Brentwood history has been the subject of curious historians since at least the mid 19th century. It has been represented in written form a number of times as well as in collections of postcards, photogaphs, and personal stories. All of these are extremely valuable and important ways to understand history - and so how best to represent and tell the story of the one thing that brings it together - the town itself. Walking the streets of Brentwood you can't always get a sense of how the streets once were and the people, events, and businesses that once were at home here. So that is why we have created a map (with plans to enlarge it further) of Brentwood High Street, showing shopfronts and houses as they may have been hundreds of years ago, to give a sense of the Brentwood we know as it once was.

Starting with the modern day, a view was drawn showing all the shops and offices in the High Street now. Stepping back just over a century to 1900 wasn't too difficult - a number of buildings on the High Street are that old anyway, and for the missing gaps there are a great deal of surviving images.

Going back to 1800 is a little harder - there are certainly no photographs. Some of the buildings that existed in 1900 were already a few centuries old, so they could be included for 1800. Otherwise a number of drawings from the 19th century were invaluable here as well as 1870s ordinance survey maps.

For 1717 there is a single surviving plan of the town from 1717 (E.R.O. D/DM P4), although it is very much a rough approximation rather than a true and accurate map. It shows the White Hart and a building to the left of it in some detail, both of which look like 16th century buildings in the drawing, and it also shows more gable-ended (probably mid-17th century or earlier) buildings to the west end of the High Street. This was used to help guide the map of the town for 1700 and 1600.

By the time the map gets to 1500, there are very few buildings that can be accurately represented - we know a few properties on the High Street are that old plus the ruined chapel, but other buildings are recreated from surviving examples of medieval houses in nearby towns and villages.

The goal of the map was always to give as accurate a feeling of how Brentwood was as possible, but it is not intended, nor is it possible, for it to be a 100% accurate representation. The map is a work in progress and will be updated as more information is found. If you have any information that could help, please get in touch!