Editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE

The revival of the Victoria History of Middlesex in 1955 is described in the Editorial Note to Volume III, and later modifications of the arrangements are mentioned in that to Volume I. The structure and aims of the Victoria History series as a whole are outlined in the General Introduction to the History. The publication of the present volume completes the coverage of the administrative county as it existed up to 1965, and thus marks the fulfilment of the task which was assumed by the Middlesex Victoria County History Council. Further topographical volumes, on parishes which lay within the area of the former London County Council, are being prepared under a committee for the Victoria County History of (Inner) Middlesex.

That the compilation of the history of the former administrative county of Middlesex was initiated, has continued, and has been brought to a successful conclusion, in times of financial difficulty and of wide-ranging administrative changes in the contributing Local Authorities, results from the energetic, ingenious, and tenacious efforts of the successive chairmen (the late Sir Archer Hoare, C.B.E., 1955-63, Mr. R. M. Robbins, C.B.E., 1963-76, and Mr. I. W. Davies since 1976), members, and officers of the Middlesex V.C.H. Council. The University of London records its sincere appreciation of their work and of the generous contributions which originally were made by the Local Authorities of Middlesex and which have been continued by their successors, with the exception of Spelthorne. The membership of the council in 1981 is set out below. Miss Joan Coburn was succeeded as honorary secretary in 1979 by Miss Valerie Bott. The editorial staff has remained unchanged since the publication of the previous volume in 1980.

Many people have helped in the compilation of the present volume by providing information or by reading and commenting on parts of the text. Those who have read the drafts of individual parish articles are named in the footnotes. The co-operation of the librarians and other officers of the various Local Authorities is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Mr. H. V. Borle, for help with the information on railways, to the Librarian of All Souls College, Oxford, to Mr. M. A. Jahn, to Miss Valerie Bott and the staff of the Grange Museum of Local History, and to the staff of the Greater London Record Office.