St John's Conduit and Churchyard - Information and Advice

Dear All,


My name is Lily and I am currently on a five week placement with the CCT as part of my final year of a ba(hons) Architecture and Planning degree from UWE. Whilst on placement with the trust I have been tasked with compiling feasibility studies for the regeneration of both St John's conduit and the graveyard associated with the church (accessed through Taylor's Court) including studies of associated stakeholders and interested parties, grant applications, planning permissions as well as initial design approach.


I would very much appreciate any help or knowledge you could give me in this capacity as trust members that know the most and spend the most time at the church! My email address is lfarmer@thecct.org.uk .


I very much look forward to hearing from you and (hopefully) meeting you all in person.


Many Thanks,


Lily Farmer

St Mary Redcliffe symposium – 23 Feb 2016

This symposium was held to address the question ‘What is the purpose of church buildings in the twenty first century?’  This theme served as an introduction to the proposed improvements of

St Mary Redcliffe (SMR) and for invited speakers to offer their views on the project.

The Reverend Dan Tyndall, Vicar of St Mary Redcliffe

Dan Tyndall explained how the proposal to redevelop SMR is intended to improve outdated facilities with beautiful design that complements and respects the existing architectural heritage, integrates the church better into its surrounding landscape and helps to fulfil its mission of Christian outreach at the heart of the local community.  This plan is developing in parallel with a proposal by the Redcliffe Development Neighbourhood Forum (www.redcliffeforum.org.uk) to reunite north and south Redcliffe, currently divided by a dual carriageway, and develop a ‘mixed-use neighbourhood around a ‘grand boulevard’ on the north side of SMR.  Similar plans were first proposed in 1966!

Proceedings started with a pre-recorded video introduction from Mayor George Ferguson.  He was enthusiastic about the redevelopment, but felt it was a shame SMR was built on a roundabout… 

Dan Tyndall described how SMR is in effect open-plan, the church being one big room with smaller rooms below; therefore functional space was more limited than it might appear.   An under croft housing a café, meeting spaces and toilets was built in the 1970s but is in great need of updating. 

He went on to explain that SMR is located on a fault-line between wealthy north and west Bristol and relatively impoverished communities south and east of the Avon.  Local neighbours also need to be considered, as SMR is surrounded by high-rise flats, offices, a hotel, expensive apartments and busy roads.  Redevelopment must ensure that SMR does not only improve its facilities, but fulfils its greater purpose of being at the heart of these different communities and a bridge between them.

SMR launched a competition in 2015 with the assistance of Malcolm Reading Consultants to invite architects to tenders solutions to SMR’s needs. The accepted proposal will form part of a HLF bid for project funding, estimated at £12M–£15M.  50 practices submitted bids, shortlisted are:

• Carmody Groarke
• dRMM
• Eric Parry Architects
• Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
• Purcell

The winning submission will be decided on 24^th May 2016.

Jon Cannon – Journalist, Author, Broadcaster and Architectural Historian

Jon Cannon described Redcliffe as a planned ‘new town’ on the edge of the old city in the 12^th century, when medieval Bristol was incredibly cosmopolitan compared to the rest of the UK outside London; the Shanghai or New York of its time.  SMR was a landmark, one of the two biggest buildings in Bristol, the other being St Augustine’s Abbey/Bristol Cathedral. 

Built just outside the city walls, SMR’s location established the fault-line mentioned by Dan Tyndall in separating city and country, wealth and poverty.  SMR’s prominence diminished as it progressively became ‘unstitched’ from the local landscape as change came with the removal of the city wall, the development of Queen’s Square (18^th C) Temple Meads (1840s), followed by developments of offices and flats (1960s & 1970s), dual carriageway and ‘temporary’ flyover (1967) and roundabout (1998).

Approached from the city via Redcliff Street (the only possible route prior to Redcliffe Way being built in the 1940s), the north-west view of SMR is dramatic, with the entrance porch five metres above ground level, and the imposing tower (and later spire) rising above.

Redcliffe Street, by James Johnson, oil on canvas, c. 1825,

showing the incomplete spire of St Mary Redcliffe

SMR’s high vaulted roof is unique for a parish church.  It was built to one design in one phase and is a simple structure; hence the ‘open plan’ nature.  Jon explained how today the architecture marries only the 14^th and 19^th centuries, as Victorian ‘improvements’ sucked 300 years of history out of SMR.

Jon Cannon has just finished writing a gazette about the north-west porch, which he described as a ‘valve’ between the city and the church; the secular and sacred.  A hexagonal structure with a 12^th century inner porch, this pilgrimage site has a chapel built into the porch wall that once housed a shrine to St Mary.  Originally the exterior was adorned with 50 statues, but only a few remain today. 

Jon described how churches occupy an unusual position in society, meeting no practical daily needs, yet special because a church embodies the history, beliefs and identity of its community.  In the 1840s a statue was erected to Thomas Chatterton outside the north-west porch.  When his forgeries were revealed the statue was removed.

Thomas Chatterton statue 1840

Jon went on to give an example of how the divide between the secular and the religious can be bridged on a heritage site with sensitive interpretation, attention to detail and excellent execution.

The Refectory at Norwich Cathedral, an excellent example

of successfully marrying new build and heritage. 

In 2004 Hopkins Architects designed a new café that offers an attractive contrast and a sense of welcome and community to this 11^th century structure, in a part of the cathedral estate that had been defunct for 500 years.  The design works with the grain of the past, e.g. ancient doorways have been ‘reactivated’ and does not interfere visually or structurally with the heritage aspects of the site. 

Great care was taken to be ambitious and open up new possibilities, while at the same time aiming for subtlety and an approach of “less is more”.  This is one of only a tiny handful of examples where modern and heritage design have successfully combined.

Right Reverend Nick Holtham, Bishop of Salisbury, formerly Vicar of St Martin in the Fields (SMF)

The bishop attended the Paris climate change summit and drew a parallel between Bristol’s year as European Green Capital and an appreciation of spirituality.  He also mentioned feeling upset that Simon Jenkins’ book of English Churches gave SMR five stars while SMF only got three!

He described how SMF was designed and built as a classic temple by Gibbons in the 1720’s and at the time was considered extravagant, costing £36,000 to build compared to St Giles costing £8,000. 

When Nick Holtham became vicar of SMF in 1995 the church was in a bad state of disrepair.  A former vicar Austen Williams once said the Angel of Death has been kind to SMF in the form of bequests, but he had never sought significant donations.  A later vicar Canon Geoffrey Brown was more commercially minded and set up a market and café, but the church continued to deteriorate.

In 1998 a campaign was launched to raise funds for essential capital investment. 

From his experience the bishop felt good stewardship and thinking about future as well as present capacity, and needs not just in a current timeframe but 100 years ahead is vital.  He said it took him years to understand the building at SMF and that developing this deep understanding is essential to draw out the ‘golden threads’ for any heritage project, saying “a church with a history has a future”. 

Marrying ethics with aesthetics is central to SMF’s conception of itself, what is good is also beautiful and vice versa.  Consequently the pulpit was moved to improve sightlines and artists in residence commissioned to raise awareness by producing beautiful work such as the redesigned East Window.  But realism was needed as budget constraints dictated the removal of some desired changes. 

Money was raised from a wide range of sources including the HLF where, prior to delivery, the seven volume application was blessed by the Bishop of London on Epiphany Sunday.  Key lessons were to involve external stakeholders as early as possible in the process and engage them as allies; forestalling the risk of them becoming obstructive critics.  Also, to build the necessary capacity to execute the project by having an efficient board structure, clear reporting lines and proactively building desire and understanding of the need for change.  Having a real estate professional as a partner was vital in helping to fund the project and in access to professional expertise and networks. 

‘Brand recognition’ of the redevelopment was also critical to success.  A local design company produced a tagline of “At the Heart” with a logo depicting the church.  This later changed to an image of a ragged cloak (reference St Martin tearing his cloak in two to clothe a beggar). The bishop was unapologetic in saying all churches needed to pay their way financially as well as in their value to the community, and describing churches as assets in real estate as well as community terms. 

There were at least five occasions when he thought it likely the project would fail for lack of funds and, as the crypt was uncovered, may result in “the largest open-air swimming pool in central London”.  The greatest compliment and mark of success received at the project’s conclusion was when parishioners stood in the nave and asked “what’s different?”  The Church and bishop have since been criticised for ultimately spending over £36M in redeveloping SMF, although as he pointed out, this was less than one half of Ronaldo’s value as a professional footballer at £80M.  We spend money on what we believe is worth spending money on…

Andrew Kelly, Director of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership

Andrew gave an account of the work of the BCDP, see www.IdeasFestival.org.uk

In relation to SMR and engagement with spiritual as well as cultural themes, Andrew referred to the Partnership’s record, e.g. Bristol’s Capital of Culture bid, successful European Green Capital 2015 bid, commemoration of World War One, walking tours of sacred Bristol as part of the Festival of Future Cities and an event celebrating Bristol as home of the 19^th century Romantic Poets movement. 

The BCDP future programme includes themes of poetry, art, revolution, peace and, in 2018, the commemoration of the end of World War One.   There will be a renewed bid for Capital of Culture in 2023 and events celebrating The Age of Reason.  He described how BCDP would like to see Bristol promoted as a ‘City of Churches’.  For the next Festival of the Future City in October 2017 they are interested in hosting speakers and debates around the role of churches in the built environment and how to return the church to civic prominence.

BCDP is also engaged with Salaam – Shalom (www.salaamshalom.org.uk), an organisation promoting multi-cultural, multi-faith dialogue and understanding through arts and other events.

Andrew made the observation that while BCDP had always received great support and engagement with local authorities in Bristol, there is often resistance in the ‘hinterland’ areas of the former county of Avon; perhaps due to a fear of being overwhelmed or subsumed by ‘Big Brother’ Bristol.

Loyd Grossman, Chair of the Churches Conservation Trust

Loyd said he prefers CCT’s 347 churches to be described as underused assets and not redundant buildings.  New uses must respect these consecrated places of worship, but interpretation of what is appropriate needs to be broad, not narrow, e.g. one CCT church has a skateboard area.   Loyd explained appropriate use was not a new concern, e.g. there is a CCT church where gates were installed to prevent locals using the nave for cock-fighting!  I don’t think this was recently….

He observed that the Church Commissioners in effect run a pension fund.  Ultimately the CCT portfolio is held in trust for the public, who need to contribute and share responsibility for managing it.  When CCT was founded the average visitor donation was £0.07; today CCT asks for a suggested donation of £1.00, and aspires to £3.00.  He went on to describe a couple of significant meta-trends:

• The retreat, which he believes is permanent, of the State from funding heritage projects

• The democratisation of deciding what defines heritage.   Thanks to social media sites, e.g. TripAdvisor, the public are no longer passive consumers of expert opinion , e.g. Pevsner

Loyd felt engagement of new visitors is best achieved through personal contact.  The public need to be persuaded to come through the door the first time so they can develop an emotional connection to a site and want to return and to recommend it.   CCT needs to help the public overcome apathy or any sense of exclusion because they are not religious.  We can achieve this through educational outreach, especially to young people.  Sentimentalising or ‘dumbing down’ heritage is to be avoided.

Examples of successful reuse of churches included All Souls in Bolton, where the local immigrant community were engaged in developing it into a new community and business advice centre.  Holy Trinity in Sunderland, located in an area of social deprivation, has been transformed into a young persons’ centre called “Canny Space”.  While in Ipswich, St Mary’s Quay has been transformed into a wellness centre in collaboration with the mental health charity MIND.  A further example is St Paul’s in Portland Square, Bristol which partnered with Circomedia to create a circus skills school.

Collaborative partnerships like these enable successful CCT projects, working with other charities, the private sector, local communities, Friends Groups, HLF, and potential funders such as trusts.

Loyd described how rural churches are the most at risk, with circa 2,000 having fewer than 10 parishioners attending.   However evidence from www.frh-europe.org showed that all churches were safer from dereliction and vandalism when kept open, not closed up.  The loss of post offices, pubs, shops and public transport has created a poverty of public space in rural communities.  The imaginative reuse of underused churches can offer a solution, getting locals through the door for their daily needs, while at the same time enabling them to engage with their community’s heritage.

A questioner asked why CCT churches were not used for weddings.  Loyd explained Church bureaucracy made the process too difficult.  He lamented this situation, giving an example of All Saints Church, Billesley, Warwickshire, a rumoured venue for William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s wedding in 1582.  Despite the boost this site could offer CCT’s profile as a wedding venue, it was not feasible.  Meanwhile, the fairly ordinary hotel opposite is licensed for weddings!

In finishing, Loyd said society has moved on from when Victorian factory owners could make attendance at church mandatory for employees.  The supply-side approach of “build it and they will come” of that era has been supplanted by the demand-side question of “what do people want?” 

CCT can help provide the answer through access to heritage and beauty; our priority must be – get them through the door!

Stephen Carroll

Volunteer – Historical Research Group

St John the Baptist Church

Bristol

29/02/16

CCT Bristol volunteers monthly update. Feb 2016

Dear Bristol Volunteers

I hope you are all keeping well and are looking forward to this months update…here we go!

Firstly, as always, please join me in welcoming new volunteers to the team. Eloise Cresswell has joined us as a Visitor Interpretation Assistant for St Thomas’, hurray! She’ll be looking to, as it says on the tin, develop interpretation for the church including, to start with, a new walk around guide.

Bristol St John’s Volunteer satisfaction survey. ACTION REQUIRED PLEASE

Your fellow volunteer Richard Wallace has kindly offered to once again conduct our 6 monthly (ish) volunteer survey. Please find the survey attached. Your honest input to this is deeply appreciated.

Volunteer of the Year Award Ceremony

Thanks to the small team of volunteers who trooped down to London on the 22^nd January to accept the Volunteer Team of the Year award from the Marsh Christian Trust, on behalf of the St John’s Team. Some photos from the day, including a lovely line-up of all the guilty culprits on a staircase, can be found here

St John’s Gateway project update and next meeting

Please find attached an update from our Senior Management Team, regarding a change of funding to the Gateway project.

As many of you will know, were are continuing to make progress towards finalising the first round of interpretation for St John’s. If you haven’t seen the draft plans yet (shared at the Christmas lunch and at Research Team meetings) then please do feel free to come into the office St Thomas’ to have a look. We hope to  have a revised and final interpretation plan to share with the team in the next couple of weeks. If anyone would like to get involved and could help support providing content to Leach (Interpretation Consultants), please contact Emma or Keith.

The next project meeting is on Thursday 18^th Feb, 11am – 3pm at Bristol St Thomas’. Please do let me know in advance if you want to attend.

Conservation Cleaning sessions at St John’s

Wonderful Visitor Welcome Volunteer Maria Fenner has decided to meet the challenge of organising monthly cleaning sessions at St John’s. She’s tried to host these across the days of the week so everyone has a chance to attend and get their hands dirty. The idea is that these sessions might also encourage visitors to get involved and who knows, maybe attract some new volunteers. Maria says…..

I’ve plumped on the following dates to see what might be the best slot for the most people.  Cake will be served at all events!

Weds 24^th February        10am – 12noon

Tues 22^nd March              2pm – 4pm

Thurs 28^th April                10am – 12noon

Sat 21^st May                     10am – 12noon

I hope at least three others can join me and have set up a doodle poll on this link for Weds 24^th February so people can let me know they are coming http://doodle.com/poll/px4nz999z6zqidbx .

St John’s Research Team

I’ve attached the minutes from the last research team meeting.

The team are planning to focus on developing the key personality biographies of historical characters linked with the church. Also, Tony Valdemar has made an excellent start at cataloguing all the existing publications and research documents, which are currently being housed in the meeting room at St Thomas’.

The next meeting will take place on  Wednesday 10^th February, 11am – 1pm at St Thomas the Martyr Church. Do contact Keith (keithstenner@blueyonder.co.uk)  if you’re interested in any aspect of the Research Team.

Maintenance issues at St John’s.

Thank you to the volunteer team for making us aware of the rain water coming into the spire and down into the ringing chamber. This has been reported to Corbel who will be coming out to take a look when it next rains! In the meantime please do keep monitoring the situation for us and report any maintenance issues to Emma or Ed in the office.

New CCT Conservation Project Manager for the West Region

We are delighted to announce that Meriel O’Dowd is joining the CCT as our New Conservation Project Manager commencing on the 26^th Feb, She will be replacing Neil as the Project Manager on the St John’s gateway project.

Organ at St Thomas’ is working again

After a few years of being “out of order” due to crumbly asbestos in the blower box, the organ at St Thomas’ is now working again and available to be played. Please do get in touch with me if you would like to. If you are an organ player at St John’s please not to forget to complete an organ policy use form.

St John’s Volunteer training and development

As you hopefully all know, we are investigating and investing in methods to positively develop the volunteer team at St John’s and a calendar of training opportunities is one aspect of this. I would appreciate volunteer input on this and so am putting feelers out to see if any of you would like to be part of a “volunteer training advisory panel” to help me to develop ideas to realisation. Please do get in touch if of any interest.

The Conduit

We’ve received the below (potentially fruitful?) enquiry about St John’s conduit. If any of you feel you have the knowledge and time to respond please do so and copy me and Emma in.

“I sit on the Bristol Green Capital Water Group, and would love to talk to somebody about St John's conduit and other hidden watercourses”.

stephen.gledhill@environment-agency.gov.

Architecture for the contemporary church - imagining the new in the context of the old

St Mary Redcliffe Church

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 from 10:00 to 17:00

Speakers include Loyd Grossman, Journalist, Broadcaster and Chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust. He is the keynote speaker on Increasing engagement: Reflecting on contemporary uses of church buildings beyond worship.

Cost is £20.29 including a packed lunch – CCT will happily pay this for any volunteer who is willing to write a review of the event for our blog!

Other upcoming events:

17/02/16. St John and St Thomas’      Public - tour       Group Guided tour                                                           10.30  - 12

27/02/16. St John’s.                         Private –tour                                                                                      Times TBC

28/02/16 St John’s.                          Private hire for birthday party dinner in the crypt                                             Evening

Another little collection!

Here are a few more sketches from the Tuesday drawing group!

By Christine

By Jeff Johns 

By Betty Sargent

By Mike Brambley

By Mike Brambley

By Betty Sargent 

SPAB baseline Survey Training.

Baseline Survey Training day in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol
10:00-4:30 on Wednesday 27 January at Holy Trinity Church, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3EQ

Learn how to survey your place of worship and spot maintenance issues before they lead to expensive repairs. We will give you practical, technical information and the confidence to tackle the work. Find out more and book here. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/baseline-survey-training-day-westury-on-trym-bristol-tickets-20568564129

Bristol Insight: free city tours for Bristolians

Our Friends at Bristol Insight have asked me to let you know about a free tour for Bristolians (or people with a BS postcode) they're running on Sunday 31^st January. 

www.facebook.com/bristolinsight/

Sunday 31st January - Free (yes, free!) open-top bus tour for Bristolians. Please spread the word and share with friends. 

Just 'like' our page and keep your eyes peeled for our post on Monday 25th January to find out how to claim your free tickets. We're running a few tours during the day - tickets limited to how many we can fit on the top deck!

"Drawing is like taking a line for a walk" - Paul Klee

A few more sketches from the last session at St Johns!

By Betty Sargent

By Jeff Johns

By Mike Brambley

By Mike Brambley