Lilly’s tomb
A short piece on the charming stone memorial column which stands near the Temple and orange tree garden in Chiswick House Grounds. It commemorates a dog called Lilly which belonged to one of the women of the Duke of Devonshire’s household. The author considers who owned a dog of that name and has found the record of a payment for the pedestal in 1804.
Gillian Clegg

The Firestone Strike of 1933
The story of the 1933 strike at the Firestone factory on the Great West Road, derived from reports in the Daily Worker and the Brentford & Chiswick Times. The strikers sought union recognition, the abandonment of a new piece work system, payment for waiting time, a basic daily rate for tyre builders and better safety precautions. The dispute saw a struggle between Communist and Fascist groups. As it was not an official dispute there was no strike pay but a soup kitchen was set up. The company made some concessions but not union recognition and sacked the striking workers. Most were reinstated but not those deemed to be “troublemakers”. The author is a former Leader of Hounslow Council and a labour historian.
John Grigg

Melbourne House, John Lindley and St Michael’s Church
Using hitherto little-known sources, the author has discovered more about the residents of Melbourne House in what became Bedford Park. He used the pleadings of a Chancery Case of 1836 and Church Commissioners’ files at Lambeth Palace Library relating to St Michael & All Angels church. He lists John Bedford who built the house, John Lindley, the botanist and horticulturist, Harriett de Lessert and William Staunton. The author is Heritage Adviser to the Bedford Park Society.
D W Budworth

The History of Chiswick Hospital
A history of the Cottage Hospital, which opened in 1911, to mark its centenary. Dan Mason, of the Chiswick Polish Co, presented Rothbury House and its grounds on Chiswick Mall; the house became the administrative headquarters and the hospital was built in the gardens. During both World Wars it accommodated wounded soldiers, and in the 1940s became a maternity hospital which survived until 1975. Later it provided medical school accommodation and film sets, and in 1986 became Chiswick Lodge, for patients with long-term illnesses. It closed in 2006 and was demolished in 2010. The author worked at the hospital and was and active member of the League of Friends.She later expanded her narrative into a book on the history of the hospital.
Dorothy Bartram

Brentford brick-makers and potters
Accessible brickearth in the area, local labour and excellent transport links enabled brick-makers and potters to conjure profit from the earth.This account identifies the locations of the brickfields and some of the deep holes left after the excavation of better quality clay, describes the potteries and introduces some of the families who used the local clay. The brickearth excavations saw the bricks manufactured and fired on site, and were then reinstated for agricultural or horticultural use. One pit, Coles Hole, which yielded fine quality clay from at least 1719, survives as the Potomac Lake in Gunnersbury Park. The author is a curator and local historian who chairs the organising committee of the West London Local History Conference.
Val Bott

The Burges Window in Chiswick Parish Church
A description of the spectacular window in the north wall of St Nicholas Church in Chiswick and its creation in 186-61. Designed by William Burges, it commemorates Rev Cornelius Neale and his wife Susanna who are buried in the churchyard. Burges’ sketches of his designs are to be found in one of his notebooks in the RIBA collection. The authors have researched the history of the area for many years. Peter is the Society’s Hon Treasurer and Carolyn is Editor of this Journal.
Carolyn Hammond

Extracts from the diary of the Rev Edward Miller 1841-1842
Written by the pastor of a non-conformist group who met in Chiswick Lane, the original diary, with copies of numerous letters, has been lost. However, some typed extracts were donated to Chiswick Library’s Local Studies collection and these have been used to provide an account of the life of this community in the early 1840s. The author was formerly the Local Studies Librarian and is Editor of this Journal
Carolyn Hammond