St Mary's Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in Acton in the

London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London boroughs, London borough in London, England. It comprises the districts of Acton, London, Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, i ...

. The present church, in red brick with stone dressings in a decorated style, was designed by

Horace Francis Horace Francis (1821–1894) was a British architect, who often worked with his elder brother, fellow architect Frederick John Francis (1818–1896) Notable buildings * Elizabethan Ragged School, Fulham, London (1855) * St Elphin's Church, Warr ...

and constructed 1865–1867. The church was listed Grade II in 1981. The church is dedicated to

St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

of the Visitation. A church dedicated to St Mary in Acton was first recorded in 1231. The medieval church was altered and repaired several times over the centuries. In 1642, the church was damaged by Roundhead soldiers after the

Battle of Turnham Green The Battle of Turnham Green took place on 13 November 1642 near the village of Turnham Green, at the end of the first campaigning season of the First English Civil War. The battle resulted in a standoff between the forces of King Charles I a ...

: the font was defaced, windows smashed, the chancel rails taken into the street to be burnt, and most of the memorial brasses destroyed. They also set fire to the rectory outbuildings, objecting to the ceremonial practice of the rector,

Daniel Featley Daniel Featley, also called Fairclough and sometimes called Richard Fairclough/Featley (15 March 158217 April 1645), was an English theologian and controversialist. He fell into difficulties with Parliament due to his loyalty to Charles I of E ...

. Featley, a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

anti-

Laudian Laudianism, also called Old High Churchmanship, or Orthodox Anglicanism as they styled themselves when debating the Tractarians, was an early seventeenth-century reform movement within the Church of England that tried to avoid the extremes of Rom ...

but a royal chaplain and a defender of the Church of England, twice escaped assassination, and was ejected from the living of Acton in 1643. Featley and his replacement

Philip Nye Philip Nye (c. 1595–1672) was a leading English Independent theologian and a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. He was the key adviser to Oliver Cromwell on matters of religion and regulation of the Church. Life Philip Nye was bo ...

were both members of the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of Divinity (academic discipline), divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and ...

, Featley arguing for episcopalianism (the existing system of church governance by bishops), Nye arguing for

congregationalism Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

(autonomous churches). To meet the needs of a growing local population, the church was remodelled in 1837, then demolished (except the tower) in 1865 and completely rebuilt in 1865–1867. The new church was consecrated on 16 May 1866 by

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public sp ...

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

. In 1876, the tower was rebuilt, paid for by Frederic Ouvry in memory of his sister, and a new clock was installed. The parish is in the Deanery of Ealing, in the Archdeaconry of Northolt, in the Willesden Episcopal Area of 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, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

Rectors of St Mary's, Acton

https://archive.org/details/b24886816/page/36/mode * 1486–1542† John Byrde * 1542–1563

Hugh Turnbull Lieutenant-Colonel (British Army), Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Stephenson Turnbull (25 August 1882 – 9 January 1973) was a British Army officer and senior police officer. His army commands included 2/7th Battalion Gordon Highlanders. He served ...

(as

Dean of Chichester The Dean of Chichester is the dean of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England. Bishop Ralph is credited with the foundation of the current cathedral after the original structure built by Stigand was largely destroyed by fire in 1114. He did ...

from 1558) * 1563–1576† Ralph Cockerell (previously MP for Ludgershall) * 1576–1627† John Kendall * 1627–1643

(ejected) * 1643–1656

* 1656–1661 Thomas Elford (ejected at the Restoration) * 1661–1677† Bruno Ryves (as

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the Canon (priest), canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilat ...

) * 1677–1720† Anthony Saunders (as Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral) * 1720–1726† William Hall * 1726–1764† Edward Cobden (as

Archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

from 1742) * 1764–1768 George Berkeley (son of

Bishop Berkeley George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...

, husband of

Eliza Berkeley Eliza Berkeley (''née'' Frinsham; 1734–1800) was an English author. She was connected to the Blue Stockings Society, and after bereavements in the 1790s began to edit family papers, and write on her own account. Biography She was born in 1734 ...

) * 1768–1797† Philip Cocks * 1797–1853† William Antrobus * 1853–1859† John Smith * 1859–1869 Edward Parry (later

Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop in ...

) * 1869–1896 Charles Musgrave Harvey * 1896–1924 George Spencer de Sausmarez * 1928–1955† Percival Gough * 1955–1981 M. Richard Parsons * 1982–1995† Richard Jones * 1996–2008 Jacqueline Fox * 2008–2014 David Brammer * 2015–2021 Nick Jones * 2023 Joseph Fernandes † ''Rector died in post''

Memorials

Several memorials survive from the old church, including those to: *

Humphrey Cavell Humphrey Cavell (by 1525 – 17 November 1558) was an English politician. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Ludgershall in March 1553, Saltash in April and November 1554, and for Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil pa ...

(died 1558), a local lawyer who left money for a mass to be said for his soul each week for a year after his burial – a

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...

. *

Anne Southwell Anne Southwell (1574 – 1636) ée Harris later called Anne, Lady Southwell, was a poet. Her commonplace book includes a variety of works including political poems, sonnets, occasional verse, and letters to friends. Life Southwell was born to ...

(died 1636), poet. * Catherine, Viscountess Conway (died 1639), wife of Edward Conway, 1st Viscount Conway; an extensive investor in New World ventures including the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

and a local benefactor by her will dated 1637. * Mary Skippon (died 1655), wife of Major-General

Philip Skippon Major-General Philip Skippon ( – 20 February 1660) was an English army officer and politician. He fought for the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War as a senior officer in the New Model Army. Prior to the war, Skippon fought in ...

, Parliamentarian commander during the Civil War. * John Perryn (died 1656), benefactor. * Philippa Rous (died 1657), wife of

Francis Rous Francis Rous, also spelled Rouse (c. 1581 to 1659), was an English politician and Puritan religious author, who was Provost of Eton from 1644 to 1659, and briefly Speaker of the House of Commons in 1653. Stepbrother of Parliamentary leader J ...

, Puritan religious author and Speaker of the House of Commons – her husband's titles were later erased from the monument by royalists. *

Elizabeth Barry Elizabeth Barry (1658 – 7 November 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period. Elizabeth Barry's biggest influence on Restoration drama was her presentation of performing as the tragic actress. She worked in large, prestigious ...

(died 1713), actress.

References

External links

*https://www.stmaryacton.org.uk/ {{coord, 51.50778, -0.27191, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Acton