Borough of Hilingdon

This outer London borough on the northwest edge of greater London historically consisted of small communities centred around agriculture.  Large areas were designated for grass supplying hay to the London markets.  Parts of the area were also developed for supplying cut flowers for the markets especially chrysanthemums.  Uxbridge, the main town in the borough, was known for milling and trading corn.  It was also situated on the ancient roads leading to Oxford giving the innkeepers and local breweries good business. With the building of the Grand Junction Canal in the late 1700s, brickmaking became a major source of industry. This brought wealth to the area in the 1800s as labourers worked in the fields digging “brickearth” and transporting the bricks via the Canal.  In the 1900’s certain industries involving mechanical and chemical engineering began to surface around aluminum powders, aluminum pastes and petroleum products.  Even though it is London’s least populated borough, the official civilian opening of Heathrow Airport (named after the hamlet “Heath Row”)  in 1946 has made the area a gateway for London with 60 million passengers passing through the terminals annually. Heathrow also employs nearly 25% of Hillingdon’s population with transport sector related industries.

Prayer Requests for this Borough