Queen Elizabeth I

“The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England.”

The famous remark by Queen Elizabeth I on her visit in 1574 suggests she was as impressed by the building as its many modern visitors are. Certainly she did the church a great favour by grants of Letters Patent in 1588 and 1591, restoring some of the funds previously confiscated during the Reformation period. These funds have remained in the custody of the St Mary Redcliffe Church Lands Charity ever since.

St Mary Redcliffe School

St Mary Redcliffe school was founded as Queen Elizabeth's Free Grammar and Writing School by letters patent on 30 June 1571 when it was granted a Royal charter by Elizabeth I. The charter granted the parishioners of St Mary Redcliffe Church the Chapel of the Holy Ghost for the establishment of the school; the building had previously belonged to the Hospital of St John the Baptist, a religious foundation in Redcliffe, but had been confiscated by the Crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The building was located in the Churchyard of St Mary Redcliffe, near the south porch, and was sized 56 feet by 26 feet. The charter made the provision for one master and one under-master, supervised by twelve governors and for the 'education, teaching and instruction of boys and youth in grammar and learning'. It received an endowment from John Whitson in 1627. In the 1760s the school building was torn down as it was felt it spoilt the view of the church, and with the acceptance of the Bishop of Bristol, Thomas Newton, the school moved into the Lady Chapel in the east end of the church. The school was recorded in 1839 as possessing a statue of its founder Elizabeth I. This statue - said to be one of the few extant contemporary statues of Queen Elizabeth - is still in existence and now located in St John's Chapel.

Statue of Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth is said to have referred to St Mary Redcliffe as, “The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England” during her 1574 visit to Bristol.

The Matthew

Elizabeth is said to have referred to St Mary Redcliffe as, “The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England” during her 1574 visit to Bristol.