Brentwood's Future?
Brentwood will continue to develop, buildings and other landmarks will be lost as time passes, and familiar landscapes will change as new buildings and roads are built. Presently, we know of one building which will be lost, and two which may change somewhat in the near future. This section of the web site will chronicle expected developments.
Sir Charles Napier public house
The appearance of the west end of the High Street will change with the demolition of the Sir Charles Napier pub, so as to make room for the new slip road from London Road into Weald Road.
The future use of two buildings is at present (August, 2008) uncertain.
Old House
Old House was formerly two buildings, the Red lion Inn, and Shenfield Villa. Both have eighteenth-century brick fronts, and the Villa has remains of medieval timber-framing. The building has been used in recent years as a community centre.
The old Post Office
The main Post Office closed last winter. It was built between 1939 and 1941 in the neo-Georgian style on the corner of the High Street and St Thomas's Road, where there had been a Post Office since c.1892. Before then, the Post Office had been at the Crown Inn in 1793, and in various shops in Victorian times. According to John Larkin's More Fireside Talks about Brentwood, it was in Mr. Turner's furniture and upholstery shop about 1860. There was a small counter for Post Office business, and furniture was repaired in a workshop at the back. The shop doors were too narrow for ladies to go to the Post Office wearing crinolines. With the opening of the Post Office in W.H. Smith in the Baytree centre on 21 February, 2008, Brentwood is reverting to Victorian practice.
