Posts Tagged ‘Lot's Ait’

Brentford, Lot’s Ait and the Thames, 1988

Tuesday, April 19th, 2022

Brentford, Monument, pillar, Ferry Lane, Brentford, 1988 88-9a-56
Battles of Brentford, Monument, pillar, Ferry Lane, Brentford, 1988 88-9a-56

I had to go back to my full-time work as a teacher at the start of September 1988, and the start of a new year always kept me fairly busy. Back then we had large groups of beginners taking photography courses – it was one of the most popular course in the college, partly because many thought it would be an easy option to make up the number of subjects they were required to take.

Red Lion, pub, Brentford High St, Brentford,  Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-32
Red Lion, pub, Brentford High St, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-32

We spent a week or two instructing them in the basics – shutter speeds and apertures, and then took them out en masse each with a camera an a 36 exposure film to some local area for a day out to take some pictures so they would then have a film to learn how to develop and print. They would also get a very loose brief suggesting the kind of things they might look for in making pictures.

Dock, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-41
Dock, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-41

In 1988 we chose to take them to Brenford riverside and then on to Chiswick Park and I think we had around 30 students with myself and another member of staff. Things were a lot easier then – no such things as risk assessments and having students who were all over 16 we simply told them a few very basic safety rule and that if they missed the train back home they would have to find their own way.

Boatyard, Lot's Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-21
Boatyard, Lot’s Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-21

It wasn’t unknown back then for myself and the other member of staff having set the students into action to find a convenient place for a pint or two, though I don’t think we did on this outing.

Boatyard, Lot's Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-24
Boatyard, Lot’s Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-24

I think on this occasion I walked along the riverside with the students, taking a few pictures myself and giving advice to anyone who needed it. It was low tide, and even if they took few photographs many of the students enjoyed walking in the mud, though I tried to keep my own shoes reasonably clean and dry, keeping to the shingle.

Decaying Boat, Lot's Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-13
The Good Ship Variety, Decaying Boat, Lot’s Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-13

The stretch of riverfront we took them down to, by Lot’s Ait, was then lined with largely derelict industrial buildings, but is now lined with luxury flats. On Lot’s Ait itself there was a boatyard, opened in the 1920s by The Thames Lighterage company to build and repair lighters; it was one of the last on the tidal Thames when it closed down in the early seventies. Fortunately it has so far escaped redevelopment and was reopened a few years ago as John’s Boat Works, with the island now linked to Brentford by a footbridge.

Lot's Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-12
Brentford Ait, Lot’s Ait, River Thames, Brentford, Hounslow, 1988 88-9a-12

We came off the river to go along the High St to Kew Bridge station, where we took another train for the second half of our day out in Chiswick Park which you will see in a later post.