Context 153 - March 2018

C O N T E X T 1 5 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 8 47 SANDRA MANLEY Saving St James’s Priory The remains of St James’s Priory constitute Bristol’s oldest building in everyday use. Surviving as a parish church until 1984, major structural works and a new function have brought it back to life. Situated just to the north of Broadmead, Bristol’s post-war shopping centre, St James’s Priory is almost completely hemmed in by commercial properties and the bus station. Sadly, many visitors and Bristolians alike pass by the building completely unaware of its Grade I listed status, and its special qualities and significance to the history of the city. The church and the adjoining Church House are remnants of St James’s Priory, founded by Robert Earl of Gloucester in 1129¹. The monastery probably con- sisted of a cruciform church with a central crossing that divided the monastic church from that of the laity.There is also evidence of cloisters, bell tower, refectory, chapter house, parlour, dormitory and other outbuildings.² The monastery was surrendered to the crown in 1540 at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, but the abbot of Tewkesbury, perhaps foreseeing the coming desecration of monastic buildings under HenryVIII, had already leased most of its lands and properties to a wealthy landowner. This saved some of the original buildings, as they were converted into a mansion, but others were probably demolished.The western arm of the cruciform building was saved and became the parish church, a role it fulfilled until it was decommissioned in 1984. St James’s then suffered almost 10 years of neglect. Pigeons,with their particularly unpleasant habits,were the only residents; damp and decay were present throughout; and the roof leaked badly. It is surprising that a group of Benedictinemonks,the Little Brothers of Nazareth, agreed to lease the building from theAnglican Church in 1991 for use as a drop-in centre for homeless people in the city.The neglected church, although cold and damp, was the best option at the time. Some temporaryworkswere undertaken to reduce water ingress. Decay of this significant historic building, although not halted, was warded off for a few more years.This date can be seen as a turning point for the building: fromthen on therewas somebody to care about it. Nevertheless, the need for maintenance and repair soon became critical and in 2004 the building was placed on the EnglishHeritage at-risk register.The St James’s Priory Project, providing support for people with addictions, had emerged from the monks’ original attempts to help homeless people. Better facilities, including meeting rooms, were needed. A successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund followed. The architects Ferguson Mann undertook preliminary work on the bid, and Keystone Historic Building Consultants produced a conserva- tion management plan³ that explained the history and significance of the building. Ultimately, work costing £3.8 million was undertaken.The professional input was The stages of the development of St James’s Priory (Drawing by Richard Guise, Context 4D, Bristol) References ¹ For a fuller account of the history of the building see Manley, S, ‘Saving St James’s Priory’, in Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society , 2015, Volume 59, pp109–134. ² R Jackson, Excavations at St James’s Priory, Bristol, Oxbow Books, 2006 ³ Keystone Historic Building Consultants, ‘St James’s Priory, Bristol: Conservation Management Plan’ (unpublished) 2006