kids encyclopedia robot

Buckinghamshire facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Buckinghamshire
Flag of Buckinghamshire.svg
Flag
Motto(s): 
Vestigia nulla retrorsum
("No turning back / We do not retreat")
Buckinghamshire UK locator map 2010.svg
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region South East
Established Ancient
Time zone UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament 7 MPs
Police Thames Valley Police
Largest city Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county
Lord Lieutenant The Countess Howe DL
from 26 June 2020
High Sheriff George Rupert Anson (2021–22)
Area 1,874 km2 (724 sq mi)
 • Ranked 32nd of 48
Population (2005 est.) 700,100
 • Ranked 31st of 48
Density 374/km2 (970/sq mi)
Ethnicity 91.7% White
4.3% S. Asian
1.6% Black
Districts
Buckinghamshire numbered districts 2020.svg
Districts of Buckinghamshire
Unitary
Districts
  1. Buckinghamshire
  2. Milton Keynes

Buckinghamshire, abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east and Hertfordshire to the east.

Buckinghamshire is one of the Home Counties, the counties of England that surround Greater London. Towns such as High Wycombe, Amersham, Chesham and the Chalfonts in the east and southeast of the county are parts of the London commuter belt, forming some of the most densely populated parts of the county, with some even being served by the London Underground. Development in this region is restricted by the Metropolitan Green Belt. Other large settlements include the county town of Aylesbury in the centre, the former county town of Buckingham in the northwest, Marlow in the south near the Thames and Princes Risborough in the west near Oxford. The largest settlement is Milton Keynes in the northeast, which with the surrounding area is administered as a unitary authority separately to the rest of Buckinghamshire. The remainder of the county is administered by Buckinghamshire Council as another unitary authority.

A large part of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, runs through the south of the county and attracts many walkers and cyclists from London. In this area older buildings are often made from local flint and red brick. Many parts of the county are quite affluent and like many areas around London this has led to high housing costs: several reports have identified the market town of Beaconsfield as having among the highest property prices outside London. Chequers, a mansion estate owned by the government, is the country retreat of the incumbent Prime Minister. To the north of the county lies rolling countryside in the Vale of Aylesbury and around the Great Ouse. The Thames forms part of the county's southwestern boundary. 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.

History

Buckingham-215x334
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 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 Celtic and Roman periods, 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.

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.

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. 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, a large flat expanse of land, which includes the path of the River Great Ouse.

Waterways

Rivers

The county includes parts of two of the four longest rivers in England. The River 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 River Great Ouse rises just outside the county in Northamptonshire and flows east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Olney.

Canals

Medmenham River Thames geograph-4090549-by-Ben-Brooksbank
The River Thames at Medmenham

The main branch of the Grand Union Canal passes through the county as do its arms to Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover (disused) and Buckingham (disused). 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 267 metres (876 ft) above sea level, and Coombe Hill near Wendover at 260 metres (850 ft).

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.

Demography

Buckinghamshire districts
District Main towns Population (2011) Area Population density (2011) Population projection 2026
Buckinghamshire Aylesbury, Buckingham, High Wycombe, Marlow, Amersham, Chesham, Beaconsfield, Burnham 505,283 1564.95 km2 323/km2 530,80000
Borough of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes, Newport Pagnell 248,821 0308.63 km2 806/km2 323,146
TOTAL Ceremonial 754,104 1873.58 km2 402/km2 853,94600
CheshamPondParkView
Suburban housing, Chesham

Buckinghamshire is 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. Likewise Chesham has a similar-sized Asian community, and High Wycombe is the most ethnically diverse town in the county, with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean populations. 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.

Places of interest

Lake at Stowe Landscape Garden with Temple in distance - geograph.org.uk - 77696
Stowe Landscape Garden
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1264147
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Great Missenden

Buckinghamshire is notable for its open countryside and natural features, including the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Stowe Landscaped Gardens near Buckingham, and the River Thames. The Ridgeway Path, a long-distance footpath, passes through the county. The county also has many historic houses. Some of these are opened to the public by the National Trust, such as Waddesdon Manor, West Wycombe Park and Cliveden. Other historic houses are still in use as private homes, such as the Prime Minister's country retreat Chequers.

Claydon House is a National Trust property, situated near the village of Steeple Claydon. Home to the Verney family and was also home to Florence Nightingale for some time.

Buckinghamshire is the location of Bletchley Park, the site of World War II British codebreaking and Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic digital computer.

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.

Sports facilities in Buckinghamshire include half of the international Silverstone Circuit which straddles the Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire border, Adams Park in the south and stadium:mk in the north, and the county is also home to the world-famous Pinewood Studios. Dorney Lake, named "Eton Dorney" for the event, was used as the rowing venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Transport

Roads

M40 - Chiltern Cutting - Stokenchurch - geograph.org.uk - 94271
The M40 in the Chilterns
Arriva 5434 on route 359 at Amersham Running Day 2013 (14096696112)
Local bus, Amersham

The ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire is served by four motorways, although two are on its borders:

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

Five important A roads also enter the county (from north to south):

  • A4: serves Taplow in the very south.
  • A5: serves Milton Keynes.
  • A421: serves Milton Keynes and Buckingham; links the M1 to the M40.
  • A40: parallels M40 through south Bucks and continues to Central London.
  • A41: cuts through the centre of the county from Watford to Bicester, serving Aylesbury.

Also less important primary A roads enter the country:

  • A404: serves Marlow and High Wycombe.
  • A509: serves the north of the county through Olney, crossing the M1 at J14, ending at the A5 in Milton Keynes.
  • 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.

Rail

Little Kimble railway station 1
Little Kimble railway station, a typical rural village halt on the Aylesbury–Princes Risborough line
MKcentralplatforms
Milton Keynes Central railway station provides intercity and commuter services on the West Coast Main Line

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.

Chiltern Railways is a principal train operating company in Buckinghamshire, providing the majority of local commuter services from the centre and south of the county, with trains running into London Marylebone. Great Western operates commuter services from Taplow and Iver into London Paddington. West Midlands Trains provides these services from Milton Keynes Central into Euston or Birmingham New Street, and Southern operates commuter services via the West London Line from Milton Keynes Central to East Croydon.

Avanti West Coast operates inter-city services from Milton Keynes Central to Euston, North West England, the West Midlands, the Scottish Central Belt, and North Wales. Great Western operates non-stop services through the south of the county from Paddington to South West England and South Wales.

There are four main lines running through the county:

There are the following additional lines:

  • Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line: a single track branch that connects the Chiltern Main Line to the London to Aylesbury Line.
  • Marston Vale Line: between Bletchley and Bedford. This is a remnant of the former Varsity Line between Oxford and Cambridge
  • Marlow Branch Line: between Marlow, Bourne End and Maidenhead.
  • Metropolitan line: between Amersham and Chesham to London
  • Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway, a preserved railway.
  • The new Elizabeth line (constructed as Crossrail) serves Iver.

As of 2021, 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. 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 Towns in Ceremonial Buckinghamshire (2011 census)
Town Population District Notes
Milton Keynes 229,941 Borough of Milton Keynes Unitary Authority since 1997. At the 2011 census, the population of the Milton Keynes Urban Area, which includes Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands was 236,700
High Wycombe 120,256 Wycombe Includes suburbs of Downley and Hazlemere. The High Wycombe Urban Area population is 133,204
Aylesbury 71,977 Aylesbury Vale County town of Buckinghamshire. Population of Aylesbury Urban Area (including Stoke Mandeville and Bierton) is 74,748
Amersham 23,086 Chiltern Part of Amersham/Chesham urban area with a population of 46,122.
Chesham 22,356 Chiltern Part of Amersham/Chesham urban area with a population of 46,122.
Gerrards Cross 20,633 Chiltern/South Bucks Includes Chalfont St Peter. The area lacks town status but is the 5th largest conurbation in the county.
Marlow 18,261 Wycombe
Beaconsfield 13,797 South Bucks
Buckingham 12,890 Aylesbury Vale Historically the county town of Buckinghamshire
Princes Risborough 8,231 Wycombe
Wendover 7,702 Aylesbury Vale
Olney 6,477 Borough of Milton Keynes Governed by Milton Keynes Council, not Buckinghamshire County Council
Winslow 4,407 Aylesbury Vale

For the full list of towns, villages and hamlets in Buckinghamshire, see List of places in Buckinghamshire. Throughout history, there have been a number of changes to the Buckinghamshire boundary.

Economy

Ashton House, Milton Keynes - geograph.org.uk - 1208078
Offices, Milton Keynes
Princes Risborough, ercol workshop and showroom - geograph.org.uk - 749399
Ercol furniture factory, Princes Risborough

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. 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. 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.

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).

Year Regional Gross Value Added Agriculture Industry Services GVA index per person
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

Education

Gateway building BNU
The Gateway Building, Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe.

Artist and composer Harriet Anne Smart started a school in Buckinghamshire in the 1850s to teach local laborers how to read. Today, education in Buckinghamshire is governed by two Local Education Authorities. 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 borough council area.

Buckinghamshire is also home to the University of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire New University, the National Film and Television School, and the Open University. The University of Bedfordshire has a campus in Milton Keynes.

Notable people

John Milton's cottage
John Milton's cottage, Chalfont
Buckingham Church - geograph.org.uk - 715502
Buckingham church seen from across the Ouse

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

Buckinghamshire later became home to some notable literary characters. Edmund Waller was brought up in Beaconsfield and served as Member of Parliament (MP) for both Amersham and Wycombe. Mary Shelley and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley lived for some time in Marlow, attracted to the town by their friend Thomas Love Peacock who also lived there. John Milton lived in Chalfont St Giles and his cottage can still be visited there and John Wilkes was MP for Aylesbury. Later authors include Jerome K. Jerome who lived at Marlow, T. S. Eliot who also lived at Marlow, Roald Dahl who lived at Great Missenden, Enid Blyton who lived in Beaconsfield and Edgar Wallace who lived at Bourne End and is buried in Little Marlow. Modern-day writers from Bucks include Terry Pratchett who was born in Beaconsfield, Tim Rice who is from Amersham and Andy Riley who is from Aylesbury.

During the Second World War a number of European politicians and statesmen were exiled in England. Many of these settled in Bucks as it is close to London. President Edvard Beneš of Czechoslovakia lived at Aston Abbotts with his family while some of his officials were stationed at nearby Addington and Wingrave. Meanwhile, Władysław Sikorski, military leader of Poland, lived at Iver and King Zog of Albania lived at Frieth. Much earlier, King Louis XVIII of France lived in exile at Hartwell House from 1809 to 1814.

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

Other notable natives of Buckinghamshire include:

Notable celebrities living in Buckinghamshire include:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Buckinghamshire para niños

kids search engine
Buckinghamshire Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.