Brentford Gauging Lock — Attraction in London

I can remember cycling here as a child and playing on piles of bananas, coal and coffee beans on a variety of industrial barges. Sadly all this disappeared in 1974, with the closure of Brentford Market. The loss of the market was great. It had been running since 1306 nearly 700yrs! However, I have had many years in my adult life walking the dog along The Thames towpath and crossing the road onto Brentford Lock and continuing my walk up the canal towpath. Which can take you to a variety of destinations. Including ; Boston Manor Park, Elthorne Park, Brunel's Viaduct, Brent Lee River Park Walk, Bittern's Field and Greenford. Or Brunel's Three Bridges, Southall and Hayes. Depending which fork you take at Hanwell. Very beautiful and tranquil with lots of wildlife. Usually the only people who seem to enjoy these passages of paradise are other dogwalkers, packs of walking groups and cyclists who go way too fast. Has a wee Edwardian grade 2 listed Toll House erected 1911. Which is now used as a museum for the ledgers of the lock with some lovely old photos of the lock in it's industrial heyday. Also a wee footbridge on the other side of the lock which opens up a wee docking area where I have often seen groups of canoeists being put through their training sessions. Along with the original lock bridge and a weir which are aesthetically pleasing. Some lovely bridges and locks along the way. And the canal is still worked by a variety of boats. Nearest station is...

In the 18th century at the time of early canal travel, goods were carried from the Midlands to London covering 230 miles via the Oxford Canal and the Thames, meeting hold ups of fishing weirs and often floods or droughts on the Thames. In 1793/4 the Grand Junction Canal Company built a canal to cut down this distance. The Toll House still stands by the lock above Brentford Bridge. It’s a listed building and serves as amuseum,open on Friday mornings from 10am to 1pm. There you can see pictures of the working canal, the tools used for measuring the boats and ledgers showing what was carried when Brentford was a centre of...

The once-“bustling “terminus” of the Grand Union Canal, a late C18 complex engineering feat, encompassing the converging tidal Brent and Thames rivers and the canal network. This area served as controlling and enforcing the weight based tolls on commercial cargoes. Some remnants of the working canal with an early C20 Toll House* and pedestrian crossing but little else in the environs here now meaningful nor evocative without knowledgeable guidance and interpretation. a small information centre open on...