Friends may well be interested in this new book since the impending arrival of the new road to the West was one of the reasons which made the Rothschilds happy to sell their Gunnersbury Park estate. Not only would the major road running along the border of their land be unattractive but the potential for development alongside the road could offer them significant profits.

The road was opened by King George V in 1925. From its junction with the North Circular Road and Chiswick High Road to Gillette Corner, a corridor of inter-war factory buildings emerged, a stylish celebration of art deco architecture. The arrival of the road was the catalyst for the transformation of rural south-west Middlesex, with its small towns and villages, fields, orchards and market gardens, into new suburbs.

This handsome book 200 page book has expanded and updated the author’s original history of the road, published in 1995. Packed with illustrations, including some specially commissioned new photographs, it tells the story of the road, from the earliest discussions about whether it should be built at all, right up to the present day. There is plentiful detail about the architects who created the buildings which lined it and the businesses they housed. And it discusses the impact of the road on the area over the last century, with new employment opportunities and new housing developments. For everyone who grew up n its doorstep, or whose families worked in one of the factories, it offers a nostalgic trip into the past.Forever changing, re-inventing itself and rich with stylish buildings, this road brought the future, and it still does.

James Marshall first published a history of the Road in 1995, when he was a member of the Local History team at Hounslow Council’s Library Service. His 32-year career caring for these collections has given him an unrivalled knowledge of this part of West London which has informed this definitive history. The very readable text shows his real affection for the place.

This joint project between the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society and the Hounslow & District History Society has been generously supported by these sponsors: Fulham Archaeological Research Group, Creative Enterprise West / Hounslow Council, Hadley Property Group, JCDecaux, the Vinyl Factory and 180 Studios

Buy in person from Hewson’s Brentford Bookshop or online the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society’s website We hope the Museum will have stock for sale very soon. The cost is £25 (P&P is £5 extra from the online bookshop)