St Paul's Church, St Paul's Road
Since 1961, St Paul's church has been the principal church
for the united parishes of Old and New Brentford The first
St Paul's was a temporary corrugated iron building on the
south side of Brentford high street, west of Smith hill It
was put up in 1861 to serve the western half of Old Brentford.
In 1867-8 the present stone church was built to seat 700; H
Francis designed it in Early Decorated style.
St Paul's was damaged by a bomb in World War II and restored
by M Farey in 1953. Between 1990-1992 the building was altered
and enlarged to create a new parish church and community centre
at a cost of £4m funded from the sale of St James's church,
Gunnersbury. The architect, Michael Blee, retained the finer
details of the original Victorian building and using mainly
wood and steel built a new church with seating for 200 and a
'narthex' (entrance hall between porch and nave) which serves
as a centre for church and community activities. Blee's clever
design won a RIBA Regional Award for Architecture in 1994 (this
is given to a building which is considered to be an outstanding
example of current architecture) and an award from the Civic
Trust in 1995.
In 1968 St Paul's inherited the former altarpiece of St George's.
This is a painting of the last supper by Johan Zoffany, who
painted it sometime after 1780 when he was living at Strand-on
the-Green. Tradition has it that he used the local fishermen as
models for the apostles; he painted himself as St Peter and
depicted an eminent lawyer with whom he had quarrelled as Judas.
Zoffany presented the picture to St Anne's church, Kew but the
churchwardens rejected it, and so Zoffany gave it to St George's.
Brentford instead where it hung until that church was
de-consecrated.
FOOT NOTE:-
I was married on 21st October 1950 in the annex at the side of
St. Paul's Church, as the Church was closed and building work
was being done. When Joyce Holland and I came out after the
service we were amazed to see hundreds of people outside,
Brentford Football club was playing and the cword stopped to
see and cheer us, it was flab. Later on in life, after Joyce
had passed away. I started to go bowls at the hall by the side
of the church.
I hope you enjoy the rest
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