Monks from Old St Paul's Cathedral in London travelled to Willesden and wrote about the church and what it contained.

Their ownership came from Æthelstan who either gave the land to them or confirmed its transferral to clergy of St Paul's.

In 1297, records show that the church had a large wooden crucifix connected to images of Mary and St John the Evangelist.

With that devotion came donations and the church was notably well-furnished, before the English Reformation removed some of the interior objects.

[6] In the 1538, during the English Reformation, and the reign of Henry VIII, the statue of Our Lady of Willesden was taken out of the church and set on fire in Chelsea.

A roundhead and supporter of Oliver Cromwell, he bought what were the church lands in Neasden and around Willesden.

From the late 1600s to the mid-1800s, clergy from St Paul's Cathedral were appointed as vicars of the church, but rarely came to Willesden.

[6] In the Middles Ages, one of the statues of Saint Mary, described as 'in colour like ebony, of ancient workmanship',[6] became a source of pilgrimage to the church.

So much so that from 1475 to 1538, the church was nationally recognised as a place for pilgrims, with miracles being attributed to the statue.

In 1972, a new Our Lady of Willesden statue was created and installed in the church in the original location of the shrine.