kids encyclopedia robot

St Paul's Church, Bristol facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
This page is about the church building in St Paul's, Bristol. For the church in Clifton, Bristol, see St Paul's Church, Clifton, Bristol.
Quick facts for kids
St Paul's Church
St Paul's Church, Bristol.jpg
St Paul's Church
General information
Town or city Bristol
Country England
Coordinates 51°27′40″N 2°35′05″W / 51.46114°N 2.58472°W / 51.46114; -2.58472
Construction started 1789
Completed 1794
Design and construction
Architect Daniel Hague

St Paul's Church gives its name to the surrounding St Paul's area of Bristol. It was built in the 1790s but fell into disuse and disrepair by its closure in 1988. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

Major renovation work was undertaken to repair and convert the building for use as a performance space and circus skills school Circomedia.

Building

It is in the Georgian Portland Square. It was designed by Daniel Hague although the original St Paul's Church was to be designed by James Allen in a Greek style. Work was started on the church in 1789 and completed in 1794. St Paul's became known as the Wedding Cake Church from the unusual tiered tower. The tower was designed to hold a ring of ten bells, however only four bells were purchased, all cast by John Rudhall of Gloucester, two in 1792 and the 6th and tenor bells of the proposed ring in 1795. The tenor bell is still hung for full-circle ringing, and the other bells were removed and are now hung in other churches - the two smaller bells are now at St Michael's, Buckland Dinham and St. John's, Wagga Wagga, and the second largest is now the tenor bell at St. James', Sydney.

The gates and railings are a grade II* listed building.

St Paul's Church, Bristol, BRO Picbox-4-BCh-32, 1250x1250
Black and white photograph of St Paul's Church, Portland Square, Bristol, UK from 1926, showing the distinctive tower covered in scaffolding for maintenance and repair. The shot is from the south west of the church, and there is a small blurred figure in the foreground.

Archives

Parish records for St Paul's church, Portland Square, Bristol are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. P. St P) (online catalogue) including baptism, marriage and burial registers. The archive also includes records of the incumbent, churchwardens, parochial church council, charities, and vestry plus plans and deeds.

Gallery

  • Stpaulschurch

    Front of the church

  • Stpaulschurchtower

    The tower

  • Stpaulschurchrear

    The rear of the church taken from St Paul's Park

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
St Paul's Church, Bristol Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.