Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at

Shepherd's Bush Green } Shepherd's Bush Green (also known as Shepherd's Bush Common) is an approximately triangular area of open grass surrounded by trees and roads with shops in Shepherd's Bush, an area of west (London sub region), west London which takes its name fr ...

and goes west towards

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

. It passes through Acton,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town. Hanwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. St ...

Southall Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

, Hayes, and

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

. Uxbridge Road is a major road in west London passing through many retail and large residential districts. It provides several transport connections for commuters with many

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

stations situated either on it or within walking distance. A number of

London buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

also operate along the road, for varying distances. Bus routes

207 Year 207 (Roman numerals, CCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 960 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

, 427 and SL8 are specifically designed to operate along this road, staying on it for their entire route. The road has become notorious for

traffic jams Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular Queuing theory, queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, ...

, especially during "rush hour" and many drivers will do their best to avoid it. The road does not become a motorway at any stage, nor does it meet any motorways along its route, but it does meet non-motorway

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

s: namely the

West Cross Route The West Cross Route (WCR) is a segment of dual carriageway of the A3220 route in West London running north–south between the northern elevated roundabout junction with the western end of Westway ( A40) and the southern Holland Park Round ...

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London. It runs from Chiswick in the west to North Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting var ...

, and The Parkway In a 1912 book of verse

Evelyn Underhill Evelyn Underhill (6 December 1875 – 15 June 1941) was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spirituality, spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism. Her best-known work is ''Myst ...

published a poem entitled "Uxbridge Road". In 1972, the thirty-third episode of ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...

'' featured a sketch about a team of

mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

"climbing" the Uxbridge Road.

Route

Shepherd's Bush

Emerging from a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, the Uxbridge Road enters several important places in west London. The Shepherds Bush/ White City area is now the site of the new

Westfield London Westfield London is a large shopping centre in White City, west London, England, developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn, on a brownfield site formerly the home of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition. The site is bounded by the ...

retail development, which opened in October 2008. Uxbridge Road is crucial in providing road access to this new retail centre. The Uxbridge Road also provides access to the popular

Shepherd's Bush Market Shepherd's Bush Market is a street market in Shepherd's Bush, London. The market is located on the east side of the railway viaduct for the Hammersmith and City Tube line, and is bordered on the north side by the Uxbridge Road, and on the south ...

, at the western end of the area, as well as Shepherds Bush Common. Notable buildings on this stretch of Uxbridge Road include St Stephen's Church, the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

, and the Princess Victoria public house. Princess Victoria Pub at Time Out
Retrieved 9 August 2017

Acton

It then enters Acton, crossing over from the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

into the

London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London boroughs, London borough in London, England. It comprises the districts of Acton, London, Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, i ...

, where the largest part of the road lies. Acton is primarily a residential district, though there is a long stretch of shops (including a large

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

, pubs, and restaurants, mostly concentrated on the Uxbridge Road.

Ealing

Ealing Common Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London. Boundaries The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing, Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton, London, Acton to the east and So ...

is the next residential area that the Uxbridge Road crosses through, which is the smallest of all areas the Uxbridge Road crosses through. It has a short stretch of shops concentrated on the Uxbridge Road.

Ealing Broadway Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

is the main retail centre that is directly served by the Uxbridge Road. The shopping area is a mixture of shops in the open on the actual road and around several neighbouring back roads, as well a closed-centre building, home to several chain stores and independent boutiques, which has an entrance on Uxbridge Road. This is arguably the busiest part of the road for passengers on foot.

West Ealing West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing, Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundre ...

follows, which is very similar to Acton – it is also a large residential district and has a very similar stretch of shops concentrated on the Uxbridge Road. West Ealing has a few more retail outlets similar to those in Ealing Broadway, but increasingly since the 1990s, it has begun to differ from Ealing Broadway in the types of shops that it offers.

Hanwell

Broadway follows very shortly after West Ealing Broadway ends. Hanwell again offers its own range of shops, similar in style to Ealing Common, West Ealing and Acton. After leaving Hanwell, the road passes

Ealing Hospital Ealing Hospital is a district general NHS hospital, part of London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, located in the Southall district of the London Borough of Ealing, West London, England. It lies on the south side of the Uxbridge Road ...

Southall

Compared with the other centres along the length of the road, there is a much larger gap between Hanwell and the next centre,

. Southall Broadway has a mix of shops in both the style of Ealing Broadway and of West Ealing; however, as the areas is predominantly populated by

Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...

, they are in a slightly different vein. This is another very congested part of the road (like Ealing Broadway), because it is very popular as a shopping area for the public and tourists.

Hillingdon

Uxbridge Road then enters the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington Urban Distr ...

as it enters the very large residential and retail district of Hayes. Hayes is home to a few industrial sites, unlike most of the other areas Uxbridge Road passes through. Shop-wise, along the length of the road, it is similar to areas like West Ealing and Acton. Uxbridge Road then terminates after passing through certain areas of

, passing around the south of

town centre; and terminating at

Denham Roundabout Denham Roundabout, alt=Denham Roundabout, with a blue one-way road sign The Denham Roundabout is a road junction in Denham, Buckinghamshire. It was originally opened in 1943 in conjunction with the completion of the new Western Avenue route in ...

. Uxbridge retail centre is not directly accessible by the Uxbridge Road, but is the only other retail centre associated with areas in close proximity to the Uxbridge Road other than Ealing Broadway to boast a variety of high street shops. Both are popular with London residents.

Transport connections

Rail

The only London Underground stations that have the station building and entrance on Uxbridge Road are

and

Ealing Broadway station Ealing Broadway is a major single-level interchange station located in Ealing, in the London Borough of Ealing, West London (sub-region), West London for London Underground services and Elizabeth line services on the National Rail Great Western ...

is less than 2 minutes walk away from the junction of Uxbridge Road and The Broadway. Uxbridge station is within walking distance of the very end of the road. Towards the eastern end of the road, the Shepherd's Bush (Central Line) station is within walking distance of the road. The western areas that Uxbridge Road runs through do not contain particular tube stations in their areas, although Northfields station is situated a short walk away from the junction of Uxbridge Road and Northfields Avenue in West Ealing.

and

railway stations are themselves within walking distance of Uxbridge Road.

Buses

Although several buses operate along the Uxbridge Road for parts of their route, the road is considered so important that three particular buses were designed to operate solely on the road. They are:- * Bus route 207: which operates between the road's eastern terminus at Shepherds Bush to the Hayes By-Pass. The 207 originally ran along the whole length of the road before being partly replaced by the 427. * Bus route 427: which operates between the road's western terminus at Uxbridge to Southall Railway Station. * Bus route SL8:which operates as an express service along the whole length of the road, but only stops at the most popular locations such as Ealing Hospital and tube station connections.

West London Tram

In the early 2000's, a tram scheme, the West London Tram, was planned to run along the length of the Uxbridge Road and replace these three bus routes. This scheme was abandoned in 2007.

History

Original A4020 route: Stroud

The original route of the A4020 was in Stroud, Gloucestershire. The road was a short one, starting on the A46 near the station and heading west along Cainscross Road to Cainscross itself. The road ended on the A434 just to the north of that road's crossing of the Stroudwater Canal. In 1935, the west end of the

A419 The A419 road is a primary route between Chiseldon near Swindon at junction 15 of the M4 with the A346 road, and Whitminster in Gloucestershire, England near the M5 motorway. The A419 is managed and maintained by a private company, Road Manage ...

was rerouted via Stroud, taking over the entire length of the A4020, which number it retains. The former A434 to the west was also renumbered

although this is now the B4008.

External links

Out Guide to Uxbridge Road
Retrieved August 2017
Official TFL Guide to Uxbridge Road
Retrieved August 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uxbridge Road Streets in the London Borough of Ealing Streets in the London Borough of Hillingdon Streets in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham