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Brentford High Street Project Home Page

The purpose of this site is to bring together information about the people and properties of Brentford, particularly the High Street, from around 1840, as a resource for family and local historians.

If you are a new user to the site, the site guide contains an overview of the project and types of material held.

The site includes around 500 web pages and about 300 images so it is worth spending a little time exploring.

New material is added regularly, please come back and check again. Also see Coming Soon: contributions recently received which will be added over coming weeks.

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Recent Additions and Requests

• Helen Hickman has written with some further details of the Gaydon family of clockmakers, one branch lived at 102 High Street, Brentford in the mid 1800s (14 July 2010)
• 1897 photo showing the Castle Hotel and neighbouring shop, James Hibble, hatter and hosier, reproduced with permission of the National Monument Record (21 July 2010)
• Jeanne Whitby sent a photo of a class of 9-10 year olds at St George's C of E School, 1938 , with nearly all the names: thanks to Diane Lockie for scanning the photo (21 July 2010)
• Can you help Lynn Hayter with a query? Her sister Ena is believed to have been born in the 'house next to the doctors' 295 High Street, October 1928; the 1928 trade directory offers no clues: doctors Neil and Gowans were at no. 295, no. 294 was a drapers (Joseph C Fisher) and there is no ref. to no. 296, which was on the corner of St George's Court; have you any certicates showing no. 294, 5 or 6 as a birth place from this time? please email if you can help (21 July 2010)
• Jeanne Whitby has a 1938 Band of Hope photo showing children at the Cressage Road / Pottery Road junction: thanks to Diane Lockie for scanning the photo (19 July 2010)
• Roger Williams has provided a postcard image showing the Great West Road, early 1930s? (18 July 2010)
• John James has sent three family photos: children's fancy dress at the 1953 Coronation party, Mafeking Avenue, Goodridge and Keyes wedding group, 1931 and children at Ealing Road Nursery School, 1953 (18 July 2010)
• Roger Williams sent a sepia postcard showing Clifden Corner in the early 1900s; Roger has provided some other local postcards and there is now a new category in the photos section: Local area (not the High Street) to show these(17 July 2010)
• Derek Birch has identified his grandmother, Amy George, and her sister Emily, in Lynn Hayter's Crown & Jersey Laundry photo from 1933; he has also provided some information about his George family (16 July 2010)
• Keith Clinch has provided some further, colourful memories of life in Brentford around WW2 including references to shrapnel, blakeys and Elizabeth Shaw mints (10 July 2010)
• Carole Ann Bartholomew (nee Sharpe) has written about Joseph Kingham and Sons, wholesale grocers of Kew Bridge Road (and formerly 86 High Street); her write-up includes some photos showing the Kew Bridge Road site (indoors and out) in 1921; Carole has a remarkably good memory of her working life there and remembers many names of other workers (late 1950s); Carole has also sent some photos from an early 1950s Kingham's works outing with several names - hopefully you can add more (10 July 2010)
• Sam Day has sent four photos taken by his grandfather James Daubney showing 1930s/early 1940s Mafeking Avenue and milkman Amos, shops on the Albany Road / Mafeking Avenue corner, 1950s, J. Daubney and Son, greengrocers shop, 3 Albany Road (1950s) and a more modern Daubney shop (late 1950s) (4 July 2010)
• Web Links updated to include recent recommendations from Jackie Day: British Pathe News (some wonderful, quirky and nutty film snippets) and English Heritage which has an Images of England site and National Monument Record Archives site - all can be searched for Brentford images; new links on the Web Links page are now marked ** New (3 July 2010)
• As part of belated Spring clean the Navigation (left column) has been tidied up: surname indexes are in new Surname Indexes (see left navigation); also 'Miscellaneous Lists' is now 'Lists of names' and the new 'Can you help?' section contains the Mystery photo and Seeking links (26 June 2010)
• Quentin Pickard has provided a colour photo of St George's Church in the mid 1960s, at which point it housed the Music Museum (26 June 2010)
• Jackie Day has recommended the Pathe News web site to local and family historians; for example see a short film of Band's Parchment works, Plough Yard, 1939 ; on the home page search for Brentford (20 June 2010)
• Janet McNamara recently transcribed names from some of the older gravestones in South Ealing Cemetery (12 June 2010)
• Quentin Pickard has sent a note he made in the 1960s from speaking to his grandfather Arthur James Hockaday, describing a bitterly cold winter in Brentford in the 19th century (10 June 2010)
• George Forgan has sent memories of his childhood in Brentford in the 1940s, including the Ealing Park Tavern (known as 'the flies home'...) (10 June 2010)
• Can you help Martin Elsom who seeks a photo of 95 High Street - next door to the Catherine Wheel - see next item (6 June 2010)
• John James provided a photo of Harry Beckingham, who died in the First World War, and some information about his father, a Thames lighterman; Harry and his parents were living at 94 High Street (former Catherine Wheel public house) in 1911; notes updated for this area of the High Street; Can you helpJohn who seeks any photos of the Catherine Wheel - it seems to have not got into any of the local history books; please email if you can (6 June 2010)
• 'Brentford to Oxford: J.M.W.Turner’s Early Career under the Guardianship of his Uncle, J.M.W.Marshall' by Selby Whittingham; “Such a useful addition to Turner scholarship … What a fascinating range of illustrations,” Carolyn Hammond, Editor, Journal of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society; “It makes a very impressive account,” Dr Tim Marshall, Oxford Brookes University; more details and order form (16 May 2010)

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Coming Soon

• Quentin Pickard has provided photos of the Brentford Dock (mid to late 1960s) - and others
• At the Aylesbury Collectors Fair on 21 February I found glass and pottery bottles with name 'York Mineral Water Co Ltd Brentford'; the Historical Directories website showed a company of this name at York Road, New Brentford in 1907 and 1914; I will add a photo (eventually); I also found a postcard with a scene of the river at Brentford
• Janet McNamara has provided
  • Research into the Dorey family of builders from 1791 to the current day; Janet has also provided copies from local newspapers describing the deaths of Joseph Dorey in 1884 and his son John Joseph Dorey in 1918
  • Adverts from 1888 (March 2010)
  • Miscellany of adverts from local newspapers (April 2010)
• Enid Wilson has researched a family who settled in Brentford in the early 1800s when the father, Nathan Woodroofe, came here as an excise officer (May 2010)
• Carole Ann Bartholomew (nee Sharpe) has written about her family research: Stevens, Neale (or Neal ) Collier & Barrett, watermen, lightermen, and later publicans in Brentford; she has also shared her wide-ranging memories, including a cursing cockatoo at The Magnet, various teachers and Joseph Kingham and Sons (May 2010)
• Paul Smith has written about his Jones, Callow, Manning and Ryan families (of 376 High Street, Distillery Road, Baileys Row and Walnut Tree Road) and sent some photos dating back to the early 1900s (May 2010)
• Jeanne Whitby has sent photos (via Diane Lockie) showing the demolition of 233 High Street in 1982 (corner of St Paul's Road) and a photo of Annie Heath, mentioned in the Dear family page (May 2010)
• Chris Pearce has written 'my maternal grandfather Herbert Newman was the steward at Inverness Lodge, and his family lived there until bomb damage forced them to move during WW2' (May 2010)
• Two more photos from Jeanne Whitby, scanned by Diane Lockie: one shows Band of Hope teachers and children at the junction between Cressage Road and Pottery Road, another a class photo, St George C of E School, both from around 1938 (June 2010)
• Roger Davis has provided a photo taken around 1917 of a little girls tea party hosted by Gwendoline Abigail (about 6 years old) at 59 Kew Bridge Road, attended by Rose Harrison, aged around 4; he has also provided a photo of "Daddy" Pearce, who was involved with the Clarnico confectionery business, which had premises at 57 High Steet Brentford (June 2010)
• Brenda Bostock (nee Mortlock) has sent her memories of Brentford in the 1940s and 50s, also several photos of Brentford people (June 2010)
• Carole Ann Bartholomew has sent three photos from Ealing Road School in the 1949/51 period (June 2010)
• Martin Hooper has written with details of the wider Gaydon family of clock and watchmakers, one branch of which settled in Brentford (June 2010)
• Kay Day has sent some photos, including class 3 at St Paul's school, 1918 and of a seaside outing thought to be local people (July 2010)
• Richard Taylor has been in touch about William Charles Cole, who was a Brentford fireman (possibly a part-time volunteer) in the late 19th century through to the 1920s (July 2010)
• James Earnshaw is a descendant of the Italian Longinotto family, who were umbrella makers at 245 High Street (July 2010)
• Ken Goddard has provided a detailed account of the well-known Goddard family of Brentford, who ran a number of local businesses (including, coincidentally, the umbrella makers shop at 245 High Street before the Longinotto family - see item above) (July 2010)
• Richard Stibbons has provided a first-hand account of the ghost of the Barge Aground and seeks information about other sightings or strange events at this pub (July 2010)

The above is not a complete list of all material outstanding (one of the challenges is to keep tabs on all contacts and I occasionally have a 'hot moment' when I find a mis-filed email dating back two or more years... If you write and have no reply, or I have said I'll do something and then don't a reminder will be appreciated!

I hope you find something of interest and if you have any memories or stories about Brentford High Street please get in touch, I’d be delighted to include them.

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