Our Summer Exhibition is on display in St John’s Chapel, marking 450 years since Queen Elizabeth I’s visit to Bristol in August 1574: a visit that is said to have occasioned the famous description of the church as being “The fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England.”

The exhibition provides a fascinating insight into the national context in which the the royal visit took place - a time coloured by domestic rebellion and trade wars - as well as the specific concerns of the Bristol authorities, who were determined to demonstrate loyalty to the monarch while promoting a trade-friendly peace that would allow them to renew their lucrative trade with Spain and Portugal.

The exhibition also looks at St Mary Redcliffe’s links with the Queen. While there is no documentary evidence to prove that Elizabeth visited the church, the churchwarden’s accounts for 1574 suggest that the church authorities were at least preparing for a royal visit. The steps to the North Porch were ‘made’, the interior of the church was painted, significant alterations were made to a Mr Yonge’s chapel inside the church, and the Queen’s arms were painted in the Grammar School that had been founded by Elizabeth by Royal charter in 1571.

John Young, in whose Great House on St Augustine’s Back, the Queen stayed during her visit, was a descendant of the Young or Yonge family that William Canynges II joined through the remarriage of his mother. Canynges’ half brother Thomas Yonge is depicted in the South Transept window. Thomas Yonge’s son - another Thomas - was buried near the crossing of the church (this tomb slab has since mysteriously disappeared). Taking this into account, it seems likely that Mr Yonge’s chapel that was renovated just prior to the Queen’s visit belonged to the family of her host, although further evidence is needed to prove this to have been the case.

The exhibition provides an opportunity to tell our visitors about the Redcliffe’s wider links with Elizabeth - who later (in 1588 and 1590) returned to Redcliffe church lands that had previously been confiscated - as well as the specific events that took place during the summer of 1574: the entertainments for which were written and produced by the soldier poet Thomas Churchyard. An interesting footnote is that C19th historians of the church associated the lines of verse included on the board above Canynges’ effigy with Churchyard - although, beyond stylistic similarities, there is no information about why this association was made.

The exhibition also contains information about Project 450, the church’s facilities development initiative. The project was named in recognition of the anniversary of Elizabeth’s visit to Bristol, the original aspiration having been to open the church’s new facilities this year. Until the early part of 2020, the project was on target for completion within this timescale. However, Covid and its aftermath have had a significant impact on project timescales: society has changed, funding streams have been reconfigured, and in some respects become more scarce, the habits of visitors - domestic and international - have changed. So the project has gone through a process of review and reconfiguration in response to the changing context of the church, the behaviour of church visitors, and the societal challenges of the time.

One benefit of this delay is that the project can now respond to the work of the church’s community team, which took on huge significance during Covid and has gone from strength to strength in addressing community need in the years since. The project is being shaped to ensure that it responds to this need - which in some respects is acute - by making the rich cultural heritage of St Mary Redcliffe - and its potential to improve wellbeing - available to all of the communities of Bristol - including the residents of Redcliffe - as well as our many thousands of visitors from all around the world.

Rhys Williams

20 August 2024