St. Mary Redcliffe is an Anglican parish church located in the Redcliffe district of the English port city of Bristol, close to the city centre. Constructed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, the church is a Grade 1 listed building, St. Mary Redcliffe is renowned for the beauty of its Gothic architecture, having been described by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."

The 292 ft (89 m) spire is the third tallest of England's parish churches,^{[citation needed]} after the Roman Catholic Church of St. Walburge, Preston and the Anglican Church of St. James, Louth. It is the tallest building in Bristol.

The first church on this site was built in Saxon times, as the port of Bristol first began. The present building is probably the fourth or fifth church that has been built on this site.

In medieval times, St. Mary Redcliffe, sitting on a red cliff above the River Avon, was a sign to seafarers, who would pray in it at their departure, and give thanks there upon their return. The church was built and beautified by Bristol's wealthy merchants, who paid to have masses sung for their souls and many of whom are commemorated there.

Mary (Hebrew: מִרְיָם, Miriam; Aramaic: Maryām; Arabic:مريم, Maryam), variously called Saint Mary, Mother Mary, the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary, Mother of God, and, in Islam, as Maryam, mother of 'Isa, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee who lived in the late 1st century BC and early 1st century AD, and is considered by Christians to be the first proselyte to Christianity. She is identified in the New Testament^{[Mt 1:16,18-25][Lk 1:26-56][2:1-7]} and in the Qur'an as the mother of Jesus through divine intervention. Jesus is viewed as the messiah—the Christ—in both traditions, giving rise to the common name of Jesus Christ.

The canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke describe Mary as a virgin (Greek παρθένος, parthénos). Traditionally, Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Muslims believe that she conceived by the command of God. This took place when she was already betrothed to Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. She married Joseph and accompanied him to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In keeping with Jewish custom, the betrothal would have taken place when she was around 12, and the birth of Jesus about a year later.

Anthony Hammond (1668–1738) was an English politician, known also as a poet and pamphleteer.

Born 1 September 1668, he was the son and heir of Anthony Hammond (1641–1680) of Somersham Place, Huntingdonshire, who was the third son of Anthony Hammond (1608–1661) of St. Alban's Court, Kent. His mother was a Miss Amy Browne (died 1693) of Gloucestershire. He was educated at St Paul's School, and matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge in 1685.

In October 1695 he was chosen M.P. for Huntingdonshire. A dispute about the election between him and Lord William Pawlet caused a duel (27 January 1698), when Hammond was wounded in the thigh. In parliament he spoke principally on financial questions.