St James' Priory, Bristol

St James’ Priory stands in Horsefair, Bristol, beside the River Frome. Built between 1124 and 1137 by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, it was the city’s first religious house. The priory once owned Broadmead, a large meadow laid out as a planned suburb. A vast lay cemetery stretched south from the complex to what is now Horsefair and St James’ Park. The nave survived the Dissolution because parishioners took it over in 1374. The priory’s history includes royal fairs, plague fears and pirate attacks. In 1238 a fifteen-day fair began here, later moved to September. The fair drew crowds for theatre, bear-baiting and even Shakespeare’s company. By the 17th century ships heading for the fair were attacked by Turkish pirates in the Bristol Channel. The last fair ended in 1837 under pressure from moralists. Today the church is active in the Catholic Diocese of Clifton. Restoration finished in 2011 uncovered a possible 15th-century sundial. Archaeologists also found a statue once without its head. The St James Priory Project supports people with substance dependency and mental illness.