St Michael's Celebrates Centenary

One hundred years after first service was held in the new Grove Park church

St Michael's (Sutton Court) Church in Elmwood Road celebrated its centenary last weekend, one hundred years after the first service was held in the brand new church.

The Bishop of Kensington, the Rt Revd Paul Williams, attended a special service on Sunday 13th December, after which the congregation enjoyed a celebratory lunch.

The building was designed by the respected architect W D Caröe and is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts movement that had been pioneered in the late nineteenth century by John Ruskin, William Morris and the pre-Raphaelites.

Short History of St Michael's Church

In early 1906 the Vicar of Chiswick proposed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners the creation of the Parish of St. Michael, Sutton Court from parts of the Parishes of St. Nicholas, Chiswick and Christ Church, Turnham Green. At the same meeting it was agreed that the new church of St. Michael's would be financed from the sale of St. Michael, Burleigh Street, just off The Strand. The Strand Palace Hotel now occupies this site.

The first building on the Elmwood Road site was a wooden hall, which survived for almost 90 years. Here services were held until the opening of the church itself in December 1909. The church architects were Caroe and Passmore and the church is a fine example of the Arts and Crafts movement. Little has been changed in the church since its opening apart from some stained glass windows, including a magnificent east window by Horace Winkinson, the painting of the chancel in the late 1920's and new lighting (2001). The original hall was replaced in 1996 by a more spacious building which serves both the church itself and the surrounding community.

This history of St Michael's was compiled and written by Ian Peacock and has been adapted for the internet by Nick Floyer.

December 17, 2009