for sale. In 1996 the Little Brothers of Nazareth re-established it as a Catholic church, and set up the St James Priory Project which offers support to vulnerable people especially those with a history of substance dependency and mental illness. Restoration Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £3.2 million to conserve, repair, and develop the Priory, building work started in November 2009. The St James Priory charity had to fundraise a further £1.2 million of matched funding toward the restoration work. Conservation, restoration and development lasted 21 months and the Priory Church was re-opened on 25 July 2011. Archaeologists from Bristol and Region Archaeological Services were on site during the restoration works, and uncovered a fragment of what may be the earliest scientific sundial in Britain. The sundial is a block of Bath stone carved with hour lines and medieval Arabic numerals in a style that suggests it was probably made in the 15th century. The discovery that a statue in the church had originally been topless made headlines around the world. Burials at St James' Priory, Bristol Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Mabel FitzRobert, Countess of Gloucester Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany See also Grade I listed buildings in Bristol Churches in Bristol List of English abbeys, priories and friaries serving as parish churches References External links ChurchCrawler's Page on St James with numerous photographs Video interview with Director Sue Jotcham about St James Priory by BizView.tv History from about-bristol.co.uk History from ukattraction.com Bristol and Region Archaeological Services Buildings and structures completed in 1129 Saint James Saint James Grade I listed monasteries Structures on the Heritage at Risk register Religious organizations established in the 1120s 12th-century church buildings in England Saint James Saint James 1129 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century