News / Prince Street
Derelict church finally for sale
A church that has remained empty for decades is now for sale.
The long derelict former Seamen’s Church & Institute was built around 1880 as an institute with a chapel above.
It was used as a shore base for missionaries working with crews of ships using Bristol’s docks.
is needed now More than ever
The chapel can still be seen from Royal Oak Avenue between Prince Street and Queen Square.
After being bombed in the Second World War, however, it was – in the words of the Pavsner Architectural Guide to Bristol – “appallingly refronted with the most utilitarian concrete structure”.
Yorkshire brewery Samuel Smith own the building and also the plot of land between the Arnolfini and Design West have notoriously been left empty and squalid for years.
But it appears that following pressure from cabinet member Nicola Beach, who wrote to the brewery in August, something is finally happening.
The church is being marketed by estate agents Burston Cook as “a characterful building with development potential which would suit conversion to residential “or alternative commercial uses”.
The Prince Street elevation contains four storeys which the main part of the building containing the church has two floors as well as a basement.
“Keen to hear ideas for potential future uses, open to getting involved,” tweeted property developer Gavin Bridge, who has been key to the success of Finzels Reach.
Beech tweeted: One down one to go. Have had positive discussions with Sammy Smiths in recent months about a positive plan for the Chapel and Harbourside land bringing both back into use. This is a small but important step forwards.”
The price for the building on Burston Cook’s listing is £550,000.
Main photo: Know Your Place
Read next:
- Inside the hidden church in the city centre
- Push to develop notorious derelict sites in city centre
- 17 of Bristol’s worst eyesores
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