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England London Boroughs  Borough of Brent

Guide to The London Borough of Brent history, family history, and genealogy parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
As with all the other London Boroughs, Brent was cobbled together from a number of local areas with no concern for history or for the desires of the population. Family History researchers will need to review the specific segments listed below that were all part of the original County of Middlesex.

The London Borough of Brent is a London borough in north west London, and forms part of Outer London. The major areas are Wembley, Kilburn, Willesden, Harlesden and Neasden.

It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the northwest, Barnet to the northeast, Camden to the east, Westminster to the southeast, and Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Ealing to the south. Most of the eastern border is formed by the Roman road Watling Street, which is now the modern A5. Brent has a mixture of residential, industrial and commercial land. Brent is home to Wembley Stadium, one of the country's biggest landmarks, as well as Wembley Arena. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council.

The village of Wembley grew up on the hill by the clearing with the Harrow Road south of it. Much of the surrounding area remained wooded. In 1547 there were but six houses in Wembley. Though small, it was one of the wealthiest parts of Harrow. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1543, the manor of Wembley fell to Richard Andrews and Leonard Chamberlayne, who sold it to Richard Page, Esq., of Harrow on the Hill, the same year.

There was a mill on Wembley Hill by 1673. In 1837, the London and Birmingham Railway (now part of the West Coast Main Line) was opened from London Euston through Wembley to Hemel Hempstead, and completed to Birmingham Curzon Street the following year. The changing names of the local station demonstrated the increasing importance of the 'Wembley' name. 'Sudbury' station opened in 1845, renamed as 'Sudbury and Wembley' in 1882, renamed as 'Wembley for Sudbury' in 1910, renamed as 'Wembley Central' in 1948, at the time of the Olympic Games.

In November 1905, the Great Central Railway (now, in this section, part of the Chiltern Main Line) opened a new route for fast expresses that by-passed the congested Metropolitan Railway tracks. It ran between Neasden Junction, south of Wembley, and Northolt Junction, west of London, where a new joint main line with the Great Western Railway began. Local passenger services from London Marylebone were added from March 1906, when new stations were opened, including 'Wembley Hill', next to what later became the site of Wembley Stadium - the national stadium of English sport - which opened for the FA Cup Final of April 1923, remaining open for 77 years until it closed for reconstruction in October 2000. After a long planning and redevelopment process dogged by a series of funding problems and construction delays, the new stadium finally opened its doors in March 2007.

Wembley, in common with much of northwest London, had an extensive manufacturing industry, but much of it closed in the 1980s. Factories in the area included Glacier Metals (bearings), Wolf Power Tools, Sunbeam Electrical Appliances, Griffin & George (laboratory equipment) and GEC (whose research laboratories, opened in 1923, were one of the first of their type in the United Kingdom.

Brent is among the most diverse localities in the country, with large Asian and Indian, Black African, Black Caribbean, Irish (largest in the country), and Eastern European minority communities. It is largely a bedroom community, with its population traveling to other parts of Greater London for employment.

Cemeteries (Civil)
There are presently four cemeteries, including oulying cemeteries within the Oxford city district. The link follows:


 * Oxford cemeteries

Other useful sites for general cemetery information follow:


 * Oxford cemeteries


 * Oxfordshire

Parishes
Oxford has many historic parishes, due to its historical link with the Anglican Church. These follow:


 * Oxford All Saints
 * Oxford Christ Church
 * Oxford Holy Trinity
 * Oxford Magdalen College
 * Oxford New College
 * Oxford St Aldate
 * Oxford St Bartholomew Hospital
 * Oxford St Clement
 * Oxford St Cross
 * Oxford St Ebbe
 * Oxford St Giles
 * Oxford St John the Baptist
 * Oxford St John's College
 * Oxford St Martin
 * Oxford St Mary Magdalene
 * Oxford St Mary the Virgin
 * Oxford St Michael
 * Oxford St Paul
 * Oxford St Peter in the East
 * Oxford St Peter le Bailey
 * Oxford St Thomas the Martyr

Non Conformists
Christian non-conformist groups that meet in Oxford include:


 * Baptist
 * Bethel Gospel Church
 * Church of Christ, Scientist
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon)
 * Ecumenical
 * Evangelical
 * Quakers
 * Salvation Army
 * Unitarian

Non Christian groups follow:


 * Buddhist
 * Confucian
 * Hare Krishna
 * Hindu
 * Muslim

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths records have been kept by the UK government since July 1837 to the present day. Prior to that, local parishes of the Church of England, and local branches of other faiths were the only repositories of this information. The following link provides access for Oxford records:


 * Oxford city records


 * UK Oxford BMD


 * Oxfordshire records

Local Histories

 * Local Histories: Oxford


 * Britain Express, History of Oxford


 * The University of Oxford; A New History by G. R. Evans

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Oxford City Guide


 * Google Map of Oxford


 * Old Maps of Oxford


 * Oxford University Map


 * Oxford County Gazetteer


 * The Oxford Gazetteer

Newspapers

 * The Oxford Times


 * This is Oxfordshire


 * The Oxfordshire Guardian

Occupations
Oxford's basic occupation has always been education. Obviously Oxford University is world famous, but the secondary stimulus to the work force is with the establishment of science off-shoots. The educated population has given rise to many science and technology based businesses, including Oxford Instruments, Research Machines and Sophos. The university established Isis Innovation in 1987 to promote technology transfer. The Oxford Science Park was established in 1990, and the Begbroke Science Park, owned by the university, lies north of the city.

While not to the same level as Cambridge, Oxford increasingly has a reputation for being a center of digital innovation, as epitomized by Digital Oxford. Several startups including Passle, Brainomix, Labstep, and more, are now based in Oxford.

Oxford is also well represented in the printing industry. Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford, is based in the city, although it no longer operates its own paper mill and printing house. The city is also home to the UK operations of Wiley-Blackwell, Elsevier and several smaller publishing houses.

Oxford has always had its share of Breweries. In fact, there were several associated with the University Colleges at one time. The tendency is now for smaller microbreweries, with their own distinctive maltings, rather than the larger national companies.

Oxford is also the center for shopping for the region, with more than 25 major shopping centers or Malls within the city.

Societies
Oxfordshire Family History Society:


 * Address:
 * St Lukes Church
 * Temple Rd
 * Oxford OX4 2HT, UK
 * Phone: +44 1865 358151

websites:
 * Oxfordshire genealogy society


 * Genuki Oxfordshire


 * Find my past


 * Oxfordshire county information


 * Oxfordshire County Family History

Archives

 * Oxford University Archives


 * Oxfordshire Archives


 * Oxford Times Archives


 * Ancestry.com Oxford Archives

Web Sites

 * Oxford City Council


 * Oxfordshire County Council


 * Oxford University info. line


 * Oxford wikipedia