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, west of Charing Cross.
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 northwest 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 remodelling of the waterfront to provide more economically active shops, townhouses and apartments, some of which comprise Brentford Dock.
A 19th- and 20th-century 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 The name is recorded as Breguntford in 705 in an Anglo-Saxon charter and means ford over the River Brent'.
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. 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, 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 at 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 – a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton's collection, 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.
An amateur local history and an inscription outside the County Court claim that Julius Cæsar crossed the Thames here during his invasion of Britain in 54 BC, and fought a battle with Cassivellaunus close by. Cæsar describes the place as fortified with sharp stakes. The discovery of sharp stakes in the riverside at Brentford Dock in the early 20th century was taken by Montagu Sharpe as evidence of a fortified crossing-site, and Caesar's battle.Sharpe, Montagu (1926). Some accounts of bygone Hanwell. Page 7,8,9, & 10. Brentford Printing and Publishing Coy., Ltd. London. UK. The stakes were removed as a hazard to river traffic, and Sharpe's claims are not supported by further excavations.
Historically part of Middlesex, in the southeastern corner of Elthorne Hundred, it has formed part of Greater London since 1965.
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.Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660, Trevor Royle, p205. Abacus, 2004.
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.
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 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, resided in Brentford with her husband, John Rolfe and son Thomas. 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." 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) 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) 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. Vol 2: Appendix D pg 34. Accessed 21 August 2007 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 & 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 motorway.
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. 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 London 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 homesWard Detached Semi-detachedTerracedFlats and apartmentsCaravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboatsShared between householdsBrentford 150 826 1,425 3,511 17 25Syon (most homes in the wardare in New Brentford)147 806 1,488 3,299 33 17 + 2011 Census householdsWard Population Households % Owned outright % Owned with a loanhectaresBrentford14,353 5,954 15 23 315Syon 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.
Economy
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)* Global Blue (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 UK Sega Europe has its head office in Brentford Sky Tie Rack Corporate Neckwear ViiV Healthcare WorleyParsons (Greater London offices)
Landmarks
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.
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
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.
Saint Paul's Church