PATSY SORENTI tells us about the creepiest and most haunted places to visit in Brentford, west London…
Brentford is very old.
Artefacts dating from the Bronze Age have been found here and it was a strategic point for Romans heading out to the West.
The main road is Roman and it was here that Julius Caesar first set foot on the ground of Britannia.
Not surprisingly there has been much acculturation over time and it is from this that Brentford has its ghostly reputation – gloomy back streets and a canal with many stories to tell.
Great West House, Brentford
One of two office blocks on the corner of Boston Manor Road and the Great West Road, this 1960s building has a modern ghost.
She is the phantom office worker who died of a terminal illness and who cannot leave her desk.
Footsteps have been heard on the landings and in the 6th floor ladies’ bathroom and her ghost has been seen on the stairs between the 5th and 6th floors.
A security guard who encountered her ghost refused to patrol the building alone at night.
Crossroads – Boston Manor Road/Ealing Road, Brentford
The screams of Protestants burnt at the stake here during the reign of Queen Mary l have been heard and the smell of burning has been experienced.
Grand Union Canal, Brentford
The ghost of a prostitute who was drowned here in 1844 has been seen wandering the canal bank.
Before the modern flats were built encountering the phantom must have been a terrifying experience, since formerly this area was very dark with derelict commercial buildings and a ruin of a barge unloading area.
Elliott O’Donnell investigated the case in 1935, which was inconclusive.
158 High Street (now modern offices), Brentford
Before the old house was demolished in the mid 1980’s this 1839 building was home to itinerant lightermen and assorted canal workers.
In 1961 the landlord died on the stairs and his arm was so stiff it could only be removed by breaking the bone.
Shortly afterwards his ghost appeared to various tenants, peering in to babies’ cots in the middle of the night. Reports of ‘something’ rushing up the stairs were often claimed.
The house was abandoned in the 1960s.
The Magpie & Crown, Brentford
The wraith of a former landlord called George Boxall has haunted this pub since Victorian times.
His remains are buried in the former graveyard of St Lawrence’s Church. He was a rough man who was always trying to duck out of trouble with the law.
When new renovations to the pub were proposed in 2001 there was a spate of ghost sightings accompanied by sudden and intense cold.
The present landlord has left the pub as it was when George was alive.
Magistrates Court, Brentford
The ghost of William Shakespeare has been seen here.
Nearby was The Three Pidgeons where one of his plays was first performed.
Seen a ghost in Brentford? Tell us about it in the comments section!
Hello Patsy,
My name is Paul and l feel very privilege to the fact that l have seen ghosts, spirits or apparitions, whatever terminology one chooses to use throughout my entire life. From the age of 8 years old to the present day of being 60 years old. I have never in my life ever set out to encounter any said spirits, they seems to appear to me unexpectedly throughout the years. Only 2 years ago a saw a young girl in my friends house one evening in his lounge whilst we were having a conversation. She was probably around 8 years old in a lovely white frilly party dress with bright red ribbons laced throughout it. Her hair was in ringlets, the style that was worn by Shirley Temple the child star actress in 1935, she was standing in front of his open fireplace and looking directly at me and smiling. I would say that her life would of been in the late 1800s from her appearance and taking account of the old period movies that l have watched over the many years to give that conclusion. I know of many people that are desperate to see a spirit,ghost and others that think it a complete load of cobblers. l personally have never been out to search or investigate any spirits, they simple appear whenever. I also find it very strange to me that l have a claiming effect on animals, I have petted many a person dog for instance whilst waiting to deal with a situation and the owners will turn in disbelieve as they have said that there dog would not let anyone stroke them what’s so ever. I have a dog that l rescued from Battersea Dogs Home. When l was introduced to Pepper they told me that it has been abused throughout her life and would bite anybody and animal that came near her. Because she had such a unfortunate life they had not put her down after 14 months due to her character. They could not believe there eyes when the dog came straight over to me and started to get excited and lick me like mad, then rolled over on her back being submissive. They had never seen the dog act in such a way and asked me if l would like to take Pepper with me that day without any of the usual formality. My lovely Pepper has been sitting along side me for the last 6 years and l believe if l were to ever die, she would also do so shortly after due to true devotion. I hope this was of interest to you, its not something l usually do.
With regards
Paul