Archaeological evidence suggests that the Northol’s origin was an 8th century Saxon village behind the modern Court Farm Road. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Northala.

Northolt Manor was built in the fourteenth century and provides much of the archaeological information of the area from its excavations in the 1950s and after. A Tudor barn built in 1595 from Smith’s Farm in Northolt is now on display at the Chiltern Open Air Museum.

During the early part of the 18th century farmland was enclosed in order to provide hay for the City of London, alongside crops such as peas and beans.

In 1795, parliamentary approval was obtained for the construction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. The route passes through Northolt from Hayes to Paddington opened in 1801.

Suburban development began in the 1920s. Most of the housing north of the Western Avenue was built in the 1920s–1930s, and is in the private housing sector. Most of the housing built to the south of the Western Avenue was built in the 1960s–1970s, and is in the social housing sectors, particularly along the Kensington and Ruislip Roads.

The Great Central Railway line opened in 1906, passing through Northolt on its way from Marylebone to High Wycombe. 1906 also saw the Great Western Railway’s New North Main Line pass through south of Great Central Railway on its way to Birmingham. The following year Northolt Halt opened on it, eventually becoming Northolt station. In 1938 an extension to the Central line, transformed it into Northolt tube station.

In the 21st century, a new large private housing development was built on the former site of the Taylor Woodrow company, adjacent to the Grand Union Canal. This development is known as ’Grand Union Village’.