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Ridgeways Basin |
beginning of 1990, when I brought my narrowboat here.
The site is situated just south of the High St on Brent Way,
reached on foot through the alleyway alongside the Fish & Chip
shop opposite the Market Square, the alleyway being the right
of way from the High St to the waters edge.
In ancient times the basin formed the head of a creek that
bisected the river Brent and was the closest point at which
boats could approach the town on the high tides to load and
unload goods for the market.
A 1777 map shows the basin with a warehouse along its north
bank and it was evidently the reason for the location of the
Market Square where it is.
The land based property was bought in 1947 by Ridgeway Motors
(Isleworth) Ltd, owned by the Newing family. At that time the
property, known as Bradshaw's Yard, extended from the basin to
the High St and the company's office occupied the spot where
the Fish & Chip shop is now. Ridgeways provided moorings for
boats in the basin from the beginning, built boat building
sheds and extended the slipway. The rest of the property was
given over to car & coach repair and maintenance and the business
did very well for many years. At that time their eastern neighbour
was the Tannery, since taken over by Twickenham Plating.
Unfortunately in 1954 the Middlesex County Council decided to
pull down the High St shops along that frontage and build Brent
Way. Consequently the property was compulsorily purchased, County
Parade and Brent Way built and the remainder of the property leased
back to Ridgeways. From the end of the lease in '75 the company
fought to repurchase their property as it progressed through the
GLC and LRB authorities, but development pressures even back then
meant they suffered continual obstruction until the titles passed
into private hands. Continual litigation from that time ended in
the two remaining brothers suffering early deaths and I took over
the company in 2001.
The site has been the centrepiece of the new waterside redevelopment
application relating to the South of the High St proposal and the
developers, now in partnership with British Waterways, are doing
their level best to destroy the company to enable them to implement
the plans in anticipation of council approval of a detailed application.
If they succeed it will of course entail the permanent destruction
of the slipway, the boat repair business and the private moorings,
with the attendant total loss of a vital part of Brentford's historical
character. Needless to say I will be doing all I can to prevent this!
The photos are the only ones I've found in the company records
most people like them for the old cars! I can send some up to
date ones for comparison.
Now was that interesting ?,
history about part of the old waterway of Brentford.
Nigel Moore
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