Parish of Bishopston and St Andrews
History of St. Michael's & Al Angels Church and Halls

In 1858, the church of St. Michael's and All Angels was built by Rev. Henry Richards, Perpetual Curate of Horfield Parish Church as a memorial to members of his family. It was then part of the Parish of Horfield and Stapleton. The nave, tower and spire of the church were built, sited on Gloucester Road, at the bottom of Pigsty Hill, a location now occupied by "The Oaks" residential housing. The church was consecrated on 28^th February 1862 in the presence of 33 clergymen and an overflowing congregation.

St Michael's Church and Vicarage circa 1880

In July 1862, the new Parish of Bishopston was created with a population of 1300. The surrounding area was being developed for housing and the church enlarged in 1863, 1871 and 1891. By 1901, the population of the Parish had grown to 9140. The Church itsel was extended in 1878 when the South Transept and Chancel were built. In 1891 the North Aisle was added.

The site that is now St. Michael's Church Centre began life with the development of education in the 19^th century. In 1870, the Forster Education Act was England's first step towards providing nationwide system of education. In April 1871, the Bishop's Monk Trust bought approximately half an acre of land on the opposite side of the road from the church site, in trust for the Church to build and maintain schools. In 1885, an extra schoolroom was built at a cost of £656. The running costs were £310 19s 8d. This was paid for by the congregation.

In 1896 Bishop Road School was built and was soon offering better facilities so that the church day school closed. However, the Sunday School was expanding and Bishop Road school was hired to provide extra space. The solution was to build the Main Hall, although in 1904-05 a mistake was made in building the Main Hall and associated buildings on what was leasehold land, the title to the land for still being held on educational trusts.

Laying foundation stone of Hall 1907

The foundation stone for the Main Hall was laid on 11^th September 1907 by Mrs. Gibbs, wife of Mr G.A. Gibbs, the local MP. The building cost was £2377. In 1918-1919, the Lesser Hall wasa built, on the site where St. Michael's Close now stands. The Girls Sunday School used to meet in the Main Hall and the Boys Sunday School in the Infants next door. There were many groups for adults and young people who used the Halls extensively for many years.

Housing development continued apace. A daughter Church St. Katherine's was set up in Salisbury Road, Redland . The congregation of the parish church was expanding and became too big for the building. The front hall, known as the Institute building was used for overflow services. By 1927, a second daughter church, the Church of the Good Shepherd was formed.

In the 1920s and 1930s the church and its extensive Halls in St. Michael's were in regular use by a large congregation and many local groups. During World War II the Main Hall was used by the Army and the Home Guard and the Sunday Schools moved to Bishop Road school. The Lesser Hall was used as a servicemen's canteen.

After the war, the Halls complex was becoming very expensive to run; they were in constant use but also needed regular maintenance and repair. Regular Sunday night dances were held in the Main Hall, many to raise funds for the repair of the Halls.

In the 1960s problems with the church building and the Halls site began to emerge. The church built on a site comprising bedrock on end but a metre of clay on another. The instability of the land had not been taken into account in the 19^th century and the building was beginning to slide down the hill.. On the Halls site the upkeep costs were escalating.

Another problem manifested itself in 1960 with the ownership of the Main and Lesser halls. The title for the land had not been regularised. In 1965 negotiations began to resolve the problem between the Horfield Trust and the Ministry of Science and Education. By 1976, a draft order from the Secretary of State for Education transferred the ownership of the site to the Diocesan Board of Finance and the Trustees of the Sunday School Fund following consultations with the Department of Education and Science and the Charity Commissioners. The proceeds of the sale of any part of the property were allocated at 9/14 to the Diocesan Board of Finance and the 5/14 to St. Michael's church.

In 1976 the Lesser Halls site was sold to build 21 sheltered flats (St. Michaels' Close). In 1977 a three year lease was agreed for the rental of the Main Hall at a rent of £100 per annum. In 1978 a Charity Commissioner arranged for St. Michael's to buy the freehold of the land at 1904 value plus compound interest for 74 years. In 1981 the freehold of the Halls came in to the possession of St. Michael and All Angels PCC.

The church, which had been suffering from subsidence problems, had been underpinned, but with little success. Plans were drawn up to redevelop the Church site into a worship area and Parish Hall with a second floor for meeting rooms. However, the extent of the subsidence became apparent and the idea was dropped. By 1991, the fabric of the Church was deteriorating badly with several arches and windows being supported by underpinning. Finally, the insurance cover was withdrawn and the building was closed on 31^st December 1991.

At this time, the Gospel Hall building, which was on the opposite side of the Gloucester Road from the Church, became available for use, as its aging congregation had declined. St. Michael's rented the Gospel Hall and used it for worship and children's groups from 1992

Another move to redevelop the site of the old church as a community and halls facility with worship area was mooted in 1992/93, but after much deliberation, involving discussion between Diocesan and Council representatives, the plan to redevelop this site was abandoned. Soon after this the site was sold off for redevelopment into residential housing. The old church building itself was demolished in 1997.

In 1994, the Development Group reformed. By 1995, the choice was between building on the Parish halls site or buying the Gospel Hall and building on that site. After many false dawns, in February 1998  a local firm of architects was chosen to design the redevelopment of the Parish Halls site, in a three phase plan.

In May 1999, legal repossession of the building was planned, but unfortunately squatters occupied the premises and created an appalling mess. However on 14^th July 1999, police and bailiffs ejected the squatters and a security firm took charge of the buildings.

There was much hard work done by the builders in the rebuilding work and by a large part of the congregation, in helping to move church possessions from the Gospel Hall to the new buildings. Finally, on 14^th December 1999 the first service was held in the new worship area in the front hall (formerly known as the Institute building). Many other rooms had also been refurbished to allow the children's groups to meet. In the subsequent months, many bookings were received for the new St. Michael's Centre from the local community for uses such as toddlers groups, keep fit classes and other regular meetings.

During 2000, the plans for the next phase of the redevelopment were taking shape. Phase 2 involved the re-roofing of the Main Hall with slates and installing specially designed roof trusses, installation of clerestory windows, a new wooden floor in the main space, and refurbishment of the mezzanine floor and stage. To assist with fundraising, the slates were "sold" to individuals who could write dedications on them before they were put into the roof.

On 22^nd September 2002, the first service was held in the new St. Michael's & All Angels Centre. This was followed on 2 November 2002 by an Open Day when the new Centre was opened for all the community to see. A dedication service was held with the Bishop of Bristol and local MP present. As Bishop Barry said in his address " the glory of this house shall surpass the glory of the former."

The Church Centre is now in use almost every day of the week for one purpose or other both by the church family and by the wider community of Bishopston.