The largest building to greet the newcomers to this expanding part of Bedminster was St John’s Church. In 1829, as residents arrived in Little Paradise, the Church was clearly visible across a small undeveloped field. Unfortunately, the building was experiencing a rather less than positive period in a lengthy and significant history.

In 1644, during the English Civil War , Bedminster was sacked by Prince Rupert . When John Wesley preached here in the 1760s, it was a sprawling, decayed market town, with orchards next to brickworks , ropewalks and the beginnings of a mining industry.

by the West Street Heritage Group for Futures Past Bedminster – did a monk named Bede build a church here? Or, from Bede, a place of baptism perhaps in the Malago Stream? Certainly the ancient church of St. Johns was a prominent feature until the 1960’s and the Malago Stream has flowed forever albeit now, mostly covered over. Historically, an Iron Age Fort existed within its boundaries and the Romans may have marched along a route which today we might recognise as West Street