New Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal Published

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Issue may be the most varied ever in range of subjects

St Lawrence’s Church and Brentford High Street, May 1880, etching by Auguste Ballin (1842-1909). Picture: Chiswick Local Studies Collection

The latest issue of the local history society’s journal may have the widest range of subjects ever according to its publishers.

The thirtieth annual Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal covers subject as the Thornycroft family, a Hugenot in Chiswick and Brentford FC in less glorious times.

Penny Ewles-Bergeron introduces us to a Huguenot diplomat, Marc-Antoine Crozat de la Bastide, who was a member of the circle around the Fauconbergs at Sutton Court in Chiswick at the end of the 17th century. His modest memorial stone can be seen in the churchyard at St Nicholas, Chiswick.

David Shailes and Jim Storrar share some of their detailed research into burials at St Lawrence’s in Brentford. This is very topical, as they have been keeping a close eye on new developments in Brentford and their impact upon the Church during 2021. From this work has emerged a detailed record of the burials there and this article provides a taste of their findings.

Mike Paterson provides another appropriately topical article. His enthusiastic account of the history of Brentford Football Club covers bankruptcy, two World Wars and life at the top table of football as well as in the four lower divisions. It also marks the year of the Club's promotion and its move to the new stadium.

Guy Arnall celebrates the extraordinary talents of the Thornycroft family. Sculptor Thomas Thornycroft was working on his remarkable sculpture of Boadicea and her daughters while his son, John Isaac, was constructing his innovative steam wagons alongside. They occupied a large shed/workshop behind Walpole House on Chiswick Mall. Thomas did not live to see Boadicea cast in bronze but she stands on her chariot today at Westminster Bridge.

Thornycroft steam wagon No 8, a dust cart, designed by John Isaac Thornycroft, 1898. Picture: Chiswick Local Studies Collection

Wesley Henderson-Roe has taken a record made by his late father, William Roe, as the teenage office boy for Tyser Greenwood and developed the information into an article about retail business in Chiswick High Road in 1936. He has added a comparable account of the High Road in 2020, analysing the changes which have come about in our patterns of shopping.

Jim Storrar reveals a story few people will have heard before. In the 18th century visitors flocked to Brentford Ait, the island immediately upstream of Kew Bridge. They came to sup on spatch-cocked eels and wine at the Three Swans, a substantial inn on the island. It was closed down by Kew Green residents who claimed it was disreputable and raucous!

Edited by Val Bott, the Journal has been designed by Mike Paterson. It has 28 A4 pages, illustrated throughout, both in colour and black and white. The cover carries a handsome engraving of St Lawrence's and Brentford in 1880 by August Ballin, a French artist who came to live in Brentford. A picture of the engraving can be seen at the top of this article.

The annual Journal is on sale at £6.00 + p&p . If you would like a copy click here.

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October 12, 2021