Parish of St Mary, Acton , Church of England

A church dedicated to St Mary is known to have been in existence by 1231 when Walter, Rector of Acton is recorded as holding property from Peter Fitz Alulf. The original building, excluding the tower, was demolished in 1865 because it could seat only 500 and was considered unworthy in style. It was replaced by a red brick church with stone dressings designed by H. Francis,and in 1876 the tower was also rebuilt. In 1906 the vestry was extended over part of the churchyard. The rapid increase in population after 1860 not only led to the rebuilding of St Mary's church but also to the creation of separate parishes for South Acton, 1873, East Acton, 1880 and Acton Green,1888, followed by the formation of the districts of West Acton, 1907, Acton Vale, 1915 and North Acton, 1930. In addition, a mission church, dedicated to St. Andrew, was set up in Salisbury Street.

Source of information: 'Acton: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 35-39. Available online.