This unusual church was built into the old town wall, with its tower over the north gate. Chapels over town gates were not uncommon. But a church across the whole width of the wall would weaken a town’s defences. Bristol was protected by a new wall beyond the old one before St John’s was built in its present form around 1380. It is a two-storey church, since its vaulted crypt served as the chapel of the Guild of Holy Cross. The Churches Conservation Trust now own this redundant church.