Forum Topic

Blue plaque houses in Brentfoed?

Are there any blue plaque houses in Brentford? You know, the "so and so lived here" heritage plaques?

Gerry Tan ● 7477d27 Comments

Noone to my knowledge - and I haven't read the whole thread - has mentioned that Brunel was said to have lived at 38 High St. Cranford.  The house was burnt down by vandals in the early '70's and a school was built on the site.  The site originally belonged to HBC

Lois Westby ● 7386d

Speak to James Marshall in the Local Studies Dept and I am sure he'll show you.

Neil Chippendale ● 7395d

Wow! I didn't know that, I must take a look at that. Turner was a master and to think it was the Brenford air that go him going!!

Duncan Walker ● 7395d

Do people know that Turner's first known art work is owned by the LBH. When he was a child and living in Brentford he was paid to colour all the plates in a book on the Buildings of England. The book is held at the library in Hounslow.

Neil Chippendale ● 7395d

Keith Frederick Hitch was born on November 29th 1856 at Chase Side in Southgate. See http://freespace.virgin.net/sean.farrell/Early_Life.htm

Gareth Evans ● 7395d

VanessaLoved your posting - well said. I'm still chuckling over it.

Gareth Evans ● 7395d

Gd Day Jim /Keith .Spent a most enjoyable and interesting hour looking at the Rorkes Drift Site My Family plots are just opposite Private Hitch's Memorial , in fact whn I visit the UK and go to the Cemetary , I always get my bearings by the Helmet on Hitch's tomb, what I was not aware of was the Cranbrook road connection , my Aunt Lived in that road (I Think at 42 ) and I spent many sundays there(while me dad was at the Manor Tavern in Devonshire Road) so thanks for that .

Michael D Giddings ● 7396d

Cheers,I'll have a look.I think the event was to recognise 100yrs since his death

Keith Iddon ● 7399d

http://www.rorkesdriftvc.com/vc/hitch.htmKeith: a bit of clicking on Google...and the answer is there..together with a picture of the Blue Plaque outside his house in Cranbrook Road. Didn't an event take place there during the past 3 months?

Jim Lawes ● 7399d

My husband says that if there was a blue plaque for God it would be in God's Own County - Yorkshire!!

Linda F Wright ● 7399d

I wonder if Private Hitch,winner of the Victoria Cross at Rorke's Drift and born and bred in Chiswick,has a blue plaque in his name?

Keith Iddon ● 7399d

I have just found in Gillian Clegg's book "Brentford Past", page 107 in a section on Private Schools more information on Syon House Academy. Gillian confirms P B Shelley did attend the school, but the school is not where I said it was in the previous responses. Gillian states that it was located on the site of the current Royal Mail Delivery Office, just West of Brentford Bridge. There's a drawing of the house and some lovely snippets about his time there, such as him frequenting a cheap bookseller, Norbury's at 110 Brentford High Street.

Duncan Walker ● 7399d

Well researched Duncan..another gem in Brentford.

Jim Lawes ● 7400d

Nice one DUNCAN. Wow, England's most romantic poet once lived in Brentford!

Gerry Tan ● 7400d

Here's another candidate for a Blue Plaque....There was another famous resident of Brentford - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792– 822) attended school in Brentford, at the Syon House Academy, when he was 10 years old. The principal was Dr Greenlaw, and apparently the other pupils, who were mostly sons of local tradesmen, teased him about his name and for being tall. He stayed there for 2 years and then went on to Eton and University College Oxford.I was walking along London Road today, from Brentford towards Busch Corner and as usual I looked at Syon Lodge, the grand old building about 100yds past the Coach & Horses, just before you get to Busch Corner. I have always liked this building. Crowther’s Architectural Antiques of Syon Lodge, a purveyor of antique replicas occupied the site for over 65 years, used it as a showroom. When I got back home I had a look around the web to find out its history and came across this fascinating bit of detective work on the site http://srv2.lycoming.edu/~lewes/shelleysites/syon.htm  by someone from a Lycoming College in the US. They have compared a photo of the Syon House Academy from the Shelley Museum in Poole with Syon Lodge today and confirm it is the same building.Now I am told by the West London Chamber of Commerce web site (http://www.westlondon.com/newmag_jul_syon.html)  that “now Syon Lodge has been re-invented again as one of London's most exclusive and elegant venues for private meetings, business functions, dinners, weddings and parties.”

Duncan Walker ● 7400d