|
Where or what is Middlesex?
An explanation of the term Middlesex
Middlesex is a county in England. Many people are under the impression that it no longer exists, because there is no administrative area called Middlesex.
Indeed, the administrative reforms produced a quandry. Is a county an administrative area, or is a county council area simply an administrative area coinciding with the boundaries of a county?
The truth lies between these two extreme positions. A county is not synonymous with its historical boundaries, but local government does not have a monopoly on the term county.
In Surrey, Hertfordshire, Kent and Essex, it is possible to think of a county as being synonymous with its administrative borders. In fact, this is what most people do.
Football, cricket and other organisations find it more convenient to use the historical boundaries. However, these are in the minority. So it is arguably truer to say that Barnet is not in Hertfordshire,
Leyton is not in Essex, Bromley is not in Kent and Dulwich is not in Surrey. It is interesting to note, however, that postal addresses use a mixture of historical boundaries with 'London' for areas within the London postcode area.
So does the fact that the majority of people in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey regard the administrative boundaries and not the historical boundaries as the county boundaries mean that Middlesex ceased to exist when
the Middlesex County Council was abolished? Clearly, this is not the case. People in the areas of Middlesex near the periphery of Greater London continue to talk about Middlesex,
and there is little confusion about the boundaries. The historical boundaries are clearly defined, and there are no other definitions of the boundaries of Middlesex.
However, people in Hertfordshire, especially administrators, regard Potters Bar as part of Hertfordshire because it is within the Hertfordshire County Council administrative area.
It is also within the traditional area of Middlesex. So people in Middlesex continue to regard it as being within Middlesex.
Potters Bar plays in the Middlesex Senior Cup, although their interest in the competition this season ended with a home defeat against Wealdstone.
The issue is compicated by the arrogance of most politicians and administrators, who almost always argue that the administrative areas are the only boundaries which count.
However, the generally accepted way of determining the meanings of words is to regard the general current usage, and the term Middlesex in the sense of a county is clearly not restricted in general usage to a historical context.
Middlesex Senior Cup
The Middlesex Senior Cup was first played for in the 1888-9 season, long before Enfield Town FC had been formed. Indeed, the centenary final was won 2-1 by Enfield FC against Kingsbury Town at Uxbridge, twelve years before the formation of Enfield Town Football Club. The furthest Enfield Town has reached is the semi-finals. This match was away to Hendon, and Enfield Town only lost by the narrow margin of 1-0.
Previous Finals
Some information about some previous finals can be found on the Middlesex Senior Cup Previous Finals page.
Enfield Town's Full Record
Season 2001-2
1st round away to Harefield United on 6th November, 2001
won 2-0 with the goals coming from Jamie Morris and Nicky Morgan.
2nd round away to Ruislip Manor on 3rd December, 2001
won 3-1 with the goals coming from John Everitt, Danny Clarke and Jamie Morris.
Quarter-final at home to Wealdstone on 7th January, 2002
won 3-1 with the goals coming from Danny Clarke twice and and own goal.
Semi-final away to Hendon on 5th March, 2002
lost 0-1.
Season 2002-3
1st round bye
2nd round away to Feltham on 30th November, 2002
So Danny Clarke is Enfield Town's record scorer in this competition.
Webmaster
This page was created by Colin Moore on 12th December 2001.
The last update was on 6th November, 2002.
My e-mail address is colin.moore@gmx.net
|
|
