Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which crosses the River Ure here.

The origin of the name 'Boroughbridge' lies in its location relative to Aldborough, the principal settlement during the Roman period and known as Isurium Brigantum.

A line of three menhirs, or standing stones, known as the Devil's Arrows, believed to have been erected in the Bronze Age, can be found on the outskirts of Boroughbridge, by the side of the A1.

In 1229 Boroughbridge, as part of the manor of Aldborough, was granted to Hubert de Burgh, but was forfeited a few years later by his son, who fought against the king at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.

The Battle Cross, commemorating the event, was erected in the market square, but was moved to Aldborough in 1852.

[7] From medieval times Boroughbridge was part of the parish of Aldborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

It had a burgage franchise, meaning that the right to vote was tied to ownership of certain of property in the borough and had fewer than 100 qualified voters by the time it was abolished in the Reform Act of 1832.

Boroughbridge was an important stage for stagecoaches because of its position on the Great North Road midway between London and Edinburgh.

An advertisement in the Edinburgh Courant for 1754 reads: The Edinburgh Stage-coach, for the better accommodation of passengers, will be altered to a New Genteel Two-end Glass Coach Machine, being on steel springs, exceeding light and easy, to go in ten days in Summer and twelve in Winter; to set out the first Tuesday in March, and continue it, from Hosea Eastgate's, the Coach and Horses, in Dean-Street, Soho, London; and from John Somerville's, in the Canongate, Edinburgh, every other Tuesday, and meet at Burrow-Bridge on Saturday night, and set out from thence on Monday morning, and get to London and Edinburgh on Friday.

The incident interrupted the main transport route for a short time and the army installed a Bailey bridge until repairs were completed.