Perivale

An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Middlesex. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1937.

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'Perivale', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Middlesex, (London, 1937) pp. 100-101. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/middx/pp100-101 [accessed 24 April 2024]

In this section

41 PERIVALE (C.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. XV, N.E.)

Perivale is a small parish adjoining that of Ealing on the N. The church is the principal monument.

Ecclesiastical

(1) Parish Church (Plate 47) (dedication unknown), stands on the S. edge of the parish. The walls are of rag-rubble and some flint, rendered in cement and with dressings of Reigate stone; the roofs are tiled. The Chancel may be of late 13th-century date as indicated by the low-side window; the Nave may be of the same period but has no surviving detail of earlier date than the 15th century. The timber West Tower was probably added in the 16th century. A S. porch was added in the 17th century. The church was restored in the 19th century when the chancel-arch and South Porch were re-built, the E. wall refaced or re-built, and the Organ Chamber added.

The Church, Plan

Architectural Description—The Chancel (14½ ft. by 13¼ ft.) has a modern E. window. In the N. wall is a modern opening to the organ-chamber. In the S. wall are two windows, the eastern all modern externally and perhaps of the 18th century internally; the western is a late 13th-century 'low-side' window with a shouldered head. The chancel-arch is modern.

The Nave (33 ft. by 16½ ft.) has, in the N. wall, three windows, the two easternmost are of late 15th or early 16th-century date and each of two cinque-foiled lights in a square head with a moulded label; the stonework is much decayed; the westernmost window is modern. In the S. wall are two modern windows and a modern doorway. In the W. wall is a 15th-century doorway with moulded jambs and two-centred arch with a moulded label; the W. wall is only carried up sufficiently high to enclose the doorway; it is uncertain if the upper part was removed when the tower was added or if the upper part was always timber-framed.

The West Tower (about 10¼ ft. by 11¾ ft.) is a timber-framed structure probably of the 16th century; it is of three storeys, weather-boarded and finished with a pyramidal roof. The sundial is dated 1818. The main beams are original, with straight and curved struts. The ground storey has a modern doorway in the N. wall and a modern window in the S. wall, The second storey has a square window in the N. and S. walls; it communicates on the E. with a narrow gallery over the W. end of the nave and supported in front on two posts with shaped heads, a cross-beam and curved braces. The bell-chamber has a square window in the N., S. and W. walls.

The South Porch is modern but incorporates some heavy 17th-century balusters in the side walls.

The Roof of the nave is of the 15th century and of three bays with two king-post trusses; the tie-beams are cambered and the king-posts are of cruciform plan and have four-way struts.

Fittings—Bells: two; 2nd by William Eldridge, 1699. Bell-frame of four trusses, for three bells, probably 16th-century. Brass: In nave—of Henry Myllet, 1505, and Alice and Joan his wives, small figures of man in civil costume and wives in butterfly head-dresses, etc., groups of three sons and six daughters and three sons and three daughters. Door: In W. doorway, framed and faced with overlapping battens, two strap-hinges, 15th-century. Font: octagonal bowl with chamfered upper and moulded lower edges, plain stem and moulded base, late 15th-century. Cover (Plate 20), of oak, octagonal with moulded base inscribed "This was the gift of Simon Coston Gent. Mar. 26 1665," central post with pine-cone terminal and four scrolled brackets with strapwork ornament. Glass: In E. window—half figures of the Virgin and St. John and perhaps some other fragments, 15th-century, incorporated in modern glass. Monuments: In chancel —on S. wall, (1) to Elizabeth (Millet), wife of John Lane, the elder, 1655, alabaster marble tablet with side pilasters, entablature and cartouche-of-arms; (2) to Thomas Lane, 1652, Jane (Duncombe), his second wife, 1652, Ursula (Duncombe) first wife of John Lane, 1647, and Katherine (Gates), second wife of John Lane, 1652, slate tablet with alabaster enriched frame with cornice, broken pediment and six shields; (3) to Joan (Pites), wife successively of George Millet and John Shelberry, 1623, alabaster and slate tablet with side pilasters, cornice and apron with shrouded figure set in recess. In churchyard—S.E. of chancel, (4) to Henry Wyat, rector, 1683, and Martha (Haw . . .) his wife, 1686, flat slab; S. of nave, (5) to John Greenhill, 1706 (?), moulded slab. Stoup: In W. wall of nave—on W. face, recess with rounded head and broken basin, late 15th-century.

Condition—Good, much restored.

Secular

(2) Homestead Moat, nearly 1 m. N.N.E. of the church.

(3) Rectory, on the N. side of the churchyard, is of two storeys; the walls are partly timber-framed and partly of brick and the roofs are tiled. The middle part of the house on the E. seems to have been built in the 15th century with a one-storey hall, represented by the present kitchen and the adjoining part of the inner hall, and a two-storeyed wing represented by the rest of the inner hall. The S. cross-wing was added probably in the 17th century and the E. front was refaced in brick in the 18th century. There are various later additions. The modern porch on the W. incorporates some late 17th-century twisted balusters. Inside the building some of the original timber-framing is exposed including parts of the roof of the original hall; it is of collar-beam and central purlin type and the timbers are smoke-blackened. The fireplace in the inner hall has an oak lintel with a curved head to the opening.

Condition—Good.