PLEASE NOTE: During the continuing Covid-19 pandemic the Society held its programme using online talks via Zoom.
Monday 18 January 2021
The Brentford Flood, January 1841
An illustrated talk by Val Bott, marking the 180th anniversary of this disaster and describing how the community coped with it. Val’s book Flood! won the LAMAS Local History Publications Award in 2003
Monday 15 February 2021
The Mourning & Funeral of Sir John Maynard of Gunnersbury
James Wisdom reveals details of the elaborate arrangements made after Sir John Maynard’s death in 1690, for official mourning and a heraldic funeral. This is an extended version of the illustrated talk given at the West London Local History Conference in November 2020
Monday 15 March 2021
The London Routemaster bus – designed in Chiswick
Lifelong transport enthusiast David Shailes presents a brief history of these iconic vehicles. He edits the quarterly magazine of the Route-master Owners’ & Operators’ Association, is restoring his own Routemaster and works for Redroutemaster of Brentford
Monday 19 April 2021
Boston Manor Park – layers of landscape
Hounslow Council’s Head of Culture, David Stockdale, will talk about interpreting the history of the estate and the lottery-funded restoration works which have begun to be implemented there, relating to both the Park and the mansion
Monday 17 May 2021
Annual General Meeting
The agenda and papers will be sent out directly to subscribing members only nearer the time to enable them to book their Zoom places. We are hoping to include a short talk after the business has been completed, but details of this have not yet been finalised. When we met in person this was the occasion for distributing the Journal. We are pleased to report that issue no 30 is nearing completion and will be sent out by post after the meeting. Copies will also be made available for sale on the bookshop pages here by the end of May.
Monday 20 September 7.30pm
The History of the Great West Road
An illustrated talk by James Marshall, Hounslow’s former Local Studies Librarian, marking the centenary of the start of construction work on the road in 1921. James wrote the important 1995 book of the same title.
Monday 18 October 2021, 7.30pm
Discovering the Women of the Gunnersbury Estate
Kathryn Rooke, the Archivist at Gunnersbury Park Museum, will present this illustrated talk about some of the extraordinary women associated with the Gunnersbury estate over almost a thousand years.
Monday 15 November 2021, 7.30pm
10,000 Years of Brentford: the early history of a riverside town
An illustrated talk by Jon Cotton, setting the current excavations into the wider context of decades of local archaeology. Jon is a freelance archaeological researcher who undertook excavations in Brentford in the past and is also a trustee of the Thomas Layton Trust.
Monday 20 December 2021, 7.30pm
An evening of Members’ contributions
In place of the usual Christmas Party, we presented short talks from members on an aspect of history that they had researched. Martin Daly spoke about an Italian barometer-maker Pastorelli who lived in Chiswick and owned property in Paxton Rad, Giz Marriner spoke about her research into her 19th century ancestors, bargmen and lightermen who lived in Thames Row, Brentford and Adam Grounds shared a set of fine Edwardian pen and ink drawings of Brentford which he had acquired for the Local Studies Collection.
