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.

The small congregation in the mid-1960s welcomed a local Christian youth group to join and worship with them. By God’s grace, the congregation then grew and welcomed a new generation of young believers and families. “Pip’n’Jay” (as the church was informally known) gained a reputation as a place where the gospel was preached and where many came to faith in Jesus and received the power of the Holy Spirit. It was part of the UK charismatic movement and renewal of the established denominations.

Under the leadership of Rev Canon Malcolm Widdecombe a heart for world mission was instilled which led to large amounts of money being given to mission through our church. In our congregation today we have a number of people that spent a significant amount of time overseas in the mission field. In the 1980’s and 90’s our church 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. We initiated new activities including Healing on the Streets, a weekly Children’s Play Bus, and a junior football team.

We are so thankful to God for all he did in these years, and are praying for the years to come!