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Brentford Pubs A-Z

The following A-Z list of public houses was compiled for Brentford Local History Day, June 4 2011, the theme being 'Pubs and Inns in and around Brentford'. Since then Vic Rosewarne and Jim Storrar have undertaken and shared their extensive research into inns, pubs and beerhouses and in particular Jim has provided an A-Z list which is more comprehensive than that below; it also shows pubs operating as at 2018. The Pub Hub has links to pub histories, licence transfers and more from Vic and Jim.

Returning to the 2011 Local History Day, see Diane Lockie's photos of displays (pub photos) at flickr: search under 'people' for 'chiswick 28' and then use the magnifying glass to search for 'Pubs': 23 photos.

If you had an ancestor who ran an inn, hotel, pub or beerhouse you may be able to find photos or postcards showing the property. You may also find the history of the property has been researched and published.

Your beer retailer ancestor may also be mentioned as a witness in an Old Bailey trial (1674 - 1913: see Web Links for a link to this free web site). For example, the trial of Richard Pearce of Brentford in 1883 for 'Feloniously throwing Kate Pearce into a canal, with intent to murder her' mentions Robert Bee 'I live at Brentford ... I am a beerhouse keeper, which I attend to when my newspaper business is over, at 10 o'clock' and 'Mr. Van's public-house, the Black Boy'.

The details of Robert Bee helps explain why ancestors sometimes appear as a beer retailer and on other occasions with a different occupation in censuses and directories: the beer house may have been just an evening occupation, worth including in a trade directory, but the day job may have been a more important source of regular income and noted in census returns.

To find out more about the pub with a High Street address, look-up the High Street no. (from the first column) in the Properties: High Street page. Vic Rosewarne's list of licence transfers by pub name shows changes of landlord from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. It is also worth looking at local history books and local websites: pub photos are often included and sometimes a brief history.

Information has been taken from 1811 and 1841 - 1911 censuses, trade directories (1791, 1826, 1839, 1845, 1851, 1853, 1855, 1866, 1874, 1878, 1882, 1890, 1898, 1907, 1913, 1920, 1926, 1928, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1940), 'Brentford & Chiswick Pubs' by Gillian Clegg, research by Mary Blyth, information from Mr Harrison (at the Local History Day 2011), information provided by descendants and a 1914 newspaper article about a collection made by tenants of Royal Brewery pubs for the Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund. A few brewery names have been added from the Lloyd George Survey of around 1910.

Published June 2011; last updated January 2023

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