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Brentford

Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, 8 miles (13 km) west of Charing Cross.

Brentford
Skyline of Brentford town centre, facing south-west.
Brentford
Location within Greater London
Area5.87 km2 (2.27 sq mi)
Population27,907 (Syon, Brentford wards 2011)[1]
• Density4,754/km2 (12,310/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ1878
• Charing Cross8 mi (12.9 km) WNW
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRENTFORD
Postcode districtTW8
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°29′10″N 0°18′36″W / 51.486°N 0.310°W / 51.486; -0.310Coordinates: 51°29′10″N 0°18′36″W / 51.486°N 0.310°W / 51.486; -0.310

Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings which mark the start of the M4 corridor; in transport it also has two railway stations and Boston Manor Underground station on its north-west border with Hanwell. Brentford has a convenience shopping and dining venue grid of streets at its centre. Brentford at the start of the 21st century attracted regeneration of its little-used warehouse premises and docks including the re-modelling of the waterfront to provide more economically active shops, townhouses and apartments, some of which comprises Brentford Dock. A 19th and 20th centuries mixed social and private housing locality: New Brentford is contiguous with the Osterley neighbourhood of Isleworth and Syon Park and the Great West Road which has most of the largest business premises.

History

Toponymy

Bettany Hughes describing the Roman-era river crossing at Brentford

The name is recorded as Breguntford in 705 in an Anglo-Saxon charter and means 'ford over the River Brent'.[2]: 10 

The name of the river derives from *brigant-, a Brythonic word, meaning "high" or "elevated" (possibly in a holy sense). The river may also have been associated with the goddess Brigantia. The suffix '-ford' is Old English.[3] The ford was most likely located where the main road crossed the river. New Brentford is recorded as Newe Braynford in 1521 and was previously known as Westbraynford. Old Brentford is recorded as Old Braynford in 1476 and was previously known as Estbraynford.[3]

Early Brentford

The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, and thus pre-dates the founding of nearby London. Many pre-Roman artefacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as 'Old England'. Bronze Age pottery and burnt flints have been found in separate sites in Brentford. The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a meeting point for pre-Romanic tribes. One well known Iron Age piece from about 100 BC – AD 50 is the Brentford horn-cap[4] – a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton's collection,[5] now held by the Museum of London. The Celtic knot pattern (the 'Brentford Knot') on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery.

 
The Thames Lock on the Grand Union Canal at Brentford
 
Brentford Dock lock gates and Justin Close Brentford Dock is a basin off the Thames, with modern housing around it.
 
The former Brentford GWR Station view eastward on Brentford High Street. The station, on a branch from Southall to Brentford Docks, had been on the left. The passenger station and the service from Southall were closed in May 1942, but although Brentford Dock was closed in 1964, goods trains ran to Brentford Town Goods until December 1970.
 
Confluence of Rivers Thames and Brent at Brentford. The photograph was taken from the redeveloped docklands at Brentford. In the foreground is the River Brent, and in the background is the River Thames with the carpark Kew Gardens car park.

Brentford is the first point on the tidal portion of the River Thames which was easily fordable by foot (this was before dredging took place). Partly for this reason it has been suggested that Julius Cæsar crossed the Thames here during his invasion of Britain in 54 BC, and the Brentford Monument outside the County Court asserts that a battle took place here at this time between Cæsar's forces and Cassivellaunus.[6] In his own account, Cæsar writes that he crossed the river 80 miles (130 km) from the sea, and Brentford is this distance from his supposed landing beach. He further states that the river bank was protected by sharp stakes. During the building of Brentford Dock many such oak stakes were discovered. Dredging the river uncovered so many more that they had to be removed, for they were a hazard to navigation.[7] Although Cæsar's descriptions are compelling, there has been no archaeological proof that this was the spot where he and his army had to fight to cross. It must also be kept in mind that Julius Cæsar's own accounts suffered in some part to his embellishment of the facts.

Historically part of Middlesex, in the south-eastern corner of Elthorne Hundred, it has formed part of Greater London since 1965.

First English Civil War

In November 1642 a Royalist army advancing on London overcame a much smaller Parliamentarian force in battle at Brentford. The town was ransacked in the immediate aftermath of the engagement.[8]

Local fair

A local town fair, the Brentford Festival, has been held in Brentford every September since 1900.[9][10]

Brentford Dock

The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855[11] and it was formally opened in 1859. The dock yard is now a Marina and housing estate.[12]

The Hardwick family

A notable family from Brentford was the 18th-/19th-century architectural father and son partnership, the Hardwicks. Thomas Hardwick Senior (1725–1798) and Thomas Hardwick Junior (1752–1829) were both from Brentford and are buried in the old church of St Laurence. Hardwick Senior was the master mason for the Adam Brothers during the construction of Syon House. Hardwick Junior assisted in the building of Somerset House and was known for his designs of churches in the capital. He was also a tutor of J. M. W. Turner and he helped start Turner's illustrious career in art. Both father and son did a great deal of remodelling and rebuilding on the church of St Laurence.

Timeline

The road which is now Brentford High Street served as the main road to the South West of Britain for many centuries, and even now, the M4 motorway and the Great West Road pass approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the original main road through Brentford.

Local government

Brentford developed around the ancient boundary between the parishes of Ealing and Hanwell. It was divided between the chapelry of Old Brentford to the east in Ealing and the chapelry of New Brentford in Hanwell to the west. Of the two areas, Old Brentford was significantly larger.

New Brentford was first described as the county town of Middlesex in 1789, on the basis that it was the location of elections of knights for the shire (or Members of Parliament (MPs)) from 1701.[19] In 1795 New Brentford (as it was then) was "considered as the county-town; but there is no town-hall or other public building" causing confusion that remains to this day (see county town of Middlesex).[14]

The borough of Hounslow was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the merger of the areas of the Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick, the Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth and Feltham Urban District of Middlesex.

Demography and housing

2011 Census Homes
Ward Detached Semi-detached Terraced Flats and apartments Caravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboats Shared between households[1]
Brentford 150 826 1,425 3,511 17 25
Syon (most homes in the ward
are in New Brentford)
147 806 1,488 3,299 33 17
2011 Census Households
Ward Population Households % Owned outright % Owned with a loan hectares[1]
Brentford 14,353 5,954 15 23 315
Syon 13,554 5,790 16 28 272

In Brentford, those who ethnically identify as BAME (Black, Asian and minority Ethnic) was 33.9% in the Brentford ward and 34.2% in the Syon ward at the 2011 UK census. The median age of the population was 32 years in Brentford ward and 34 years in Syon ward. Both wards have about equal proportions of household types, with flats/maisonettes/apartments forming a majority in both wards.[20]

Economy

Landmarks

 
Syon House

The Syon estate

Syon House, the Greater London residence of the Duke of Northumberland, is a large mansion and park in Syon ward, described above, that has long been shared with Isleworth. Some of its seasonally marshy land is now a public nature reserve. The estate has a hotel (Hilton London Syon Park), visitor centre and garden centre.

Syon Abbey, demolished and replaced (with reworked gatehouses) by the newer mansion, had the largest abbey church in England in the Middle Ages.

The location of Syon Abbey in the park was unknown until archeological investigations in the grounds in 2003 (for the television series Time Team) and 2004 revealed the foundations of the abbey church. It was larger than Westminster Abbey is now, but no above-ground structure remains. There were complex reasons for its destruction.

The London Butterfly House in Syon Park was an insectarium like a large glasshouse containing a butterfly zoo. Visitors could see butterflies and moths flying about, feeding, and emerging from chrysalises. There was also a colony of large ants (kept with the butterflies), a small tropical bird aviary, and a small gallery of reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders. The lease on the current site expired in October 2007 and the Butterfly House closed on 28 October.

 
Front of Boston Manor House

Boston Manor House, built in 1622, is a Jacobean manor house, noted for its fine plasterwork ceilings.

Syon Park House (demolished in 1953, and not to be confused with Syon House itself) housed the 'Syon Park Academy' where the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was educated between the ages of 10 and 12 before moving on to Eton. A Royal Mail depot stands on the site now. This may also be the site of the dwelling where Pocahontas lived in Brentford End between 1616 and 1617.

Brentford Monument

 
Monument outside Brentford County Court commemorating four major events in the town's history

In 1909 a monument was made out of two stone pillars that used to support lamps on the old Brentford bridge over the Grand Union Canal. The monument originally stood at the end of Ferry Lane; after being covered in coal unloaded from boats, it was moved further up the lane in 1955. In 1992 it was moved again to its present site at the junction of Brentford High Street and Alexandra Road, outside the County Court. The monument commemorates four major events in Brentford's history: the supposed crossing of the Thames by Julius Caesar in 54 BC; the council of Brentford by King Offa of Mercia in 781; the defeat of King Canute by King Edmund Ironside at the first Battle of Brentford in 1016; and the second Battle of Brentford in 1642.[26]

Saint Paul's Church

 
Saint Paul's Church

Built in 1868 from Kentish ragstone, Saint Paul's Church is one of Brentford's two current Anglican parish churches, and a distinct landmark. Its spire is clearly visible. The architect was H. Francis and James Montgomrey was a principal subscriber and chairman of the building committee.[16] In 1959 and 1961 the parishes of the nearby churches of Saint George and Saint Lawrence were amalgamated with Saint Paul.[27]

Inside the church is a painting by local artist Johann Zoffany called Christ's Last Supper. It was originally intended to be installed in St Anne's Church, Kew, but the local people objected, and therefore in 1887 it was installed in Saint George's Church instead. When that church was closed in 1959, the painting was transferred to its present location in Saint Paul's Church.[28]

Saint Faith's Church

Brentford's other Anglican parish church, Saint Faith's, is a comparatively recent building, dating from 1906 to 1907. Designed in Gothic Revival style, by G F Bodley and D G Hare, it was described by the poet John Betjeman:

St Faith’s displays all the splendour of Bodley in its simplicity and strength. It rises like a great ship over the housetops and inside the view from the west end leads you naturally to the altar and up to the roof.

[29]

Saint Lawrence's Church

 
The derelict St Lawrence's church

There has been a church on the site of Brentford's former parish church of Saint Lawrence since the 12th century, but the tower dates from the 15th century, and the remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1764 from brick. There were a number of interesting monuments in the church, including one dedicated to a Maurice de Berkeley, dating from 1189, who was buried in the original church. The church was closed in 1961 and the monuments removed, and the parish was united with Saint Paul's.[30] The church has now been in a derelict state for more than half a century but the graveyard still holds the Ronalds vault where Hugh Ronalds and numerous members of his family are buried.[31] A war memorial stood outside the church until 2009, when it was moved to Brentford Library.[32]

Saint John the Evangelist's Church

The church, opened in 1866, was built for Irish railway construction workers, by an architect named Jackman.

Saint George's Church

An unconsecrated chapel was built from subscriptions raised from 57 prominent inhabitants on the site in 1762; previously the parish was part of Ealing. The old chapel was demolished in 1886 and eventually replaced by the current building designed by A. W. Blomfield. The painting of the Last Supper by Zoffany was transferred to the new church. It was closed in 1959 and used as the home for the Musical Museum from 1963 until the Museum moved to new premises. It is now (2017) being converted into flats.

On the periphery

Gunnersbury Park Museum is in Gunnersbury House, narrowly in Gunnersbury (the north-west of Chiswick) containing artefacts and former furnishings of the Rothschild family, who were culturally and financially pre-eminent across France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and North America.

Kew Gardens is visible from the scattering of high rise buildings towering over the town and some of the mid rise ones.

The Weir public house, formerly 'The White Horse', was where the artist J. M. W. Turner lived for one year at the age of ten. He is regarded as having started his interest in painting while living there. Later he lived in Isleworth and Twickenham.

 
The Pool of Brentford Lock with new developments and the GSK building in background

Brentford Dock

Brentford Dock came to single use and engineered enlargement as a freight terminus of the Great Western Railway. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built between 1855 and 1859 at the confluence of the River Thames and River Brent – part of the land was James Montgomrey’s Montgomrey's Wharf.[16] A spur line from the GWR at Southall was constructed to the Brentford Dock railway station to facilitate easy transferral of freight from lighters and barges on the Thames to GWR-served destinations in the west of the country. The dock was redeveloped as residential accommodation from the early 1970s, and little industrial archaeology remains. However, Dock Road still retains some of its original fan pattern cobblestone road bed and examples of Brunel's broad-gauge 'bridge section' rail can be seen there.

The Brentford Dock flats (originally named the Tiber Estate)[33] were built alongside formerly important transport infrastructure as Brentford is the terminus of the Grand Union Canal, originally the Grand Junction Canal. This waterway is still in use for leisure traffic as part of the Grand Union Canal.

Others

Brentford Public Library is a Carnegie library, built by the architect Nowell Parr and opened in 1904.[34] Outside the library is the Brentford War Memorial,[35] accompanied by three smaller war memorials.[36][37] There is also Jim Pooley's bench honouring Robert Rankin's writing connection with the borough.[38]

Brentford Baths (1896), also by the architect Nowell Parr, is a Grade II listed example of late Victorian architecture.

The London Museum of Water & Steam houses the world's largest working beam engine, and its narrow cuboid tower is an emblem of the town.

The Musical Museum houses a large collection of mechanical musical instruments, such as player pianos and a Wurlitzer organ.

 
Houseboats on the Thames at Brentford, from Kew Bridge

The Butts Estate, a Georgian square and associated conservation area, contains several Grade II listed buildings some dating back to 1680.[39]

Sports

Griffin Park is the former home of Brentford F.C. and Chelsea Football Club Reserves, plus (from 2002 until 23 September 2005 it was the home of the London Broncos rugby league club – subsequently they were renamed Harlequins RL and transferred to The Stoop).

Brentford F.C. are a professional English football club based in Brentford. They currently play in the Premier League. It was founded in 1889 by members of the defunct Brentford Rowing Club and play their home games at the Gtech Community Stadium, having played at Griffin Park between 1904 and 2020. The club has a long-standing rivalry with near neighbours, Fulham.[40] The Stadium is also used by Premiership Rugby side London Irish.

Transport

Nearest London Underground stations:

Nearest railway stations:

In literature

The phrase 'like two kings of Brentford' refers to former enemies who are now good friends. It appears in:

In popular culture

Brentford's industrial status and the Great West Road are notable facets of Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World. Set in London in AD 2540 (632 A.F.—"After Ford"), the influential dystopia anticipates changes in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that combine to change society profoundly.

The BBC Three sitcom People Just Do Nothing is set in and around Brentford.[44]

The Brentford Trilogy, a (ten-book) series of "far-fetched fiction" novels by Robert Rankin, humorously chronicle the lives of a couple of drunken middle-aged layabouts, Jim Pooley and John Omally, who confront the forces of darkness in the environs of western Greater London, usually with the assistance of large quantities of beer from their favourite public house, The Flying Swan. Several of Rankin's other books are also set in or reference Brentford.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b c "Brentford Ward (as of 2011)". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ^ Gover, J. E. B. (1922). The Place Names of Middlesex. London, UK: Longmans, Green and Co. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Mills, D. (2000). Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford.
  4. ^ . museumoflondon.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
  5. ^ . museumoflondon.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
  6. ^ "The Thomas Layton Collection, Inscription on the Brentford Monument". Thomaslayton.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  7. ^ Sharpe, Montagu (1926). Some accounts of bygone Hanwell. Page 7,8,9, & 10. Brentford Printing and Publishing Coy., Ltd. London. UK.
  8. ^ Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660, Trevor Royle, p205. Abacus, 2004. ISBN 978-0-349-11564-1
  9. ^ . Brentfordfestival.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  10. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  13. ^ "Pocahontas in England". www.historytoday.com. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Brentford | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  15. ^ Ronalds, B.F. (2017). "Ronalds Nurserymen in Brentford and Beyond". Garden History. 45: 82–100.
  16. ^ a b c Ronalds, B.F. (2018). "The Montgomrey Family of Brentford: Timber Merchants and Benefactors". London's Industrial Archaeology. 16: 57–69.
  17. ^ Bott, V. (2002). Flood! : the Brentford flood of 1841. London: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society. ISBN 0950802506.
  18. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Vol 2: Appendix D pg 34. Accessed 2007-08-21
  19. ^ "Ealing and Brentford: Growth of Brentford | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Ward Profiles and Atlas". Greater London Authority. from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  21. ^ "United Kingdom | GSK". www.gsk.com.
  22. ^ . 9 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Heidelberg – Heidelberg UK". Uk.heidelberg.com. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  24. ^ . Archived from the original on 1 March 2012.
  25. ^ "SEGA US - Corporate". SEGA. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Brentford Monument". BHS Project. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  27. ^ "Churches: Brentford". British History. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  28. ^ "Johann Zoffany". Brentford local website. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Saint Faith's Church". Brentford History. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  30. ^ Weinreb, Ben & Hibbert, Christopher (1992). The London Encyclopaedia (reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 750.
  31. ^ "Ronalds Family Vault". Sir Francis Ronalds and his Family. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  32. ^ "West Brentford War Memorial Restoration". Brentford History Project. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  33. ^ . Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  34. ^ Historic England. "Brentford Public Library (1334382)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Men Of Brentford". Imperial War Museums. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  36. ^ "Roll of Honour- Brentford Gas Light and Coke Company". Roll of Honour. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  37. ^ "West Brentford War Memorial Restoration". Brentford History Project. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  38. ^ Charnick, David. "Whoops Apocalypse: Catastrophe Diverted in Robert Rankin's Brentford Trilogy". Academia. Academia. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  39. ^ . Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  40. ^ "Guide". TalkFootball. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  41. ^ "Brentford - Hidden London".
  42. ^ "The Task: Book I. -- The Sofa by William Cowper". www.poetry.com.
  43. ^ "Tom Cringle's Log, by Michael Scott". www.gutenberg.org.
  44. ^ Nolan, Emma (14 November 2018). "People Just Do Nothing season 5 location: Where is the new series filmed?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2019. People Just Do Nothing is a mockumentary set in Brentford, West London.
Bibliography
  • The Archive Photographs Series, Brentford; Tempus Publishing Ltd., 1998, ISBN 0-7524-0627-2
  • Brentford as it was; Hendon Publishing Co. Ltd., Second impression May 1993, ISBN 0-86067-082-1
  • Brentford Past; Historical Publications Ltd., ISBN 0-948667-79-6
  • Old Ordnance Survey Maps, Brentford 1894, The Godfrey Edition; Alan Godfrey Maps, ISBN 0-85054-509-9

Further reading

External links

  • Brentford High Street project: people and properties 1840–1940
  • Parish of Brentford – St Faith's and St Paul's
  • Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brentford" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

brentford, football, club, confused, with, bretford, brantford, brentwood, essex, suburban, town, west, london, england, part, london, borough, hounslow, lies, confluence, river, brent, thames, miles, west, charing, cross, skyline, town, centre, facing, south,. For the football club see Brentford F C Not to be confused with Bretford Brantford or Brentwood Essex Brentford is a suburban town in West London England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames 8 miles 13 km west of Charing Cross BrentfordSkyline of Brentford town centre facing south west BrentfordLocation within Greater LondonArea5 87 km2 2 27 sq mi Population27 907 Syon Brentford wards 2011 1 Density4 754 km2 12 310 sq mi OS grid referenceTQ1878 Charing Cross8 mi 12 9 km WNWLondon boroughHounslowCeremonial countyGreater LondonRegionLondonCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townBRENTFORDPostcode districtTW8Dialling code020PoliceMetropolitanFireLondonAmbulanceLondonUK ParliamentBrentford amp IsleworthLondon AssemblySouth WestList of places UK England London 51 29 10 N 0 18 36 W 51 486 N 0 310 W 51 486 0 310 Coordinates 51 29 10 N 0 18 36 W 51 486 N 0 310 W 51 486 0 310Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings which mark the start of the M4 corridor in transport it also has two railway stations and Boston Manor Underground station on its north west border with Hanwell Brentford has a convenience shopping and dining venue grid of streets at its centre Brentford at the start of the 21st century attracted regeneration of its little used warehouse premises and docks including the re modelling of the waterfront to provide more economically active shops townhouses and apartments some of which comprises Brentford Dock A 19th and 20th centuries mixed social and private housing locality New Brentford is contiguous with the Osterley neighbourhood of Isleworth and Syon Park and the Great West Road which has most of the largest business premises Contents 1 History 1 1 Toponymy 1 2 Early Brentford 1 3 First English Civil War 1 4 Local fair 1 5 Brentford Dock 1 6 The Hardwick family 1 7 Timeline 2 Local government 3 Demography and housing 4 Economy 5 Landmarks 5 1 The Syon estate 5 2 Brentford Monument 5 3 Saint Paul s Church 5 4 Saint Faith s Church 5 5 Saint Lawrence s Church 5 6 Saint John the Evangelist s Church 5 7 Saint George s Church 5 8 On the periphery 5 9 Brentford Dock 5 10 Others 6 Sports 7 Transport 8 In literature 9 In popular culture 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksHistory EditFurther information History of London Toponymy Edit source source Bettany Hughes describing the Roman era river crossing at Brentford The name is recorded as Breguntford in 705 in an Anglo Saxon charter and means ford over the River Brent 2 10 The name of the river derives from brigant a Brythonic word meaning high or elevated possibly in a holy sense The river may also have been associated with the goddess Brigantia The suffix ford is Old English 3 The ford was most likely located where the main road crossed the river New Brentford is recorded as Newe Braynford in 1521 and was previously known as Westbraynford Old Brentford is recorded as Old Braynford in 1476 and was previously known as Estbraynford 3 Early Brentford Edit The settlement pre dates the Roman occupation of Britain and thus pre dates the founding of nearby London Many pre Roman artefacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as Old England Bronze Age pottery and burnt flints have been found in separate sites in Brentford The quality and quantity of the artefacts suggests that Brentford was a meeting point for pre Romanic tribes One well known Iron Age piece from about 100 BC AD 50 is the Brentford horn cap 4 a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton s collection 5 now held by the Museum of London The Celtic knot pattern the Brentford Knot on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery The Thames Lock on the Grand Union Canal at Brentford Brentford Dock lock gates and Justin Close Brentford Dock is a basin off the Thames with modern housing around it The former Brentford GWR Station view eastward on Brentford High Street The station on a branch from Southall to Brentford Docks had been on the left The passenger station and the service from Southall were closed in May 1942 but although Brentford Dock was closed in 1964 goods trains ran to Brentford Town Goods until December 1970 Confluence of Rivers Thames and Brent at Brentford The photograph was taken from the redeveloped docklands at Brentford In the foreground is the River Brent and in the background is the River Thames with the carpark Kew Gardens car park Brentford is the first point on the tidal portion of the River Thames which was easily fordable by foot this was before dredging took place Partly for this reason it has been suggested that Julius Caesar crossed the Thames here during his invasion of Britain in 54 BC and the Brentford Monument outside the County Court asserts that a battle took place here at this time between Caesar s forces and Cassivellaunus 6 In his own account Caesar writes that he crossed the river 80 miles 130 km from the sea and Brentford is this distance from his supposed landing beach He further states that the river bank was protected by sharp stakes During the building of Brentford Dock many such oak stakes were discovered Dredging the river uncovered so many more that they had to be removed for they were a hazard to navigation 7 Although Caesar s descriptions are compelling there has been no archaeological proof that this was the spot where he and his army had to fight to cross It must also be kept in mind that Julius Caesar s own accounts suffered in some part to his embellishment of the facts Historically part of Middlesex in the south eastern corner of Elthorne Hundred it has formed part of Greater London since 1965 First English Civil War Edit See also Battle of Brentford 1642 In November 1642 a Royalist army advancing on London overcame a much smaller Parliamentarian force in battle at Brentford The town was ransacked in the immediate aftermath of the engagement 8 Local fair Edit A local town fair the Brentford Festival has been held in Brentford every September since 1900 9 10 Brentford Dock Edit Main article Brentford Dock The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855 11 and it was formally opened in 1859 The dock yard is now a Marina and housing estate 12 The Hardwick family Edit A notable family from Brentford was the 18th 19th century architectural father and son partnership the Hardwicks Thomas Hardwick Senior 1725 1798 and Thomas Hardwick Junior 1752 1829 were both from Brentford and are buried in the old church of St Laurence Hardwick Senior was the master mason for the Adam Brothers during the construction of Syon House Hardwick Junior assisted in the building of Somerset House and was known for his designs of churches in the capital He was also a tutor of J M W Turner and he helped start Turner s illustrious career in art Both father and son did a great deal of remodelling and rebuilding on the church of St Laurence Timeline Edit 54 BC Brentford is a likely site of a battle recorded by Julius Caesar between Julius Caesar and the local king Cassivellaunus 781 Council of Brentford recording settlement of a dispute between King Offa of Mercia and the Bishop of Worcester 1016 Battle of Brentford between the invading Canute and Edmund Ironside 1431 Relocation of Syon Abbey to Brentford from Twickenham 1539 Destruction of Syon Abbey by King Henry VIII 1616 1617 Pocahontas a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people who resided in Brentford with her husband John Rolfe and son Thomas 13 1642 Battle of Brentford during the English Civil War 1682 A very violent storm of rain accompanied with thunder and lightning caused a sudden flood which did great damage to the town of Brentford The whole place was overflown boats rowed up and down the streets and several houses and other buildings were carried away by the force of water 14 1717 Brentford Turnpike Trust founded to maintain the road between Kensington and Hounslow 1756 Ronalds nursery established by Hugh Ronalds father on Brentford High Street closed 1880 15 1805 Start of operations of the Grand Junction Canal later the Grand Union Canal 1806 James Montgomrey s father James Montgomrey Snr commenced operating a large timber mill at Montgomrey s Wharf a yard formerly occupied by his cousin relocated 1911 16 1815 1817 John Quincy Adams sixth President of the US lived in Brentford 1828 William Corder was arrested on Wednesday 23 April at Everley Grove House Ealing Lane in Brentford for the notorious Red Barn Murder 1841 Brentford was flooded caused by the Brent Reservoir becoming overfull so that the overflow cut a breach in the earth dam Several lives lost 17 18 1849 Start of operations of the Hounslow Loop line providing service to Kew Bridge Brentford Central and Syon Lane stations in the Brentford area 1859 Start of operations of the Great Western amp Brentford Railway built in part on James Montgomrey s land and linking Brentford Dock to the Great Western Railway main line at Southall Additional passenger station named Brentford Town later constructed just north of Brentford High Street 1884 Start of operations of Boston Manor Underground station then known as Boston Road 1889 Brentford Football Club founded by a rowing club seeking a winter sport 30 May 1925 Great West Road officially opened by King George V Later the Brentford section became known as the Golden Mile due to the large number of factories that relocated there to take advantage of the good communications The factories provided high employment and stimulation to the local economy 1 January 1929 Grand Junction Canal bought by the Regent s Canal and amalgamated with other canals to form the Grand Union Canal 1965 Opening of elevated section of M4 motorwayThe road which is now Brentford High Street served as the main road to the South West of Britain for many centuries and even now the M4 motorway and the Great West Road pass approximately 1 mile 1 6 km north of the original main road through Brentford Local government EditBrentford developed around the ancient boundary between the parishes of Ealing and Hanwell It was divided between the chapelry of Old Brentford to the east in Ealing and the chapelry of New Brentford in Hanwell to the west Of the two areas Old Brentford was significantly larger New Brentford was first described as the county town of Middlesex in 1789 on the basis that it was the location of elections of knights for the shire or Members of Parliament MPs from 1701 19 In 1795 New Brentford as it was then was considered as the county town but there is no town hall or other public building causing confusion that remains to this day see county town of Middlesex 14 The borough of Hounslow was formed in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 by the merger of the areas of the Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick the Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth and Feltham Urban District of Middlesex Demography and housing Edit2011 Census Homes Ward Detached Semi detached Terraced Flats and apartments Caravans temporary mobile homes houseboats Shared between households 1 Brentford 150 826 1 425 3 511 17 25Syon most homes in the wardare in New Brentford 147 806 1 488 3 299 33 172011 Census Households Ward Population Households Owned outright Owned with a loan hectares 1 Brentford 14 353 5 954 15 23 315Syon 13 554 5 790 16 28 272In Brentford those who ethnically identify as BAME Black Asian and minority Ethnic was 33 9 in the Brentford ward and 34 2 in the Syon ward at the 2011 UK census The median age of the population was 32 years in Brentford ward and 34 years in Syon ward Both wards have about equal proportions of household types with flats maisonettes apartments forming a majority in both wards 20 Economy EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Allianz Cornhill Animal Health Brompton Bicycle Headquarters manufacturer of folding bicycles was based here for many years but moved to a new factory in Greenford Ealing in 2017 Carillion Datapoint Headquarters GlaxoSmithKline Headquarters 21 Global Blue previously Global Refund 22 Formerly the EMC Corporation HQ aka EMC Tower E M Tool Designs Ltd Headquarters Heidelberg Graphic Equipment Ltd subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG 23 JCDecaux UK 24 Sega Europe has its head office in Brentford 25 Sky Tie Rack Corporate Neckwear ViiV Healthcare WorleyParsons Greater London offices Landmarks Edit Syon House The Syon estate Edit Syon House the Greater London residence of the Duke of Northumberland is a large mansion and park in Syon ward described above that has long been shared with Isleworth Some of its seasonally marshy land is now a public nature reserve The estate has a hotel Hilton London Syon Park visitor centre and garden centre Syon Abbey demolished and replaced with reworked gatehouses by the newer mansion had the largest abbey church in England in the Middle Ages The location of Syon Abbey in the park was unknown until archeological investigations in the grounds in 2003 for the television series Time Team and 2004 revealed the foundations of the abbey church It was larger than Westminster Abbey is now but no above ground structure remains There were complex reasons for its destruction The London Butterfly House in Syon Park was an insectarium like a large glasshouse containing a butterfly zoo Visitors could see butterflies and moths flying about feeding and emerging from chrysalises There was also a colony of large ants kept with the butterflies a small tropical bird aviary and a small gallery of reptiles amphibians insects and spiders The lease on the current site expired in October 2007 and the Butterfly House closed on 28 October Front of Boston Manor House Boston Manor House built in 1622 is a Jacobean manor house noted for its fine plasterwork ceilings Syon Park House demolished in 1953 and not to be confused with Syon House itself housed the Syon Park Academy where the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was educated between the ages of 10 and 12 before moving on to Eton A Royal Mail depot stands on the site now This may also be the site of the dwelling where Pocahontas lived in Brentford End between 1616 and 1617 Brentford Monument Edit Monument outside Brentford County Court commemorating four major events in the town s history In 1909 a monument was made out of two stone pillars that used to support lamps on the old Brentford bridge over the Grand Union Canal The monument originally stood at the end of Ferry Lane after being covered in coal unloaded from boats it was moved further up the lane in 1955 In 1992 it was moved again to its present site at the junction of Brentford High Street and Alexandra Road outside the County Court The monument commemorates four major events in Brentford s history the supposed crossing of the Thames by Julius Caesar in 54 BC the council of Brentford by King Offa of Mercia in 781 the defeat of King Canute by King Edmund Ironside at the first Battle of Brentford in 1016 and the second Battle of Brentford in 1642 26 Saint Paul s Church Edit Saint Paul s Church Built in 1868 from Kentish ragstone Saint Paul s Church is one of Brentford s two current Anglican parish churches and a distinct landmark Its spire is clearly visible The architect was H Francis and James Montgomrey was a principal subscriber and chairman of the building committee 16 In 1959 and 1961 the parishes of the nearby churches of Saint George and Saint Lawrence were amalgamated with Saint Paul 27 Inside the church is a painting by local artist Johann Zoffany called Christ s Last Supper It was originally intended to be installed in St Anne s Church Kew but the local people objected and therefore in 1887 it was installed in Saint George s Church instead When that church was closed in 1959 the painting was transferred to its present location in Saint Paul s Church 28 Saint Faith s Church Edit Brentford s other Anglican parish church Saint Faith s is a comparatively recent building dating from 1906 to 1907 Designed in Gothic Revival style by G F Bodley and D G Hare it was described by the poet John Betjeman St Faith s displays all the splendour of Bodley in its simplicity and strength It rises like a great ship over the housetops and inside the view from the west end leads you naturally to the altar and up to the roof 29 Saint Lawrence s Church Edit The derelict St Lawrence s church There has been a church on the site of Brentford s former parish church of Saint Lawrence since the 12th century but the tower dates from the 15th century and the remainder of the church was rebuilt in 1764 from brick There were a number of interesting monuments in the church including one dedicated to a Maurice de Berkeley dating from 1189 who was buried in the original church The church was closed in 1961 and the monuments removed and the parish was united with Saint Paul s 30 The church has now been in a derelict state for more than half a century but the graveyard still holds the Ronalds vault where Hugh Ronalds and numerous members of his family are buried 31 A war memorial stood outside the church until 2009 when it was moved to Brentford Library 32 Saint John the Evangelist s Church Edit The church opened in 1866 was built for Irish railway construction workers by an architect named Jackman Saint George s Church Edit An unconsecrated chapel was built from subscriptions raised from 57 prominent inhabitants on the site in 1762 previously the parish was part of Ealing The old chapel was demolished in 1886 and eventually replaced by the current building designed by A W Blomfield The painting of the Last Supper by Zoffany was transferred to the new church It was closed in 1959 and used as the home for the Musical Museum from 1963 until the Museum moved to new premises It is now 2017 being converted into flats On the periphery Edit Gunnersbury Park Museum is in Gunnersbury House narrowly in Gunnersbury the north west of Chiswick containing artefacts and former furnishings of the Rothschild family who were culturally and financially pre eminent across France Germany the Netherlands the United Kingdom and North America Kew Gardens is visible from the scattering of high rise buildings towering over the town and some of the mid rise ones The Weir public house formerly The White Horse was where the artist J M W Turner lived for one year at the age of ten He is regarded as having started his interest in painting while living there Later he lived in Isleworth and Twickenham The Pool of Brentford Lock with new developments and the GSK building in background Brentford Dock Edit Brentford Dock came to single use and engineered enlargement as a freight terminus of the Great Western Railway It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built between 1855 and 1859 at the confluence of the River Thames and River Brent part of the land was James Montgomrey s Montgomrey s Wharf 16 A spur line from the GWR at Southall was constructed to the Brentford Dock railway station to facilitate easy transferral of freight from lighters and barges on the Thames to GWR served destinations in the west of the country The dock was redeveloped as residential accommodation from the early 1970s and little industrial archaeology remains However Dock Road still retains some of its original fan pattern cobblestone road bed and examples of Brunel s broad gauge bridge section rail can be seen there The Brentford Dock flats originally named the Tiber Estate 33 were built alongside formerly important transport infrastructure as Brentford is the terminus of the Grand Union Canal originally the Grand Junction Canal This waterway is still in use for leisure traffic as part of the Grand Union Canal Others Edit Brentford Public Library Brentford Public Library is a Carnegie library built by the architect Nowell Parr and opened in 1904 34 Outside the library is the Brentford War Memorial 35 accompanied by three smaller war memorials 36 37 There is also Jim Pooley s bench honouring Robert Rankin s writing connection with the borough 38 Brentford Baths 1896 also by the architect Nowell Parr is a Grade II listed example of late Victorian architecture The London Museum of Water amp Steam houses the world s largest working beam engine and its narrow cuboid tower is an emblem of the town The Musical Museum houses a large collection of mechanical musical instruments such as player pianos and a Wurlitzer organ Houseboats on the Thames at Brentford from Kew Bridge The Butts Estate a Georgian square and associated conservation area contains several Grade II listed buildings some dating back to 1680 39 Sports EditGriffin Park is the former home of Brentford F C and Chelsea Football Club Reserves plus from 2002 until 23 September 2005 it was the home of the London Broncos rugby league club subsequently they were renamed Harlequins RL and transferred to The Stoop Brentford F C are a professional English football club based in Brentford They currently play in the Premier League It was founded in 1889 by members of the defunct Brentford Rowing Club and play their home games at the Gtech Community Stadium having played at Griffin Park between 1904 and 2020 The club has a long standing rivalry with near neighbours Fulham 40 The Stadium is also used by Premiership Rugby side London Irish Transport EditNearest London Underground stations Northfields Boston Manor South Ealing GunnersburyNearest railway stations Brentford railway station Kew Bridge railway station Syon Lane railway stationIn literature EditThe phrase like two kings of Brentford refers to former enemies who are now good friends It appears in the play The Rehearsal 1672 by George Villiers 41 the poem The Sofa by William Cowper 42 the novel Tom Cringle s Log by Michael Scott 43 In popular culture EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Brentford news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Brentford s industrial status and the Great West Road are notable facets of Aldous Huxley s 1932 novel Brave New World Set in London in AD 2540 632 A F After Ford the influential dystopia anticipates changes in reproductive technology sleep learning psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that combine to change society profoundly The BBC Three sitcom People Just Do Nothing is set in and around Brentford 44 The Brentford Trilogy a ten book series of far fetched fiction novels by Robert Rankin humorously chronicle the lives of a couple of drunken middle aged layabouts Jim Pooley and John Omally who confront the forces of darkness in the environs of western Greater London usually with the assistance of large quantities of beer from their favourite public house The Flying Swan Several of Rankin s other books are also set in or reference Brentford See also Edit London portalList of people from Hounslow List of schools in HounslowReferences EditNotes a b c Brentford Ward as of 2011 www nomisweb co uk Retrieved 9 June 2021 Gover J E B 1922 The Place Names of Middlesex London UK Longmans Green and Co Retrieved 9 June 2021 a b Mills D 2000 Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names Oxford Bronze chariot fitting from Brentford museumoflondon org uk Archived from the original on 12 March 2007 Tour 1 Antiquarians collectors and dealers Thomas Layton museumoflondon org uk Archived from the original on 27 May 2011 The Thomas Layton Collection Inscription on the Brentford Monument Thomaslayton org uk Archived from the original on 14 September 2012 Retrieved 3 June 2014 Sharpe Montagu 1926 Some accounts of bygone Hanwell Page 7 8 9 amp 10 Brentford Printing and Publishing Coy Ltd London UK Civil War The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638 1660 Trevor Royle p205 Abacus 2004 ISBN 978 0 349 11564 1 Brentford Festival 2010 Brentfordfestival org uk Archived from the original on 1 June 2014 Retrieved 3 June 2014 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 16 March 2012 Retrieved 2011 07 06 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Brentford Dock History Archived from the original on 11 September 2011 Retrieved 2011 05 15 Brentford Dock s 150th Anniversary Archived from the original on 6 January 2010 Retrieved 2011 05 15 Pocahontas in England www historytoday com Retrieved 5 January 2023 a b Brentford British History Online www british history ac uk Retrieved 9 June 2021 Ronalds B F 2017 Ronalds Nurserymen in Brentford and Beyond Garden History 45 82 100 a b c Ronalds B F 2018 The Montgomrey Family of Brentford Timber Merchants and Benefactors London s Industrial Archaeology 16 57 69 Bott V 2002 Flood the Brentford flood of 1841 London Brentford amp Chiswick Local History Society ISBN 0950802506 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original on 6 April 2008 Retrieved 21 August 2007 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Vol 2 Appendix D pg 34 Accessed 2007 08 21 Ealing and Brentford Growth of Brentford British History Online www british history ac uk Retrieved 9 June 2021 Ward Profiles and Atlas Greater London Authority Archived from the original on 27 October 2014 Retrieved 20 August 2021 United Kingdom GSK www gsk com Home Global Blue 9 October 2010 Archived from the original on 9 October 2010 Retrieved 9 June 2021 Heidelberg Heidelberg UK Uk heidelberg com Retrieved 3 June 2014 Contact Us Archived from the original on 1 March 2012 SEGA US Corporate SEGA 19 March 2015 Retrieved 9 June 2021 Brentford Monument BHS Project Retrieved 2 August 2014 Churches Brentford British History Retrieved 2 February 2015 Johann Zoffany Brentford local website Retrieved 2 February 2015 Saint Faith s Church Brentford History 21 December 2013 Retrieved 2 February 2015 Weinreb Ben amp Hibbert Christopher 1992 The London Encyclopaedia reprint ed Macmillan p 750 Ronalds Family Vault Sir Francis Ronalds and his Family Retrieved 9 May 2018 West Brentford War Memorial Restoration Brentford History Project Retrieved 2 February 2015 HISTORY OF THE DOCKS BRENTFORD Archived from the original on 5 July 2008 Retrieved 7 January 2008 Historic England Brentford Public Library 1334382 National Heritage List for England Retrieved 3 April 2015 Men Of Brentford Imperial War Museums Imperial War Museum Retrieved 23 December 2021 Roll of Honour Brentford Gas Light and Coke Company Roll of Honour Retrieved 15 July 2014 West Brentford War Memorial Restoration Brentford History Project Retrieved 15 July 2014 Charnick David Whoops Apocalypse Catastrophe Diverted in Robert Rankin s Brentford Trilogy Academia Academia Retrieved 23 December 2021 Brentford Dock Residents Brentford and Brentford Dock history Archived from the original on 24 December 2016 Retrieved 9 June 2014 Guide TalkFootball Retrieved 3 June 2014 Brentford Hidden London The Task Book I The Sofa by William Cowper www poetry com Tom Cringle s Log by Michael Scott www gutenberg org Nolan Emma 14 November 2018 People Just Do Nothing season 5 location Where is the new series filmed Express co uk Retrieved 28 January 2019 People Just Do Nothing is a mockumentary set in Brentford West London BibliographyThe Archive Photographs Series Brentford Tempus Publishing Ltd 1998 ISBN 0 7524 0627 2 Brentford as it was Hendon Publishing Co Ltd Second impression May 1993 ISBN 0 86067 082 1 Brentford Past Historical Publications Ltd ISBN 0 948667 79 6 Old Ordnance Survey Maps Brentford 1894 The Godfrey Edition Alan Godfrey Maps ISBN 0 85054 509 9Further reading EditEdward Walford 1883 Brentford Greater London London Cassell amp Co OCLC 3009761External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brentford London Borough of Hounslow Brentford Chiswick amp Isleworth Times online Fairly comprehensive amateur local history website on Brentford Brentford High Street project people and properties 1840 1940 Parish of Brentford St Faith s and St Paul s Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Brentford Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 4 11th ed Cambridge University Press Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brentford amp oldid 1131777714, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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