This extract appears on Colin Bibra's website..and I thought it worthy of placing on this thread..to aid understanding of the evolvement of what we see around us!!"""Brentford is often referred to as the former county town of Middlesex, mainly because throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries county elections were held and declared here, at The Butts.In fact, Brentford did not become a town in its own right until the 1870s, when New and Old Brentford were finally joined together under Brentford Urban District Council.Industry began to arrive in Brentford during the latter half of the 18th century. The first industries tended to rely on Brentford's corn market, with numerous malt houses, normally attached to inns, as well as breweries and distilleries. Several of the former still survived into the 1890s, and at least three breweries were still active, including one in Boston Manor Road and another in Catherine Wheel Yard. This particular industry went into decline locally as Fuller, Smith & Turner (today known simply as Fuller's) bought the independent breweries and sold off the premises. Only the Royal brewery survived beyond the turn of the century.At the end of the 18th century produce from the local market gardens was being loaded for destinations as far a field as Hungerford, while timber, corn and coal were major imports. The latter was given added significance with the completion, in 1805, of the Grand Junction Canal, following the course of the Brent for part of its route, and making it possible to bring coal and manufactured goods from the Midlands to Brentford and then on to the rest of the South EastWhether it brought affluence to Brentford is a moot point. Canal-boat children were a constant worry for local philanthropists and a school was established for them in the 1890s, initially in Isleworth but later in The Butts and, during the 1950s, in the old St Lawrence's school.The railways effectively ended Brentford's days as a coaching town. The loop line was opened in 1849. Of greater interest, historically, was the Great Western & Brentford Railway's branch, opened in 1859, principally a freight line-passenger trains ran only from 1860 to 1915 and from 1920 to 1942. A site at Old England had been purchased from a timber merchant, James Montgomery (who also gave his name to one of the wharves), and here Brunel designed a covered dock where goods could be trans-shipped between railway and river, so providing a link between the GWR and the Port of London. This survived until 1964.The Great West Road, about 150 yards north of the Loop Line and running broadly parallel with it, brought modern industries to Brentford in the 1920s. The character of Brentford however survived, with its small, back-street industries, its wharves and boat-building yards. Many waterside areas have been sanitised today, not least in nearby Isleworth, but that has not happened here. For the resident with open eyes, the waterfront at Brentford, with its echoes of the past, is well worth the exploration.""" END
Jim Lawes ● 7089d