Maps of the Environs of London (1932)
Seemingly one of the highlights of London tourism in 1932 was the Pears Factory in Isleworth, Middlesex, according to the only picture on this map.
Before the creation of the Greater London Council in 1965, the county boundaries in the region were quirky.
We dealt with the County of London a few maps back.
Middlesex was the second smallest county in England but unfortunate enough to be swallowed by the urban expansion of London between the wars. It made certain administrative coordination decisions difficult, with for example Hampstead run by County Hall, London but next door Willesden run by County Hall, Brentford with Edgware Road forming the border between the two.
Hammersmith on the Thames in London meanwhile was opposite Barnes, Surrey but Putney, a mile downstream, was back in London.
Kent and London split the Thamesmead area. Urban Bromley was part of the former whereas rural Eltham (in 1932) part of the latter.
Essex, highly built up on the fringes of the capital, stretched all the way to the River Lea. West Ham, Stratford, Barking and Romford were all not in London.
Hertfordshire had a strange salient which contained Barnet and run all the way, but for 200 yards, to Southgate station.
The bundling of everything into the GLC in 1965 made a lot of political sense even if it made of lot of interesting geography redundant.
