St James's Priory has been standing longer than any other building in Bristol. David Clensy meets the woman who is trying to ensure its future

IF buildings could only speak, imagine the tales St James's Priory could tell. The grand old church at the heart of the city witnessed the Bristol Riots, could reminisce about the days of pirates, and would even be able to spin a few yarns about Cabot leaving for the Americas.

It may be Bristol's oldest surviving building, but £2 million needs to be raised in order to secure the future of St James's Priory as a hub for city-centre communities.

These days, it's more likely to be known as the “church next to the bus station”, but the priory was once at the heart of a great monastic settlement.

The medieval monks who once lived here provided the social services of their day. And as the hub of Bristol's markets, it was also a commercial centre for the town.

Since the Reformation, the former priory has been in the hands of the Church of England, but in recent years the Roman Catholic Church has leased it back as a base for its rehabilitation work.

Susan Jotcham has lived in a section of the 900-year-old building for 15 years. Together with her husband John, Susan took on the challenge of transforming the former monastic site into a rehabilitation centre for drink and drug addicts.

In the early days, the couple worked with a small group of monks from the Little Brothers of Nazareth order to reintroduce a social service element that had faded away during the centuries since the Reformation.

But the original priory church, still open to the public, stands as the jewel in the crown of the complex. In the flickering light of prayer candles, the beauty of the 12th-century church sweeps across you from the moment you step through the great wooden doors.

However, the years have taken their toll on the building. As your eyes adjust to the dimness, you start to see the full extent of the damage – with patches of damp stretching across the walls and the leaking roof in dire need of replacement.

Last year, things looked bleak. An estimated £4 million of work was needed just to get the building into a reasonable state to face the rigours of the 21st century.

But thanks to Susan's campaigning, the church received the best Christmas present it could have wished for – a National Lottery Heritage Fund of £3.2 million earmarked for restoration.

“It was wonderful news,” Susan says, as she leads the way through the sacred shadows. “But it doesn't guarantee our future – we still need to raise another £2 million in order to transform the place for the 21st century.

“It has taken months of work to get to this stage – the application for lottery money meant we had to compile a file with hundreds of pages of information about the building's history and its proposed future uses.

“And we were over the moon to discover we had been earmarked for £3.2 million of funding,” she adds, her smile beaming in the candlelight.

“But now we need to come back down to Earth. There's still months of work if we're to prove we are a viable heritage cause that is at the centre of the local community.”

The planned renovations would see not only the replacement of the roof, but also the creation of new, comfortable meeting rooms in the Victorian-built north aisle, where community support groups can gather; and a new visitors' cafe on the far side of the building, opening out on to the side of the bus station.

But there would also be an emphasis on preserving the heritage of Bristol's oldest standing building.

“We would make the church more accessible,” Sue explains. “We have plans for developing exhibitions charting the history of the site. But it is important that the church itself is preserved as a quiet place of retreat where people can spend time praying or simply enjoying the silence.

“We have a loyal congregation. Mass is well attended every Sunday morning, and when we hold concerts here, it's often standing-room only.

“The church still serves the community well. For instance, we get many doctors, nurses and patients walking across the road from the hospital to pray.

“A lot of nurses coming off the night shift come over for our 8am mass before heading home. It's also a place where patients or relatives of patients come to find some peace during their medical treatment.”

Susan is hoping to organise a series of fundraising events throughout the next few months.

The first is a charity golf day, taking place at Bristol Golf Club on September 8.

“We do have a lot of money to raise if we're going to save the building for future generations, and continue to make it relevant to local people,” says Susan.

“We're going to start off with a charity golf day in September, and hope to get the ball rolling from there. We'll be terribly grateful to any support anyone can offer.

“The work we're proposing is a massive project to take on. But it would preserve and develop Bristol's oldest building for future generations.”

The Charity Golf Day for the St James's Priory Appeal takes place on September 8 at Bristol Golf Club. The event costs £160 for a team of four. For more information, call 0117 929 9100.

Factfile

ST James's was founded as a Benedictine priory in about 1124 by Robert, First Earl of Gloucester and son of King Henry I.

The prince came to Bristol from Tewkesbury and while building Bristol Castle, he started work on the priory to serve as a Benedictine cell of Tewkesbury Abbey.

The stone used came from Caen in Normandy, and it is said that for every 10 stones shipped over for the erection of the fortifications, one stone was given for the building of the priory.

The church was consecrated by Simon, Bishop of Worcester, in 1129. It is said that Earl Robert, the priory's founder, had the church in mind as his final resting place.

The tomb dedicated to him still stands in the corner of the nave, though there is some debate among historians as to whether he was ever laid to rest there, or if it was simply a later memorial. More impressive is the Somerset family memorial.

Built in the 16th century in dedication to Sir Charles Somerset, his wife and daughter, the elaborate monument stands sentry at the west end. The family is depicted in prayerful effigy, kneeling beneath a canopy, with the original colours still so vibrant that Lady Somerset's cheeks are pink with the damp chill of the north aisle.

During the Reformation, all the priory buildings (except the parish church) were destroyed by order of Henry VIII.

As distinct from a monastery, the priory church had been designed to serve both monks and parishioners. Of the eight annual fairs held in medieval Bristol, three were connected closely with the priory. They took place on sites now occupied by the Haymarket and Broadmead's shops.

“The priory was also the centre of social welfare in medieval Bristol, with monks offering help to anyone who needed it,” Susan explains. “Which is why it's so nice that the building is once again serving the purpose for which it was originally built.”