St Peter and St Paul, Bristol

St Peter and St Paul stands on Lower Ashley Road in the Easton area of Bristol. The building was designed in the Gothic Revival style by S. J. Hicks and S. B. Gabriel and completed in 1847 as the Anglican Church of St Simon the Apostle. It was built to serve the growing and poor population of Baptist Mills. The site was once agricultural land sold in 1804 to a consortium including Isaiah Sturge and Thomas Walker. The church was consecrated in December 1847 despite financial difficulties caused by unstable sandy ground. The building’s tower and spire were originally planned to reach 37 metres but were shortened later. The church became the first permanent Greek Orthodox church in the West Country after the local Greek and Greek-Cypriot community acquired it in 1960. It was consecrated for Orthodox use in 1963 by the Bishop of Apameia, with ancient relics from Constantinople sealed into the altar. The community restored the building, with the priest Rev. Thomas Tsevas painting the exterior stonework in the 1960s. The freehold was purchased in 1978, and a community hall was built in 1999 with a National Lottery grant. The church now overlooks the M32 motorway’s Junction 3 roundabout after nearby streets were demolished. Inside, the original pulpit remains in place, and the chancel screen has been adapted into an iconostasis with painted icons. The baptistery and font were designed by W. Tate of London and dedicated in 1891. Two figurative stained-glass windows are installed in simple plate tracery, including an east window depicting the Crucifixion unveiled in 1872. The churchyard boundary wall is capped with copper-slag blocks, a material common in the area. The site includes church gardens opened in 1993 and expanded through the acquisition of neighbouring properties.