The Church of All Saints is a Church of England parish church in

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, Bristol. The church is a grade II listed building. It is located in the Parish of All Saints with St. John Clifton in the Diocese of Bristol.

History

In 1862, a committee was set up to provide a large church for the

area of Bristol. It would be in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and would be a free church with no rented pews. The original church was built between 1868 and 1872 by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...

. The chancel was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 8 June 1868. A narthex was added in 1909 by George Frederick Bodley, and a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

was added in 1928 by

Frederick Charles Eden Frederick Charles Eden (8 March 1864 – 15 July 1944) was an English church architect and designer. Frederick Eden was born in Brighton, Sussex, England. He was the son of Frederick Morton Eden and Louisa Ann Parker. Eden was a pupil and late ...

. On 2 December 1940, an incendiary bomb set fire to the building, destroying the chancel and nave of the church. Only the tower, narthex, and sacristy remained standing. W. H. Randoll Blacking was the architect chosen to reconstruct the church, but, after much delay, he died before work could begin. In the 1960s, it was once more decided that the rebuilding of the church should go ahead and Robert Potter was selected as the architect. He reorientated the church so that the altar now faces East. The altar itself is free standing and is set under a ciborium, a four-columned indoor roof. Behind the

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is a series of

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

made from

fibre glass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

and designed by John Piper. The new nave and altar were consecrated on 1 July 1967. On 8 January 1959, the church was designated a grade II listed building.

Present day

In 1978, the parish of All Saints Clifton was joined with that of St John's Clifton to form the Parish of All Saints with St. John Clifton. St John's Church was declared redundant in 1980. In March 2013, the parochial church council voted to rescind Resolutions A and B, and to rescind the petition for alternative episcopal oversight. With these actions, the parish signalled that it accepts the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

. It remains within the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England.

Notable people

Cedric Bucknall Cedric Bucknall (2 May 1849 in Bath – 12 December 1921), was an English organist and botanist. Life He was the son of John Bucknall and Elizabeth Bassett. He married Abbie Cecilia Frye on 27 April 1873 in West Hackney. Children: *Janet Mary ...

, organist

Clergy

Henry Bromby Henry Bodley Bromby (1840-1911) was the second Dean of Hobart, serving from 1877 to 1884. Early life and education Bromby was born into an ecclesiastical family. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. Ordained ministry Bromby was ordained ...

, former vicar, previously

Dean of Hobart The Cathedral Church of St David in Hobart is the principal Anglican church in Tasmania, Australia. The dean (as of March 2009) is the Very Reverend Richard Humphrey. Consecrated in 1874, St David's is the seat of the Bishop of Tasmania. It i ...

Fabian Jackson Fabian Menteath Elliot Jackson (22 November 1902 – 16 July 1978) was an Anglican bishop in the mid-20th century. Early life and education Born on 22 November 1902, he was educated at Westminster School and the University of London. Church ca ...

, former vicar, later

Bishop of Trinidad The Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago is the administrative structure grouping together Anglicans in the nation of Trinidad and Tobago under a bishop. It is one of eight dioceses of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. As of 2009 ...

Diarmaid MacCulloch Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch (; born 31 October 1951) is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was former ...

, non-stipendiary deacon from 1987 to 1988, later Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford * Richard Randall, first vicar from 1868 and 1892, later

Dean of Chichester The Dean of Chichester is the dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England. Bishop Ralph is credited with the foundation of the current cathedral after the original structure built by Stigand was largely destroyed by fire in 1114. Ralph di ...

Gallery

File:All Saints Bristol 01.jpg , Church tower with spire File:All Saints Bristol 04.jpg , Stained glass window by John Piper File:All Saints Bristol 07.jpg , Altar with ciborium File:All Saints Bristol 09.jpg , Nave with large windows File:All Saints Bristol 07b altar ciborium.jpg , The Chancel with a tabernacle set into the wall

References

External links

Parish websiteA Church Near You entry
{{Culture in Bristol All Saints, Clifton All Saints, Clifton All Saints, Clifton All Saints