West Twyford was a small extra-parochial area, and later civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

, in the county of Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The area of West Twyford is part of the London Borough of Ealing

London Borough of Ealing

The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...

. It is bounded by the Hanger Lane Gyratory to the west, the A406 North Circular

A406 road

The A406 or the North Circular Road is a road which crosses North London, UK, linking West and East London. It, together with the South Circular Road, forms a ring road through the inner part of Outer London...

 to the north, Park Royal

Park Royal

Park Royal is an area in northwest London, UK. It is the largest industrial and business park in London, occupying about , and is promoted commercially by the Park Royal Partnership...

 to the south and Willesden

Willesden

Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...

 to the east.

History

The area now known as West Twyford started out as a manor house in the fourteenth century. A small community built up to the west around St. Mary's Church which had originally been a chapel belonging to the manor house. In 1901 the Alexian

Alexians

The Alexians, Alexian Brothers or Cellites are a Catholic religious institute or congregation specifically devoted to caring for the sick which has its origin in Europe at the time of the Black Death...

 order of Monks took over the manor house as a nursing home. It has since been known as Twyford Abbey. The brothers ran out of funding in 1988 and joined another part of their order in Manchester. http://www.hmt-uk.org/alexian/index.htm The abbey, which is a Grade II listed building, now lies derelict. Various grants for planning permission have been made but not granted.

The name Twyford relates to Twyford Brook. The brook now runs almost entirely underground. It formerly fed the Guinness

Guinness

Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...

 brewery in Park Royal.

The area became a civil parish under the Extra-Parochial Places Act 1857 and formed part of Greenford Urban District

Greenford Urban District

Greenford Urban District was an urban district of Middlesex, England from 1894 to 1926.It was formed from the parishes of Greenford, Perivale and West Twyford. It replaced the Brentford rural sanitary district, which covered these parishes....

 from 1894. In 1901 it occupied an area of 281 acres (1.1 km²) and had a population of 97. When the urban district was abolished in 1926 the parish was transferred to the Municipal Borough of Ealing

Municipal Borough of Ealing

Ealing was a local government district from 1863 to 1965 around the town of Ealing.A local board of health was formed for the southern part of the parish of Ealing, Middlesex, in 1863. In 1873 the board's area was extended to the rest of the parish....

. Then in 1934 it was transferred to the Municipal Borough of Willesden

Municipal Borough of Willesden

Willesden was a local government district in the county of Middlesex, England from 1874 to 1965. It formed part of the Metropolitan Police District and London postal district...

. The area now forms part of Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

and is preserved in the name of West Twyford Primary School.
Much of the housing on Twyford Abbey Road was originally built by Guinness in order to house employees working in at the brewery in adjacent Park Royal.

The parish of St. Mary's was combined with the parish the church of the ascension in neighbouring Hanger Hill and currently has only an associate vicar of its own. The chapel of St. Mary's was extended with a newer church was suffered from subsidence.
After a period of disuse caused by safety issues the new church became a church hall and the original chapel was re-dedicated to St. Mary in 2010.
St. Mary's churchyard contains one of the oldest headstones in Middlesex.