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Buckinghamshire

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For other uses, see Buckinghamshire (disambiguation).
Buckinghamshire
Ceremonial county
Map
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth East England
OriginHistoric
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Ceremonial county
Area[convert: needs a number]
 • Rank of 48
 • Rank of 48
Density[convert: needs a number]
Ethnicity
91.7% White
4.3% S.Asian
1.6% Black British

Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metroplitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes.

The area under the control of Buckinghamshire County Council, or shire county, is divided into four districts - Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe. The Borough of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority and forms part of the county for various functions such as Lord Lieutenant but does not come under county council control. The ceremonial county, the area including Milton Keynes borough, borders Greater London, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

History

Main article: History of Buckinghamshire
Map of Bucks (1904)

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 an Anglo-Saxon landowner. The county has been so named since about the 12th century; however, the county itself has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of Mercia (585–919).

The history of the area though predates the Anglo Saxon period and the county has a rich history from the Celtic through to Roman periods though the Anglo Saxons did have perhaps the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire out of these groups: 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[1].

The biggest change to the county historically 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 economical picture 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 very popular home for London commuters leading to greater local affluence however some pockets of relative deprivation remain.[2]

Geography

The county includes the Chiltern Hills to the South and the Vale of Aylesbury to the north. At 876 ft (267 m) above sea level, the two highest points are Coombe Hill near Wendover, and Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire, near Wendover where a stone marks the summit.

Politics

Buckinghamshire County Council

Bucks County Council's County Hall

The county council was founded in 1889 with its base in new municipal buildings in Walton Street, Aylesbury (which are still there). In Buckinghamshire, local administration is run on a two-tier system where public services are split between the county council and a series of district councils.

In the 1960s the council moved into new premises: a 15-storey tower block in the centre of Aylesbury (pictured) designed by architect Thomas Pooley. Said to be one of the most unpopular and disliked buildings in Buckinghamshire it is now a Grade II listed building.

In 1997 the northern part of Buckinghamshire in Milton Keynes Borough separated to form a unitary authority, however for ceremonial and some other purposes Milton Keynes is still considered to be part of Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire County Council is a large employer within the County and provides a great variety of functions including education (schools, adult education and youth services), social services, highways, libraries, County Archives and Record Office, County Museum and Roald Dahl Children's Gallery in Aylesbury, some aspects waste disposal, consumer services and some aspects waste disposal and planning.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for Buckinghamshire County Council features a white swan in chains. This dates back to the Anglo Saxon period, when swans were bred in Buckinghamshire for the king's pleasure. That the swan is in chains illustrates that the swan is bound to the king, an ancient law that still applies to wild swans in the UK today. The herald was first used at the Battle of Agincourt by the Duke of Buckingham.

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 mounted 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 says Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum. This is Latin and means 'no stepping back'.

The flag of Buckinghamshire, which flies outside County Hall in Aylesbury, comprises red and black halves with a white swan. The flag takes the county emblem which is on the county shield.

Ceremonial posts

Main article: Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire
Main article: High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire

Currently the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire is Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher and the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire is Amanda Nicholson. The Custos rotulorum has been combined with the duties of Lord Lieutenant since 1702. All these titles cover the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire.

Demographics

Today Buckinghamshire is an ethnically diverse area, particularly in the larger towns. At the end of the nineteenth century some Welsh drover families settled in north Bucks and, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, a large number of Londoners (to Milton Keynes). Aylesbury has a sizeable Italian population, and Amersham has a large Polish community dating from World War Two. Amersham is twinned with Krynica in Poland. High Wycombe is the most ethnically diverse town in the county, with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean populations. There is also a Polish and Eastern European community.

Economy

Buckinghamshire has a modern service-based economy and is part of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire NUTS-2 region, which was the seventh richest subregion in the European Union in 2002[3] 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 Buckinghamshire). Manufacturing industries include furniture-making (traditionally centred at High Wycombe), pharmaceuticals and agricultural processing.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Buckinghamshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling (except GVA index).[4]

Year Regional Gross Value Added[5] Agriculture[6] Industry[7] Services[8] GVA index per person[9]
1995 6,008 60 1,746 4,201 118
2000 8,389 45 1,863 6,481 125
2003 9,171 50 1,793 7,328 118

In a recent nationwide survey, Buckinghamshire had the highest quality of life in the country, having the highest life expectancy and best education results.


Places of interest

Key
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
Accessible open space Accessible open space
Amusement/Theme Park
Castle
Country Park Country Park
English Heritage
Forestry Commission
Heritage railway Heritage railway
Historic house Historic House
Places of Worship Places of Worship
Museum (free)
Museum		 Museum (free/not free)
National Trust National Trust
Theatre
Zoo

The county is also home to the world famous Pinewood Studios.

Transport

Roads

Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes) is served by four motorways, although two are on its borders:

  • M40 motorway - cuts through the south of the county serving towns such as High Wycombe and Beaconsfield
  • M1 motorway - serves Milton Keynes in the north
  • M25 motorway - passes into Bucks but has only one junction (J16-interchange for the M40)
  • M4 motorway - passes through the very south of the county with only J7 in Bucks

Also the A41(M) comes into Buckinghamshire from the east to Aston Clinton.

Road travel east–west is good in the county because of the commuter routes leaving London for the rest of the country. There are no major roads that run directly between the south and north of the county (e.g. between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes).

Rail

Bucks has several lines running through it, serving many parts of the county.

Settlements

This is a list of the towns in the shire county of Buckinghamshire. For the full list of towns, villages and hamlets in Buckinghamshire, see List of places in Buckinghamshire.

This is a list of the towns in the historic bounds of Buckinghamshire that after various local government reorganisations are no longer administered as part of it.

Education

Buckinghamshire LEA has a completely selective education system with either grammar schools or secondary modern schools. There are 9 independent schools and 34 state schools, not including sixth form colleges.


Notable people

Anciently Buckinghamshire is the birth place and/or final resting place of several notable individuals. Saint Osyth was born in Quarrendon and was buried in Aylesbury in the 7th century[10] while at about the same time Saint Rumwold was buried in Buckingham[11]. From the medieval period Roger of Wendover was, as the name suggests, from Wendover[12] and Anne Boleyn also owned property in the same town[13]. It is said that King Henry VIII made Aylesbury the county town over Buckingham because Boleyn's father owned property there and was a regular visitor himself[14]. Other medieval residents included Edward the Confessor who had a palace at Brill[15] and John Wycliffe who lived in Ludgershall[16].

From a slightly later period Buckinghamshire became home to some notable literary characters. Edmund Waller was brought up in Beaconsfield and served as Member of Parliament for both Amersham and Wycombe[17]. Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary spent some time living in Marlow, attracted to the town by their friend Thomas Love Peacock who also lived there[18]. John Milton lived in Chalfont St Giles and his cottage can still be visited there[19] and John Wilkes served as Member of Parliament for Aylesbury[20]. Much later literary characters include Jerome K. Jerome who lived at Marlow[21], T. S. Eliot who also lived at Marlow[22], Roald Dahl who lived in Great Missenden[23], Enid Blyton who lived in Beaconsfield[24] and Edgar Wallace who lived in Bourne End[25] and is buried in Little Marlow[26]. Modern-day writers from Bucks include Terry Pratchett who was born in Beaconsfield[27], Tim Rice who is from Amersham[28] and Andy Riley who is from Aylesbury[29].

During the Second World War a number of politicians and world leaders from Europe came to England to seek exile. Due to its proximity to London various locations in Buckinghamshire were selected to house dignitaries. President Edvard Beneš of Czechoslovakia lived at Aston Abbotts with his family while some of his officials were stationed at nearby Addington and Wingrave[30]. Meanwhile Władysław Sikorski, military leader of Poland, lived at Iver[31] and King Zog of Albania lived at Frieth[32]. Bucks is also notable for another exile, although this one much earlier: King Louis XVIII of France lived in exile at Hartwell House from 1809 to 1814[33].

Also on the local political stage Buckinghamshire has been home to Nancy Astor who lived in Cliveden[34], Frederick, Prince of Wales who also lived in Cliveden[35], Baron Carrington who lives in Bledlow[36], Benjamin Disraeli who lived at Hughenden Manor and was made Earl of Beaconsfield[37], John Hampden who was from Great Hampden and is revered in Aylesbury to this day[38] and Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery who lived at Mentmore[39]. Also worthy of note are William Penn who believed he was descended from the Penn family of Penn and so is buried nearby[40] and the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who has an official residence at Chequers. Finally John Archdale colonial governor of North Carolina and South Carolina, although more notably American, was born in Buckinghamshire[41]

Other natives of Buckinghamshire who have become notable in their own right include:

Today Buckinghamshire is a very picturesque landscape and is home to numerous celebrities and has attracted its fair share in the past. These include:

See also

References

  1. ^ Biography of John Hampden
  2. ^ Report on deprivation from Wycombe District Council, showing some areas among top 20% of national deprivation figures
  3. ^ Regional GDP per capita in the EU25 GDP per capita in 2002 ranged from 32% of the EU25 average in Lubelskie to 315% in Inner London
  4. ^ Office of National Statistics (pp.240-253)
  5. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  6. ^ includes hunting and forestry
  7. ^ includes energy and construction
  8. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
  9. ^ UK average index base = 100
  10. ^ Tendring District Council Conservation Area Review (pdf)
  11. ^ Biography of St Rumwold, University of Buckingham
  12. ^ Medieval Sourcebook: Roger of Wendover
  13. ^ Picture Tour at Chiltern Web
  14. ^ Aylesbury Tourist Information
  15. ^ Genuki guide to Brill
  16. ^ Biography of John Wycliffe
  17. ^ Biography of Edmund Waller
  18. ^ Biography of Thomas Love Peacock
  19. ^ Milton's Cottage website
  20. ^ Review of a biography of John Wilkes
  21. ^ Literary guide to Marlow
  22. ^ Tourist guide to Marlow
  23. ^ About Britain.com
  24. ^ Guide to Beaconsfield
  25. ^ Bourne End online
  26. ^ Biography of Edgar Wallace
  27. ^ Biography of Terry Pratchett
  28. ^ Tim Rice profile at IMDb
  29. ^ Aylesbury Grammar School Old Boys data
  30. ^ Czechs in Exile at Aston Abbotts
  31. ^ Czechs in Exile - Polish government comparison
  32. ^ Bucks Free Press
  33. ^ Biography of Louis XVIII of France
  34. ^ Guide to Cliveden
  35. ^ New York Times Travel Supplement
  36. ^ Visit Buckinghamshire - Bledlow
  37. ^ Biography of Disraeli
  38. ^ Biography of John Hampden
  39. ^ Genuki guide to Mentmore
  40. ^ Biography of William Penn
  41. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Buckinghamshire".


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