Historic Church Tour, Medieval Merchants & Acrobats in Bristol - SOLD OUT
Discover the unique stories of three very different Bristol Churches maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust on this walking tour.
Please note that this tour is now SOLD OUT. If you would like to be added to the waiting list for this event, please email [email protected].
Bristol can be proud of its not only rich history and seafaring links, but also of its profusion of churches and places to worship. On our visit to Bristol, we will enjoy some remarkable locations that have helped to make Bristol a place of significant religious importance.
Our first stop will be Church of St Thomas the Martyr, located in Bristol’s city centre, this elegant Georgian survivor was designed in 1789 by local architect and carver James Allen to replace a medieval church deemed unsafe for use. Allen retained the fifteenth-century west tower of the old church, intending it to be 'raised and modernised' in a Classical fashion, but the plan was never carried out and the church is an unusual - but pleasing - blend of both periods.
Next, we will enjoy St John on the Wall, a medieval gem as it is the only remaining church built into the walls of the old city in the 14th century as a place for travellers to offer prayers before a journey. Outside, it is renowned for its stunning spire; inside, it has wonderful monuments, both in the tall, graceful church interior and in the atmospheric vaulted crypt. Look for the marble figure of Walter Frampton, the church’s founder, with a strange dog.
Our last stop will be St Paul’s, the 'wedding cake church' that is now a circus school. A masterpiece of provincial 'Gothic' architecture in an eighteenth-century square. The 'wedding cake church', so named because of the way that the tower stacks up, has been granted a new lease of life by the CCT in partnership with circus agency, Circomedia.
The tour will begin at Bristol train station at 10.30am, and will then return to the station by 4.30pm.