After lying derelict for 8 years, in 1972 construction work began on the site for an ambitious new housing estate. It was to comprise of 590 modern units designed to have as little impact as possible on their natural surroundings; building heights would be within the heights of the existing trees, they would be brick-built and where possible existing features such as the docks would be refurbished and become an integral part of the scheme. Interesting building shapes and well-planned gardens would create a pleasant environment to live in. Construction work on the project was completed six years later in 1978. The Brentford Dock that we see today was born.
For the official opening of Brentford Dock Marina on 7 August 1980 Sir Horace Cutler, head of what was then the GLC (Greater London Council), sailed up river from County Hall on the Princess Freda.
The first photograph shows him cutting the blue ribbon draped across the lock gates. The second photograph shows him coming up the gangplank beneath the Marina clubhouse with Commodore W. E. Warwick, the first master of the QE2, and Barney Hayhoe, then MP for Brentford.
This was the view looking northwards from the top of Dock Road in about September 1981. It was then possible to look directly up St Paul's Road to the church.
The line of sight is now blocked by Morrisons supermarket (which was called International when it first opened, then Gateway and Somerfield).
The building on the corner of St Paul's Road and Brentford High Street seen also in the previous picture, shortly before demolition. The corner property had evidently once been a tea rooms.
The advertisement on the wall says: "Stop and try our 1st-class refreshments. Tea, coffee and cocoa" with the price per cup below. The writing is indistinguishable, but from memory it was either 2d and 3d per cup or 3d and 6d.
The building next to it was being used at the time by Goddards for storage
Dock Road in late summer 1981, this shows a derelict building at the top of Dock Road at the junction with the High Street. It was replaced by a new building which is now the solicitors' office.
The Brentford Monument, which records four great events in the town's history, was unveiled in 1909 on the wharf at the bottom of Ferry Lane.
It was made from columns of pink granite discarded from Brentford Bridge over the canal when it was widened that year.
According to a local history book, over the years it became submerged under coal unloaded at the wharf and was resited (apparently in 1955) on the west side of Ferry Lane where I photographed it in early spring 1980.
In 1992 the monument was moved again to its current site outside the County Court on the north side of the High Street. (Note: A comparison with a photograph of the original monument shows that the top and bottom halves of the monument were not put back together the same way after the first resiting - one was turned with respect to the other.)
The former Ferry Hotel at the end of Ferry Lane, photographed on December 1, 1983, from the end of the canal.
It closed as a hotel in 1922 and from then on was used as offices for a lighterage company. The building was demolished at the end of 1983, shortly after this photograph was taken. The site is now occupied by the Ferry Quays development.
The low, light-blue building with the white top behind and to the left of it was the Young & Marten warehouse, now the site of the Premier Lodge hotel.
In the lower picture, the top of the old Brentford gasometer is visible, itself now the site of a new housing development (Capital West).
A fully laden Thames lighter on its way through Thames Lock, seen from Dock Road, also in late summer 1981. The British Waterways Board terminal on the north side of the High Street was then still in operation. It is now The Island housing development.
We would be very interested to hear your tales of the past. Please send us your stories and photos to bdresidents@gmail.com
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