Planning Application for St James Priory submitted
Tuesday October 28th 2008
Plans for a dramatic restoration of Bristol’s oldest building have been submitted to Bristol City Council.
St James Priory, which is located between the Horsefair and the Bus Station in Bristol’s city centre, is a 12th Century church and remains one of the most important examples of Norman architecture in the country.
However, the Grade-1 listed building has been on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register since 2004 and the St James Priory Heritage Appeal was launched in June to raise money alongside a £3.2 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
This was awarded earlier this year but is dependent on further funds being generated by the charity itself.
Now, the Appeal aims to raise £2million to help bring the Priory into the heart of the community. The Appeal’s total so far stands at more than £800,000.
The recently submitted plans have been formulated by Bristol architects Acanthus, Ferguson, Mann and relate to the dilapidated Victorian annex, called the North Aisle, and subsequent rooms at the rear of the building facing out onto Cannon Street, which connects the Horsefair to the bus station.
This area will be used to provide new facilities and open up the building to the community in a number of ways, including:
• Creation of a new café and outside piazza area providing refreshment and hospitality for visitors to the city and the local business community
• Conversion of the North Aisle to provide facilities for business, schools, organisations and individuals to utilise
• Improvements to the internal layout of the building to provide more flexible space
Doug Naysmith, MP for Bristol North West, visited the Priory to hear more about the restoration. He said: “This is a vitally important Appeal not only to ensure the Priory itself remains but to open up the church to the community.
“The possibilities for use are endless – already there are meetings and events going on here, despite the general disrepair of the buildings they are being held in so you can imagine the level of demand if they were improved.
“We have a real treasure in St James Priory and it would be a terrible shame if the building was not able to meet its full potential as a busy, relevant community space for the needs of modern organisations.”
Martin Appleby, trustee for St James, said: “Having the support of Doug Naysmith is a great boost to the Appeal and it was a pleasure to discuss the plans for the Priory with him.
“We are now looking forward to hearing from Bristol City Council and making headway with making the plans a reality.”
For the past 12 years, some of external buildings that surround the church have been home to the St James Priory Project, a charity that provides rehabilitation for drink and drug addictions.
Susan Jotcham, Director of the Project, has worked in the church since 1993 and has been pivotal in securing both the HLF grant and in the launch of the Appeal.
She said: “Having the community behind us on this project is crucial to its success and it’s wonderful that Dr Naysmth gave his time to see the Priory and hear about the work we do.”
