St Peter's Church, Hammersmith

When the church was built in the village of Hammersmith in 1829, all that surrounded it was meadows, market gardens and smallholdings. The area steadily increased in size and prosperity due to the close proximity to the River Thames which was an important trading area. The London Gazette of 8 November 1836 defined the boundaries of the St Peter's District thus: <blockquote>It is bounded on the west by the Parish of Chiswick; on the south by the River Thames, the Creek and the High Bridge. Worple Way is towards the southern extremity of Waterloo Street; on the east northwardly Waterloo Street, including the west side of that street; then westward, by King's Street, that is the Turnpike Road…

The architect was Edward Lapidge, born in Hampton Wick in 1793. His father, Samuel Lapidge, was a landscape gardener working at Hampton Court as an assistant to Lancelot (Capability) Brown. In 1823, Edward Lapidge was finalist in a competition to design a set of new buildings for King's College, Cambridge. In 1835 he was a finalist again in a competition to design the Fitzwilliam Museum. His completed works include Hampton Wick Church (1829), the rebuilding of Hampton Church (1830), St Mary's Church, Putney (1836) and the enlargement of Fulham Church (1839). In 1852 he designed Reigate Police Station. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1808 and 1850. He died in 1860 and is buried at…