Wembley was a parish taken from the Ancient Parish of Harrow on the Hill in the county of Middlesex in 1847, where it formed part Gore hundred subdivision. Wembley was incorporated into a Municipal Borough in 1937 which merged with that of Willesden in 1965 to form the London Borough of Brent.
Places in Wembley include Alperton, Preston, part of Sudbury and Tokyngton.
Surrounding Wembley are the Middlesex parishes of Harrow, Kingsbury, Willesden, Twyford Abbey, Ealing, Perivale, Greenford and Northolt.
St John the Evangelist, Crawford Avenue, Wembley
This church was built in the early 1840s to serve the southern part of Harrow parish and was given its own parish in 1846.
Records of the parish include baptisms (1846-1965), marriages (1847-1974), burials (1879-1974) and are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: DRO/048.
St Andrew, Harrow Road, Sudbury
A Mission Church was built here in 1905. This is now the church hall and it is listed as being of special interest by Historic England. The present church was consecrated in 1926.
Records of the parish include baptisms (1910-1955), marriages (1926-1970), funerals (1947-1985) and are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: DRO/124.
St Augustine, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley Park
The London Diocesan Mission built a wooden church in a field in 1913 so serve the growing local population. Proceeds from the sale of St Mary the Virgin, Tothill Fields, Westminster (which was closed in 1923) were allocated to the building of a permanent church building for St Augustine, and this was consecrated in 1926. Unfortunately, it was not built on solid ground and had to be demolished in 1950. The present church was built soon afterwards. No registers have been deposited at LMA.
St Cuthbert, Watford Road, North Wembley
A wooden mission church was established in 1938 but this was destroyed in 1940 by enemy action. In 1950 a parish was assigned from that of St Andrew, Sudbury and a new church was consecrated in 1959.
Records of the parish include baptisms (1950-1978), marriages (1951-1976) and are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: DRO/157.
St James, Stanley Avenue, Alperton
There had been a Mission church in Alperton from 1896 and this new parish was created in 1904. The church was consecrated in the 1920s but was declared redundant in 1989 and demolished. The site was used to build housing and also a new multicultural place of worship, St James Church Centre, opened in 1990. No registers have been deposited at LMA.
St Michael the Archangel, Tokyngton
There was a ‘free chapel’ at Tokyngton whose origins were unknown, according to a Chantry Roll at the Augmentations Office, dated 1547. (At least, that is what Daniel Lysons wrote in his The Environs of London: Volume 2, County of Middlesex (London, 1795).) This was the only church in the Wembley area until 1846 when St John the Evangelist was consecrated. The current church of St Michael, pictured left, became a parish church in 1933. The registers of this church have not been deposited at LMA but a Sidesmen’s duty roster from 1932 and series of accounts dated 1962-1971 are at BMA.
The Church of the Ascension, The Avenue, Preston
This church was founded in 1937 in what is now the church hall with a church being dedicated in 1957.
Records of the parish include baptisms (1937-1980), marriages (1943-1972) and are at London Metropolitan Archives, Ref: DRO/195.