Everything about Berkshire totally explained
» "Berks" redirects here. For the county in Pennsylvania, see Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Berkshire (or /ˈbɑkʃɪɚ/ say: Baak-shuh/-sheer); sometimes abbreviated to
Berks) is a
Home County in the
South East of
England. 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 dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and
Letters patent issued confirming this in 1974.
The county town is
Reading (formerly
Abingdon), although Berkshire is now split into several
unitary authorities which have their own councils.
Berkshire borders the counties of
Oxfordshire,
Buckinghamshire,
Surrey,
Wiltshire,
Hampshire and
Greater London.
History
The county is one of the oldest in England. It may date from the 840s, the probable period of the unification of "
Sunningum" (East Berkshire) and "Ashdown" (the Berkshire Downs, probably including the Kennet Valley). The county is first mentioned by name in 860. According to
Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called
Bearroc (believed, in turn, to be a
Celtic word meaning "hilly").
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 (External Link
) which remained in the county. Under the
Local Government Act 1888, Berkshire County Council took over functions of the Berkshire
Quarter Sessions, covering an area known as the administrative county of Berkshire, which excluded the
county borough of
Reading. Boundary alterations in the early part of the 20th century were minor, with Caversham from
Oxfordshire becoming part of the Reading county borough, and cessions in the
Oxford area.
On
April 1,
1974, following the
Local Government Act 1972, the northern part of the county became part of
Oxfordshire, with
Faringdon,
Wantage and
Abingdon and hinterland becoming the
Vale of White Horse district, and
Didcot and
Wallingford going to form part of the
South Oxfordshire district. In return, Berkshire obtained the towns of
Slough and
Eton and part of the former
Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferred
Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal didn't make it into the Bill as introduced.
On
1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the
Banham Commission, and the districts became
unitary authorities. Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county wasn't 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 motorway.
Economy
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.
| Year |
Regional Gross Value Added1 |
Agriculture2 |
Industry3 |
Services4 |
| 1995 |
10,997 |
53 |
2,689 |
8,255 |
| 2000 |
18,412 |
40 |
3,511 |
14,861 |
| 2003 |
21,119 |
48 |
3,666 |
17,406 |
Notes
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Includes hunting and forestry
Includes energy and construction
Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Geology, landscape and ecology
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 riverine 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 297 m (974 ft), 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 Lambourn, River Pang and their 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.
Sport
One football club from the county plays professional football, Reading, who were formed in 1871.
Demographics
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 and centre of the county (Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Windsor, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and Twyford being the largest towns) with West Berkshire being much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns (Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Lambourn).
The population has increased massively since 1831; this is largely due to Berkshire's proximity to an expanding London. In 1831, there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire; by 1901 the population 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
Politics
Berkshire is a ceremonial county and non-metropolitan county and it's unusual in England in that it's the only such county with multiple districts but no county council. The district councils are unitary authorities but don't have county status.
In the unitary authorities the Conservatives control West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils, Labour controls Slough and Reading is under no overall control.
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
Places of interest
Further Information
Get more info on 'Berkshire'.
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