Severe subsidence in 1965

Critical structural problems were discovered on 29/10/64, when the East wall of the church was noted to be ‘moving' outwards. The church was declared unsafe and closed on the following day. It transpired that the East wall had been extended outwards in the Victorian restoration of 1875, and built over old graves with inadequate foundations. Urgent under-pinning of the walls of the chancel was necessary to prevent imminent collapse, and was completed by March 1965, with additional repairs to the roof and ceiling. The scale of the work can be appreciated from the one photograph we possess of the church interior during this period, showing the exposed Myllet vault brickwork. The cost was £8000, of which Ealing Borough Council donated £2500 and Hoovers donated £2500, presented by Mr Hoover himself on 6/7/1965. The restoration was completed by Christmas 1965. By coincidence the new St Nicholas church, built on the other side of Western Avenue, was consecrated in October 1965, so the parish commenced 1965 with no functional church, and by Christmas it had two !