The church was built during 1844-1845 in white brick to a design of Lewis Vulliamy. The interior originally featured a polychrome interior decoration, which was removed in 1950. However, a number of other original features remain, including the stained glass windows. The church organ has been part of the church since 1921; it was restored in 1966 and is the focal point of many performances. The church provides the venue for performances by the W11 Opera Company for Young People. The church briefly appeared in the film Notting Hill. Fundraisers made marketing history by raising £150,000 towards restoration costs from a single mail-shot; 90% of donors never having given to the church before.
History of the united parish:
The churches of Holy Trinity the Less and Saint James Garlickhithe were both destroyed by the Great Fire of London, 1666. The church of Holy Trinity the Less was not rebuilt. The church of Saint James Garlickhithe was rebuilt by Wren 1676-1683 and a steeple was added 1714-1717. During the Second World War the church was damaged and restoration took place in 1954-1963. The church of Saint Michael Queenhithe was also burned in the Great Fire and rebuilt by Wren 1676-1677, being finally demolished in 1876. The parishes of Holy Trinity the Less and Saint Michael Queenhithe were united to Saint James Garlickhithe in 1875.
The church of Saint Hugh, Northolt, originated in services held in a builder's hut from 1948 onwards. A temporary structure on Kensington Road was dedicated in 1954 for use as the church. This was replaced by a permanent building in 1970.
From: 'Northolt: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 119-121. Available online.
Ashford was part of the parish of Staines until the 19th century. A mission chapel was founded towards the end of that century to serve the expanding population. A permanent church was consecrated in 1928.
The first vicar was the Reverend Arthur Delgano Robinson, a prominent local philanthropic clergyman, who also founded Saint Clement's Church. He established a school for the children of the local potteries workers, who were notoriously poverty-stricken.
Saint Helen's was built in 1881 by H. Currey and dedicated on 15th January 1884. The church was hit by a flying bomb and destroyed during World War II and rebuilt during 1954-6 and rededicated on 6th July 1956. The ancillary buildings: the vicarage, church hall, parish room and stores are clustered round the church. The church has an organ case and stained class by Sir J. Ninian Comper, the architect's father, and pews by Richard Norman Shaw which were orginally from Holy Trinity, Latimer Road, Hammersmith. The parish was united with Holy Trinity in 1951. The church has developed a strong tradition for children's and youth work.
In April 2000 the parish boundary was extended to include the Delgano estate with Saint Francis Mission Chapel and Saint Francis House.
The medieval parish church of Saint Helen Bishopsgate was attached to a Benedictine nunnery, founded on the site in around 1204. When the religious house was dissolved in 1538, the church reverted to its parochial use.
The parish of Saint Martin Outwich was united with Saint Helen Bishopsgate in 1873, and its church, which had been destroyed by fire in 1765 and rebuilt in 1796, was pulled down in 1874.
The parish of Saint Gregory by Saint Paul was first mentioned in 1010. The church stood at the south west corner of Saint Paul's Cathedral. Whilst building the new cathedral portico, Inigo Jones partially demolished the church, but was compelled to restore it. It was destroyed by the Great Fire and not rebuilt. The parish was united with Saint Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street in 1670.
The parish of South Mimms was the most northerly parish in Middlesex, and its borders formed the county borders. It was around 6,386 acres in size and was surrounded by Northaw, North Mimms, Ridge, Chipping Barnet, Enfield, and Monken Hadley. The parish included the modern areas of Potters Bar and High Barnet.
The first mention of churchwardens is found in 1580. Churchwardens were elected by the vicar and the Vestry. Vestry meetings appear to have been held infrequently until 1812, when they were held eighteen times a year until 1834, when they dropped to four or five times a year. Meetings were held in local inns until 1804 when they were held either at the church or the workhouse. From 1724 two overseers of the poor were elected, in 1801 a parish doctor was appointed, and a beadle was employed from 1812. Vagrancy was a problem in the area and there was a high demand for outdoor relief. In 1724 a workhouse was established in Blackhorse Lane. A surveyor of highways is first mentioned in 1752, although a salaried surveyor responsible for the whole parish was not employed until 1793. The parish joined Barnet Poor Law Union in 1835.
A church in South Mimms is first mentioned in 1140. The present church of Saint Giles dates to the thirteenth century, with fourteenth and sixteenth century extensions and restorations dating to the 1870s.
A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976).
A church is recorded in Ickenham by the middle of the 13th century. From 1334 the advowson was usually held by the lord of Ickenham manor, until 1923 when it was transferred to Eton College who still held it in 1961. The church of Saint Giles is situated in what was the centre of the old village. The church was built in the late 14th century but has had several extensions and alterations since then, including a restoration in the 1870s. The church contains monuments of the lords of the manor. The church hall, in Ickenham High Road to the north of the churchyard, was built in 1932.
From: 'Ickenham: Church', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 106-108. Available online.
Saint Giles is the ancient ''mother'' church of the parish of Camberwell, which included Peckham and Dulwich. It has stood on the same site since its original construction shortly after the Norman Conquest, being rebuilt in stone in 1154 and surviving until being burned down in 1841. A new church, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, with stained glass windows created by local resident and well known poet and author John Ruskin, was built in 1844.
Camberwell was a farming village surrounded by woods and fields until about 1800, with mineral wells abounding. One of these was supposed to have healing properties and many invalids visited in the hope of a cure. It is probably no coincidence that the church was named after Saint Giles, the patron saint of cripples.
Saint Giles in the Fields originated in a leper hospital founded in 1101 by Queen Matilda. The chapel at the hospital came to serve locals as well as patients, and continued to serve this parochial role even after the closure of the hospital in 1539. A new church was constructed in 1623, however, this suffered structural damage from excessive burials in the churchyard, and in 1711 a new church was proposed under the Act for Fifty New Churches. The building was finished in 1733 and has changed little since then.
The church of Saint Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street, was founded in the 11th century. It suffered extensive fire damage in 1545 and was rebuilt. It survived the Great Fire, but during the Second World War, it was it was bombed and burnt twice, and was subsequently rebuilt in 1952-60. In 1954, the united parishes of Saint Alphage London Wall and Saint Mary Aldermanbury were united to the parish of Saint Giles Cripplegate.
Records of the Metropolitan Dispensary, Fore Street: The Metropolitan Dispensary and Charitable Fund was established in 1779 for the relief of the sick poor. It also gave maternity assistance to poor married women in their own homes. The dispensary was closed in 1920. Its assets were transferred to the Cripplegate Foundation, to whose archive these minutes now belong.
Records of the Cripplegate Church Foundation: The Cripplegate Church Foundation was founded in 1892 for the upkeep of the fabric of Saint Giles' church. The trustees met initially at Quest House in Fore Street, but from around 1897 meetings were held at the Cripplegate Institute.
Records of the Cripplegate Foundation: The Cripplegate Foundation was established in 1891 to administer the charities of Saint Giles Cripplegate and to establish and maintain the Cripplegate Institute, chiefly for use as a reading room and library.
The church of Saint George was founded by Henry Hampton, the minister at Saint Luke's temporary church, who resigned and with other seceders built a new temporary church. The church was not licenced for Anglican worship so the congregation, some 900 strong, formed the Free Church of England. Hampton left in 1863 and the replacement vicar was officially recognised, whereupon a parish was assigned.
The first church building was built of wood. This was replaced in 1866 by a church of Kentish ragstone, designed by George Truefitt. The church was sold in 1970. Services moved to the parish hall until a new church was consecrated in 1975, designed by Clive Alexander.
From: 'Islington: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 88-99.
The church of Saint George was constructed in 1906, financed by the sale of the site of Saint George, Botolph Lane, City of London. The church includes a pulpit and organ case from the City of London church. Alterations to the building were carried out in 1956.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 50-52.
The Township of Old Brentford was formerly part of the ancient parish of Ealing and had no church nor chapel of its own until 1762 when an unconsecrated chapel was built from subscriptions raised from 57 prominent inhabitants. The baptisms, marriages and burials, of inhabitants of Old Brentford continued to be recorded in the registers of St. Mary, Ealing until 1828 when a district was assigned to St George's Chapel. Baptisms were performed there from 1828 and marriages from 1837 when it was licensed for their solemnisation. The brick building constructed in 1766 by J. J. Kirby, in the shadow of the Gas Works, had become dilapidated by 1863 and was demolished in 1886. A new site had been purchased in 1852 but was used as the site for St. Paul's iron church, built in 1861, and another site, bought in 1881, was made superfluous by the creating of the parish of St. James Gunnersbury. Eventually it was decided to build a new church on the old site, designed by A. W. Blomfield. Fittings transferred from the old chapel included a painting of the Last Supper by Zoffany, c. 1770. The church was closed in 1959 and used as a musical museum from 1963. In 1961 St. George was amalgamated with St. Lawrence, New Brentford and St. Paul, Old Brentford.
Source of information: 'Ealing and Brentford: Churches: Brentford', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 153-157. Available online.
The parish of Hanworth is situated to the east of Feltham. The church of Saint George stands near the ruins of Hanworth Castle. The first recorded mention of the church is dated 1293. The advowson was a grant of the manor, while the living is a rectory. Adam de Brome, the founder of Oriel College, Oxford, was rector of Hanworth in 1315.
From: 'Spelthorne Hundred: Hanworth', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton (1911), pp. 391-396. Available online.
The church of Saint George was built between 1822 and 1824 at a cost of £16700, as one of a number of churches built in the period 1815-1825 in South London. It had a Doric portico and a tower, with a flat, panelled ceiling. An apse was added in 1893. Saint George's was the first ''daughter'' church to Saint Giles, the ancient parish church of Camberwell. It reflected the location and intensity of develpoment in the area, which was undergoing rapid population growth. The Peckham extension of the Grand Surrey Canal flowed alongside the church.
The church was closed as a centre of Anglican worship in 1970 but the parish continues. The church was acquired by an evangelical church in 1977. The parish church is now a purpose built worship area within Trinity College Centre, Newent Close, London, SE15.
History of the united parishes of Saint Mary at Hill, Saint Andrew Hubbard, Saint George Botolph Lane and Saint Botolph Billingsgate:
Saint George Botolph Lane is first mentioned in 1180. It was repaired in 1360 and 1627, but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt by Wren using rubble from Saint Paul's Cathedral; but was declared unsafe in 1903 and demolished.
The churches of Saint Botolph and Saint Andrew Hubbard were also destroyed in the Great Fire. The parish of Saint Mary at Hill was united to the parish of Saint Andrew Hubbard in 1670. The parish of Saint George Botolph Lane was united to the parish of Saint Botolph Billingsgate in 1670. The united parishes of Saint George and Saint Botolph were joined with the united parishes of Saint Mary and Saint Andrew in 1901.
Some information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
The parish of Saint George, Bloomsbury, was formed in the early 18th century as respectable Bloomsbury residents complained at having to pass through the notorious slum area known as 'The Rookery' to reach the parish church of Saint Giles in the Fields. The Commissioners of the Fifty New Churches Act of 1711 agreed to fund a new church and Nicholas Hawksmoor was engaged to design the building. The church was completed in 1731. The stepped pyramid steeple was inspired by Pliny's description of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: it used to have lions and unicorns at the base, while the statue on top is King George I in Roman dress. More recently the parish has united with St John the Evangelist, Red Lion Square.
Saint George the Martyr Church was built as a proprietary chapel in 1705-1706 by a group of substantial inhabitants of the newly developed area of Queen Square within the parish of Saint Andrew, Holborn. By a deed of settlement dated 1 July 1706 (ref. P82/GE02/48/1) they drew up an agreement to elect trustees to manage the affairs of the chapel and appointed a minister, lecturer and clerk.
By 1713 the proprietors of pews in Saint George's Chapel had entered into negotiations with the Commissioners for Building 50 New Churches to make the chapel a new parish church. The Commissioners bought both the lease and the freehold of the chapel, they provided money to repair the chapel and to purchase pews for the use of parishioners, and they bought a piece of land near Gray's Inn Road to serve as a burial ground for the parish. Saint George's Church was consecrated by the Bishop of London on 26 September 1723. A new parish of Saint George the Martyr, Middlesex was constituted and separated from Saint Andrew, Holborn for church purposes. The two parishes remained united for the care of highways and the poor.
The Rector of Saint George the Martyr was not provided with a proper endowment by the Commissioners, but received a salary from the quarterly assessments levied on the proprietors of pews. Two Acts of Parliament were obtained in 1816 and 1819 for the repair of the church and to make further provision for the Rector. These Acts provided for the appointment of trustees who were empowered to levy church rates.
Saint George the Martyr was united with the parish of Holy Trinity, Gray's Inn Road in 1931 and with Saint Bartholomew, Gray's Inn Road in 1959.
The burial ground of Saint George the Martyr (which was situated to the north of the Foundling Hospital adjoining the burial ground of Saint George, Bloomsbury) appears to have attracted many burials of non-parishioners in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
BENEFICE: The property of the benefice consisted of the Vestry House and the original two houses built adjoining the church, later known as nos. 8 and 10 Cosmo Place (see P82/GE02/47/1-7). It also included the burial ground (disused after 1855) situated on the north side of the Foundling Hospital in the parish of Saint Pancras, together with Prospect Terrace, the private road leading to the burial ground from Gray's Inn Road, which was owned jointly with the Rector of Saint George, Bloomsbury.
TRUSTEES FOR REPAIRING AND ALTERING THE CHURCH: The trustees were established by an Act of Parliament of 1816 (56 Geo III c 28).
MRS ELIZABETH PALMER'S CHARITY: By will dated 4 Aug 1726 Mrs Palmer left £500 to St George's Charity School.
CAPTAIN JAMES SOUTH'S CHARITY: Chimney Sweep's Sermon Fund and Educational Foundation.
REVEREND JOHN BACK'S CHARITY: Object - Mission Hall and parochial activities.
Saint George the Martyr is first mentioned in records in 1122 when it was given to Bermondsey Abbey. The church was rebuilt in the fourteenth century and enlarged in 1629. It was rebuilt again in 1734-36. In the Dickens novel, Little Dorrit was baptised and married in this church.
Major restoration work was found to be necessary in the 1930s. Vibration from the underground railway and increasing road traffic combined with inadequate foundations caused the south wall of the church to settle and to develop cracks. This was repaired in 1939 as part of a programme of restoration work brought to a halt by the outbreak of war. Serious damage from enemy action necessitated a major restoration of the church in 1951-1952. While Saint George's church was closed, services were held at Saint Michael's church, Lant Street. Further restoration work took place in the early 1960s.
Saint George's Churchyard was situated on the north side of the church. It was extended in 1817 by trustees appointed under an Act of Parliament for enlarging St George's Churchyard (56 Geo III). The churchyard was closed in the 1850s and laid out as a garden in 1882. In 1905 the London County Council acquired part of the churchyard in order to construct a new road between Tabard Street and Borough High Street. They added other land to the former churchyard in compensation and reopened the restored garden in 1906 (see LCC/CL/CER/3/5(69)).
Saint George the Martyr had acquired an additional burial ground in 1711. This was situated in Kent Street near the Lock Hospital and next to St Saviour's and St Olave's Girls' School. It was extended in 1744 and, after its closure, was laid out as a public garden by the vestry in 1887 (see DROP/101).
During the course of the 19th Century six new parishes for ecclesiastical purposes were created within the ancient parish of Saint George the Martyr. In the south-eastern portion of the parish, Saint Mary Magdalene, Massinger Street was formed in 1843 and Saint Stephen, Manciple Street in 1850. In the western and south western areas, Saint Jude, St George's Road was assigned a parish in 1850, followed by Saint Paul, Westminster Bridge Road in 1858, Saint Michael and All Angels, Lant Street in 1867 and Saint Alphege, Lancaster Street in 1872.
Post war pastoral reorganisation has seen the disappearance of most of these parishes. Saint Michael's was reunited with Saint George the Martyr in 1953, Saint Michael's Church becoming Saint George's Church Halls. Most of Saint Stephen's parish was united with Saint George the Martyr in 1964. Saint Paul amalgamated with Saint Jude. Saint Jude's Church closed in 1976 and the congregation now worship at Saint George's Church.
For further information see The Survey of London Vol. XXV: St George's Fields and St George the Martyr Church, and Southwark: A short history by John Pinder (reference P92/GEO/369).
These papers relating to properties and businesses were collected for their general or antiquarian interest rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
The church of Saint George the Martyr was originally situated in Battersea Park Road. A new church, in Patmore Street, was opened in 1955.
The church of Saint George in the East, Stepney, was one of three Stepney churches built under the 1711 "Act for the building of Fifty New Churches in the Cities of London and Westminster or the Suburbs thereof" to be paid for by a tax levied on coal entering the City of London. The church was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor to serve the residents of Upper Wapping, however it was not consecrated until 1729 because of financial difficulties. It has a 160 foot tower. The east window was designed by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
The church was the centre of a controversy in the 1850s when the Presbyterian Bishop of London A C Tait replaced the high church rector with a low church preacher, causing demonstrations and unrest and the eventual temporary closure of the church.
The interior of the church was gutted during World War II, but the exterior was left intact. After the bombing, services continued in a shed at the rear. In 1963 a new church, by Arthur Baily, was built within the Hawksmoor shell. The original apse with its plasterwork and the font at the west end have been retained. There was space for an inner courtyard between the original west front and the new, which was built entirely of glass. On either side of the courtyard, the former galleries incorporate four flats which were given the Civic Trust Award in 1967.
Saint Gabriel's was established in 1873. It was bombed during the Second World War and the building was demolished. The parish was united with Saint Saviour, Poplar (P88/SAV) and with Saint Stephen and Saint Mary The Virgin, Poplar (P88/STE1) in 1952.
The church of Saint Gabriel originated in London Diocesan Home Mission services held in a tent and in a private home, starting in 1923. An iron hut was constructed in Noel Road and a parish was formed in 1930. The patron was the Bishop of London. A permanent brick building in the Decorated style was erected in 1931.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 35-39.
History of the united parishes of Saint Margaret Pattens and Saint Gabriel Fenchurch:
The first recorded mention of Saint Margaret Pattens is in 1216. The church, which had been rebuilt in 1530 and repaired in 1614-32, was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The parish was united with the parish of Saint Gabriel Fenchurch in 1670 and the church was reconstructed by Wren in 1684-7.
Saint Gabriel Fenchurch was originally known as Saint Mary Fenchurch (in 1315), but its name had changed by the end of the 16th century. It was demolished in the Great Fire and not rebuilt. A plaque marks the site, on 35 Fenchurch Street.
The mission church of Saint Peter, in the charge of Saint Michael-at-Bowes, was established in 1883. It became the church of Saint Gabriel in 1906 when a consolidated chapelry was formed out of Saint Michael's Wood Green, Saint Michael-at-Bowes, and Saint Paul's New Southgate.
Saint Frideswide's began as a mission run by Christ Church, Oxford in the parish of All Hallows, East India Docks (P88/ALH1). At first services were held in a room in the Mission House in Lodore Street, Poplar. Later a church was built in Follett Street. Saint Frideswide's became a separate parish in April 1914. In July 1952 the parish was united with All Saints, East India Dock Road (P88/ALL1) and All Hallows, East India Docks.
Saint Francis of Assisi is the daughter church of Saint Michael and All Angels, Ladbroke Grove; and was founded in 1936 as a Mission Chapel.
Saint Francis' Church began as a mission within the parish of Saint Andrew, High Road, Willesden in 1911. A permanent church was consecrated in 1933 and the parish became independent in December of that year. Steps towards reuniting the parish with its former parent began in 1976 when the vicar of Saint Francis' was appointed "priest in charge" of Saint Andrew's. The benefices were united in 1983 and the two parishes were formally merged in 1991, becoming known as Saint Andrew and Saint Francis of Assisi, Willesden.
Saint Faith District was established on 29 September 1880 under the Diocese of Rochester. In February 1881, an old school room in Warple Way was converted into the Saint Faith District Mission Church of Saint Cecilia. It offered parishioners a wide range of social and religious activities. Baptisms from November 1880 onwards were recorded in a register titled 'Saint Faith Parish, Wandsworth' by Reverend R Taylor, later vicar of Saint Faith church. The mission house, adjoining the church was known as Saint Faith Mission House.
The mission church served the district's growing population of over 7,400, but had capacity for only 325 people. A site for a new church, Saint Faith, was purchased for £1500 and donations and subscriptions were sought for its construction. Saint Faith church was consecrated on All Saints Day [November] 1883 and included stained glass panels by William Morris. In July 1884 'The Consolidated Chapelry of Saint Faith Wandsworth' was formed through unification of parts of the adjoining parishes of Saint Anne Wandsworth (P95/ANN) and Saint John Battersea.
In 1905 Saint Faith changed jurisdiction when the Diocese of Rochester was taken over by the Diocese of Southwark.
In 1967 a Christian Service Centre, based at 15 Alma Road, was formed as a collaborative initiative of several Christian denominations led by Saint Faith. The Centre operated for a number of years before becoming a Mission Centre with the involvement of the Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA brothers and sisters, Anglican nuns and monks) in 1972. Working nuns from this order later became involved in the management and teaching at Saint Faith school.
Parochial Church Council minutes demonstrate that plans to demolish the original church building and build a new church complex were in place as early as the 1960s. In 1968, the church tower was demolished due to structural problems. However, it was only in 1974 that the original church building was declared redundant and was demolished in preparation for construction of a new church and school complex. The organ and various artefacts were rescued prior to demolition and distributed or sold to other parishes and organisations (see P95/FAI/G/02). The original William Morris glass panels were rescued by parishioners and stored locally until the construction of the new building. Some of the panels were later re-used in the new church (see P95/FAI/E/01/11/005).
Saint Faith church and school continued to function in temporary accommodation over the following years while the new project was being planned and developed. The collection includes proposed plans from two architects' practices, Thomas F. Ford and Partners and Robert Maguire and Keith Murray, as well as the final plans by Hans Haenlein Associates, who were eventually entrusted with the project (see P95/FAI/E/01/05/). The new Saint Faith complex was dedicated on The Feast of Saint George the Martyr, 23 April 1988.
Saint Faith is now a parish within the Diocese of Southwark, Kingston Episcopal Area, Wandsworth Archdeaconry, Deanery of Wandsworth.
Saint Faith's originated in a mission church established in 1868. A district was assigned to the church in 1873, and in the same year a permanent church building was constructed. The church was badly damaged in 1944. The parish of Saint Faith was united with Saint Matthias by Order in Council dated 13 December 1951 to form the parish of Saint Faith with Saint Matthias. The church of Saint Faith was subsequently closed and demolished, and Saint Matthias Church became the parish church of the united parish. The Saint Faith register of baptisms was used as the register of baptisms for the united parish.
From: 'Stoke Newington: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 204-211.
A mission run by Saint Dunstan's (P93/DUN) existed for some time in cramped quarters in Shandy Street. Money for a new building became available through over-subscription to the costs of a legal case between the Rector of Stepney and Annie Besant.
Saint Faith's was described as one of the most charming of Stepney's churches. Work commenced in 1891 and it was licensed for use on October 24th 1891. It was not until 1901 that the church was finally completed. The Rector of Saint Dunstan's was discomfited by the cost as his church had been severely damaged by fire and it was very difficult to find money to pay for both Saint Faith's and for the restoration of Saint Dunstan's.
Saint Faith's remained a chapel of ease to Saint Dunstan's until 1926. An Order in Council allowed it to become a parish church for several districts around it, but the new parish was very short-lived. The church was badly shaken by a bomb blast in 1940 and had to be closed. The parish was re-united with Saint Dunstan's after post war re-organisation. The church building has since been demolished.
St Faith's opened in October 1901 as a district Mission Church of the parish of Old Brentford. The baptism registers commence in 1901 and the marriage registers in 1907. The original church was an iron construction. Since 1987 the area served by St Faith's has been part of the United Parish of Brentford.
Brentford and Chiswick Housing Association was formed in July 1929 by the amalgamation of the Brentford and Chiswick Housing Committees with the aim of putting Christian social principles into practice. General committee consists of persons in close touch with needs of local housing situation who are representative of the neighbourhood's churches and religious bodies).
The church of Saint Faith under Saint Paul was originally above ground, but was removed c.1255 for the extension of Saint Paul's Cathedral, and granted a space in the crypt. In 1551 it was moved to a larger and lighter area of the crypt. After the Great Fire, no new church or chapel was built, and the parish of Saint Faith under Saint Paul was united to the parish of Saint Augustine Watling Street in 1670. They were, in turn, united to the parish of Saint Mary le Bow in 1954.
Saint Ethelburga's was probably first built in the early 13th century, and dedicated to a 7th century Abbess of Barking. It was also known as Saint Ethelburga the Virgin within Bishopsgate. It was one the of few churches to survive the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt in the 15th century, and suffered many subsequent restorations. From the 16th century until 1933 it was flanked by shops directly either side of its porch.
Saint Ethelburga became a guild church in 1954. Following its destruction by a terrorist bomb in Bishopsgate in 1993, the City Commission Report to the Bishop of London (Templeman Report) recommended that it should not be rebuilt as a church.
Some information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
Saint Edward the Confessor was a daughter church of the parish church of Holy Cross, Greenford. The church was renamed Holy Trinity, Perivale in 1998.
History of the united parish:
The churches of All Hallows Lombard Street, Saint Benet Gracechurch, Saint Dionis Backchurch, Saint Edmund the King and Martyr, Saint Leonard Eastcheap and Saint Nicholas Acons were all destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666. Saint Edmund the King and Martyr was rebuilt by Wren and Robert Hooke in 1670-9 and the spire completed in 1708. Saint Dionis Backchurch was rebuilt by Wren in 1670-84, Saint Benet Gracechurch Street in 1681-87 and All Hallows Lombard Street in 1686-94. The churches of Saint Leonard Eastcheap and Saint Nicholas Acons were not rebuilt; however, the site of the former was retained as a burial ground until 1882.
The parish of Saint Edmund the King and Martyr, Lombard Street, was united to the parish of Saint Nicholas Acons in 1670. The parish of Saint Benet Gracechurch was united to the parish of Saint Leonard Eastcheap in 1670. The united parishes of Saint Benet Gracechurch and Saint Leonard Eastcheap were united to the parish of All Hallows Lombard Street in 1864. The parish of Saint Dionis Backchurch was joined to All Hallows Lombard Street and united parishes in 1876. These united parishes were joined to the united parishes of Saint Edmund the King and Martyr and Saint Nicholas Acons in 1937 to form Saint Edmund the King and Martyr and united parishes.
The church of Saint Benet Gracechurch was demolished in 1867, the church of Saint Dionis Backchurch in 1878 and the church of All Hallows Lombard Street in 1938 and the sites sold off. The proceeds of these sales were used to fund the building of new churches namely Saint Benet Mile End Road, Saint Dionis Parsons Green, and All Hallows, Chertsey Road, Twickenham and All Saints Queensbury. The tower of All Hallows Lombard Street was reconstructed as part of All Hallows, Chertsey Road. Saint Edmund the King and Martyr remains the parish church.
The parish of Feltham stretches from Staines Road in the north to Ashford, Hanworth and Sunbury in the south. In the 12th century the advowson of the parish church of Saint Dunstan was granted to the hospital of Saint Giles in the Fields; after the Reformation, it was held by the owners of the Rectory Manor, also known as the manor of Feltham. The church itself dates to 1808 with some later additions, and is situated in St Dunstan's Road, Lower Feltham, which used to be the centre of the old village.
As the village expanded northwards and the population grew it became necessary to construct Saint Catherine's Church, which was built in 1880 as a chapel of ease. This church closed in 1975.
From: 'Spelthorne Hundred: Feltham', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton (1911), pp. 314-319. Available online.
Cranford parish covered around 737 acres, surrounded by the Crane river, Hounslow Heath and the Bath Road. In 1930 the civil parish became part of the urban district of Hayes and Harlington. The Cranford Vestry appears to have been a small body, usually attended by 3 to 5 persons and meeting twice a year. Their major concerns were rates, poor relief and the election of parish officers, including churchwardens, an overseer, surveyors and a constable. A small workhouse was constructed in 1776. A parish council was formed in 1895 and was largely concerned with election of parish officers and the disposal of sewage.
A priest is first mentioned at Cranford in 1086. The advowson was held by the Knights Templars and the Hospitallers, and subsequently by the king. The church of Saint Dunstan is small; the chancel and tower date from the 15th century, while the nave was destroyed by fire in 1710 and rebuilt in 1716. Restorations were carried out in 1895.
Source of information: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962). Available online.
The district of Saint Dunstan was formed in 1880. The Goldsmiths' Company of London gave land and endowed the living, becoming the patrons. The church was built in 1879 in the Early English Style by R Hesketh, seating 750. Its mission at Acton Vale became St Barnabas's Mission Church.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 35-39.
The parish of St Dunstan in the West was first mentioned in 1185. The church escaped the Great Fire of London and in commemoration of its survival the famous clock, with its two figures with clubs who strike the hour, was erected. In 1760, when the nearby Ludgate was demolished, the statue of Queen Elizabeth I which had stood on the gate was placed above the church door. The church was taken down in 1830 so that Fleet Street could be widened, and was replaced the following year by the present building, an octagonal design by John Shaw, in gothic style. The clock was sold to the Marquess of Hertford, but was restored to the church in 1935 by Lord Rothermere. In 1954 Saint Dunstan's became a guild church, with one chapel reserved for use by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
The parish church of Saint Dunstan in the East, Idol Lane, was built during the second half of the 13th century. The main body of the church survived the Great Fire, but the tower and steeple had to be rebuilt by Christopher Wren. The church was rebuilt in the early 19th century when it was discovered that the roof had forced the medieval nave out of line. It was bombed and mostly destroyed during the Second World War, however the tower and nave walls have been restored and the site turned into a garden. The parish was united to All Hallows Barking (P69/ALH1) in 1960.
There has been a church on the site since at least the tenth century, when the original Saxon church was rebuilt by order of Dunstan, the Bishop of London, who was canonised in 1029. The church was renamed after him. The present church dates mostly to an enlargement and restoration carried out in the fifteenth century. The church was the only one in Stepney for many years, until a whitewashed chapel was constructed at Whitechapel in the thirteenth century, after which many more churches were built in the area and the parish of Saint Dunstan decreased in size.
A mission was first established in Parsons Green in 1876. This was given permanency with the construction of the church of Saint Dionis in 1885. The new church incorporated a font and pulpit from the City church of St Dionis Backchurch, Fenchurch Street. The church is situated on St Dionis Road, on Parsons Green.
Saint Dionis Backchurch is first mentioned in records in 1098. 'Dionis' is a version of Denys, the patron saint of France. 'Backchurch' is thought to refer to a benefactor named 'Bac'. The church was rebuilt in 1450, with a chapel added in 1466 and a spire in 1632.
History of the united parish:
The parish of Saint Edmund the King and Martyr was united to the parish of Saint Nicholas Acons in 1670. The parish of Saint Benet Gracechurch was united to the parish of Saint Leonard Eastcheap in 1670. The united parishes of Saint Benet Gracechurch and Saint Leonard Eastcheap were united to the parish of All Hallows Lombard Street in 1864. The parish of Saint Dionis Backchurch was joined to All Hallows Lombard Street and united parishes in 1876. These united parishes were joined to the united parishes of Saint Edmund the King and Martyr and Saint Nicholas Acons in 1937 to form Saint Edmund the King and Martyr and united parishes.
The churches of All Hallows Lombard Street, Saint Benet Gracechurch, Saint Dionis Backchurch, Saint Edmund the King and Martyr, Saint Leonard Eastcheap and Saint Nicholas Acons were all destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666. Saint Edmund the King and Martyr was rebuilt by Wren and Robert Hooke in 1670-9 and the spire completed in 1708. Saint Dionis Backchurch was rebuilt by Wren in 1670-84, Saint Benet Gracechurch Street in 1681-87 and All Hallows Lombard Street in 1686-94. The churches of Saint Leonard Eastcheap and Saint Nicholas Acons were not rebuilt; however, the site of the former was retained as a burial ground until 1882.
The church of Saint Benet Gracechurch was demolished in 1867, the church of Saint Dionis Backchurch in 1878 and the church of All Hallows Lombard Street in 1938 and the sites sold off. The proceeds of these sales were used to fund the building of new churches namely Saint Benet Mile End Road, Saint Dionis Parsons Green, and All Hallows, Chertsey Road, Twickenham and All Saints Queensbury. The tower of All Hallows Lombard Street was reconstructed as part of All Hallows, Chertsey Road. Saint Edmund the King and Martyr remains the parish church.
Some information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
The parish of Saint David was formed out of the parish of Saint Luke, West Holloway, in July 1869. It was united with the parish of Saint Clement, Barnsbury, in 1977 to form the parish of Saint David with Saint Clement. The church building was constructed in 1866 to 1869, designed by E.L. Blackburne. It burned down in 1935 and was rebuilt to designs by T.F. Ford by 1936.
From: 'Islington: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 88-99.
The church of Saint Cuthbert originated in a wooden mission church established in 1938 for Sudbury Court estate. The church was destroyed by enemy action in 1940. In 1950 a hall was built and a parish assigned, taken from the parish of Saint Andrew, Sudbury. The Bishop of London was patron. In 1959 the new church building was consecrated.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 257-260.
This church served the expanding population of west Kensington, although the Bishop of London was against this plan because there were 'not enough poor people' in the area. The parish was taken from that of Saint Philip's on Earl's Court Road, but its founder and traditions were from Saint Matthias, Warwick Road. Originally housed in an iron shed known as the 'dustbin', which opened in 1883, it developed into the grandest church in the area.
The architect was Hugh Gough who designed it as an austere, lofty structure of Transitional Style and Cisterician type with its proportions modelled on Tintern Abbey, but progress was piecemeal. The congregation was encouraged to contribute funds and also time and skills to decorate the somewhat spartan interior. Led by skilled craftsmen their efforts produced great results in the Arts & Crafts spirit and the church became the grandest and most flourishing High Church foundation in Kensington. In 1958 the parish of Saint Matthias was amalgamated with that of Saint Cuthbert's.
The church hall (built 1896) included a meeting hall, library, gymnasium, and living accommodation for curates. Nowadays it is used by the Saint Mungo community organisation and similar groups and is an active drop-in centre for the homeless and vulnerable.