Uxbridge

Uxbridge is a place in the London Borough of Hillingdon in west London. It is a suburban development situated 15.5 miles (25 km) west of Charing Cross.

History

Archaeologists found Bronze age remains (before 700 BC) and medieval remains when the new shopping mall The Chimes was being built. Two miles away at Denham Upper Paleolithic remains have been found.

Related Topics:
Bronze age - Denham - Paleolithic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Uxbridge is not mentioned in the Domesday Book of the 11th century, but a hundred years later the existing church, St Margaret's, was built. The existing pub, "The Queens Head", has a sign depicting Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. The pub was previously called "The Axe" and possibly dates from the 1540's. A tunnel connects the pub to the church. At the bottom of Windsor Street there is a cemetery with an archway. It was here on Lynch Green that three heretics were burned to death in 1555. Foxe's Book of Martyrs gives the names as John Denley, Robert Smith and Patrick Packingham, but other sources call the last one Patrick Rockingham. He was found guilty of denying the trinity.

Related Topics:
Domesday Book - 11th century - Pub - 1540's - Lynch Green - Heretic - 1555 - Book of Martyrs - John Denley - Robert Smith - Patrick Packingham - Patrick Rockingham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under Elizabeth I, Catholics were subject to severe constraints. Edmund Campion was a Catholic priest, trained in Douai in the Netherlands, to give covert support to Catholics. He travelled around England on horseback, giving sermons in secret and pretending to be a diamond merchant. In 1580 he came to Uxbridge and hid for a couple of weeks, in a house owned by William Catesby. In 1581 Campion was caught. He was hanged, drawn and quartered in London. The 40 or so Catholics who died in this period are called the "Douai martyrs" which is also the name of the local Catholic secondary school, in Ickenham.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth I - Catholics - Edmund Campion - Netherlands - 1580 - William Catesby - 1581 - Hanged, drawn and quartered - Ickenham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1604 the Gunpowder Plot was uncovered. The flamboyant six-foot leader, Robert Catesby (son of William) escaped and hid in his house in Uxbridge. He was later shot. There were negotiations between Charles I and the Parliamentary side in Uxbridge, January 30 to February 22 1645, commemorated in the name of a local pub and restaurant, the Treaty House. This latter is on the A4020 Oxford Road where it leaves the town, at the canal overbridge.

Related Topics:
1604 - Gunpowder Plot - Robert Catesby - Charles I - Parliamentary - January 30 - February 22 - 1645 - Treaty House

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The covered market was built in 1788, but the previous building was about twice as big, creating big problems for traffic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1930's George Orwell was a teacher at Frays College, now Frays Adult Education Centre. His novel A Clergyman's Daughter was based on his experiences there.

Related Topics:
1930's - George Orwell - Frays College

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For about 200 years most of London's flour was produced in the Uxbridge area. There were also breweries, but the last one was closed down in the 1930s. Near here Ellen Terry the Shakespearean actress spent her final years, as a pub landlady.

Related Topics:
Flour - Ellen Terry - Shakespearean

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~