Middlesex

MIDDLESEX, a county of England, bounded north by Hertfordshire, .east by Essex, south-east by the county of London, south by Surrey, and west by Buckinghamshire. Excepting Rut land, the county is the smallest in England. It lies entirely within the Thames basin and within the geological region known as the London basin. The general slope and dip of the strata is to the south-east. South of an irregular line from Uxbridge, north of Hayes, by Hanwell and Eaiing to Hyde park and east of a line from the park to Tottenham, the ground is covered by gravels deposited by the Thames. From this river in the south and from the Lea, forming the eastern boundary with Essex, the gravels rise in a series of terraces. Underneath the alluvial gravels and emerging north of the boundary line, indicated above, lies the London clay. It forms the undulating country around Harrow, Chipping Barnet and Elstree. The highest ground is found along the northern boundary, and near Stanmore the hills are 503 ft. high. These hills send two projections southward, one towards Harrow and the other towards Hampstead. On these ridges are the remains of the sandy and pebbly Bagshot beds which formerly covered the London clay area. Glacial deposits are also present in the county, e.g., the pebbly gravels of Stanmore heath, the clay and sand of Finchley, and chalky boulder clay of Southgate. The Reading beds emerge only in the north-west, near Harefield. The western part is watered by the rivers Colne, Crane and Brent.

History and Early Settlement.

Palaeolithic implements have been found in the river drifts at various points, and Neolithic finds are numerous. Beaker pottery and bronze implements have also been found. In spite of this it is probable that the county never had a large population in prehistoric times, because the lower lands were often marshy and subject to floods, while the higher clay lands were forested. Thus, the majority of the arte facts found probably only indicate lines of movement across the county. In Roman times the eastern border from Tottenham to Waltham Cross was traversed by Ermine street ; Watling street ran across the county from Cricklewood towards Elstree, and the Roman road from London to Silchester crossed the county from Turnham Green to Staines, where the Romans had a station.

Middlesex was colonized in the 6th century by an offshoot of the East Saxon tribe, and derived its name from its position between the kingdoms of the East .and West Saxons. In a charter dated 704 Middlesex is mentioned as a dependency of Essex, but soon after it acknowledged the supremacy of Mercia, and the Mercian council was held at Brentford from 78o onwards. In the yth century Middlesex formed part of the Danelagh. The only reference to Middlesex in the Saxon Chronicle occurs in I01 1, when it was overrun by the Danes. The Conqueror's march upon London was preceded by a general devastation of the surrounding country. At the time of the Domesday survey, the district north of London had a population of 2,302, and formed the forest of Middlesex.

As a shire, Middlesex probably originated about the time of the frith of 886. During the Saxon period the manors held by the church of Canterbury, the bishop of London and his canons of St. Paul's, and the Abbey of Westminster were held as independent franchises. By charter of Henry I. (confirmed by Stephen and Henry II.) the citizens of London held Middlesex at farm for £300, with power to elect a sheriff from among their number, and by charter from John the shrievalty of both London and Middlesex was granted to the mayor and citizens in fee. By charter of 1242 the common pleas for the county of Middlesex were ordered to be held at the stone cross in the Strand. Under a charter of 1447 the lord mayor was authorized to nominate one of the city aldermen as justice of the peace for Middlesex. The six modern hundreds of Edmonton, Elthorne, Gore, Isleworth, Ossulston, an I Spelthorne have been scarcely changed since the Domesday survey, except that Isleworth was then Honeslaw (Hounslow), while in the 12th century hidage a hundred of "Mimes" is mentioned, corresponding with the Domesday hun dred of Edmonton. Middlesex has always been included in the diocese of London excepting a small portion which is in that of Oxford. The archdeaconry of Middlesex, which includes part of Essex, is mentioned in ii51.