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Brentford is a suburban area
Suburb

Suburbs are commonly defined as the residential areas which surround the central area of the urban area of a town or city. In the United States, suburbs have a prevalence of usually detached single-family homes.....
 of the London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow

The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in West London, England....
 at the confluence
Confluence

Confluence may refer to:* Confluence , the point where two or more bodies of water meet and merge* Deformation , the streamline air flow convergence of a fluid air parcel...
 of the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 and the River Brent
River Brent

The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford....
 in West London
West London

West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with London Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses....
, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of the Strand, London, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in City of Westminster within Central London, England....
.

tford, as the name suggests, was built on a fording point on the River Brent. The town is named as Bregentforda at the time of the Council of Brentford 781 and as 'Bregentforda' and 'Brentforda' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English language chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great....
 of 1016. The root 'Bregent-', naming the river is thought to originate from the name of the Celtic goddess 'Brigantia
Brigantia (goddess)

Brigantia was a goddess in Celtic polytheism religion of Late Antiquity.In the interpretatio Romana, she was equated with Victoria ....
', tutelary goddess of the Brigantes
Brigantes

The Brigantes were a List of Celtic tribes who in British Iron Age times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands#The English Midlands....
 tribe (whose territory was considered to be 150 miles north of Brentford, though the cult of the goddess spread across a wide area of Europe.)

The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, and thus pre-dates the founding of London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 itself.






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Brentford is a suburban area
Suburb

Suburbs are commonly defined as the residential areas which surround the central area of the urban area of a town or city. In the United States, suburbs have a prevalence of usually detached single-family homes.....
 of the London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow

The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in West London, England....
 at the confluence
Confluence

Confluence may refer to:* Confluence , the point where two or more bodies of water meet and merge* Deformation , the streamline air flow convergence of a fluid air parcel...
 of the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 and the River Brent
River Brent

The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford....
 in West London
West London

West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with London Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses....
, situated 8 miles (12.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of the Strand, London, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in City of Westminster within Central London, England....
.

History

Brentford, as the name suggests, was built on a fording point on the River Brent. The town is named as Bregentforda at the time of the Council of Brentford 781 and as 'Bregentforda' and 'Brentforda' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English language chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great....
 of 1016. The root 'Bregent-', naming the river is thought to originate from the name of the Celtic goddess 'Brigantia
Brigantia (goddess)

Brigantia was a goddess in Celtic polytheism religion of Late Antiquity.In the interpretatio Romana, she was equated with Victoria ....
', tutelary goddess of the Brigantes
Brigantes

The Brigantes were a List of Celtic tribes who in British Iron Age times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands#The English Midlands....
 tribe (whose territory was considered to be 150 miles north of Brentford, though the cult of the goddess spread across a wide area of Europe.)

The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
, and thus pre-dates the founding of London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 itself. Many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as 'Old England'. Bronze Age
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
 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 where part of tribal rituals included the ceremonial casting of weapons into the river. One well known Iron Age
Iron Age

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent....
 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
Museum of London

The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, and a few minutes walk north of St Paul's Cathedral, overlooking the remains of the Roman city wall and on the edge of the oldest part of London, known as the City of London, now the financial distr...
. The Celtic
Celtic art

Celtic art is art associated with various people known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient people whose language is unknown, but where cultural and stylistic similarities suggest they are related to Celts....
 knot pattern (the 'Brentford Knot') on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery.
Thames Lock, Brentford, Spring Tide, Twilight, 20050113
It has been suggested that Brentford was also a main fording point on the River Thames, and was the point where Julius Cæsar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
 crossed the Thames during his invasion of Britain. It is asserted, without strong evidence, on the Brentford Monument, that a documented battle fought at this time between Cæsar's forces and Cassivellaunus
Cassivellaunus

Cassivellaunus was a historical Brythonic chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Great Britain in 54 BC. He also appears in British legend as Cassibelanus, one of Geoffrey of Monmouth's kings of Britain, and in the Mabinogion, Brut y Bryttaniait and Welsh Triads as Caswallawn, son of Beli Mawr....
 took place at Brentford. There are, however, two other historically accredited battles of Brentford in 1016 and 1642.

New Brentford was first described as the county town
County town

A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....
 of Middlesex
Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
 in 1789, on the basis that it was the location of elections of knights for the shire (or Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators....
) 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
Middlesex

Middlesex , from the Old English Middelseaxe , is one of the 39 Historic counties of England of England and the List of counties of England by area in 1831....
.

Timeline

  • 54 BC Brentford is a likely site of a battle recorded by Julius Cæsar between Julius Cæsar and local king, Cassivellaunus.
  • 781 Council of Brentford recording settlement of a dispute between King Offa of Mercia
    Offa of Mercia

    Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. He was the son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa of Mercia, a brother of King Penda of Mercia, who had ruled over a century before....
    , and the Bishop of Worcester
    Bishop of Worcester

    The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England.The diocese covers the county of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and parts of the City of Wolverhampton....
  • 1016 Battle of Brentford
    Battle of Brentford (1016)

    The Battle of Brentford was fought in 1016 some time between 9 May and 18 October between the English led by Edmund II of England and the Danes led by Canute the Great....
     between the invading Canute
    Canute the Great

    Canute the Great, also known as Cnut in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, or Knut was a Viking king of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden ....
     and Edmund Ironside
  • 1431 Relocation of Syon Abbey
    Syon Abbey

    Syon Abbey, was a major medieval monastery of the Bridgettines in the late Gothic architecture or Perpendicular style , its major site bordering Brentford and Isleworth, Middlesex, England....
     to Brentford from Twickenham
    Twickenham

    Twickenham is a town in west London, England.It is the principal town, by population, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames....
  • 1539 Destruction of Syon Abbey by King Henry VIII
    Henry VIII of England

    Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
  • 1616 - 1617 Pocahontas
    Pocahontas

    Pocahontas was a Native Americans in the United States woman who married an Englishman, John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London in the last year of her life....
    , the Native American 'Princess', lived in Brentford
  • 1642 Battle of Brentford
    Battle of Brentford (1642)

    The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle which took place on 12 November, 1642, between a detachment of the Cavalier army under the command of Prince Rupert and two cavalry regiments of Roundhead forces....
     during the English Civil War
    English Civil War

    The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
  • 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 the waters.
  • 1717 Brentford Turnpike Trust
    Turnpike trust

    Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, with powers to collect road toll road for maintaining the principal highways in Kingdom of Great Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries....
     founded to maintain the road between Kensington
    Kensington

    Kensington is a district of West London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located west of Charing Cross. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington....
     and Hounslow
    Hounslow

    Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross and one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan....
  • 1805 Start of operations of the Grand Junction Canal
    Grand Junction Canal

    The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford and by shortening the journey....
     (later the Grand Union Canal
    Grand Union Canal

    The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of Great Britain. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 220 km with 166 Canal lock....
    )
  • 1815 - 1817 John Quincy Adams
    John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams was an Foreign relations of the United States and Politics of the United States who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829....
    , sixth President of the USA, lived in Brentford
  • 1828 William Corder was arrested on Wednesday April 23 at Everley Grove House, Ealing Lane in Brentford, for the notorious Red Barn Murder
    Red Barn Murder

    The Red Barn Murder was a notorious murder committed in Polstead, Suffolk, England, in 1827. A young woman, Maria Marten, was shot dead by her lover, William Corder....
    .
  • 1841 Brentford was flooded, caused by the Brent Reservoir
    Brent Reservoir

    The Brent Reservoir is a reservoir which straddles the boundary between the London boroughs of London Borough of Brent and London Borough of Barnet and is owned by British Waterways....
     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
    Hounslow Loop Line

    |}The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London, with services operated by South West Trains. It enables suburban trains to run on a circular route via Hounslow railway station to and from Waterloo station....
    , 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 company linking Brentford Dock to the Great Western Railway
    Great Western Railway

    The Great Western Railway was a History of rail transport in Great Britain that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales....
     main line at Southall
    Southall

    Southall is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, West London. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hillingdon, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt....
    . Additional passenger station named 'Brentford Town' later constructed just north of Brentford High Street.
  • 1884 Start of operations of Boston Manor Underground station
    Boston Manor tube station

    Boston Manor is a London Underground station serving the Boston Manor area between Brentford and Hanwell, west London. The station is on the Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station branch of the Underground's Piccadilly Line, between Osterley tube station and Northfields tube station stations....
     (then known as Boston Road).
  • 1889 Brentford Football Club
    Brentford F.C.

    Brentford Football Club are a professional England football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League Two....
     founded by a rowing club seeking a winter sport.
  • 30 May, 1925 - Great West Road officially opened by King George V
    George V of the United Kingdom

    George V was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
    . Later the Brentford section became known as the Golden Mile
    Golden Mile (Brentford)

    The Golden Mile is the name given to a stretch of the Great West Road north of Brentford running west from the western boundary of Chiswick in London, United Kingdom....
     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

    The Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just to the north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin, in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
     and amalgamated with other canals to form the Grand Union Canal.
  • 1965 Opening of elevated section of M4 motorway
    M4 motorway

    The M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with West Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Berkshire, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea....


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.

Notable people

Dates are dates of residence in Brentford, where known
  • Pocahontas
    Pocahontas

    Pocahontas was a Native Americans in the United States woman who married an Englishman, John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London in the last year of her life....
     1616-17
  • Sarah Trimmer
    Sarah Trimmer

    Sarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the 18th century in literature. Her periodical, The Guardian of Education, helped to define the emerging genre by seriously reviewing children's literature for the first time; it also provided the first history of children's literature, establishing a cano...
     1762–1810
  • J. M. W. Turner
    J. M. W. Turner

    Joseph Mallord William Turner Royal Academy was an English Romanticism Landscape art, watercolourist and printmaker, whose style is said to have laid the foundation for Impressionism....
     1785-86
  • Thomas Hardwick Junior
    Thomas Hardwick

    Thomas Hardwick was an eminent England architect and a founding member of the Architect's Club in 1791....
    , architect of the 18th & 19th century.
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley
    Percy Bysshe Shelley

    Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major England Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest Lyric poetry in the English language....
     1802-04
  • John Quincy Adams
    John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams was an Foreign relations of the United States and Politics of the United States who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829....
     1815-17
  • John Macallan Swan
    John Macallan Swan

    John Macallan Swan was an England Painting and sculpture.John Macallan Swan was born in Brentford, Middlesex in 1847. He received his art training first in England at the Worcester and Lambeth schools of art and the Royal Academy schools, and subsequently in Paris, in the studios of Jean-L?on G?r?me and Emmanuel Fr?miet....
    , RA, Painter and Scultptor, born in Brentford 1847
  • John Bardon
    John Bardon

    John Bardon, is an England Theatre and television actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Awards in 1988 as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate, sharing the award with co-star Emil Wolk....
    , Character actor (born in Brentford, 1939)
  • Anna Ford
    Anna Ford

    Anna Ford is a retired England journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader.During her career, she initially worked as a researcher, news reporter and later news reader for Granada Television, the BBC, became the first female newsreader on Independent Television News, and helped launch the first British Breakfast televis...
    , BBC TV newscaster
  • Kate Adie
    Kate Adie

    Kate Adie Order of the British Empire is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News during which time she became well-known for reporting from war zones around the world....
    , BBC TV reporter
  • Bob Friend
    Bob Friend (newscaster)

    Bob Friend, MBE was one of the original news anchors for the Sky News channel from its launch in 1989 until his retirement in late 2003....
    , former BBC TV reporter and Sky News presenter
  • Rat Scabies
    Rat Scabies

    Christopher Millar , better known by his showbiz name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
    , former drummer of The Damned
    The Damned

    The Damned are an English Rock music band formed in London in 1976. They are notable for being the first punk rock band from England to release a single , an album , and to tour the United States....
  • Nick Lowe
    Nick Lowe

    Nick Lowe is an English people singer-songwriter, musician and Record producer.A pivotal figure in United Kingdom pub rock, punk rock and new wave music, Lowe has sound recording and reproduction a string of well-reviewed solo albums....
    , musician and producer
  • Jake Riviera
    Jake Riviera

    Formerly an amateur boxer in east London, Jake Riviera is best known as one of the founders of Stiff Records, a pioneering Independent record label label that released records by many Punk rock and New Wave music acts, including Nick Lowe, the Damned, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, and Madness ....
    , co-founder of Stiff Records
    Stiff Records

    Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 in music by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985 in music....
  • Stan Bowles
    Stan Bowles

    Stanley Bowles was a leading England football who gained a reputation as one of the game's greatest mavericks....
    , former England football player
  • Annie Vernon
    Annie Vernon

    Annabel Morwenna Vernon is an England Sport rowing.Educated at St Minver Primary School, Wadebridge School, Cambridge University and King's College London....
    , choreographer
  • Christopher Dawes
    Christopher Dawes

    Christopher Dawes is a British journalist and author. He worked as a music journalist from 1985 to 1998 using the pseudonym Push.As Push, he wrote for the weekly music paper Melody Maker for 10 years and was the editor of the seminal London music magazine The Buzz from 1987 until its demise....
    , author of Rat Scabies And The Holy Grail
    Rat Scabies And The Holy Grail

    Rat Scabies And The Holy Grail is a book written by Christopher Dawes and published in 2005 by Sceptre Books in the UK and by Thunder?s Mouth Press in the US ....
  • Ian Ridpath
    Ian Ridpath

    Ian Ridpath is an England science writer and broadcaster made famous for his investigation and explanation of the Rendlesham Forest Incident of December 1980....
    , astronomy author and occasional UFOlogist
  • Robert Rankin
    Robert Rankin

    Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific United Kingdom humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999....
    , author of the The Brentford Trilogy
    The Brentford Trilogy

    The Brentford Trilogy is a series of eight novels by writer Robert Rankin. They 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 West London, usually with the assistance of large quantities of beer from their favourite public house,...
  • Janey Godley
    Janey Godley

    Janey Godley is a Scotland stand-up comedian and writer. Her non-humorous autobiography Handstands in the Dark was a UK Top Ten bestseller and she was a 2006 Scotswoman of The Year finalist....
    , stand up comedian
    Comedian

    A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laughter. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy....
     and abuse
    Abuse

    Abuse refers to the use or treatment of something that is harmful. It can be classed by the target of abuse or the type of abuse....
     victim
    Victim

    Victim or victims may refer to:...
  • Lisa Burke
    Lisa Burke

    Lisa Burke is an Irish_people Sky News weather forecaster. She was born and lived in Killeshin, near the town of Carlow, Ireland until she was 10, when her family moved to Essex....
    , Sky News weather forecaster and science reporter
  • Princess Amelia second daughter of George II
    George II of Great Britain

    George II was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-L?neburg and Prince-elector#High Offices and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death....
    , lived in Gunnersbury Park
    Gunnersbury Park

    Gunnersbury Park is a park in the Brentford ward of the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926....
    .
  • Richard O'Sullivan
    Richard O'Sullivan

    Richard O'Sullivan is an England comedy actor who is probably best known to Great Britain and Australia audiences for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970's sitcoms Man About the House and Robin's Nest....
    , actor


The Hardwicks

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
Thomas Hardwick

Thomas Hardwick was an eminent England architect and a founding member of the Architect's Club in 1791....
 (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
Adam Brothers

Adam Brothers may refer to:Scottish architects, three sons of William Adam :*John Adam *Robert Adam *James Adam French sculptors, three sons of Lambert Adam:...
 during the construction of Syon House
Syon House

Syon House and its 200-acre park is situated in West London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence....
. 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 whom 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.

Places of interest

Syon House
Syon House

Syon House and its 200-acre park is situated in West London, England. It belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is now his family's London residence....
, the London residence of the Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland

The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain.In Latin, ealdormans of Northumbrians were called Dux when they were vassals of Anglo-Saxon kings of England ....
.

Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey

Syon Abbey, was a major medieval monastery of the Bridgettines in the late Gothic architecture or Perpendicular style , its major site bordering Brentford and Isleworth, Middlesex, England....
, now razed to the ground, was the largest abbey church in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

Syon House is built upon part of the site of Syon Abbey. The exact location of Syon Abbey was unknown until archeological investigations in the grounds of Syon House (Syon Park) in 2003 (by Time Team
Time Team

Time Team is a United Kingdom Television program that has aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Presented by the actor Tony Robinson, the series features a team of specialists doing an archaeology Excavation in three days, with Robinson explaining the process Wiktionary:in layman's terms....
) and 2004 revealed the foundations of the abbey church. It was larger than Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic architecture Church , in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster....
 is now, but no above-ground structure remains. For more details on the abbey and the reasons for its destruction, see its own entry - Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey

Syon Abbey, was a major medieval monastery of the Bridgettines in the late Gothic architecture or Perpendicular style , its major site bordering Brentford and Isleworth, Middlesex, England....
.

The London Butterfly House
London Butterfly House

The London Butterfly House was a visitor attraction in Brentford where the public could view butterfly, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and arachnids....
 in Syon Park was an like a large glasshouse
Greenhouse

A greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.A greenhouse is a structure with a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building....
 containing a butterfly zoo
Butterfly zoo

A butterfly zoo is a zoo which is specifically intended for the breeding and display of butterflies. Some butterfly houses also feature insects, spiders, scorpions, etc....
. Visitors could see butterflies and moths flying about, feeding, and emerging from Chrysalises
Pupa

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in Holometabolism insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago....
. 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 Oct 07 and the Butterfly House closed on 28 October 2007.

Boston Manor House
Boston Manor House

Boston Manor House is a Grade I listed building Jacobean architecture manor house in Boston Manor, Brentford, in the London Borough of Hounslow, England....
, built in 1622, is a Jacobean
Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the name given to the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated....
 manor house, noted for its fine plasterwork ceilings.

Gunnersbury Park
Gunnersbury Park

Gunnersbury Park is a park in the Brentford ward of the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926....
 Museum is the local museum for the Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow and situated in Gunnersbury House. It contains many archaeological finds including hundreds of flints, plus Roman
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 and Viking
Viking

A Viking is one of the Norsemen explorers, warriors, merchants, and Piracy who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century....
 weapons found in Brentford. It also has displays of costumes and changing displays on other subjects of local interest. The house was formerly occupied by the Rothschild family
Rothschild family

The Rothschild family , is an international banking and finance dynasty of Germany Jewish origin that established operations across Europe, and was ennobled by the Austrian and British governments....
 and although they did not leave any contemporary furniture or fittings, some of the decorative schemes have been well preserved.

The Weir, public house, formerly 'The White Horse' was where the artist J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner Royal Academy was an English Romanticism Landscape art, watercolourist and printmaker, whose style is said to have laid the foundation for Impressionism....
 lived for one year at the age of ten. He is regarded as having started his interest in painting while living there. Later on in life, he lived nearby in Isleworth
Isleworth

Isleworth is a small town of Anglo-Saxons origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London....
 and Twickenham
Twickenham

Twickenham is a town in west London, England.It is the principal town, by population, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames....
. Syon Park House (demolished in 1953), not to be confused with Syon House, housed the 'Syon Park Academy' where the poet Shelley was educated between the ages of 10 and 12 before moving on to Eton
Eton College

Eton College, also known as Eton, is a world-famous British independent school for boys, founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England. It was founded as the King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor....
. A Royal Mail depot stands on the site now. This may also be the site of the dwelling where Pocahontas
Pocahontas

Pocahontas was a Native Americans in the United States woman who married an Englishman, John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London in the last year of her life....
 lived in Brentford End between 1616 and 1617.

Brentford Dock, a freight terminus of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a History of rail transport in Great Britain that linked London with the south west and west of England and most of Wales....
, built at the confluence of the River Thames and River Brent, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Fellow of the Royal Society , was a United Kingdom engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first with a propeller, and numerous important bridges and tunnels....
, and built between 1855 and 1859. A spur line from the GWR at Southall was constructed to the Brentford Dock railway station to facilitate easy transferral of freight from lighter
Lighter (barge)

A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called ?sweeps,? with their motive power provided by water currents....
s and barge
Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Most barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats....
s on the Thames to GWR-served destinations in the west of the United Kingdom. The dock was redeveloped as residential accommodation in the early 1970s, and little industrial archeology remains. However, Dock Road still retains some of its original fan pattern cobblestone
Cobblestone

Cobblestones are Rock s that were frequently used in the Pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size....
 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
Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of Great Britain. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 220 km with 166 Canal lock....
, originally the Grand Junction Canal. This waterway is still in use for leisure traffic.

The 1000 Great West Road Building, an office building located in Brentford on the M4 motorway
M4 motorway

The M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with West Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Berkshire, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea....
 featured in Hard-Fi
HARD-Fi

Hard-Fi are an England alternative rock musical band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003. The band's continual members have been Richard Archer , Kai Stephens , Ross Phillips and Steve Kemp ....
 's Living For The Weekend
Living for the Weekend

"Living for the Weekend" is the fourth single from Indie rock band Hard-Fi; it was released on September 19, 2005, and peaked at number 15 on the UK charts....
 Music Video

Carnegie Library(2), Brentford, 20050123
Brentford Public Library is a Carnegie library
Carnegie library

Carnegie libraries are libraries which were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. More than 2,500 Carnegie libraries were built, including those belonging to Public library and university library systems....
.

Brentford Public Baths (1896) are a Grade II listed example of late Victorian architecture.

Kew Bridge Steam Museum
Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Kew Bridge Steam Museum houses a museum of water supply and a collection of water pumping steam engines. The museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage....
 houses the world's largest working beam engine
Beam engine

A beam engine is a design of engine based on the principles of a first-class lever. A force is applied to one end of a beam, which is pivoted in the middle, and the lever action transfers the force to create work at the other end of the beam....
.

The Musical Museum houses a large collection of mechanical musical instruments, such as player piano
Player piano

The player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic mechanism that plays on the piano action pre-programmed music via perforated piano rolls....
s.

Griffin Park
Griffin Park

Griffin Park is a association football ground situated in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. It has been the home ground of Football League Two side Brentford F.C....
 is home to Brentford Football Club
Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional England football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League Two....
 and Chelsea Football Club Reserves (from 2002 until 23 September 2005 it was the home of the London Broncos
Harlequins Rugby League

Harlequins Rugby League is a rugby league club representing the greater London area. They are currently the premier rugby league side in London, and play in the Super League ....
 rugby league
Rugby league

Rugby league football is a competitive Full-contact sport team sport played with a spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field....
 club - subsequently they were renamed Harlequins Rugby League
Harlequins Rugby League

Harlequins Rugby League is a rugby league club representing the greater London area. They are currently the premier rugby league side in London, and play in the Super League ....
 and transferred to The Stoop
The Stoop

The Stoop in the western suburbs of London, England, officially the Twickenham Stoop Stadium, is the home stadium of both Harlequin F.C. rugby union team and Harlequins Rugby League who play in the Guinness Premiership and Super League respectively....
).

Interests of inhabitants

The launching of Google Trends
Google Trends

Google Trends shows how often a particular search term is entered relative the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages....
 in 2006 drew world attention to Brentford because of Brentford's unexpected prominence as a source of internet searches for terms relating to pornography
Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer. It is to a certain extent similar to erotica, which is the use of sexually arousing imagery....
 and many sexual fetishes. This unexpected prominence probably reflected the presence of an ISP
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
 routing
Routing

Routing is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the PSTN, Computer network , and transport network....
 centre near Brentford rather than the interests of the inhabitants of Brentford themselves. However ... the Brentford football team appears to have generated a political party as a side effect, the A BEE C
A BEE C

A Bee C are a minor local political party in Brentford, England. They are the political side to the "Bias" group, an organistation formed of Brentford Football Club supporters - Brentford Independent Association of Supporters....
. Their political position on pornography on the Internet is not recorded.

Companies in Brentford

  • Allianz Cornhill Animal Health
    Allianz

    European Company Statute is the largest financial services provider in the world, headquartered in Munich, Germany.Its core business and focus is insurance....
  • Audi
    Audi

    AUDI AG, is a Germany car manufacturer which produces cars under the Audi brand, . The name Audi is based on a latin translation of the last name of the founder August "Horch", itself the German word for ?hear." Another explanation for the origin of the name is as an acronym for ?Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt."...
     is currently building its European headquarters in Brentford on the site of the old Lucozade building.
  • Brompton Bicycle
    Brompton Bicycle

    Brompton Bicycle, or simply Brompton, is a United Kingdom company that specialises in folding bicycles, commonly known as "Bromptons". The design has remained fundamentally unchanged over three decades, although it has been refined....
     (Headquarters), manufacturer of folding bicycles
  • Carillion
  • Datapoint
    Datapoint

    Datapoint Corporation, originally known as Computer Terminal Corporation , was a computer company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
     (Headquarters)
  • GlaxoSmithKline
    GlaxoSmithKline

    GlaxoSmithKline plc is a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical industry, biological, and healthcare company. GSK is the world's second largest pharmaceutical company and a research-based company with a wide portfolio of pharmaceutical products covering anti-infectives, central nervous system, respiratory, gastro-intestinal/metabolic,...
     (Headquarters)
  • E.M.Tool Designs (Ltd) (Headquarters)
  • Heidelberg Graphic Equipment Ltd (subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Heidelberger Druckmaschinen

    Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German precision mechanical engineering company with head offices in Heidelberg . It is a manufacturer of offset printing Printing press sold globally....
    )
  • Kraft Foods International (European Union)
  • MapMechanics - GIS firm
  • Quilliam Property Services
  • Sega
    Sega

    is a Multinational corporation video game software and hardware development company, and a home computer and console manufacturer headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan....
  • Tie Rack Corporate Neckwear
    Tie Rack

    Tie Rack is a United Kingdom-based tie retailer and sells scarves, cufflinks, and many other items of clothing. The stores are often small due to the nature of the Product , and as such, are found in airports and shopping centres across the world....
  • Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd
    Waterstone's

    Waterstone's is a United Kingdom book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that now employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
     (A division of HMV Group plc)
  • WorleyParsons
    WorleyParsons

    WorleyParsons Limited is a large Australian provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries. It is often cited as being Australia's largest engineering firm and is also one of the world's largest engineering design firms....
     (London offices)


Town twinning

  • Branford
    Branford, Connecticut

    Branford is a shoreline New England town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, Connecticut, eight miles east of New Haven....
    , Connecticut
    Connecticut

    Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
     

Transport and locale


Nearest places


Nearest tube stations

  • Northfields tube station
    Northfields tube station

    Northfields is a London Underground station in Northfields, London, west London. The station is on the Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station branch of the Piccadilly Line, between Boston Manor tube station and South Ealing tube station stations....
  • Boston Manor tube station
    Boston Manor tube station

    Boston Manor is a London Underground station serving the Boston Manor area between Brentford and Hanwell, west London. The station is on the Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station branch of the Underground's Piccadilly Line, between Osterley tube station and Northfields tube station stations....
  • South Ealing tube station
    South Ealing tube station

    South Ealing is a London Underground station in west London. The station is on the Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station branch of the Piccadilly Line, between Acton Town tube station and Northfields tube station stations....
  • Gunnersbury tube station
    Gunnersbury station

    Gunnersbury station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Chiswick in west London. The station is served by the District Line and London Overground trains on the North London Line and is managed by London Underground....


Nearest railway stations

  • Brentford railway station
    Brentford railway station

    Brentford railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South West Trains....
  • Kew Bridge railway station
    Kew Bridge railway station

    Kew Bridge railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains....
  • Syon Lane railway station
    Syon Lane railway station

    Syon Lane railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow in west London. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains....


See also

  • Brentford (UK Parliament constituency)
    Brentford (UK Parliament constituency)

    Brentford was a United Kingdom constituencies centred on the Brentford district of West London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the British House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....


External links