Both the Grand Union Canal and the site on which the Black Horse pub are
located are closely associated with the Industrial revolution in England.
The Paddington arm of the canal was built for transportation between the industrial midlands of
England and the port of London. In the mid 19th century when chemical industry
in England was starting, it seemed natural for William Perkin to build his
new dyestuffs factory next to the canal. This factory and the associated research
laboratories can be regarded as the first industrial "fine chemicals" site,
built to manufacture the "mauveine" dyestuff discovered accidentally by Perkin
(who has been one of the very first students at the Royal School of Chemistry, now
of course part of Imperial College). Original samples of mauveine and other unique
chemical heritage can be viewed in the Imperial College archives, upon request.
For details of the chemistry of Mauveine, and photographs of the Black horse pub,
see the "Molecule of the Month" display.
For a map of the Black Horse area, click here.
The canal itself
is part of 22 mile Hillingdon nature trail in West London.
Another interesting snippet is that 1999 is the centenary of
Alfred Hitchcock's
birth. His early films were made at Gainsborough film studios,
which are also located on the
Grand Union Canal, albeit about 12 miles east of the site of the Black Horse pub.
Click here for a map of the Hampton Court area.