Some little nuggets from in and around Brentford and Isleworth.
St Paul's church, Brentford
The tower with its tall spire remains from the old church, built 1868-9. Most of the rest of the building was rebuilt c.1992 into a modern church / community centre.
Brentford Gauging Lock
Located at the confluence of the River Brent and the Grand Union Canal, the lock was so-called because here a toll keeper checked how much cargo boats were carrying using a gauging rod to measure how high the boat sat out of the water. This enabled him to calculate the amount of cargo carried, from which he would work out the toll to be paid to use the canal. The toll house, built in 1911, is now a museum, and Grade II listed. Unfortunately it is obscured in my photograph by trees to the right, so ...
Brentford Canal Toll House and Gauging Lock
No blunderbuss and bayonet required by the lock keeper, as far as I can determine – see next Post 44 for context.
Isleworth Cemetery
Opened in 1879, the chapel dominates the compact two and a half acre cemetery. A lodge and a mortuary were designed in a matching style.
The London Apprentice
Lovely old Grade II pub, located in Church Street, Isleworth. The present building dates back to the early 18th Century, and was recorded as a licensed inn by 1731. The pub overlooks Isleworth Stairs, established in the reign of Henry VIII for the ferry connecting Richmond Palace with the north bank of the Thames. It was from Isleworth Stairs that the Nine Day Queen, Lady Jane Grey, boarded the Royal Barge on July 9th 1553 to accept the throne as Queen of England, only to be imprisoned in the Tower nine days later. More on this treasure later, in Post 95.
Heron
Spotted by a fast flowing stream about fifty yards beyond The London Apprentice. Posture suggests to me either extreme patience married to heavily disguised and deadly cunning, or he / she has had better days.
Purple arrow : St. Paul's church
Pink arrow : Brentford Canal House and Gauging Lock
Orange arrow: Isleworth Cemetery
Red arrow : The London Apprentice
Black arrow : Heron
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