All Saints' Church is the oldest parish church in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

in the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow ( ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council. The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...

in southwest London. Its 14th-century Kentish ragstone tower and foundations are the only pre–20th-century parts to survive. It faces the Thames before Church Street skirts away from the river to pass

Syon Park Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under ...

. The parish itself is pre-Norman. A

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

replacing its rector is recorded in 1290 in records associated with Syon Abbey who gave his family £2 and a new robe each year and daily meat and drink at the upper table in the abbey hall, while his servant was to be fed at the grooms' table. The patron of the church became the trustees of

St George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...

, due to the dissolution of the monasteries. By the end of the 17th century, Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

was approached to draw plans for a new body of a much-dilapidated building. His project was deemed too expensive until 1705, when Sir Orlando Gee (MP), of Syon Hill in the parish, left £500 towards the work in his will; he is commemorated in a marble monument by

Francis Bird Francis Bird (1667–1731) was one of the leading English sculptors of his time. He is mainly remembered for sculptures in Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. He carved a tomb for the dramatist William Congreve in Westminster Abbey and s ...

. This sum, combined with funds raised through subscriptions, ensured that the work took place (with modifications) in 1705–1706. The music theorist Marmaduke Overend served as organist from 1760 to 1790. In 1943 a large fire, started by two boys who a few days later set fire to Holy Trinity Church in

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

, led to complete internal reconstruction in lighter materials. The inner body of the present church was built in 1970 by the architect Michael Blee, who designed much of

Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Upper Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampt ...

, and the glazier Keith New; the 15th-century stone tower was retained. The

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

church won a Civic Trust award in 1973.

References

{{LB Hounslow Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow Grade II* listed churches in London Isleworth Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow 1943 fires 1940s fires in the United Kingdom Building and structure arson attacks in London Religious buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom