Hillingdon / Middlesex

[admarlow]

How come part of the london borough of Hillingdon is also in Middlesex, I thought you were in a county or a borough??

[rojash]

Have a look at this:
http://www.abcounties.co.uk/counties/confusion .htm

[JudgeJ]

Middlesex ceased to exist as an administrative county some years ago. However, there are other parts of what is euphemistically called �Greater London� which are affected in the way you have noticed.

In 1965 large swathes of the Home Counties (most notably Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire) were subsumed into the newly-formed �Greater London�. Former �Urban Districts� (which were effectively urban areas in otherwise rural counties) were swept away and absorbed into the new London Boroughs. The London Boroughs of Havering and Bromley illustrate this perfectly. These boroughs are large in area but, in their outer reaches, are relatively sparsely populated. There are even a number of farms (real farms, not "city" farms)within both.

However, their postal addresses remain as the County from which they were stolen (e.g. Upminster � Essex, Orpington � Kent), hence the confusion which you have noticed.

There are many people who dislike the idea of their area being part of �London� when it clearly has no affinity with the capital. This movement has gathered strength in recent years with the profligate activities of the Mayor of London. His measures see large sums of cash sucked in from the council taxpayers in these rural areas to be dispensed on measures which have no benefit to them.

[trish1234567]

Your so right JudgeJ - and we people who live and were born in the home counties will never consider ourselves as even being part of london and even less a 'Londoner'.

[halfadaily]

I always gave my address as Hillingdon, Middlesex when I lived there. Middlesex cricket club occasionally play a county game at Uxbridge cc, which is in Hillingdon borough. I now live in Oxfordshire, with a Berkshire postcode due to boundary changes. Life can be confusing !!

[Buenchico]

I think that the original question has been well answered but I'll just point out that 'Middlesex' seems to get a lot closer to central London than Hillingdon.

Middlesex Guildhall sits right in the heart of Westminster, on the opposite side of Parliament Square to the Houses of Parliament. It will soon be the new home of the Law Lords so all you Middlesex folk will be able to say that you're part of the county where the interpretations of both English and European law are decided.

Chris

[waimarie]

Hi admarlow, I was born at Hillingdon Hospital in Middlesex in the mid 1930's and then, lived in Southall, Middlesex (not in Ealing!!). Even now, after many years and many miles away, when asked I always say they were/are in Middlesex. Sooo much nicer than Greater London, wherever that is.