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This article is about the London suburb. For other uses, see Brentford (disambiguation).
Brentford
Brentford (Greater London)
Brentford

Brentford shown within Greater London
OS grid reference TQ177778
London borough Hounslow
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region London
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRENTFORD
Postcode district TW8
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
European Parliament London
UK Parliament Brentford & Isleworth
London Assembly South West
List of places: UK • England • London

Coordinates: 51°29′10″N 0°18′36″W / 51.4861, -0.3101

Brentford is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent in West London, situated 8 miles (12. Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government The London Borough of Hounslow ( is a London borough in West London, England. The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police. The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and The London Fire Brigade ( LFB) is the statutory The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS is the largest "free at the point of contact" ambulance service in the world that does not directly charge its patients London is a Constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 9 MEPs using the D'Hondt method of Party-list proportional This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Brentford and Isleworth is a Constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Greater London is divided into fourteen territorial constituencies for London Assembly elections each returning one member South West is a Constituency represented in the London Assembly. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a partial list of places in London, England See List of places in England for lists of settlements in other counties A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The London Borough of Hounslow ( is a London borough in West London, England. Confluence, in Geography, describes the meeting of two or more Bodies of water. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. 9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross. Charing Cross is located at the junction of the Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street in Central London, England.

Contents

Today

Brentford is a suburban development subsumed into the conurbation of Greater London, although just outside the London postal district. The London postal district is the area in England, currently of 241 square miles to which mail addressed to the LONDON Post town is delivered

Etymology

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 of 1016. Events By Place Asia July 31 — The oldest recorded eruption of Mt The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The root 'Bregent-', naming the river is thought to originate from the name of the Celtic goddess 'Brigantia', tutelary goddess of the Brigantes 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. For other uses see Brigantia. Brigantia was a Goddess in Celtic ( Gallo-Roman and Romano-British) religion The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands )

History

The settlement pre-dates the Roman occupation of Britain, and thus pre-dates the founding of London itself. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Many pre-Roman artifacts have been excavated in and around the area in Brentford known as 'Old England'. Bronze Age pottery and burnt flints have been found in separate sites in Brentford. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for 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 piece from about 100 BC - AD 50 is the Brentford horn-cap [1]- a ceremonial chariot fitting that formed part of local antiquarian Thomas Layton's collection [2], now held by the Museum of London. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Year 50 was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day The Celtic knot pattern (the 'Brentford Knot') on this item has been copied for use on modern jewellery. 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

Skyline over Brentford town centre
Skyline over Brentford town centre
The Thames Lock on the Grand Union Canal at Brentford
The Thames Lock on the Grand Union Canal at Brentford

It has been suggested that Brentford was also a main fording point on the River Thames, and was the point where Julius Cæsar crossed the Thames during his invasion of Britain. The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It has been asserted, without strong evidence, that a documented battle fought at this time between Cæsar's forces and Cassivellaunus took place at Brentford. Cassivellaunus was a historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar 's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. There are, however, two other historically accredited battles of Brentford in 1016 and 1642.

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) from 1701. A county town is the 'capital' of a County in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. [1][2] 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 is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. [3]

Timeline

The road which is now Brentford High Street served as the main road to the South West of Britain for many centuries, and even now, the M4 motorway and the Great West Road pass approximately 1 mile (1. The M4 motorway is a Motorway in Great Britain linking London with Wales. 6 km) north of the original main road through Brentford.

Notable present and former residents

Dates are dates of residence in Brentford, where known

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 (1752-1829) were both from Brentford and are buried in the old church of St Laurence. Thomas Hardwick (1752&ndash1829 was an eminent English Architect and a founding member of the Architect's Club in 1791 Hardwick Senior was the master mason for the Adam Brothers during the construction of Syon House. Adam Brothers may refer to Scottish architects three sons of William Adam: John Adam (1721&ndash1792 Robert Adam (1728&ndash1792 Syon House and its 200 acre (80 Hectare /800000 m² Park is situated in West London, in England. 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, the London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. Syon House and its 200 acre (80 Hectare /800000 m² Park is situated in West London, in England. The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Syon Abbey, now razed to the ground, was the largest abbey church in England. Syon Abbey, (or Sion Abbey) was a major mediæval Monastery of the Bridgettine Order in the late Gothic or Perpendicular England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

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) and 2004 revealed the foundations of the abbey church. Time Team is a British television series that has aired on Channel 4 since 1994 It was larger than Westminster Abbey is now, but no above-ground structure remains. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church For more details on the abbey and the reasons for its destruction, see its own entry - Syon Abbey. Syon Abbey, (or Sion Abbey) was a major mediæval Monastery of the Bridgettine Order in the late Gothic or Perpendicular

The London Butterfly House in Syon Park was an insectarium like a large glasshouse containing a butterfly zoo. The London Butterfly House was a visitor attraction in Brentford where the public could view butterflies, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians Syon House and its 200 acre (80 Hectare /800000 m² Park is situated in West London, in England. A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse or hothouse) is a building where plants are cultivated A butterfly zoo is a Zoo which is specifically intended for the breeding and display of Butterflies. Visitors could see butterflies and moths flying about, feeding, and emerging from Chrysalises. A pupa ( Latin pupa for doll pl pupae or pupas) is the life stage of some Insects undergoing transformation 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 was closed on 28 October 2007.

Front of Boston manor House
Front of Boston manor House

Boston Manor House, built in 1622, is a Jacobean manor house, noted for its fine plasterwork ceilings. The Jacobean style is the name given to the second phase of Renaissance Architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style.

Gunnersbury Park Museum is the local museum for the Boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow and situated in Gunnersbury House. Gunnersbury Park is a park in the Brentford ward of the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London. It contains many archaeological finds including hundreds of flints, plus Roman and Viking weapons found in Brentford. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas It also has displays of costumes and changing displays on other subjects of local interest. The house was formerly occupied by the Rothschild family and although they did not leave any contemporary furniture or fittings, some of the decorative schemes have been well preserved. The Rothschild family (often referred to simply as the Rothschilds) is an international Banking and Finance Dynasty of German

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. Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 &ndash 19 December 1851 was an English Romantic landscape painter, Watercolourist and He is regarded as having started his interest in painting while living there. Later on in life, he lived nearby in Isleworth and Twickenham. Isleworth (ˈaɪzəlwɜːθ is a suburb located in the London Borough of Hounslow alongside the River Thames in West London. Twickenham is a suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London.

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

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. GlaxoSmithKline plc () is a United Kingdom -based pharmaceutical, biological and Healthcare Company. Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. 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. Pocahontas (c 1595 – March 21 1617 was a Native American woman who married an Englishman John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London in the last year of her

Brentford Dock, a freight terminus of the Great Western Railway, built at the confluence of the River Thames and River Brent, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built between 1855 and 1859. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 &ndash 15 September 1859 (ˈɪzəmbɑrd ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl was a British Engineer. Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A spur line from the GWR at Southall was constructed to the Brentford Dock railway station to facilitate easy transferral of freight from lighters and barges on the Thames to GWR-served destinations in the west of the United Kingdom. For other uses see Lighter (disambiguation. A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed Barge used to transfer goods to and from moored BARGE, the Big August RecGambling Excursion is a yearly convention held in Las Vegas during the first weekend of August The dock was redeveloped as residential accommodation in the early 1970s, and little industrial archeology remains. Industrial archaeology, like other branches of Archaeology, is the study of material culture from the past but with a focus on industry 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. Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early Streets "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob"

The Brentford Dock flats (Originally named the Tiber Estate[6])were built alongside formerly important transport infrastructure as Brentford is the terminus of the Grand Union Canal, originally the Grand Junction Canal. The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. 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 featured in Hard-Fi 's Living For The Weekend Music Video

Brentford Public Library
Brentford Public Library

Brentford Public Library is a Carnegie library. The M4 motorway is a Motorway in Great Britain linking London with Wales. Hard-Fi are an English Indie rock band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003 "Living for the Weekend" is the fourth single from indie band Hard-Fi; it was released on September 19, 2005, and peaked at number For other uses see Carnegie Library (disambiguation, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Free Library and Carnegie Public Library

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

Kew Bridge Steam Museum houses the world's largest working beam engine. 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 A beam engine is a design of Engine based on the principles of a first-class Lever.

The Musical Museum houses a large collection of mechanical musical instruments, such as player pianos. The player piano is a self-playing Piano, containing a pneumatic mechanism that plays on the piano action pre-programmed Music via perforated paper rolls

Griffin Park is home to Brentford Football Club and Chelsea Football Club Reserves (from 2002 until 23 September 2005 it was the home of the London Broncos rugby league club - subsequently they were renamed Harlequins Rugby League and transferred to The Stoop). Griffin Park is a football ground situated in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. Brentford Football Club are an English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. See Harlequin FC for the sister rugby union club Harlequins Rugby League is a Rugby league club representing the greater London History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games See Harlequin FC for the sister rugby union club Harlequins Rugby League is a Rugby league club representing the greater London The Stoop in the western suburbs of London, England, officially the Twickenham Stoop Stadium, is the home stadium of both Harlequins rugby union

Houseboats on the Thames at Brentford, from Kew Bridge
Houseboats on the Thames at Brentford, from Kew Bridge

Interests of inhabitants

The launching of Google Trends in 2006 drew world attention to Brentford because of Brentford's unexpected prominence as a source of internet searches for terms relating to pornography and many sexual fetishes. Google Trends is a tool from Google Labs that shows the most popularly searched terms from the beginning of 2004 to now Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the Sexual attraction to materials and objects not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature This unexpected prominence probably reflected the presence of an ISP routing centre near Brentford rather than the interests of the inhabitants of Brentford themselves. An Internet service provider ( ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet Routing is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic [7]

Companies in Brentford

Town twinning

Transport and locale

Nearest places

Nearest tube stations

Nearest railway stations

References and sources

  1. ^ 'Ealing and Brentford: Growth of Brentford', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 113-20 accessed: 30 May 2007
  2. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 Edition
  3. ^ Brentford, The Environs of London: volume 2: County of Middlesex (1795), pp. 39-58 accessed: 30 May 2007
  4. ^ Brentford, The Environs of London: volume 2: County of Middlesex (1795), pp. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg Printing Machines AG) is a German precision mechanical engineering company with head offices in Heidelberg ( Baden-Württemberg Altria Group Inc ( (previously named Philip Morris Companies Inc is a multinational Video game Software and Hardware development company and a former Home computer Tie Rack is a British -based Tie retailer and sells scarves cufflinks and many other items of clothing Waterstone's is a United Kingdom –based chain of bookshops. WorleyParsons Limited is a large Australian provider of professional services to the energy resource and complex process industries Branford is a town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, eight miles (13 km east of New Haven. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Gunnersbury is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. Chiswick ( IPA /ˈtʃɪzɪk/ is an area of West London, located west of Charing Cross, which covers the eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow Ealing is a Town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is a Suburban development situated 7 Isleworth (ˈaɪzəlwɜːθ is a suburb located in the London Borough of Hounslow alongside the River Thames in West London. Osterley is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow in West London. Northfields is a London Underground station in Northfields, west London. Boston Manor is a London Underground station serving the Boston Manor area between Brentford and Hanwell, west London. South Ealing is a London Underground station in west London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line, between Acton Gunnersbury station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Gunnersbury in west London. Brentford railway station (formerly Brentford Central) is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone Kew Bridge railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. Syon Lane railway station is in the London Borough of Hounslow in west London. 39-58. . Date accessed: 18 August 2007.
  5. ^ Defra:Foods and reservoir safety integration Vol 2: Appendix D pg 34. Accessed 2007-08-21
  6. ^ [http://brentford.inuk.com/bd.htm HISTORY OF THE DOCKS BRENTFORD]. Retrieved on 2008-01-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental
  7. ^ Andrew Urquhart's Miscellany : WebTech : Archive : Flawed BBC Reporting On ‘Google Trends’
  8. ^ Heidelberg - Heidelberg UK
  9. ^ MapMechanics - Vehicle Routing & Scheduling - GIS Mapping Data - Territory & Field Force Planning

See also

External links

Brentford was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Brentford district of West London.
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