Middlesex grevskap i England i Storbritanien

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Länk: Middlesex

Middlesex är ett traditionellt engelskt grevskap. När landsting (county councils) introducerades i England 1889 överfördes en del av grevskapet till grevskapet London, medan resten (förutom socknen Monken Hadley som överfördes till Hertfordshire) fick ett eget landsting (Middlesex County Council).

När det administrativa området Storlondon (Greater London) bildades 1965 införlivades nästan hela Middlesex med detta område, så när som på ett par mindre områden som införlivades med Surrey respektive Hertfordshire.

Idag saknar grevskapet officiell eller administrativ betydelse, men orter i grevskapet har ändå Middlesex som postadress. Middlesex är också namnet på ett lokalt cricketlag.

There were settlements in the area of Middlesex that can be traced back thousands of years before the creation of a county. Middlesex was formerly part of the Kingdom of Essex It was recorded in the Domesday Book 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 the thirteenth century and became a county in its own right, a county corporate.[notes 3] Middlesex also included Westminster, which also had a high degree of autonomy. 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 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. The title Earl of Middlesex was created twice, in 1622 and 1677, but became extinct in 1843.

The name means territory of the middle Saxons and refers to the tribal origin of its inhabitants. The word is formed from the Old English, 'middel' and 'Seaxe' (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 Häc”.