The Mount Without was a church now a creative space on St Michael's Hill in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, near the University. It has been designated as a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and was described as being in poor condition and on the Buildings at Risk Register. The tower dates from the mid 15th century, however the rest of the church was rebuilt between 1775 and 1777 by

Thomas Paty Thomas Paty (c.1713 – 4 May 1789) was a British surveyor, architect and mason working mainly in Bristol. He worked with his sons John Paty and William Paty. Career Thomas Paty came from a family of builders but little is known of his orig ...

After the building was deconsecrated in 1999 and then burnt down in 2016 its had a complete renovation and now open as a creative space for the city and beyond to use as a unique gathering space, once again.

History

The original church on the site was

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. As it was outside the original city walls it was known as St Michael on the Mount Without. The tower was added in the 15th century. Bells were installed in the tower in 1739. By the 1760s the population of the city and parish had grown requiring expansion of church. A survey by

described the fabric of the old building as "ruinous" and, as a result demolition of everything except the tower was undertaken and it was rebuilt. It has an

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and north and south porches, along with the older tower in the west. It was damaged in 1941 during the

Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was easi ...

and the fire caused by incendiary bombs left it without a roof but it was considered repairable. The church closed in 1999 due to falling attendances and has been boarded up since then. Some walls are covered in ivy and are in shadow from overgrown trees. Various plans have been put forward for the church's future use. The Bristol Civic Society is working with the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

and others to develop a sustainable use for the future. A bid for

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

support has been submitted for the first stage of the work. There was a tradition at the church of distributing large buns known as

Colston bun A Colston bun is a sweet bun made of a yeast dough flavoured with dried fruit such as Zante currant, currants, candied peel, and sweet spices. It is made in the city of Bristol, England, and named after Edward Colston, a local merchant and Membe ...

s or Tuppenny Starvers to local children on Easter Tuesday. Since the closure of the church this has been continued at the local primary school. In October 2016 the building caught fire, with reports of the roof collapsing. Fifteen fire engines from

Avon Fire and Rescue Service Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is the fire and rescue service covering the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire in South West England. The headquarters of the service is co ...

attended.

said that the fire was started deliberately. In October 2017 the building was put up for sale and was bought in 2019 by local businessman, Norman Routledge, to restore as a performing arts venue. The venue is expected to open later in 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bristol, Saint Michael

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

Structures on the Heritage at Risk register 15th-century church buildings in England Former Church of England church buildings

History

Archives

See also

References

External links