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 in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, 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 or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

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 ...

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

. 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'' (195 ...

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

. The nearby

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or Minister (Christianity), ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of n ...

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 sup ...

s. Three of the

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

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 study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and author W. O. E. Oesterley 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, after standing empty for seven years. The building was restored with

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s on the roof, a new heating system,

nest box A nest box, also spelled nestbox, is a man-made enclosure provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses or a birdbox/bird box, but some mammals such as bats ma ...

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, a ...

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

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

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

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

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; ) 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 at an ea ...

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Alban's Church, Acton Green 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