The historic county of Middlesex once sat on the west and northern sides of national capital London but ceased to exist in its roles as a ceremonial and administrative county in 1965. The legacy of Middlesex lives on however, with a number of clubs and organisations still using Middlesex in their names while regional places sometimes still use the label in their postal addresses. When the 1963 London Government Act came into force in 1965 the counties of London and Middlesex were abolished, bringing an end to Middlesex’s 76-year run as an administrative region and its longer stint as a ceremonial county.

The name Middlesex crops up in every-day usage, most notably in the likes of the Forest of Middlesex, Middlesex University and Middlesex County Cricket Club. Meanwhile, there is a Pulitzer-prize winning novel that goes simply by the name Middlesex too. Middlesex Forest is an ancient woodland that covers northern parts of Greater London while Middlesex University has a series of campuses dotted around central London. Middlesex County Cricket Club play their home matches at the famous Lord’s cricket ground near Regent’s Park meanwhile.

Middlesex, when in existence, was the second smallest historic county and had a boundary with the City of London. Much of its history has overlapped with the neighbouring City of London particularly with the capital’s expansion during the 18th and 19th centuries. Known as Middleseaxan in the eighth century, the region’s name means territory of the Middle Saxons. Later, in the 13th century, Middlesex received parliamentary representation and was fairly economically dependent on the City of London, although it did provide for its neighbour, largely agriculturally with crops and livestock heading in the direction of the city. Urbanisation increased in later years and further railways were added and houses built. After the First World War new industries developed and population therefore increased with additional job availability. This peaked in 1951 and from this point population became to decrease. When Middlesex was disbanded in 1965 most of the area went to Greater London while some parts were distributed to Surrey and Hertforshire.

The historic county of Middlesex was home to the likes of Potters Bar in the north, Harrow and Wembley in the north-west and Staines and Twickenham to the west. Heathrow Airport is also considered to be part of Middlesex.