IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Caxton Mews, The Butts, BRENTFORD, TW8 8BN

Two very typical 18th century features are visible in this shot. One is the gambrel roof, rising steeply above the eaves, the other is the blank window over the doorway. I believe that both features were - at least in part - a response to taxation. A tax on glazing meant that window spaces were bricked up rather than glazed - a feature seen in grand buildings as well as modest ones (like this). I suspect that the fashion for gambrel roofs may have been encouraged by the tax levied on bricks. The doubled-pitched roof - rising steeply from the eaves, then switching to a gentler slope higher up - may well have been a means of enclosing substantial attic space without using bricks. Slates and tiles were not taxable. However, that hypothesis is my own - I have not seen it put forward by the authorities on the subject. And it doesn't account for all the observable facts, as timber-framed, weather-boarded houses may also be found with gambrel roofs: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2211367

Backing onto the weir on the River Brent

As approached from a narrow passage which connects to The Butts. On the right is 'The Weir', formerly the 'White Horse'.

The name of the pub may have changed, but the frosted glass survives as a reminder of the pub's original name. The exterior of the building - at street level - also retains glazed tile cladding, probably of Victorian date. A photo of the building as it was perhaps 30 years ago is to be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finlandia_175/4740464253/ The name White Horse appears to have been associated with the site since the early 17th century: http://www.brentfordhistory.com/2013/12/20/the-weir/

Backing onto the weir on the River Brent

Pub/restaurant, formerly a pub called 'The White Horse' - a name said to have been associated with the site since the early 17th century. The current name reflects the fact that the building backs on to the River Brent at a point close to a weir.

The pub was originally the White Horse. Its history goes back to 1604, making it Brentford's oldest licensed premises. The artist JMW Turner (1775-1851) briefly lived in the house next door when he was ten years old, although the house has since been rebuilt and incorporated into the pub.

Georgian houses on the Butts estate in Brentford.