UXBRIDGE, an ancient borough and market town of Middlesex, England, is pleasantly situated on the Colne and Frayswater, on the Grand Junction Canal, and on a branch of the Great Western Railway, 15½ miles west of London. The principal street is spacious and contains a number of good shops, but the streets leading off it are narrow and tortuous. The suburbs have of late greatly increased. The Colne is crossed by a brick bridge of five arches. The principal public buildings are the church of St Margaret in the Perpendicular style, consisting of nave, aisles, and low embattled tower, the town-hall (1836), and the cottage hospital. There are a large number of charities. On the banks of the Colne are several flour-mills. The town possesses several breweries and an iron-foundry. By the Grand Junction Canal, near which there are several saw-mills, a considerable trade is carried on in timber, slates, and coal. The town is governed by a local board of eighteen members. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 496 acres) was 7497 in 1871 and 7669 in 1881.

Uxbridge was one of the small boroughs originated by Alfred the Great. It is not mentioned in Domesday. For a long period it was of considerable importance as a frontier town, and latterly possessed a regular garrison. At Uxbridge negotiations were begun, on 30th January 1645, between the commissioners of Charles I. and the Parliament, but were broken off on 22d February. In 1647 the Parliamentary forces had for some time their headquarters in the town. It remained a garrison town until 1689. It obtained the grant of a market from Henry II. Until the close of the 17th century it was governed by bailiffs.