Middlesex Branch Newsletter email: middlesex.newsletter@waterways.org.uk
No. 35 Autumn 2015
David Suchet unveils the Blue Plaque to Robert Aickman – see p4. Inland Waterways Association Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Diary Dates 2016 Branch social evenings 12 January
Louise Heather – Work of Ealing Canoe Club.
14 June
9 February
Terry Liddle The Making of Panama.
8 March
AGM plus John Gibson – River Wey and Godalming Navigations.
11October
Jeremy Batch – The Ins and Outs of Being a Lock-Keeper.
12 April
Andrew Taylor – The Role of the Waterways Chaplain
8 November
Richard Thomas - Gunpowder Plot.
10 May
Tony Brooks – Getting your boat ready to cruise.
13 December Mince Pies, Mulled Wine &
Skittles Match - HCC, FOSC & IWA Middlesex Branch, members & guests all welcome.
13 September TBA.
Waterways Quiz.
Middlesex Branch social evenings are held at Hillingdon Canal Club, Waterloo Rd, Uxbridge. Social meetings are not held in July and August. For more information contact the Social Secretary Lucy Smith on, middlesex.socials@waterways.org.uk or 07947 451376. Members and guests are welcome. Free entry.
Festivals and events 30 Apr-2 May
IWA Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice, London. Nearest tube stations Warwick Rd and Paddington.
8 May 21-22 May
Hayes Canal and Craft Fair. Rickmansworth Canal Festival, GU Canal between Batchworth and Stockers Lock, and Rickmansworth Aquadrome. Not far from Rickmansworth Met Line stn.
28-30 May
Crick Boat Show, Crick Marina, West Haddon Rd, Crick, Northants, NN6 7SQ.
2-3 July
Stratford River Festival – Stratford upon Avon.
9 July
Hayes Carnival, Barra Hall Park, Hayes, Middlesex.
4 September
Angel Canal Festival, adjoining City Road Lock, Islington N1 8JX.
10-11 September Slough Canal Festival - Bloom Park, Slough. Entrance and parking is free. 17-18 September Hanwell Locks guided tour –Open House London weekend. Walks start at The Fox public house, (Green Lane, Hanwell) at 1pm, 2pm 3pm & 4pm on both days.
Inland Waterways Association 2 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Region Chairperson’s Column As we move into autumn we can look back at this year’s events run by IWA across the country with pride. We must thank all those volunteers who have made them possible. Your branch is always active supporting the Rickmansworth Canal Festival, the Slough Canal Festival and the Hanwell Locks Open House Weekend to name a few. From past experience I know that planning will soon start for next year’s events, if you could spare some time to help run them, please have a word with any of your branch officers or if you would like to get involved with any of the national events have a word with me. The March 2015 issue of Middlesex Matters (page 12) may have incorrectly given the impression that it is IWA policy that boats without a home mooring should travel at least 50 miles per month. I would like to make it clear that this is not IWA policy. It is the responsibility of Canal & River Trust (CRT) to determine and implement policy as regards the conditions that satisfy its licence requirements. IWA believes that in the interests of fairness to all waterways users CRT must get to a position where boats without a home mooring are genuinely navigating and not simply remaining in one small geographic area. There is still no information on the merger of the Environment Agency (EA) with the CRT. There are worrying signs that the cuts, being imposed on EA, are reducing their ability to operate and maintain the network for which they are responsible. If you have a boat on EA waters, can you please let me know if there are any structures out of use or in poor condition in your area? I will arrange for this to be included on our “at risk” register and have the problem raised at a national level. The Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) Van Appeal which is looking to raise £120,000 to replace their four existing vans which form an essential part of running Canal Camps, etc. is doing well, they are over half way there. WRG is an important part of our association, it even has work camps on the Chelmer &Blackwater Navigation, and it needs all our support. If you have not already given to the appeal please see if you could help by giving just a little. While on the subject of WRG you might have that Mike Palmer, WRG Chairman, was appointed an MBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year. The location of CRT winter’s moorings for boats that don’t have a home mooring, is very important to your branch and the other branches in the London Region. This year CRT has only designated a few moorings in Central London, and most of the moorings will be in your branches area. I am a little concerned about the lack of facilities near some of the proposed moorings in the London Region as some are miles from water and effluent discharge points. We will need to monitor the situation, at the winter moorings, and if problems between boaters and shore based communities, and with rubbish and effluent disposal occur, see if we can help. If you hear anything please let me know. Paul Strudwick Chair Person London Region The Inland Waterways Association www.waterways.org.uk
Inland Waterways Association 3 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Blue Plaque to commemorate Robert Aickman By Ray Gill As a tribute to Robert Aickman, the IWA Trustees decided to install a commemorative blue plaque on the house where he lived. Born in 1914, Robert Aickman was a co-founder of the IWA and lived and worked at 11 Gower Street between 1943 and 1973. The inaugural meeting of the Association was held in February 1946 in the large living room of Aickman’s two-floor apartment. Over the following five years this room, which became known as the ‘Waterways Room’, was the office of the new campaigning organisation. The IWA went on to fight numerous battles to prevent the destruction of Britain’s canals and in the formative years of the Association this victorious campaign was largely masterminded by Aickman. It remains something of a scandal that Aickman was never publicly honoured. During the war he was a conscientious objector and in government circles he was certainly seen as a fully paid up member of the awkward squad – two things which probably did not help when civil lists were considered in the 1960s and 70s. English Heritage has operated the scheme for the London wide Blue Plaques since 1986 following on from the original schemes run by the LCC and the GLC. English Heritage's Blue Plaques Panel advises on all nominations, and is comprised of experts in a wide range of disciplines. However the process of nomination and shortlisting can often take up to four years. Other organisations, mainly the local authorities, also operate their own schemes and in this instance the IWA decided to proceed with a privately sponsored plaque. Notably the IWA plaque to commemorate Robert Aickman met three important criteria that English Heritage use in administering their own scheme - at least 20 years must have passed since a proposed figure's death, the building must survive in a form that the commemorated person would have recognised and be visible from a public highway. The first task in designing the plaque was to decide and agree the inscription among the Trustees. Agreement in principle to the plaque was then sought from the building’s owner The Bedford Estates. In researching different types of plaque I came across a plaque erected in 2010 by the Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board and the IWA to commemorate LTC Rolt at Tooley’s Boatyard in Banbury. This was manufactured in cast aluminium and it seemed appropriate that the plaque to commemorate Robert Aickman should be a matching design. The house at 11 Gower Street was built c1780 and is Grade II listed. As a result it was necessary to prepare a Listed Building Consent application for the plaque and a draft version of this was put before The Bedford Estates for their final agreement before submission of the application to the London Borough of Camden. This agreement took longer than expected but in February 2015 planning permission for the plaque was finally grated by Camden Council. cont. p10 > Inland Waterways Association 4 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Slough Canal Festival 2015 By Michael Phillips Despite the forecasts the weather was excellent and a great time was had by all. Loads of thing to see and do, with many stalls, selling everything you could want. The IWA was well represented with over 30 boats coming down the freshly dredged Slough Arm. The largest number of boats so far. Middlesex Branch IWA and Chiltern IWA both had stalls that did well over the weekend. Hillingdon Boating Partnership ran regular boat trips and were kept very busy. Keith and Robin organised a great fish and chip supper on Saturday night for 30 participants and Nicks’ Fish and Chip shop was very generous with a donation to the Branch funds. Make a note in your diaries, computers, iPads or on scraps of paper to come to the festival next year. A great way to meet other members and enjoy a good weekend. Michael Phillips
Body found in Regents Canal The body of a man was found in the Regent’s Canal near Caledonian Road on the morning of Thursday 24 Sept.The discovery was made by a member of the public just after 9am in the 960-yard Islington Tunnel between the Angel and King’s Cross. Boats were not allowed to enter the tunnel as it was cordoned off at both ends. Forensic officers and police divers were seen gathering evidence by the waterside where the body was found. The man identified as Sebastiano Magnanini was discovered tied to a shopping trolley. Inland Waterways Association 5 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Family boating holiday – with a difference This unusual family boat was spotted on the Grand Union on the last Sunday in September. Driven by twin propellers powered by mum and dad this peaceful mode of transport has taken the family silently into London and is now heading back to their home mooring, believed to be Cowroast at Tring. Unfortumately I didn’t manage to get a chance to meet them to find out more. So if anybody has any further details I’d pleased to hear from them.
Inland Waterways Association 6 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Pink Dog Ahoy A group of fundraisers set off to swim 155 miles of the River Thames restricting themselves to doggy paddle. The 10 swimmers started from St John’s Lock in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, on Saturday 21 August to finish at Putney by Thursday, 27 August. The team has raised almost £25,000 for the UK Stem Cell Foundation charity. The pink dog was pulled by a small boat, and the idea of course is it makes people aware that there is someone in the water. www.ukscf.org www.thamesdoggy.com
Bob Brock’s collection of Waterways World mags Bob Brock of Slough has built up a full set of Waterways World magazines from the first issue in 1972 to date. Ideally he would like to donate the collection to some organisation or archive that would find it useful. Is anyone aware of any that might be interested? Any ideas? Contact Middlesex Matters and we will pass it on to Bob. Inland Waterways Association 7 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Open House London 19-20 Sept 2015
Hanwell Locks guided tour; the Branch stand (above) at lock 93 provided information and refreshments throughout the weekend. Below, Lucy explains the history and workings of the flight to a group of visitors.
Inland Waterways Association 8 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
The end of the guided tour of Hanwell Locks, Brunel’s Three Bridges.
Open House London - Hanwell Locks By Robin Bishop As part of Open House London we offer guided towpath walks up the Hanwell Locks. The tour describes the history of the locks and the area alongside the locks. This year’s Open House London was on Saturday and Sunday 19h and 20th September. There were four walks each day starting from The Fox pub in Green Lane, close to the Hanwell bottom lock, at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm and running up the entire flight of locks, continuing on to Brunel’s famous Three Bridges. Our guides were Lucy Smith, Stephen Bray and Raymond Gill. The Branch gazebo was set up outside the lock cottage at lock 93. Here we had a large display map of all the waterways and leaflets giving details about our canals. We had IWA Christmas cards for sale and also jars of homemade jams made by a local resident of Hanwell. In addition there were second hand books for sale. Teas and coffees were also available for the walkers. Over the weekend a total of 133 people attended the walks. Robin Bishop Secretary Inland Waterways Association 9 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Blue Plaque cont.
The cast aluminium plaque was manufactured by Leander Architectural based in Buxton, Derbyshire and they made an admirable job of it. It was not until August that a date for the unveiling could be fixed so at that stage I approached the current building tenants, the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) to agree arrangements for installing the plaque. Prior to my meeting with Peter Ward (CEO of UKWA) I was shown into their boardroom on the second floor of the building and it was then I realised that I was sitting in the Waterways Room! When we discussed a suitable local venue for an unveiling reception Peter at once offered to host the event in their boardroom. The plaque was unveiled by leading actor and TV presenter David Suchet CBE on 10 th September 2015. Mr Suchet is a boat owner, an avid waterways campaigner and a National Vice President of the IWA. For those attending the unveiling it was a very special occasion as the speeches by our National Chairman, Les Etheridge, and by David Suchet in recognition of Robert Aickman’s extraordinary achievements were made in The Waterways Room – the place where it all started. Our thanks must also go to the North and East London Branch for their generosity in funding both the manufacture and installation of the blue plaque. Ray Gill Planning and Navigation Officer ray.gill@waterways.org.uk
IWA welcomes appointment of Richard Benyon MP The Inland Waterways Association has welcomed the appointment of Richard Benyon MP as Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Waterways. Mr Benyon was elected by MPs and Lords at the inaugural meeting of the Group for the new Parliament in September. Mr Benyon, MP for Newbury, was the Waterways Minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between 2010 and 2013, during the period that saw the creation of Canal & River Trust. IWA National Chairman, Les Etheridge, commented: “The APPG for the Waterways has benefited from having previous Waterways Ministers as Chair and I am delighted that once again the APPG will have such a knowledgeable and highly regarded Chairman in Richard Benyon MP; we look forward to contributing to the work of the Group”. Inland Waterways Association 10 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Middlesex Branch Donations As you will know, the Middlesex Branch makes donations to lots of waterways related causes. Since 1995 we have donated to 44 different groups a total of £14,317. The table below shows the donations from 2006 totalling £6760. 2015 Pirate Castle Buckingham Canal Society Ealing Canoe Club Crofton Beam Engines
£100.00 £100.00 £200.00 £150.00 £550.00
2015 2013 Hillingdon Canal Club £100.00 Hillingdon Narrowboats £250.00 Assocaition Bowbridge (CotswoldCanals £200.00 Trust) 2013 £550.00 2011 Pirate Castle £50.00 Dacorum Narrowboat Trust £100.00 Bedford and MK Waterway Trust £100.00 Inglesham Lock Appeal £100.00 2011 £350.00 2009 Wey & Arun Canal Trust £100.00 Medway Queen Preservation Soc. £200.00 Dacorum Narrow Boat Trust £250.00 Tideways Adventurers £250.00 The Sculptor Appeal £200.00 2009 £1,000.00 2007
The Waterways Trust River Stour Trust Droitwich Canal Appeal
£50.00 £500.00 £500.00 2007 £1,050.00
2014 Basingstoke Canal Authority IWA Acheman Challenge Wendover Arm Trust Rickmansworth Waterways Trust Commercial Boat Operators Assoc. 2014 2012 Hillingdon Narrowboats Assoc. Inglesham Lock
£50.00 £200.00 £300.00 £200.00 £100.00 £850.00
2012
£200.00 £250.00 £450.00
2010
£250.00 £150.00 £400.00
2008
£200.00 £250.00 £250.00 £700.00
2006
£300.00 £10.00 £250.00 £100.00 £200.00 £860.00
2010
Cotswold Canal Trust Hillingdon Canal Club 2008
Wendover Arm Trust Wendover Arm Trust Droitwich Canal Appeal 2006 London WRG Friends of the Slough Arm LHCRT David Suchet Appeal East Vale Canal Group Wilts & Berks Canal trust
Inland Waterways Association 11 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
MIDDLESEX MUSINGS Cam ban I’ve read that the Conservators of the River Cam have decreed that all those punting with a chauffeur on the Cam in Cambridge must first sit through a safety briefing. Operators that defy the code could be banned fom the Cam for six months. The media seem to be trying to turn it into some sort of health and safety buffoonery. The rules from the 30 September meeting all look quite sensible to me. For example, Rule 16: Chauffeurs are responsible for
ensuring that their punts carry no more than the permitted maximum number of passengers and that they are correctly seated. At the start of each trip, the chauffeur must give a safety briefing to all passengers. All done for the best possible reasons.
Continuous Cruiser & Edition 34
In the spring edition there was an item in the Musings that stated that IWA is ‘in broad agreement with a suggestion’; this regarding the minimum distance travelled by continuous cruisers. I’ve been informed that this has given the impression that it is IWA policy I’m at a loss to see how anyone can interpret ‘in broad agreement with a suggestion’ as being IWA’s policy. The two items in the spring edition on p7, from CRT’s Richard Parry and IWA’s Les Etheridge clarify the position on policy. I’d like to remind readers of the statement on p15 in every issue, ‘The views expressed in
this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of its London Region or of its Middlesex Branch. They are however published as being of interest to our members and readers’.
With many new footbridges planned it would be a great idea for designers or teams to come up with a contemporary design that would become an established part of the canal scene.
Thames moorers As a result of legal action by the Kingston Council against long term moorers the riverbank is now clear of unauthorised boats. However, the boats expelled from Kingston have migrated to Richmond and are now moored to scaffold poles in the riverbed to evade action by Richmond Council, adding to the caseload of the Environment Agency. Other Thames councils are also taking action. Spelthorne (Ashford, Shepperton, Staines-upon-Thames, Stanwell and Sunbury) has recently prosecuted three moorers where fines totalling £1400 were issued. Elmbridge is drawing lots of boats to its riverbanks, and also criticism from local residents due to their lack of enforcement. So it wont be long before they are forced to take action. I notice that the Friends of Hurst Park website has published a letter from the Environment Agency about impending legal proceedings against a boat owner. A letter from the boat owner responding to residents complaints has also been published.
Footbridge designs In the Planning News on p13 there’s an interesting proposal from Ray Gill about designs for new canal bridges. Inland Waterways Association 12 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
PLANNING NEWS A Bridge Too Far The publishers of popular canal guides must be worrying about updates to their maps as large developments in the Middlesex area propose the construction of many new bridges over the canal. Examples are at the Southall Gasworks Site (a new road bridge and a new foot bridge connecting to Minet Country Park), at the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (a new road bridge, two new bus and pedestrian bridges and potentially three new foot bridges), at Brentford Lock West (a new footbridge) and at West Drayton Station (a new footbridge).
Trouble at Brentford Basin The last vestiges of canal character appear to be draining away from the Brentford Basin. The rot set in with the Island Development - a nice enough scheme but one probably more appropriate to a Thames side location in Kingston or Teddington. Since then ISIS Waterside Regeneration, who have a partnership arrangement with the Canal & River Trust, have pressed on with their Brentford Lock West development on the west side of the basin. The first phase of the development is almost complete. The scheme by the architects Duggan Morris is a strong piece of architecture that was commended in the 2015 New London Architecture Awards. The truth is that it would probably look equally as good in Hoxton or in one of the trendier parts of Peckham. The architects for the first phase were selected in a limited design competition organized by ISIS in 2011. One of the other competition entries showed an imposing warehouse inspired solution – perhaps a missed opportunity to retain something of the character of a canal freight terminus?
Bridge structures are an important and recognizable part of our canal heritage. Indeed both British Waterways and now the Canal & River Trust use the traditional hump back canal bridge as the central image of their logo. Road and rail bridge design is often much influenced by engineering constraints but foot bridges do offer opportunities to provide light and attractive structures which could enhance the canal setting. However there is perhaps a danger of a proliferation of ‘look at me’ footbridges. With so many new foot bridges planned would this ISIS has recently submitted a further be a suitable time for CRT (or perhaps even planning application to Hounslow (just one of the IWA?) to organize a sponsored design over sixty different planning submissions made competition for engineer/architect teams to for this development since 2010!) to amend the come up with a contemporary design that consented outline application that was would become an established part of the canal approved in 2012. This application proposes scene? adding an additional There are good hisfloor to the phase 2 toric precedents for a housing on the grounds signature system-appthat the current agreed roach to the design of scheme is no longer canal bridges. Think of viable. This is a worrying the many beautiful cast change and could iron roving bridges manuestablish a dangerous factured by Horseley precedent for other future Ironworks such as those changes in the northern at Braunston Turn or the part of the site including very elegant Grade II Gallows Bridge at Boston Manor the overhanging wareListed Gallows Bridge at houses. The issue of Boston Manor. Inland Waterways Association 13 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
viability also raises some doubt about just how much revenue the Canal & River Trust will actually make from the Brentford Lock West development. Meanwhile the existing roof of the overhanging warehouses has been stripped off exposing the steel frame to the elements. This makes a mockery of the public realm recladding of the warehouses, by the London Borough of Hounslow in 2014, as this project required the steelwork behind the new open slatted timber cladding to be protected with primer and iron oxide paint. Our fear is that the warehouse frame already has some corrosion and that the removal of the roof covering is designed to hasten the demise of the whole thing. We have written to both the Canal & River Trust and ISIS to seek an explanation.
sliding doors on the warehouse canal frontage suggest that water transport was once used to bring timber to this site from the London docks. All three buildings form part of the Uxbridge Moor Conservation Area. In March a planning application was submitted to Hillingdon for the demolition of the timber warehouse and its replacement with three blocks of housing of up to five floors in height. We have objected strongly to this
Waterloo Wharf Uxbridge
Brentford Basin Warehouses-open to the sky
Waterloo Wharf Every so often waterways travel, whether by boat or on foot, leads to the discovery of a small group of buildings that collectively produce a real sense of place. One such group can be found in the urban canal setting of Uxbridge and comprises the General Elliot public house, the former Fellows Morton and Clayton Uxbridge dock (Uxbridge Boat Centre) and a covered timber warehouse in Waterloo Road that backs onto the canal. The
proposed development. Its scale is quite out of keeping with the Conservation Area and we fear that if the development were to go ahead the housing residents would quickly complain about noise from the boatyard, which would cause operational problems for the boat yard operator. Our concern is that this could affect the viability of the boatyard and prejudice the long-term conservation of the historic dock and the covered boat sheds. Interestingly the planning authority, for just these reasons, turned down a similar application made in 2003. At the time of writing the scheme remains undecided by Hillingdon.
Raymond Gill Panning/Navigation Officer ray.gill@waterways.org.uk
Inland Waterways Association 14 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
AND
FINALLY
Dates for committee meetings for 2016 are given below. Members are welcome to attend. Meetings start at 8.00pm at the Hillingdon Canal Club, Waterloo Road, Uxbridge UB8 2QX.
26 January 26 July
22 March 27 Sep
7 June 22 Nov
YOUR BRANCH COMMITTEE Acting Chairman Secretary Treasurer Panning/Navigation Membership Sales Social meetings Publicity Events Other members
Michael Phillips Robin Bishop Lucy Smith Raymond Gill Michael Phillips Keith Clayton Robin Bishop Lucy Smith Lucy Smith Lucy Smith Stephen Bray
020 8452 2632 07947451376 07785255886 020 8573 0883 020 8452 2632 07947451376 07947451376 07947451376
michael@shirazphillips.co.uk robinebishop@tiscali.co.uk middlesex.treasurer@waterways.org.uk ray.gill@waterways.org.uk michael@shirazphillips.co.uk keith_clayton_1955@yahoo.co.uk robinebishop@tiscali.co.uk middlesex.socials@waterways.org.uk middlesex.publicity@waterways.org.uk middlesex.events@waterways.org.uk
The newsletter welcomes communications from readers. If you have a point to make, a question to ask, or an interesting picture or article worthy of publication send it to Middlesex Matters by email: middlesex.newsletter@waterways.org.uk.
Middlesex Matters is produced using MS Word 2007. Printed by Colour Image Printers, Loudwater, High Wycombe. The next publication will be the spring 2016 edition, issue number 36 The views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association or of its London Region or of its Middlesex Branch. They are however published as being of interest to our members and readers. Š IWA Middlesex Branch 2015 The Inland Waterways Association is a charity campaigning for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and development of the inland waterways and is a non profit distributing company limited by guarantee registered in England number 612245 registered as a charity number 212342 whose registered office is at: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham. HP5 1WA. Tel. 01494 783453 http://www.waterways.org.uk
Inland Waterways Association 15 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex
Helpful sign showing where to find the ship About 91% of punters on the river give the rest a bad name. About 82.75% of punting statistics are made up on the spot. Apparently, 3.5 out of 7 people in a punt overcomplicate things. I don’t spend all my time in the boat club, sometimes I like to pop over to the house opposite my boat club.
Spiders announce autumn’s arrival Inland Waterways Association 16 Middlesex Matters Autumn 2015 https://www.waterways.org.uk/middlesex/middlesex