The county has an area of 1,874km2 (724sqmi) and had an estimated population of 884,656 in 2024. Besides Milton Keynes,which is in the north-east,the largest settlements are in the centre and south of the county and include Aylesbury,High Wycombe,and Chesham. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas,Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The county historically had slightly different borders,and included the towns of Slough and Eton. It is one of the home counties.
Notable service amenities in the county are Pinewood Film Studios,Dorney rowing lake and part of Silverstone race track on the Northamptonshire border. Many national companies have head offices or major centres in Milton Keynes. Heavy industry and quarrying is limited,with agriculture predominating after service industries.
The name Buckinghamshire is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means The district (scire) of Bucca's home. Bucca's home refers to Buckingham in the north of the county,and is named after the Anglo-Saxon landowner,Bucca. The county has been so named since about the 12th century;however,the county has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of Mercia (585–919).
The history of the area predates the Anglo-Saxon period and the county has a rich history starting from the Brittonic and Roman periods,[citation needed] though the Anglo-Saxons perhaps had the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire:the geography of the rural county is largely as it was in the Anglo-Saxon period. Later,Buckinghamshire became an important political arena,with King Henry VIII intervening in local politics in the 16th century,and just a century later the English Civil War was reputedly started by John Hampden in mid-Bucks.[5]
Historically,the biggest change to the county came in the 19th century,when a combination of cholera and famine hit the rural county,forcing many to migrate to larger towns to find work. Not only did this alter the local economic situation,it meant a lot of land was going cheap at a time when the rich were more mobile,and leafy Bucks became a popular rural idyll:an image it still has today. Buckinghamshire is a popular home for London commuters,leading to greater local affluence;however,some pockets of relative deprivation remain.[6]
The expansion of London and coming of the railways promoted the growth of towns in the south of the county such as Aylesbury,Amersham and High Wycombe,leaving the town Buckingham itself to the north in a relative backwater.[7] As a result,most county institutions are now based in the south of the county or Milton Keynes,rather than in Buckingham.
Geography
The county can be split into two sections geographically. The south leads from the River Thames up the gentle slopes of the Chiltern Hills to the more abrupt slopes on the northern side leading to the Vale of Aylesbury and the City of Milton Keynes UA,a large and relatively level expanse of land that is the southern catchment of the River Great Ouse.
Waterways
Rivers
The county includes parts of two of the four longest rivers in England. The Thames forms the southern boundary with Berkshire,which has crept over the border at Eton and Slough so that the river is no longer the sole boundary between the two counties. The Great Ouse rises just outside the county in Northamptonshire and flows east through Buckingham,Milton Keynes and Olney.
The main branch of the Grand Union Canal passes through the county as do its arms to Slough and Aylesbury,as well as the disused arms to Wendover and Buckingham. The canal has been incorporated into the landscaping of Milton Keynes.
Landscape
The southern part of the county is dominated by the Chiltern Hills. The two highest points in Buckinghamshire are Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods (a stone marks its summit) at 267m (876ft) above sea level[8] and Coombe Hill near Wendover at 260m (850ft).
Mineral extraction
Quarrying has taken place for chalk,clay for brickmaking and gravel and sand in the river valleys. Flint,also extracted from quarries,was often used to build older local buildings. Several former quarries,now flooded,have become nature reserves.[9]
The administration of Buckinghamshire is further sub-divided into civil parishes.
Today Buckinghamshire is ethnically diverse,particularly in the larger towns. At the end of the 19th century some Welsh drover families settled in north Bucks and,in the last quarter of the 20th century,a large number of Londoners in Milton Keynes. Between 6 and 7% of the population of Aylesbury are of Asian or Asian British origin.[12] Likewise Chesham has a similar-sized Asian community,[13] and High Wycombe is the most ethnically diverse town in the county,[6] with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean populations.[6] During the Second World War there were many Polish settlements in Bucks,Czechs in Aston Abbotts and Wingrave,and Albanians in Frieth. Remnants of these communities remain in the county.
The ceremonial county has two top-level administrations– both are unitary authorities–Buckinghamshire Council,which administers about four-fifths of the county and two-thirds of its population,and Milton Keynes City Council,which administers the remainder.
Buckinghamshire County Council (1889–1997)
Buckinghamshire County Council was founded in 1889 with its base in new municipal buildings in Walton Street,Aylesbury (which are still there).
In 1966,the council moved into new premises:a 15-storey tower block in the centre of Aylesbury (pictured) designed by county architect Fred Pooley. It is now a Grade II listed building.
In 1997,the northernmost part of Buckinghamshire,until then Milton Keynes District,was separated to form a unitary authority,the Borough of Milton Keynes; for ceremonial purposes Milton Keynes remains part of Buckinghamshire.[17] The administration of the remainder of the county continued to be called Buckinghamshire County Council.
Buckinghamshire County Council was a large employer in the county and provided a variety of services,including education (schools,adult education and youth services),social services,highways,libraries,County Archives and Record Office,the County Museum and the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery in Aylesbury,consumer services and some aspects of waste disposal and planning.
A local authority for North Buckinghamshire was formed by the Local Government Act 1972,styled as the "Milton Keynes District Council" and subordinate to Buckinghamshire County Council. Its (district) council was first elected in 1973,a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the District of Milton Keynes on 1 April 1974. The council was granted borough status on its foundation,entitling it to be known as "Milton Keynes Borough Council" and to annually appoint a (ceremonial) Mayor of Milton Keynes.[19][20] On 1 April 1997,the Borough became a self-governing unitary authority,independent of the County Council. Following award of Letters Patent in 2022,the Borough became the City of Milton Keynes,and its council became Milton Keynes City Council. The remit of the City Council extends beyond the Milton Keynes urban area,encompassing a significant rural area with villages,hamlets,and the market town of Olney.
Flag
The flag of the historic county of Buckinghamshire
The traditional flag of Buckinghamshire comprises a chained swan on a bicolour of red and black. The flag was registered with the Flag Institute on 20 May 2011.
Above the swan is a gold band,in the centre of which is Whiteleaf Cross,representing the many ancient landmarks of the county. The shield is surmounted by a beech tree,representing the Chiltern Forest that once covered almost half the county. Either side of the shield are a buck,for Buckingham,and a swan,the county symbol.
The motto of the shield is Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum. This is Latin and means 'no stepping back' (or 'no steps backwards').[21]
Buckinghamshire has a modern service-based economy and is part of the Berkshire,Buckinghamshire and OxfordshireNUTS-2 region,which was the seventh richest subregion in the European Union in 2002.[22] As well as the highest GDP per capita outside Inner London,Buckinghamshire has the highest quality of life,the highest life expectancy and the best education results in the country.[23] The southern part of the county is a prosperous section of the London commuter belt. The county has fertile agricultural lands,with many landed estates,especially those of the Rothschild banking family of England in the 19th century (see Rothschild properties in England). The county has several annual agricultural shows,with the Bucks County Show established in 1859. Manufacturing industries include furniture-making (traditionally centred at High Wycombe),pharmaceuticals and agricultural processing. Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath is a principal centre of operations for film and TV production in the UK.
Examples of historical architecture in the Chiltern region are preserved at the Chiltern Open Air Museum,an open-airfolk museum near Chalfont St Giles. The 45-acre (180,000m2) site contains reconstructed buildings which might otherwise have been destroyed or demolished as a result of redevelopment or road construction.[29][30]
Buckinghamshire is the home of various notable people in connection with whom tourist attractions have been established:for example the author Roald Dahl who included many local features and characters in his works.[31] Artists William Callow and Harriet Anne Smart Callow produced many paintings of the area in the late 19th century.[32]
Sports facilities in Buckinghamshire include half of the international Silverstone Circuit which straddles the Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire border,the Adams Park Stadium in the south and Stadium MK in the north,and Dorney Lake (named 'Eton Dorney' for the event) was used as the rowing venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Media
The county is covered by three overlapping TV regions
BBC South and ITV Meridian (for the Thames Valley) covering the western side of the county,
A509:serves the north of the county,starting at the A5 near Central Milton Keynes,heading north-east towards Olney via M1 J14,eventually leaving the county at Warrington for Wellingborough and Kettering.
A4010:runs from M40 J4 (High Wycombe) to Stoke Mandeville.
A4146:runs from Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) to Milton Keynes.
The county is poorly served with internal routes,with the A413 and A418 linking the south and north of the county.
As part of the London commuter belt,Buckinghamshire is well connected to the national rail network,with both local commuter and inter-city services serving some destinations.
As of 2021[update],contractors are working on behalf of the East West Rail Company to reinstate the route between Oxford and Bletchley via Winslow,enabling services to Milton Keynes Central from 2025.[33] The line between Aylesbury and Claydon Junction may also be reinstated in the same programme,enabling services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes,but this option is not programmed. Construction of High Speed 2 is also underway and is planned to run non-stop through the county at some future date.
Settlements
Largest built-up areas in ceremonial Buckinghamshire (2011 census)
Artist and composer Harriet Anne Smart started a school in Buckinghamshire in the 1850s to teach local labourers how to read.[37] Today,education in Buckinghamshire is governed by two Local Education Authorities,Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council. Buckinghamshire Council is one of the few remaining LEAs still using the tripartite system,albeit with some revisions such as the abolition of secondary technical schools. It has a completely selective education system:pupils transfer either to a grammar school or to a secondary modern school or free school depending on how they perform in the Eleven-Plus exam and on their preferences. Pupils who do not take the test can only be allocated places at secondary modern schools or free school. There are 9 independent schools and 34 maintained (state) secondary schools,not including sixth form colleges,in the county council area. There is also the Buckinghamshire University Technical College which offers secondary education from age 14. The unitary authority of Milton Keynes operates a comprehensive education system:there are 8 maintained (state) secondary schools in the City Council area.
↑Burridge, Nicky (29 March 2008). "Buckinghamshire is best county". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
↑James Mulvihill (University of Alberta) (13 January 2005). "Biography of Thomas Love Peacock". Litencyc.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
↑John Darnton (4 August 1996). "Travel Supplement". New York Times. Buckinghamshire (Eng). Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
↑"Bledlow". Visit Buckinghamshire. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
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