Uxbridge in 1839
Uxbridge is in the parish of Hillingdon, in Elthorne hundred, about fifteen miles from Tyburn turnpike, on the Oxford road. It was formerly a place of strength, and a corporate town, and in the civil war of Charles I was the scene of an unavailing negotiation for peace between the commissioners of the king and those of the parliament. The mansion in which the conferences were held is still standing. The area of Hillingdon parish is 4,720 acres ; the inhabitants, in 1831, amounted to 6,885, of whom 3,043 were in the chapelry of Uxbridge. The town consists of one principal street, about a mile in length, along the Oxford road, and two or three smaller ones. There are in the principal street two bridges over the arms of the river Colne, and one over the Grand Junction Canal. There are a commodious market-house of brick, supported on wooden columns ; a chapel behind the market-house, built of flint and brick, and destitute of architectural beauty, capable of holding 800 persons ; and several dissenting meeting-houses. The market, which is on Thursday, is one of the most important corn-markets in the kingdom. A second market, for provisions, is held on Saturday, and there are several yearly fairs. There are warehouses and wharfs on the Grand Junction Canal, and there are many flour-mills. Considerable business is done in the town, and brick-making is largely carried on in the neighbourhood.
The perpetual curacy of Uxbridge is of the clear yearly value of £111, with a glebe-house. There were, in 1833, a Lancasterian school. with 187 boys ; a school of industry, with 107 girls ; three other day-schools, with 114 children ; three boarding and day schools, with 87 children ; and three Sunday-schools, with 515 children. |