St Alban's Church, Acton Green, also called St Alban the Martyr, is a church on South Parade, Acton Green in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

, west London, designed by Edward Monson Jr. and opened in 1888.

History

The church was designed by Edward Monson Jr. in a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, and is built of red brick with stone dressings; it has a steeply-pitched slate roof and no

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

or belfry. The foundation stone was laid on 18 October 1887 and the church was opened in 1888. It is now the main landmark of the Acton Green Conservation Area. It is described by

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

as a "large raw red basilica on the edge of the green", though the conservation area character appraisal by

Ealing Council Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of l ...

notes "its imposing architecture", and that "The view of the church from the Green is unfortunately obscured by the temporary church hall and club buildings (the latter in green painted corrugated iron)." The church building is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The nearby

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

uses the same red brick and stone window surrounds and

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s. Three of the

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s are by

Frederick Hamilton Jackson Frederick Hamilton Jackson (1848–1923), also known as Frank, was a painter, designer, and author. He was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy and in other places. Biography F. Hamilton Jackson was born in 1848 in Islington, London. He ...

, including ''Jesus and the Doctors'', dedicated by Blanche Rose Harper in 1888. The green corrugated iron building to the south of the church seems to be a "tin tabernacle", placed there for use in mission services run by All Saints, South Acton until 1938. Also south of the church is "The Caterpillar" Montessori nursery school. On 15 January 1909, ''The Chiswick Times'' reported that Miss Gladys Cowper of Fairlawn Court, Acton Green, and Captain Guy Maxwell Shipway, son of Colonel Shipway of Grove House, Chiswick, were married in the church. The

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and author

W. O. E. Oesterley Rev. William Oscar Emil Oesterley (Calcutta 1866–1950) was a Church of England theologian, and professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at King's College, London, from 1926. His many books span a wide range of topics from Bible commentary and Chris ...

was vicar in the 1920s. The congregation declined and in 2007 the church was closed. In 2011, developers applied for permission to convert the church into 10 flats and a detached house. The application was opposed, and in 2013 a public inquiry was held. The planning inspector rejected the application on the grounds that a local community facility for which there was a continued demand would be lost. The church returned to active use in 2014 as part of the Christ Church W4 ministry alongside

Christ Church, Turnham Green Christ Church, Turnham Green is a Grade II listed Anglican church sited on the eastern half of Turnham Green in Chiswick, west London. The church and the green on which it sits are local landmarks, and are considered of special historic interest ...

, after standing empty for seven years. The building was restored with

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s on the roof, a new heating system,

nest box A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

es for

swifts Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

, and new kitchen and toilets. On 4 October 2016 the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Richard Chartres Richard John Carew Chartres, Baron Chartres , FBS (; born 11 July 1947) is a retired bishop of the Church of England. He was area Bishop of Stepney from 1992 to 1995 and Bishop of London from 1995 to 2017. He was sworn of the Privy Council in t ...

, rededicated the renovated church. File:St Alban's, Acton Green dedication stone.jpg, Dedication stone to

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...

the martyr, laid by E. Montague Nelson, J.P., on 18 October 1887. It records that Rev. George Henley Manbey was the vicar-designate, that Edward Monson, Jr. was the architect, and that Joseph Dorey was the builder. File:Acton Green Common 20171203 130701 (49380814623).jpg, The church and school

References

{{Churches in Ealing Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Ealing Churches completed in 1887 19th-century Church of England church buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in London Diocese of London Buildings and structures in Chiswick Acton Green