Christ Church with St Ewen

Christ Church with St Ewen
Location within Bristol
General information
Architectural style Baroque
Town or city Bristol
Country England
Coordinates 51°27′16″N 2°35′39″W / 51.4545°N 2.5943°W / 51.4545; -2.5943
Construction started 1786
Completed 1791
Design and construction
Architect William Paty

Christ Church with St Ewen (grid reference ST588730) is a Church of England parish church in Broad Street, Bristol, England.

Printed engraving of Christ Church with St Ewen, Bristol, UK, from c.1838 looking north onto the doorway and church tower. On the left and right of the image can be seen the surrounding shops on Broad Street. The image shows 4 children and a cat in a street scene.

Christ Church was built between 1786 and 1791, designed by William Paty and built by his relatives Thomas Paty and Sons, replacing a medieval one.[1] The entrance and refurbished interior are by Henry Williams in 1883. The building was restored by Priest-in-charge Rev. G. S. Zimmern in 1973.

On the tower quarter-boy figures strike the quarter hours on the Automaton clock.

It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.[2]

Clock on the tower

St Ewen's Church

St Ewen's church was on the north west corner of the medieval cross-roads, opposite Christ Church on Broad Street. The church was founded in the early 1100s but the parish was joined with Christ Church's in 1790.[3] The church was demolished in 1820 to make space for the enlargement of the old Council House, now Bristol Register Office.[4]

Worship

Worship at Christ Church follows the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the parish supports the work of the Prayer Book Society in promoting the use of traditional liturgy throughout the Church of England. Scripture readings are taken from the Authorised Version of the Bible. The Parochial Church Council has passed Resolutions A, B and C and does not accept the ministry of women priests.

Archives

Parish records for Christ Church, Bristol are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. P.Xch) (online catalogue), including baptism, marriage and burial registers. The archive also includes records of the incumbent, churchwardens, overseer of the poor, charities, vestry, surveyors and societies, plus deeds, feoffments, plans and photographs.

Parish records for St Ewen's church, Bristol (before the parish was subsumed into that of Christ Church) are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. P.St E) (online catalogue) including general registers and a marriage register. The archive also includes records of the incumbent, churchwardens, chantries, estates and vestry plus deeds, plans. photographs and historical material.

One of the exceptional documents in the parish collection is the Charter of Theobald (Ref. P.St E/A/1) (online catalogue), also known as the 'Curse of St Ewen' which is the oldest document held by Bristol Archives (currently on display at M Shed).[5] Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury proscribed a charter to install a vicar called Turstin at the church and cursed anyone who interfered with the post to be “firmly bound up in the chains of anathema.”[6]

References

  1. ↑ Brace, Keith (1996). Portrait of Bristol. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7091-5435-6.
  2. ↑ "Christ Church with St Ewen". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  3. ↑ "Churchcrawler". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "BBC Bristol, Bristol's oldest document". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Bristol Museums online catalogue". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Bristol's oldest document". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

See also

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