The tall spire of St Mary Redcliffe is an impressive and well-known feature of the harbor area, in Bristol, South West England. Yet for four and a quarter centuries it presented quite a different appearance. In 1446 the spire was struck by lightning and two thirds of it fell, causing considerable damage. The church tower was oddly topped by the truncated remnant until the 1870s, when this new spire was constructed. There had been a previous church on the site, the present building being founded in 1292 by Simon de Burton, three times Mayor of Bristol.
