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Brentford Families - Reverend Robert George Legge

Mandy Wallis wrote in 2026 seeking information about the WW1 service of Reverend Robert George Legge, who officiated at the wedding of her parents. If you can help please get in touch.

If someone in your family married at St George's, one of the parish churches for Old Brentford in the 1940s and 1950s, then most probably Reverend Legge was the minister and his name will be recorded on the certificate. The following notes are from information provided by Mandy and research using sources including the British Newspaper Archive (accessed through Findmypast - subscription site).

A brief biography of Robert George Legge

Robert George Legge was born on 23 July 1887 (1939 Register), and baptised on 21 August at St Michael, Haringey, the son of Robert and Jane 'Legg', a cabinet worker of Wood Green.

In the 1911 census he was 23, single, and at 14 Boreham Road, Wood Green, boarding with the Smith family. The head of household was a widow, Mrs James Hunt Smith and she had five children at home, ages 12 to 31. Robert Legge was a clerk, not in holy orders but for the building trade; he may have worked for the same firm as Sidney Archibald Smith, 23, who was a joiner in the building trade.

Robert served in WW1. The 1921 census shows he had married Elsie Violet and they had a son, Robert Browning who was nearly five, and baby Elsie Viola, four months old. Robert senior worked for 'Harrods Ltd, General Merchants, Brompton Road' as their engineer's chief clerk.

A significant change of career followed and the 1932 Crockford's Clerical Directory shows he studied at Kings College London in 1924, was a deacon in 1925 then priest in 1926 at St John Walthamstow, curate of St Paul, St Albans and assistant chaplain at Hill End Mental Hospital 1928-29. The Eastern Post announced he had been inducted to the benefice of St Mark's Church, Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets, East London in July 1929 and noted 'he is young and energetic, married and has a family.'

The Middlesex Chronicle, 20 February 1943, reported his appointment to the 'vicariate of Old Brentford' and noted 'preferment has been long overdue.' 'Mr Legge is a definite Evangelical, and in East London has specialised in social service work; his good work for the unemployed was commended by King Edward VIII.' It ended 'We hope that he may be enabled to restore St George's Brentford, to its condition of earlier days.'

The Daily Mirror, 6 Apr 1949, had a piece headed 'They follow their noses and are led into church', remarking on the smell from the 'Gas Light and Coke Co.'s sprawling works.' Rev. Robert George Legge added 'It's a healthy smell. You can't kill people down here. We don't get many funerals.'

Robert George Legge was recorded in the electoral register for 1951 at 18 Boston Manor Road, along with his wife Elsie Violet and grown up children (a family tree on Ancestry shows he had four children born 1916-1926). He died in December 1957 at Brentford Hospital. His home address was St George's Vicarage, Boston Manor Road.

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Brief notes about St George's church, includes links to other items about the church.

Rev. T Selby Henrey was a vicar at St George's from 1895-1930; the Henrey family has been thoroughly researched by several contributors.

Published April 2026