The mystery crypt door in Bristol city centre you always wanted to know about
In the heart of the city centre, there is a tiny door that many passer-by walk past every day. Many people may have wondered what lies behind the small door on Nelson Street.
We paid a visit to St John On The Wall church on Broad Street, which is built within the walls of the city to find out. Heading through the old gate into the city with its brightly-coloured murals, we met crypt keeper Derek McClean in the church.
St John The Baptist church, or St John on the Wall as it is commonly known in Bristol, was built within the old city walls and is steeped in history. We headed back into Nelson Street with Derek carrying a very large crypt key for the small door.
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Stepping inside, the first impression is the warmth compared to the icy cold of the street. The crypt’s lighting provides a gentle warm glow. Derek explained that the oldest part of the crypt was the original chapel.
Embedded in the floor are memorial plaques, many being so old the inscriptions are barely legible. Many are wealthy merchants who requested to be laid to rest in the crypt and for the priest to say masses for them after having bequeathed some of their fortunes, with the hope that this would reduce the time they spent in purgatory so they could head up to the heavens.
In 1465, the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross was founded as a fraternity of leading townsmen, including mayors, members of the council and wealthy businessmen to support one another economically and spiritually, give bread to the poor and to the Newgate Goal prisoners on a Saturday. A scribe was employed at a salary of 12d a year to keep the churchwarden’s account.
In the crypt is an alabaster effigy tomb of a man and his wife which is believed to be of Thomas and Christian White. White moved to Bristol in the 1520s to set up a business and by 1530, he was mayor.
In 1536, Henry VIII granted him £37 6s 8d with which he built the vessel Mary Bryde to trade in commodities and he was also appointed as one of two commissioners to supervise the closure and sale of property during the Dissolutions, regularly corresponding with Cromwell. He requested in his will to be buried in the Church of St John having lived in the Parish of Broad Street.
The crypt tomb is unusual in that it does not have a dog at his master’s feet as was so often seen, but features many underwater creatures including a dolphin. This indicates the interred couple were successful sea merchants and perhaps fishmongers.
The crypt also contains numerous historical artefacts and the ceiling has unusual carved stone bosses and as Derek said: ”It’s a splendid little building tucked away in the wall”. Just a few steps away from the small door is St John’s Conduit which was the primary point of water supply that originated from a spring in Brandon Hill.
It was the only source of water for the city following the blitz in the Second World War after German bombs destroyed the Bristol's water mains, while the crypt was used as an air shelter.
St John on the Wall Church was founded in the 12th century when William, Earl of Gloucester, gifted the church to Tewkesbury Abbey and the Priory of St James in 1174, but may well have replaced an earlier Anglo-Saxon building.
Bristol was one of the richest towns in the kingdom by the early 13th century being a vibrant trading hub and by 1400, the church was reconstructed with the crypt being extended, and an upper section, tower and spire being added above St John’s gate. These were funded by wealthy Bristol merchant and three times mayor of Bristol, Walter Frampton whose tomb and effigy is in the church.
The church was one of five built into the old city walls which served as a spiritual haven as well as a defensive structure. Travel during medieval times was perilous and travellers would have passed through the main North Gate, which is now flanked by two pedestrian gates which were added in 1828.
The church closed services in the 1980s and falls under The Churches Conservation Trust. It is open on Wednesday from 11am-2pm and on a Saturday from 11am-4pm free of charge, subject to volunteer availability. Requests to see the crypt can be made by visitors.
This article was first published in January 2023 and was republished in January 2025.