CHURCHES.
Part of Harlington church dates from
the 12th century, (fn. 61) and there was doubtless a church
of some sort there by 1086, since Domesday Book
mentions a priest at Harlington. (fn. 62) The church was
probably founded by a lord of the manor, and also
served the neighbouring manor of Dawley, which was
under the overlordship of the lord of Harlington
before the Conquest. (fn. 63) The two manors seem to have
covered the same area as the later parish, which
continued to be served by Harlington church until
the new parish of St. Jerome, Dawley, was created in
1935. (fn. 64)
The benefice of Harlington has always been a
rectory. The advowson is first mentioned in 1241,
when it belonged to the lords of Harlington manor, (fn. 65)
who continued to hold it until the mid-16th century. (fn. 66) Hugh Glazier, rector 1546-58, was presented
by someone to whom a single turn had been granted,
and himself left the advowson to his friend Thomas
Wood, prebendary of Westminster. (fn. 67) How Glazier
had acquired the advowson is not clear. Wood
succeeded him as rector but was in fact presented by
the lady of the manor. (fn. 68) In 1564 the lord of Harlington conveyed the advowson to William Aubrey, lord
of Dawley. (fn. 69) Aubrey also secured a lease of the
rectory estates in 1571 and both advowson and lease
appear to have passed through various hands until
1597, when they were held by Ambrose Copinger,
who was lord of both manors. (fn. 70) The lords of the two
manors thereafter presented the rectors until 1748,
when Edward Stephenson, then lord, sold the advowson, which was conveyed to the rector in the following year. (fn. 71) After passing through various hands it
came to R. B. Gabriel, who presented himself in
1789. The next two rectors were each presented by a
different patron, (fn. 72) and in 1816 Edward Davison of
Carlton (co. Durham) presented his son Edward,
who resigned in 1855 and presented his son. (fn. 73) The
next rector, W. R. Andrews, was presented in 1870
by T. R. Andrews, presumably a relative, but in
1873 the presentation was made by several persons,
including the widow of the last Davison rector. The
next presentation was made in 1905 by three persons,
at least one of them a relative of the last rector. (fn. 74) In
1917 these three transferred the advowson to the
Bishop of London, in whom it has since been
vested. (fn. 75)
The rectory was valued at £6 in 1258 and 1291. (fn. 76)
One incumbent in the mid-15th century was persuaded to let the parsonage to farm and then became
involved in litigation with his tenant. (fn. 77) The parsonage was still being farmed in 1493 but was apparently
in hand by 1547. (fn. 78) In 1571 William Aubrey of Dawley, the patron, secured a 90-year lease of the rectory
from the incumbent whom he had appointed only a
few days before. (fn. 79) The rent reserved was £24, the
value given to the benefice in the Valor Ecclesiasticus
of 1535, (fn. 80) and the rector was to have the use of a
room in the rectory house. The incumbents were to
pay tenths and other charges, but Aubrey was to
repair the chancel and rectory buildings. When the
bishop's official consent was secured three years
later, Aubrey had to undertake to pay any future
rector £30, if he should reside, and to pay all other
charges. If the rector did not reside Aubrey need
pay only £20 instead of the full rent. (fn. 81) In the event
the next rector had difficulty in getting any payment
at all to start with, and then only seems to have
secured the original rent. (fn. 82) The lease passed with
the advowson to Sir John Bennet of Dawley, who
held it in 1650. The whole parsonage was then
valued at £168, and Bennet allowed the rector
£42 in money, the small tithes, and a 'dwelling in
the parsonage', which were together worth £52. (fn. 83)
The glebe, which Bennet held, covered 36 acres
and possibly represents the ½ hide held by the
priest who was at Harlington in 1086. (fn. 84) By the
time the lease of the rectory expired in 1661 the glebe
may have become absorbed in Bennet's lands so
that its separate origin was forgotten. A survey of
lands in the parish in 1692 did not mention any as
belonging to the parsonage (fn. 85) and by 1821 there
were only 7 acres of inclosed land around the
rectory house, to which an adjoining allotment
of 1 acre was added. (fn. 86) All of this except for the
rectory garden was sold early in the 20th century. (fn. 87)
The assessment of 1692 valued the parsonage,
presumably consisting only of the tithes, at £67. (fn. 88)
During the 18th century its whole value rose from
about £240 to £500, and in 1839 the tithes were
commuted for £700. (fn. 89) The value of the benefice
dropped at the end of the century, (fn. 90) and in 1957-8
the endowment produced £468 net, out of the whole
income of £700 net. (fn. 91)
Clauses in the lease of 1571 suggest that the
rectory house then stood on its present site. (fn. 92) In
1673, some years after the lease had expired, the
house and barns were said to be in very bad repair
indeed. (fn. 93) Most of the present rectory dates from
between 1873 and 1890, (fn. 94) when it was virtually
rebuilt, but part of an earlier timber-framed building
was incorporated in the central block.
In 1333 the rector left property to Hounslow
Friary to endow charities in the friary church and at
Harlington. (fn. 95) This legacy is not referred to again,
but in 1547 there were just under 3 acres of land in
the parish devoted to the repair of the church, the
maintenance of lights, and other church purposes: (fn. 96)
one of the parcels may have been that which became
known as the Pork Halfacre and has for long provided
an annual dinner of pork for the bell-ringers. (fn. 97) The
only other information about the medieval lights and
altars is that there was an altar to St. Katherine in
1486, (fn. 98) and an Easter sepulchre formed out of a
16th-century tomb. (fn. 99) Some of the medieval clergy
are known to have been pluralists and some were
probably non-resident. (fn. 1) These included several in
the early 16th century, one of whom was presented,
apparently by a relative, under a grant from the
patron of a single turn. (fn. 2) Richard Postel (appointed
1365) was probably a member of a landowning
Twickenham family and may be identified with the
canon of Salisbury and Windsor of that name who
died in 1400. (fn. 3) From 1546 to 1554 the living was held
with that of Hanworth and the parish was served by
a curate (fn. 4) who in 1554 was said to be married. (fn. 5) The
rector of the time was probably of Catholic tendencies, since he was responsible for the appointment
of his successor, (fn. 6) Thomas Wood, Canon of Westminster and chaplain to Mary Tudor, who was deprived in 1560, though he held other livings in
Middlesex afterwards. (fn. 7) The 90-year lease of the
rectory made in 1571 suggests that the position of
the incumbent was then weak: his dependence upon
the patron must have been increased by the terms
of the lease. (fn. 8) The living was held with Cranford from
1615 to 1628, and Matthew Bennet, perhaps a
relative of the patron, held it with a London living
from 1637 to 1644. (fn. 9) Henry Bennet, later Earl of
Arlington, was, according to Evelyn, sent to Oxford
in order to enter the church and become rector of
Harlington, but the Civil War intervened and he
afterwards became a Roman Catholic. (fn. 10) His grandfather retained control of the benefice for some time
during the Interregnum, appointing parsons in 1644
and again before 1650. (fn. 11) The second of those he
appointed, John Pritchett, had been replaced by
1658 but was restored in 1661. (fn. 12) He was described as
a 'preaching minister' in 1650, but can seldom have
resided after the Restoration, since he held a number
of preferments including, from 1672, the see of
Gloucester. (fn. 13) His successor, Robert Cooper (rector
1681-1732), a geographer and an able preacher, (fn. 14)
resided at least part of the time and seems to have
taken an active interest in the parish, (fn. 15) although he
was also Archdeacon of Dorset. (fn. 16) Services in his
time were held twice on Sundays and on at least
some week-days, with about half a dozen communion
services a year and regular catechizings. This remained more or less the rule throughout the century,
though the communion services were later reduced
to four. (fn. 17) In 1733 the Earl of Bolingbroke presented
to the living Joseph Trapp, formerly the first
professor of poetry at Oxford, who was a Tory
pamphleteer and had been Bolingbroke's chaplain
for some years. (fn. 18) Trapp held a living and several
lectureships in London while he was rector and resided for only part of each year at Harlington. (fn. 19) The
next rector (1748-88) resided, (fn. 20) and the following
one, who died insolvent owing £110 to a parish
charity, also held the living of Hanworth. (fn. 21) He lived
chiefly at Harlington at first but latterly his curate
and successor as rector occupied the rectory and
received a salary of £60 a year. (fn. 22) Edward Davison
and his son C. H. Davison (rectors respectively
1816-55 (fn. 23) and 1855-70) both seem to have resided
at the start of their incumbencies, but to have later
employed curates who served the cure and lived in
the rectory house. (fn. 24) The curate's salary had risen to
£100 by 1835. (fn. 25) From 1870 all the rectors have been
resident. Marion Andrews, who in 1875 published
an historical novel set in Harlington, (fn. 26) was presumably related to W. R. Andrews (rector 1870-3).
E. I. Haddock (rector 1873-1905) had the church
restored in 1880 and continued to take a great interest
in the fabric and fittings afterwards. (fn. 27) Herbert Wilson (rector 1905-29), the historian of the parish
church, (fn. 28) established a mission church at Dawley in
1910. (fn. 29) It stood on the west side of Dawley Road a
little north of the canal, and was replaced in 1934 by
the church of St. Jerome, Dawley. (fn. 30) St. Jerome's
stands just outside the ancient parish of Harlington
but includes within its jurisdiction the part of the
parish lying north of the railway. (fn. 31) The First World
War intervened just in time to save Harlington
church from militant suffragettes who had been
threatening to destroy it. The church was constantly
guarded at night for some weeks before war was
declared. (fn. 32)
In 1937, two years after St. Jerome, Dawley, had
become independent, another mission church was
opened. This was Christ Church, Waltham Avenue,
which in 1959 remained part of the mother parish
under the care of the London Diocesan Home
Mission. (fn. 33) It then occupied the original temporary
building, where communion services were held at 8
or 9.30 on Sunday mornings, with Sunday schools
later in the morning and an evening service. At the
parish church weekly communion services at 8 a.m.
have been held at least since 1905, with additional
celebrations after matins once a month. (fn. 34) Eleven
o'clock matins remained the principal Sunday service in 1959. There were 532 names on the electoral
roll in 1959. (fn. 35)
The church of ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL
(fn. 36)
stands on the west side of the High Street. The
building has stone dressings and the walls are mainly
of flint rubble with some iron-stone conglomerate near
the east end. It comprises a nave with north aisle and
south porch, chancel, vestry, and west tower. The
nave is the oldest part of the church and dates from
the 12th century. (fn. 37) Two doorways, one of them
blocked, and two windows, one of them original
though much restored, were removed from the north
wall when it was demolished in the 19th century and
were incorporated in a new north aisle. One of the
south windows was inserted in the 14th century and
the other was enlarged later, but the south doorway
remains as a very fine example of 12th-century work.
The round arch has four orders, the innermost plain
and each of the others enriched with a different kind
of ornament, namely zigzags, beak-heads, and labels.
The outermost order is carried down the corresponding jamb, within which attached shafts support the
middle orders. These shafts are carved with shaftrings and zigzags and are surmounted by cushion
capitals. The chancel dates from the 14th century
and has two fine windows with reticulated tracery on
the south side and a similar one on the north. The
'Perpendicular' east window was inserted in 1893. (fn. 38)
The roofs of both chancel and nave, each with
trussed rafters, are probably also of the 14th century. The square west tower of two stages was built
late in the 15th century and has an embattled parapet and a north-east turret. The cupola on the turret
dates originally from the 18th century (fn. 39) but was
reconstructed in 1922. (fn. 40) The latest part of the
medieval church is the timber south porch, which
was probably built in the early 16th century, though
it has since been re-erected on a modern brick base.
In 1670 the owner of Dawley House had a pew
just west of the chancel arch on the south side. (fn. 41) In
1684 the rector built two pews on each side of the
chancel for his family. (fn. 42) A west gallery was erected
in 1842 and the church was repewed, (fn. 43) though some
of the 'old, open seats' were said to be still there a
few years later. (fn. 44) It may have been as a result of the
changes made in 1842 that the east end of the church
in the mid-19th century resembled that of a modern
Anglican church more closely than did many at that
time: it was, however, rather encumbered and
dominated by monuments. (fn. 45) The tower was repaired
in 1867, (fn. 46) and in 1880 the whole church was
thoroughly restored by J. Oldrid Scott. (fn. 47) The plaster
which had covered the exterior was removed, and the
north aisle and vestry were built. The chancel arch,
which had at some earlier time been taken down and
replaced by a wooden arch, was reconstructed and
the roof-beams were uncovered. The gallery was
removed and most of the pews were replaced by
chairs, which have since been gradually replaced once
more by modern pews. A baptistry was formed under
the west tower in which the 12th-century font now
stands. The font is of Purbeck marble and consists of
a square bowl decorated with roughly carved arcading, a central stem with four angle shafts, and a
square moulded base.
Two of the chancel monuments were set back into
the walls at the restoration of 1880 and one was removed altogether into the nave. (fn. 48) The most notable
of the monuments was undoubtedly that of Gregory
Lovell (d. 1545) and his wife. This was a canopied
altar tomb and formed the Easter sepulchre. (fn. 49) It
seems to have undergone a series of removals and
alterations since about 1800. (fn. 50) In 1959 the canopy,
which is enriched with late perpendicular ornament,
stood against the north wall of the chancel, though
without its original plinth and with only one of its
memorial brasses. The slab which once formed the
top of the altar tomb under the canopy is set in the
south wall, with such of the remaining brasses as
survive. These comprise two figures, an inscription,
and three shields of arms. The inscription and one
of the figures are palimpsests. There is also a brass
to a rector, John Monmouth (d. 1419), with a halfeffigy of a priest in mass-vestments.
The later monuments include those to John, Lord
Ossulston (d. 1695), (fn. 51) and members of the de Salis
family (1836-1913). Ossulston's is in the nave and
has portrait busts of himself and his two wives above
the inscription, which is surrounded by cherubheads and garlands. Two of the de Salis monuments
are in the chancel and have recumbent effigies. One,
by R. C. Lucas, commemorates Count Jerome Fane
de Salis (d. 1836), the other, by W. Theed, commemorates Countess Henrietta Fane de Salis (d.
1856).
The oldest pieces of plate are a silver chalice,
cover, and flagon given by Sir John Bennet, later
Lord Ossulston, in 1672. (fn. 52) There are also a dish of
1734 and a paten of 1775. (fn. 53) There are six bells, four
of them dating from 1799, one from 1800, and the
tenor from 1893. The annual bell-ringer's dinner has
for long been a parish event, (fn. 54) and several small
brasses in the baptistry commemorate recent ringers.
The registers start in 1540. There are several gaps,
notably in the marriages from 1665 to 1883.
The churchyard was closed in principle in 1884,
but small adjoining burial grounds were opened in
1871, 1899, and 1915. (fn. 55) The old churchyard contains
the remains of the great yew-tree which has been
described above. (fn. 56)