St Mary Redcliffe
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, widely known as St Mary Redcliffe, is the main Church of England parish church for the Redcliffe district of the city of Bristol, England. The first reference to a church on the site appears in 1158, with the present building dating from 1185 to 1872. The church is considered one of the country's finest and largest parish churches as well as an outstanding example of English Gothic architecture. The church is so large it is sometimes mistaken for Bristol Cathedral by tourists. The building has Grade I listed status, the highest possible category, by Historic England.
| St Mary Redcliffe | |
|---|---|
| Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
St Mary Redcliffe from the north west, showing tower, spire, nave and hexagonal porch | |
St Mary Redcliffe Location in Bristol | |
| Location | Redcliffe, Bristol, England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad Church |
| Website | https://www.stmaryredcliffe.co.uk |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 1158 |
| Dedication | Mary, Mother of Jesus |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 8 January 1959 |
| Style | Early English Gothic, Decorated Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic, Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1185-1872 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 250 feet (76 m) |
| Nave height | 55 feet (17 m) |
| Spire height |
|
| Bells | 15 (ring of twelve plus extra treble, flat sixth and service bell) |
| Tenor bell weight | 50 long cwt 2 qr 21 lb (5,677 lb or 2,575 kg) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Bristol |
| Archdeaconry | Bristol |
| Deanery | Bristol South |
| Parish | St Mary Redcliffe with Temple Bristol and St John the Baptist, Bedminster |
The church is notable for its many large stained glass windows, decorative stone vaults, flying buttresses, rare hexagonal porch and massive Gothic spire. With a height of 274 feet (84 m) to the top of the weathervane, St Mary Redcliffe is the second-tallest structure in Bristol and the sixth-tallest parish church in the country. The church spire is a major Bristol landmark, visible from across the city and until the completion of Castle Park View in 2020, it was the tallest structure ever to have been erected in Bristol.
St Mary Redcliffe has received widespread critical acclaim from various architects, historians, poets, writers and monarchs. Queen Elizabeth I, on a visit to the church in 1574, described St Mary Redcliffe as "The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England"; Simon Jenkins gives St Mary Redcliffe the maximum five-star rating in his book 'England's Thousand Best Churches', one of only eighteen to receive such a rating, describing it as a "masterpiece of English Gothic"; and Nikolaus Pevsner says that "St Mary Redcliffe need not fear comparison with any other English parish church".