View source for Uxbridge

{{Short description|Town in the west of Greater London, England}}
{{Other places}}
{{Distinguish|Oxbridge}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| region                   = London
| official_name            = Uxbridge
| london_borough           = Hillingdon
| constituency_westminster = [[Uxbridge and South Ruislip]]
| post_town                = UXBRIDGE
| postcode_area            = UB
| postcode_district        = UB8
| dial_code                = 01895
| os_grid_reference        = TQ055835
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.5404|-0.4778|display=inline,title}}
| charingX_distance_mi     = 15
| charingX_direction       = ESE
| static_image_name        = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = St Margaret of Antioch, Windsor Street, Uxbridge UB8 - geograph.org.uk - 1080620.jpg
| photo2a = Uxbridge War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1755167.jpg
| photo2b = Regal Cinema Uxbridge - geograph.org.uk - 753242.jpg
|photo3a=Brunel University (15581852052).jpg
| spacing = 3
| size = 266
|color = white
| foot_montage = Clockwise from top: St Margaret's Church; The listed [[Regal Cinema, Uxbridge|Regal Cinema]] building; Brunel University; Uxbridge War Memorial }}
| population               = 70,560
| population_ref           = {{nowrap|([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]]{{NoteTag|Uxbridge is taken at is broadest definition, a conurbation definition, as 6 wards in the London Borough of Hillingdon: Brunel, Harefield, Hillingdon East, Ickenham, Uxbridge North, and Uxbridge South.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://data.london.gov.uk/2011-census-ward-pop |title = 2011 Census Ward Population Estimates &#124; London DataStore |access-date=9 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140222202755/http://data.london.gov.uk/2011-census-ward-pop |archive-date=22 February 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>}})}}
}}
'''Uxbridge''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|k|s|b|r|ɪ|dʒ}}) is a [[suburb]]an town in [[west London]], England, and the administrative headquarters of the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]], {{convert|15.4|miles}} northwest of [[Charing Cross]].<ref name="london_plan_f08">{{cite web |url = http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |publisher = Greater London Authority |title = London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004) |page = 351 |year = 2008 |access-date = 10 November 2011 |archive-date = 2 June 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100602000714/http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref> Uxbridge formed part of the parish of [[Hillingdon]] in the county of [[Middlesex]]. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century it expanded and increased in population, [[Municipal Borough of Uxbridge|becoming a municipal borough]] in 1955, and part of [[Greater London]] in 1965.

Attempted negotiations between King [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and the [[Roundhead|Parliamentary Army]] during the [[English Civil War]] took place at a [[public house]] called the [[Crown and Treaty]]. [[RAF Uxbridge]] houses the [[Battle of Britain Bunker]], from where the air defence of the south-east of England was coordinated during the [[Battle of Britain]] especially from its [[No. 11 Group RAF|No. 11 Group]] Operations Room, also used during the [[D-Day landings]].

Today the town serves as a significant retail and commercial centre; it also houses [[Brunel University London]] as well as a campus of [[Buckinghamshire New University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bucks.ac.uk/about_us/ |title=About us |publisher=Buckinghamshire New University |year=2013 |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-date=13 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013183016/http://bucks.ac.uk/about_us |url-status=dead }}.</ref> A part of the town which has large converted flour mills adjoins [[Buckinghamshire]], the boundary being the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]].

==History==

=== Toponymy ===
The name of the town is derived from "Wixan's Bridge",<ref>{{cite web |url = http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Middlesex/Uxbridge |title = Uxbridge |work = Key to English Place Names |publisher=[[English Place Name Society]] |access-date=10 May 2012 }}</ref> which was sited near the bottom of Oxford Road where a modern road bridge stands, beside the ''Swan and Bottle'' public house.<ref>Pearce 2011, p. 7.</ref> The Wixan were a 7th-century [[Saxon people|Saxon]] tribe from [[Lincolnshire]] who also began to settle in what became [[Middlesex]].<ref name="Cotton p.8">Cotton 1994, p. 8.</ref> [[Anglo-Saxons]] began to settle and farm in the area of Uxbridge in the 5th century, clearing dense woodland.<ref name="Cotton p.8" /> Two other places in Middlesex bore the name of the Wixan: ''[[Uxenden Hall|Uxendon]]'' ("Wixan's Hill"), a name preserved only in the street names of Uxendon Hill and Crescent in Harrow, and ''Waxlow'' ("Wixan's Wood") near [[Southall]].<ref>{{cite book |first= P. H. |last = Reaney |year=1969 |title = The Origin of English Place Names |publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |page=103 |isbn = 0-7100-2010-4 }}.</ref>

Archaeologists found [[Bronze Age]] remains (before 700 BC) and medieval remains during the construction of ''[[The Chimes, Uxbridge|The Chimes]]'' shopping centre; two miles (3.2&nbsp;km) away at [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]], Upper [[Paleolithic]] remains have been found. Uxbridge is not mentioned in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of the 11th century, but a hundred years later [https://www.stmargaretsuxbridge.org St Margaret's Church], was built. The town appears in records from 1107 as "Woxbrigge", and became part of the [[Elthorne (hundred)|Elthorne Hundred]] with other settlements in the area.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 5.</ref>

===Early developments===
[[File:Crown and Treaty, Uxbridge, UB8 (7970434724).jpg|thumb|left|The Crown & Treaty public house]]

The Parliamentary Army garrisoned the town upon the outbreak of the [[English Civil War]] in 1642 and established their headquarters there in June 1647 on a line from [[Staines-upon-Thames|Staines]] to [[Watford]],<ref name="Cotton p.23">Cotton 1994, p. 23.</ref> although the king passed through Uxbridge in April 1646, resting at the [[Red Lion, Hillingdon|Red Lion]] public house for several hours.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 25.</ref> Charles I met with representatives of Parliament at the Crown Inn in Uxbridge in 1645, but [[Treaty of Uxbridge|negotiations]] for the end of hostilities were unsuccessful due in part to the king's stubborn attitude.<ref name="Cotton p.23" /> The town had been chosen as it was located between the Royal headquarters at [[Oxford]] and the Parliamentary stronghold of London.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 22.</ref>

The covered market was built in 1788, replacing a building constructed in 1561.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 53.</ref> In the early 19th century, Uxbridge had an unsavoury reputation; the jurist [[William St Julien Arabin|William Arabin]] said of its residents "They will steal the very teeth out of your mouth as you walk through the streets. I know it from experience." For about 200 years most of London's flour was produced in the Uxbridge area.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 32.</ref>

The [[Grand Junction Canal]] opened in 1794, linking Uxbridge with [[Birmingham]] and the [[River Thames]] at [[Brentford]]. By 1800 Uxbridge had become one of the most important market towns in [[Middlesex]], helped by its status as the first stopping point for stagecoaches travelling from London to Oxford. The development of Uxbridge declined after the opening of the [[Great Western Railway]] in 1838, which passed through [[West Drayton]]. A branch line to Uxbridge was opened in 1856, but it was the opening of the Metropolitan Line in 1904 which restarted Uxbridge's growth by giving the town its first direct link to London.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sherwood |first1=Philip |title=Around Uxbridge Past and Present |date=2007 |publisher=The History Press |location=Stroud |isbn=9780750947947 |page=6}}</ref>

Harman's Brewery was established in Uxbridge by George Harman in 1763, and moved into a new headquarters in Uxbridge High Street in 1875. The eventual owners of the brewery, [[Courage Brewery|Courage]], closed the headquarters in 1964. It was demolished and replaced by a Budgen's supermarket, which in turn was demolished with the construction of The Chimes shopping centre. The brewery building in George Street remained in place until it was demolished in 1967.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 43.</ref> The office building Harman House was built on the site in 1985, named after the brewery.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 44.</ref>

===Urban development===
[[File:Uxbridge Common - geograph.org.uk - 1756609.jpg|thumb|Uxbridge Common was reduced in size by the 1819 [[inclosure]]s within Hillingdon Parish.]]
The main [[enclosure]]s effected in the parish of Hillingdon, by statute in 1819, saw the reduction of Uxbridge Common, which at its largest had been {{convert|4|mi}} in circumference. It originally straddled Park Road, north of the town centre, and covers {{convert|15|acre}}.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 71.</ref>

In 1871 the town's first purpose-built police station was built in Windsor Street. The building included three cells and stables.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media/pdf/3/7/275_49__The_Fig_Tree__Windsor_Street.pdf |title=49, The Fig Tree (formerly The Old Bill) |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |year=2009 |page=1 |access-date=17 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120318025610/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media/pdf/3/7/275_49__The_Fig_Tree__Windsor_Street.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Police]] continued to use the building until 1988, when operations moved to a new site in Harefield Road. The building subsequently became the ''Old Bill'' public house in 1996, renamed the ''Fig Tree'' in 2006.<ref>Pearce 2011, p. 54.</ref>

In the early 1900s the Uxbridge and District Electricity Supply Company had been established a [[Uxbridge power station|power station]] in Waterloo Road, and much of the town was connected by 1902, although some houses still had gas lighting in 1912. A water tower on Uxbridge Common was built in 1906, resembling a church tower, to improve the supply to the town.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 105.</ref>

Wood panelling from a room in the ''Crown & Treaty'' public house was sold in 1924 to an American businessman, who installed it in his office in the [[Empire State Building]] in New York. It was returned in 1953 as a gift to the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II and returned to the house, although the monarch retained ownership.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 24.</ref>

On 31 August 1935 Uxbridge Lido, an outdoor swimming pool built in the "Moderne" or [[Art Deco]] style, was officially opened. Before the opening, many residents swam in a section of the [[Frays River]] near Harefield Road,<ref>Skinner 2008, p. 30.</ref> and the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|Colne]].<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 121.</ref> The pool, pavilion building, entrance building and both fountains were designated [[Listed building|Grade II]] listed buildings in 1998. Despite the listing, the pool was closed to the public and the buildings became subject to heavy vandalism.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 72.</ref> The Uxbridge open-air pool was fully refurbished during 2009 and re-opened in May 2010. Added to the site, renamed Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex, was a 50 m indoor competition pool, a leisure pool, a 100-station gym, a wide range of exercise classes, an athletics stadium and track, 3G floodlit pitches, a sports hall, a café and a [[nursery school|crèche]]. The Grade II listed buildings are still standing.

During the Second World War Uxbridge adopted the [[Royal Navy]] [[destroyer]] {{HMS|Intrepid|D10|6}} in 1942, to help towards the ship's costs; ''Intrepid'' was lost to enemy action the following year.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 129.</ref> The town and surrounding areas suffered bombing by the [[Luftwaffe]]. [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V1 flying bombs]] fell on the town between June 1944 and March 1945. The first recorded bombing using a V1 was on 22 June 1944 at 07:00, when the bomb passed over the top of a bus and hit four houses nearby. Seven people were killed and 25 injured, leaving 46 houses in the area uninhabitable.<ref>Skinner 2008, p. 107.</ref> In all the Uxbridge Urban District suffered 79 civilian deaths through enemy action in the war.<ref>{{cite web|title=Uxbridge, Urban District, with list of casualties|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004904/UXBRIDGE,%20URBAN%20DISTRICT|publisher=[[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]] date accessed=21 February 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Brunel university01.jpg|thumb|left|Brunel University was built on land formerly occupied by the Lowe & Shawyer plant nursery.]]
In 1958 the {{convert|199|acre|adj=on}} Lowe & Shawyer [[plant nursery]] to the west of RAF Uxbridge entered voluntary liquidation. The nursery had stood in Kingston Lane since 1868, and was the largest producer of cut flowers in the country.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 39.</ref> Demolition work began in 1962, and the construction of [[Brunel University]] commenced.<ref>Pearce 2009, p. 95.</ref> [[Chrysanthemum]]s are included the coat of arms of the Borough of Uxbridge in memory of the nursery.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 113.</ref> The [[Uxbridge (Vine Street) Branch Line|Uxbridge (Vine Street) railway branch line]], which partly ran alongside the site, was closed in 1964 and in 1966 the university opened,<ref name="Cotton 1994, p.138" /> purchasing the land where the railway had run from the local council for £65,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/26547/Annual_Report_2005.pdf |title=Annual Report 2005 |year=2005 |publisher=Brunel University |page=15 |access-date=5 May 2011 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920005340/https://www.brunel.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/26547/Annual_Report_2005.pdf |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

The Uxbridge Cricket Club moved from Cricketfield Road in 1971 to make way for the new Civic Centre.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 64.</ref> The club had been at Cricketfield Road since 1858, but moved to a new site on part of Uxbridge Common on Park Road.<ref>Skinner 2008, p. 27.</ref> The Market Square shopping precinct in the town centre was built in the late 1970s, but its lack of shelter made it unpopular and it did not attract the expected levels of custom. Many buildings along the High Street and Windsor Street had been demolished to make way for the new precinct,<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 47.</ref> which was eventually sold to the [[Prudential Assurance Company]] and redeveloped with a roof in the early 1980s to become the [[The Mall Pavilions|Pavilions Shopping Centre]].<ref name="Cotton 1994, p.138">Cotton 1994, p. 138</ref> The ''Peacock'' public house (later renamed The Chequers) in one of the two main squares was built partially underground having two flights of steps down into the pub at either end. It was demolished and replaced with a café named also named The Chequers, which remains.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 50.</ref> Rayner's pharmacy shop was also demolished during the Market Square development, although the shopfront was saved by the [[Museum of London]] and is held in storage.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 46.</ref>

[[File:Uxbridge - central shopping area.jpg|thumb|Uxbridge High Street and The Pavilions shopping centre]]
[[File:Uxbridge, High Street (2) - geograph.org.uk - 800336.jpg|thumb|[[Uxbridge Market House]] on the High Street]]
[[The Chimes, Uxbridge|The Chimes]] shopping centre was built beside Uxbridge station in 2001, incorporating many of the existing buildings into the new structure. The centre was originally to be named St George's Centre in plans dating back to the early 1990s, though this name was eventually taken by [[St George's Shopping Centre (Harrow)|another]] shopping centre in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]]. Instead, The Chimes was said to refer to the sound of the bells from the nearby [[Uxbridge Market House|market house]] on the High Street.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 58.</ref> An [[Odeon Cinemas|Odeon]] cinema opened as a major part of the centre, with the smaller cinema at the opposite end of the High Street closing.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 59.</ref> Some houses on Chippendale Way and the St George's car park were demolished to allow for the construction of the new shopping centre car park.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 64.</ref> The offices of the local building company Fassnidge were also included in the new development; built in the 19th century, they house a [[Pizza Express]] restaurant. Preserved timber from earlier demolished buildings in Uxbridge was used in the construction of a new building beside the former offices of Fassnidge, designed to resemble a much older structure.<ref>Sherwood 2007, pp. 62–63.</ref>

In 2002 the dry ski slope near Park Road and the Uxbridge Lido was closed and the remaining buildings and structures removed. The Hillingdon Ski Centre had been subject to several arson attacks during 2001 and the company operating it became insolvent. The slope, which had been built in 1977, was left to return to nature.<ref>{{cite news |title = Apres-ski |url = http://www.hillingdontimes.co.uk/archive/2002/02/06/Local+London+Archive/6367862.Apres_ski/ |newspaper=Hillingdon & Uxbridge Times |date=6 February 2002 |access-date=22 July 2011}}</ref>

Work began in 2008 to extensively refurbish and extend Uxbridge Lido, and it reopened to the public in February 2010 as the [[Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=11050 |title=Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex |date=9 March 2010 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=4 April 2011 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608211715/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=11050 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 8 September 2010 the 75th anniversary of the first opening of the Lido was celebrated at the pool.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uxbridge Lido celebrates 75th anniversary |last=Coombs |first=Dan |url = http://uxbridge.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/2010/09/uxbridge-lido-celebrates-75th.html |newspaper=Uxbridge Gazette |date=8 September 2010 |access-date=18 April 2011 }}</ref>

==Governance==
Uxbridge is known from tithe assignments to the vicar of Hillingdon in 1281 and hundreds of later documents as a [[chapelry]] in the large parish of [[Hillingdon]];<ref name=hillincuxb>Diane K Bolton, H P F King, Gillian Wyld and D C Yaxley, 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: Churches', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4, ed. T F T Baker, J S Cockburn and R B Pugh (London, 1971), pp. 87-91. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4/pp87-9{{Dead link|date=May 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the town core was upgraded to a full parish (and thus its large chapel to a church) in 1827.<ref name=hillincuxb/> Eleven years later a parish of Saint John was added in Uxbridge Moor, Hillingdon.<ref name=hillincuxb/> A parish of Saint Andrew, Uxbridge, was added in 1865.<ref name=hillincuxb/> From Tudor times, parishes had a select or elect [[vestry]] which determined much local maintenance, including poor relief, but under the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]], broader local poor law unions took on the relief role and shifted funds towards workhouses and associated hospitals.

Uxbridge was in the first main wave of the new, secular system of [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]]es, gaining a council and territory in 1866,<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 44.</ref> and an [[Municipal Borough of Uxbridge|Urban District]] under the [[Local Government Act 1894]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.uxbridgeparish.org/ |title=The Uxbridge Parish |publisher=The Uxbridge Parish |access-date=23 April 2011}}.</ref> In 1955 the council successfully petitioned for a charter of incorporation and became a [[municipal borough]]. This stood for ten years, followed by incorporation into the new system of London Boroughs, as the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]].<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 131.</ref>

Uxbridge gave its name to a [[Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|parliamentary constituency]] from 1885 until 2010, when boundary changes led to the creation of the [[Uxbridge and South Ruislip]] constituency. The seat is currently held by [[Danny Beales]] of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].

Uxbridge is covered by the [[Uxbridge (ward)|Uxbridge ward]] for elections to [[Hillingdon London Borough Council]].<ref>{{cite web |date=28 January 2020 |title=The London Borough of Hillingdon (Electoral Changes) Order 2020 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/71/schedule/made |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{climate chart|Uxbridge
|3|8|51
|2|9|44
|4|12|43
|5|14|51
|8|18|52
|11|21|46
|13|23|44
|13|23|75
|10|20|50
|7|16|67
|4|11|62
|3|8|58
|float=right
|source=World Weather Online<ref>{{citation |title=United Kingdom Weather Averages, Uxbridge climate |url=https://www.worldweatheronline.com/Uxbridge-weather-averages/Hillingdon-Greater-London/GB.aspx |publisher=World Weather Online |access-date=19 September 2012}}</ref>
|clear=both
}}
Uxbridge lies at a mean elevation of {{convert|40|m|order=flip}} above mean sea level.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/uxbridge#?tab=climateTables |title=Annual UK weather averages |publisher=Met Office |access-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> Like much of the rest of the UK its climate is generally [[temperate]], with few extremes of temperature or weather.

The landscape upon which the settlement of Uxbridge was established is largely unchanged from the [[Mesolithic]] era. Much of it was covered by oak and elm trees, which were gradually cleared by early settlers. An archaeological excavation by the [[Museum of London]] in the 1990s found evidence of flint items shaped by Mesolithic hunters, as well as various animal bones and traces of charcoal from the remains of campfires.<ref name="Cotton p.8"/>

The [[River Pinn]] runs through Uxbridge, passing through the former site of RAF Uxbridge and the grounds of Brunel University. It joins the [[Frays River]], which branches off from the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]] and acts as the boundary between Uxbridge and the neighbouring county of [[Buckinghamshire]].

Uxbridge is centred {{convert|15.4|mi}} from [[Charing Cross]] in Central London; {{convert|3|mi}} from [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]]; {{convert|3.1|mi}} from [[Ruislip]]; {{convert|4.7|mi}} from [[Northolt]]; {{convert|5.4|mi}} from [[Slough]]; and {{convert|12.8|mi}} from [[High Wycombe]].

==Demography==
The table below shows housing data for Uxbridge, broadly defined, and its neighbourhoods.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2011 Census homes %
!Ward !!Detached  !!Semi-detached!!Terraced!!Flats and apartments<ref name=ons>{{cite web|url=https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/ward-profiles-and-atlas|title= Neighbourhood statistics|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref>{{London ward populations|reference}} 
|-
|Brunel||17.1%||32.0%||21.8%||29.2%
|-
|Harefield||15.4%||37.9%||	23.8%||	22.7%
|-
|Hillingdon East||	5.9%||	34.2%||	45.1%||	14.7%
|-
|Ickenham||45.3%||40.3%||5.0%||9.4%
|-
|Uxbridge North||30.1%||28.5%||15.1%||26.2%
|-
|Uxbridge South||7.8%||30.3%||20.7%||40.6%
|-
|}
The population of Uxbridge North was estimated in 2009 by the Office for National Statistics as 11,812,<ref name="Uxbridge North">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media.jsp?mediaid=16109&filetype=pdf |title=A focus on Uxbridge North |date=April 2011 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |page=4 |access-date=30 April 2013 |archive-date=26 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626192519/https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media.jsp?mediaid=16109&filetype=pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 11,887 for Uxbridge South.<ref name="Uxbridge South">{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media.jsp?mediaid=16110&filetype=pdf |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140719020302mp_/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/media.jsp?mediaid%3D16110%2526filetype%3Dpdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2014 |title=A focus on Uxbridge South |date=April 2011 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |page=4 |access-date=30 April 2013 }}.</ref> Around 85% of residents of Uxbridge North are [[White British|White]], 6% more than both the borough average<ref name="Uxbridge North" /> and Uxbridge South. Other residents are mixed-race, Asian or [[Asian British]], [[Black people|Black]] or [[Black British]], and [[British Chinese|Chinese]] or other ethnic groups. Uxbridge South has more Black and Chinese residents than any other Hillingdon ward.<ref name="Uxbridge South"/>

By the time of the [[2011 UK Census]], the population of Uxbridge had reached 12,048 in Uxbridge North and 13,979 in Uxbridge South.<ref name="NOMIS"/> The most common ethnic group in Uxbridge North was White British (69.8%), followed by Asian or Asian British (19.5%) and Black or Black British (4.1%). The remaining percentage was made up of mixed-race and other unspecified ethnic groups. White British was also the largest ethnic group in Uxbridge South, at 62.1%, followed by Asian or Asian British (22.6%), Black or Black British (7.3%) and mixed-race (4.3%). The remaining percentage was made up of other unspecified ethnic groups.<ref name="NOMIS"/>

Uxbridge North's largest sector of employment, according to the [[2001 UK Census|2001]] and 2011 censuses, was management.<ref name="Uxbridge North"/>

The life expectancy for men was estimated at 77 years in Uxbridge North,<ref name="Uxbridge North"/> compared with 74 years in Uxbridge South. The figures for women are 83 years in Uxbridge North and 81 years in Uxbridge South.<ref name="Uxbridge South"/>

==Religion==
In the 2011 census, 72.8% of residents in the Uxbridge North ward answered that they had a religion, compared with 19.3% who did not and 7.9% who did not answer. Of those who answered, 53% identified as Christian, followed by 6.7% who identified as Muslim and 6.2% as Sikh. The percentage identifying as Hindu was 5.4%. Figures for residents identifying as either Jewish, Buddhist or other unspecified religions were each below 1%.<ref name="NOMIS">{{cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/asv2htm.aspx |title=Religion |year=2011 |work=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=4 May 2013 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107185952/https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/asv2htm.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Within the Uxbridge South ward, 69.2% of residents answered that they had a religion, compared with 23.8% who did not and 7% who did not answer. As with Uxbridge North, the majority (46.4%) identified as Christian, followed by 13.4% who identified as Muslim and 5% as Hindu. The percentage identifying as Sikh was 2.3% and those identifying as Buddhist were 1.2%. Figures for residents identifying as either Jewish or other unspecified religions were each below 1%.<ref name="NOMIS"/>

===Churches===
[[File:Windsor Street, Uxbridge-geograph-3500688.jpg|thumb|left|Windsor Street in Uxbridge, with St Margaret's Church visible on the left]]

====St Margaret's Church====
This is the original parish church of Uxbridge, and one of the oldest buildings in the town. Located in Windsor Street, it is known to have existed since at least 1245, when a series of hearings took place there in which the [[Bec Abbey|Abbot of Bec]] in [[Normandy]] brought an action against the rector of [[Great Wratting]] in [[Suffolk]] for non-payment of tithes. On parchments kept at [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|St. George's Chapel, Windsor]], in connection with this event, St. Margaret's is mentioned by name, and there are several other references between 1245 and 1247 to the "chapel at Uxbridge".<ref name="ARIX">{{cite web |title = Uxbridge History – St Margaret's Church |url = http://www.alanrix.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/smhist.html |publisher=Alan Rix |access-date=13 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152456/http://www.alanrix.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/smhist.html |archive-date=22 December 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The oldest portion of the existing building is part of the north tower, which was built in the late 14th century. The north aisle, together with the nave and its arcades, dates from the early 15th century, while the south aisle, with its fine hammer-beam roof, was added about 1450. The carved stone [[Baptismal font|font]] was placed in the church soon afterwards, dating from about 1480.<ref name="ARIX"/>

For most of its history, St Margaret's served as a [[chapel-of-ease]] to St John the Baptist's Church in Hillingdon; it was not until 1827 that it was given its own parish.<ref>{{cite book |author1 = Weinreb, Ben |author-link = Ben Weinreb |author2 = Hibbert, Christopher |author2-link = Christopher Hibbert |title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]] |edition=reprint |year=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |page=753 }}</ref>

====St Andrew's Church====
[[File:St Andrew, Hillingdon Road, Uxbridge - geograph.org.uk - 1680139.jpg|thumb|right|160px|St Andrew's Church]]

By the 1850s the population of both Hillingdon and Uxbridge was beginning to rise. With new housing being built between the two centres the then Vicar of Hillingdon, {{abbreviation|Rev.|the Reverend}} Richard Croft (served 1856&ndash;69) gained permission to build a new local church for a newer part of the town traditionally called Hillingdon West. He asked architect [[George Gilbert Scott|Sir George Gilbert Scott]] "to draw up plans to build a church without unnecessary ornament but in handsome proportions suitable to its position at the entrance to Uxbridge Town..."{{fact|date=May 2023}}

Scott produced his plans and local Uxbridge builder William Fassnidge was employed to construct the church. On St Peter's Day, 29 June 1864, the foundation stone was laid at the south end of the chancel arch by the [[Bishop of London|Lord Bishop of London]], [[Archibald Campbell Tait]]. He returned to consecrate and open the church on the feast day of saints Philip and James, 1 May 1865.<ref name="Andrew">{{cite web |title=St Andrew's Church Uxbridge – History |url=http://www.standrewsuxbridge.org/about-us/st-andrews-history |publisher=official website |access-date=13 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222075413/http://www.standrewsuxbridge.org/about-us/st-andrews-history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The spire was completed the following year. Together with the bells, vestry and organ and other embellishments, the building cost £12,000 ({{Inflation|GBP|12000|1865|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).<ref name="Andrew" />

====Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael====
[[File:Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Michael R.C. Church - geograph.org.uk - 381530.jpg|thumb|left|Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael]]

After the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] in the 16th century, there was no official Roman Catholic place of worship in Uxbridge until after the passing of the [[Catholic emancipation|Catholic Emancipation Act]] in the late 19th century. In 1892 Father Michael Aloysius Wren bought a presbytery at 37 Lawn Road, next to which a temporary church of corrugated iron was built, dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael. St Mary's School was also founded on Rockingham Road at this time. Fr Wren was helped by his nephew John, who acted as his assistant priest. They covered an extensive area, including the modern Catholic parishes of Ruislip and Hillingdon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/the-beginning-of-the-modern-parish.html |title=Catholic Church Uxbridge – The Beginning of the Modern Parish |publisher=Official website |access-date=14 December 2015 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218085318/http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/the-beginning-of-the-modern-parish.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The mission grew and by 1907 the congregation numbered 150, with school attendance at 60. In time plans were made for a larger, more permanent church. This was led by Father Thomas Moloney, who bought the current presbytery and acquired the land that stood at the back so that a church could be built. The foundation stone was eventually laid on Low Sunday 1931 by Archbishop Alban Goodier, an English Jesuit who had been [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay|Archbishop of Bombay]] between 1919 and 1926. The new church, in Oxford Road, was designed by the diocesan architect, T. H. B. Scott. It was built of brick in the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]] style, seating 350. The church was opened by [[Francis Bourne|Cardinal Bourne]] on 29 September 1931 and was officially consecrated on 14 May 1936, after its debts were cleared.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/a-new-church.html |title = Catholic Church Uxbridge – A New Church |publisher = Official website |access-date = 14 December 2015 |archive-date = 18 February 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160218085319/http://www.catholicchurchuxbridge.org.uk/a-new-church.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

====Faith Assembly, Uxbridge====
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is based at 2 Harefield Road, worship is in the Kate Fasnidge Hall, it is contemporary and Pentecostal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.faithassembly.org.uk/ |title=Home |website=faithassembly.org.uk}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Uxbridge, Vine Street and Randalls store - geograph.org.uk - 797652.jpg|thumb|The former [[Randalls of Uxbridge|Randalls]] store is terraced, has a tower, and is in Art Deco style.]]
[[File:Vine Street, Uxbridge - geograph.org.uk - 355582.jpg|thumb|Looking down Vine Street from High Street]]
As of 2012, Uxbridge had {{convert|112175|sqm|sqft}} of town centre floorspace.<ref>{{cite web |title=2013 London Town Centre Health Check Analysis Report |url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/2013%20TCHC%20report.pdf |publisher=Greater London Authority |access-date=28 September 2022 |page=24 |date=March 2014}}</ref> Uxbridge has two shopping centres, [[The Pavilions]] and [[The Chimes, Uxbridge|The Chimes]] (formerly Intu Uxbridge). Much of the town centre is pedestrianised. Just off the High Street is Windsor Street, a short street with older shops.

The town centre consists of retail outlets and office buildings, including the main UK and European offices of international companies such as [[Coca-Cola European Partners]],<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.ccep.com/contact |title=Contact us |year=2017 |publisher=Coca-Cola European Partners PLC |access-date=10 April 2017 }}</ref> [[Cadbury]],<ref>Muspratt, Caroline. "[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2809823/Cadbury-swaps-Mayfair-for-Uxbridge.html Cadbury swaps Mayfair for Uxbridge]." ''The Daily Telegraph''. 1 June 2007. Retrieved on 27 April 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://files.investis.com/cbry/08interim_trd/interim_jun08/interimstatementjune08.html |title=Cadbury plc Confirms Strong Start to 2008 |date=19 June 2008 |publisher=Investis |access-date=31 October 2012}}.</ref> [[Xerox]], [[General Mills]],<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.generalmills.co.uk/gmi/level2page.aspx?pagenumber=24 |title=Frequently asked |year=2012 |publisher=General Mills UK & Ireland |access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref> [[F. Hinds]], [[PAREXEL]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parexel.com/about/global-presence/europe/united-kingdom/ |title=Europe: United Kingdom |year=2012 |publisher=PAREXEL International |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=1 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101134425/http://www.parexel.com/about/global-presence/europe/united-kingdom |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Arri]], [[Bristol Myers Squibb]], [[Monster Energy]], [[American President Lines|APL]], Herbalife Europe. Other employers include [[NetApp]],<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.netapp.com/uk/contact-us/ |title=NetApp UK Contact Us |year=2014 |publisher=NetApp UK Ltd. |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref> [[Anixter International]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anixter.com/content/anixter/emea/euc/en/about-us/contact-us/global-locations-contact-info/europe/united-kingdom.html |title=United Kingdom |year=2012 |publisher=Anixter International |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=11 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111220209/http://www.anixter.com/content/anixter/emea/euc/en/about-us/contact-us/global-locations-contact-info/europe/united-kingdom.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[PwC]], [[WMS Gaming]], IBB Solicitors and [[Nexen Energy|Nexen]].

Within the London Borough, 55.1% of residents travel to the Uxbridge North and Uxbridge South wards to work, and only 8% of residents working there who also live within the wards.<ref name="Uxbridge North" /> The 2001 census measured a total of 6,007 (35.9%) of residents leaving the North ward to go to work. Uxbridge South had a figure of 5,666 (26.5%) of residents leaving the ward to work elsewhere.<ref name="Uxbridge South" />

In 2005 retail footprint research, Uxbridge ranked 9th in terms of retail expenditure in Greater London at £311&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caci.co.uk/msd.asp?url=lsp-retailfootprint.htm |title=Retail Footprint 2005 |access-date=5 October 2005 |publisher=CACI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020003313/http://www.caci.co.uk/msd.asp?url=lsp-retailfootprint.htm |archive-date=20 October 2007 }}</ref>

A terraced landmark with tower on Vine Street is what was [[Randalls of Uxbridge|Randalls]], the [[Art Deco]]-architecture department store owned by relations of [[John Randall (British politician)|John Randall]] MP. It is a 1939, remodelled rebuilding of a 1900 building.<ref>Pearce 2011, p. 61</ref> The building has the initial, mainstream category of [[listed building]] since October 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-504370-randalls-department-store-uxbridge |title=Randalls Department Store, Uxbridge |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=15 May 2011 }}</ref> The store closed in January 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hayes|first1=Alan|title=End of an era as Randall's of Uxbridge closes|url=https://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/local-news/end-era-randalls-uxbridge-closes-8267279|access-date=7 September 2015|work=Uxbridge Gazette|date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

==Education==
{{Further|List of schools in Hillingdon}}

Primary schools in Uxbridge include Hermitage Primary School,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hermitage.hillingdon.sch.uk/ |title=Hermitage Primary School |year=2012 |publisher=Hermitage Primary School |access-date=11 September 2012}}.</ref> St Andrew's Church of England Primary School,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.standrewscofeprimary.org.uk/ |title=St Andrew's C of E Primary School |year=2012 |publisher=St Andrew's C of E Primary School |access-date=11 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221163652/http://www.standrewscofeprimary.org.uk/ |archive-date=21 December 2012 |df=dmy-all }}.</ref> St Mary's Catholic Primary School,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.st-marys.hillingdon.sch.uk/ |title=St Mary's Catholic Primary School |year=2012 |publisher=St Mary's Catholic Primary School |access-date=11 September 2012}}.</ref> Whitehall Infant School,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehall-inf.hillingdon.sch.uk/ |title=Whitehall Infant School |year=2012 |publisher=Whitehall Infant School |access-date=11 September 2012}}.</ref> and Whitehall Junior School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehalljunior.org/ |title=Whitehall Junior School |year=2012 |publisher=Whitehall Junior School |access-date=11 September 2012}}.</ref> Uxbridge High School is a [[comprehensive school|comprehensive]] secondary school in the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uhs.org.uk/ |title=Uxbridge High School |year=2012 |publisher=Uxbridge High School |access-date=11 September 2012}}.</ref>

Uxbridge is also home to [[Brunel University]] and the [[Buckinghamshire New University]]'s nursing campus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bucks.ac.uk/whoswho/school_of_pre-qualifying_nursing/ |title=School of Pre-Qualifying Nursing |year=2013 |publisher=Buckinghamshire New University |access-date=31 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313203338/http://bucks.ac.uk/whoswho/school_of_pre-qualifying_nursing/ |archive-date=13 March 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The main campus of [[Uxbridge College]] is also in the town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=9718 |title=Contact details for Uxbridge College (Uxbridge Campus) |date=15 October 2009 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=23 April 2011 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222048/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=9718 |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Uxbridge tube station - Ewan-M.jpg|thumb|Frontage of Uxbridge tube station]]
[[Uxbridge tube station]] is the western terminus of branches of the [[Metropolitan line|Metropolitan]] and [[Piccadilly line|Piccadilly]] lines of the [[London Underground]]. The station, built in 1933, is fronted by a pedestrian high street and is connected to a bus terminus with connections to Hillingdon, Hayes, Ealing, Ruislip, and Slough. Uxbridge Belmont Road was the first underground station, built slightly outside the town centre to allow for a possible extension to [[High Wycombe]]. This was subsequently replaced by the current station.<ref>Pearce 2009, p. 51.</ref>

There were two [[Great Western Railway]] branch lines to Uxbridge with terminus stations at [[Uxbridge Vine Street railway station|Uxbridge Vine Street]] (originally just Uxbridge Station) and [[Uxbridge High Street railway station|Uxbridge High Street]]. The two railway lines were planned to be joined, with a new Uxbridge station to be built on the west side of the town replacing the existing station at Vine Street which had been opened in 1856.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Catford |first1=Nick |title=Uxbridge High Street |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/u/uxbridge_high_street/ |website=www.disused-stations.org.uk |access-date=24 October 2020}}</ref> Work on the new branch line from the north at [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]] started in 1900. However with the Metropolitan Railway being extended into Uxbridge Belmont Road station in 1904 it was decided to temporarily terminate the line at a bridge over Uxbridge High Street. The extension through Uxbridge to join the lines was never completed.<ref>Cotton 1994, p. 102.</ref> Uxbridge High Street station opened on 1 May 1907 but had low passenger numbers and closed on 1 September 1939 as a [[war economy]] and never reopened. By the 1960s the Uxbridge Vine Street branch line to [[West Drayton station]] was being affected by competition on London services from the town's faster Underground lines. Passenger services were stopped on 10 September 1962. Goods traffic ceased two years later.<ref name="Disused stations">{{cite web |last1=Catford |first1=Nick |title=Uxbridge Vine Street |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/u/uxbridge_vine_street/ |website=www.disused-stations.org.uk |access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref> Uxbridge Vine Street station was demolished in 1965.<ref>Pearce 2011, p. 125.</ref>

The [[B roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme|B483]] road connects the centre of Uxbridge with the Swakeleys Roundabout junction of the [[A40 road in London|A40]]. Uxbridge is also connected by major roads to Slough, [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]], Ickenham, Cowley, [[Iver Heath]], Hillingdon Heath and Hayes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=505518&y=184391&z=120&sv=UXBRIDGE&st=3&tl=Map+of+Uxbridge,+Greater+London+%5BTown%5D&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf |title=Map of Uxbridge, Greater London |year=2013 |work=Ordnance Survey |publisher=Streetmap |access-date=5 May 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>
[[File:Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge - geograph.org.uk - 317504.jpg|thumb|left|The Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge was opened in 1794.]]
The [[Grand Union Canal]], formerly the [[Grand Junction Canal]], connects London with [[Birmingham]] and passes immediately to the west of Uxbridge, forming part of the borough boundary. The first stretch was built in the late 18th century from [[Brentford]] to Uxbridge. Further upstream is Uxbridge Lock, and nearby is a derelict flour mill formerly owned by Allied Mills. The mill was bought in the 19th century by William King, who named it "Kingsmill".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southbucks.gov.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2009/u/uxbridge_lock_conservation_january_2008.pdf |title=Uxbridge Lock Conservation Area Character Appraisal |date=January 2008 |publisher=South Bucks District Council |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-date=30 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830075247/http://www.southbucks.gov.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2009/u/uxbridge_lock_conservation_january_2008.pdf |url-status=dead }}.</ref> Kingsmill continues to be used as a brand of bread by [[Associated British Foods]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abf.co.uk/about_us/our_group/overview?#section_af3d1119e5a94196bd11c2cf21192430 |title=Overview |year=2013 |publisher=Associated British Foods |access-date=31 March 2013}}.</ref>

[[London Buses]] routes 222, [[London Buses route 331|331]], [[London Buses route 427|427]], [[London Buses route 607|607]], [[London Buses route A10|A10]], U1, U2, U3, U4, U5, U7, U9, U10 and N207 serve the area,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/uxbridge.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812223402/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/uxbridge.pdf |archive-date=2012-08-12 |url-status=live |title=Buses from Uxbridge |date=24 July 2012 |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=11 September 2012}}</ref> alongside 8 non-[[Transport for London]] (TfL) routes: [[First Berkshire & The Thames Valley]] route 3,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/berkshire_thames/journey_planning/route58/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101221112329/http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/berkshire_thames/journey_planning/route58/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 December 2010 |title=Route 58 |year=2012 |publisher=FirstGroup |access-date=11 September 2012 }}.</ref> [[Green Line route 724]] and [[Carousel Buses]] routes 101, 102, 104, 105, 581 & 583.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenline.co.uk/serviceInformation.aspx?id=12531 |title=724 – Harlow – Ware – Hertford – Welwyn Garden City – Hatfield – St Albans – Watford – Uxbridge – Heathrow Airport |year=2012 |publisher=Green Line |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919212707/http://greenline.co.uk/serviceInformation.aspx?id=12531 |archive-date=19 September 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/A30_A40_740.htm |title=A30/A40/740 timetable |year=2012 |publisher=London Bus Routes |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-date=3 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903110157/http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/A30_A40_740.htm |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

The proposed [[West London Tram]] was postponed indefinitely by TfL in August 2007 after it was announced that the [[Crossrail]] project would be going ahead. TfL cited "an effective bus-based solution" as an alternative, delivered in conjunction with local councils.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/3223.aspx |title=West London Tram |year=2007 |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=23 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208095703/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/3223.aspx |archive-date=8 February 2008}}</ref> Since 2013 the route has been served by the 427, 207, and 607 bus services.

==Landmarks==
===Civic Centre===
[[File:Hillingdon Civic Centre, exterior 3 - Anthony Ossa-Richardson.jpg|thumb|View of part of the [[Hillingdon Civic Centre]]]]

The London Borough of Hillingdon's [[Hillingdon Civic Centre]] was built in Uxbridge High Street in 1973, as part of an effort to unite the services of the council, which had formed in 1965 with the merger of the [[Municipal Borough of Uxbridge]], [[Ruislip-Northwood Urban District]], [[Hayes and Harlington Urban District]] and [[Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District]]. Before the new building was completed, council services had been spread throughout Uxbridge and the rest of the borough and various buildings, as a result of the merging of the former district councils.

Part of the original [[Middlesex County Council]] office building that stood on site was incorporated into the new Civic Centre. The centre's clock tower is the only visible section from the old building. The [[Uxbridge Cricket Club Ground]] and Uxbridge fire station were relocated as part of the new development, which became controversial owing to its size and cost. Areas of the building, particularly the council chambers, continue to suffer from poor acoustics.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 36.</ref>

===Uxbridge Magistrates' Court===
The original Magistrates' Court opened in 1907 in an [[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian]] style. A new building with little exterior styling opened nearby in the 1990s and legal proceedings were transferred.<ref>Sherwood 2007, p. 32.</ref>

===RAF Uxbridge, Battle of Britain Bunker and Hillingdon House===
[[File:Battle of Britain Bunker - June 2013.jpg|thumb|Replica Spitfire gate guardian beside the Battle of Britain Bunker]]
{{main|RAF Uxbridge|Battle of Britain Bunker|Hillingdon House}}

Uxbridge had a Royal Air Force station, known as RAF Uxbridge, until its closure on 31 March 2010. The station was built within the grounds of [[Hillingdon House]], a 19th-century mansion bought by the British government in 1915,<ref>Crozier 2007, p. 5</ref> and became the home of [[RAF Fighter Command]]'s [[No. 11 Group RAF|No. 11 Group]] Operations Room during the [[Battle of Britain]]. Fighter squadrons at airfields in the south-east of England were directed from the station, which was visited by Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] during the battle, and other foreign leaders throughout the rest of the war.<ref>Crozier 2007, p. 29.</ref>

Following the station's closure, the replica [[No. 33 Squadron RAF|No. 33 Squadron]] [[Supermarine Spitfire]] gate guardian was removed from the main entrance for restoration work and moved to the entrance of the Operations Room (now known as the [[Battle of Britain Bunker]]). The area around the bunker was retained as an enclave under the RAF Uxbridge name, under the care of [[RAF Northolt]]. An additional guardian, a [[Hawker Hurricane]] in the colours of [[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron|No. 303 (Polish) Squadron]], was added to the area in November 2010.<ref name="RAFGateGuardian">{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=254B4BBF-5056-A318-A813BB0F6CB4ADE8&rss=true |title=Refurbished Guardian |date=25 November 2010 |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=15 March 2011}}.</ref>

==Sport and leisure==
Uxbridge has a [[Non-League football]] team, [[Uxbridge F.C.]], which plays at Honeycroft, [[Yiewsley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/uxbridge/location/ |title=Location |year=2012 |publisher=Pitchero |access-date=16 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109003925/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/uxbridge/location/ |archive-date=9 November 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[Uxbridge Cricket Club]] is also based in Uxbridge and is a member of the [[Middlesex County Cricket League]], a designated [[ECB Premier League]].
[[Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex]] was refurbished in 2010 and contains an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, an athletic track and large sports complex. The South Korean Olympic Team used the centre for training during the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 Olympic Games]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/Hillingdon_Sport_and_Leisure_Complex%20/news/001_Hillingdon_Sports_Leisure_Complex_to_host_South_Korea_Olympics_team |title = Hillingdon Sports & Leisure Complex to host South Korea Olympics team |date=17 July 2012 |publisher=Fusion Lifestyle |access-date=11 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804001922/http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/Hillingdon_Sport_and_Leisure_Complex%20/news/001_Hillingdon_Sports_Leisure_Complex_to_host_South_Korea_Olympics_team |archive-date=4 August 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Neighbouring areas==
{{Geographic Location
|title     = '''Neighbouring areas and settlements of Uxbridge'''
|state = expanded
|width=auto
|Northwest = [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]], [[Gerrards Cross]]
|North     = ''[[Denham Country Park]]'', [[South Harefield]]
|Northeast = [[North Hillingdon]], [[Ickenham]], [[Ruislip]]
|West      = [[Iver Heath]], ''[[Black Park Country Park]]''
|Centre    = Uxbridge
|East      = [[North Hillingdon]], ''[[Northolt Aerodrome]]'', [[Northolt]]
|Southwest = [[Iver Heath]]
|South     = [[Cowley, London|Cowley]], [[Yiewsley]], [[West Drayton]]
|Southeast = [[Hillingdon]], [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]]
}}

==Notable people==
===1850 to 1906===
*[[Charles Brown (British engineer)|Charles Brown]] (1827–1905), engineer and inventor of the Brown valve gear, born in Uxbridge.<ref>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_Brown_%281827-1896%29 Information about Charles Brown]</ref>
* [[Annie Isherwood]] (1862–1906), [[Anglican]] nun and founder of the Community of the Resurrection in Grahamstown, Southern Africa, was born in Uxbridge.<ref name="Robins1939">{{cite book|author=Margaret W. Robins|title=Mother Cecile of Grahamstown, South Africa: A Record of a Great Educational Work|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q4mtPQAACAAJ|year=1939|publisher=Gardner, Darton}}</ref>

===20th century===
*[[Bernard Miles]] (1907–1991), actor, writer and director, attended [[Bishopshalt School|Bishopshalt Grammar School]] and given a peerage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=22429 |title=Lord Bernard Miles |date=30 September 2011 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-date=13 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313194911/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=22429 |url-status=dead }}/</ref>
*[[Margiad Evans|Peggy Eileen Whistler]] (1909–1958), poet, novelist and illustrator who used the pseudonym Margiad Evans, born in Uxbridge,<ref>ODNB: Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan: "Williams, Peggy Eileen [Margiad Evans] (1909–1958)" [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/96737 Retrieved 1 July 2010, pay-walled.]</ref>
*[[Joan Dowling]] (1928–1954), actress, best known for her role in the first "[[Ealing Studios|Ealing Comedy]]" ''[[Hue and Cry (film)|Hue and Cry]]'', grew up in Uxbridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laindonhistory.org.uk/page/joan_dowling |title=Joan Dowling: Laindon's tragic child star |publisher=Laindon History |access-date=5 July 2016}}</ref>
*[[John Stears]] (1934–1999), [[Academy Award]]-winning creator of [[James Bond]]'s [[Aston Martin DB5]] and ''[[Star Wars]]'' robots, born in Uxbridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=23929 |title=Michael John Stears |date=27 October 2011 |publisher=London Borough of Hillingdon |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704184403/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=23929 |url-status=dead }}.</ref>
*[[Christine Keeler]] (1942–2017), 1960s model, party to the 1963 [[Profumo affair]], born in Uxbridge.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/388273.osborne_targets_banking_overhaul/ |title=Christine Keeler: Born in Uxbridge 2 February 1942 |author=Staff Reporter |date=1 July 2003 |publisher=Leigh Journal |access-date=11 September 2012 }}.</ref>
*[[Rianna Dean]] (born 1998), footballer for [[Southampton F.C. Women|Southampton]]

== See also ==
* [[Uxbridge English Dictionary]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Bainbridge, John. (2001) ''Middlesex Photographic Memories''. Salisbury: Frith Book Company {{ISBN|1-85937-158-2}}
* Cotton, Carolynne. (1994) ''Uxbridge Past''. London: Historical Publications {{ISBN|0-948667-30-3}}
* Crozier, Hazel. (2007) ''RAF Uxbridge 90th Anniversary 1917–2007''. RAF High Wycombe: Air Command Media Services
* Hearmon, Carolynne. (1982) ''Uxbridge. A Concise History''. Uxbridge: Hillingdon Borough Libraries {{ISBN|0-907869-06-8}}
* Pearce, K. R. (2009) ''Uxbridge From Old Photographs''. Stroud: Amberley Publishing {{ISBN|978-1-84868-390-7}}
* Pearce, K. (2011) ''Uxbridge Through Time''. Stroud: Amberley Publishing {{ISBN|978-1-4456-0522-7}}
* Sherwood, Philip. (2007) ''Around Uxbridge Past & Present''. Stroud: Sutton Publishing {{ISBN|978-0-7509-4794-7}}
* Skinner, James. (2008) ''Growing Up In Wartime Uxbridge''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing {{ISBN|978-0-7524-4543-4}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Citation |publisher = Cassell & Co. |publication-place = London |title = Greater London |author = Edward Walford |author-link = Edward Walford |publication-date = 1883 |oclc = 3009761 |chapter = Uxbridge |year = 1883 |chapter-url = https://archive.org/stream/greaterlondonnar01walf#page/230/mode/1up }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Uxbridge}}
* [http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/ London Borough of Hillingdon]

{{LB Hillingdon}}
{{London Districts}}
{{London Outer Orbital Path |locale=Uxbridge |forward=[[Harefield]] |back=[[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]] |A=11 |B=12 }}
{{Brunel University}}
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[[Category:Uxbridge| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Hillingdon]]
[[Category:Metropolitan centres of London]]
[[Category:Market towns in London]]
[[Category:Places formerly in Middlesex]]