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Brentford Occupations A-Z
This page includes notes about occupations you may come across, for example in censuses, parish records, trade directories and wills. The final column, "Resources", includes links to external sites, books, articles and also to useful pages this site.
Please get in touch if you can contribute any information about a particular occupation.
| Occupation | Details | Resources |
| Artist | Maybe the river, canal boats or proximity to London attracted artists? | J M W Turner |
| Bargeman | See Lighterman | As Waterman |
| Basket maker | Made baskets for transporting fruit & veg (& other goods?) to market; Brentford had osier beds which provided the raw materials | "Riverside Crafts & Industries", James Wisdom, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1985
Photos of the Dawes family basket making business, 306 High St from Andy Dawes |
| Beer seller | See Landlord | |
| Boat builder | E C Jones, Brentford boat & barge builder
"E C Jones, Brentford boatbuilder", Pam Vernon-Roberts: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2007 Much more information / photos about the E C Jones business prepared by Pam Vernon-Roberts is available at the Local Studies room, Chiswick Library "Riverside Crafts & Industries", James Wisdom, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1985 | |
| Brewer | Brentford Breweries included the Beehive Brewery & Royal Brewery | "Royal Brewery Brentford", Neil Chippendale: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2005
"Brentford & Chiswick Pubs", Gillian Clegg, published by Tempus, 2005 |
| Brick maker | "Brentford brick-makers and potters", Val Bott: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2011 | |
| Butcher | Lockyer family notes | |
| Clockmaker | 3 watch / clockmakers living at High Street addresses in 1851; in 1901: 2 watchmakers and a watch repairer | Photos: Gaydon clock and Gaydon family history Upjohn clock Family details Honeybone & Pearce at 231 High Street Parsons at 282 High Street |
| Commercial Traveller | Linked manufacturers and wholesalers to retailers | Travelling salesmen in Britain 1890s-1930s is a useful resource (thanks to Val Bott for sending link) |
| Councillor | Brentford Local Board formed in 1874 | Local councillors from 1874, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1896 and 1908, thanks to Janet McNamara, much more to follow |
| Doctor | British Medical Journal Archive can be searched on-line, 1840-2009; registration is free; includes obituaries and biographical snippets | |
| Excise man | Excise Service details Excise Service in Brentford | |
| Fireman |
"Fire! 300 years fire fighting in Brentford", Diana Willment, Dandelion Publications, 2003 Brentford Fire Station at 53 High Street List of Brentford firemen, 1879 Photo of ten Brentford Volunteer Fire Brigade, 1890, 'Brentford As It Was' Photo of firemen, 1894 Photo of firemen, 1944 Funeral cortege of Frank Davis, 1948 Funeral cortege of Frank Davis, 1948 (2) Clarnico Fire Brigade, London E15 | |
| Fisherman | 1851 census includes 3 Thames fisherman who lived on the High Street; no fishermen recorded in 1891/1901 censuses of the High Street | "Riverside Crafts & Industries", James Wisdom, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1985 |
| Gardener | Likely to have worked in a Market Garden rather than a private property | Beach's jam article by Janet McNamara includes notes on 19th century fruit growing
Growth of Brentford Market by Janet McNamara |
| Gas worker | Brentford Gas Light and Coke Co. had extensive premises at the east end of Brentford | The Brentford Gas Company, Eric Kenward, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1981 |
| Landlord (Pub) | George & Florence Diggins ran the Rising Sun during WW2
Reeve family memories from WW2 of the Bull and Barge Aground | |
| Laundress | Crown & Jersey Laundry staff, 1933 | |
| Lighterman | Worked on barges, carrying goods or wares up and down the river and from cargo ships to shore | As Waterman |
| Market trader | Brentford market operated at various sites before moving into a purpose built building in 1893 | Knight family, including links
Growth of Brentford Market by Janet McNamara |
| Militia man | A tradesman might also have joined the Middlesex Militia | Family which included aMiddlesex Militia man |
| Nurse, WW1 | Family Tree, April/May 2005 | |
| Nursery gardener | Seedsmen, growers and sellers of plants, trees etc rather than sellers of produce | "Some Brentford Nursery Gardeners", Val Bott: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2008
Val Bott's blog: Nursery Gardeners gardening in Thames-side parishes 1650-1850 |
| Policeman | Charles Cox was a Brentford PC
Family Tree, August 2005 Brentford Police Station was at no. 60 then no. 42 until the 1960s John Oman Mumford was Sub-divisional Inspector at the old Brentford Police Station in the 1890s | |
| Postal worker | 'Archive Photo Series Brentford' includes 1904 photo of staff at the Brentford Post Office (p61)
Postcard 1908+ showing PO and boy workers, at new St Paul's Road site Photos with a possible PO connection: please can you help with names? | |
| Potter | "Brentford brick-makers and potters", Val Bott: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2011 | |
| Publican | See Landlord | |
| Pupil | See Schoolmaster | |
| Railwayman | Family Tree, February 2005 | |
| Sales Rep | As Commercial Traveller | |
| Scholar | SeeSchoolmaster | |
| Schoolmaster | See Rothschild School links
findmypast includes Teacher's Registration Council Registers 1914-1948 (subscription required) | |
| Seedsman | A developer and seller of varieties of fruit, vegetable and flowering plants | See alsoNursery gardener |
| Soap worker | Thames Soap Works, Ferry Lane | The Thames Soapworks of Brentford, Ted Crouchman, Brentford and Chiswick Local History Journal No 5 (1996) |
| Soldier |
Photo of Crimean War soldier, mid-1850s Includes photo of 3rd Regiment Dragoon Guard, early 1860s? 1925 photo includes men in the Middlesex Regiment | |
| Surgeon | See Doctor | |
| Teacher | See Schoolmaster | |
| Undertaker | Family Tree, December 2005 | |
| Wardrobe dealers | Sellers of second hand clothes, not wooden furniture | See "Nellie's Book": The Early Life of Victoria Wood's Mother by her son Chris Foote Wood (elder bro to Victoria Wood) |
| Watchmaker | See Clockmaker | |
| Waterman | Licensed to navigate and pilot passenger vessels on the River Thames |
Is there a Thames Lighterman in your family? by John Kite
Docklands Ancestor: includes lists, history, images... "My Ancestors were ... Thames Watermen" by James W. Legon pub. 2008 (Society of Genealogists Enterprises Ltd, Second Edition; £7.50 "The bargemen of Brentford", David Blomfield: Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 2007 "Riverside Crafts & Industries", James Wisdom,Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1985 The Past of Brentford's Waterways, by Elizabeth Wood, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1985 Brentford Barge Owners, by Elizabeth Wood, Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society Journal 1981 findmypast includes records of Thames watermen and lightermen 1688-2010 (subscription required) |
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Published 2008; last updated July 2012