Brentford was a place of settlement from prehistoric times. The river Brent entered the Thames which was wider and shallower than today and it's likely that both rivers were able to be forded.

With the foundation of London as the capital of Roman Britain the east /west route was developed to become the main road to the west from London through what is now Shepherds Bush, Chiswick and Brentford to Staines and Silchester with a division at Hounslow to Bath.

This was the main road west from London for nearly 2,000 years. Remains of this Roman road were found during excavations when Somerfield supermarket was being built. These are now buried underneath the car park.

A dig near Brentford Lock in 2001 found the ditch that would have been on the north side of the road showing that the original lies underneath the present High Street outside the old St Lawrence's Church. Any other remains are likely to be underneath the present High Street or buildings along its route. The results of other archaeological digs indicate that Brentford was the site of a trading post on the road to the west.

When the Romans left Britain their roads fell into disrepair becoming little more than tracks as the years passed but their routes were still very often followed and are the routes of many of today's major A roads.

From Brentford High Street (or the A315) - a History from Roman to Modern Times by Janet McNamara. http://www.bhsproject.co.uk/history.shtml Janet is a member of Brentford & Chiswick and Hounslow and District Local History Societies. She is a local heritage guide in Brentford and for some years has been researching her family history in Yorkshire.