Description
There are records that a church existed here in the late C12th with a second church built in the early C13th. From the C12th the Manor of Drayton was owned by the Dean of St Paul's. In 1547 it was granted to Sir William Paget who built a grand Manor House immediately west of St Martin's Church, and remnants of the C16th gatehouse are next to the churchyard. The walled churchyard has flagstones and mown grass in front and a number of yews, with longer unmown grass beyond and an area of woodland growth behind the church.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | West Drayton Parish Church |
|---|---|
| Site location | Church Road, West Drayton |
| Postcode | UB7 7PT |
| What3Words | ///vets.return.herbs |
| Type of Site | Churchyard |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | gates may be locked |
| Public Transport | Rail: West Drayton |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The present C15th flint building has the base of the earlier tower, piscina and north chancel wall and was restored in 1850-52 and again in 1974-5 at which time the C13th crypt was discovered beneath the chancel, and the altar was re-sited to the west end. Monuments and brasses from the earlier church include those of Richard Roos (d.1406), Dr James Good (d.1581) who was physician to Mary Queen of Scots, and Lord Hunsdon, Lord of the Manor and cousin to Queen Elizabeth I. From the C12th the Manor of Drayton was owned by the Dean of St Paul's, passing in 1546 to Henry VIII who granted it to his Secretary of State, Sir William Paget in 1547. Little remains of Paget's grandiose Manor House, demolished c.1750, which stood immediately west of the church and encroached on the mediaeval churchyard. Remnants of the early C16th gatehouse stand next to the churchyard and retains the Tudor walls as a core remnant of the complex once dominated by the Manor House; there are other remnant garden walls from the Manor stretching along Church Road. Now largely suburban housing, the area remained rural until the early C20th, with farming and brick-making industries; housing developed from the 1920s and later Heathrow Airport and the M4 transformed the area.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ061795 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Diocese of London |
| Site Management | Church |
| Dates | C13th; C15th; C16th |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: St Martin's Church. LBII*: walls around churchyard.; old gatehouse and wall and gate piers |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Hillingdon |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | West Drayton Green |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The small park was once part of the grounds of Drayton Hall, a historic house that was owned by the De Burgh family from 1786 until 1939. It was purchased by Yiewsley and West Drayton UDC in 1948 and used as council offices with events in the grounds. The Hall later became the headquarters of United Biscuits, who laid out a garden behind the house, and in 2011 it was purchased by Ferrings Pharmaceutical Company. The park contains fine trees.
West Drayton was originally known as Draegtun, meaning a place where boats were dragged across land to avoid a bend in the river. West Drayton Green is the old village centre, a large open area of grass with trees generally around the perimeter. It is surrounded by a number of fine houses, particularly at the south end, which include the early C18th The Old House and early C19th Beechwood; to the north is a row of cottages that was once the parish workhouse.
Now used as Southlands Arts Centre, Southlands is an early C18th farmhouse, which was built on the site of an earlier Tudor farmhouse. In 1963 the property was acquired by the Yiewsley and West Drayton UDC and it became the base for Yiewsley and West Drayton Arts Council. There are a number of garden areas, including a walled garden with C18th walls reached through an old orchard. It was renovated in 1989 when the garden was re-planted in three sections, including a C16th style knot garden.