The County of Middlesex Chronicle was founded by George Thomason in 1859 as a broadsheet with adverts on the front page and local, national and foreign news inside. The initial print run comprising 500 copies sold out quickly.

When George Thomason died in 1899, control of the paper passed to his widow Elizabeth. Most of her children already worked in the business – three were journalists (including daughter Florence) and one was a linotype operator. On their mother’s death in 1910, the seven children formed a limited company to run the paper. It was family owned until 1972. The paper was renamed the Hounslow Chronicle in 1995.