Features / bedminster
What happened to the minster in Bedminster?
Bedminster was founded before Bristol, on the banks of the River Malago.
But what happened to the minster in Bedminster?
That’s what the YouTube channel Pedestrian Diversions sets to find out in their latest video.
is needed now More than ever
If you look closely, the outline of the former church of St John’s can still be seen where it once stood.
It was finally demolished in 1967 after being seriously damaged in the Blitz 27 years previously when it was struck by incendiary bombs.
The demolished church was just the latest incarnation of a church that had stood on this site since the early 11th century and perhaps even earlier.
St John’s Church in 1963 shortly before it was demolished – photo: Bristol Archives
“A St John’s of some sort probably stood for 1000 years, give or take,” says the narrator of the video.
“And I have to say, the small park we are left with makes for a rather underwhelming memorial.”
All that remains of a millennium of history is the church’s former cross in its former churchyard, surrounded by clues as to what was here before in the surrounding streets of Church Lane off Malago Road and Church Road off East Street.
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- 15 things you probably didn’t know about Bedminster
- Bristol’s medieval parish boundary markers hidden in plain sight
- Man arrested after hoax bomb threat
- Series of talks to explore hidden histories of Bedminster and Southville
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