St Michael

The full dedication of the church is St Michael the Archangel on the Mount Without. The building still stands at the bottom of St Michael’s Hill but it is not in use.

The without bit in the church name refers to the fact that it was outside the old city wall. The original church of the parish of St Michael was founded in 1147. The earliest reference occurs in 1148 when William, Earl of Gloucester, granted to the abbey of Tewkesbury, all the churches which had previously been granted to it by his grandfather, Robert FitzHamon, including St Michaels. Little is known about the early building, the existing tower was not built until 1460. By the 18th century, the number of parishioners had increased including a number of affluent merchants who had moved out of the city to the ribbon development on St Michaels Hill; so between 1775-7 the old church was knocked down and a new one built around the tower.

Access to the building is not currently available but it contains many memorial plaques from the 18th and early 19th century including one to Mary STRETTON 1894. Near the Alter is a brass plate commemorating Dr BONYTHON who was one of the founders of the Bristol Royal Infirmary – he was buried in the crypt.

At the south part of the east wall in the side chapel, is a mural to Peter DAVIES who, in his will of 1747, left money for ‘a sermon by candlelight to be preached on March 1st.

(source: a leaflet about the church produced in 1977, the 830th anniversary of the church)