St Mary, the Parish Church of Henbury. The Parish was founded in 692AD when Ethelred, son of
King Penda of Mercia, granted the land to Oftor, Bishop of Worcester. The first evidence of a church
on this site appears in 1093 though it may have been built much earlier. The present nave was built
in about 1175. The chancel, which is out of alignment with the rest of the church, was originally built
in the early 13th century but was rebuilt in 1270.  The tower dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The
church was substantially altered in the 1830s by Rickman and Hutchinson but their work was regarded
as detrimental to the appearance of the building and in 1874 George Street, whose work also included
Bristol Cathedral, restored much of the original design. A spire intended to rival that of St. Mary Redcliffe
was planned but never built. The churchyard contains the grave of Scipio Africanus, an African slave in
the servitude of Charles William Howard, 7th Earl of Suffolk and 2nd Earl of Bindon, who died on 21st
December 1720 aged 18. The name Henbury comes from the Old English 'Heahburh' meaning 'high
fortified place' which may be a reference to the Iron Age hill fort in nearby Blaise Estate, although
'high' may relate to a chief rather than a high place. The parish was part of Gloucestershire until
1935 when it became incorporated into the City of Bristol, but Henbury remained a quiet country
village until the 1950s when modern development transformed it into a busy suburb.