WELCOME TO SAINT MARK'S
THE LORD MAYOR'S CHAPEL
History and Worship at the heart of Bristol
A WELCOME MESSAGE
from the Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of Bristol
As current Lord Mayor of Bristol, I am delighted to welcome you to the website of of a unique and splendid building and place of worship, namely Saint Mark's - The Lord Mayor's Chapel, which is situated at College Green Bristol.
This Chapel, which was founded in 1220 as a hospital serving 100 poor people every day, was purchased by the city fathers in 1541 when it was bought from Henry VIII following the dissolution of the monasteries.
Above: Cllr Paula O'Rourke (Pictured here with her Consorts)During the 18th Century, it became associated with the Mayoralty of Bristol and became the institution at which the Mayors (later Lord Mayors) and Burgesses of Bristol celebrated their faith. This tradition continues today and apart from supporting my role as Lord Mayor, continues to remain relevant in its 21st century mission to the City of Bristol through its active partnerships with such organisations as the Royal Naval Association, Fare Share, the Matthew, Avon Fire and Rescue Service, etc.
You will find a more comprehensive list of our partners on this website. Not only am I extremely proud to be the current Lord Mayor and to perform the duties that entails, I am also particularly proud to be associated with Saint Mark's.
I encourage you not only to explore the chapel through these web pages, but also to visit when the chapel is open to the public and view our “secret gem”. You may want to attend one of our services, and join our congregation, with services at 11.00 a.m. each Sunday where can be sure of a warm welcome.
A WELCOME MESSAGE
from The Reverend Prebendary Harold S Clarke,Chaplain to The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of BristolWelcome to the only remaining building of the mediæval Hospital of Saint Mark, also known as Gaunt’s House, which was founded in 1220.
This building was the domestic Chapel of the Hospital.
The purpose of the Hospital at its founding was to feed and care for 100 poor people in Bristol per day, as well as offering hospitality to those in need. To enable them to do this, the Hospital had extensive lands in and around the city, some of which are still in its possession today. As you enter you will experience a beautiful building, which has been added too over the centuries, most notably in the Tudor and Victorian periods.
Those of us who worship here today in these wonderful surroundings have three major objectives: Firstly, to people and organisations worship God in Christ. The congregation choose to do this in a traditional form, using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible, supported by beautiful music, all of which adds to the spiritual awe that we experience in the Chapel.
Secondly, to rediscover the founding intention to feed those in need in a contemporary way. To do this we have formed a partnership with Fair Share Southwest, providing funding to help them maintain and carry out their amazing work.
Thirdly, to extend our hospitality by working with both voluntary and statutory organisations who minister in various ways to the citizens of Bristol. We do this by welcoming and affirming ion panels around the to the service of the people of the City of Bristol. As an example of this, the Standards, (flags), behind one side of the choir stalls are mainly from military organisations that now rest from their active work. The Standards have been laid up here and the organisations to which they belonged are remembered with thanksgiving.
Both the architecture and the decoration to be seen inside the building are described in detail in the various information panels around the building, and in the Short Guide. A new guidebook is in the pipeline and is hoped to be published sometime in the near future.
Here we identify a few of the features of the building. The first thing you will notice is probably the ceiling, which dates from around 1500. It catches the eye as you look up and extends the full length of the main part of the building, covering the whole of the nave and the chancel. You may wish to linger at the top of the steps by the entrance, but what you see there will make you eager to explore this surprising building.
Along the walls of the Nave and in the south aisle are the monuments and memorials, each one telling a story and reminding us of the parts that various citizens have played their part in the history of the city, in its service and development.
There are a number of funeral hatchments of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Mayors of Bristol, displayed along the walls on both sides of the nave. These would have been posted outside the dwellings of the deceased until the day of their funeral and would then have been carried ahead of the cortege and left in the Chapel following the funeral.
Above the painted Arms of George III and the carved Arms of Charles II are the Regimental Colours of the Fourth Battalion of the Gloucester Regiment, of which the Mayors, and later Lord Mayor’s, of Bristol are the Honorary Colonel, but they essentially represent all those men who served in the Regiment and in so doing placed their lives at risk. Today we have a special relationship with 266 Battery of the Royal Artillery, which again historically is a ‘Bristol’s Own’ foundation. On the Sunday nearest the fourth of December, we celebrate with them and the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Saint Barbara’s Day, Saint Barbara being their Patron Saint. Can you spot her painted glass window?
The painted and stained glass throughout the building makes a unique collection from England, Belgium, France and Germany, and dating from between the thirteenth century to the late nineteenth century.
The large window filled with English Ecclesiastic Glass above the entrance gives a good amount of light through the length of the interior. You can read about all of the aforementioned on the information panels around the building and will be featured in their own section of the new guidebook once it is published, and together adds to the numinous of our current regular worship at 11.00 a.m. every Sunday and at major Festivals, as well as at the extra services we have at certain times of the year.
It may be that the painting in the reredos behind the altar attracts your attention; it is supposed to! It is in three panels. The centre panel depicts the Crucifixion, reminding us that half of Mark’s Gospel, to whom the Chapel is dedicated, is about the Passion, which was clearly central to his devotion and mission as it is to ours. The right-hand panel reflects Mark as a preacher of the Gospel, next to him are a poor woman and child representing the major ministry of the Hospital. The left-hand panel depicts the Judgement of Pilate, where they are trying to reconcile the spiritual and temporal powers around Jerusalem at the time.
In our Chaplaincy we often face challenges of that kind as an important part of our contemporary mission. This too is essential to the Chapel’s contemporary mission. The basic action is to make this place and its people available to serve the needs of the city and reminds us of our obligation to the foundation of 1220.
Were you to look back toward the door, you could enjoy the Georgian and Victorian floor tiles. Then examine the organ, its pipes on one side and the console on the opposite side of the chancel. At the rebuilding of the organ the connecting cables that control were removed and replaced by a Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver, producing the sound we enjoy today.
Move behind the choirstalls on the side where the standards are. They are ‘laid up’ to rest and represent the thousands of people who have served the city and their country in the past and the many who still do, mainly volunteers serving in various forms.
Enter the vestibule of the ‘Poyntz’ or ‘Jesus Chapel’ with its royal associations as well as its architectural and sculptural features. Should you get the opportunity, just stand there quietly either reading the short guide or some devotional book. Try it, you will be rewarded.
On the wall of the vestibule facing the ‘Poyntz Chapel’ is a three-panel painting that was formerly the reredos behind the high altar, it was replaced some ten years ago with the present one, and on one of the walls in the north transept where the organ console is situated is an even earlier dating from 1820. They are both taking their rest.
Another area worth the trouble of a visit is the south aisle Chapel of Saint Andrew, which is dedicated to the city’s business community via The Guild of Guardians. Take time to think about that while enjoying the sculptures, the wall-paintings and the painted glass in that part of the building or in the general area.
There are a series of mysterious items in the Victorian choirstalls, see if you can find them, they are well over 100 years old.
As we work at recovering from the results of the pandemic closures and start to be open more to visitors, why not phone and speak to the Verger and arrange to bring a small group to visit for a guided tour of the Chapel.
