All Saints' Church, Isleworth

Old Isleworth has something of the village feel, which only a few other places in London can boast with justification. Quiet streets, quaint, riverside pubs and a few sleepy boats moored contendedly, combined to give the impression of a place which modernity did not bother disturbing.

There is, naturally, a rather impressive church tower which I would date to 1300-1400. Astonishingly, it is attached to the most hideously modern nave one could image. Completed in 1970, its charm is minimal, its beauty inconspicous. I was unable to gain access to the interior; perhaps all the loveliness was spent on the internals, though I doubt it. Why would such a horrid piece of architecture supply such an ancient church? Weirdly, the original was burnt down in 1943, but not by Germanic bombs, the usual destroyer of London’s ecclesiastical beauty, nor by the Great Fire, that other raging opponent, on account of distance. Rather, it was wrecked by two juvenile arsonists. It beggars belief that a couple of young Englishmen were doing Hitler’s job for him.

Too often, churches are destroyed from within rather than without. I speak not of buildings, but congregations. Satan need not persecute gatherings of the Lord’s people, because they often contain folk who are all too ready to put their egos and ambitions ahead of God's glory and His flock's unity.

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. Romans 16:17-18, NKJV

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