Uxbridge's vanished yards

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, several lanes and alleyways intersected with Uxbridge High Street. These 'yards' were often the site of slum housing. The last were demolished in the 1960s, but some, such as Attwell's Yard, survive in part today.

Bell Yard ran along the present site of Uxbridge Station. The 1851 census lists 120 residents, including families of 9 or 10. They included 4 paupers, 2 street traders, a boot cleaner, a charwoman and a cattle driver. A more unusual inhabitant was Joseph Groman, a bird stuffer or taxidermist.

Despite the relatively poor living conditions, in 1851 the residents of Bell Yard came from as far afield as Devon and Norfolk. In 1901, a Julia Harris (34 and a widowed laundress), born in the East Indies, was living there. In the same year, Vito Del Guidie, an Italian subject, appears with a family of street musicians.