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Kensington Facts for Kids

For other uses, see Kensington (disambiguation).

Kensington is an affluent district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London.

The district’s commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Gardens, containing the Albert Memorial, the Serpentine Gallery and Speke’s monument. South Kensington and Gloucester Road are home to Imperial College London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Albert Hall, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Science Museum. The area is also home to many international embassies and consulates and the residence of many politicians and billionaires.

Contents

• Name
• History
• Geography
• Transport
• Neighbouring districts
• Incidents
• Sports
• Notable people
• See also

Name

The first mention of the area is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was written in Latin as «Chenesitone», which has been interpreted to have originally been «Kenesignetun» (Kenesigne’s land or meadows) in Anglo-Saxon. A variation may be Kesyngton, in 1396.

History

A picture of Kensington taken by scientist Sir Norman Lockyer in 1909 from a helium balloon. (This is a mirrored image of Kensington)

The manor of Kensington, Middlesex, was granted by William I to Geoffrey de Montbray or Mowbray, bishop of Coutances, one of his inner circle of advisors and one of the wealthiest men in post-Conquest England. He in turn granted the tenancy of Kensington to his vassal Aubrey de Vere I, who was holding the manor in 1086, according to Domesday Book. The bishop’s heir, Robert de Mowbray, rebelled against William Rufus and his vast barony was declared forfeit. Aubrey de Vere I had his tenure converted to a tenancy in-chief, holding Kensington after 1095 directly of the crown. He granted land and church there to Abingdon Abbey at the deathbed request of his young eldest son, Geoffrey. As the Veres became the earls of Oxford, their estate at Kensington came to be known as Earls Court, while the Abingdon lands were called Abbots Kensington and the church St Mary Abbots.

The original Kensington Barracks, built at Kensington Gate in the late 18th century, were demolished in 1858 and new barracks were built in Kensington Church Street.

Geography

Map of Kensington (click to enlarge)

A map showing the wards of Kensington Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1916.

The focus of the area is Kensington High Street, a busy commercial centre with many shops, typically upmarket. The street was declared London’s second best shopping street in February 2005 thanks to its range and number of shops. However, since October 2008 the street has faced competition from the Westfield shopping centre in nearby White City.

Kensington’s second group of non-residential buildings is at South Kensington, where several streets of small to medium-sized shops and service businesses are close to South Kensington tube station. This is also the southern end of Exhibition Road, the thoroughfare that serves the area’s museums and educational institutions.

The edges of Kensington are not well-defined; in particular, the southern part of Kensington has conflicting and complex borders with Chelsea whether electoral or postal definitions are used, and has similar architecture. To the west, a border is kept along the line of the Counter Creek marked by the West London railway line and Earl’s Court Road further south into other London districts. To the north, the only obvious dividing line is Holland Park Avenue, to the north of which is the district of Notting Hill which is part of the traditional definitions of Kensington and a subset of North Kensington.

In the north east, the large Royal Park of Kensington Gardens (contiguous with its eastern neighbour, Hyde Park) is a green buffer. The other main green area in Kensington is Holland Park, just north of Kensington High Street, a minority of roads have small residential garden squares.

South Kensington is of the same, largely private housing, use as central Kensington; the more economically and socially nationally reflective North Kensington and West Kensington are diverse and lack the tourism of the rest of Kensington.

Kensington is, in general, an extremely affluent area, a trait that it now shares with its neighbour to the south, Chelsea. The area has some of London’s most expensive streets and garden squares, including Edwardes Square, most of the Holland Park neighbourhood and Wycombe Square, private redevelopments in Regency architecture. In early 2007, houses sold in Upper Phillimore Gardens for in excess of £20 million. Adjoining neighbourhoods have residential areas and have accordingly been subdivided or have overlapping district names all, unlike Kensington, without an ancient parish predecessor: Knightsbridge, Brompton, Belgravia, Holland Park and Notting Hill.

Kensington is also very densely populated; it forms part of the most densely populated local government district (the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) in the United Kingdom. This high density is not formed from high-rise buildings; instead, it has come about through the subdivision of large mid-rise Georgian and Victorian terraced houses (generally of some four to six floors) into flats. Unlike northern extremities of the Borough, Kensington lacks high-rise buildings except for the Holiday Inn’s London Kensington Forum Hotel in Cromwell Road, which is a 27-storey building.

Notable attractions and institutions in Kensington (or South Kensington) include: Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, the Royal Albert Hall opposite the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, the Royal College of Music, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Heythrop College, Imperial College, London, the Royal College of Art and Kensington and Chelsea College. The Olympia exhibition hall is just over the western border in West Kensington.

Transport

High Street Kensington tube station is served by the Circle and District lines

Kensington Gardens in the summer

Kensington Town Hall, completed in 1976

Kensington is crossed east–west by three main roads, the most important of which is the A4 Cromwell Road which connects it to Central London on the east and to Hounslow and Heathrow Airport on the west. Parallel to the north is Kensington Road (of which Kensington High Street forms the eastern part), linking central London and Hammersmith and Hounslow to the area. To the south is Fulham Road, which connects South Kensington with Fulham to the south-west. North-south connections are not as well-developed and there is no obvious single north–south route through the area.

Kensington is well served by public transport. Most of Kensington is served by three stations in the Travelcard Zone 1: High Street Kensington, Gloucester Road and South Kensington. All three are served by the Circle line which connects them to London’s railway terminals. The District line also serves all three stations, albeit on different branches; it links the latter two to Westminster and the City. The Piccadilly line also links South Kensington and Gloucester Road to the West End in about 10 minutes, and in the other direction to Chiswick, Ealing, Hounslow and Heathrow Airport in around 20–40 minutes, depending on the area of choice. In addition Kensington (Olympia) in Travelcard Zone 2 serves the western part of Kensington, with District line trains to Earl’s Court and High Street Kensington. Nearby West Kensington station takes its name from the former boundaries with Hammersmith and is not in the Borough.

A number of local bus services link Kensington into the surrounding districts, and key hubs are Kensington High Street and South Kensington station. These bus services were improved in frequency and spread from 2007 until 2010 when the western extension of the London congestion charge area existed (which required drivers of cars and vans during the charging hours Monday-Friday to pay a daily fee of £8).

In 2020 a temporary cycle lane on Kensington High Street caused a nationwide media stir. The temporary cycle lane was installed by the local council in September 2020 with £700,000 in funding from central government grants, but it was removed in December 2020. One of the key arguments for the removal of the cycle lane was that it would reduce congestion on Kensington High Street, but an independent traffic survey has pointed out that average car journeys have increased since the lane’s removal due to parked cars occupying the new space.

Neighbouring districts

See also: List of districts in Hammersmith and Fulham

Adjoining districts

	White City	Notting Hill, North Kensington	Across Kensington Gardens: Bayswater, Paddington
	Across Earls Court (within Kensington): Hammersmith		Knightsbridge/Brompton Belgravia, Westminster
		Kensington
	West Brompton	Chelsea	Chelsea

Incidents

On 29 August 1975, a bomb was planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in a shoe shop in Church Street. Robert Goad, a 40-year-old British Army bomb-disposal expert, was killed whilst trying to defuse the bomb. Later, on 23 October 1975, a civilian Gordon Hamilton Fairley was killed by an IRA car bomb that targeted Conservative MP Sir Hugh Fraser.

Sports

Kensington has one football team, Kensington Borough F.C., which currently plays in the Combined Counties Football League.

Notable people

• Ivan Berlyn (1867–1934), film and stage actor
• Antonia Bird (1951–2013), film director
• Howard Blake (born 1938), composer, conductor and pianist
• Frank Boys (1918–2003), first-class cricketer
• Daniel Day-Lewis (born 1957), retired Academy Award-winning actor
• Dido (born 1971), singer and songwriter
• Carmen Ejogo (born 1973), actress
• Evangeline Florence (1867–1928), soprano
• Justine Frischmann (born 1969), musician
• Percival Gale (1865–1940), cricketer
• William Leach (1883–1969), first-class cricketer
• Montague MacLean (1870–1951), cricketer
• Freddie Mercury (1946–1991), frontman of the British rock band Queen
• Gaetano Meo (1850–1925), artist’s model
• Jimmy Page (born 1944), guitarist of the British rock band Led Zeppelin
• Una-Mary Parker (1930–2019), journalist and novelist
• Reginald Popham (1892–1975), cricketer and footballer
• George Scott-Chad (1899–1950), first-class cricketer
• Dusty Springfield (1939–1999), singer
• Christopher Stanger-Leathes (1881–1966), rugby union international
• Jason Vale (born 1969), lifestyle coach
• Frank Ward (1888–1952), first-class cricketer
• Frank Westerton (1866–1923), stage and silent-film actor

See also

In Spanish: Kensington para niños

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Middlesex Facts for Kids

This page is about the historic county in England. For other uses, see Middlesex (disambiguation).

Middlesex ( abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. Three rivers provide most of the county’s boundaries; the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills forms the northern boundary with Hertfordshire.

Middlesex county’s name derives from its origin as the Middle Saxon Province of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Essex, with the county of Middlesex subsequently formed from part of that territory in either the ninth or tenth century, and remaining an administrative unit until 1965. The county is the second smallest, after Rutland, of the historic counties of England.

The City of London became a county corporate in the 12th century; this gave it self-governance, and it was also able to exert political control over the rest of Middlesex as the Sheriff of London was given jurisdiction in Middlesex, though 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.

As London expanded into rural Middlesex, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to expand the City of London boundaries into the county, posing problems for the administration of local government and justice. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the population density was especially high in the southeast of the county, including the East and West Ends of London. In 1855, in response to these challenges the densely populated southeast, together with sections of Kent and Surrey, came under the Metropolitan Board of Works for certain infrastructure purposes, while remaining a part of Middlesex.

When county councils were introduced in 1889, about 20% of the area of the historic county, along with a third of its population, was incorporated into the new administrative County of London, with the rest forming the administrative county of Middlesex, governed by the Middlesex County Council that met regularly at the Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster. Further suburban growth, stimulated by the improvement and expansion of public transport, and 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.

Contents

• History
  • Toponymy
  • Early settlement
  • Economic development
• Governance
  • Metropolis
  • Extra-metropolitan area
  • Tower Division
  • County town
  • Arms of Middlesex County Council
  • Creation of Greater London
• Geography
• Culture and community
  • County flag
  • County day
  • County flower
  • Literature
• Sport
  • Rugby Union
  • Football
  • Cricket
  • Other sports
• Economic development
• Images for kids
• See also

History

Map of Middlesex, drawn by Thomas Kitchin, geographer, engraver to H. R.H. the Duke of York, 1769.

Toponymy

The name means territory of the middle Saxons and refers to the tribal origin of its inhabitants.

The Saxons derived their name, Seaxe in their own tongue, from the seax, a kind of knife for which they were known.

The seax appears in the heraldry of the English counties of Essex and Middlesex.

The names ‘Middlesex’, ‘Essex’, ‘Sussex’ and ‘Wessex’, contain the name ‘Seaxe’.

Early settlement

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.

The City of London has been self-governing since the thirteenth century and became a county in its own right, a county corporate. Middlesex also included Westminster, which also had a high degree of autonomy.

During the 17th century it was divided into four divisions. 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.

Economic development

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 the City, including crops such as grain and hay, livestock and building materials.

Recreation at day trip destinations such as Hackney, Islington, Highgate and Twickenham, as well as coaching, inn-keeping and sale of goods and services at daily shops and stalls to the passing trade provided much local employment and also formed part of the early economy. However, during the 18th century the inner parishes of Middlesex became suburbs of the City and were increasingly urbanised.

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 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 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 a centre for the British 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.

Governance

Map of Middlesex, 1824. Note: west is at the top.

Metropolis

County of Middlesex (circa 1891-1895)

By the 19th century, the East End of London had expanded to the eastern boundary with Essex, and the Tower division 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 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.

In 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888, the metropolitan area of approximately 30,000 acres (120 km²) became part of the administrative county of London.

Map showing boundaries of Middlesex in 1851 and 1911, aside from minor realignments. The small yellow area in the North is Monken Hadley, which was transferred to Hertfordshire; the larger yellow area in the Southeast was transferred to the newly created County of London in 1889.

Map in 1882 shows complete urbanisation of the East End

The part of the County of London that had been transferred from Middlesex was divided in 1900 into 18 metropolitan boroughs. They were merged in 1965 to form seven of the twelve current boroughs of Inner London:

• Camden was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras.
• Hackney was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.
• Hammersmith (known as Hammersmith and Fulham from 1979) was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham.
• Islington was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Finsbury and Islington.
• Kensington and Chelsea was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Chelsea and Kensington.
• Tower Hamlets was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney.
• The City of Westminster was formed from the metropolitan boroughs of Paddington and St Marylebone and the City of Westminster.

Extra-metropolitan area

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 boroughs.

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.

Following the Local Government Act 1888, the remaining county came under the control of Middlesex County Council except for the parish of Monken Hadley, which became part of Hertfordshire. Middlesex did not contain any county boroughs, so the county and administrative county (the area of county council control) were identical.

The Local Government Act 1894 divided the administrative county into four rural districts and thirty-one urban districts, based on existing sanitary districts. The districts as at the 1961 census were:

Potters Bar Enfield Southgate Edmonton Tottenham Wood Green Friern Barnet Hornsey Finchley Hendon Harrow Ruislip-Northwood Uxbridge

Middlesex urban districts in 1961

Ealing Wembley Willesden Acton Brentford and Chiswick Heston and Isleworth Southall Hayes and Harlington Yiewsley and West Drayton Staines Feltham Twickenham Sunbury-on-Thames

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.

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 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 various military establishments, such as RAF Uxbridge and RAF Heston, which were involved in the Battle of Britain.

Tower Division

The Tower division, better known as 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.

County town

The Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster

Middlesex arguably never had a single, established county town. The City of London could be regarded as its county town for most purpose

Arms of Middlesex County Council

Coats of arms of Middlesex (left) and Buckinghamshire (right) in stained glass at the exit from Uxbridge tube station.

County of Middlesex sign in 2014, on the border between the London Boroughs of Barnet and Enfield.

Coats of arms were attributed by the mediaeval heralds to the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. That assigned to the Kingdom of the Middle and East Saxons 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 the attributed arms.

In 1910, it was noted that the county councils of Essex and Middlesex and the Sheriff’s Office of the County of London were all using the same arms. Middlesex County Council decided to apply for a formal grant of arms from the College of Arms, with the addition of a heraldic «difference» to the attributed arms. Colonel Otley Parry, a justice of the peace for Middlesex and author of a book on military badges, was asked to devise an addition to the shield. The chosen addition was a «Saxon Crown», derived from the portrait of King Athelstan on a silver penny of his reign, stated to be the earliest form of crown associated with any English sovereign. The grant of arms was made by letters patent dated 7 November 1910.

The arms of the Middlesex County Council were blazoned: Gules, three seaxes fessewise points to the sinister proper, pomels and hilts and in the centre chief point a Saxon crown or.

The undifferenced arms of the kingdom were eventually granted to Essex County Council in 1932.

Creation of Greater London

On its creation in 1965, Greater London was divided into five Commission Areas for justice; that named «Middlesex» consisted of the boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. This was abolished on 1 July 2003.

Geography

The county lies within the London Basin and the most significant feature is the River Thames, which forms the southern boundary. The River Lea and the River Colne form natural boundaries to the east and west. The entire south west boundary of Middlesex follows 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. In the north, the boundary runs along a WSW/ENE aligned ridge of hills broken by Barnet or ‘Dollis’ valleys. (South of the boundary, these feed into the Welsh Harp Lake or Brent Reservoir which becomes the River Brent). This forms a long protrusion of Hertfordshire into the county. The county was once thickly wooded, with much of it covered by the ancient Forest of Middlesex. The highest point is the High Road by Bushey Heath at 502 feet (153 m).

Culture and community

County flag

The Middlesex Flag is included in 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. Whilst such banners of county arms are legally not generally available for public use, a similar design had been used traditionally as a local badge in Middlesex and neighbouring Essex for centuries. The seax is the symbol of the Saxons and the Saxon crown was added in 1909 to differentiate the arms and flag from those of Essex.

County day

Middlesex Day is celebrated each year on 16 May. This commemorates the actions of the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment in 1811, at the Battle of Albuera, during the Peninsular War. During the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis, despite his injuries, refused to retire from the battle but remained with the regimental colours, encouraging his men with the words «Die hard 57th, die hard!» as they came under intense pressure from a French attack. The regiment held and the battle was won. The ‘Die Hards’ subsequently became the West Middlesex’s regimental nickname and the phrase Die Hard entered the language. In 2003, an early day motion in the House of Commons noted the celebration of 16 May, the anniversary of Albuhera, as Middlesex Day.

County flower

In 2002 Plantlife ran a county flowers campaign to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom. The general public was invited to vote for the bloom they felt most represented their county. The wood anemone was chosen as the flower of Middlesex. The flower was a common sight in the Forest of Middlesex.

When the suburbs of London swept over Middlesex, many of its woods were bypassed and preserved. The wood anemone still blooms there to this day.

Literature

Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984, was born in 1906 in Gospel Oak and grew up in Highgate. He published several poems about Middlesex and suburban life.

Sport

Rugby Union

Twickenham Stadium

The Rugby Football Union, the governing body for rugby union in England, is based at Twickenham Stadium. The stadium hosts home test matches for the England national rugby union team.

Seven rugby union clubs at national league levels 1 to 4 have some or all of their other teams playing in Middlesex leagues (those marked * having grounds in Middlesex). These are Harlequins*, Saracens*, London Scottish, London Irish*, Richmond, Ealing Trailfinders*, and Barnes.

Middlesex Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Middlesex. The union selects players from its 88 affiliated clubs for the Middlesex team in the County Championship. It runs the Middlesex RFU Senior Cup open to the top 8 Middlesex clubs that play between tiers 6–7 of the English rugby union system. It also runs the Middlesex RFU Senior Bowl and the Middlesex RFU Senior Vase for sides from lower down the pyramid. It helps run the Herts/Middlesex 1 (tier 9) and Herts/Middlesex 2 (tier 10) leagues. Middlesex Rugby is also active in promoting youth rugby and women’s rugby in the county.

Football

The Football Association, the governing body of association football in England, is based at Wembley Stadium. The stadium hosts major football matches including home matches of the England national football team, and the FA Cup Final.

There are 19 football clubs based in Middlesex in the top eight tiers of the English football league system (correct for 2018/9 season): Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Barnet, Hampton and Richmond Borough, Wealdstone, Enfield, Haringey Borough, Finchley and Wingate, Harrow Borough, Hayes and Yeading United, Hendon, Ashford Town (Middlesex), Bedfont Sports, Hanwell Town, and Northwood.

There are 4 women’s football clubs based in Middlesex in the top two tiers of Women’s football in England: Arsenal Women, Chelsea F.C. Women, London Bees and Tottenham Hotspur Ladies.

The Middlesex County Football Association regulates and promotes football in the county. The Middlesex F.A. organises many cup competitions, the most prestigious being the Middlesex Senior Cup (founded in 1889) and the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup (founded in 1901).

The Middlesex County Football League was founded in 1984 and currently comprises 5 divisions. The premier divisions sits at level 7 of the National League System.

Cricket

Middlesex vs Sussex at Lord’s

Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. The club was founded in 1864 but teams representing the county have played top-class cricket since the early 18th century and the club has always held first-class status. Middlesex have won thirteen County Championship titles (including 2 shared titles), the most recent in 2016.

The Middlesex Cricket Board is the governing body of all recreational cricket in Middlesex.

The Middlesex County Cricket League is the top-level competition for all recreational club cricket in the county. The League consists of nine divisions in total. The top division has been designated an ECB Premier League.

Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) was founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord’s Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John’s Wood. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket in England and Wales and, as the sport’s legislator, held considerable global influence. Lord’s Cricket Ground is also home to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Lord’s is widely referred to as the Home of Cricket.

Other sports

Middlesex Bowling Association has over 80 affiliated clubs throughout the county.

Middlesex County Amateur Swimming Association organises training, competitions and representative county teams in swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming.

Middlesex County Athletics Association is the organisation controlling Amateur Athletics in Middlesex under the direction of UK Athletics.

North Middlesex Golf Club

Middlesex Golf represents all aspects of golf within the county. It has 33 affiliated golf clubs.

Middlesex Tennis, affiliated to the LTA, works to create more opportunities for people in Middlesex to play and compete in tennis at all levels of the game. The Middlesex County Championships are the highlight of Middlesex’s Competition Calendar.

Middlesex County Badminton Association has over 80 affiliated clubs and organises men’s, ladies’ and mixed leagues.

Middlesex Squash & Racketball Association is responsible for organising and promoting squash in Middlesex. It was founded in the 1930s and ran the first Middlesex Open Championships in 1937.

Middlesex County Archery Association is the governing body for the sport of archery in the county.

Middlesex Small-Bore Rifle Association brings together small-bore rifle and airgun clubs in the county, and organises teams to represent the County in competitions.

Middlesex County Chess Association aims to foster chess throughout Middlesex. It has 15 affiliated clubs.

Middlesex County Bridge Association runs the Middlesex Cup and the Middlesex League and enters county teams in national and regional competitions.

Economic development

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 the City, including crops such as grain and hay, livestock and building materials. Recreation at day trip destinations such as Hackney, Islington, Highgate and Twickenham, as well as coaching, inn-keeping and sale of goods and services at daily shops and stalls to the considerable passing trade provided much local employment and also formed part of the early economy. However, during the 18th century the inner parishes of Middlesex became suburbs of the City and were increasingly urbanised. The Middlesex volume of John Norden’s Speculum Britanniae (a chorography) of 1593 summarises:

This is plentifully stored, as it seemeth beautiful, with many fair and comely buildings, especially of the merchants of London, who have planted their houses of recreation not in the meanest places, which also they have cunningly contrived, curiously beautified with divers[e] devices, neatly decked with rare inventions, environed with orchards of sundry, delicate fruits, gardens with delectable walks, arbours, alleys and a great variety of pleasing dainties: all of which seem to be beautiful ornaments unto this country.

Similarly Thomas Cox wrote in 1794:

We may call it almost all London, being chiefly inhabited by 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 the county, 17,000 acres (6,900 ha), was uncultivated common, capable of improvement. However, William Cobbett, in casual travel writing in 1822, said that «A more ugly country between Egham (Surrey) and Kensington would with great difficulty be found in England. Flat as a pancake, and until you come to Hammersmith, the soil is a nasty, stony dirt upon a bed of gravel. Hounslow Heath which is only a little worse than the general run, is a sample of all that is bad in soil and villainous in look. Yet this is now enclosed, and what they call ‘cultivated’. Here is a fresh robbery of villages, hamlets, and farm and labourers’ buildings and abodes.» 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 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 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 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.

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Isaac Newton biography briefly for children — the most important discoveries and interesting facts from the life of a physicist

January 4, 1643 — March 31, 1727 (84 years old)

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Isaac Newton (1642-1727) — an outstanding English scientist, one of the founders of classical physics. Newton’s biography is rich in every sense of the word. He made many discoveries in the field of physics, astronomy, mechanics and mathematics, including the discovery of the law of universal gravitation.

Childhood and adolescence

Isaac Newton was born December 25, 1642 (or January 4, 1643 according to the Gregorian calendar) in the village of Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire.

Young Isaac, according to contemporaries, was distinguished by a gloomy, withdrawn character. He preferred reading books and making primitive technical toys to boyish pranks and pranks.

When Isaac was 12 years old, he enrolled at Grantham School. The extraordinary abilities of the future scientist were discovered there.

In 1659, at the urging of his mother, Newton was forced to return home to farm. But thanks to the efforts of teachers who were able to see the future genius, he returned to school. In 1661, Newton continued his education at the University of Cambridge.

College education

In April 1664, Newton successfully passed his exams and acquired a higher student level. During his studies, he was actively interested in the works of G. Galileo, N. Copernicus, as well as the atomistic theory of Gassendi.

In the spring of 1663, lectures by I. Barrow began at the new mathematical department. The famous mathematician and prominent scientist later became a close friend of Newton. It was thanks to him that Isaac’s interest in mathematics increased.

While studying in college, Newton came up with his basic mathematical method — the expansion of a function into an infinite series. At the end of the same year, I. Newton received a bachelor’s degree.

Notable discoveries

Studying the short biography of Isaac Newton, you should know that it is to him that the exposition of the law of universal gravitation belongs. Another important discovery of the scientist is the theory of motion of celestial bodies. The 3 laws of mechanics discovered by Newton formed the basis of classical mechanics.

Newton made many discoveries in the field of optics and color theory. He developed many physical and mathematical theories. The scientific works of the outstanding scientist largely determined the time and were often incomprehensible to contemporaries.

His hypotheses regarding the oblateness of the Earth’s poles, the phenomenon of light polarization and the deflection of light in the gravitational field still surprise scientists today.

In 1668, Newton received his master’s degree. A year later he became a doctor of mathematical sciences. After he created the reflector, the forerunner of the telescope, the most important discoveries were made in astronomy.

Community activities

In 1689, as a result of a coup, King James II, with whom Newton had a conflict, was overthrown. After that, the scientist was elected to Parliament from the University of Cambridge, where he sat for about 12 months.

In 1679, Newton met C. Montagu, the future Earl of Halifax. Under Montagu’s patronage, Newton was appointed Keeper of the Mint.

Last years of life

In 1725, the health of the great scientist began to deteriorate rapidly. He passed away on March 20 (31), 1727, in Kensington. Death came in a dream. Isaac Newton was buried in Westminster Abbey.

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Interesting Facts

• At the very beginning of his schooling, Newton was considered a very mediocre, almost the worst student. The moral trauma forced him to break out into the best when he was beaten by his tall and much stronger classmate.
• In the last years of his life, the great scientist wrote a certain book, which, in his opinion, was to become a kind of revelation. Unfortunately, the manuscripts are on fire. Due to the fault of the scientist’s beloved dog, which overturned the lamp, the book disappeared in the fire.

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Isaac Newton — biography, personal life, photo

Isaac Newton (1643-1727) — English physicist, mathematician, mechanic and astronomer, one of the founders of classical physics. The author of the fundamental work «Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy», in which he introduced the law of universal gravitation and 3 laws of mechanics.

Developed differential and integral calculus, color theory, laid the foundations of modern physical optics and created many mathematical and physical theories.

There are many interesting facts in Newton’s biography, which we will discuss in this article.

So, before you is a brief biography of Isaac Newton.

Biography of Newton

Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 in the village of Woolsthorpe, located in the English county of Lincolnshire. He was born into the family of a wealthy farmer, Isaac Newton Sr., who died before the birth of his son.

Childhood and adolescence

Isaac’s mother, Anna Ayskow, went into premature labor, as a result of which the boy was born prematurely. The child was so weak that the doctors did not hope that he would survive.

Nevertheless, Newton managed to pull through and live a long life. After the death of the head of the family, the mother of the future scientist got several hundred acres of land and 500 pounds sterling, which at that time was a considerable amount.

Anna soon remarried. Her chosen one was a 63-year-old man, to whom she gave birth to three children.

At that moment in his biography, Isaac was deprived of his mother’s attention, because she was taking care of her younger children.

As a result, Newton was raised by his grandmother and later by his uncle William Ayscough. At that time, the boy preferred to be alone. He was very silent and withdrawn.

In his free time, Isaac enjoyed reading books and building various toys, including a water clock and a windmill. However, he continued to get sick frequently.

When Newton was about 10 years old, his stepfather died. After a couple of years, he began to study at a school located near Grantham.

The boy received high marks in all disciplines. In addition, he tried to compose poetry, while continuing to read different literature.

Later, the mother took her 16-year-old son back to the estate, deciding to shift a number of household responsibilities to him. However, Newton was reluctant to undertake physical work, preferring to her all the same reading books and constructing various mechanisms.

Isaac’s schoolteacher, his uncle William Ayskow and acquaintance Humphrey Babington, were able to persuade Anna to allow the talented young man to continue his studies.

Thanks to this, the guy was able to successfully complete school in 1661 and enter the University of Cambridge.

Starting a scientific career

As a student, Isaac was in the status of «sizar», which allowed him to receive a free education.

However, in return, the student was required to perform various jobs at the university, as well as help wealthy students. And although this state of affairs irritated him, for the sake of study he was ready to fulfill any request.

At that period of his biography, Isaac Newton still preferred to lead an isolated lifestyle, without having close friends.

Students were taught philosophy and natural science based on the works of Aristotle, despite the fact that by that time the discoveries of Galileo and other scientists were already known.

In this regard, Newton was engaged in self-education, carefully studying the works of the same Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler and other famous scientists. He was interested in mathematics, physics, optics, astronomy and music theory.

Isaac worked so hard that he was often malnourished and lacked sleep.

When the young man was 21 years old, he began to conduct research on his own. He soon came up with 45 problems in human life and nature that had no solutions.

Later, Newton met the outstanding mathematician Isaac Barrow, who became his teacher and one of his few friends. As a result, the student became even more interested in mathematics.

Soon, Isaac made his first serious discovery — the binomial expansion for an arbitrary rational exponent, through which he came to a unique method of expanding a function into an infinite series. In the same year he was awarded the title of bachelor.

In 1665-1667, when the plague was raging in England and the costly war with Holland was being waged, the scientist settled for a while in Woosthorpe.

At that time, Newton was studying optics, trying to explain the physical nature of light. As a result, he came to the corpuscular model, considering light as a stream of particles emitted from a specific light source.

It was then that Isaac Newton presented, perhaps, his most famous discovery — the law of universal gravitation.

An interesting fact is that the story of the apple falling on the explorer’s head is a myth. In fact, Newton was gradually approaching his discovery.

The famous philosopher Voltaire was the author of the legend about the apple.

Scientific renown

In the late 1660s, Isaac Newton returned to Cambridge, where he received a master’s degree, separate accommodation and a group of students to whom he taught various sciences.

At that time, the physicist constructed a reflecting telescope, which made him famous and allowed him to become a member of the Royal Society of London.

A huge number of important astronomical discoveries were made with the help of the reflector.

In 1687, Newton finished writing his main work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. It became the basis of rational mechanics and of all mathematical natural sciences.

The book contained the law of universal gravitation, 3 laws of mechanics, the heliocentric system of Copernicus, and other important information.

This work abounded with precise proofs and formulations. It did not have any of the abstract expressions and vague interpretations that were found in Newton’s predecessors.

In 1699, when the explorer was in high administrative office, the University of Cambridge began to teach the world system he had outlined.

Newton was most inspired by physicists: Galileo, Descartes and Kepler. In addition, he highly appreciated the works of Euclid, Fermat, Huygens, Wallis and Barrow.

Personal life

All his life Newton lived as a bachelor. He was solely focused on science.

Until the end of his life, the physicist almost never wore glasses, although he had a slight myopia. He rarely laughed, almost never lost his temper and was restrained in his emotions.

Isaac knew money, but was not stingy.