Anne Paget (died 1587), William's wife, was suspected of hiding Anthony Tyrrell after he escaped from prison.

[6] The number of Catholics in West Drayton began to increase with the arrival of Irish migrants to work in the market-gardens situated around the village.

[7][8] In 1867, West Drayton had its own Catholic parish and a resident priest, Fr Michael Wren.

The church is in the Gothic Revival style and it opened on 29 September (Michaelmas) 1869 with Henry Manning preaching its first sermon.

That year, efforts were made to build a spire on top of the tower according to the original plan of the church.