St Dunstan’s church is an Acton landmark. Designed in the Gothic revival style by the architect R Hesketh, it was built and endowed by the Goldsmiths’ Company, one of the twelve great livery companies of the City of London. The church was completed in 1879 at a cost of £14,000.

Construction was rapid given the size and complexity of the building. The first stone was laid on Saturday 11 May, 1878; the church, capable of accommodating more than 800 people, was consecrated just 14 months later. According to a contemporary report, construction was completed ‘without the slightest accident to any one’ – a remarkable achievement by Victorian standards.

With its brilliant red brickwork, fine Bath stone detailing and distinctive octagonal ‘broach’ spire towering 136 feet above the hayfields, St Dunstan’s would have made an enormous impact in its then rural surroundings. Consecration took place on Tuesday 22nd July, 1879. The sermon was read by the Lord Bishop of London and admission to the ceremony was by ticket.

Regular services commenced the following Sunday, 27 July. There were two services that day: at 11am (with Holy Communion administered after the service), and at 6.30pm. The preacher at the evening service was the Vicar Designate, Rev T. M. Hayter, who went on to serve the parish for 28 years.

‘One great cause of the spiritual destitution of the Metropolis was that, from the rapid increase of building, masses of people were often gathered together without any means of worshipping God, and were allowed to go on without spiritual provision till they ceased to feel the need of it. The Goldsmiths’ Company had determined that this should not be the case on their property in Acton. They had done well, and in the name of the Church he congratulated them on this day’s work.’