884-5 by J Bevan Senior. Damaged slightly in the war,restored but closed in 1954 and demolished 1956.
Medieval. Stood over the city's Westgate, at the foot of Corn Street. Demolished 1771 to make way for Clare Street.
1938 by Robert Potter. Closed by CofE in 2012 and transferred to the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2014 and now dedicated to St Marina. The previous church building (originally dedicated to St Peter & St Paul) of 1908 by W.V.Gough stands to the north and is now a hall.
1843-50 by S.T.Welch. In use. Spire reduced in height c1980 (but never was very much!)
1860-1 by John Norton. Closed 1968, demolished 1970. Flats now stand on the site.
Medieval. In use.
St Marina Coptic Orthodox Church - see St Leonard Without
St Mark, the Lord Mayor's Chapel, CITY
Owned and wonderfully kept by the City Council. Medieval, formerly the chapel of Gaunt's Hospital. In use.
1848 by Charles Dyer. Closed 1984 and since converted into supported housing.
1901-8 by W.V.Gough. In use
1820, chancel 1871, N aisle 1901-7. In use
Medieval. In use
Saxon site. Medieval church destroyed, except tower, 24.11.1940. Tower preserved, and the site of the church now a small garden. Vault under chancel preserved but little else.
1838-40 by R.S.Pope. High Altar added by Charles Hansom in 1871 when the church was given a major overhaul and redecoration, not as originally thought the work of J F Bentley. In use.
Demolished for by-pass 2007 - no just kidding!!! Bristol's most famous medieval parish church survives alongside the inner circuit road. Plans afoot 1997 to move the road not the church and to create a "cathedral close" of buildings to the north of the church, but nothing has happened yet (June 2021). In use
First mentioned 1579. Present church 1928-9 by P Hartland Thomas. In use. Predecessor destroyed by fire 1928.
St Mary Magdalen with St Francis, LOCKLEAZE
1956 by T.H.Burrough. Structurally unsafe, demolished for housing in 1997 after a new church was created in 1996 (architect Robert Narracott) from the former parish hall next door. The statues and most windows proved impossible to save. One etched window survives as the altarpiece in the new church.
1861 by John Norton. In use.
1870-81 by J.P.StAubyn. Closed, and used by the BBC as a store. They inserted cruel delivery doors on the N side and a second floor in the nave. Now in use as the "Woodlands" Free Church who now have further subdivided the upper floor into supported housing and retaining the ground floor for worship etc. Fire March 2002 badly damaged the roof.
1833-5 by Thomas Rickman. Interior altered by insertion of a new floor to create upper church and lower rooms etc. Sounds bad but visually quite a success.
1873 by J.C.Neale. Closed to worship in 1998. During the infamous "waiting period"church broken into on New Year's Eve 1999 and the venue for an all-night "rave". Pews and chairs were smashed, the font became a receptacle for empties, and other damage done. "Desecration" shouted the local paper. (Jan 4 2000) Conversion into seven flats and offices now completed (Nov 2002).
1851 by John Norton. Survived the war unscathed but closed shortly after 1945 and demolished in 1952. Part of Sunday School buildings survive today.
St Michael & All Angels, BISHOPSTON
For full story click the link above. The church was a pile of rubble by mid November 1997. Flats now built on site. Worship temporaily passed across the road to a former non-Conformist chapel, whilst parish rooms opposite were converted into a new church and parish centre which opened in September 2002.
Chancel 1886 by E.H.Edwards, nave and aisles 1901 by J.Bevan. Disasterous fire 1926 and the church rebuilt by P Hartland Thomas in 1927. In use
Medieval tower, the rest rebuilt 1775-7 by Thomas Paty. Blitzed and restored. Church closed in 1999 and following nearly 20 years of neglect and a major fire in 2016, the building has been rebuilt and reopened as a "Performance and Event Venue in 2021.
St Michael the Archangel, TWO MILE HILL
1848 by S.B.Gabriel, tower altered by P Hartland Thomas 1939. In use
Mission church, presumably "the-Less" to Windmill Hill. The building survived in 2000, much altered but with several recognisable features as a car workshop/garage in Marmaduke Street. The building was converted into housing 2016-17. the pointed windows are not original.
1873-5 by J.Bevan. Now used as Elmgrove community centre. Some internal alterations. Church services held most Sundays.
1953-6 by J.M.Meredith, replacing blitzed church of 1870-95 by W.V.Gough of which the tower (completed 1931-3 by A.R.Gough) survives. In use
Nativity of the Mother of God, Clifton (Eastern Orthodox)
1888 by Rising for the Catholic Apostolic Church. Leased for use to the Eastern Orthodox church in 1967. In use.
St Nicholas , CITY
Medieval crypt, the upper church rebuilt by James Bridges, and later Paty 1762-9. Burnt out in the war (crypt intact), reroofed in early 1970s as a museum for church artefacts. This in turn closed for lack of money, and the church ibecame Bristol's main tourist information centre. This in turn moved out in Summer 2000. Remains in the ownership of the City council Museums. No access to crypt sadly.
1848-51 by C.F.Hansom. The church had a major reordering and extension 2006-7. In use
1927-8 by P.Hartland Thomas. In use but chancel partly screened off for other activities. The church's orientation now reversed.
Built as Arley Chapel, Congregational, by John Foster 1854-5. Purchased by the Polish community in 1968. In use.
1952-3 tower and east end 1957-8. In use
New church 1995-7, on different site. In use. Old church 1923 (Sir Frank Wills), extended 1973, is now a social club.
1868 by C.F.Hansom & Sons, replacing MAnners & Gill's church of 1853, destroyed by fire in 1867. W porch 1905. In use.
St Paul, Portland Square, ST PAUL'S
1789-94 by Daniel Hague. Sanctuary 1894 by J.Bevan. Made redundant in 1988 and boarded up.On a visit here in November 1997, workmen repairing fire damage in the tower told me that a dance or music studio had bought it. Many finials and external detail are damaged, collected at the rear of the church. Better news was the vesting of the church in the Churches Conservation Trust in April 2000. They embarked on a massive restoration costing £2.3 million and the church is now home to Circomedia, a circus school. .
1831 by C.Dyer. Chancel added 1892-4 by V Voisey or J.Bevan. Burnt out in World War 2 and rebuilt in a simplified way 1956-7. Pinnacles on the surviving tower blown down into church during "hurricane" of 1990, since repaired. In use.
Successor of medieval chapel on different site. 1841-3 by S.C.Fripp. In use.
Medieval, once in the heart of the shopping centre/ medieval city. Now stands in centre of Castle Park, retained as a ruin as a reminder of 2nd World War. Famous monuments were unprotected and greatly damaged by frost before being removed to St Nicholas' crypt.
1882 by V.W.Voysey and F.Wills. An earlier church 1833 and originally Methodist stood to the west and served as church hall. All gone, the church demolished 1938. Flats on site.
1927-37 by A.R.Gough. In use
1961 by J.Ralph Edwards, replacing a post-war building which became affectionally known as the "Jelly-mould church". In use.
St Peter & St Paul, WESTBURY ON TRYM - see Holy & Undivided Trinity, WESTBURY ON TRYM
Medieval, still stands in its large churchyard. Almost closed, has been revived as "Pip & Jay's", Evangelical who have had run-ins with the church commissioners over the treatment of some of the furnishings (e.g. painting the Jacobean pulpit white). Chancel can be curtained off, side chapels screened off to form rooms. In use (2021) as "Central Church" and further re-ordering of the interior is planned.
New church in Gateacre Road 1987, replacing one of 1956 in Hareclive Road. In use.
1853-9 by Henry Woodyer, closed 1878 following disapproval of the bishop and not reopened until 1893. Some war damage, the church was again closed and became part of a factory in 1953 and demolished 1954. Part of the W front still stands in the garden between two blocks of flats.
1740-3, to the designs of John Strahan, by William Halfpenny. Remained chapel-of-ease to Westbury-on-Trym until made a parish church in 1942. In use.
1939 by Peniston . In use. Previously the parish had used the convent chapel of what is now St Ursula's School built 1859-62, and largely destroyed in the blitz of the second world war.
A mission church from St Matthew, certainly in existence c1912-c1945.
1842-3 by William Butterfield as Highbury Congregational Church. Became Anglican in c1980, replacing St Mary Tyndall's Park and St Saviour Woolcot Park. In use
1882-9 by J.Bevan. Redundant 1975. Sold and became Pentecostal. Closed in the summer 2000 and church sold November 2000 and now converted into flats.
1880 by Voysey & Wills, an upper chapel over the Seamen's Institute. The west end of the church destroyed 1940. The building has been closed for very many years and looks very dilapidated (2021).
1867-8 by Pope & Bindon, demolished 1872 due to subsidence. New church 1873 by J.C.Neale. Destroyed by bombing 3rd Jan 1941 and not rebuilt. There were three successive conversions for a temporary church made in the former Day School 1941-3 which was closed when the area was depopulated in the late 1940s &1950s.
1847 by S.J.Hicks and S.B.Gabriel. Sold to the Greek Community in 1960. Prominent spire (by M32) lopped 1996 and topped with cross. In use. The Greek Community now have a rather good website.
Medieval. In use. Apart from my page the church has its own excellent web site.
1958-9 by Gerald Wills. In use
Temple Church (Holy Cross) , CITY
Medieval with deservedly-more-famous leaning tower which so alarmed the sappers in the 2nd world war when the church was burnt out that they were about to dynamite it until they were informed that it had leant that way for over 500 years! Ruins in care of English Heritage.
Medieval tower, the rest rebuilt 1789-93 by James Allen. Now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
Choir & transepts 1889, the rest 1903, by H.C.M.Hirst. West four bays screened off 1969 to form hall and rooms on two floors. Redundant after 1975 and now Pentecostal. In use
Medieval chapel, restored 1967 by J Ralph Edwards (who reported there was hardly a right-angle in the place). Now chapel of Foster's Almshouses.
Medieval W tower, the rest rebuilt 1847 (?Butterfield), enlarged 1893, 1913 & 1929. In use
1829-30 by Charles Cockerell,burnt out on 3 Jan 1941 and restored with modern interior within old walls by T H Burrough 1957-8. In use
1829-32 by Rickman & Hutchinson. It became a venue for Rock concerts etc. and is now "Trinity Community Arts Centre". Interior subdivided at gallery level into two floors, and various rooms created above and below the galleries in the aisles. Closed in 2001 the building has once again languished but has reopened since 2004 as a Community Centre.
Medieval site (formerly St Giles). Church rebuilt by John Norton 1856-7. In use
Medieval, once collegiate. Also called SS Peter & Paul. In use. Tower damaged in storms February 2004.
1955. In use
Medieval church, stood at corner of Corn and Small Streets. Last service 12.8.1877. Dismantled and parts of the church and especially the tower were rebuilt at Mina Road.
St Werburgh, Mina Road, ST WERBURGH'S
1877-9 by J.Bevan, reusing parts from the City church. Memorials transferred too. Now an Indoor Climbing centre.
A major new page featuring the diverse buildings that make or made up the Baptist stock. From humble rural Stapleton to city-centre modernity at Broadmead.
From humble beginnings in Bridge Street, to the large gothic piles of Redland Park, David Thomas Memorial church, and the post-war closures and demolitions. Based on notes from a friend, Neil Marchant.
Bristol has the earliest Methodist church in the whole world (The New Room). Pages split into Primitive Methodist, United Free Methodist, Independent and Wesleyan, as well as mentioning those built since the unification of the 1930s. Prepared in collaboration with Neil Marchant. These pages are offered as seen, and we would welcome any corrections or omissions.
The New (Swedenborgian) Church
Based on Neil Marchant's book "Like a Great River Flowing". (Email him for a copy)
There are not many but they are - or were - interesting buildings. (New - May 2004)
Lewins Mead dates from the C17, as does Frenchay chapel in South Gloucestershire, also included on this page.
page updated 17th December 2021
Details published in good faith, I believe the information to be correct. However some churches remain stubbornly locked and not all details may be as up-to-date as I would like. Please inform me of any suggestions, errors or omissions.
