ROMAN CATHOLICISM.
In 1687 James II had
a prefabricated chapel set up at the military camp on
Hounslow Heath. (fn. 37) A print of the camp shows the
chapel standing on the north of the Staines Road
and east of the Crane. (fn. 38) To James's chagrin it was
little used by the soldiers, and after the accession of
William III it was removed to Conduit Street in
London, where it became a chapel of ease to St.
Martin in the Fields. (fn. 39) There were probably some
few Roman Catholics in the neighbourhood at this
time: several people at Heston and Hounslow had
been repeatedly presented for recusancy early in the
17th century, (fn. 40) and one papist in Hounslow was
presented in 1679. (fn. 41) In 1706 three men in Isleworth
were returned as papists or suspected papists,
together with an attorney who had a country house
at Heston. (fn. 42) It was probably some years after this
that a regular mission was established in Isleworth.
The beginning of the mission has been put as
far back as 1675, (fn. 43) and though there is no reference
to a priest before 1743, it is possible that its origins
may be found in the acquisition of what became
known as Shrewsbury House or Place by Sir John
Talbot. His exact identity has not been established
but the later descent of the property makes it very
likely that he was closely related to the earls of
Shrewsbury and was therefore possibly a Roman
Catholic. He owned a house at Isleworth by
1678, (fn. 44) and if its traditional identification (fn. 45) with
Sir Thomas Ingram's house is correct (and this
seems likely) he must have bought it in 1676 or
soon after. (fn. 46) The house then seems to have belonged
to the Protestant Duke of Shrewsbury (d. 1718), (fn. 47)
and to have passed to the Roman Catholic George
Talbot (d. 1733), often known in his lifetime as
Earl of Shrewsbury. (fn. 48) His widow continued to live
at Isleworth until her death in 1752, and it was as
her chaplain that the first recorded priest ministered
in Isleworth. From this time there was a regular
succession, (fn. 49) and in 1759 the vestry of Isleworth
complained that the papists kept an open and public
chapel in the parish, whereby the inhabitants were
enticed and seduced from the parish church. (fn. 50) It is
clear from the registers of the mission that from the
middle of the century there was a constant though
not large community of Roman Catholics in Isleworth, but there appear to have been few in Hounslow and none in Heston. (fn. 51) The congregation on
Sundays was said in 1810 to number generally
about 20. (fn. 52) The earls of Shrewsbury do not seem to
have transferred the property formally to the church
authorities until 1824, (fn. 53) but there is no evidence that
any of the Talbot family lived there after 1752, and
by 1770 the house was occupied by a boys' school.
There were said to be 60 pupils, all Roman Catholics. (fn. 54) The house was pulled down by 1810, except
for the chapel in part of the kitchens or outbuildings. (fn. 55)
Poor schools were established in 1854, and a new
chapel was erected, probably in 1855, along with
the school buildings. (fn. 56) This chapel was still in
existence in 1958, when it was used as a store by the
Lion Wharf Ltd. It ceased to be a church in 1909
when the brick and stucco church of Our Lady of
Sorrows and St. Bridget was opened in Twickenham
Road. (fn. 57) This was designed by F. Doran Webb and
is basilican in plan, with a barrel-vaulted nave and
apsidal chancel. The red-brick west tower has a
pyramidal roof.
The Convent of the Faithful Companions of
Jesus at Gumley House was founded in 1841. The
demands of the schools conducted by the convent
led to successive enlargements of the buildings, but
the original house is still visible. (fn. 58) In 1892 the Poor
Sisters of Nazareth established a convent at Isleworth House, which they renamed Nazareth House.
They conduct a girls' orphanage and a home for the
aged, for which a number of new buildings have
been erected in the grounds. The chapel was built in
1902. (fn. 59) For some years about the turn of the century
Silver Hall in North Street was occupied by a
Carmelite convent, and the Little Company of Mary
had a convent at Gunnersbury House for some time
longer. (fn. 60)
The second Roman Catholic centre to be founded
in the district was an orphanage for boys at North
Hyde. It was opened about 1854 by Brothers of
Mercy, and was conducted in a disused barracks to
which other buildings were added later. (fn. 61) There does
not seem to have been a regular parish attached to
the chapel. (fn. 62) About 1906 Sisters of the Sacred Hearts
of Jesus and Mary took over the orphanage, (fn. 63) which
was closed about 1935. (fn. 64) Part of the buildings
remain and are used by industrial firms. (fn. 65)
Priests from Sunbury began holding services at
Hounslow Barracks in 1862. A resident priest was
appointed in 1884 and lived at Burdett Lodge, in
the Bath Road. (fn. 66) A school-chapel was built behind
the house in 1886. (fn. 67) This is said to form part of the
present (1958) school buildings, but it was replaced
as a church in 1929 when the new church of St.
Michael and St. Martin was opened. It was designed
by George Drysdale in the Romanesque style, with
a nave flanked by narrow aisles, transepts, and an
apsidal chancel. (fn. 68)
The convent of Sisters of Charity of St. Paul was
opened about 1909 in the Lampton Road. The nuns
took over the parish schools and also opened a
convent school which has since been closed. They
moved to their present house in the Bath Road
before 1930. (fn. 69)
The chapel of St. Vincent de Paul in Witham Road
was opened in 1905. The dedication may have been
connected with the house in Spring Grove established
by the Congregation of the Mission at about the
same time: (fn. 70) the Vincentians, however, do not seem
to have ever done any parochial work, (fn. 71) and the
church was served from Isleworth until 1934, when
it became a separate parish. The presbytery was
built two years later. (fn. 72)
Campion House in Thornbury Road was purchased in 1912 as a retreat house for the Society of
Jesus. In 1919 it became a house of studies for late
vocations to the priesthood. (fn. 73) The convent of
Medical Mission Sisters in Thornbury Road was
founded in 1932. (fn. 74) St. Joseph's Hostel in The Grove
was opened in 1938 and was managed until about
1950 by Brothers of St. John of God. (fn. 75)
Heston acquired a Roman Catholic church when
the White Fathers opened a house of studies in
Westbrook House. The house was opened in 1928
and the church, which is served by the Fathers, in
1929. The White Sisters opened a house in Heston
Green a year or so later. (fn. 76)
A chapel at Hounslow Barracks, dedicated to St.
Edward, was opened in 1948. (fn. 77)