please empty your brain below
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I keep telling myself I must visit the Battle of Britain bunker. Thank you for yet another reminder.
Looking at Hillingdon via Google maps, I see that Brunel University is not too far away. Have you done a series of posts on all of London's educational establishments yet? If not it would be an interesting set of lessons for us all.
Doug Robinson | 03.12.25 - 8:19 a.m. | #
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Raucous birdsong is likely to be the horrible invasive pring-necked parakeets that are endemic across London to the detriment of native species.
Steve | 03.12.25 - 8:25 a.m. | #
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I suspect West Middlesex lost out because it was viewed as old-fashioned at the time. The neighbouring non-London borough was named Beaconsfield after the biggest town, causing years of resentment from the good folk of Gerrards Cross and Denham until common sense prevailed and it became South Bucks.
Andrew S | 03.12.25 - 8:28 a.m. | #
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Pioneering female civil servant Evelyn Sharp was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 1963.
She was in favour of Hillingdon as the borough's new name because, in a stonking coincidence, her grandfather Charles Musgrave Harvey had been the vicar of St John the Baptist from 1896-1916.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 03.12.25 - 8:43 a.m. | #
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The naming of the London Borough of Enfield is still contentious in Edmonton 60 years later. The fact that the area of the new borough was entirely within the boundaries of the former Edmonton Hundred was a compelling argument to adopt Edmonton as its new name but Enfield snobbery won the day. Decisions made by Enfield Council such as the demolition of Edmonton Town Hall didn’t help either. Perhaps a Hillingdon like name taken from a small locale within the borough may have helped, London Borough of Winchmore anyone?
Phil | 03.12.25 - 9:09 a.m. | #
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I was born in Hillingdon Hospital and lived in Hayes, worked in Uxbridge. Wedding reception in the Red Lion, many years ago. Good to see part of my old Borough featured.
Richard | 03.12.25 - 9:57 a.m. | #
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This quirk was enabled by the "ossification" of the status of Hillingdon as a village in the early 20th century via a unitary merger (rendering the status practically unchangeable while ignoring later growth).
We may see more of this sort of naming argument across the UK as an outcome of the forthcoming local government reorganisations needing new names for new areas.
I wonder if the dying act of any parish councils will be to vote to style as "towns" (per 1972 changes) prior to them "gifting" their name to a new larger governmental area to avoid similar quirks.
MilesT | 03.12.25 - 11:26 a.m. | #
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The joining of HornSEY and HARRINgay into the ever confusing, and misspelt, Haringey borough was also as the result of squabbling in the 60's. Apparently. It's been confusing people ever since.
Johnny Topaz | 03.12.25 - 2:00 p.m. | #
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History of borough-naming-squabbling here.
(in case anyone missed the link in the post)
diamond geezer | Homepage | 03.12.25 - 2:54 p.m. | #
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That borough-naming saga was fascinating!
John Simmons | 03.12.25 - 4:52 p.m. | #
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I wonder if any of the contemporary readers of the domesday book thought “wow, that’s a lot of pigs!”.
DaveJones | 04.12.25 - 5:34 p.m. | #
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Memories came flooding back reading this article. I lived in Hillingdon for the first 21 years of my life. Got married in St Johns and went to school at Bishopshalt.
Martin C | 05.12.25 - 7:24 a.m. | #
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