St Peter’s Church, Ealing Lady Chapel Conservation

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Photo: St Peter’s Church Ealing

Designed by architect John Sedding, St Peter’s on Mount Park Road, is a notable Arts & Crafts church completed in 1893. Following the Great War, the Church’s Lady Chapel was decorated and furnished as a memorial by leading painters and designers – most of them living in Ealing.

The Chapel contains a remarkable wooden reredos by Leonard Shuffrey, (the preeminent architectural decorator, who designed Ealing War Memorial and his house on Edgehill Road). The reredos is surrounded by exceptional wall paintings created by the artist Henry Charles Brewer – part of a renowned Acton-based family of painters and illustrators.

There is also a fine oil painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Fellowes-Prynne. Prynne, who received commissions from Queen Victoria, lived on Woodville Road. He was the brother of prolific church architect George Fellowes Prynne (a resident of Grange Road, who designed St Saviour’s Church, Ealing, and its Clergy House, and the Ealing Town Hall extension).

After 100 years, the beautiful Lady Chapel and its decoration are urgent need of conservation. St Peter’s has mounted a campaign to restore the Chapel and create a community space for local people. They are also researching the Chapel and its story for a range of public engagement activities.

The c. £70K restoration work is planned for mid-2022. The majority of the cost has been secured by St Peter’s community, and via external funders, including the Steel Charitable Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Ealing-based John & Ruth Howard Trust.

To find out more about the project, visit St Peter’s website or contact the Church Office at admin@stpeterealing.org.uk.