St Lawrence

CITY

Bristol

On the City wall west of the Northgate, adjoining the tower of St John the Baptist was the medieval church of St Lawrence. Little is known about it, being closed and demolished in 1580. The parish was joined to that of St John the Baptist.

The picture below accompanied a newspaper article from the late 1950s or 1960s. Unfortunately the date of the press cutting or the source was not recorded although it is likely to have been the Bristol Evening Post. I have reproduced the feature below the picture.

DEMOLITION MEN UNCOVER LAST CHURCH RELIC

Demolition men have uncovered the last relic of the long lost church of St Lawrence on the city wall.

Pulling down a clothing factory in Nelson Street just off the city centre, they have revealed a 30ft arch embedded in a massive party wall.

Today, local historians flurried to the spot to take photographs before the arch comes down to make way for new offices.

Mr John Totterdill, secretary of Bristol Civic Society, said: "The arch's interest is historical rather than architectural, being probably the last remains of St Lawrence's, We are making a good record of it, but we don't imagine it could be preserved."

The rector of St John's on the Wall, the Rev. W Dodgson Sykes, said today: "I spotted the arch, which I knew about from old records. St Lawrence was a small church 29 yards by nine, which stood on the other side of the archway from St John's. It was incorporated with St John's in 1580 and pulled down."

The arch is thought to date back to the 14th or 15th century.

The dedication was to be used again in the Victorian Suburbs of East Bristol. The new church gave its name to the area which now survives it, at Lawrence Hill.

Page created 18th January 2002

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