Editing Middlesex (section)

===Early county government===
{{Further|List of places in Middlesex}}
{{Further|History of local government districts in Middlesex}}

It is not known exactly when Middlesex was established as a county, possibly the early tenth century,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rippon|first1=Stephen|title=Kingdom, Civitas and County|date=2018 |orig-year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-875937-9|pages=320–321}} p8</ref> but it is clear that it did not cover the whole of the former [[Middle Saxons|Middle Saxon Province]] of Essex. It was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as being divided into the six [[hundred (country subdivision)|hundreds]] of [[Edmonton (hundred)|Edmonton]], [[Elthorne (hundred)|Elthorne]], [[Gore (hundred)|Gore]], Hounslow ([[Isleworth (hundred)|Isleworth]] in all later records),<ref name=isleworth>{{cite web |url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22269 |title=The hundred of Isleworth |publisher = A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3 |year=1962 |access-date=20 February 2008 }}</ref> [[Ossulstone]] and [[Spelthorne (hundred)|Spelthorne]]. The [[City of London]] has been self-governing since the thirteenth century and became a county in its own right, a [[county corporate]].{{NoteTag|The City of London continues to be a county distinct from Greater London.}} Middlesex also included [[City and Liberty of Westminster|Westminster]], which was separate from the City of London. [[Westminster Abbey]] dominated the area of Westminster, until the [[Dissolution of the monasteries|Dissolution of the Monasteries]] greatly reduced its influence. A [[Westminster Court of Burgesses|Court of Burgesses]] was established, in 1585, to fill the power vacuum left behind by the Abbey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Background - Westminster - London Lives |url=https://www.londonlives.org/static/WestminsterLocalGovernment.jsp |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=www.londonlives.org}}</ref><ref name="rural_old">{{cite web |title=The Proceedings of the Old Bailey |url=http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/history/london-life/rural-middlesex.html |access-date=20 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026152503/http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/history/london-life/rural-middlesex.html |archive-date=26 October 2007}}</ref>

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 division|Finsbury]], [[Holborn division|Holborn]], [[Kensington division|Kensington]] and [[Tower division|Tower]].<ref name=ossulstone>{{cite vob |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10031163 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224083334/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10031163 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 December 2012 |name=Ossulstone hundred |accessdate=20 February 2008 }} {{Cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10031163 |title=Ossulstone Hundred : Relationships and change |access-date=20 February 2008 |archive-date=24 December 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224083334/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10031163 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The county had [[Parliamentary representation from Middlesex|parliamentary 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 ancient [[borough]]s.<ref name=sessions>London Metropolitan Archives – [http://217.154.230.218/NR/rdonlyres/EAC40083-0CF8-491A-909E-19E4165F9B7B/0/infono25.pdf A Brief Guide to the Middlesex Sessions Records] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704190912/http://217.154.230.218/NR/rdonlyres/EAC40083-0CF8-491A-909E-19E4165F9B7B/0/infono25.pdf |date=4 July 2011 }}, (2009). Retrieved 26 July 2009.</ref> The importance of the hundred courts declined, and such local administration as there was divided between "county business" conducted by the [[justice of the peace|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 board of health|local boards]] and [[poor law union]]s to help govern most areas; in a few cases parishes appointed [[improvement commissioners]].<ref>{{harvnb|Robbins|2003|pp=199–205}}</ref> 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.<ref>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.</ref>