The information on this page comes from a variety of sources. Particular thanks go to the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society who have been kind enough to supply us with articles from their invaluable Journal.

'All Mod Cons' - A History of Chiswick Architecture
James Wisdom looks at the development of building styles in W4

Cherry Tree planted at V2 factory site

Chiswick represented at cermony in Germany ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of war

Gillian Clegg launches new publication
Local author's definitive local guide - 'The Chiswick Book'

Armies march on Turnham Green and Brentford
Retracing the history of Civil War battles in which 36,000 soldiers determined the course of British history

Finding Private Browning
Solving one of the mysteries of the Chiswick V2

Large crowd attends unveiling of V2 memorial Jim Lawes revisits Staveley Road sixty years after he went to see the aftermath of the first rocket attack on the UK which killed three people

V2 memorial Speeches
Full text of all the speeches from the unveiling ceremony

Industrial action hits West London trams
John Grigg on the 1909 London United Tramways strike

Articles on Local History

Who Was Who At Strand on the Green
Street Names of Chiswick
Chiswick High Road 21 years on
The golden age of theatre and cinema in Chiswick
Cherry Blossom memories
Important historical find in Chiswick Quay
Chiswick as a Fishing Village
Yeats in Bedford Park
Historic Print of William's Terrace in 1837
Strand on the Green by Henry George Webb
Chiswick Riverside from Harrison's History of London

If there are any links you think we should add or if you have an article that you would like to submit please send them to editor@chiswickw4.com

Books on Local History

Then & Now Chiswick has been compiled by husband and wife team Carolyn and Peter Hammond (Carolyn looks after the archives at Chiswick Public Library and is an absolute fount of wisdom on all matters historical relating to the area).

This is simply a fascinating book: over 80 images, some never previously published and drawn from a range of sources including Chiswick Library's extensive archives, Gunnersbury Park Museum and local individuals' collections, are reproduced alongside modern shots of the same scene, dramatically illustrating both how much our local area has changed in the last century or so

Bedford Park - the First Garden Suburb
The Bedford Park Society has recently republished Tom Greeves's important book "Bedford Park- the first garden suburb" (hardback). Available, price £16.00 plus £1.50 p+p, from Peter Murray, Hon.Sec Bedford Park Society, 31 Priory Avenue, London W4 1TZ.

William Roe - Glimpses of Chiswick's Development
Mr Roe has lived in Chiswick for most of his 80 years (when he wasn't here he was fighting for his country) and has written three books. He illustrates his own books. The books are auto-biographical but with a strong feeling for historical accuracy. The books are priced at £10 and can be bought at the local history society meetings or from 14 Alwyn Avenue between 10.30am and 4pm on week days.

Gillian Clegg - Chiswick Past
Nicely produced and readable review of Chiswick. Well illustrated it takes you through from the earliest records through to modern times.

The Birth of A Parish - The creation of Saint Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park.
By Michael Broom, with original illustrations and drawings by Nigel Woolner.
St Michael & All Angels was conceived as the cornerstone of Bedford Park and was the replacement for a corrugated iron church in Chiswick High Road. This book describes the creation of the new parish and its church(designed by the well-known architect Norman Shaw) as well as the conflicts and strong characters involved in its foundation. £9.95 from local shops or from the Parish Office, 020 8994 1380. Proceeds go to the Parish Hall project.

Patrick Loobey- Chiswick
This addition to the "Britain in Old Photographs" series brings together a collection of black-and-white pictures spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Margeret Bolsteri - The Early Community at Bedford Park
An account of the social life in Bedford Park between 1876 and 1885, featuring the early residents "who thought of themselves as founders of a utopian community." There are copies in Chiswick library.

Roy Foster - W.B. Yeats, a Life Part 1 - The Apprentice Mage 1865-1914
Eminent historian Roy Foster relates the time that WB Yeats spent early in his life in Blenheim Road Bedford Park to other aspects of his family background giving perhaps the best biographical detail of those early years. The book shows that what is possibly the most famous poem in the English language was written in Chiswick.

T. Affleck Greeves - Guide to Bedford Park
Guided walks point out the buildings of particular interest for their architecture or the personalities linked with them. Available for sale in Chiswick library at £2.00.

Sybil Pearce - An Edwardian childhood in Bedford Park (1900-1910)
A post-Edwardian girlhood in Bedford Park (1910-1918)
The first book starts - "A child in Bedford Park at the turn of the century found the Avenue a quiet friendly road with scarcely any traffic passing through from Acton to Chiswick. The occasional horse-drawn butcher's cart, a three wheeled milk "float" hung round with jangling milk cans, and a few bicycles were all that could be seen." Oh dear! Both books are in Chiswick library.

John Harris - The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick
In 1726, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, built an addition to his modest country house on the river Thames at Chiswick. The structure was a free standing "villa", which is the subject of this book.

Warwick H Draper - Chiswick
This fairly definitive guide to Chiswick history was first published in 1932.

Chiswick as it wasSusan Morris - Chiswick House
Intended to help teachers planning a site visit to Chiswick House, this book combines historical background with a variety of possible study approaches, documentary sources, and photocopiable activity sheets for classroom and on-site work.

Pamela Daphne Edwards - Hammersmith and Chiswick in Old Picture PostcardsThe Story of Voysey House
(In Barley Mow passage - a Grade II listed building)

Ann Radcliffe: A Bio-bibliography
Arguably the most popular novelist of her day and the mother of the female Gothic literary tradition, Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) who lived in Chiswick has received varying amounts of critical attention and is now being recognised for her important contribution to English literature.

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958-1978
Includes the early years of The Who (Pete Townsend and John Entwhistle were from Chiswick)

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh
He preached once in a now-demolished hall off Chiswick High Road. He also sketched St Nicholas's Church.

Chiswick 1893
A map of the area from that date

August 9, 2005