Cliflon College Scientific Society, 37 



St Mary Redcliffe Church suffered much during the Common- 

 wealth. The Bristol mob, always an. excitable one, at that time 

 lost all command of itself, and caused damage to an enormous 

 amount among the different churches that existed then, especially 

 to those of them whose architecture made any claim to ' the 

 beautiful.' 



A great deal has been done during the last twenty years to im- 

 prove the old church, which would probably have been a ruin by 

 this time had not some energetic Bristolians come to its rescue ; 

 even yet much is to be done to put it in such a position as it 

 ought to be in. 



There are many old documents connected with the church. I 

 make a short extract from one. It is from a memorandum of 

 stage furniture given to the church by Mr Canynges to act a 

 mystery play with. 



Item. — Heven, made of timbre and stained clothes. 



Item. — Helle, made of timbre and iron work, with devils, the number 



thirteen. 

 Item. — Four pair of angels wings for four angels, made of timbre and 



well paynted. 

 Item. — Longing to the four angels four chevelers. 



Chevelers were wigs, or heads of hair, I suppose derived from 

 the French. 



I think I have now mentioned the chief objects, as they struck 

 me during several visits I have paid to St Mary's. I cannot 

 hope to have described the church in such a way as to picture it 

 to those who have not been there, but I hope I have said enough 

 to induce some who have not seen it to visit it. 



Some important facts were added to this paper by the President, 

 Messrs Prinsep, T. H. Warren, J. Stone, S. Leonard, and R. 

 Bamford. 



Vistors having withdrawn, the President announced that the 

 opening of the Museum would take place on the 17th June, and 

 he expressed his hope that it would be possible to celebrate the 

 event by a Conversazione. He suggested the appointment of five 

 l^ersons to act with the Society's Committee in making such 

 arrangements as would be necessary for the occasion. In com- 

 pliance with the President's suggestion, the following gentlemen 

 were accordingly elected : — E. B. Don, J. Heath, W. A. Smith, 

 D. H. Walsh, W. Claxton, 



