The name of the county derives from its origin as a homeland for theMiddle Saxon people in the earlyMiddle Ages,[4] with the county subsequently formed from part of that territory in either the ninth or tenth century. TheCity of London, formerly part of the county, became a self governingcounty corporate in the twelfth century; the City was still able to exert influence as thesheriffs of London maintained their jurisdiction in Middlesex, though the county otherwise remained separate.[5] To the east of the City, theTower Division (or Tower Hamlets) had considerable autonomy underits own Lord Lieutenant. To the west, precincts aroundWestminster andCharing Cross became built up.
Despite London's expansion into rural Middlesex, theCorporation of London resisted attempts to expand theCity of London boundaries into the county, posing problems for the administration of local government, public infrastructure, and justice. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the population density was especially high in the southeast of the county, including theEast andWest Ends of London. In 1855 the densely populated southeast, together with sections ofKent andSurrey, came under theMetropolitan Board of Works for certain infrastructure purposes, while remaining a part of Middlesex.[6] TheMetropolitan Police also developed in the nineteenth century.
Whencounty councils were introduced in 1889, about twenty per cent of the area of the historic county, along with a third of its population, was incorporated into the newadministrativeCounty of London. The remainder formed the administrative county of Middlesex, governed by theMiddlesex County Council,[7] which met regularly at theMiddlesex Guildhall in Westminster. Further suburban growth, stimulated by the improvement and expansion of public transport,[8] as well as the setting up ofnew industries, led to the creation ofGreater London in 1965, an area which included almost all of the historic county of Middlesex, with the rest included in neighbouring ceremonial counties.[9]
Middlesex as part of the Diocese of London in 1714. The diocese was based on the East Saxon kingdom, and was probably originally larger than shown here.Map of Middlesex, drawn byThomas Kitchin, geographer, engraver to the Duke of York, 1769Map of Middlesex, 1824. Note: west is at the top.
The county has its roots in the settlement of theMiddle Saxons.[4] The extent of the province is not clear, and probably varied over time, but it is clear that it occupied at least the area of the current county and much ofHertfordshire. Although the province appeared to have come under the dominion of, and is only ever recorded as a part of theKingdom of the East Saxons, charter evidence shows that it was not part of their core territory. However, it is probable the county was independent at some point.[10]
At times, Essex was ruled jointly by co-Kings, and it is thought that the Middle Saxon province is likely to have been the domain of one of these co-kings.[11] This link to Essex endured through theDiocese of London, re-established in 604 as the East Saxon see, and its boundaries continued to be based on theKingdom of Essex until the nineteenth century.
The name meansterritory of themiddle Saxons. The word is formed from theOld English, 'middel' and 'Seaxe'[12] ('Saxons') (cf.Essex,Sussex andWessex). In 704, it is recorded asMiddleseaxon in an Anglo-Saxon chronicle, written in Latin, about land at Twickenham. The Latin text reads: "in prouincia quæ nuncupatur Middelseaxan Haec".[13]
TheSaxons derived their name,Seaxe in their own tongue, from theseax, a kind of knife for which they were known. The seax appears in the heraldry of the English counties ofEssex and Middlesex, each of which bears three seaxes in their ceremonial emblem, or rather the Tudor heralds' idea of what a seax looked like, portrayed in each case like afalchion orscimitar. The names 'Middlesex', 'Essex', 'Sussex' and 'Wessex', contain the name 'Seaxe'.
Of the six hundreds, Ossulstone contained the districts closest to the City of London. During the 17th century it was divided into four divisions, which, along with theLiberty of Westminster, largely took over the administrative functions of the hundred. The divisions were namedFinsbury,Holborn,Kensington andTower.[18] The county hadparliamentary representation from the 13th century.
Middlesex outside the metropolitan area remained largely rural until the middle of the 19th century and so the special boards of local government for various metropolitan areas were late in developing. Other than the Cities of London and Westminster, there were no ancientboroughs.[19] The importance of the hundred courts declined, and such local administration as there was divided between "county business" conducted by thejustices of the peace meeting inquarter sessions, and the local matters dealt with by parish vestries. As the suburbs of London spread into the area, unplanned development and outbreaks ofcholera forced the creation oflocal boards andpoor law unions to help govern most areas; in a few cases parishes appointedimprovement commissioners.[20] In rural areas, parishes began to be grouped for different administrative purposes. From 1875 these local bodies were designated as urban or rural sanitary districts.[21]
By the 19th century, theEast End of London had expanded to the eastern boundary with Essex, and theTower division, an area which approximated to the East End, had reached a population of over a million.[1] When the railways were built, the north western suburbs of London steadily spread over large parts of the county.[8] The areas closest to London were served by theMetropolitan Police from 1829, and from 1840 the entire county was included in theMetropolitan Police District.[22]
Local government in the county was unaffected by theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, and civic works continued to be the responsibility of the individual parish vestries orad hocimprovement commissioners.[23][24] From 1855, the parishes of the densely populated area in the south east, but excluding the City of London, came within the responsibility of theMetropolitan Board of Works for certain infrastructure purposes, though the area remained a part of Middlesex.[6] Despite this innovation, the system was described by commentators at the time as one "in chaos".[7]
In 1889, under theLocal Government Act 1888, the metropolitan area of approximately 30,000 acres (120 km2) became part of the administrativeCounty of London.[25] The Act also provided that the part of Middlesex in the administrative county of London should be "severed from Middlesex, and form a separate county for all non-administrative purposes".
Map showing boundaries of Middlesex in 1851 and 1911, aside from minor realignments. The small yellow area in the North is Monken Hadley, which wastransferred to Hertfordshire; the larger yellow area in the Southeast was transferred to the newly created County of London in 1889.Map in 1882 shows complete urbanisation of the East End
The part of the County of London that had been transferred from Middlesex was divided in 1900 into 18metropolitan boroughs:[26]
Following the Local Government Act 1888, the remaining county came under the control ofMiddlesex County Council except for the parish ofMonken Hadley, which became part ofHertfordshire.[27] The area of responsibility of theLord Lieutenant of Middlesex was reduced accordingly. Middlesex did not contain anycounty boroughs, so the county andadministrative county (the area of county council control) were identical. At this time, Middlesex regained the right to appoint its own sheriff, lost in the 12th century.[5][28]
After 1889, the growth of London continued, and the county became almost entirely filled by suburbs of London, with a big rise in population density. This process was accelerated by theMetro-land developments, which covered a large part of the county.[31] The expanding urbanisation had, however, been foretold in 1771 byTobias Smollett inThe Expedition of Humphry Clinker, in which it is said:
Pimlico and Knightsbridge are almost joined to Chelsea and Kensington, and, if this infatuation continues for half a century, then, I suppose, the whole county of Middlesex will be covered in brick.[32]
Public transport in the county, including the extensive network of trams,[33] buses and the London Underground came under control of theLondon Passenger Transport Board in 1933[34] and aNew Works Programme was developed to further enhance services during the 1930s.[8] Partly because of its proximity to the capital, the county had a major role during the Second World War. The county was subject toaerial bombardment and contained military establishments, such asRAF Uxbridge andRAF Heston, which were involved in theBattle of Britain.[35]
Middlesex arguably never, and certainly not since 1789, had a single, establishedcounty town. TheCity of London could be regarded as its county town for most purposes[36] and provided different locations for the various, mostly judicial, county purposes. Thecounty assizes for Middlesex were held at theOld Bailey in the City of London.[17] Until 1889, theHigh Sheriff of Middlesex was chosen by theCity of London Corporation. Thesessions house for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions wasHicks Hall inClerkenwell (just outside the City boundary) from 1612 to 1782, andMiddlesex Sessions House onClerkenwell Green from 1782 to 1921. The quarter sessions performed most of the limited administration on a county level prior to the creation of the Middlesex County Council in 1889.
New Brentford was first promulgated as the county town in 1789, on the basis that it was where elections ofknights of the shire (orMembers of Parliament) were held from 1701.[25][37] Thus a traveller's and historian's London regional summary of 1795 states that (New) Brentford was "considered as the county-town; but there is no town-hall or other public building".[38] Middlesex County Council took over at the Guildhall inWestminster, which became theMiddlesex Guildhall. In the same year, this location was placed into the newCounty of London, and was thus outside the council's area of jurisdiction.
The population of inner London (then theCounty of London) declined after its creation in 1889 as more residents moved into the outer suburbs. In theinterwar years, suburban London expanded further, with improvement and expansion of public transport,[8] and the setting up ofnew industries.
After theSecond World War, from 1951 to 1961, the populations of the administrative county of London[39] and of inner Middlesex were in steady decline, with population growth continuing in the outer parts of Middlesex.[30][40] According to the 1961 census, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hendon, Heston & Isleworth, Tottenham, Wembley, Willesden and Twickenham had each reached a population greater than 100,000, which would normally have entitled each of them to seekcounty borough status. If this status were to be granted to all those boroughs, it would mean that the population of the administrative county of Middlesex would be reduced by over half, to just under one million.
Evidence submitted to theRoyal Commission on Local Government in Greater London included a recommendation to divide Middlesex into two administrative counties of North Middlesex and West Middlesex.[36] However, the commission instead proposed abolition of the county and merging of the boroughs and districts. This was enacted by Parliament as theLondon Government Act 1963, which came into force on 1 April 1965.
The Act abolished the administrative counties of Middlesex and London.[41] TheAdministration of Justice Act 1964 abolished the Middlesex magistracy andlieutenancy, and altered the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court.
Eighteen of London County Council Metropolitan Boroughs were part of the ancient county of Middlesex. In 1965 these merged to form seven of the twelve current boroughs ofInner London:
In 1974, the threeurban districts that had been transferred to Hertfordshire and Surrey were abolished and became the districts ofHertsmere (part only) andSpelthorne respectively.[44] In 1995 the village ofPoyle was transferred from Spelthorne to theBerkshire borough ofSlough.[45] Additionally, the Greater London boundary to the west and north has been subject to severalsmall changes since 1965.[46][47]
On its creation in 1965, Greater London was divided into five Commission Areas for justice. The one named "Middlesex" consisted of the boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.[48] It was abolished on 1 July 2003.[49]
The county lay within theLondon Basin[50] and the most significant feature was theRiver Thames, which formed the southern boundary. TheRiver Lea and theRiver Colne formed natural boundaries to the east and west. The entire south west boundary of Middlesex followed a gently descendingmeander of the Thames without hills. In many places "Middlesex bank" is more accurate than "north bank" — for instance atTeddington the river flows north-westward, so the left (Middlesex) bank is the south-west bank.[note 4] The largely low-lying county was dominated by clay in its north andalluvium on gravel in its south.
Hand-drawn map of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Middlesex from 1575
In the north, the boundary ran along aWSW/ENE aligned ridge of hills. From the Colne toBarnet Gate Wood, this boundary is marked by a 20 kilometrehedge of great antiquity. East of the wood the hedge continues but did not forms the county boundary, suggesting that the eastern part of the boundary is younger.
After Barnett Gate Wood the hedge continues east toArkley where it divides into two branches, one continuing east toChipping Barnet andCockfosters, with another heading north to form the parish boundary betweenShenley andRidge, both in Hertforshire. Neither branch formed part of the county boundary. The change to the county boundary was probably caused in the late 8th century, before Middlesex took the form of a county, when theLiberty of St Albans was created from parts of the Dioceses ofLondon andLincoln.[51]
The hills are broken by Barnet or 'Dollis' valleys. (South of the boundary, these feed into theWelsh Harp Lake or Brent Reservoir which becomes theRiver Brent).[note 5] This formed a long protrusion of Hertfordshire into the county.[52] The county was once well wooded,[50] with much of it covered by the ancientForest of Middlesex; Domesday returns for Middlesex indicate that it was around 30% wooded (much of itwood-pasture) in 1086, about double the English average.[53] The highest point is the High Road byBushey Heath at 502 feet (153 m).[54]
There were settlements in the area of Middlesex that can be traced back thousands of years before the creation of a county.[56] The economy of the county was dependent on the City of London from early times and was primarily agricultural.[17] A variety of goods were provided for the City, including crops such as grain and hay, livestock and building materials. Tourism began to develop in the late 16th century and, in 1593,John Norden noted that the county was attracting visitors to its "divers devices, neatly decked with rare inventions, environed with orchards of sundry delicate fruits, gardens with delectable walks, arbours, alleys, and great variety of pleasing dainties."[57] Inns and tea gardens at Isleworth, Tottenham, Edmonton and Hornsey are noted in the 17th and 18th centuries for attracting day-trippers from London.Hampton Court Palace was among the historic buildings opened to the public in the 19th century and 350,000 people visited in 1851.[58]
During the 18th century, the inner parishes of Middlesex became suburbs of the City and were increasingly urbanised.[17] In 1794, Thomas Cox wrote of Middlesex:
We may call it almost all London, being chiefly inhabited by the citizens, who fill the towns in it with their country houses, to which they often resort that they may breathe a little sweet air, free from the fogs and smoke of the City.[59]
In 1803, Sir John Sinclair, president of theBoard of Agriculture, spoke of the need to cultivate the substantialFinchley Common andHounslow Heath (perhaps prophetic of theDig for Victory campaign ofWorld War II) and fellow Board member Middleton estimated that one tenth of the county, 17,000 acres (6,900 ha), was uncultivated common, capable of improvement.[60] However,William Cobbett, in hisRural Rides first serialised in 1822, said that
"A more ugly country betweenEgham andKensington would with great difficulty be found in England. Flat as a pancake, and until you come to Hammersmith, the soil is a nasty, stony dirt upon a bed of gravel.Hounslow Heath which is only a little worse than the general run, is a sample of all that is bad in soil and villainous in look. Yet this is now enclosed, and what they call 'cultivated'. Here is a fresh robbery of villages, hamlets, and farm and labourers' buildings and abodes."[61]
Thomas Babington wrote in 1843, "An acre in Middlesex is worth a principality inUtopia"[62] which contrasts neatly with its agricultural description.
The building of radial railway lines from 1839 caused a fundamental shift away fromagricultural supply for London towards large scale house building.[36]Tottenham,Edmonton andEnfield in the north developed first as working-class residential suburbs with easy access to central London. The line toWindsor through Middlesex was completed in 1848, and the railway toPotters Bar in 1850; and theMetropolitan andDistrict Railways started a series of extensions into the county in 1878. Closer to London, the districts ofActon,Willesden,Ealing andHornsey came within reach of the tram and bus networks, providing cheap transport to central London.[36]
Middlesex (abbreviated Middx) is aformer postal county.[63] Counties were an element of postal addressing in routine use until 1996, intended to avoid confusion betweenpost towns, and are no longer required for the routing of the mail.[64] The postal county did not match the boundaries of Middlesex because of the presence of theLondon postal district, which stretched into the county to include Tottenham, Willesden, Hornsey and Chiswick.[65] Addresses in this area included "LONDON" which is the post town but any overlap with the then County of London was coincidental.
In 1965,Royal Mail retained the postal county because it would have been too costly to amend addresses covering the bulk of Outer London.[66] Exceptionally, the Potters Bar post town was transferred to Hertfordshire. Geographically the postal county consisted of two unconnected areas, 6 miles (10 km) apart. The first was in and around Enfield and the second, larger area was to the west.[67] This led the retention of 25 Post Towns to this day:
GREENFORD, HAYES, NORTHOLT, SOUTHALL, UXBRIDGE, WEST DRAYTON
† = postal county was not required
The postal county had many border inconsistencies where its constituentpost towns encroached on neighbouring counties, such as the villages ofDenham in Buckinghamshire,Wraysbury in Berkshire andEastbury in Hertfordshire which were respectively in the post towns ofUxbridge,Staines andNorthwood and therefore in the postal county of Middlesex.Egham Hythe, Surrey also had postal addresses of Staines, Middlesex. Conversely,Hampton Wick was conveniently placed inKingston, Surrey with its sorting offices just across the river.[68] NearbyHampton Court Palace has a postal address ofEast Molesey, therefore associating it with Surrey.[69]
TheMiddlesex Flag is included in theFlag Institute's registry of county and regional flags.[70] The flag is a banner of the arms of the former Middlesex County Council, abolished in 1965. A similar design had been used traditionally as a local badge in Middlesex and neighbouring Essex for centuries.
Coats of arms of Middlesex (left) and Buckinghamshire (right) in stained glass at the exit fromUxbridge tube stationCounty of Middlesex sign in 2014, on the border between the London Boroughs of Barnet and Enfield
Coats of arms were attributed by the mediaevalheralds to the kingdoms of theAnglo-SaxonHeptarchy. That assigned to theKingdom of Essex, of which theMiddle Saxon Province was part, depicted three "seaxes" or short notched swords on a red background. The seaxe was a weapon carried by Anglo-Saxon warriors, and the term "Saxon" may be derived from the word.[71][72] These arms became associated with the two counties that approximated to the kingdom: Middlesex andEssex. County authorities, militia and volunteer regiments associated with both counties used the attributed arms.
In 1910, it was observed that the county councils of Essex and Middlesex and theSheriff's Office of theCounty of London were all using the same arms. Middlesex County Council decided to apply for a formal grant of arms from theCollege of Arms, with the addition of a heraldic "difference" to the attributed arms. Colonel Otley Parry, ajustice of the peace for Middlesex and author of a book on military badges, was asked to devise an addition to the shield. The chosen addition was a "Saxon Crown", derived from the portrait of KingAthelstan on a silver penny of his reign, stated to be the earliest form of crown associated with any English sovereign. The grant of arms was made byletters patent dated 7 November 1910.[73][74][75]
Arms of the Middlesex County Council
The arms of the Middlesex County Council wereblazoned: Gules, three seaxes fessewise points to the sinister proper, pomels and hilts and in the centre chief point a Saxon crown or.
The undifferenced arms of the kingdom were eventually granted to Essex County Council in 1932.[76] Seaxes were also used in the insignia of many of the boroughs and urban districts in the county, while the Saxon crown came to be a common heraldic charge in English civic arms.[77][78] On the creation of theGreater London Council in 1965 a Saxon crown was introduced in its coat of arms.[79] Seaxes appear in the arms of severalLondon borough councils and ofSpelthorne Borough Council.[80][81]
Middlesex Day is celebrated each year on 16 May. This commemorates the actions of the57th (West Middlesex) Regiment in 1811, at theBattle of Albuera, during thePeninsular War. During the battle,Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis, despite his injuries, refused to retire from the battle but remained with the regimental colours, encouraging his men with the words "Die hard 57th, die hard!" as they came under intense pressure from a French attack. The regiment held and the battle was won. The 'Die Hards' subsequently became the West Middlesex's regimental nickname and the phraseDie Hard entered the language. In 2003, an early day motion in the House of Commons noted the celebration of 16 May, the anniversary of Albuhera, as Middlesex Day.[82]
In 2002Plantlife ran acounty flowers campaign to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom. The general public was invited to vote for the bloom they felt most represented their county. Thewood anemone was chosen as the flower of Middlesex. The flower was a common sight in theForest of Middlesex.
When the suburbs of London swept over Middlesex, many of its woods were bypassed and preserved. The wood anemone still blooms there to this day.[83][84]
The interests of family historians in Middlesex are supported by two member organisations of theFederation of Family History Societies: The London, Westminster and Middlesex Family History Society and the West Middlesex Family History Society.[86][87] For genealogical research Middlesex is assignedChapman code MDX, except for the City of London ("square mile") assigned LND.
SirJohn Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984, was born in 1906 inGospel Oak and grew up in Highgate. He published several poems about Middlesex and suburban life. Many were featured in the televised readingsMetroland.[88]
Dear Middlesex, dear vanished country friend, Your neighbour, London, killed you in the end.
— Contrasts: Marble Arch to Edgware – A Lament, John Betjeman (1968)[89]
Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex. The union selects players from its 88 affiliated clubs for the Middlesex team in theCounty Championship. It runs theMiddlesex RFU Senior Cup open to the top 8 Middlesex clubs that play between tiers 6–7 of the English rugby union system. It also runs theMiddlesex RFU Senior Bowl and theMiddlesex RFU Senior Vase for sides from lower down the pyramid. It helps run theHerts/Middlesex 1 (tier 9) andHerts/Middlesex 2 (tier 10) leagues. Middlesex Rugby is also active in promoting youth rugby and women's rugby in the county.[90]
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-classcounty clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. The club was founded in 1864 but teams representing the county have played top-class cricket since the early 18th century and the club has always held first-class status. Middlesex have won thirteenCounty Championship titles (including 2 shared titles), the most recent in 2016.
Middlesex Bowling Association has over 80 affiliated clubs throughout the county.[91]
Middlesex County Amateur Swimming Association organises training, competitions and representative county teams in swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming.[92]
Middlesex County Athletics Association is the organisation controlling Amateur Athletics in Middlesex under the direction ofUK Athletics.[93]
North Middlesex Golf Club
Middlesex Golf represents all aspects of golf within the county. It has 33 affiliated golf clubs.[94]
Middlesex Tennis, affiliated to theLTA, works to create more opportunities for people in Middlesex to play and compete in tennis at all levels of the game.[95] The Middlesex County Championships are the highlight of Middlesex's Competition Calendar.[96]
Middlesex County Badminton Association has over 80 affiliated clubs and organises men's, ladies' and mixed leagues.[97]
Middlesex Squash & Racketball Association is responsible for organising and promoting squash in Middlesex. It was founded in the 1930s and ran the first Middlesex Open Championships in 1937.[98]
Middlesex County Archery Association is the governing body for the sport of archery in the county.[99]
Middlesex Small-Bore Rifle Association brings together small-bore rifle and airgun clubs in the county, and organises teams to represent the County in competitions.[100]
Middlesex County Chess Association aims to foster chess throughout Middlesex. It has 15 affiliated clubs.[101]
Middlesex County Bridge Association runs the Middlesex Cup and the Middlesex League and enters county teams in national and regional competitions.[102]
^Historic boundaries excluding theCity of London, which is code LND.
^The Middlesex Quarter Sessions had jurisdiction in Westminster, but not the Tower Liberty.
^The City of London continues to be a county distinct from Greater London.
^County descriptions are standard inboat races, and the historic county descriptions of the respective sides of the river are still used during the famousUniversity Boat Race and the professional and amateurHead of the River Race.
^The Dollis Valley greenwalk follows this steep upper valley of the Dollis Brook.
^Francis Sheppard; Victor Belche; Philip Cottrell (1979). "The Middlesex and Yorkshire deeds registries and the study of building fluctuations".The London Journal.5 (2). Taylor & Francis Online:176–217.doi:10.1179/ldn.1979.5.2.176.
^Royston Lambert,Central and Local Relations in Mid-Victorian England: The Local Government Act Office, 1858–71,Victorian Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2. (Dec. 1962), pp. 121–150.
^Order in Council enlarging the Metropolitan Police District (SI 1840 5001)
^Local Government Areas 1834 -1945, V D Lipman, Oxford, 1949
^Joseph Fletcher,The Metropolis; its Boundaries, Extent, and Divisions for Local Government inJournal of the Statistical Society of London, Vol. 7, No. 2. (June 1844), pp. 103–143.
^abcdeGreater London Group (July 1959).Memorandum of Evidence to The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London.London School of Economics.
^London Government Act 1963,Section 3:(1) As from 1 April 1965— (a) no part of Greater London shall form part of any administrative county, county district or parish; (b) the following administrative areas and their councils (and, in the case of a borough, the municipal corporation thereof) shall cease to exist, that is to say, the counties of London and Middlesex, the metropolitan boroughs, and any existing county borough, county district or parish the area of which falls wholly within Greater London; The new enlarged administration became known as theGreater London Council or its acronym, the GLC.The former separate (joint) fire and ambulance service of Middlesex, the second largest in Britain after London was largely absorbed into enlarged London organisations under the newly formed GLC, the exception being those areas moving into Surrey and Hertfordshire.(c) the urban district of Potters Bar shall become part of the county of Hertfordshire; (d) the urban districts of Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames shall become part of the county of Surrey. Section 89:(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say— 'county' means an administrative county;
