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Canal basin 1906 |
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Brentford
If you where carrying goods by barge in the early 1800's, Brentford would have been very familiar to you. From 1794, the Grand Union Canal connected with the Thames at Brentford, and eventually provided a means of transporting coal, grain and other goods by water all the way from London to Birmingham.
Brentford has claimed to be one of the most likely sites where Julius Caesar crossed the Thames in 54 AD. It was a major fording point of the Thames for many years until Edward I granted permission for a bridge to be built in 1280. It also has been the sight of famous battles. In 1016, Edmund Ironside fought off the Danes, and during the civil war, the royalists defeated the parliamentarians during a battle in 1642.
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Kew
'Free bridges for a free people,' was the cry along the Thames in the 1870's. Kingston led the way in removing tolls from its bridge in 1870, and in 1874, Kew followed, with a compensation package to the trustees of £57,300.
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Kew Bridge, toll free |
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Introduction
Brentford
