St Peter's Church, Ealing, is an Anglican parish church in Mount Park Road, North Ealing, in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the nort ...

, regarded by Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

as being amongst "the noblest churches we possess". Held to be one of the premier architectural works in Ealing, the Grade II* Listed building is noted for its combination of Arts & Crafts and late-Victorian Gothic as well as its west front and great west window.Cherry, B. and Pevsner, N. ''The Buildings of England London 3: North West'', Yale, 2002. In addition to Sunday and weekday services, the church and adjacent hall serve as a hub for various community activities and events.

Heritage

“Notable for its unusual fusion of free Gothic style used in a highly original manner, St Peter’s occupies no small place in the last great age of church building” –

Sir Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London ...

.Hayes, R. ''New & Old: A History of St Peter's Mount Park Road, Ealing'', St Peter's Church, Ealing 1985. St Peter's was built as mission church of Christ the Saviour, Church Ealing. The Rector of Christ the Saviour raised funds for four daughter churches;

St John's Church, Ealing St John's, Ealing, is an Anglican church in West Ealing, London, UK. It is an evangelical Anglican church. The church has been designated as a Grade II listed building. History Built in 1876 by Edwin Henry Horne, it burned down in 1920, and wa ...

St Stephen's Church, Ealing St Stephen's Church is a Church of England church on Castlebar Hill in Ealing. It was founded in 1867 as a Christian mission, mission and is now established as a separate parish. The first church building was a temporary tin tabernacle, iron ...

, St Saviour's Church, Ealing, and St Peter's. The land on for the church was donated by John Clark Record. Replacing an iron church which had stood on the site for 10 years, St Peter's was built between 1892 and 1893 to accommodate the growing suburb of North Ealing. The original iron church had been dedicated to St Andrew and it was originally proposed to give the same name to the new church. However, when the Presbyterians started to build in Mount Park Road in 1889, the vestry felt that "this Church should set the example of giving way in face of a threatened dispute about the Saint's name' and with commendable tact abandoned the 'Scottish' saint in favour of St Peter." The new building was designed by

John Dando Sedding John Dando Sedding (13 April 1838 – 7 April 1891) was an English church architect, working on new buildings and repair work, with an interest in a "crafted Gothic" style. He was an influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, many of wh ...

, the architect of Holy Trinity, Sloane Street, but following Sedding's death it was built under the direction of his pupil and successor in practice, the noted designer and architect

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 ...

. The foundation stone was laid in 1893 by Princess Helena, Queen Victoria's third daughter. The building was consecrated the same year by

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life T ...

, Bishop of London and later Archbishop of Canterbury. Wilson created the brass pannels on the inside of the main doors, worked with flowing pattens. This decoration was accompanied by the bronze figure of an angel by

F. W. Pomeroy Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards nat ...

, a feature which is now lost. Sedding's plans for the church were complimented by ''The Builder'' magazine as "a piece of real originality in design, which is refreshing to come across after seeing so many repetitions of old forms, Classic and Gothic ". Pevsner notes the "admirable use of Gothic forms – especially the curvaceous forms of late Gothic – to produce a building of great originality". The church was added to extensively throughout the first quarter of the 20th century. In 1911, two doorways were created at the west end of each aisle, and in 1913 the Lady Chapel was built on the south side of the chancel. The north transept tower intended by Sedding was never built. A notable feature of the building, the west front, has two small turrets on either side of large the recessed west window, which is unusually large with fine composite tracery. The exterior of the building is also of note on account of the long steep nave roof with shallow chains of arches connecting small turrets. Inside, much of the intended ornamentation was never completed. However, the building's substantial four-bay nave with Gothic triforium, allied with the clear glass of the windows and the lack of ornamentation, make the church unusually light and spacious. Singular features include the in 1913, and the inner west doors, with decorative Art Nouveau metalwork by Wilson. The font was designed by

Leonard Shuffrey Leonard Shuffrey (1852–1926) was a British architect and architectural designer of the late Victorian and Edwardian period. He was a leading figure of the aesthetic movement that had a significant impact on the development of buildings and ...

, the architect and architectural designer, who was a member of St Peter's PCC. It was executed by Messers Blackler of Torquay and dedicated in 1911. Shuffrey also designed a portable altar for the Church A Lady Chapel was built in 1913. Between 1921 and 1928, the chapel was decorated as a War Memorial. Led by a War Memorial Committee, the scheme included the installation of an oak reredos by

executed by

Cecil Greenwood Hare Cecil Greenwood Hare (1875 – 14 July 1932) was an architect and designer based in England. Life He was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire in 1875, the son of John Thomas Hare (1844-1902) and Mary Ann. Bodley and Hare Hare was a pupil of the arch ...

, the decoration of the ceiling and a new screen between the Chapel and main Church. The scheme also included the fine wall paintings of angels and the Virgin Mary over the reredos in the Lady Chapel, executed by

Henry Charles Brewer Henry Charles Brewer (1866–1950) was a British painter well known in the first half of the 20th century for his watercolour landscapes and architectural paintings. Family and early life Born on 25 May 1866 in Wurzburg, Bavaria, Henry Charle ...

in 1928. The altar rails were donated in 1921 by the social reformer

Isabella Holmes Isabella Matilda Holmes (1861-1949) was a notable Victorian social campaigner and an advocate of opening up London's green spaces to the poor. Work Holmes was an authority on the graveyards and parks of London. Intrepid and doughty, she chronicl ...

, and her husband Basil, in memory of their son Wilfred. The chapel was conserved and restored in 2022. Despite a scheme of stained glass being designed for the whole church, only the four lights in the Lady Chapel (showing scenes from the Nativity) and two windows in the north aisle were ever completed. The existing stained glass was designed by Walter Towers of Kempe and Co. In the south aisle is a painting by

Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne (1854–1921) was a leading British late Pre-Raphaelite painter of portraits and subject pictures, who in later life became one of the country's best known creators of decorative art for churches. Family and Early ...

depicting Christ before Pilate. Prynne was the brother the architect George Fellowes Prynne and lived in the parish. The picture was given to the church by Prynne's widow following his death in 1921. A campaign between 2011 and 2017 to restore the west window, and the high-level stonework on the north and south sides of the church raised almost £1 million to carry out the necessary repair. This work was enabled through the assistance of English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Churches Trust and others.

Community

St Peter's holds services on Sunday mornings and throughout the week in addition to major services at Easter and Christmas. It runs a local walking group, hosts the Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter and an organ recital series. St Peter's also holds an Amnesty letter writing group, book club, junior church and Sunday choir. The church is also used by local schools for concerts and carol services.

Clergy

Vicars
1894 - 1909: William Petty
1909 - 1916: Henry Austin Thompson. Thompson later became Vicar of St Peter's Eton Square, where he was killed by enemy action in 1941.
1916 - 1939:

Joseph Bertram Kite Joseph Bertram Kite, (21 January 1857 – 15 September 1939) was the fourth Dean of Hobart, serving from 1897 to 1916. Born into an ecclesiastical family, he was educated at Bury St Edmunds Grammar School, Marlborough and Keble College, Oxford ...

. Kite was formerly Dean of St David's Cathedral, Hobart, in Tasmania from 1897 to 1916.
1939 - 1946: Frank Challoner Pond
1946 - 1953: George Maurice Bosworth
1953 - 1963: Henry Cooper
1963 - 1971: Derek Tyrie
1972 - 1974: John David Wheeler
1974 - 1981: Charles Gilbert Francis Dare
1982 - 1991: Richard Hayes
1991 - 2000: William Taylor. Taylor was later Dean of

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of ...

and is now Vicar of

St John's Notting Hill St John's Notting Hill is a Victorian Anglican church built in 1845 in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, London,

.
2000 - 2011: Mark Powell. Powell is currently Canon Steward of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
2012–present: David Neno Other notable former clergy *

Morris Maddocks Morris Henry St John Maddocks (28 April 1928 – 19 January 2008) was a bishop in the Church of England. He was a leading proponent of healing ministry and an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chichester from 1987. He died on 19 January 200 ...

was a curate of the church in the 1950s and was later Assistant Bishop of Bath and Wells. While at St Peter's he married

Anne Maddocks Anne Maddocks (23 October 1911 in Heyshott, West Sussex – October 2006) was an English musician. Maddocks' parents were enthusiastic amateur musicians and, by the age of 14, Anne was playing the organ for services at two village churches. In ...

, Assistant Organist of Chichester Cathedral. * Michael Tavinor, Dean of

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. ...

until 2021, was a curate at St Peter's between 1982 and 1985.

Connections

Kenneth Allsop Kenneth Allsop (29 January 1920 – 23 May 1973) was a British broadcaster, author and naturalist. Early life Allsop was born on 29 January 1920 in Holbeck, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was married in St Peter's Church, Ealing, i ...

, British broadcaster, author and naturalist, was married at St Peter's in March 1942. * The funeral of

Henry Austin Dobson Henry Austin Dobson (18 January 1840 – 2 September 1921), commonly Austin Dobson, was an English poet and essayist. Life He was born at Plymouth, the eldest son of George Clarisse Dobson, a civil engineer, of French descent. When he ...

, poet and essayist, was held at St Peter's on 6 September 1921. * General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, distinguished British soldier and military historian, was married in St Peter's on 7 July 1945. * Emmanuel Phillips Fox, Australian artist, married Ethel Carrick at St Peter's on 9 May 1905. *

Harry George Hawker Harry George Hawker, MBE, AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After the First World War, he co-fou ...

, Australian aviation pioneer, married Muriel Alice Peaty at St Peter's on 14 November 1917. * Basil Holmes, a local politician, was the father of Wilfred Holmes, in whose memory the Lady Chapel altar rails were donated in 1921. His wife

was an authority on London's graveyards, and author of 'The London Burial Grounds'. She was daughter of chemist John Hall Gladstone and half sister of

Margaret Ethel MacDonald Margaret Ethel MacDonald (' Gladstone; 20 July 18708 September 1911) was a British feminist, social reformer, and wife of Labour politician Ramsay MacDonald from 1896 until her death from blood poisoning in 1911. Biography Margaret Gladstone w ...

, wife of Prime Minister

Ramsay Macdonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

. *Sir Stephen Holmes was the Son of Basil and

. He was appointed High Commissioner to Australia for the United Kingdom between 1952 and 1956. *

(1872-1926), Architect & Architectural Designer attended St Peter's. His brother, James, was a notable watercolour artist. Shuffrey's son, Gilbert Shuffrey, was killed at the Battle of Gallipoli and is memorialised on the Church's Great War Roll of Honour. In 1896 a visit was paid to the newly completed St Peter's by the members of the Architectural Association, who afterwards received tea at Thorncote, Shuffrey's new House in Ealing. *

Paul Shuffrey Paul Shuffrey (1889–1955) was a British colonial administrator, editor and publisher. Early life Born in Ealing, London, in 1889, Paul Shuffrey was the son of Leonard Shuffrey, the leading architect and architectural designer. His mother was ...

son of

's attended St Peter's as a child. He became Editor of the Guardian and the

Church Quarterly Review ''The Church Quarterly Review'' (now abbreviated ''CQR'') was an English journal published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It existed independently from 1875 until 1968; in that year it merged with the ''London Quarterly and Hol ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Church, Ealing

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

Churches completed in 1893 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London