There are records of a church here in 1157. The church then present was named All Saints in 1290. The structure substantially extended, particularly in the late 17th century, was largely destroyed by a German bomb on 16/04/1941. The present building is a reconstruction on the plan of the destroyed one using a great deal of material from the ruin and incorporating most of the monuments that that held. For the reconsecration members of the congregation and their acquaintance embroidered kneelers commemorating a variety of past parishioners. They have included the earliest recorded rector, Reginald de St Albans (1289) and a Canadian firewatcher killed on the 16th April. Two chapels contiguous with the church were private until the end of the 19th century. The one was built by Sir Thomas More in 1532. The other, known as the Lawrence Chapel, dates from the 14th century. This was in the ownership of the manorial lord and subsequently the owners of the old manor house, latterly Monmouth House. They were both acquired and incorporated into the Old Church by the Rev. Robert Henry Davies.

O/S Co-ords:2710.7760
Source(s):

Chelsea