St Simon's Church (1847–1960) The site upon which the church stands, near Baptist Mills, was originally agricultural land. A document from March 1804 records the sale of this plot to a consortium, including Isaiah Sturge and Thomas Walker, who intended to erect a flour mill to aid the poor during a period of high wheat prices. The land remained in the hands of the Sturge family until it was acquired for the church's construction. In the mid-1840s, the area was constituted as a new ecclesiastical district under the
Sir Robert Peel's Act, carved out of the populous Trinity district of
St Philip and Jacob. Contemporary reports described the new parish of roughly 2,200 people as being "poor and densely populated," and the first incumbent, Rev. J. T. Barclay, struggled to accommodate the congregation in a temporarily licensed schoolroom. The foundation stone was laid on 18 June 1846 by the
Lord Mayor of Bristol, John Kerle Haberfield, following a service at
Trinity Church. A bottle containing silver coins and a commemorative copper plate were deposited beneath the stone. Construction proved difficult and expensive due to the unstable, sandy ground of the area. This meant that the foundations required significantly more funding than initially estimated, forcing the building committee to issue urgent appeals to avoid leaving the structure incomplete. Despite a funding shortfall of £500 by the time the roof was being installed, the church was successfully consecrated by the
Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol on 21 December 1847. The new parish continued to struggle with poverty throughout the
Victorian and
Edwardian eras. In 1851, the incumbent noted that the local population could not afford to contribute to the expenses of public worship, and by 1863, appeals were being made to the wider city to help the parishioners survive the winter. The location also suffered from environmental challenges; in 1870, the Vicar, Rev. Cornelius Witherby, formally petitioned the city to address the periodic flooding of the
River Frome which frequently inundated the area. By 1913, the population had risen to nearly 5,000, yet the church funds were "entirely exhausted", and the parish as a whole still impoverished. A visit by the Bishop of Bristol in December 1914 highlighted the urgent need for a parish hall, a facility the parishioners struggled to afford. In 1959, the parish was merged with
St Agnes, leaving St Simon's vacant. It was subsequently offered to the Greek Orthodox community, following an abandoned proposal to acquire
Christ Church before its congregation prevented its redundancy.
Greek Orthodox Church (1960–present) Although Greek sailors and merchants had established a presence in Bristol during the 19th century, a permanent community only solidified following
World War II. The search for a permanent home culminated in 1960, when the community secured a lease for the vacant St Simon's Church from the
Bishop of Bristol. This was followed by the appointment of the community's first permanent priest, Archimandrite Eirinaios Athanasiades, in 1958. An investiture ceremony was held at the church shortly after its inauguration, where long-serving members were honoured with titles from the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The fabric of the church was gradually restored and adapted by the congregation. In the mid-1960s, the priest Rev. Thomas Tsevas was noted in the local press for personally painting the exterior stonework and railings to maintain the building's appearance. The freehold of the church was eventually purchased by the community in 1978 for £12,500. The following year saw the arrival of Father George Nicolaou, under whose tenure the church was registered as a charity (No. 279079). The site was subsequently expanded through the acquisition of neighbouring properties, including the opening of new church gardens in 1993, attended by
William Waldegrave MP, and the construction of a community hall in 1999 funded by a £193,000
National Lottery grant. == Architecture and fittings ==