St. Martin's, Hale Gardens, West Acton.

St Martin's Church in Hale Gardens, West Acton, London W3 is a locally listed building of 1906 by Edward Monson & Sons (as inscribed on the memorial stone). Of redbrick with stone dressings, chequer-work to the transept gables, and turrets to the transepts, it is described by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner as "[o]ld-fashioned for its date" but nevertheless "[l]ofty and ambitious" (155). Unfortunately it was never completed, and the church hall was eventually built where the temporary chancel had been (see "Acton: Churches").

Left: View from the corner opposite Hale Gardens. Right: The south transept, showing the attractive gable chequerwork, turrets and rose window.

The church's patron was the Bishop of London. With north and south aisles and transepts, it could seated a congregation of 750 ("Acton: Churches"). There was a family connection here: a memorial stone (see below, and click to enlarge) not only lists Edward Monson & Sons as the architects, but Monson's son, Edward C. P. Monson, as a churchwarden. It is a shame that the plan for the church was never fully realised.

Photographs by John Salmon, and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit John Salmon and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the images to enlarge them.

Related Material

Sources

"Acton: Churches." A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7, Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden. Ed. T. F. T. Baker and C. R. Elrington (London, 1982): 35-39. British History Online. Web. 27 June 2017.

Cherry, Bridget, and Nikolaus Pevsner. London: 3: North West. New York and London: Yale University Press, 2002.


Created 27 June 2017.