In 1115 the Norman church founded on the site was given by Henry I to Salisbury Cathedral. The church was both a shrine and a parish church. It was rebuilt beginning in the late 12th century; all that remains of that campaign is the inner wall of the north porch, 1185. Its dark pillars are constructed of Purbeck marble, similar to the arrangement at Salisbury Cathedral. The north porch, 1320s, is an exceptionally brilliant example of English Decorated style, clearly appropriate for a place that housed a shrine to the Virgin known throughout the country. In an octagonal shape, the porch shows a high roof embellished with a complex vault and massive bosses. The tracery openings produce windows of a tear-drop shape between the buttresses. The openings in the buttresses once contained statues. The corbel figures below, now modern copies, are painted in gold and the originals are now displayed in the north nave. One shows a man on crutches, evoking "the Irishman, Richard with the broken back" who accompanied Margery Kempe in Rome (Chapters 30-32, 37).

Kempe could not have neglected visiting this site to pray at the shrine of the Virgin set in the north porch. At St. Mary Redcliffe, not only the chancel but also all elements of the building present entrancing perspectives. The lavishness of the building appears linked to its service to a very wealth parish where not simply a distinguished patron, but a whole set of well-to-do citizens vied for prominence. Much later Elizabeth I would call it "one of the most famous, absolutely fairest and goodliest parish churches in the realm."

MaryRed 1 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, north west section, exterior showing north porch (Shrine of the Virgin) ca. 1320-30 in the Decorated Style and the transept about 1355-85 in the Perpendicular Style ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 2 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, north nave and transept, 1355-85; clerestory windows enlarged about 1450. ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 3 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Procession of Pilgrims Visiting an Image of the Virgin in St. Mary Redcliffe, oil on canvas by E. V. Rippingille, ca. 1820, Bristol Art Museum.

MaryRed 4 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, detail of north porch ca. 1320-30 in the Decorated Style ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 5 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, detail of north porch ca. 1320-30 showing undulating organic lines similar to the work in the Chapter House at Ely Cathedral. ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 6 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, man on crutches, one of the corbel figures from the north porch. ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 6A St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, entrance door to shrine of the Virgin located in the north porch. ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 7 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, north porch, interior showing octagonal form. The openings in the buttresses once contained statues. The corbel figures below, now modern copies, are painted in gold. The originals are now visible in the north nave. ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 8 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, inner wall of north porch 1185 in sober, rhythmic, Early English style. Dark pillars are constructed of Purbeck marble, similar to the arrangement at Salisbury Cathedral. Immediately to the left is the lavish organic carving distinctive of the 1320s rebuilding of the north porch. © Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 9 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Interior of nave, about 1355-85 in the Perpendicular Style ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 10 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, clerestory windows of south transept, enlarged about 1450 showing unusual pierced tracery at the sides ©Raguin/MMK

MaryRed 11 St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, vault over north nave side aisle, about 1355-85. ©Raguin/MMK

Bristol Cathedral, Elder Lady Chapel of 1220, interior