Berkshire
"Berks" redirects here. For the county in Pennsylvania, see Berks County, Pennsylvania.Berkshire (
IPA: or ; sometimes abbreviated to
Berks) is a
county in
England and forms part of the
South East England region. It is also often referred to as the
Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of
Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which goes back to the
19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and
Letters patent issued confirming this in 1974. [
1]
Berkshire borders the counties of
Oxfordshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Surrey,
Wiltshire,
Hampshire and the
London region.
The county is one of the oldest in England, being reliably dated back to the setting of the traditional county borders by King
Alfred the Great of
Wessex. The county takes its name from a large forest of birch trees that was called
Bearroc (
Celtic for 'hilly') and was originally a transaction of land to
King Cenwalh of
Wessex. At this time, it only consisted of the northerly and westerly parts of the current county.
Berkshire has been the scene of many battles throughout history, during
Alfred the Great's campaign against the
Danes, including the Battle of
Englefield, the
Battle of Ashdown and the
Battle of Reading. During the
English Civil War there were two
battles in
Newbury. During the
Glorious Revolution of
1688, there was a second
Battle at Reading, also known as the 'Battle of Broad Street'.
Reading became the new county town in
1867, taking over from
Abingdon [
2] which remained in the county. Following the
Local Government Act 1972, Abingdon and the
Vale of the White Horse became part of
Oxfordshire while
Slough, which had been within
Buckinghamshire, became part of Berkshire.
On
1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished and the districts became
unitary authorities. Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Signs saying 'Welcome to the Royal County of Berkshire' have all but disappeared but may still be seen on the borders of West Berkshire District, on the east side of Virginia Water, and on the M4.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by
Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|
| 1995 | 10,997 | 53 | 2,689 | 8,255 |
| 2000 | 18,412 | 40 | 3,511 | 14,861 |
| 2003 | 21,119 | 48 | 3,666 | 17,406 |
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
From a landscape perspective, Berkshire divides into two clearly distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of
Reading.
The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the
River Thames, with that river forming the northern boundary of the county. In two places (
Slough and Reading) the county now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the
Loddon and
Blackwater increase the amount of low lying rivurine land in the area. Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with
Surrey and
Hampshire. Much of this area is still well wooded, especially around
Bracknell and
Windsor Great Park.
In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the (current) county boundary, leaving the county behind at the
Goring Gap. This is a narrow part of the otherwise quite broad river valley where, at the end of the last
Ice Age, the Thames forced its way between the
Chiltern Hills (to the north of the river in
Oxfordshire) and the
Berkshire Downs.
As a consequence, the western portion of the county is situated around the valley of the
River Kennet, which joins the Thames in Reading. Fairly steep slopes on each side delineate the river's flat floodplain. To the south, the land rises steeply to the nearby county boundary with
Hampshire, and the highest parts of the county lie here. The highest of these is
Walbury Hill at 297m (974ft), which is also the highest point in
South East England.
To the north of the Kennet, the land rises again to the
Berkshire Downs. This is a hilly area, with smaller and well-wooded valleys draining into the
River Pang and its tributaries, and open upland areas famous for their involvement in
horse racing and the consequent ever-present training gallops.
As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity
Plantlife chose the
Summer Snowflake as the
county flower.
According to
2003 estimates there are 803,657 people in Berkshire, or 636 people / km². The population is mostly based in the urban areas to the east of the county, with
West Berkshire being much more rural.
The population has increased massively since
1831, this may be in part due to the sweeping boundary changes however. In 1831 there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire, by
1901 it had risen to 252,571 (of which 122,807 were male and 129,764 were female).
Population of Berkshire:
*
1831: 146,234
*
1841: 161,759
*
1851: 170,065
*
1861: 176,256
*
1871: 196,475
*
1881: 218,363
*
1891: 238,709
*
1901: 252,571
Berkshire is a
ceremonial county and (with different boundaries) a
traditional county, and it is unusual in England in that it is the only
non-metropolitan county with multiple districts but no
county council. The district councils are unitary authorities but have no county status.
In the
unitary authorities the
Conservatives control the
West Berkshire,
Wokingham and
Bracknell Forest councils,
Labour control
Reading council, whilst the
Liberal Democrats control the
Windsor and Maidenhead council.
Slough is controlled jointly between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
Since the
2005 general election, the
Conservative Party dominates, controlling 6 out of 8 constituencies.
Slough and
Reading West are both represented by the
Labour Party.
See also: List of Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire
*
Thames Valley*
Berkshire information*
Royal Berkshire History*
footstepspast.co.uk — Berkshire connections
