View source for St Stephen's Church, Bristol

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox church
|image                   = Church of St Stephen, Bristol.jpg
|caption                 = St Stephen's Church
| denomination           = [[Church of England]]
| pushpin map            = Bristol
| pushpin label position =
| pushpin map alt        =
| pushpin mapsize        = 200
| map caption            = shown within Bristol
| coordinates            = {{coord|51.454256|-2.596146|region:GB|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| country                = United Kingdom
| osgridref              = <!-- {{gbmappingsmall|TEXT}} -->
| osgraw                 = <!-- TEXT -->
| location               = Bristol
| heritage designation   = Grade I [[listed building]]
| designated date        = 8 January 1959
|completed date          = 14th century
}}
'''St Stephen's Church''' in St Stephen's Avenue, is the [[parish church]] for the city of [[Bristol]], England.
It has been designated by [[Historic England]] as a grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Church of St Stephen | work=historicengland.org.uk | url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1202558 | access-date=2007-03-16}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:St Stephen's Church, Bristol, BRO Picbox-4-BCh-36a, 1250x1250.jpg|thumb|left|Black and white engraving of St Stephen's Church, [[Bristol]], UK, published c.1838. The view is from the south east of the church, showing the body of the church on the right of the image and the distinctive tall, thin tower in the centre. In front of the church can be seen two horses and carts.  From 1240 to 1892 the [[Bristol Harbour]] was on the opposite side of the church when it was filled in.]]
It was built, on the site of an 11th-century church, in the 14th century and rebuilt around 1470. The tower and east window were paid for by John Shipward, four times Mayor of Bristol, who died in 1473,<ref>{{cite book |last=Burrough |first=THB |title=Bristol |year=1970 |publisher=Studio Vista |location=London |isbn=0-289-79804-3 }}</ref> the tower being built by the mason Benedict (or Benet) Crosse. The site was on the banks of the [[River Frome, Bristol|River Frome]], which was diverted in the 1240s to create [[Bristol Harbour]].<ref name="History">{{cite web | title=History | work=St Stephen's the parish church for the city of bristol, england | url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1202558 | access-date=2007-03-31}}</ref> The [[clerestory]] was repaired after a storm in 1703. The [[aisle]] and east windows were [[Victorian restoration|restored]] in 1873.
The tower measures approximately 18&nbsp;ft by 20&nbsp;ft at its base, and rises to a total height of 152&nbsp;ft. It originally contained six bells but these have been replaced over the years and the number increased to twelve.<ref name="History"/> The tower is typical of [[Somerset]] churches, but with the addition of a "[[Gloucestershire]] crown" of arcaded [[battlements]], [[pinnacle]]s and open-work arcading.<ref name="Brace">{{cite book |last=Brace |first=Keith |title=Portrait of Bristol |year=1996 |publisher=Robert Hale |location=London |isbn=0-7091-5435-6 }}</ref>
The 15th-century [[brass]] [[eagle lectern]] and the [[iron]] sword rest by [[William Edney]] of about 1710 were moved to St Stephen's from [[St Nicholas, Bristol|St Nicholas]] church, which was damaged in the [[Bristol Blitz]].<ref>{{cite web|title=St Stephen's |work=Looking at Buildings: an educational resource created by the Pevsner Architectural Guides |url=http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/default.asp?Document=3.C.2,8 |access-date=2007-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235349/http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/default.asp?Document=3.C.2%2C8 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1885, a young man named [[Ramsay MacDonald]] took up a position as an assistant to Mordaunt Crofton, a Bristol clergyman who was attempting to establish a Boys' and Young Men's Guild at St Stephen's Church. It was in Bristol that Ramsay MacDonald joined his first Radical organisation, before moving to London in early 1886. Later, MacDonald became the first [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].
The St Stephen's Ringers have been a continuously active group of bellringers since 1574,<ref>The History of the Antient Society of St Stephen's Ringers, Bristol, St Stephen's Press, 1928, p.1</ref> and have met annually at [[Red Lodge Museum, Bristol|The Red Lodge]] since 1920 for their ceremonial dinner.<ref>The History of the Antient Society of St Stephen's Ringers, Bristol, St Stephen's Press, 1928, p. 133</ref>
==Tombs, burials and monuments==
[[File:George Snygge tomb St Stephen Bristol.jpg|right|thumb|Tomb effigy of Sir [[George Snigge]]]]
Edmund Blanket, a 14th-century clothier and [[wool]] merchant, has a [[tomb]] on the north side of the church.
[[Arnaq]] and [[Kalicho]], who were amongst the first North Americans to visit Britain (having been seized by [[Martin Frobisher]]), were buried at this church as "heathens" in 1577, within months of arriving in England.<ref name="Vaughan2006">{{cite book|author=Alden T. Vaughan|title=Transatlantic Encounters: American Indians in Britain, 1500-1776|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-4s2aXr8oQC&pg=PA9|date=11 December 2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-86594-4|pages=3–10}}</ref>
A significant tomb is that of [[Martin Pring]], who died at the age of 46 in 1627. He was a navigator, explorer and merchant and discovered what is now called [[Cape Cod Bay]]. The monument is draped with painted [[mermaid]]s and [[Merman|mermen]] and verses to his exploits.<ref name="Brace"/> Sir Walter Tyddesley, who died in 1385, and Sir [[George Snigge]] also have ornate tombs in the church. Also commemorated, but this time in a wall-mounted plaque, is [[Robert Kitchin]], who died in 1594, a donor of one of the famous bronze "nails" (merchants' counting tables) found outside [[The Exchange, Bristol|The Exchange]] in Bristol.
==Archives==
Parish records for St Stephen's church, Bristol are held at [[Bristol Archives]] (Ref. P. St S) ([http://archives.bristol.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=P.St+S online catalogue]) including baptism and marriage registers and a burial register. The archive also includes records of the [[incumbent (ecclesiastical)|incumbent]], churchwardens, [[overseer of the poor]], [[parochial church council]], charities and [[vestry]] plus deeds.
==See also==
* [[Churches in Bristol]]
* [[Grade I listed buildings in Bristol]]
* [[Ramsay MacDonald]], first Labour Party Prime Minister
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|St Stephen, Bristol}}
*[http://www.saint-stephens.com/ St Stephen's Website]
*[http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/cities/bristol/bristol-churches/st-stephens.html Pevsner Trust Architectural Guide]
{{Culture in Bristol}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephen's Church, Bristol}}
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in Bristol]]
[[Category:Diocese of Bristol]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in Bristol|St Stephen's Church]]
[[Category:14th-century church buildings in England]]