The county has an area of 1,263 km2 (488 sq mi) and a population of 911,403. The population is concentrated in the east, the area closest to Greater London, which includes the county's largest towns: Reading (174,224),Slough (164,793),Bracknell (113,205), andMaidenhead (70,374). The west is rural, and its largest town isNewbury (33,841). For local government purposes Berkshire comprises sixunitary authority areas:Bracknell Forest,Reading,Slough,West Berkshire,Windsor and Maidenhead, andWokingham. The historic county included the parts of Oxfordshire south of theRiver Thames, which formed its northern border, but excludedCaversham andSlough.
TheBerkshire Downs, a chalk downland andarea of outstanding natural beauty, occupy the west of the county. They are the source of theRiver Kennet, which flows east through Newbury before meeting the Thames at Reading. The Thames then forms Berkshire's northern border, flowing past Maidenhead, before entering the county and flowing past Slough andWindsor. The south-east of the county containsSwinley Forest, a remnant ofWindsor Forest now used as aforestry plantation.
There is evidence ofprehistoric settlement on the Berkshire Downs, including theIron AgeUffington White Horse, now in Oxfordshire. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was contested byMercia andWessex, andAlfred the Great was born inWantage, also now in Oxfordshire.Windsor Castle, which would become the official country residence of theBritish monarch, was built after theNorman Conquest. The county has been the site of several battles, particularly during theFirst English Civil War, whenReading and Wallingford were besieged two battles took place at Newbury, in1643 and1644. The proximity of the east of the county to London led to development from the nineteenth century, when Slough became an industrial centre and Bracknell was designated anew town. Software development and high-tech industry dominate the economy in the east, but the west remains an agricultural region.[3][4]
According toAsser's biography ofKing Alfred, written in 893 AD,[5] Berkshire takes its name from a wood ofbox trees, which was calledBearroc (aCeltic word meaning "hilly").[6] This wood, perhaps no longer extant, was west ofFrilsham, nearNewbury.[7]
Much of the county's early history is recorded in theChronicles of theAbingdon Abbey, which at the time of the survey was second only to the crown in the extent and number of its possessions, such asThe Abbey, Sutton Courtenay. The abbot exercised considerable judicial and administrative powers, and his court was endowed with the privileges of the hundred court and freed from liability to interference by the sheriff. Berkshire and Oxfordshire had a common sheriff until the reign ofElizabeth I, and the shire court was held atGrandpont. The assizes were formerly held at Reading, Abingdon, and Newbury, but by 1911 were held entirely at Reading.[4]
Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over fromAbingdon, which remained in the county. Under theLocal Government Act 1888, Berkshire County Council took over functions of the BerkshireQuarter Sessions, covering the administrative county of Berkshire, which excluded thecounty borough ofReading. Boundary alterations in the late 19th century and early 20th century were relatively rare, but included ceding the parts of the borough ofOxford south of the Thames in 1889, and gaining Caversham fromOxfordshire in 1911. The administrative county's full legal name was "Berks" rather than "Berkshire" until 1967, when the government changed the name to Berkshire at the county council's request.[9]
Berkshire received the title "Royal County" in 1957 due to the presence of Windsor Castle. The area has historical ties to royalty dating back to the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror established Windsor as a royal residence.[10] On 1 April 1974, Berkshire's boundaries changed under theLocal Government Act 1972. Berkshire took over administration ofSlough andEton and part of the formerEton Rural District from Buckinghamshire.[11] The northern part of the county came under governance ofOxfordshire, withFaringdon,Wantage andAbingdon and their hinterland becoming theVale of White Horse district, andDidcot andWallingford added toSouth Oxfordshire district.[11]94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron still keep theUffington White Horse in their insignia, even though the White Horse is now within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferredHenley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced.[citation needed]
On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of theBanham Commission, and the districts becameunitary authorities. Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished.[a][12][13] Signs saying "Welcome to the Royal County of Berkshire" exist on borders of West Berkshire, on the east side ofVirginia Water, on theM4 motorway, on the south side ofSonning Bridge, on the A404 southbound by Marlow, and northbound on the A33 pastStratfield Saye.
Virginia Water Lake on the southern edge ofWindsor Great ParkHand-drawn map of Oxford, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire by Christopher Saxton from 1576.
All of the county is drained by the Thames. Berkshire divides into two topological[clarification needed] (and associated geological) sections: east and west ofReading. North-east Berkshire has the low calciferous (limestone) m-shaped bends of the Thames south of which is a broader, clayey, gravelly former watery plain or belt from Earley to Windsor and beyond, south, are parcels and belts of uneroded higher sands, flints, shingles and lightly acid soil and in the north of theBagshot Formation, north ofSurrey andHampshire.[14][15]Swinley Forest (also known as Bracknell Forest),Windsor Great Park, Crowthorne and Stratfield Saye Woods have many pine, silver birch, and other lightly acid-soil trees. East of the grassy and wooded bends a large minority of East Berkshire's land mirrors the clay belt, being of low elevation and on the left (north) bank of theThames: Slough, Eton, Eton Wick, Wraysbury, Horton, and Datchet. In the heart of the county Reading's northern suburb Caversham is also on that bank, but rises steeply into theChiltern Hills.
Two main tributaries skirt past Reading, theLoddon and its sub-tributary theBlackwater draining parts of two counties south, and the Kennet draining part of upland Wiltshire in the west. Heading west the reduced, but equally large, part of the county extends further from the Thames which flows from the north-north-west before theGoring Gap; West Berkshire hosts the varying-width plain of theRiver Kennet rising to high chalk hills by way of and lower clay slopes and rises. To the south, the land crests along the boundary withHampshire; the highest parts of South-East and Eastern England taken together are here. The highest isWalbury Hill at 297 m (974 ft).[16] To the north of the Kennet are theBerkshire Downs. This is hilly country, with smaller and well-wooded valleys: those of theLambourn,Pang, and their Thames sub-tributaries. The open upland areas vie withNewmarket, Suffolk forhorse racing training and breeding centres and have good fields of barley, wheat, and other cereal crops.
Berkshire’s surface can be divided into three bands: the county'sdownlands, south and east of which theLondon Clay spans almost the whole county, and in the south-east corner sandyPalaeogene heath covers the London Clay. This is an oversimplification, however.
A gently folded succession ofsedimentary rocks dating from theCretaceous period, with some surviving Palaeogene cover and extensiveQuaternary deposits, characterise the downlands, which cover the area to the west ofReading and the western edge of theChiltern Hills.[17] The lower (early) Cretaceous rocks aresandstones andmudstones (now visible only on the slopes ofWalbury Hill) whilst those of the upper (late) Cretaceous are the various formations that comprise theChalk Group. In Berkshire,White Chalk Formation beds tend to be shallower than those further west (Wiltshire) or those in the Chilterns, and often contain layers of chalk rock. Less consolidated Palaeogeneclays,sands,gravels andsilts of theLambeth,Thames andBracklesham Groups overlie these rocks in some areas.[18] These hills, and the valleys that surround them, were shaped by the riversKennet,[19]Lambourn,[20] Pang[21] andEnborne, and the Quaternary sands and gravels they brought with them and (in the case of the Kennet) left behind when they changed course.[22]
The earlyEocene London Clay (Thames Group) generally gets thinner as we proceed westwards, though the thickness of beds can vary considerably over short distances.[18] Where rivers have cut through these beds Lambeth Group layers are found (notably, thePalaeoceneReading Formation, used for brick-making since Roman times but now increasingly scarce in the area after which it was named).[17]
The heaths and woodland south and east ofBracknell are mostly covered by (Eocene) Bracklesham Group sands and clays, and Quaternary sands, silts and gravels. After theThames broke through theGoring Gap that river and its tributaries theLoddon,Emm Brook,Blackwater and (to some extent)Wey[21] shaped the geography of eastern Berkshire but have not yet eroded away its Eocene cover.[23]
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 areReading,Slough,Bracknell,Maidenhead,Woodley,Wokingham,Windsor,Earley,Sandhurst, andCrowthorne. West Berkshire is much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns: the largest areNewbury,Thatcham, andHungerford. In recent years, Berkshire has seen consistent population growth, particularly in urban areas like Reading and Slough. Between 2011-21, the population increased by 6.7%, largely due to migration and economic opportunities in the region. Reading has experienced significant growth due to its reputation as a technology and business hub.[25]
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). Below were the largest immigrant groups in 2011.
The six unitary councils formed a joint Berkshire Prosperity Board[26] in February 2024 and submitted an expression of interest in forming a non-mayoralcombined authority in September 2024.[27]
This is a chart of trend of regional grossvalue added of Berkshire at current basic prices published by theOffice for National Statistics with figures in millions of Britishpounds sterling.[29]
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
InCompton, a small village, roughly 10 miles fromNewbury, a chemical manufacturing company called Carbosynth was founded, in 2006. Since 2019, it has merged with a Swiss company called Biosynth AG to form a key global organisation within thefine chemical industry and operates under name Biosynth Carbosynth®.[34] Biosynth Carbosynth, along with its acquired companies, vivitide and Pepscan rebranded to Biosynth in 2022.[35]
London Heathrow Airport, in the neighbouring London Borough of Hillingdon, is a major contributor to the economy ofSlough in east Berkshire.[36]
Berkshire hosts moreGroup 1 flat horse races than any other county.Ascot Racecourse is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 13 of the UK's 35 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with theBritish Royal Family, being approximately 6 mi (10 km) fromWindsor Castle, and owned by theCrown Estate.[39]
Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteenflat meetings held between May and October. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains a major draw; the highlight is theAscot Gold Cup. The most prestigious race is theKing George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes run in July.
Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located inWindsor. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom. (The other is atFontwell Park). It abandoned National Hunt jump racing in December 1998, switching entirely to flat racing.
Lambourn also has a rich history in horse racing, the well drained, spongy grass, open downs and long flats make theLambourn Downs ideal for training racehorses. This area of West Berkshire is the largest centre of racehorse training in the UK afterNewmarket, and is known as the 'Valley of the Racecourse'.[41]
Reading F.C. is the only Berkshire football club to play professionalfootball. Despite being founded in 1871, the club did not join theFootball League until 1920, and first played in the top tier of English football in the2006–07 season.
Newbury was home toA.F.C. Newbury, which was one of only two football clubs to be sponsored by Vodafone (the other beingManchester United). In 2006 Vodafone ended its sponsorship of the club,[42] following which the club collapsed. A local pub team from the Old London Apprentice took over the ground temporarily and now compete in theHellenic Football League asNewbury F.C.
Newbury'srugby union club,Newbury R.F.C. (the Newbury 'Blues'), is based in the town. In the 2004–05 season, the club finished second in the National Two division earning promotion to National One. Newbury had previously won National Four South (now renamed as National Three South) in 1996–97 with a 100% win record. In 2010–11 the club finished bottom of National League 2S,[43] with a single win and twenty-nine defeats. The club was founded in 1928 and in 1996 moved to a new purpose-built ground at Monks Lane,[44] which has since hosted England U21 fixtures.
Slough Jets also play in theEnglish Premier League winning the title in 2007.Slough Jets also won the play-offs in 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10 & 2011–12. They also won the EPIH Cup in 2010–11. Slough Jets have been in the EPIHL since 1999.[citation needed]
Phoenix Reading Hockey Club, based at Reading University, has six adult teams and a large junior development section.[45] Reading Hockey Club and Sonning Hockey Club are situated close to each other near Blue Coats School.[46][47] Slough Hockey Club is home to the Slough Ladies 1XI who play in the Women's Premier League, with five adult teams.[48] In 2016, Bracknell and Wokingham Hockey Clubs merged to form South Berkshire Hockey Club. The team plays at Cantley Park in Wokingham and occasionally at Birch Hill, Bracknell.[49] Other hockey teams in the county include Tadley, Yateley, Maidenhead, Windsor, and Newbury & Thatcham Hockey Clubs.[50][51]
^"Written Answers to Questions Col.830".House of Commons Hansard Debates.Parliament of the United Kingdom. 31 March 1995.Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved20 April 2010.In Berkshire, although the county council will be abolished, the county area will remain. Along with its lord lieutenant, it will retain its high sheriff and its title as a royal county.
^Bathurst, David (2012).Walking the county high points of England. Chichester: Summersdale. pp. 148–154.ISBN978-1-84-953239-6.
^abSumbler, M.G. (1996).British Regional Geology: London and the Thames Valley. 4th edn, Keyworth: British Geological Survey.ISBN0-11-884522-5.
^abFirth, John (2022).Geology and Archæology of Berkshire for people who aren't geologists or archæologists. London: Baffin Books.ISBN978-1-9998198-8-0.
^Newell, Andrew; Sorensen, James; Chambers, Jonathan; Wilkinson, Paul; Uhlemann, Sebastian; Roberts, Colin; Gooddy, Darren; Vane, Christopher; Binley, Andrew (2015), "Fluvial response to late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental change in a Thames chalkland headwater: the Lambourn of southern England",Proceedings of the Geologists' Association,126 (5):683–97,Bibcode:2015PrGA..126..683N,doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2015.08.008
^abBridgland, D.R.; Gibbard, P.L. (1997), "Quaternary river diversions in the London Basin and the eastern English Channel",Géographie physique et Quaternaire,51 (3):337–46,doi:10.7202/033132ar
^Clarke, M.R.; Dixon, A.J. (1981), "The Pleistocene braided river deposits in the Blackwater valley area of Berkshire and Hampshire, England",Proceedings of the Geologists' Association,92 (2):139–57,Bibcode:1981PrGA...92..139C,doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(81)80002-8
^Parsons Brinckerhoff and Berkeley Hanover Consulting (3 February 2015)."Heathrow employment impact on Slough"(PDF). Slough Borough Council. p. 35.Archived(PDF) from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved15 March 2018.
^Faber, M.A. (April 1887). "William Penn and the Society of Friends at Reading".The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.11 (1). Historical Society of Pennsylvania:37–49.JSTOR20083177.
^For a short period during the early stages of his career, he lived in Tilehurst. Following his death, a street was named in his memory. See"Ayrton Senna Road, Tilehurst, Reading". Streetmap.co.uk.Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved1 August 2006.
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