Kimages
Kpedia
Berkshire facts for kids
Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Royal County of Berkshire
Berkshire in England
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:mw' not found.
Lord Lieutenant
James Puxley
Mrs V J Fishburn (2016-17)
1,262 km2 (487 sq mi)
• Ranked
40th of 48
Population (2005 est.)
6.8% S.Asian
Non-metropolitan county
Berkshire Local Transport Body
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority
UKJ11
Districts of Berkshire
List of MPs
GMT (UTC)
BST (UTC+1)
Berkshire (/ˈbɑːrkʃər/ or /ˈbɑːrkʃɪər/, abbreviated Berks, in the 17th century sometimes spelled "Barkeshire" as it is pronounced) is a county in south east England, west of London. It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957 and letters patent issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading.
In 1974, significant alterations were made to the county's administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire and the separate administration of Reading was ended. Since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire (to the north), Buckinghamshire (to the north-east), Greater London (to the east), Surrey (to the south-east), Wiltshire (to the west) and Hampshire (to the south).
Images for kids
Main page: History of Berkshire
Windsor Castle, viewed from the Long Walk
According to Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called Bearroc (believed to be a Celtic word meaning "hilly").
Berkshire has been the scene of some notable battles through its history. Alfred the Great's campaign against the Danes included the Battles of Englefield, Ashdown and Reading. Newbury was the site of two English Civil War battles: the First Battle of Newbury (at Wash Common) in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury (at Speen) in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. Another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange.
Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon, which remained in the county. Under the Local Government Act 1888, Berkshire County Council took over functions of the Berkshire Quarter Sessions, covering 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 1 April 1974 Berkshire's boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972. Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. The northern part of the county became part of Oxfordshire, with Faringdon, Wantage and Abingdon and their hinterland becoming the Vale of White Horse district, and Didcot and Wallingford added to South Oxfordshire district. 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, even though the White Horse is now in Oxfordshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal did not 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 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 motorway. There are also county signs on the south side of Sonning Bridge on the B478, on the A404 southbound carriageway crossing the river Thames, and heading north on the A33 at the start of the dual carriageway just past Stratfield Saye.
Aerial view of Virginia Water Lake on the southern edge of Windsor Great Park
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.
Historic map of Berkshire
In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the 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 region and between London and South Wales.
To the north of the Kennet, the land rises again to the Berkshire Downs. This is hilly area, with smaller and well-wooded valleys, drains into the River Lambourn, River Pang, and their tributaries. The open upland areas famous for their involvement in horse racing and the consequent ever-present training gallops.
See also: List of settlements in Berkshire by population
According to 2003 estimates there were 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: the largest towns here are Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Windsor, Sandhurst, and the villages Crowthorne and Twyford. West Berkshire is much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns: the largest are Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Lambourn. In 1831, there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire; by 1901 the population had risen to 252,571 (of whom 122,807 were male and 129,764 were female).
View from Combe Gibbet, looking north over the Kennet Valley
Below are the 10 largest immigrant groups of Berkshire in 2011.
Immigrants in Berkshire (2011 Census)
Pakistan 17,590
Poland 16,435
Kenya 4,617
Zimbabwe 4,043
United States 3,509
Population of Berkshire:
1831: 146,234
Main pages: Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire, High Sheriff of Berkshire, and counties of England
The ceremonial county of Berkshire consists of the area controlled by the six unitary authorities, each of which is independent of the rest. Berkshire has no county council. The ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire is Mary Selina Bayliss, appointed in May 2008, and the High Sheriff of Berkshire for 2011 is Robert Barclay Woods, CBE.
See also: List of English districts by population
Berkshire districts
District Main towns Population (2007 estimate) Area Population density (2007)
Bracknell Forest Bracknell, Sandhurst 113,696 109.38 km² 1038/km²
Reading Reading 155,300 40.40 km² 3557/km²
Slough Slough 140,200 32.54 km² 3691/km²
West Berkshire Newbury, Thatcham 150,700 704.17 km² 214/km²
Windsor and Maidenhead Windsor, Maidenhead 104,000 198.43 km² 711/km²
Wokingham Wokingham, Twyford 88,600 178.98 km² 875/km²
TOTAL Ceremonial N/A 752,436 1264 km² 643/km²
See the List of places in Berkshire, List of settlements in Berkshire by population and the List of civil parishes in Berkshire
Owned by the National Trust
Owned by English Heritage
Owned by the Forestry Commission
A Country Park
An Accessible open space
Museum (free)
Museum (charges entry fee)
Basildon Park
Beale Park
Berkshire Downs
Bisham Abbey
Blake's Lock
California Country Park
Calleva Atrebatum
Combe Gibbet
Donnington Castle
Frogmore House
Greenham Common
Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down
The Living Rainforest
Museum of Reading
North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Reading Abbey
Reading School Grade II listed building designed by Alfred Waterhouse
River Thames
Shaw House
REME Museum of Technology
Slough Museum
Stanlake Park Wine Estate
The Ridgeway
Walbury Hill
Watermill Theatre
Welford Park
Wellington Country Park
West Berkshire Museum
The Oracle Corporation campus
Slough Trading Estate plays a major part in making Slough an important business centre in South East England
King Edward III of England
The grandstand at Ascot Racecourse
The Madejski Stadium in Reading
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Berkshire Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Kiddle encyclopedia
Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Kiddle encyclopedia articles are based on selected content and facts from Wikipedia, rewritten for children and students. Powered by MediaWiki.
Kiddle
© 2019 Kiddle.co