New Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal Published
Read about Captain Cook's local shipmates and a Brentford children's home
Detail from the front cover of the new journal. Picture: BCLHS
July 7, 2023
The new edition of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society's annual Journal is now on sale online.
It includes details of recent local history research and offers a significant opportunity for the Society’s members to share the outcomes of recent research with a wider audience.
This 32nd edition of the Journal marks the centenary of the publication of the important history of Chiswick by historian and campaigner Warwick Draper in 1923. Prof Ruth Levitas, who is immensely knowledgeable about the community that lived along Chiswick Mall and Hammersmith Mall has contributed a piece about Draper and his family. Val Bott describes the book itself and the subscribers who made it possible, while the frontispiece drawn by Draper’s 18-year-old son graces the back cover.
Some of the early Journals included a summary of the work of Hounslow's Local Studies & Archives team this concept has been revived by inviting Sophie Bailey to describe some inquiries she has dealt with in the last twelve months.
The articles introduce us to many people who lived and worked in Brentford or Chiswick but they also span a wider world. For example, Phil Philo has followed up his talk to the Society in March 2022 with the explorations of two Chiswick men who sailed with Captain Cook. Ursula Dommett has contributed an account of her ancestor, the Edwardian naturalist William Kirby, and his family who had strong German connections. Jim Storrar writes about the occupants of a 19th century children's home in Brentford and has identified its location and its later residents, while Norma Cox describes the very different world of the Chiswick Sports Club now the site of St Thomas' estate.
The Journal has been edited by Val Bott, laid out by Mike Paterson and printed by long-standing printer, Carfax Cards Ltd.
Illustrations have been provided by Chiswick’s Local Studies Library, Bonhams, the British Museum, the National Library of Australia and the authors, while the National Library of Scotland has provided digitised extracts from old Ordnance Survey maps.
With 28 A4 fully illustrated pages and a full colour cover it costs £7 a copy plus postage and packing and can be ordered here.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |