St Paul's Church, a

redundant church A redundant church, now referred to as a closed church, is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churche ...

, gives its name to the surrounding

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

area of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England. 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 The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

skills school

Circomedia Circomedia is a school for contemporary circus and physical theatre based in Bristol, England. The school offers a variety of training courses and workshops that teach circus skills in the context of physical theatre, performance and creativity. ...

Building

It is in the Georgian Portland Square. It was designed by

Daniel Hague Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the activi ...

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 Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 381. The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of Bath and ...

and St. John's,

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

, and the second largest is now the tenor bell at St. James', Sydney. The gates and railings are a grade II*

Closure and redevelopment

As the residential population of the area decreased (houses were converted into offices) the congregation declined; the church closed in 1988 in a state of disrepair and was boarded up for many years. A lot of damage was caused by swollen ironwork exploding the

Bath Stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

and water leaking in, causing erosion to the plaster ceilings. About £2.3 million from the

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 ...

funded the restoration and conversion work. The church is now a

in the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. It was declared redundant on 1 November 1988, and was

vested In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interests arising from legal ownership of a property are acquired by some Legal person, person. Vesting creates an immediately secured right of present or future deployment. One has a vest ...

in the Trust on 1 April 2000. In 2005 the church building was converted into its present form as the home of

, a circus school, but remains

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

. It still boasts an ornate Georgian plaster ceiling, stone columns and a wealth of decorative

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, but has now been equipped with aerial and

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

equipment and a pale

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

wood sprung dance floor. On 19 October 2007, it won the international

RICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

Community Benefit Award 2007. St Paul's was chosen as the winner by judges because of the transformation it has undergone under the Churches Conservation Trust.

Gallery

File:Stpaulschurch.JPG, Front of the church File:Stpaulschurchtower.JPG, The tower File:Stpaulschurchrear.JPG, The rear of the church taken from St Paul's Park

References

External links

Circomedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Church, Bristol Churches completed in 1794 18th-century Church of England church buildings Former churches in Bristol Tourist attractions in Bristol Churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust Grade I listed churches in Bristol St Pauls, Bristol 1794 establishments in England Structures formerly on the Heritage at Risk register

Building

Closure and redevelopment

Archives

Gallery

See also

References

External links