A TRAVEL writer is trying to put the historic county of Middlesex back on the map.
The county was formally abolished in 1965 when it was largely swallowed up by Greater London, and increasingly few reminders remain, such as the cricket club which bears its name.
But Bob Barton, who last year resurrected the Friends of Cranford Park group, is doing his best to raise the county’s profile by highlighting the many attractions within its former boundaries.
In a three-page feature in the March edition of Best of British magazine, he extols the virtues of hidden gems Cranford Park, Hounslow Heath and Crane Park, on the borders of Hounslow and Richmond.
“I remember at school we used to have the Middlesex coat of arms on our exercise books and it’s sad the county has been wiped from the map," said the 56-year-old freelance travel writer, who lives in Harlington.
“A lot of people still consider themselves to live in Middlesex. It’s just a shame the bureaucrats don’t think the same way. We’re just lost in this anonymous grey area on the map called Greater London, which we can’t really identify with.
“I’m keen to make more of Middlesex and, as I explain in my article, we have so many beautiful places on our doorstep there’s no need to travel miles for a day out.”
Mr Barton’s article celebrates some of Hounslow’s, and formerly Middlesex’s, better known treasures, including Osterley and Syon parks.
But he also sings the praises of lesser-known highlights, such as Cranford Park, where comedian Tony Hancock’s ashes are buried in the grounds of St Dunstan’s Church and the vaulted cellars are a fascinating remnant of the long-demolished Cranford House.
Hounslow Heath, once notorious for highwaymen, whose bodies used to hang from gibbets as a grisly warning, also gets a mention, as does the Shot Tower in Crane Park, Whitton, built in 1826.
The windmill-like tower is a relic of the days when Middlesex was home to the (literally) booming gunpowder industry.
Anyone complaining about aircraft noise should be grateful they were not around in the 18th and 19th centuries, when ear-shattering accidental explosions could be heard for miles around and claimed scores of casualties.
If you like your culture washed down with a drink, Mr Barton recommends the Express Tavern, in Kew Bridge Road, Brentford, hailed by Camra as London’s most unspoilt traditional pub.
Alternatively, he says, you could try the Green Man, in Hatton, near Heathrow Airport – once a popular haunt of highwaymen but now a safer place to sup your pint.
Mr Barton is not alone in trying to raise the profile of Middlesex.
Celebrity astrologer Russell Grant has long campaigned for recognition for the county in which he was born and which dates back to Saxon times.
