Battle of Brentford (1016)

In the autumn of 1016, the Danish prince Cnut the Great (Canute) successfully invaded England. Cnut's father, Sweyn Forkbeard, had previously conquered and briefly ruled England for less than five weeks. The Battle of Brentford was fought in 1016 some time between 9 May (the approximate date Canute landed at Greenwich) and 18 October (the date of the later Battle of Assandun) between the English led by Edmund Ironside and the Danes led by Cnut. It was one of a series of battles fought between Edmund and Canute, ultimately resulting in the lands held by Edmund's father Ethelred the Unready being divided between the two. Edmund was victorious in this particular battle, but ultimately failed to defend the lands inherited from his father. "Then collected he [Edmund] his force the third time, and went to London, all by north of the Thames, and so out through Clayhanger, and relieved the citizens, driving the enemy to their ships. It was within two nights after that the king went over at Brentford; where he fought with the enemy, and put them to flight: but there many of the English were drowned, from their own carelessness; who went before the main army with a design to plunder.(Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)" The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex or, as long supposed, Ashingdon near Rochford in southeast Essex, England. It ended in victory for the Danes, led by Canute the Great, who triumphed over the English army led by King Edmund Ironside. The battle was the conclusion to the Danish reconquest of England. The battle is mentioned briefly in Knýtlinga saga which quotes a verse of skaldic poetry by Óttarr svarti, one of Canute's court poets. King Knut fought the third battle, a major one, against the sons of Æthelred at a place called Ashingdon, north of the Danes' Woods. In the words of Ottar: At Ashingdon, you worked well in the shield-war, warrior-king; brown was the flesh of bodies served to the blood-bird: in the slaughter, you won, sire, with your sword enough of a name there, north of the Danes' Woods. During the course of the battle, Eädnoth the Younger, Bishop of Dorchester, was killed by Cnut's men whilst in the act of saying mass on behalf of Edmund Ironside's men. According to Liber Eliensis, Eadnoth's hand was first cut off for a ring, and then his body cut to pieces. The Ealdorman Ulfcytel Snillingr also died in the battle. Following his defeat, Edmund was forced to sign a treaty with Canute. By this treaty, all of England except Wessex would be controlled by Canute and when one of the kings should die the other would take all of England, that king's son being the heir to the throne. After Edmund's death on 30 November, Canute built a church, chapel or holy site after winning the battle to commemorate the soldiers who died in battle. A few years later in 1020 the completion took place of the memorial church known as Ashingdon Minster, on the hill next to the presumed site of the battle in Ashingdon. The church still stands to this day. Canute attended the dedication of Ashingdon Minster with his bishops and appointed his personal priest, Stigand, to be priest there. The church is now dedicated to Saint Andrew but is believed previously to have been dedicated to Saint Michael, who was considered a military saint: churches dedicated to him are frequently located on a hill.

The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle which took place on 12 November 1642, between a detachment of the Royalist army (predominantly horse with one regiment of Welsh foot) under the command of Prince Rupert, and two infantry regiments of Parliamentarians with some horse in support. The result was a victory for the Royalists.

Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 for its special historic interest. The 56.6-hectare (140-acre) main gardens are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, and the flood meadows next to the River Thames are a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

The River Brent is a river in west and northwest London, England, and a tributary of the River Thames. 17.9 miles (28.8 km) in length, it rises in the Borough of Barnet and flows in a generally south-west direction before joining the Tideway stretch of the Thames at Brentford.

Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence had been Northumberland House, now demolished. The eclectic interior of Syon House was designed by the architect Robert Adam in the 1760s.

Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the left (northern) bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex, on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House, today in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was named after the biblical holy "City of David which is Zion" (1 Kings 8:1), built on the eponymous Mount Zion (or Sion, Syon, etc.). At the time of the dissolution, the abbey was the wealthiest religious house in England. Syon Abbey maintained a substantial library, with a collection for the monks and another for the nuns. When Catherine of Siena's Dialogue of Divine Revelation was translated into English for the abbey, it was given a new title, "The Orchard of Syon," and included a separate prologue written to the nuns.

Brentford Dock in Brentford, west London, was a major trans-shipment point between the Great Western Railway (GWR) and barges on the River Thames. The building of Brentford Dock was started in 1855 and it was formally opened in 1859. The former dock yard was redeveloped in 1972 and is now Brentford Dock Marina and Brentford Dock Estate.

Queen Charlotte's Cottage is an 18th-century cottage orné within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames in London. It is named after Queen Charlotte, who was responsible for its construction. Dating from 1772, the cottage is Grade II* listed. The cottage is maintained by Historic Royal Palaces, and is open to visitors.

Brentford School for Girls is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status for girls aged 11–18, in Brentford, Greater London, England.

The Richmond War Memorial is located in front of Whittaker Avenue, between the Old Town Hall and the Riverside in Richmond, London. It marks the deaths of local individuals who died fighting in World War I and World War II. The memorial was designed by the local architects Messrs Goodale and Co of Richmond and was unveiled by Field Marshal Sir William Robertson on 23 November 1921. The Mayor of Richmond and the corporation attended the ceremony.The memorial has been Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England since 2017.It is in the form of a column with an orb on top, standing on a double plinth. On the north side is the statue of a sailor, on the south side the statue of a soldier, and on the east and west sides are the coat of arms of the former Municipal Borough of Richmond, accompanied by this quotation: PRO PATRIA1914–1918 On the west side there is a further inscription: IN REMEMBRANCEOF THE MEN OF THIS BOROUGHWHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR KING AND COUNTRYDURING THE GREAT WARS1914–1918 AND 1939–1945 The names of the war dead are engraved into walls that jut out from the memorial. The walls of names were added to the memorial after a newspaper campaign in 1989. The head of the sailor was cut off by vandals in 2003.

Brentford railway station opened on 1 May 1860 on the Brentford Branch Line (the only line of the Great Western and Brentford Railway Company) which had opened in 1859 from Southall to Brentford Dock. It stood immediately north of Brentford High Street (the A315 road) on the embankment leading to the viaduct into the dock. The station closed on 22 March 1915 as a wartime economy measure, re-opened on 12 April 1920 and closed permanently on 4 May 1942. The station was demolished in 1957.

Brentford Library is a Grade II listed building at Boston Manor Road, Brentford, London.It was built in 1903 by Joseph Dorey and Co; for the then Brentford District Council. The benefactor was Andrew Carnegie and the architect was Nowell Parr. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Jersey, who lived not far away at Osterley Park.The building is constructed from yellow stock brick laid in English bond and dressed with terracotta. The roof uses Welsh slate. It was designated a listed building on 2 October 1990.On the floor of the entrance hall is a mosaic displaying the coat of arms of Middlesex (in the original form, identical to that of Essex, without the Saxon crown). Also in the entrance hall, on the staircase leading up, is a marble memorial by Nowell Parr dedicated to the local men who died in the Second Boer War.It closed in November 2016 due to plaster falling from the roof in the children's area. Structural engineering surveys show that all three ceilings need repair, and as of end December 2016, Hounslow Council hope to re-open it "very early in the New Year". It partially reopened in January 2017, and in full in April.