Middlesex
- For other uses, see Middlesex (disambiguation).
As London further expanded the area steadily become more urbanised and in 1965 almost all of the original area was incorporated into Greater London.
Early history
| | |
| Geography | |
| Area- Total- % Water | Ranked 38th 181,301 acres ? % |
|---|---|
| County town | London Brentford |
| Chapman code | MDX |
The name means the territory of the middle Saxons and its first recorded use was in A.D 704 as Middleseaxan. Geographically, Middlesex included the City of London, which has been self-governing since the thirteenth century and the city of Westminster. The highest point is the High Road in Bushey Heath at 504 feet.
Division into hundreds
Middlesex was recorded in the Domesday Book as being divided into the six hundreds of Edmonton, Elthorne, Gore, Hounslow (later Isleworth), Ossulstone and Spelthorne. Settlement was divided as follows:Edmonton Hundred - Edmonton - Enfield - Monken Hadley - South Mimms - Tottenham
Elthorne Hundred - Cowley - Cranford - Greenford - Hanwell - Harefield - Harlington - Harmondsworth - Hayes - Hillingdon - Ickenham - New Brentford - Northolt - Norwood - Perivale - Ruislip - Uxbridge - West Drayton
Gore Hundred - Edgware - Great Stanmore - Harrow-on-the-Hill - Hendon - Kingsbury - Little Stanmore - Pinner
Isleworth Hundred - Heston - Isleworth - Twickenham
Ossulstone Hundred - Acton - Bloomsbury - Bow - Bromley - Chelsea - Chiswick - Clerkenwell - Ealing - Finchley - Friern Barnet - Fulham - Hackney - Hammersmith - Hampstead - Minories - Hornsey - Kensington - Mile End - Paddington - Poplar - Ratcliffe - Shadwell - Shoreditch - Spitalfields - Holborn - St Pancras - Stepney - Wapping - West Twyford - Whitechapel - Willesden
Spelthorne Hundred - Ashford - East Bedfont - Feltham - Hampton - Hampton Wick - Hanworth - Laleham - Littleton - Shepperton - Staines - Stanwell - Sunbury - Teddington
Modern history
Introduction of county councils
| | ||
| Status: | Administrative county | |
| Admin. HQ: | ||
| Created: | 1889 | |
| Abolished: | 1965 | |
| Successor: | Greater London, Hertfordshire, Surrey | |
The north western suburbs of London steadily covered large parts of Middlesex, especially following the coming of the railways. In 1889, much of the area to the south east became part of the County of London. The remainder of the county came under the control of Middlesex County Council.
The area under the control of London County Council was divided in 1899 into metropolitan boroughs which were merged in 1965 to form the following present-day boroughs:
- London Borough of Camden
- London Borough of Hackney
- London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- London Borough of Islington
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- City of Westminster
Districts
The remainder of the county was initially divided into rural districts and urban districts. Through mergers and changes by 1965 there were no rural districts remaining and many urban districts had become municipal boroughs such that the county was divided into:
Municipal Borough of Acton Potters Bar Urban District
Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick Ruislip Northwood Urban District
Municipal Borough of Ealing Municipal Borough of Southall
Municipal Borough of Edmonton Municipal Borough of Southgate
Municipal Borough of Enfield Staines Urban District
Feltham Urban District Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District
Municipal Borough of Finchley Municipal Borough of Tottenham
Friern Barnet Urban District Municipal Borough of Twickenham
Municipal Borough of Harrow Municipal Borough of Uxbridge
Hayes and Harlington Urban District Municipal Borough of Wembley
Municipal Borough of Hendon Municipal Borough of Willesden
Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth Municipal Borough of Wood Green
Municipal Borough of Hornsey Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District
Creation of Greater London
After 1889 the growth of London did not cease and the county became almost entirely urbanised by its suburbs. Many of the boroughs in the area were demanding independence from Middlesex County Council as county boroughs, which if granted would have left Middlesex County Council controlling an area with three distinct and unconnected fragments - in the west, the south-east and the north of the county.Instead, in 1965, nearly all the remainder of Middlesex became part of Greater London and formed the new London boroughs of:
- London Borough of Barnet (part only)
- London Borough of Brent
- London Borough of Ealing
- London Borough of Enfield
- London Borough of Haringey
- London Borough of Harrow
- London Borough of Hillingdon
- London Borough of Hounslow
- London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (part only)
The remaining areas were Potters Bar Urban District which became part of Hertfordshire, while Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District and Staines Urban District became part of Surrey.
Recent changes
In 1974 the three urban districts that had been transferred to Hertfordshire and Surrey were abolished and became the districts of Hertsmere (part only) and Spelthorne respectively.In 1995 the village of Poyle was transferred from Spelthorne to the Berkshire borough of Slough.
Legacy
Middlesex is still used in the names of organisations based in the area such as Middlesex County Cricket Club and Middlesex University.The River Thames, River Lee and the River Colne are all boundaries of the traditional county and historically the banks of River Thames in London were known as the "Middlesex Bank" and "Surrey Bank". Although no longer used in central London, it still occurs in the area around Richmond upon Thames and Twickenham where the river bends in such a way as to make north or south unclear.
The urbanisation and declining importance of the county was lamented in the later works of John Betjeman, the Poet Laureate, and featured in the televised readings Metroland.