OUR HISTORY

St Philip and St Jacob Church is considered to be the oldest centre of Christian worship in the Bristol area, and was built outside the original city walls just beyond the castle. A small Benedictine priory stood here in the year 900 A.D, and the chancel area of the present church is thought to be the site of its chapel. St. Philip’s Church was most likely built by Robert Earl of Gloucester who also built the Priory Church of St James and in 1126 rebuilt Bristol Castle. The first official mention of the church is in 1174 when it is described as one of the 'fees' (fiefs) of William Earl of Gloucester. Of that early church, only the font remains. The oldest part of the present building dates from the early thirteenth century.

The district around Bristol was first made a Church diocese in 1542 (the city having previously been in the Worcester diocese), and St Philip's came within the responsibility of the first Bishop of Bristol, Paul Bush.

A hundred years later the church was nearly destroyed in the Civil War. On 17th July 1643 the colonel in charge of the Parliamentary army in Bristol ordered the demolition of two churches St Philip's and St Peter's fearing that Royalist troops would use them as a base for attacking the castle, as cannon could be placed on the roof.. However, before this order could be carried out, Prince Rupert arrived with 20,000 soldiers. A small iron cannon ball that was found by workmen in the church tower in 1915 could well be a relic of the Civil War. Contemporary records suggest that the Parliamentary soldiers also used the church to stable their horses.

In 1279 there was a scandal afoot concerning Peter de la Mare, then the constable of the Castle of Bristol and William de Lay who fled to this church in seek of refuge. A bit like the scene in Les Miserables were Jean Valjean seeks refuge in the church of Bishop Myriel. Where as Jean Valjean nicked all the Bishop's silver and got away with it William de Lay was not so fortunate. Peter de la Mare and his accomplices found William in this church, dragged him back to the Castle, locked him up and eventually cut of his head! As a punishment for infringing the privileges of the church, among other more gruesome things, Peter de la Mare was made to build a stone cross in the churchyard and feed 100 poor around it on a certain day each year.

During the the 18th Century the Methodist movement was founded and both John Wesley and George Whitefield preached in the very pulpit we see today. Throughout the 18th and 19th Century the church in Bristol was growing significantly as the population boomed and over these years thirteen churches were planted within the, our then, vast parish to make provision for the growing demand.

Moving more into our recent history the building escapes destruction once more. During the second World War the blitz brought vast amounts of destruction to our doorstep. The area which is now Castle Park was once a busy and bustling neighbourhood with St Peter’s Church, which you can still see the bombed out shell of today, at the heart of it.

After the war much of the area both residential and retail had been destroyed and although St. Philip and St Jacob Church remained, the number of people who lived in the area and therefore attended church declined rapidly. By 1960 spiralling maintenance costs and a small, mainly elderly, congregation nearly marked the end for this church once more.

From post-war years onwards, town planning zoned much of the parish for business, industry, offices and other city centre purposes, and the numbers of people living close to the church declined. By 1960 spiralling maintenance costs and a small-sized mainly elderly congregation nearly marked the end of this church once more. Plans were started to consider alternative uses for the church, one of which could have been as a potato- warehouse, not a fitting end for a church and site with such a vibrant history.

The Rev Malcolm Widdecombe was a curate training at nearby Holy Trinity Church from 1961. Young people came to that church and were led to faith in Jesus, especially when gathering after services in Malcolm’s flat over the vicarage. The group of young believers started going to the church youth club, meeting in the local St Philip & St Jacob church hall, but some of the existing members objected to having so many newcomers joining. Malcolm also had a responsibility as curate for the small congregation at St Philip & St Jacob Church.  In 1963 fifteen new members of the youth group said as they were using the hall, they wanted to go to the church, so Malcolm invited them to worship at the Philip & Jacob services, together with the Youth Group leader Anthony Bush, Malcolm’s friend since their shared school years. The group of teens and twenties grew and were welcomed by the existing congregation, especially by Church-warden Eddie Beaver and his wife Joan, who had been praying for such a change. 

So, once again the St Philip and St Jacob Church was saved from closure. Malcolm Widdecombe continued as the leader of “Pip’n’Jay” (as the church was informally named) as a curate under the vicar of St Luke’s Barton Hill. He encouraged the younger members to share their faith boldly with others.. As they did numbers continued to grow and the church flourished. Malcolm’s wife Meryl remembers how the young church went out to find and feed war-veterans in the night, also those living on the street and others in poverty. The new believers had a mission to tell others about the good news of Jesus. Their excitement to live out their faith was centred around weekly times of prayer and fasting. They tidied the local Jewish graveyard in the parish and held carol services in the local Dings pub.

As the congregation developed further, it welcomed a new generation of young believers, students and families. Pip’n’Jay gained a reputation as a place where the gospel was preached and where many came to faith in Jesus. From 1968 it also became a church where believers heard about and were filled with the Holy Spirit. That continued through the 1970s and 1980s as Pip n Jay became a centre for those seeking and experiencing the gifts and the power of the Holy Spirit. The church became a significant part of the UK charismatic movement and the renewal by God of the established denominations. Malcolm (also fondly known as “Wid”) was a dynamic preacher and he also invited other national and international speakers to share the Pip n Jay pulpit.

In 1974, which marked the church building’s 800th birthday, Rev Widdecombe, was instituted as vicar of St Philip & St Jacob Church / Pip’n’Jay. He maintained his leadership for 48 years until he retired when 70 in 2009. The church motto verse was “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6 v 33).

Under the leadership of Malcolm Widdecombe, there was a heart for evangelism, giving and world mission, which led to millions of pounds being given to mission through Pip n Jay church. “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6 v 38). Many younger members went out as short-term and also long-term missionaries into the UK, Europe, and across other parts of the world, supported by Pip n Jay through a range of missionary societies. In our congregation today we still have those who spent a significant amount of their lives overseas in the mission field.

Demand for spaces to use for the children’s groups on Sundays led to the construction of the south side extension in the 1980s. Much of the work was carried out by the church members, for the church extension to include more modern toilets, a kitchen and church office.

From 1982 Pip n Jay became part of the Bristol-wide team of churches preparing for and supporting Mission England. Anthony Bush was the South-West Chairman of the England-wide group of around 5,000 churches that invited evangelist Billy Graham and his organisation to run a series of meetings in the football grounds of six cities from May to July in 1984. The South-West week of evening meeting were held at the Bristol City FC ground at Ashton Gate. Billy Graham visited Pip n Jay briefly to meet team members and to be photographed standing in the pulpit where John Wesley and George Whitfield had preached. After three months of meetings over a million Britons had attended and nearly 97,000 responded to his invitation to receive salvation through Christ. A large number of Pip n Jay members fulfilled roles to prepare for 2 years and then follow-up for two years. We were one of the South-West’s churches welcoming new believers which was an exciting time.

When HTB’s Alpha Course began to spread to other churches in the 1990s, it became a very important way for the Pip n Jay members to invite others to explore the Christian faith through a series of evening talks, meals and times for open discussion. This continued several times each year for eleven years and brought in a new generation of believers from all walks of life to join the church family at Pip n Jay.

The Pip n Jay membership gathered from the inner and outer suburbs of Bristol, with some from outside the city boundaries. Several younger members of our church, including some families, decided to live in the Dings, to build up links and spiritual life with the local community in our parish. New teams of members initiated ways to communicate the good news of Jesus to different communities, including Healing on the Streets, a weekly Children’s Play Bus in the Dings, and a junior football team.”

Malcolm Widdecombe shared his leadership with his group of Elders as well as the Church-wardens and the Parish Church Council. In the years before his retirement he set up a large team to take on the various areas of ministry carried out within Pip n Jay. That meant that Malcolm gradually handed over some of the running of church life to his team, as he prepared to retire. That gradual transition was very helpful when the team of leaders had to continue running Pip n Jay for the two years before the new Vicar was appointed.

Thanks Wid.