1、BerkshireFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchFor other uses, see Berkshire (disambiguation).BerkshireMotto of County Council: Dieu et mon droit!Shown within EnglandGeographyStatus Non-metropolitan sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South East of Engla
2、nd. 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 1974.1Berkshire bo
3、rders Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Greater London. The county town was Abingdon but is now Reading. There is no county council with the highest tier of local government being the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor an
4、d Maidenhead and Slough.edit HistoryThe 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. A
5、ccording 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“).citation neededBerkshire has been the scene of many battles throughout history, during Alfred the Greats campaign against the Danes, including the Ba
6、ttle 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, ta
7、king over from Abingdon 1 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 altera
8、tions 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, following the Local Government Act 1972, the northern part of the county became part of Oxfordshire, with Faringdon, W
9、antage 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 Loca
10、l 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 authoriti
11、es. 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 mo
12、torway.edit EconomyThis is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices published (pp.240253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.Year Regional Gross Value Added1 Agriculture2 Industry3 Services41995 10,997 53 2
13、,689 8,2552000 18,412 40 3,511 14,8612003 21,119 48 3,666 17,406Notes 1. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding 2. Includes hunting and forestry 3. Includes energy and construction 4. Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured edit Geology, landscape and ecologyFrom a l
14、andscape 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.
15、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 an
16、d 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 other
17、wise 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 jo
18、ins the Thames in Reading. Fairly steep slopes on each side delineate the rivers 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
19、 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 rac
20、ing 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.edit SportOne football club from the county plays professional football, Reading, who were formed in 1871.edit Demograph
21、icsAccording to 2003 estimates there are 803,657 people in Berkshire, or 636 people/km. 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
22、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 Berkshires proximity to an expanding Londoncitation needed. In 1831, there were 146,234 people livi
23、ng 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 edit PoliticsBerkshire is a ceremonial county and
24、 non-metropolitan county and it is unusual in England in that it is the only such county with multiple districts but no county council. The district councils are unitary authorities but do not have county status.In the unitary authorities the Conservatives control West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenh
25、ead, 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 six out of eight constituencies. Slough and Reading West are both represented by the Labour Party.See also: List of Parliamentary constituencies in Berkshire
