The Virgin Mary was especially venerated in England during the medieval period and chapels were added to churches and cathedrals in her honour. The Lady Chapel at St Mary Redcliffe was completed in 1494 by Sir John Juyn, a wealthy barrister. Only a generation later, during the Reformation, the Virgin Mary became a controversial figure and many of the chapels dedicated to her were either destroyed or put to other uses. The parish school, founded in 1571, moved to the Lady Chapel during the 18th century from a chapel which stood in the churchyard near the south porch. This chapel, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, was demolished during the 1710 remodelling of the church, when a wall was also erected between the Lady Chapel and the rest of the building. The hard wooden benches on which the pupils sat can be found around the church. The school rapidly outgrew the chapel as the church developed its commitment to education; a commitment still maintained in two local church schools bearing its name. The Lady Chapel is now once more dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is a peaceful refuge that is set aside for private prayer. The Aumbry, the cupboard located under the Cross, is where some of the bread and wine from the Eucharist, is reserved to be taken to those who are too ill or frail to attend church.
The effigy of a 12th century knight which many believe to be of Robert de Berkeley who gave a fresh water spring to the church
The Redcliffe Maze was recreated as a water maze in a local parkk using water from the Redcliffe pipe
Education was not the only social concern of the church; St Mary Redcliffe Church also supplied fresh water for the parish. The Lord of the Manor of Bedminster, Sir Robert de Berkeley, gave the water supply to the church in the 12th century from a spring over two miles away on a hill south west of the parish. His wife gave land so that a pipe could be laid from the spring to the parish of Redcliffe; water continued to flow through this pipe until it was broken during World War II. The Vicar, Churchwardens and members of the congregation walk the pipe's full length each year to maintain their ancient right to inspect the condition of the pipe.
(See photograhs of the 2002 Walk Click Here}