The SOAP WORKS

The 'soap manufactory' mentioned in the 1792 survey of
Brentford was that run by Alexander Corson and partners
in the Ham. This business was declared bankrupt in 1796
and presumably the turpentine works, also run by Corson,
was sold at the same time as part of the assets liquidated
to pay off his creditors.
The 18th-century building now incorporated into the Ferry
Quays development was once part of the premises of the
Thames Soapworks (later Messrs T B Rowe) In 1799 Laurence
Rowe brought the house which still stands (no.60 High St)
at the corner of Town Meadow (later Brentford Police Station)
It had its own wharf later renamed Soaphouse Creek. In 1806
the soapworks was doubled in size by purchase of land and
two adjoining house in Ferry lane. These functioned as the
Rowe family home and the factory offices. When Laurence
Rowe died in 1824 the factory passed to his sons, Thomas
Berry Rowe and Laurence Rowe. These two bachelor brothers
did much good work in the local community and there is a
tradition that Charles Dickens based the brothers Cherryble
in Nicholas Nickleby on them. The soapworks was brought by
Lever Bros in 1916 and transferred to Silverton in 1934.
The following year the factory buildings were demolished
with the exception of the old house (the two house had been
joined together), which was sold to Varley Pumps and Engineering
Ltd (later renamed Peerless Pumps). This firm closed in 1989.
A new soap company, the Brentford Soap Company, opened in
1934 in Catherine Wheel Rd. It was started by the general
manager of T B Rowe and took over the old Gomm's brewery
premises. It closed in about 1970. JAM MAKERS T W Beach and Sons were makers of jams and preserves. In
1867 Thomas Beach a member of a family long established
as fruit growers in the Hounslow, Heston and Isleworth
areas took a lease on 26 acres of land stretching north on
either side of the Ealing Rd, Brentford. He began making
jam and discovered the secret of how to make whole-fruit
jam using glass bottles. Beach's jams became popular and
by 1901, Beach had won 17 medals for the excellence of his
product. The factory was between Walnut Tree and Cressage
Roads and employed about 40 people. Beach also leased
another building for use as a theatre for his staff. The
factory was sold in 1929 when the firm moved to Hanworth.