THE HOUSE OF YORK

1461 – 1483 Edward IV

Edward V, who was known as the Little Prince in the Tower, was murdered

1483 – 1485 Richard III

THE TUDORS

1485 – 1509 Henry VII

1492 Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic and claimed the West Indies for Spain. His voyage was sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain.

1497 John Cabot sailed from Bristol to make the first recorded journey to North America.

1502 A brick maker from New Brentford provided 400,000 bricks for building Syon Abbey.

1509 – 1541 Henry VIII

The English army defeated the Scots at the Battle of Flodden.

1528 A memorial was erected in St Lawrence’s Church to Henry Redman who was Henry VIII’s master mason.

1536 The Suppression Act transferred Church buildings and possessions to the Crown and led to the dissolution of the monasteries

1538 The Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII took hospitals and manors out of Church control. In Brentford this affected Brentford Market, Boston Manor and Syon as well as the church.

1539 The Bible was published in English

1546 New Brentford was recorded as having a population of ‘120 houseling people’, implying that there were about 50 households.

1541 – 1553 Edward VI

1547 Edward VI granted Syon and Boston Manors to the Duke of Somerset who was the Lord Protector. He started building the house, which forms the basis of the present Syon House. His personal physician, Dr Turner established the first recorded ‘botanic garden’.

1549 The Book of Common Prayer was introduced

1551 The Duke of Somerset was executed for treason.

1553 – 1558 Queen Mary

1558 William Pikes, Robert Willes, Stephen Cotter, Robert Dymes, Stephen Wright and John Slade were Protestants who were brought from Islington and burned at the stake in the Butts for their religious beliefs.

1558 – 1603 Elizabeth I

c1560 The market expanded from the road into an orchard on the site still called Market Place.

1560 Jerome Hawley leased Boston Manor and Brentford Market.

1565 Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange. Tobacco was introduced to England

1572 Boston Manor was granted to Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester by Elizabeth I. He sold it to Sir Thomas Gresham of Osterley.

1587 Mary Queen of Scots was executed

1588 An attack was launched by the Armada from Spain.

1592 Shakespeare’s first play was performed. He later mentioned Brentford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and is thought to have visited The Doves where one of his players took over as landlord.

1593 New Brentford became Great or Market Brentford for a time. Old Brentford was administered by St Mary’s Ealing as Upper and Lower parts of the parish.

1595 On a map of the British Isles in Mercantors Atlas, Brentford is marked with Uxbridge and Kingston as the only towns of any size in the area west of London.

1600 The East India Company was established.

Previous: 1216-1455

​​Next: 1603-1623