Brentham Village

Brentham Garden Estate is not for ordinary folk nowadays,  but it was built as a co-op enterprise, a brainchild of Henry Vivien MP and down-to-earth visionary, for working class people to live decent lives in small but pretty and comfortable houses with little gardens. None of the houses looks the same. Surprisingly, there was no church built for the community of over 600 dwellings.  A temporary one was then raised to replaced by St Barnabas Church which may look austere from the outside but its interior has a lot of charm. It is on our route of a Pitshanger walk.

In Brentham Garden Subburb

Brentham Garden Subburb is a few years older estate than the larger and more famous one in Hampstead. Here are some of interesting guiding rules applying to these schemes, as Mrs Wiki will tell you : 

• It should cater for all classes of people and all income groups
• There should be a low housing density
• Roads should be wide and tree-lined
• Houses should be separated by hedges, not walls
• Woods and public gardens should be free to all
• It should be quiet, with no church bells

 Are you ready to meet me for a walk from Ealing Broadway via Pitshanger Lane to Brentham Village and then via Pitshanger Park to a medieval church?