Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes.
The county has an area of and had an estimated population of in. 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.
The Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, occupy the south of the county and contain its highest point, Haddington Hill. The Chilterns are the source of the River Ouzel, which flows across the lowland Vale of Aylesbury in the north of the county and through Milton Keynes before meeting the River Great Ouse at Newport Pagnell. The Thames forms part of the county's southern 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
The name Buckinghamshire is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means The district 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.The history of the area predates the Anglo-Saxon period and the county has a rich history starting from the Brittonic 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 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.Canals
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 at above sea level and Coombe Hill near Wendover at.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
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. 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.
Politics
Ceremonial
The ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire consists of both unitary authority areas combined. The ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Since November 2020, the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire is The Countess Howe and the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire is Dame Ann Geraldine Limb, DBE of Stony Stratford The office of Custos rotulorum has been combined with that of Lord Lieutenant since 1702.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)
was founded in 1889 with its base in new municipal buildings in Walton Street, Aylesbury.In 1966, the council moved into new premises: a 15-storey tower block in the centre of Aylesbury designed by county architect Fred Pooley. It is now a Grade II listed building.
From 1974 local administration was run on a two-tier system where public services were split between the county council and five district councils.
Buckinghamshire County Council (1997–2020)
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. 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, 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.
Buckinghamshire Council (2020 onwards)
is a unitary authority covering most of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. It was created in April 2020 from the areas that were previously administered by Buckinghamshire County Council and the district councils of South Bucks, Chiltern, Wycombe, and Aylesbury Vale.Milton Keynes City Council
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 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 Mayor of Milton Keynes. 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 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.Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the former Buckinghamshire County Council features a white mute 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 monarch, an ancient law that still applies to wild swans in the UK today. The arms were first borne 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 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'.