Forum Topic

St Lawrences Church

Can anyone tell me exactly what is happening to the above Church,Scaffolding has been erected for quite a long time now,yet there does not appear to be any persons working on the them! Are we to be unpleasantly surprised and find the Church dismantled overnight with Councillor Curran Hand in Glove with Bollymore etc nothing will surprise us!Just look at the Destruction of the once beautiful Old Church opposite Watermans plus the School that is the only piece of History that goes back to 1761 it's a bloody wreck!They have cut away the Windows It should never have been allowed to happen! I would ask our MP Ruth Cadbury to take a look at the "Mess" they have made of both buildings & what they intend to do to recify it!!

Dawn Hardy ● 3283d33 Comments

Ballymore always have an excuse!

Elizabeth Price ● 3091d

Ballymore cannot get on with the main work until the pockets of the site they don't already own (and which are subject to Compulsory Purchase Orders) are in their ownership. Last I heard this is unlikely to be before early 2018.

Guy Lambert ● 3091d

Yes, I saw the scaffolders working on Monday.Should we expect Ballymore to suddenly swing into action with their development plans then?I also wondered what had happened about the protected bats that live(d) in the church. Does anyone know?

Jo Francis ● 3091d

Scaffolding now being put back up!

Victoria Caldwell ● 3094d

Not sure what is going on here.  I only hope that they 'time-out' on this total development.  It's b....y horrible.  This Council just agrees with anything and residents are expected to lump it!  Maybe its because I am getting older I'm just a grumpy old woman now!

Eileen Henderson ● 3202d

Has the Building work stopped on the Church

Jeannette Smith ● 3203d

I recently heard that a huge Quaker burial ground has been found in the centre of Kingston.  When the development started I understand they thought that they would find a few graves but the number has grown considerably.

Sarah Felstead ● 3230d

Is there any news on development on the area where there are still graves ,what is to become of the remains ?are they to be just concreted over? its over 100 years since any one was buried in the church yard area but at the end of the day remains are still there

Jeannette Smith ● 3230d

This church is one of the last few connections left to the once bustling canal transport network many of my working boatman family where baptised ,married  & buried here.

Jeannette Smith ● 3230d

I see that over the past few days all the scaffolding has now been taken down so any further news on what may be happening?

Victoria Caldwell ● 3251d

Many thanks.

Dawn Hardy ● 3279d

Thank you Neil:-))

Dawn Hardy ● 3279d

If LBH and Ballymore got their skates on and got on with the High St development maybe people would be more inclined to admit to being in Brentford rather than Kew.

Elizabeth Price ● 3280d

Just thought I'd point out that that link is NOT for St. Lawrences which is down near the canal bridge, which was the subject of this thread?

Vanessa Smith ● 3281d

Ballymore are carrying out "essential maintenance work" to the church. When I get more details I will share them.

BrentfordTW8 Editor ● 3281d

The battle began near the the Lion Gate of Syon Park, the parliamentarians fell back to the fortified bridge. Once this was breached the troops fell back with fighting going on down the high st. St Lawrence burial registers has references to dead being interned. It is also said that the parliamentarians had look outs in the steeple.

Neil Chippendale ● 3281d

Sorry Vanessa but my post was specifically in respect of the former St. George's Church site and the 'Heritage Walk' site, obviously not St. Lawrence's !.

Adam Beamish ● 3281d

"At the same time I don't have such a massive issue with properties in this location being addressed as Kew Bridge, because in terms of their location they are closer to Kew Bridge than the centre of Brentford, and certainly the closest station is Kew Bridge"Perhaps a new tape measure is in order Adam? St. Lawrences is in Brentford High St. nowhere near Kew bridge, the only bridge it's near is the canal bridge. The one you are right about is that this inverted snobbery is nonsense and offensive.

Vanessa Smith ● 3281d

As i feared, looks like we have lost the beautiful gothic style tall windows :(

Alex Shpinkov ● 3281d

Battle of Brentford 12th November 1642,Prince Rupert attacked 2 Parliamentary Regiments the battle raged from early morning until late afternoon,Cavaliers captured 15 guns and 11 colours and about 500 prisoners who were caught after being driven over Brentford Bridge into fields.So Yes they did pass our Church incidentally the Royalists sacked our town after the battle.

Dawn Hardy ● 3282d

Kew sounds more prestigious Vanessa!

Dawn Hardy ● 3282d

Many thanks:-)

Dawn Hardy ● 3282d

Guy,Many thanks for the update,yes you are right about St Lawrence's last service held there was around late 50's,it means a lot to me because of Family History my Grand Parents & Parents were married in the Church I was Christened there as were my Siblings.The Churches demise happened through Compulsory Purchasing by the then Council of surrounding properties which were left empty for many years before demolishing took place & Augustus Close came into being.We can only hope that they don't get too carried away with restructuring of the Watermans Church,they have actually already ruined the Windows.The Old School House can be rebuilt using the same specifications from 1761 in this day & age of Technological Ability it will not pose a problem. It's good to know that your keeping an eye on the Developers.

Dawn Hardy ● 3282d

Yes, that is the Church - in Brentford. They add to their sins (appropriate in the context :-) ) by giving a wrong address: the church is on Brentford High Street which turns into Kew Bridge Road about 250M to the East, so naturally they pretend it's in Kew Bridge Road. The same disease affects the new Stable restaurant:actually in that case it's fair enough to describe it as Kew Bridge but they sometimes describe it as Kew, which it certainly ain't!

Guy Lambert ● 3282d

Of course it's all about marketing nonsense, like the new 'Heritage Walk' development on the Thames Water site (you tell me what heritage there is there) - when I used to work at Taylor Wimpey our marketing team used to always be coming up with similar nonsense names for developments.At the same time I don't have such a massive issue with properties in this location being addressed as Kew Bridge, because in terms of their location they are closer to Kew Bridge than the centre of Brentford, and certainly the closest station is Kew Bridge - and often people use the nearest station as their reference for where they live.When people ask me where I live, I always say "If I'm trying to be posh I live at Kew Bridge, otherwise I live in Brentford'.

Adam Beamish ● 3282d

Thank you Guy!I can wait for next spring :-)Finger crossed it will not end up like Lionel Road sagaIt is so sad to see the south side of the high street in that status

Domenico Urzi ● 3282d

Do we have timeline when Ballymore development actually start?Not really because it depends on land assembly/CPO process. Ballymore are still negotiating with a number of parties.Are they CPO completed?No. CPO is a last resort but is likely to be triggered shortly for any plots that can not be acquired by negotiation. CPO might take up to nearly 12 months if 'sellers' go to Judicial Review etc. Therefore I doubt we will see work start before next spring. Will be Ballymore affected by Brexit?I understand they say not, but IMO it's too early to tell.

Guy Lambert ● 3282d

Perhaps someone should pay a visit to Norwich which has an excellent record at saving and re-purposing redundant historic churches? A little imagination is required by all concerned.The longer the fabric of St Lawrence is allowed to decay the more difficult it will be to bring it back into some alternative use other than as a site for a car park.As an aside: Does anyone know what role the church played in the 1642 Battle of Brentford? The "action" must at one point have swept right passed the buildings front door.

Cllr Sam Hearn ● 3282d

I agree with you Vanessa.I think they are try too marketing as Kew instead of Brentford because Kew is considered more upmarket (at the moment)the good things is once the new Stadium will be built in Lionel Road the team will not renamed in Kew Bridge FC but keep Brentford Fc so the association with the original name will remain even in Kew Bridge at that point ;-)

Domenico Urzi ● 3282d

That link says St. Georges Church, Kew Bridge!? Is this the right link or is this just another example of developers taking liberties? What is wrong with Brentford? By no stretch of anyone's fevered imagination can that location be described as Kew Bridge - prats.

Vanessa Smith ● 3282d

quick questions for GuyDo we have timeline when Ballymore development actually start?Are they CPO completed? Will be Ballymore affected by Brexit?@Dawn here below how St George Church will look after that work will be completedhttp://idmpropertiesportfolio.com/properties/stgeorgeschurch-tw8.com/

Domenico Urzi ● 3282d

DawnI believe the Church is a listed building and in any case it will be preserved. It has not been used as a church for many years so it will be used for other activities and they are hoping it will be a gym (within the existing building).As to the Church opposite Watermans Park, the structure of that will be retained but they are busy converting it into flats.The old school house next door - Sarah Trimmer Hall - is a listed building and developers have planning permission to turn it into a house. Plans to divide it into 3 were rejected by the planning committee. The roof was removed without planning permission and due to the vigilance of local residents the developer has been served with a 'stop order' (I think that's the right term) which prevents them from doing anything until a plan has been agreed to put right the damage - as far as is possible.

Guy Lambert ● 3282d

Received a few calls last evening,apparently it's going to be a "Gym" Please remember the Tower goes back to 14-1500's! Right or Wrong it should have a "Preservation"Order on it! Our History has slowly been Demolished over the last 50 years. Brentford actually goes back over a Thousand years!

Dawn Hardy ● 3282d