CHURCHES.
Until 1859 Norwood was ecclesiastically dependent on Hayes, (fn. 14) to which in the early
18th century it was said to form a chapel of ease. (fn. 15)
Although there had been a chapel in Norwood since
the 12th century, (fn. 16) the first mention of a priest in the
precinct of Norwood is of Simon, the chaplain of
Southall, in 1394. (fn. 17) In 1489 the advowson of the
church of Hayes and the chapel of Norwood was
vested in the farmer of the Archbishop of Canterbury's manor of Hayes. (fn. 18)
In 1520 the position of the Norwood chaplain
was clarified in the ordination of Hayes vicarage by
Archbishop Warham. The Vicar of Hayes was to be
paid an annual stipend of £20 which was considered
sufficient to maintain him and to supply the chaplain
of Norwood, for which he was made responsible. (fn. 19)
The appointment of chaplains may have remained in
the hands of individual vicars of Hayes for some
time, but it seems more likely that the patrons of the
vicarage appointed them. Before 1656 Thomas Jennings, the farmer of Hayes rectory, had presented the
resident 'preaching minister' of Norwood. (fn. 20) As early
as 1656 there was a petition for Norwood to be made
a parish in its own right, as it was distinct 'in all duties'
from Hayes, and in 1775 Norwood curacy was endowed
out of Queen Anne's Bounty, thus becoming a perpetual curacy. (fn. 21) In 1770 the advowson was declared,
with that of Hayes, to be annexed to the lordship of
Hayes. (fn. 22) In the early 19th century the incumbent,
who was described as the curate, undertook all the
duties himself. (fn. 23) The first new parish to be created
in the precinct of Norwood was that of St. John,
Southall Green, in 1850. (fn. 24) Nine years later Norwood
precinct was created a parish separate from that of
Hayes. (fn. 25) In 1860 Nathaniel Tertius Lawrence and
John Hambrough of Hayes possessed the advowson
of Norwood, and by 1866 the living was both held
by and was in the gift of the Revd. Henry Worsley. (fn. 26)
In the same year, 1866, the benefice of Norwood was
elevated to a rectory. (fn. 27) Worsley ceded the advowson
in 1871, when it passed to John Robinson McClean, (fn. 28)
who presented Donald Stuart McClean. (fn. 29) The advowson was held in 1880 by Maria Sophia McClean (fn. 30)
and in 1890 by A. Henderson, (fn. 31) from whom it
passed to the rector, James Leonard Macdonald. (fn. 32)
In 1953 the patron was G. T. O'Neill, of Southend
(Essex), (fn. 33) whose trustees owned the advowson in
1960. (fn. 34)
In 1656 there was only one minister, who received
a stipend from Thomas Jennings, the patron, out of
the tithes of the precinct. At this date the tithes were
worth about £200 a year. (fn. 35) In 1770 the tithes, with
barns, a rickyard, and a cart house, were worth only
£210. (fn. 36) The tithes were extinguished by the inclosure award of 1814, when over 276 a. in Norwood
were allotted in lieu of tithe to the Rector of Hayes. (fn. 37)
The Curate of Norwood received just over 7 a. as
glebe, nearly 17 a. in lieu of his former £40 stipend,
and almost 9 a. as a gratuity to augment his living. (fn. 38)
In 1815 an attempt to augment the curacy by
a private Bill failed for lack of support (fn. 39) and in 1821
the glebe was still about 34 a. (fn. 40) The living had been
augmented by £200 from Queen Anne's Bounty by
1831, and it had also had £210 from private benefactions. (fn. 41) In the later 19th century brickearth under
the glebe was profitably extracted. (fn. 42) In 1961 the
glebe consisted mainly of shops and houses in King
Street, Southall, and some houses in Rectory and
Westerham roads. (fn. 43)
It is not known when a house first became attached
to the living; none was mentioned in the parliamentary survey of 1656. (fn. 44) Between 1657 and 1720
various people paid poor-rate on 'the parsonage'
which at that time stood in Northcott. (fn. 45) A farmhouse which was bought in the mid 18th century (fn. 46)
seems to have been the 'vicarage' which stood in
1814 on the site of the present rectory in Tentelow
Lane. (fn. 47) In 1902 this was described as an 'interesting
building in Tudor style, and nicely covered with
ivy'. (fn. 48) The rectory, as it became, was destroyed by
enemy action during the Second World War and,
for lack of money, was not rebuilt until 1950-1.
A 4-acre meadow at the rear of the house had been
acquired earlier in order to prevent building behind
the rectory. (fn. 49)
All that is known of the incumbents or religious
life of the parish is that in the 1950s the patron
was asked to appoint a 'Prayer Book Catholic' to the
living in order to continue the traditions of the
parish. (fn. 50)
The church of ST. MARY THE VIRGIN
stands in Tentelow Lane at the corner of Norwood
Green, and consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle,
north transept, and south-west tower. The exterior
owes its appearance almost entirely to 19th-century
alterations and additions. The earliest parts of the
building are the semicircular west arch and both
responds of the north arcade; these date from the
12th century. In the south walls of both nave and
chancel are single lancet windows of the 13th century, much restored, and the nave also contains two
14th-century windows. The church is said to have
been reconstructed in 1439; (fn. 51) the chancel arch, the
nave roof of crown-post construction, the south
doorway, and several of the windows date from the
15th century, as do the font and a few original timbers in the restored south porch. There was formerly a wooden bell turret above the west end of the
nave of which some of the supporting timbers survive. (fn. 52) A gallery installed by Francis Awsiter in
1612 (fn. 53) still existed in 1863, (fn. 54) and a new pulpit was
erected in 1638 by Christopher Merrick, the uncle of
Francis Merrick. (fn. 55) The church was restored in
1824, (fn. 56) and in 1849 the north arcade is said to have
been removed, the roof being propped on iron
posts. (fn. 57) The arcade piers were probably rebuilt with
their present 'Norman' capitals. It may have been at
this time that a wider north aisle was built and the
shallow north transept added. The church was
again restored in 1864. At this or a subsequent
restoration the south and east walls were faced externally with flint-work panels and red brick dressings. In 1896 the wooden belfry and spire were
removed and the present south-west tower, also
faced with flint and brick, was built. (fn. 58) The church
and churchyard were closed for burials in 1883. (fn. 59)
Another restoration was debated in 1950 when the
tower required repointing and new floors were
needed throughout. (fn. 60)
In the north-east corner of the chancel is a recessed and canopied tomb of the earlier 16th century,
carved with intricate late medieval ornament; it is
ascribed to Edward Cheeseman (temp. Henry VII)
and his son Robert, with the date 1556, and perhaps
served as an Easter sepulchre. (fn. 61) A brass (dated 1614)
to Francis Awsiter on the south wall of the chancel
and one to Matthew Hunsley (dated 1618) on the
north wall both include figures. The handsome tomb
of John Merrick (d. 1749) incorporates a full-size
figure on a sarcophagus and supported by an urn.
Four hatchments in the nave are said to come from
the old gallery. (fn. 62) The registers, which are complete,
date from 1654 and there are 6 bells. The pews have
been removed and replaced by chairs. In 1961 the
sacrament was being reserved in the Lady Chapel in
the north aisle and the stations of the cross had been
hung on the walls of the nave.
A chapel of ease to Norwood church, dedicated to
ST. JOHN, was built and endowed in 1838 at
Southall Green by Henry Dobbs, owner of the
vitriol factory, (fn. 63) and consecrated in 1841. (fn. 64) The
parish of St. John, formed out of Norwood in 1850, (fn. 65)
was extended in 1880. (fn. 66) The benefice, described in
1866 as a perpetual curacy, (fn. 67) received various charitable endowments during the late 19th century. (fn. 68) In
1874 the vicarage, as it was now called, was worth
£120 a year. (fn. 69) In 1960 the patronage was held by the
Church Patronage Society. (fn. 70) A vicarage-house which
stood opposite the church in the 1860s (fn. 71) was still
there in 1903. (fn. 72) The church, built of brown brick in
the Gothic style in 1838, stood facing the west side
of King Street and consisted of a chancel, nave,
north and south aisles, and a small spire, later removed. (fn. 73) It was flanked on the north side by the St.
John's parochial schools, (fn. 74) and in 1961 was being
used as a hall for meetings and general parish purposes. The present church of St. John, on the south
side of Church Avenue, was built by C. G. Miller in
1910 in the Perpendicular style. The exterior is of red
brick with stone facings, and there is a single, small
bell turret at the east end of the roof. It consists of
a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and an east
chapel in the north aisle. A colonnade of 6 Gothic
arches separates the nave from the aisles and there
are 6 clerestory windows above. A tablet in the
chancel commemorates the founder, John Henry
Dobbs (d. 1843). (fn. 75) In 1939 a mission hall in Western
Road was attached to the church. (fn. 76)
In 1874 the London Diocesan Home Mission
were said to have 'recently' erected an iron church
in Uxbridge Road. (fn. 77) This is probably the earliest
mention of HOLY TRINITY, Uxbridge Road,
which in 1881 stood on a site leased from the Earl
of Jersey. One of the wardens was William Welch
Deloitte, (fn. 78) who is commemorated by a tablet in the
church as one of its founders. In 1960 the advowson
was held by the Church Patronage Society. (fn. 79) The
present church in Uxbridge Road was built by J.
Lee in 1890 of brick, with white stone facings. It
consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles,
south transept, and apsidal baptistery. (fn. 80) The interior is of red and yellow brick, the aisles being
divided from the nave by an arcade of five arches.
There are five 3-light clerestory windows, and the
chancel is separated from the nave by a carved
wooden rood screen. The living was constituted
a perpetual curacy in 1891, and the registers date
from the same time. (fn. 81) A mission was founded by the
church between 1928 and 1930 at Mount Pleasant. (fn. 82)
The church of ST. GEORGE, Lancaster Road,
was built by A. Blomfield in 1906. (fn. 83) It is said to have
been financed by the sale of the site of the church of
St. George, Botolph Lane (City of London). (fn. 84) The
17th-century oak pulpit and the organ case of 1753
by R. Bridge are both from this Billingsgate church. (fn. 85)
In 1960 the patron was alternately the Crown and
the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. (fn. 86) The exterior is
of red brick with yellow brick and stone dressings.
It consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles,
a south-east chapel, and a small shingled turret at
the west end. The church was altered in 1951.
The interior is of red brick with arcades of five bays
separating the aisles from the nave. A rood hangs in
the chancel arch and the stations of the cross are hung
in the aisles. There are six 2-light clerestory windows
and six small aisle windows. (fn. 87)
Part of a wooden hut in Allenby Road erected out
of the London Diocesan Fund in 1935 was set aside
as a temporary church accommodating 250 people.
The conventional district was known as that of
Holy Redeemer, Greenford, and was staffed by
a curate from Holy Cross church, Greenford. The
parish of Christ the Redeemer, Southall, was formed
in 1964 out of parts of the parishes of Greenford and
Holy Trinity, Southall, and a detached part of
Northolt parish. A permanent church of CHRIST
THE REDEEMER, replacing the hut, then came
into use. (fn. 88) In 1965 the Bishop of London was
patron of the living. (fn. 89)