FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE PRESENT volume is the fifth to have been
compiled for the Middlesex VCH Committee formed in
1979 to complete the Middlesex History. The University
of London gratefully acknowledges the help of the
Committee, which has continued under the chairmanship of Dr Alan Clinton, with Mr Roy Harrison as
Treasurer. Mr R.J. Swindells succeeded Mr C.J. Koster as
Secretary in 1999. The University also records its gratitude for the continued generosity of the City of Westminster and the London Boroughs of Kensington and
Chelsea, Islington, and Hackney in supporting the
Committee's work. However, due to pressures on local
government funding Hackney had to cease contributing
from 2001, and both Islington and Kensington and
Chelsea from 2003; Westminster is continuing with a
reduced contribution. The completion of the present
volume has been made possible by a very generous
contribution from Cadogan Estates, who are thanked
warmly for their support.
In 2001 the County Editor, Mr T.F.T. Baker, and one
of the two Assistant Editors, Miss D.K. Bolton, retired,
having worked on the Middlesex History since 1967 and
1965 respectively. Dr P.E.C. Croot, previously Assistant
Editor, was appointed to the post of County Editor in
2001. Work on the present volume was also assisted by
three temporary appointments: Dr R.M. Kemsley, a
full-time Assistant Editor from November 1999 until
early 2001; Dr C.R.J. Currie as part-time Consultant
Editor for a year in 2001/2; and Dr C. Insley as part-time
Assistant Editor from January to August 2002.
Reduction in funding prevents the appointment of a
permanent Assistant Editor at present.
The general editing at VCH Central Office was carried
out by Dr A.T. Thacker (Executive Editor) and Ms
Elizabeth Williamson (Architectural Editor).
Those who have provided information for the volume
are named in the footnotes, and they are sincerely
thanked for their help. We are especially grateful to the
staff of Kensington and Chelsea's Central and Chelsea
libraries, in particular Carrie Starren, Nicholas West,
and Dave Walker, for their assistance over several years,
and also to the staff of the London Metropolitan
Archives and the Guildhall Library for their help in
various ways. We would also like to record our thanks to
Mr Stuart Corbyn and his staff at Cadogan Estates for
their kind assistance.
The structure and aims of the Victoria County
History as a whole are set out in the General Introduction
(1970) and its Supplement (1990). The contents of the
first seven volumes of the Middlesex History are listed
and indexed in outline in a booklet, The Middlesex
Victoria History Council, which also describes the work
of the precursor of the present Middlesex Victoria
County History Committee.