Forum Topic

The Brentford Drinking Fountain

Having recently seen the old Brentford Drinking Fountain by the Western International Market at Hayes (Bulls Bridge) I would like to find out more about it and why it was moved out of Brentford.  It is sited in such a sorry spot and surely cannot be appreciated as it deserves to be.I can't help wondering if there is any way the fountain can be brought back to Brentford where it belongs and how to go about doing it.Do the residents of Brentford feel the same way as me?I would really appreciate hearing peoples views and any other information that might be relevant.If it is a question of funds we can try to raise the money.Many thanksJulia QuilliamQuilliam Property Services020 8847 4737  

Julia Quilliam ● 6374d19 Comments

Could it be listed which would at least give some incentive for it to be properly maintained at its current site?

Justin Harris ● 6290d

cheers for info matt

Luke Davies ● 6295d

Hallo Luke. I got some quotes a couple of years ago. I can't find them right now to get the exact amounts but they were high, around 15 or 20k because there is a problem with the mains water and all sorts of other, expensive, issues. A real pity as on a sunny day the park is busy and a fountain is a very nice thing to have...

Matt Harmer ● 6296d

would be great to see it back, i know its not a memorial or anything but what about getting the fountain in the middle of st pauls park working it is there just rotting away!!!

Luke Davies ● 6296d

Hi,I'd love to see it come back...I thought I heard about plans for that a while ago....but I could be wrong....

Mrs Sara Ward ● 6371d

Sorry peeps that link to the previous thread should have been:Previous thread on Brentford Fountain

Stephen Browne ● 6371d

I would also like to think the fountain could return but don't hold much hope.During the planning consultation for the Kew Bridge (Scottish Widows) site the concept of its return was mooted by yours truly along with others.See previous thread in this forum.But Messers Thompson et al (architects for the Kew Bridge site) did make contact with the owners of the fountain and it was not about to be sold or moved back closer to it's original position near Kew Bridge.

Stephen Browne ● 6371d

No, the point I was trying to make is that there is a fountain, in Brentford i.e. in the walled garden of Boston Manor Park, that used to be in the wrong place so that if you put your mind to in ...anything can happen and it could be moved!

Linda Massey ● 6372d

Sorry am I going mad but are you saying that "The Brentford Fountain" is in a walled garden in Boston Manor  gardens

Jo Smith ● 6372d

You can never have too many fountains...

Matt Harmer ● 6372d

I will forward your request to the Friends of Boston Manor Secretary Jan Jones who made enquiries about the fountain which until last year was situated in the middle of the car park.  It is now happily sitting in the walled garden of Boston Manor Park.

Linda Massey ● 6372d

Hi Julia and allI had a look at this about 4 years ago and the answer then was that the Fountain belonged to the market traders and there was hostility to seeing it leave WIM.Anyone driving nearby on a Sunday should swing in and take a look, it's a grand if slightly tatty memorial.

Matt Harmer ● 6372d

I'm not sure of the year that the fountain was erected at the foot of Kew Bridge..was it before the present Bridge was opened by King Edward VII in 1903?I remember Andrea Cameron saying at a local history meeting..for she is an expert on this subject..that when local nurserymen were making their way to Covent Garden with  vegetables and fruit from their local nurseries and orchards etc many of them would stop off en route at the Express Puband find locals wanting to purchase produce from their hourse and carts parked outside!!  Cauliflowers were the first sale she mentioned.This sale of goods outside the Express Pub before the traders had even left the area grew and grew..and the scenes around the fountain and the pub caused huge jams! The newly arrived trams in 1901 also terminated at the Fountain. Must have been a busy spot...the outdoor market now extending in all directions!!By 1905 a proper Brentford Market was built just down the road tewards Chiswick and my friend Thomas Nowell Parr helped with the design and facia decoration. (just like he did at the Brentford Library and the Fire Station).The (granite?)Fountain stayed at Kew Bridge...in the middle of the road junction. There was a drinking fountain for us youngsters in the 1950's, a metal mug fixed to a chain if I remember correctly and a trough or two for the horses.As Neil said in maybe the 60's or so the Fountain was moved to the Market down the road..(near Chiswick Roundabout) as it was becoming an obstacle at the Kew Bridge junction.I don't recall the fountain being a memorial of any kind.When Brentford Market closed and moved to the Western International Market in Hayes Road..near The Parkway..the Fountain followed..and for most of us it was "gone!". Amazingly when I took my camera up there a year of so back they refused to give me permission to take a photo for the Chiswick W4 Forum and the ABC Cafe thread!! I didn't have time to pursue it.The fountain has recently been moved again..to the entrance road..rather than being in the heart of the Market...so it should now be easier to photographic.So: pictures required and more information too. Who paid for it originally?

Jim Lawes ● 6373d

I seem to remember asking exactly the same thing a couple of years ago - and was told that the traders at Western International had paid for the fountain to be moved and the likelihood of getting it back was remote. However, isn't Western International to be re-developed? If so perhaps the fountain could come back to Brentford then.

Vanessa Smith ● 6374d

The only reason its in WIM is that it was in the old Brentford Market when it closed down. The fountain was originally at Kew Bridge but was moved due to the increase in traffic. As far as I understand the fountain itself is not a war memorial. I have not got my books with me too confim this though.I believe it should be brought back and located again in Brentford.How about asking Ballymore to incorporate it into the Southside.

Neil Chippendale ● 6374d

Yes to both, but the Traders' Association claim the fountain as theirs.

John Connelly ● 6374d

Great idea, Julia!Does Hounslow Council own/manage WIM?

James de Vivenot ● 6374d

Many thanks for your reply, I wonder if the workers were mainly from Brentford anyway.

Julia Quilliam ● 6374d

I am sure local historians will be able to advise on the complex issues you are raising here. A number of years ago I was told that the structure at Western International Market includes the war memorial for workers at the the old Brentford Fruit Market. It is on this basis that WIM claim the right to locate the Fountain at the new market location.As a Heston resident I appreciate the differing views on the matter but would not dare to take sides!

John Connelly ● 6374d