Uxenden Hall

The hall's name was first recorded in 1257 as Woxindon, meaning "Wixan's Hill", and is thus related to Uxbridge. The Wixan were a 7th-century Saxon tribe from Lincolnshire who also began to settle in what became Middlesex. The Bellamy family was known for its hospitality to fellow recusants and missionaries, and so the house was kept under surveillance. In 1586, Jerome Bellamy sheltered the rebel Anthony Babington here, following the plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Babington was captured at Uxenden, and Jerome Bellamy was hung, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on 21 September 1586. In 1592, Jerome's older brother Richard was the owner of Uxenden. His daughter Anne was arrested,…