THE HOUSE OF WINDSOR

1910-1936 George V

1910 The Electric Theatre was opened

1911 Thomas Layton, a local businessman who was active in local affairs died. He left a large, valuable collection of antiquarian books, maps and prints and other archaeological artefacts to the people of Brentford but not enough money to display or store them. Some are now at the Museum of London, Gunnersbury Park Museum or in the care of the London Borough of Hounslow.

1912 The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

1912 Roald Amundsen discovered the South Pole followed by Captain Robert Falcon Scott a month later.

1912 A plan was presented to the Middlesex County Council for a new road 80 feet wide to run from Gunnersbury to Bath Road west of Hounslow. This eventually resulted in the building of the Great West Road (A4).

1913 A tower was added to St George’s Church, Old Brentford.

1914 – 1918 The First World War

1916 Edgar Harold Holmes Turner, 2nd Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion Welsh Regiment serving in Macedonia died.

1918 The Representation of the People Act gave the vote to all men over the age of 21 and women over the age of 30.

1919 John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown made the first direct crossing of the Atlantic by air.

1920 Brunel’s covered wooden dock was destroyed by fire. It was replaced in 1923 by a steel and iron structure.

1922 All the furniture, portraits and other contents of Boston House were auctioned raising £12,568.

1923 Boston House and 23 acres of parkland was purchased for £23,000 by Brentford Urban District Council from Col J.B. Stracey Clitherow and opened as a public park in 1924.

1923 Brentford War Memorial was unveiled.

1924 Ramsey Macdonald led the first Labour Government.

The British Empire Exhibition was held at Wembley.

1924 The Q Theatre was opened in the Princes Hall by Jack and Beatrice de Leon.

1925 The Rating and Valuation Act led to the standardisation of the valuation of property throughout the county of Middlesex.

1925 The Great West Road (A4) was opened by King George V and Queen Mary. It stretched for just over 5 miles and for most of this distance was built through orchards, market gardens and fields. It cost £1 million to build. Major companies were attracted to the area by the good local services and excellent communication links. Because of the value of the business done, the section through Brentford became known as The Golden Mile.

1926 The Gas Works extended on to the site of the Royal Brewery and became the Gas Light and Coke Company (which became The North Thames Gas Board from 1949).

Gunnersbury Park was opened to the public. The two houses and 186 acres of park land had been bought for £125,000 by the boroughs of Acton and Ealing, helped by the Middlesex County Council.

1927 Brentford Urban District Council was amalgamated with Chiswick and the Borough of Brentford and Chiswick joined the ownership and management committee of Gunnersbury Park.

The Chiswick Times newspaper became the Brentford and Chiswick Times.

1928 Brentford Cottage Hospital was opened by Colonel Stracey Clitherow. It was demolished in 1995 and the Health Centre opened there in 1996.

1929 The Magistrates Court was renovated and a new section added at the front. The eighteenth century clock made by Jullion of Brentford was moved to the front of the new building.

The amalgamation of canals changed the Grand Junction to the Grand Union Canal.

1930 The Rothschild or British School was demolished and a Health Centre built on the corner of the High Street and Alexandra Road. This was closed in 1996 and converted for use as a Community Resource Centre. The building has been listed as being of architectural interest.

1932 Brentford and Chiswick was raised from Urban District to Borough status.

The fair that had been held twice a year for several hundred years was abolished. The Middlesex County Council had held the license but the fair had been causing a nuisance and congestion for some years before its closure.

1932/3 Brentford Football Club were the Third Division League champions.

1933 The market outside the Magistrates Court was closed down.

1934 Boston Manor Station on the Piccadilly Line opened. It was designed by Charles Holden. The low entrance block with a distinctive squat tower with a vertical finial was inspired by his visit to Holland.

1934/5 Brentford Football Club were Second Division Champions.

1936 Edward VIII

1936 Edward VIII became king on the death of his father but abdicated to be able to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson an American divorcee. He took the title Duke of Windsor and lived abroad.