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The administration of roads and bridges was one of the very earliest functions of County administration. In 1555 an Act of Parliament was passed which made parishes responsible for the maintenance of the roads running through it, including supply of materials and labour for repairs. In 1663 Parliament first authorised the erection of turnpikes or toll barriers to raise funds for the maintenance of roads. By 1770 there were 7800 toll gates, despite the system being so unpopular it caused riots.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Industrial Revolution led to a large increase in traffic. In 1808 a Parliamentary Committee to consider the administration of roads was established. This Committee appointed paid county surveyors to examine the roads and produced a plan for the consolidation of the turnpike system around London, which led to improvement to the Middlesex turnpikes in 1826. It was not until the Local Government Act of 1888 that responsibility for the maintenance and repair of main roads was passed to county councils, while the care of smaller roads was passed to the local councils.
The Standing Joint Committee of most counties was responsible for control of the local police force. However, Middlesex was within the Metropolitan Police Area controlled by the Home Office, so the Standing Joint Committee was given other duties. These included matters relating to the accommodation of the quarter sessions and all property, appointment and control of officers and the provision of petty sessional court houses.