Brentford is a suburban town in
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
, England and part of the
London Borough of Hounslow
The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...
. It lies at the
confluence of the
River Brent
The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thame ...
and the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, west of
Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings which mark the start of the
M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...
; in transport it also has two railway stations and
Boston Manor Underground station on its north-west border with
Hanwell
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
. 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
Osterley () is an affluent district of the historic parish of Isleworth in west London approximately from Charing Cross and is part of the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Oster ...
neighbourhood of
Isleworth and
Syon Park
Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under ...
and the Great West Road which has most of the largest business premises.
History
Toponymy
The name is recorded as ''Breguntford'' in 705 in an
Anglo-Saxon charter and means 'ford over the
River Brent
The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thame ...
'.
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
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
.
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''.
Early Brentford
The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, and thus pre-dates the founding of nearby
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Many pre-Roman artefacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as 'Old England'.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
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
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
piece from about 100 BC – AD 50 is the Brentford horn-cap – a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton's collection, now held by the
Museum of London
The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...
. The
Celtic knot pattern (the 'Brentford Knot') on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery.
![Brentford GWR Station (site) 1894854 78770255](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Brentford_GWR_Station_%28site%29_1894854_78770255.jpg)
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
Cassivellaunus was a historical Celtic Britons, British military leader who led the defence against Caesar's invasions of Britain, Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Ancient Rome, Roman for ...
. In his own account, Cæsar writes that he crossed the river 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. 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
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, in the south-eastern corner of
Elthorne Hundred
Elthorne was a hundred (ancient subdivision) of the historic county of Middlesex, England.
Toponymy
The name is a standard contraction in Old English of El(ɘ's) thorn – El likely being a man, perhaps one of the eorls (earls) in the sam ...
, 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.
Local fair
A local town fair, the Brentford Festival, has been held in Brentford every September since 1900.
Brentford Dock
The building of
Brentford Dock was started in 1855 and it was formally opened in 1859. The
dock yard is now a
Marina and
housing estate
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States ...
.
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
* 54 BC Brentford is a likely site of a battle recorded by Julius Cæsar between Julius Cæsar 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
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
and
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...
* 1431 Relocation of
Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the l ...
to Brentford from
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
* 1539 Destruction of Syon Abbey by King
Henry VIII
* 1616 – 1617
Rebecca Rolfe, the
Pamunkey princess who resided in Brentford with her husband,
John Rolfe
John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611.
Biography
John Rolfe is believed ...
and son
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
.
* 1642
Battle of Brentford during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
* 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.
* 1717 Brentford
Turnpike Trust
Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, ...
founded to maintain the road between
Kensington and
Hounslow
Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...
* 1756 Ronalds nursery established by
Hugh Ronalds
Hugh Ronalds (4 March 1760 – 18 November 1833) was an esteemed nurseryman and horticulturalist in Brentford, who published ''Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis: or, a Concise Description of Selected Apples'' (1831). His plants were some of the first ...
' father on Brentford High Street (closed 1880)
* 1805 Start of operations of the
Grand Junction Canal (later the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
)
* 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)
* 1815 – 1817
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...
, 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
The Brent Reservoir (popularly called the Welsh Harp) is a reservoir in North West London. It straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by the Canal & River Trust. The reservoir takes its informal name from a p ...
becoming overfull so that the overflow cut a breach in the earth dam. Several lives lost.
* 1849 Start of operations of the
Hounslow Loop line
The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London which was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1850. It leaves the Waterloo to Reading Line at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a trian ...
, providing service to Kew Bridge, Brentford Central and Syon Lane stations in the Brentford area.
* 1859 Start of operations of the
Great Western & Brentford Railway, built in part on
James Montgomrey’s land and linking
Brentford Dock to the
Great Western Railway main line at
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
. 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
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
. 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
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in e ...
and amalgamated with other canals to form the Grand Union Canal.
* 1965 Opening of elevated section of
M4 motorway
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
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
. 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
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
in 1789, on the basis that it was the location of elections of knights for the shire (or
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs)) from 1701. 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).
The borough of Hounslow was formed in 1965, under the
London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
, by the merger of the areas of the
Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick
Brentford and Chiswick was a local government district of Middlesex, England from 1927 to 1965.
History
It was created an urban district in 1927 by a merger of the former area of the Brentford Urban District and the Chiswick Urban District. It ...
, the
Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth
Heston and Isleworth was a local government district of Middlesex, England from 1894 to 1965.
Boundaries and background
The urban district was created on their mass creation in 1894 on approximately the same boundaries of the medieval parishes o ...
and
Feltham Urban District
Feltham was an urban district in the former county of Middlesex, England from 1904 to 1965. As Middlesex was disbanded is 1965, Feltham now is a part of Greater London.
It was the main civic body covering the overlapping civil (and almost identi ...
of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
.
Demography and housing
In Brentford, those who ethnically identify as
BAME
A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...
(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.
Economy
*
Allianz Cornhill Animal Health
*
Brompton Bicycle
Brompton Bicycle is a British manufacturer of folding bicycles based in Greenford, London.
The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored. All available model ...
(Headquarters), manufacturer of folding bicycles was based here for many years, but moved to a new factory in Greenford, Ealing in 2017
*
Carillion
*
Datapoint
Datapoint Corporation, originally known as Computer Terminal Corporation (CTC), was a computer company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in July 1968 by Phil Ray and Gus Roche, its first products were, as the company's initial ...
(Headquarters)
*
GlaxoSmithKline (Headquarters)
*
Global Blue
Global Blue is a tourism shopping tax refund company headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland. The company is best known for tax-free shopping, a VAT/GST refund product and also operates in dynamic currency conversion, marketing services, point-of- ...
(previously Global Refund) (Formerly the EMC Corporation HQ, aka 'EMC Tower')
* E.M.Tool Designs (Ltd) (Headquarters)
* Heidelberg Graphic Equipment Ltd. (subsidiary of
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG)
*
JCDecaux
Decaux Group (JCDecaux SA, ) is a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France, known for its bus-stop advertising systems, billboards, public bicycle rental systems, and street furniture. It is the largest outdoor ...
UK
*
Sega Europe has its head office in Brentford
*
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
*
Tie Rack Corporate Neckwear
*
ViiV Healthcare
ViiV Healthcare ( ) is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapies for HIV infection that was created as a joint venture by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline in November 2009 with both companies transferring their HIV assets ...
*
WorleyParsons
WorleyParsons Limited, branded as Worley after completing the acquisition of Jacobs' Energy, Chemicals & Resources (ECR) division, is an American Australian engineering company which provides project delivery and consulting services to the ...
(Greater London offices)
Landmarks
The Syon estate
Syon House, the Greater London residence of the
Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...
, 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
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
. The estate has a hotel (Hilton London Syon Park), visitor centre and garden centre.
Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the l ...
, demolished and replaced (with reworked gatehouses) by the newer mansion, had the largest abbey church in England in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
.
The location of Syon Abbey in the park was unknown until archeological investigations in the grounds in 2003 (for the television series ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
'') and 2004 revealed the foundations of the abbey church. It was larger than
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
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.
Boston Manor House
Boston Manor is an English Jacobean manor house built in 1622 with internal alterations, intensively restored in later centuries and Boston Manor Park is the adjoining publicly owned green space including a lake. It was the manor house of ...
, built in 1622, is a
Jacobean manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, 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
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
lived in Brentford End between 1616 and 1617.
Brentford Monument
![Brentford County Court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Brentford_County_Court.jpg)
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
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
in 54 BC; the council of Brentford by King
Offa of Mercia in 781; the defeat of King
Canute
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...
by King
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...
at the first
Battle of Brentford in 1016; and the second
Battle of Brentford in 1642.
Saint Paul's Church
![St Paul, St Paul's Street, Brentford, Mx TW8 0PN - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/St_Paul%2C_St_Paul%27s_Street%2C_Brentford%2C_Mx_TW8_0PN_-_geograph.org.uk_-_710904.jpg)
Built in 1868 from Kentish
ragstone
Rag-stone is a name given by some architectural writers to work done with stones that are quarried in thin pieces, such as Horsham Stone, sandstone, Yorkshire stone, and the slate stones, but this is more properly flag or slab work. Near London ...
, Saint Paul's Church is one of Brentford's two current
Anglican parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
es, and a distinct landmark. Its
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...
is clearly visible. The architect was H. Francis and
James Montgomrey was a principal subscriber and chairman of the building committee.
In 1959 and 1961 the parishes of the nearby churches of Saint George and Saint Lawrence were amalgamated with Saint Paul.
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
St Anne's Church, Kew, is a parish church in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The building, which dates from 1714, and is Grade II* listed, forms the central focus of Kew Green. The raised churchyard, which is on three side ...
, 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.
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:
Saint Lawrence's Church
![St Lawrence's Church, Brentford, London](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/St_Lawrence%27s_Church%2C_Brentford%2C_London.jpg)
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. 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
Hugh Ronalds (4 March 1760 – 18 November 1833) was an esteemed nurseryman and horticulturalist in Brentford, who published ''Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis: or, a Concise Description of Selected Apples'' (1831). His plants were some of the first ...
and numerous members of his family are buried. A
war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
stood outside the church until 2009, when it was moved to Brentford Library.
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
Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...
. 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
Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...
is visible from the scattering of
high rise
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
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
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
.
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
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...
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.
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
barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s 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
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...
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'') were built alongside formerly important transport infrastructure as Brentford is the terminus of the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
, originally the Grand Junction Canal. This waterway is still in use for leisure traffic as part of the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
.
Others
Brentford Public Library is a
Carnegie library, built by the architect
Nowell Parr
Thomas Henry Nowell Parr FRIBA (1864 – 23 September 1933) was a British architect, best known for designing pubs in west London. Many of these were built while Parr was "house architect" for Fuller's Brewery. Parr designed various buildings i ...
and opened in 1904.
Outside the library is the Brentford War Memorial, accompanied by three smaller war memorials. There is also
Jim Pooley's bench honouring
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with ''Snuff Fiction'' in 1999, by ...
's writing connection with the borough.
Brentford Baths
Brentford Baths is a listed building, Grade II listed building at Clifden Road, Brentford, London.
It was built in 1895–96, and the architect was Nowell Parr. The Baths closed in 1990 and later became a residential building.
In popular cultu ...
(1896), also by the architect
Nowell Parr
Thomas Henry Nowell Parr FRIBA (1864 – 23 September 1933) was a British architect, best known for designing pubs in west London. Many of these were built while Parr was "house architect" for Fuller's Brewery. Parr designed various buildings i ...
, is a Grade II
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
example of late
Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
.
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 piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
s and a
Wurlitzer organ
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
.
![Brentford-houseboats-5840](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Brentford-houseboats-5840.jpg)
The Butts Estate, a Georgian square and associated conservation area, contains several Grade II listed buildings some dating back to 1680.
Sports
Griffin Park is the former home of
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...
and
Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. ...
Reserves, plus (from 2002 until 23 September 2005 it was the home of the
London Broncos rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
club – subsequently they were renamed
Harlequins RL
The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club in London, England.
The club competes in the RFL Championship. It was a member of Super League from its inaugural season in 1996 until the end of the 2014 season, when they were relegat ...
and transferred to
The Stoop
Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in south-west London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Gallagher Premiership. The stadium has a capacity ...
).
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...
are a professional English
football club based in Brentford. They currently play in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
.
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. The Stadium is also used by
Premiership Rugby
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
side
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
.
Transport
Nearest London Underground stations:
*
Northfields
*
Boston Manor
Boston Manor is an English Jacobean manor house built in 1622 with internal alterations, intensively restored in later centuries and Boston Manor Park is the adjoining publicly owned green space including a lake. It was the manor house o ...
*
South Ealing
*
Gunnersbury
Gunnersbury is an area of West London, England.
Toponymy
The name "Gunnersbury" means "Manor house of a woman called Gunnhildr", and is from an old Scandinavian personal name + Middle English -''bury'', manor or manor house.
Development
Gunne ...
Nearest railway stations:
*
Brentford railway station
Brentford is a railway station in the town of Brentford, in Hounslow, London. It is on the Hounslow Loop Line and in Travelcard Zone 4. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. It was the main station for B ...
*
Kew Bridge railway station
Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford, the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby Kew ...
*
Syon Lane railway station
Syon Lane railway station in Travelcard Zone 4 is on the Hounslow Loop Line and borders the Spring Grove and New Brentford neighbourhoods of the London Borough of Hounslow in west London. The office and light industrial zone to the north-east, ...
In literature
The 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,
* the poem The Sofa by
William Cowper
William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...
* the novel Tom Cringle's Log, by
Michael Scott.
In popular culture
Brentford's industrial status and the Great West Road are notable facets of
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
's 1932 novel ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...
''. Set in London in AD 2540 (632 A.F.—"After
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
"), the influential dystopia anticipates changes in
reproductive technology
Reproductive technology encompasses all current and anticipated uses of technology in human and animal reproduction, including assisted reproductive technology, contraception and others. It is also termed Assisted Reproductive Technology, where it ...
, sleep-learning,
psychological manipulation
Manipulation in psychology is a behavior designed to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring t ...
, and
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learni ...
that combine to change society profoundly.
The
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
sitcom ''
People Just Do Nothing
''People Just Do Nothing'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom, created and performed by Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, Asim Chaudhry and Hugo Chegwin.
The programme follows the lives of MC Grindah, DJ Beats and their friends, who run K ...
'' is set in and around Brentford.
''
The Brentford Trilogy'', a (ten-book) series of "far-fetched fiction" novels by
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British author of comedic fantasy novels. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with ''Snuff Fiction'' in 1999, by ...
, 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
*
List of people from Hounslow
*
List of schools in Hounslow
This is a list of schools in the London Borough of Hounslow, England.
State-funded schools Primary schools
*Alexandra Primary School
*Beavers Community Primary School
*Bedfont Primary School
*Belmont Primary School
*Berkeley Academy
*The Blue ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* The Archive Photographs Series, Brentford; Tempus Publishing Ltd., 1998,
* Brentford as it was; Hendon Publishing Co. Ltd., Second impression May 1993,
* Brentford Past; Historical Publications Ltd.,
* Old Ordnance Survey Maps, Brentford 1894, The Godfrey Edition; Alan Godfrey Maps,
Further reading
*
External links
Brentford, Chiswick & Isleworth Times onlineFairly comprehensive amateur local history website on BrentfordBrentford High Street project: people and properties 1840–1940Parish of Brentford – St Faith's and St Paul's*
{{Authority control
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Hounslow
Market towns in London
Districts of London on the River Thames
Wards of the London Borough of Hounslow
Places formerly in Middlesex
District centres of London