The Battlefield

Moses Glover’s 1635 map of Brentford and the area to the west of the town shows a number of enclosures either side of the London Road.  The fields were a mixture of arable and pasture and would have necessitated some form of enclosure, probably hedges, to prevent animals straying or eating crops in adjacent fields.  The wide extent of enclosure around Brentford negated the utility of the royalist cavalry and caused the engagement to become an infantry battle primarily, though not exclusively, involving musketeers.

In 1642 the town of Brentford consisted of one main street running east-west for about one mile lined with shops and houses. The larger part of the town was known as Old Brentford and was located on the eastern, London, side, whilst New Brentford was on the western side.  Much of Old Brentford was located slightly above New Brentford on the 10 metre contour line and where the main street inclined was probably the location of one of two  barricades used by the parliamentarians to defend the town.   Just south of the main street was the river Thames. To the south-west of the town was Syon House, the London residence of Algernon Percy, the 10th Earl of Northumberland and lukewarm parliamentary supporter.  Today Brentford is heavily built-up with only Syon House, its park and the course of the main street surviving from 1642.

 

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