“Soil pipes are my speciality”. That’s what Norman Shaw, the architect of St Michael & All Angels, once quipped. He was a house man, not a church man. Yet, St Michael & All Angels stands as a testament to his genius. It is a beautiful and welcoming church at the heart of the community in Chiswick.
St Michael & All Angels has a fascinating history. The first St Michael & All Angels was a temporary iron structure. It stood in a market garden on Chiswick High Road. This was in 1876. Reverend Alfred Wilson began fundraising for a permanent church. The present church’s foundation stone was laid on May 31st, 1879. The Bishop of London consecrated it the following year, on April 17th, 1880.
Controversy stirred during its consecration. A letter accused Reverend Wilson of “Popish and Pagan mummeries”. This was due to his high-church practices. These included processions and making the sign of the cross. Despite the controversy, St Michael & All Angels’ Anglo-Catholic tradition has remained.
Norman Shaw designed St Michael & All Angels. He is known for New Scotland Yard and Cragside. Architectural historian Andrew Saint calls St Michael’s “probably the best-preserved Norman Shaw interior in London”. Shaw also designed houses in Bedford Park. His style used red brick and white joinery. St Michael’s was intended to reflect that style. Some architects have described it as theatrical and a mongrel mix of Gothic and Queen Anne.
Sir John Betjeman called St Michael’s “a very lovely church”. He admired Norman Shaw’s work. Shaw wrote that he was a house man, not a church man. He joked that soil pipes were his speciality.
The Parish Hall was added later. Maurice B. Adams designed it in 1884. He was St. Michael & All Angels’ first churchwarden. The north aisle was completed in 1892.
A garden fete raised money for the Parish Room in 1886. This idea was revived in 1967 as the Bedford Park Festival. The festival raises money for local charities and church maintenance.
St Michael’s was listed as a historic building in 1951. During World War II, a bomb damaged the roof and stained glass. The stained glass in the East Window was replaced in 1952.
In 1989, the church needed rewiring. Bedford Park residents sponsored the chandeliers. A film company also contributed. St Michael & All Angels was used in the film “Nuns on the Run”.
In 2001, the Parish Hall was rebuilt. It became a community centre for Bedford Park. The hall’s capacity was doubled.
St Michael & All Angels continues to serve the community. It celebrated 140 years in 2019. Today, St Michael & All Angels is a vibrant center for worship and community events. It hosts concerts and the Chiswick Book Festival. It is a place where art, history, and faith intertwine. St Michael & All Angels is a testament to enduring beauty and community spirit.