Church of Our Lady of Ostrobrama, Bristol

Church of Our Lady of Ostrobrama
Kościół Matki Bożej Ostrobramskiej
51°27′58.090″N 2°35′27.715″W / 51.46613611°N 2.59103194°W / 51.46613611; -2.59103194
Address2 Arley Hill, Cotham, Bristol, England
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous denominationCongregational
Websitewww.parafiabristol.uk
History
StatusParish church
Founded1855
DedicationOur Lady of the Gate of Dawn
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II[1]
Architect(s)Foster & Wood
StyleItalianate
CompletedJune 1855
Construction cost£4,000 (1855)[2]
Administration
DioceseClifton

Our Lady of Ostrobrama (Polish: Kościół Matki Bożej Ostrobramskiej), formerly Arley Chapel, is a mid-19th-century church on Arley Hill, Cotham, Bristol, England. Built in 1855 as a Congregational chapel to designs by Foster & Wood, it has been the principal Polish Roman Catholic church in Southwest England since 1968, and is a Grade II listed building.[1]

The church serves an estimated 1,200 worshippers and functions as a regional centre for the Polish Catholic Mission. In May 2016 it hosted a gathering of eighty Polish clergy for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.[3]

Traditional Polish devotions remain prominent; hundreds attend the annual Święconka.[4] The premises also serve the wider diaspora as a polling station for Polish national elections.[5]

History

Congregational period (1855–1968)

The chapel was erected in 1855 at the expense of an anonymous benefactor who stipulated that it carry the name of the Worcestershire village of Arley.[6] Foster & Wood provided an Italianate design on a cruciform plan, dominated by a semicircular portico of four Corinthian columns and a clocktower surmounted by a cupola.[6] Contemporary chronicler John Latimer described it as "the last dissenting chapel of any importance erected in the city in the Italian style".[2] The inaugural service was preached by the Rev. J. Angell James in June 1855,[2] and the building was registered for marriages in November 1856.[6]

After more than a century of Congregational worship, the chapel closed in 1968; the remaining congregation united with Christ Church in Clifton.[7]

Acquisition by the Polish Catholic Mission (1968–present)

Trustees for the Polish community purchased the vacant building in July 1968, and it was re-registered that September as the Polish Church of Our Lady of Mercy.[8] The church was consecrated on 4 August 1968 by Bishops Władysław Rubin and Joseph Rudderham.[3]

From 1978 to 2002, the parish was led by Paweł Przybylski, whose extensive repairs earned an award from Bristol City Council.[9] Since 2013, the priest has been Stanisław Łabuda.[10]

2013 fire

On 4 November 2013 a fire, believed to have started accidentally by candles, destroyed the side altar and a historic stained-glass window and damaged part of the roof.[11] Two parishioners were treated for smoke inhalation, and the priest, who attempted to put out the fire, was injured. Within six days, volunteers enabled the church to reopen to mark Polish Independence Day on 11 November.[12] Restoration of the interior and a replacement icon of the Gate of Dawn were completed in the following year.[10]

Architecture

The building is an exemplar of mid-Victorian classicism. Its Bath-stone west front presents a full-height semicircular portico, above which a circular window of four lights illuminates the nave. A timber-framed clerestory runs the length of the unaisled nave, flanked by short transepts and terminating in an apsidal sanctuary.[6][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "ARLEY CHAPEL (1282415)". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Latimer, John (1887). The Annals of Bristol in the Nineteenth Century. p. 130. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Nowacka, A. (14 June 2016). "Bristol: Jubileusz Roku Miłosierdzia". Diecezja Sosnowiecka (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  4. ^ Nawrocki, Wojciech (1 April 2018). "Wielka Sobota 2018 i święcenie pokarmów w Bristolu". Nasze Miasto Włocławek (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  5. ^ Wiśniewski, Remigiusz (12 April 2025). "Tu zagłosujesz na prezydenta. Lista komisji wyborczych w UK". Polish Express (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Arley Chapel (now Our Lady of Ostrabrama)". Gloucestershire Places of Worship Database. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Congregational; Arley Congregational Church; 1855–1968". Bristol Archives. Bristol City Council. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Our Lady of Ostrabrama (formerly Arley Chapel)". Gloucestershire Places of Worship Database. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  9. ^ Radoszewska, Halina (2002). "Nasz ksiądz z Gniezna". Niedziela Gnieźnieńska (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Pożar w polskiej parafii w Bristolu". Diecezja Sosnowiecka (in Polish). 17 November 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Pożar w polskim kościele w Bristolu". WP Wiadomości (in Polish). 5 November 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Fire-damaged church in Bristol reopens to mark Polish Independence". BBC News. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  13. ^ Gomme, Andor; Jenner, Michael; Little, Bryan (1979). Bristol: An Architectural History. Lund Humphries Publishers. p. 384. ISBN 9780853314097.

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