Until the Brentford local board was formed in 1874 there was no
one place called 'Brentford' In fact, there were three quite
separate Brentfords Old Brentford, New Brentford and Brentford
End all governed by different bodies since time immemorial. In
the 10th century England's counties were divided into
administrative areas called' hundred'. Representatives of each
village in the 'hundred' (the moot) met regularly to discuss
local affairs. Old Brentford lay in the hundred of Ossulstone;
New Brentford in the hundred of Elthorne and Brentford End in
the hundred of Isleworth. After the Norman Conquest administration
by the manor and the parish superseded government by the moot,
but here again local affairs were fragmented. Old Brentford was
part of the bishop of London's manor of Fulham and in the parish
of Ealing; New Brentford lay in the parish of Hanwell and was
part of Hanwell Manor which was owned by the Abbot of Westminster;
and Brentford end was in the parish and manor of Isleworth (it
still is, which puts it outside the scope of this chapter) Since
the Brentford's were just adjuncts of larger land holdings they
do not feature in the Doomsday Book of 1086. Successive acts of
Parliament beginning in the 16th century gave more power to
parishes and encouraged them to form vestries (governing bodies
of parishioners) except where transfers of land were concerned
vestries largely took over from the manorial courts The vestry
appointed the churchwardens, sexton, beadle, organist overseers
of the poor, surveyors of highways and the parish constable It
also appointed officials like the ale Conner an early trading
standards inspector, watching over the price quality and measure
of liquor sold in alehouses a lot unimportant position when ale
was drunk at breakfast lunch and supper since no tea or coffee
was available and water was not usually fit to drink.