114-491: Gore House , built in the 1750s, with its 3-acre (1.2 ha) grounds was in Middlesex , England in a large exclave of St Margaret Westminster , Kensington Gore . Until its west wing soon became Grove House it was set apart from the east end of a row of 18th-century houses running from Palace Gate (near Kensington Palace ) to the east, and was part of a phase of such houses facing Kensington Gardens as far as Knightsbridge ,
228-461: A broad bridge across the West Bourne . As the 1831 map, inset, shows: Upper Kensington Gore was the short-lived name for a short section of Kensington Road/Gore which was fronted by grand houses with large grounds and by Kensington Gardens . Its interiors were planned and supervised by leading architect Robert Adam . Between 1808 and 1821 William Wilberforce lived in it; he co-led the abolition of
342-567: A byword for wider East London , before East London grew further still, east of the River Lea and into Essex . The contrast between the east and west ends was stark, in 1797 the Prussian writer and historian Archenholz wrote: (The east)...especially along the shores of the Thames, consists of old houses, the streets there are narrow, dark, and ill paved; inhabited by sailors and other workmen... and by
456-584: A great part of the Jews. The contrast between this and the west is astonishing Writing of the period around 1800, Rev. Richardson commented on the estrangements between the east and west: The inhabitants of the extreme east of London knew nothing of the western localities and vice-versa. There was little communication or sympathy between the two ends of London. …and thus the householders of Westminster were as distinct from householders of Bishopsgate Without , Shoreditch and all those localities which stretch towards
570-528: A kind of knife for which they were known. The seax appears in the heraldry of the English counties of Essex 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 a falchion or scimitar . The names 'Middlesex', 'Essex', ' Sussex ' and ' Wessex ', contain the name 'Seaxe'. It is not known exactly when Middlesex
684-532: A local landmark that remained until it was demolished to improve access for the London City Airport . The first railway (the " Commercial Railway ") to be built, in 1840, was a passenger service based on cable haulage by stationary steam engines that ran the 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from Minories to Blackwall on a pair of tracks. It required 14 mi (22.5 km) of hemp rope , and "dropped" carriages as it arrived at stations, which were reattached to
798-463: A major manufacturing town, with 30,000 houses built between 1871 and 1901. Soon afterwards, East Ham was built up to serve the new Gas Light and Coke Company and Bazalgette's grand sewage works at Beckton . The years 1885–1909 saw a series of transportation milestones achieved in Walthamstow. In 1885, John Kemp Starley designed the first modern bicycle, while in 1892 Frederick Bremer built
912-654: A major railway centre for the North London Railway , with marshalling yards and a maintenance depot serving both the City and the West India docks. Nearby Bow railway station opened in 1850 and was rebuilt in 1870 in a grand style, featuring a concert hall. The line and yards closed in 1944, after severe bomb damage, and never reopened, as goods became less significant, and cheaper facilities were concentrated in Essex. The River Lea
1026-609: A palace at Bethnal Green , King John is reputed to have established a palace at Bow and Henry VIII established a hunting lodge at Bromley Hall . The rural population of the area grew considerably in the Medieval period, despite reductions caused by the Norman Conquest and the Black Death. The pattern of agricultural settlement in south-east England was typically of dispersed farmhouses, rather than nucleated villages. However
1140-562: A part of Middlesex. and the Metropolitan Police also developed in the nineteenth century. When county 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 new administrative County of London . The remainder formed the administrative county of Middlesex, governed by the Middlesex County Council , which met regularly at
1254-464: A series forming the basis for London Labour and the London Poor (1851), that the trades in the area included tailors, costermongers , shoemakers, dustmen, sawyers, carpenters, cabinet makers and silkweavers. He noted that in the area: roads were unmade, often mere alleys, houses small and without foundations, subdivided and often around unpaved courts. An almost total lack of drainage and sewerage
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#17330850755621368-555: A single, established county town . The City of London could be regarded as its county town for most purposes and provided different locations for the various, mostly judicial, county purposes. The county assizes for Middlesex were held at the Old Bailey in the City of London. Until 1889, the High Sheriff of Middlesex was chosen by the City of London Corporation . The sessions house for
1482-567: Is now mainly within the ceremonial county of Greater London , with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. The county's boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills formed the northern boundary with Hertfordshire . The county was the second smallest of the historic counties of England, after Rutland . The name of
1596-652: Is probable the county was independent at some point. 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. This link to Essex endured through the Diocese of London , re-established in 604 as the East Saxon see, and its boundaries continued to be based on the Kingdom of Essex until the nineteenth century. The name means territory of
1710-551: 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. Public transport in the county, including the extensive network of trams, buses and the London Underground came under control of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933 and a New Works Programme
1824-472: Is the High Road by Bushey Heath at 502 feet (153 m). Bentley Priory Nature Reserve houses Middlesex's oldest tree: The Master Oak. There were settlements in the area of Middlesex that can be traced back thousands of years before the creation of a county. The economy of the county was dependent on the City of London from early times and was primarily agricultural. A variety of goods were provided for
1938-461: Is thought to pre-date that by centuries. These landholdings would become the basis of the Ancient Parishes and City Wards which, by occasional fission and mergers, developed into the administrative units of today. Five monastic institutions, centres of learning and charity, were established just outside the walls: Bedlam , Holywell Priory , The New Hospital of St Mary without Bishopsgate ,
2052-497: Is to add to Tower Hamlets the former parish and borough of Shoreditch (including Hoxton and Haggerston ), which is now the southern part of the modern London Borough of Hackney . Other commentators prefer a definition broader still, encompassing districts such as West Ham , East Ham , Leyton , Walthamstow , parts or all of Hackney (the district, rather than the larger modern borough) and Ilford . The wider East London area might be said to comprise, or approximate to,
2166-702: The Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate , Eastminster near the Tower, and St Katherine's on the Thames. Bromley was home to St Leonards Priory and Barking Abbey , important as a religious centre since Norman times was where William the Conqueror had first established his English court. Further east the Cistercian Stratford Langthorne Abbey became the court of Henry III in 1267 for
2280-518: The Essex side of the city, as they are from the inhabitants of Holland or Belgium. The East End has always contained some of London's poorest areas. The main reasons for this include: In medieval times trades were carried out in workshops in and around the owners' premises in the City. By the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666 these were becoming industries, and some were particularly noisome, such as
2394-599: The Flag Institute 's registry of county and regional flags. 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 were attributed by the mediaeval heralds to the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy . That assigned to the Kingdom of Essex , of which
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#17330850755622508-634: The Great Fire of London , and Captain Cook moved from Shadwell to Stepney Green , where a school and assembly rooms had been established (commemorated by Assembly Passage , and a plaque on the site of Cook's house on the Mile End Road). Mile End Old Town also acquired some fine buildings, and the New Town began to be built. By 1882, Walter Besant was able to describe East London as a city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from
2622-475: The Middle 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. These arms became associated with the two counties that approximated to the kingdom: Middlesex and Essex . County authorities, militia and volunteer regiments associated with both counties used
2736-525: The Middle Saxons . 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 of Hertfordshire . Although the province appeared to have come under the dominion of, and is only ever recorded as a part of the Kingdom of the East Saxons , charter evidence shows that it was not part of their core territory. However, it
2850-523: The Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster. Further suburban growth, stimulated by the improvement and expansion of public transport, as well as the setting up of new industries , led to the creation of Greater London in 1965, an area which included almost all of the historic county of Middlesex, with the rest included in neighbouring ceremonial counties. The county has its roots in the settlement of
2964-558: The Moorfields countryside. These boundaries remained consistent after urbanisation and so might be said to delineate east and north London. The boundary line, with very slight modifications, has also become the boundary between the modern London Boroughs of Hackney and Islington . Building accelerated in the late 16th century, and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape. Writing in 1603, John Stow described
3078-662: The Olympic Park among the most successful examples. Paradoxically, while some parts of the East End are undergoing rapid change and are amongst the areas with the highest mean salary in the UK, it also continues to contain some of the worst poverty in Great Britain. The East End lies east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames . Aldgate Pump on
3192-596: The Peabody Trust were formed to provide homes for the poor and to clear the slums generally. Expansion by the railway companies, such as the London and Blackwall Railway and Great Eastern Railway , caused large areas of slum housing to be demolished. The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), gave local authorities, notably London County Council , new powers and responsibilities and led to
3306-582: The Royal Victoria Dock (1855), able to berth vessels of up to 8000 tons; Royal Albert Dock (1880), up to 12,000 tons; and King George V Dock (1921), up to 30,000 tons, on the estuary marshes helped extend the continuous development of London across the Lea into Essex. The railways gave access to a passenger terminal at Gallions Reach and new suburbs created in West Ham , which quickly became
3420-463: The SS Great Eastern , designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott Russell & Co , of Millwall . The 692 ft (211 m) vessel was too long to fit across the river, and so the ship had to be launched sideways. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch, after this, shipbuilding on the Thames went into a long decline. Ships continued to be built at
3534-613: The Second World War , from 1951 to 1961, the populations of the administrative county of London and of inner Middlesex were in steady decline, with population growth continuing in the outer parts of Middlesex. 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 seek county borough status. If this status were to be granted to all those boroughs, it would mean that
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3648-546: The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Blackwall and Canning Town until the yard closed in 1913, shortly after the launch of the Dreadnought Battleship HMS Thunderer (1911) . Heading eastward from the Tower of London lie six and a half mile of former docklands; the most central of the docks – just east of the Tower, is St Katharine Docks , built in 1828 to accommodate luxury goods. This
3762-686: The Tower Division , which had owed military service to the Constable of the Tower (in his ex-officio role as Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets ) for time immemorial, having its roots in the Bishop of London's historic Manor of Stepney . This made the Constable an influential figure in the civil and military affairs of the early East End. Later, as London grew further, the fully urbanised Tower Division became
3876-570: The Tower Division , which had owed military service to the Tower of London since time immemorial. Later, as London grew further, the fully urbanised Tower Division became a byword for wider East London, before East London grew further still, east of the River Lea and into Essex . The area was notorious for its deep poverty, overcrowding and associated social problems. This led to the East End's history of intense political activism and association with some of
3990-586: The West Indies was unloaded directly into quayside warehouses. Ships were limited to 6000 tons. The old Brunswick Dock, a shipyard at Blackwall became the basis for the East India Company 's East India Docks established there in 1806. The Millwall Docks were created in 1868, predominantly for the import of grain and timber. These docks housed the first purpose built granary for the Baltic grain market ,
4104-565: The justices of the peace meeting in quarter sessions , and the local matters dealt with by parish vestries. As the suburbs of London spread into the area, unplanned development and outbreaks of cholera forced the creation of local boards and poor law unions to help govern most areas; in a few cases parishes appointed improvement commissioners . 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. The Tower division, better known as
4218-513: The middle Saxons . The word is formed from the Old English , 'middel' and ' Seaxe ' ('Saxons') ( cf. Essex , Sussex and Wessex ). In 704, it is recorded as Middleseaxon in an Anglo-Saxon chronicle, written in Latin, about land at Twickenham. The Latin text reads: " in prouincia quæ nuncupatur Middelseaxan Haec ". The Saxons derived their name, Seaxe in their own tongue, from the seax ,
4332-425: 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. During the 18th century, the inner parishes of Middlesex became suburbs of the City and were increasingly urbanised. In 1794, Thomas Cox wrote of Middlesex: We may call it almost all London, being chiefly inhabited by
4446-454: The Bishop of London's Manor of Stepney . The Manor's lands were the basis of a later unit called the Tower Division, or Tower Hamlets which extended as far north as Stamford Hill . It is thought that the manor was held by the Bishop of London , in compensation for his duties in maintaining and garrisoning the Tower of London . The oldest recorded reference to this obligation is from 1554, but it
4560-487: 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." Inns and tea gardens at Isleworth, Tottenham, Edmonton and Hornsey are noted in
4674-403: The East End as a distinct entity, as opposed to its component parts, comes from John Strype 's 1720 Survey of London , which describes London as consisting of four parts: the City of London, Westminster , Southwark , and "That Part beyond the Tower". The relevance of Strype's reference to the Tower was more than geographical. The East End was the urbanised part of an administrative area called
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4788-402: The East End as a distinct entity, rather than a collection of parishes, when he describes London as consisting of four parts: the City of London, Westminster , Southwark , and "That Part beyond the Tower" . The relevance of Strype's reference to the Tower was more than geographical. The East End (including the Tower and its Liberties ) was the urbanised part of an administrative area called
4902-568: The East End rather than in the crowded streets of the City. In 1817 the Lower Moorfields was built on and the gap with Finsbury was fully closed, and in the late 19th century development across the Lea in West Ham began in earnest. As time went on, large estates began to be split up, ending the constraining effect of short-term copyhold. Estates of fine houses for captains, merchants and owners of manufacturers began to be built. Samuel Pepys moved his family and goods to Bethnal Green during
5016-671: The Exhibition of 1851 , for the Albertopolis cultural and educational sites. Today the Royal Albert Hall takes up its site. 51°30′04″N 0°10′39″W / 51.5011°N 0.1774°W / 51.5011; -0.1774 Middlesex Middlesex ( / ˈ m ɪ d əl s ɛ k s / ; abbreviation: Middx ) is a historic county , a former post county , and a former administrative county in South East England ; it
5130-594: The Middlesex Quarter Sessions was Hicks Hall in Clerkenwell (just outside the City boundary) from 1612 to 1782, and Middlesex Sessions House on Clerkenwell 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
5244-590: The Tower Hamlets , was an area in the Southeast of the county covering what is now the London Borough of Tower Hamlets as well as most of what is now the London Borough of Hackney . The territory had its origin in the medieval Manor of Stepney . The area was unusual in combining Hundred and many County responsibilities, to form a "county within a county" comparable to one of the Ridings of Yorkshire . Of particular note
5358-532: The administration of local government, public infrastructure, and justice. In the eighteenth and ninteenth centuries the population density was especially high in the southeast of the county, including the East and West Ends of London. In 1855 the densely populated southeast, together with sections of Kent and Surrey , came under the Metropolitan Board of Works for certain infrastructure purposes, while remaining
5472-512: The administrative County of London . 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". The part of the County of London that had been transferred from Middlesex was divided in 1900 into 18 metropolitan boroughs : Following the Local Government Act 1888,
5586-446: The administrative county of Hertfordshire , and Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District and Staines Urban District , which became part of the administrative county of Surrey . Following the changes, local acts of Parliament relating to Middlesex were henceforth to apply to the entirety of the nine "North West London Boroughs". In 1974, the three urban districts that had been transferred to Hertfordshire and Surrey were abolished and became
5700-605: The ancient county of Middlesex. In 1965 these merged to form seven of the twelve current boroughs of Inner London : In April 1965, nearly all of the area of the historic county of Middlesex became part of Greater London , under the control of the Greater London Council , and formed the new outer London boroughs of Barnet (part only), Brent , Ealing , Enfield , Haringey , Harrow , Hillingdon , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames (part only). The remaining areas were Potters Bar Urban District , which became part of
5814-551: The attributed arms. East End of London The East End of London , often referred to within the London area simply as the East End , is the historic core of wider East London , east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames . It does not have universally accepted boundaries on its north and east sides, though the River Lea is sometimes seen as
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#17330850755625928-413: The basis that it was where elections of knights of the shire (or Members of Parliament ) were held from 1701. 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". Middlesex County Council took over at the Guildhall in Westminster , which became the Middlesex Guildhall . In
6042-427: The boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. It was abolished on 1 July 2003. The title Earl of Middlesex was created twice, in 1622 and 1677, but became extinct in 1843. The county lay within the London Basin and the most significant feature was the River Thames , which formed the southern boundary. The River Lea and the River Colne formed natural boundaries to
6156-426: The boundary, these feed into the Welsh Harp Lake or Brent Reservoir which becomes the River Brent ). This formed a long protrusion of Hertfordshire into the county. The county was once well wooded, with much of it covered by the ancient Forest of Middlesex ; Domesday returns for Middlesex indicate that it was around 30% wooded (much of it wood-pasture ) in 1086, about double the English average. The highest point
6270-703: The building of new philanthropic housing such as Blackwall Buildings and Great Eastern Buildings. By 1890, official slum clearance programmes had begun. These included the creation of the world's first council housing, the LCC Boundary Estate , which replaced the neglected and crowded streets of Friars Mount, better known as The Old Nichol Street Rookery. Between 1918 and 1939 the LCC continued replacing East End housing with five- or six-storey flats, despite residents preferring houses with gardens and opposition from shopkeepers who were forced to relocate to new, more expensive premises. The Second World War brought an end to further slum clearance. Industries associated with
6384-502: The bulk of Outer London. 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. This led the retention of 25 Post Towns to this day: † = postal county was not required The postal county had many border inconsistencies where its constituent post towns encroached on neighbouring counties, such as
6498-399: The cable for the return journey, the train "reassembling" itself at the terminus. The line was converted to standard gauge in 1859, and steam locomotives adopted. The building of London termini at Fenchurch Street (1841), and Bishopsgate (1840) provided access to new suburbs across the River Lea , again resulting in the destruction of housing and increased overcrowding in the slums. After
6612-467: 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. In 1803, Sir John Sinclair, president of the Board of Agriculture , spoke of the need to cultivate the substantial Finchley Common and Hounslow Heath (perhaps prophetic of the Dig for Victory campaign of World War II ) and fellow Board member Middleton estimated that one tenth of
6726-526: The country's most influential social reformers. Another major theme of East End history has been migration, both inward and outward. The area had a strong pull on the rural poor from other parts of England, and attracted waves of migration from further afield, notably Huguenot refugees, Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews , and, in the 20th century, Bengalis . The closure of the last of the Port of London's East End docks in 1980 created further challenges and led to attempts at regeneration, with Canary Wharf and
6840-417: The county derives from its origin as a homeland for the Middle Saxon people in the early Middle Ages , with the county subsequently formed from part of that territory in either the ninth or tenth century. The City of London became a self governing county corporate in the twelfth century; it was able to exert political influence in Middlesex as the sheriffs of London were given jurisdiction there, though
6954-422: The county otherwise remained separate. To the east of the City, the Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets) had considerable autonomy under its own Lord Lieutenant . To the west, precincts around Westminster and Charing Cross became built up. Despite London's expansion into rural Middlesex, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to expand the City of London boundaries into the county, posing problems for
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#17330850755627068-530: The county, 17,000 acres (6,900 ha), was uncultivated common, capable of improvement. However, William Cobbett , in his Rural Rides first serialised in 1822, said that Thomas Babington wrote in 1843, "An acre in Middlesex is worth a principality in Utopia " which contrasts neatly with its agricultural description. The building of radial railway lines from 1839 caused a fundamental shift away from agricultural supply for London towards large scale house building. Tottenham , Edmonton and Enfield in
7182-404: The county. The areas closest to London were served by the Metropolitan Police from 1829, and from 1840 the entire county was included in the Metropolitan Police District . Local government in the county was unaffected by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , and civic works continued to be the responsibility of the individual parish vestries or ad hoc improvement commissioners . From 1855,
7296-399: The defence of Aldgate and the nearby walls. The land inside and outside Bishopsgate seems to have been the responsibility of the Bishop of London (the Bishop of the East Saxons ), who was promoting building in the underdeveloped eastern side of the walled area, and who may also have had a role in defending Bishopsgate itself. Apart from parts of Shoreditch, the rest of the area was part of
7410-405: The district, the abundance of cheap labour was turned to boot, furniture and clothing manufacture. Globe Town continued its expansion into the 1860s, long after the silk industry's decline. During the 19th century, building on an ad hoc basis could not keep up with the expanding population's needs. Henry Mayhew visited Bethnal Green in 1850 and wrote for the Morning Chronicle , as a part of
7524-431: 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 . Additionally, the Greater London boundary to the west and north has been subject to several small changes since 1965. On its creation in 1965, Greater London was divided into five Commission Areas for justice. The one named "Middlesex" consisted of
7638-422: The east and west. The entire south west boundary of Middlesex followed a gently descending meander of the Thames without hills. In many places "Middlesex bank" is more accurate than "north bank" — for instance at Teddington the river flows north-westward, so the left (Middlesex) bank is the south-west bank. The largely low-lying county was dominated by clay in its north and alluvium on gravel in its south. In
7752-448: The eastern boundary. Parts of it may be regarded as lying within Central London (though that term too has no precise definition). The term "East of Aldgate Pump " is sometimes used as a synonym for the area. The East End began to emerge in the Middle Ages with initially slow urban growth outside the eastern walls, which later accelerated, especially in the 19th century, to absorb pre-existing settlements. The first known written record of
7866-438: The edge of the City is regarded as the symbolic start of the East End. On the river, the Tower Dock inlet, just west of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge marks the beginning of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and its older predecessors. Beyond these reference points, the East End has no official or generally accepted boundaries; views vary as to how much of wider East London lies within it. In extending from
7980-422: The film industry. Twickenham Studios were established in 1913. There were also studios at Cricklewood Studios , Gainsborough Pictures , Isleworth Studios , Kew Bridge Studios and Southall Studios . Middlesex (abbreviated Middx) is a former postal county . Counties were an element of postal addressing in routine use until 1996, intended to avoid confusion between post towns , and are no longer required for
8094-442: The first British motorcar in a workshop in his garden. The London General Omnibus Company built the first mass-produced buses there, the B-type from 1908 onwards and in 1909, A V Roe successfully tested the first all-British aeroplane on Walthamstow Marshes . The East End has historically suffered from poor housing stock and infrastructure. From the 1950s, the area was a microcosm of the structural and social changes affecting
8208-510: The line of the former walls, the area is taken to include the small ancient extramural City wards of Bishopsgate Without and the Portsoken (as established until 21st century boundary reviews). The various channels of the River Lea are sometimes viewed as the eastern boundary. Beyond the small eastern extramural wards, the narrowest definition restricts the East End to the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets . A more common preference
8322-452: The longstanding presence of that open space separating the emerging East End from the western and small northern suburb must have helped shape the different economic character of the areas and perceptions of their distinct identity (see map below). Shoreditch's boundary with the parish of St Luke's (which, like its predecessor St Giles-without-Cripplegate served the Finsbury area ) ran through
8436-448: The marshy area of Pimlico . These docks imported tobacco, wine, wool and other goods into guarded warehouses within high walls (some of which still remain). They were able to berth over 300 sailing vessels simultaneously, but by 1971 they closed, no longer able to accommodate modern shipping. The West India Docks were established in 1803, providing berths for larger ships and a model for future London dock building. Imported produce from
8550-453: 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 ancient boroughs . The importance of the hundred courts declined, and such local administration as there was divided between "county business" conducted by
8664-477: The navy is recorded at Ratcliff in 1354, with shipfitting and repair carried out in Blackwall by 1485 and a major fishing port developed downstream at Barking to provide fish for the City. These and other factors meant that industries relating to construction, repair, and victualling of naval and merchant ships flourished in the area but the City of London retained its right to land the goods, until 1799. Growth
8778-461: The north developed first as working-class residential suburbs with easy access to central London. The line to Windsor through Middlesex was completed in 1848, and the railway to Potters Bar in 1850; and the Metropolitan and District Railways started a series of extensions into the county in 1878. Closer to London, the districts of Acton , Willesden , Ealing and Hornsey came within reach of
8892-556: The north, the boundary ran along a WSW/ENE aligned ridge of hills. From the Colne to Barnet Gate Wood , this boundary is marked by a 20 kilometre hedge 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 to Arkley where it divides into two branches, one continuing east to Chipping Barnet and Cockfosters , with another heading north to form
9006-467: The opening of Liverpool Street station (1874), Bishopsgate railway station became a goods yard, in 1881, to bring imports from Eastern ports. With the introduction of containerisation, the station declined, suffered a fire in 1964 that destroyed the station buildings, and it was finally demolished in 2004 for the extension of the East London Line . In the 19th century, the area north of Bow Road became
9120-564: The parish boundary between Shenley and Ridge , 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 the Liberty of St Albans was created from parts of the Dioceses of London and Lincoln . The hills are broken by Barnet or 'Dollis' valleys. (South of
9234-539: The parishes of the densely populated area in the south east, but excluding the City of London, came within the responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works for certain infrastructure purposes, though the area remained a part of Middlesex. Despite this innovation, the system was described by commentators at the time as one "in chaos". In 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888 , the metropolitan area of approximately 30,000 acres (120 km ) became part of
9348-546: The population of the administrative county of Middlesex would be reduced by over half, to just under one million. Evidence submitted to the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London included a recommendation to divide Middlesex into two administrative counties of North Middlesex and West Middlesex. However, the commission instead proposed abolition of the county and merging of the boroughs and districts. This
9462-470: The presence of the city and maritime trades as a market for goods and services led to a thriving mixed economy in the countryside of the Manor of Stepney. This led to large settlements, inhabited mostly by tradesmen (rather than farmers) to develop along the major roads forming hamlets such as Mile End and Bow. These settlements would expand and merge with the development radiating out from London itself. Geography
9576-455: The processing of urine for the tanning industry, or required large amounts of space, such as drying clothes after process and dying in fields known as tentergrounds . Some were dangerous, such as the manufacture of gunpowder or the proving of guns. These activities came to be performed outside the City walls in the near suburbs of the East End. Later, when lead-making and bone-processing for soap and china came to be established, they too located in
9690-478: The remaining county came under the control of Middlesex County Council except for the parish of Monken Hadley , which became part of Hertfordshire . The area of responsibility of the Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex was reduced accordingly. Middlesex did not contain any county boroughs , so the county and administrative county (the area of county council control) were identical. At this time, Middlesex regained
9804-539: The rest of the capital. As the area became built up and more crowded, the wealthy sold their plots for subdivision and moved further afield. Into the 18th and 19th centuries, there were still attempts to build fine houses, for example Tredegar Square (1830), and the open fields around Mile End New Town were used for the construction of estates of workers' cottages in 1820. This was designed in 1817 in Birmingham by Anthony Hughes and finally constructed in 1820. Globe Town
9918-651: The right to appoint its own sheriff, lost in the 12th century. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the administrative county into four rural districts and thirty-one urban districts , based on existing sanitary districts . One urban district, South Hornsey , was an exclave of Middlesex within the County of London until 1900, when it was transferred to the latter county. The rural districts were Hendon , South Mimms , Staines and Uxbridge . Because of increasing urbanisation these had all been abolished by 1934. Urban districts had been created, merged, and many had gained
10032-535: The river. Nearby Hampton Court Palace has a postal address of East Molesey , therefore associating it with Surrey. The Enfield post town in the EN postcode area was in the former postal county. All post towns in the HA postcode area and UB postcode area were in the former postal county. Most of the TW postcode area was in the former postal county. The Middlesex Flag is included in
10146-474: The routing of the mail. The postal county did not match the boundaries of Middlesex because of the presence of the London postal district , which stretched into the county to include Tottenham, Willesden, Hornsey and Chiswick. 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
10260-436: The same year, this location was placed into the new County of London , and was thus outside the council's area of jurisdiction. The population of inner London (then the County of London ) declined after its creation in 1889 as more residents moved into the outer suburbs. In the interwar years , suburban London expanded further, with improvement and expansion of public transport, and the setting up of new industries . After
10374-471: The sea developed throughout the East End, including rope making and shipbuilding. The former location of roperies can still be identified from their long straight, narrow profile in the modern streets, for instance Ropery Street near Mile End . Shipbuilding for the navy is recorded at Ratcliff in 1354, with shipfitting and repair carried out in Blackwall by 1485. On 31 January 1858, the largest ship of that time,
10488-418: 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 the Liberty of Westminster , largely took over the administrative functions of the hundred. The divisions were named Finsbury , Holborn , Kensington and Tower . The county had parliamentary representation from the 13th century. Middlesex outside
10602-662: The slave trade and then slavery in the British Empire. It was occupied by the Countess of Blessington and the Count D'Orsay from 1836 to 1849. In May 1851, certain floors were converted to restaurant by the chef Alexis Soyer , with the aim of competing with and catering for the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park to the north. After the exhibition, it was bought by the Royal Commission for
10716-422: The squalid riverside development, extending nearly as far as Ratcliff , which had developed mostly within his lifetime. The polluted nature of the area was noted by Sir William Petty in 1676, at a time when unpleasant smells were considered a vector of disease. He called for London's centre of gravity to move further west from the City towards Westminster , upwind what he called "the fumes steams and stinks of
10830-586: The status of municipal borough by 1965. The districts as at the 1961 census were: 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 the Metro-land developments, which covered a large part of the county. The expanding urbanisation had, however, been foretold in 1771 by Tobias Smollett in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker , in which it
10944-557: The thirteenth century and became a county in its own right, a county corporate . Middlesex also included Westminster , which was separate from the City of London. Westminster Abbey dominated the area of Westminster, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries greatly reduced its influence. A Court of Burgesses was established, in 1585, to fill the power vacuum left behind by the Abbey. Of
11058-400: The tram and bus networks, providing cheap transport to central London. After World War I , the availability of labour and proximity to London made areas such as Hayes and Park Royal ideal locations for the developing new industries . New jobs attracted more people to the county and the population continued to rise, reaching a peak in 1951. Middlesex became the location of facilities for
11172-429: The two eastern wards of the City, the former Tower Division and those parts of London east of the Lea. The East End developed along the Thames, and beyond Bishopsgate and Aldgate , the gates in the city wall that lay east of the little Walbrook river. These gates, first built with the wall in the late second or early third centuries, secured the entrance of pre-existing roads (the modern A10 and A11/A12 ) into
11286-630: The villages of Denham in Buckinghamshire, Wraysbury in Berkshire and Eastbury in Hertfordshire which were respectively in the post towns of Uxbridge , Staines and Northwood and therefore in the postal county of Middlesex. Egham Hythe , Surrey also had postal addresses of Staines, Middlesex. Conversely, Hampton Wick was conveniently placed in Kingston , Surrey with its sorting offices just across
11400-549: The visitation of the Papal legates , and it was here that he made peace with the barons under the terms of the Dictum of Kenilworth . It became the fifth largest Abbey in the country, visited by monarchs and providing a retreat (and a final resting place) for the nobility. Edward I held his parliament at Stepney in 1299. The lands east of the City have sometimes been used as hunting grounds for bishops and royalty. The Bishop of London had
11514-618: The walled area. The walls were such a constraint to growth, that the position of the gates has been fundamental to the shaping of the capital, especially in the then suburbs outside the wall. The walled City was built on two hills separated by the Walbrook , Ludgate Hill to the west and Cornhill (of which Tower Hill is a shoulder), to the east. During the Anglo-Saxon period the two sides were under separate administration and had distinct economies, character, customs and regulations. Even beyond
11628-500: The walls, the Walbrook separated landholdings, with the Soke of Cripplegate to the west and the Soke of Bishopsgate to the east. The western side was more populous and prosperous, it had the cathedral, the royal palace (which later moved to Westminster) and its large market, Westcheap, was focussed on land-based trade. The east was poorer and more sparsely settled; its smaller market, Eastcheap,
11742-561: The whole easterly pyle" . In 1703 Joel Gascoyne published his map of the parish of St Dunstan Stepney, which occupied much of the East End area. He was commissioned to do so by the Vestry (local government) of the parish, who needed such a map for administrative purposes. The map shows Stepney divided into Hamlets , these were territorial sub-divisions, rather than small villages, and later became independent daughter parishes in their own right. In 1720 John Strype gives us our first record of
11856-524: Was a constraint to eastward expansion, but the Metropolitan Building Act of 1844 led to growth over that river into West Ham . The Act restricted the operation of dangerous and noxious industries from in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the Lea . Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the banks of the river. The building of the Royal Docks consisting of
11970-399: Was a major factor influencing the character of the developing East End; prevailing winds flow, like the river, west to east. The flow of the river led to the maritime trades concentrating in the east and the prevailing wind encouraged the most polluting industries to concentrate eastwards. Metal working industries are recorded between Aldgate and Bishopsgate in the 1300s and ship building for
12084-469: Was built by clearing the slums that lay in the area of the former Hospital of St Katharine . They were not successful commercially, as they were unable to accommodate the largest ships, and in 1864, management of the docks was amalgamated with that of the London Docks. The London Docks were built in 1805, and the waste soil and rubble from the construction was carried by barge to west London, to build up
12198-510: Was developed to further enhance services during the 1930s. Partly because of its proximity to the capital, the county had a major role during the Second World War. The county was subject to aerial bombardment and contained military establishments, such as RAF Uxbridge and RAF Heston , which were involved in the Battle of Britain . Middlesex arguably never, and certainly not since 1789, had
12312-529: Was enacted by Parliament as the London Government Act 1963 , which came into force on 1 April 1965. The Act abolished the administrative counties of Middlesex and London. The Administration of Justice Act 1964 abolished the Middlesex magistracy and lieutenancy , and altered the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court. Eighteen of London County Council Metropolitan Boroughs were part of
12426-465: Was established as a county, possibly the early tenth century, but it is clear that it did not cover the whole of the former Middle Saxon Province of Essex. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as being divided into the six hundreds of Edmonton , Elthorne , Gore , Hounslow ( Isleworth in all later records), Ossulstone and Spelthorne . The City of London has been self-governing since
12540-452: Was established from 1800 to provide for the expanding population of weavers around Bethnal Green, attracted by improving prospects in silk weaving. Bethnal Green's population trebled between 1801 and 1831, with 20,000 looms being operated in people's own homes. By 1824, with restrictions on importation of French silks relaxed, up to half these looms had become idle, and prices were driven down. With many importing warehouses already established in
12654-458: Was its military autonomy: it had its own Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets and was thus independent of the Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex . By the 19th century, the East End of London had expanded to the eastern boundary with Essex, and the Tower division , an area which approximated to the East End, had reached a population of over a million. When the railways were built, the north western suburbs of London steadily spread over large parts of
12768-633: Was made worse by the ponds formed by the excavation of brickearth. Pigs and cows in back yards, noxious trades like boiling tripe, melting tallow, or preparing cat's meat, and slaughter houses, dustheaps, and 'lakes of putrefying night soil ' added to the filth A movement began to clear the slums. Burdett-Coutts built Columbia Market in 1869 and the Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 passed in 1876 to provide powers to seize slums from landlords and to provide access to public funds to build new housing. Philanthropic housing associations such as
12882-417: Was much slower in the east, than in the large western suburb , with the modest eastern suburb separated from the much smaller northern extension by Moorfields adjacent to the wall on the north side. Moorfields was an open area with a marshy chararacter due to London's Wall acting as a dam, impeding the flow of the Walbrook and restricting development in that direction. Moorfields remained open until 1817, and
12996-489: Was sited near the river to allow it to specialise in seaborne trade. These intramural distinctions would persist, if less markedly, and influence the development that subsequently occurred beyond the walls. Beyond the wall, the landholdings which would ultimately shape modern administrative divisions were in place before Domesday. The land outside Aldgate was held by the Cnichtengild , a fighting organisation responsible for
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