Chatterton! The Sleepless Soul
Free exhibition
Where: St John's Chapel
When: July and August (until Wednesday 31 August)
During July and August we’ll be displaying Chatterton! The Sleepless Soul - an exhibition investigating the life, work and legacy of Bristol’s genius ‘boy’ poet.
Chatterton has a particularly strong association with #stmaryredcliffe having been inspired by the gothic grandeur of the church to write an astonishing body of faux medieval verse.
Chatterton died tragically young at 17, but not before creating hundreds of poems as well as historical, political and satirical writings that distinguished him as one of the great geniuses of English literature.
He was also one of the first anti-slavery poets and pamphleteers - these writings speak to his spirit of non-conformity and moral seriousness.
The exhibition was created as part of the @bristolideas#BristolPoeticCity project that was supported by @heritagefunduk
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On Monday 13th October 2025, members of the SMR staff team visited Bristol Archives to meet Senior Archivist Lucy Bonner and retired archivist Anne Bradley who has been leading the process of transferring archival documents from the church to the Create Centre - home of Bristol Archives - for a number of years. The purpose of the visit was to gather information on best practice for storing, preserving, organizing and transferring documentation to the archives, and to receive advice on how to meet the challenge of archiving in the digital era in which most documents are created and held digitally, rather than printed. This shift in process has had significant implications for the management of archival material, processes for which must now respond to risks associated with the fast pace of technological change and the likely future redundancy of current forms of digital storage technology. During the visit, the team were shown examples of important documents from the church archives, including the original deed for Redcliffe Pipe and the associated pipe lands, dating from around 1190-1200; the founding charter of Queen Elizabeth's Free School of Grammar and Writing from 1571; the C15th deed for one of William Canynges' chantries; and materials relating to the major Victorian restoration of St Mary Redcliffe that took place between 1842 and 1872. The staff team will continue working with Anne and Bristol Archives to embed processes that will ensure current data is preserved for the benefit of future generations.
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