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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

• Coming soon now has the most recent items at the top (1 Sep 2010)
• Jeanne Whitby has sent photos (via Diane Lockie) showing the demolition of 233 and 234 High Street in 1982 (31 August 2010)
• Bacon's Guide to London, from around 1925, includes a street map of Brentford (29 Aug 2010)
• Brenda Bostock (nee Mortlock), with help from Wendy Todd (nee Biggs), remembers school, home and work days, Hamilton Road residents and entertainments from the late 1940s onwards; Brenda also provided photos from 1948 onwards including Ealing Road School, Brentford Secondary Modern Girls' School and Varley FMC (26 Aug 2010)
• Wendy Todd (nee Biggs) has provided several names for the Hamilton Road VE Day party photo (26 Aug 2010)
• Paul Smith has written about his Ryan, Manning, Callow families (of 376 High Street, Distillery Road, Baileys Row and Walnut Tree Road) and includes photos dating back to the early 1900s (25 Aug 2010)
• Quentin Pickard has provided a photo of the Brentford Dock and weir (mid to late 1960s) (24 Aug 2010)
• A Herbert Felton photo of no. 61 taken 1945/6 - the same property is in the following postcard, taken 40 years earlier (18 Aug 2010)
• Postcard showing the High Street from the Town Meadow Road junction, looking west, early 1900s (18 Aug 2010)
• Quentin Pickard took a b/w photo of Brentford Dock following closure in 1964 (16 Aug 2010)
• Carole Ann Bartholomew attended Ealing Road School in the late 1940s/early 1950s and has sent three photos from this era, two include her teacher Miss Onzron (9 August 2010)
• Can you help Dave Matthews who is looking into 'the history of H F Davis Brentford Ltd, my dad Jim Matthews worked for the company for over 40 years' (9 August 2010)
• Chris Pearce wrote about her grandfather Herbert Newman who was the steward at Inverness Lodge; as Chris was the third person to write mentioning Inverness Lodge a page bringing together some tales of secret passages and hauntings has been prepared (4 August 2010)
• Roger Davis has provided a charming photo taken around 1917 of a little girls' tea party, Kew Bridge Road, including Gwen Abigail and Rose Harrison (4 August 2010)
• Enid has researched a family who settled in Brentford in the early 1800s when the father, Nathan Woodroofe, came here as an excise officer; pages also added about the Excise service and the Excise Service in Brentford (2 August 2010)
• Notes for numbers 290 to 296 updated to include details from the 1911 census and general tidying up (1 August 2010)
• 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)

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Coming Soon

• Diane Lockie has sent two photos from the Brentford Carnival, one from the 1930s, the other 1960s (September 2010)
• Julie Edwards has written about the V1 rocket attack on Clayponds Road, 1944 (August 2010)
• Lin Squire has wrriten about the Squire and Sutch families who lived at High Street and Distillery Road addresses (August 2010)
• Dawn Welch (nee Hurdwell) has written about her Hopkins family and the War Memorial (August 2010)
• Peter Ranshaw has sent a different version of the Brentford Pubs Poem, see original version (August 2010)
• Bill Goodall has written about his Sims family, who spent some time in Brentford before emigrating to New Zealand in 1883 (August 2010)
• Dave Baker has written about Kennington and Bourlet Ltd, where he worked from 1955 (August 2010)
• Elizabeth Morgan has sent two photos taken in the 1920s or early 1930s, T. Bradshaw, coal and corn merchants, 241 High Street (August 2010)
• Reg Harris has sent a 1920s aerial view of Brentford (August 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)
• 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)
• James Earnshaw is a descendant of the Italian Longinotto family, who were umbrella makers at 245 High Street (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)
• 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)
• Martin Hooper has written with details of the wider Gaydon family of clock and watchmakers, one branch of which settled in Brentford (June 2010)
• Roger Davis has provided a photo of "Daddy" Pearce, who was involved with the Clarnico confectionery business, which had premises at 57 High Steet Brentford (June 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)
• 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)

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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