England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bristol St Mary Redcliffe

The Parish

The city of Bristol lies in the extreme south of Gloucestershire forming part of the border with neighbouring Somerset. At the start of this transcript period Bristol was divided into no fewer than 18 parishes of which St Mary Redcliffe was just one. Bristol is located roughly 120 miles west of London and sits on the River Avon at the point where it ceases to be navigable and is served by numerous major roads of which the A4 leads to London and the A38 to Birmingham. Bristol has a long and distinguished history, the pre-Roman Britons named in Caer Brito and the Romans adopted it as Abona. Itis as one of England's most significant ports that Bristol rose to become the major city of southwestern England, trade growing the port into a city of well over 100,000 population. Sadly much of that growth was fueled by Bristol's involvement in the slave trade, a trade now subject to revaluation by today's society. Besides the trade and commerce occasioned by the port, Bristol is also a major manufacturing centre and home for numerous service industries; it remains the major place of employment in its area and a major market for produce from a broad hinterland. Bristol has also benefited from modern developments, the Kennet & Avon canal being followed by Brunel's railway line to London and others to both north and south. In more recent times the modern M4 & M5 motorways pass by the city with its own dedicated motorway, the M32 connecting it to the former. St Mary Redcliffe parish sat originally outside the walls of the inner city on its southern side (indeed in two places it spread across the Avon into Somerset) but is now engulfed within the metropolis that is Greater Bristol. Bristol is drained the short distance to the nearby Bristol Channel by the Avon through its famous gorge. St Mary Redcliffe parish is sited at just 10 metres above the sea with most of the city at that height or indeed lower, land rises to the height of 80 metres in the suburb of Cotham. St Mary Redcliffe parish covered a relatively small area either side of the city's Redcliffe Hill, just a few city blocks in acreage yet home to a population that was well over 6,000 by the end of this transcript period. Bristol, being already a substantial settlement, is not specifically detailed as to its assets in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary Redcliffe church sits a little over 200 metres north of the River Avon at the junction of Redcliffe Hill (the A38) and Redcliffe Way. The church is a stunning example of medieval church architecture and a major landmark throughout the city, it is believed to have been dubbed the "fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England" by no lesser person than Queen Elizabeth I, an apocryphal take perhaps. There is no doubt, however, that St Mary is one of England's greatest churches, a fact notable for Pevsner to spend many pages describing it in great and worshipful detail, it is not proposed to do the same in this short summary. Needless to say it is big, the spire, 292 feet in height, is believed to be second only to that of Louth in Lincolnshire whilst its length of 240 feet is also amongst the largest. The church was created outside the city walls, a true suburb, as a chapel of ease and today's church contains elements from the early 13th century through to the 15th as well as contributions from restorers ever since. The major periods of the church are from the early 14th (Decorated style) and late 14th (Perpendicular style) century. The church is highlighted by that stunningly thin spire but that is a late repair to an earlier incarnation decapitated by lightning in 1446 and only completed in 1872. The unusual twin porches, inner in Early English Gothic and outer in the Decprated styles are also a highlight especially for their Moorish style 7 pointed arch. Suffice it to say the church rivals Bristol's Cathedral for attention and many would state it more worthy of an extended visit. Like most urban churches parking is tricky and the church best approached on foot.Thankfully the city-scape allows sufficient space to get far enough back to adequately capture this magnificent building.