"Aurora" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 11 Jan 2014 23:09:03 -0000, "NY" wrote:

"Graeme Wall" wrote in message
...
On 11/01/2014 22:16, Robert wrote:
Heathrow wasn't in London when first built! My father worked there in
the
early 50s and we lived in Bedfont. Going to London was a major
expedition
involving buses to either Feltham or Hounslow West stations and then the
train.

Where was the boundary between London and other places defined to be in
those days? Was it a 1974 change when the county of Greater London was
created? When the neighbouring counties had boundaries that met close to
central London, where was the boundary of "London" deemed to be, and did
it
gradually change as greenfield sites got filled in?

Greater London was formed in 1965. Prior to that there was, the
almost sane, smaller, London County Council. Prior to 1889 Middlesex
was the county at the heart of England, although only its South
Eastern part was urbanized. IIRC until 1889 the City of London was
outwith any County.

AFIK these 1889 and 1965 are the only times the County of London was
extended. Although Greater London disappeared for a while. It is now
back as a "region" with a peculiar governance structure.

The borders of the Cities and boroughs within the County were also
consolidated into their present monstrous size in 1965. Prior to that
were the human scaled boroughs such as Paddington and St Marylebone.
In those days democracy was closer to the electorate.



They may be monstrous when considering local cohesion, but in terms of
administrative efficiency they are about the right size.

It is the rest of the country with their piddly council areas that have that
wrong

tim