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Berkshire
Berkshire, England
Berkshire is a Royal County in southern England. The River Thames forms the county's northern border for over 100 miles. The Berkshire Downs, a range of chalk hills, run west-east from the Wiltshire border, ending near the Thames south of Wallingford. Between the Berkshire Downs and the Thames lies the valley of the River Ock, named the Vale of the White Horse from the mysterious hill figure carved into the chalk hillside. Wantage was the birthplace of Alfred the Great. The county town of Abingdon lies on the west bank of the Thames, where the Ock meets it. Nearby Didcot is noted for its railway heritage. Wallingford is a beautiful market town at the foot of the Berkshire Downs. The valley of the River Kennet runs west to east across the county, to the south of the Berkshire Downs. Newbury, on the Kennet, has many 17th-century buildings. Reading lies where the Kennet enters the Thames. Reading Abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121. South and west of Reading is the Lodden Valley which includes the market town of Wokingham. In the south-east of the county lie Bracknell, a post-war new town; Sandhurst, known for its military academy; Ascot, famed for its racecourse; Maidenhead, a prosperous town on the Thames; and Windsor, a jewel of a town dominated by Windsor Castle. Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 51.561591,-1.408601
Grid Reference: SU410849
Country: England
Explore Berkshire on WikishireIn the west of the county lie the Berkshire Downs, a range of chalk downland hills. Geologically they are continuous with the Marlborough Downs to the west and the Chilterns to the east. They form part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The downs run east-west from the Wiltshire border, ending close to where the Thames flows south downstream from Wallingford. This south flowing section of the Thames occupies a gap between the Berkshire Downs and the Chilterns, known as the Goring Gap, after Goring on Thames in its centre. The Thames cut this course through the chalk half a million years ago.
Between the Berkshire Downs and the Thames lies the Vale of the White Horse. The Vale is the valley of the Ock, a stream which rises in the Berkshire Downs and flows westward to enter the Thames at Abingdon. The Vale is almost flat and well-wooded; its green meadows and foliage contrasting richly with the bald summits of the Berkshire Downs, which flank it on the south. To the north, a low ridge separates the Vale from the upper Thames Valley. The Vale is dotted with pleasant villages. Wantage, in the heart of the Vale, is famous as the birthplace of King Alfred the Great in 849. The small market town of Faringdon is found in The Vale's north-western rim. Near the town is Buscot Park (NT), an 18th century country house. Great Coxwell Barn (NT) is a large 14th-century stone barn in nearby village of Great Coxwell.
Great Coxwell Barn
The Vale takes its name from the White Horse of Uffington, a huge and mysterious hill figure carved into the chalk hillside above Uffington. The White Horse is 374 feet long and highly stylised. The figure has been dated to the Bronze Age. Many ancient remains occur in the vicinity of the Horse. On the summit of White Horse Hill is Uffington castle, an Iron Age hill fort. To the west lies a long barrow called Wayland's Smithy. A grassy track above the Vale represents the Ridgeway, perhaps five thousand years old. It travels along the crest of the hills, far above what would then have been marshy lowlands or dangerous forests.
The county town of Abingdon lies on the west bank of the Thames, where the Ock flows in the from Vale of the White Horse. The site has been occupied from the early to middle Iron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age defensive enclosure (or oppidum) lies below the town centre. Abingdon Abbey was founded around 676, giving its name to the emerging town. The County Hall, built in 1677–1680, has been hailed as the "grandest town hall in Britain". Abingdon Bridge, crossing the Thames into Oxfordshire, was built in 1416 but often widened and altered. The town of Didcot, five miles south of Abingdon, is noted for its railway heritage and is now a centre for science and technology. Milton Manor House, three miles west of Didcot, is a yellow and red brick manor house built for the Calton family in the 17th century.
The Berkshire County Hall, Abingdon
Wallingford is a beautiful market town at the foot of the Berkshire Downs. The River Thames flows gracefully past, southward toward the Goring Gap. A 900-foot long mediæval stone bridge crosses the river and the adjacent flood plain on the Oxfordshire bank. Wallingford Castle was the last holdout of the Royalists in Berkshire, withstanding a 65-day siege. Oliver Cromwell subsequently ordered the destruction of the castle.
Wallingford Bridge
Several of Oxford's suburbs lie south of the Thames in Berkshire including Grandpont and New Hinksey. More distant suburbs in Berkshire include Cumnor Hill, Botley, Dean Court, Kennington and North Hinksey.
South of the Berkshire Downs runs the valley of the River Kennet. The Kennet has an extensive range of rare plants and animals, unique to chalk watercourses. Fairly steep slopes on each side delineate the river's flat floodplain. To the south, the land rises steeply to the boundary with Hampshire, and here are found the highest parts of the county, the county top is on Walbury Hill. Close by is Hungerford, on the Wiltshire border.
The town of Newbury stands on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th-century buildings. Donnington Castle (EH) is a ruined mediæval castle situated in the village of Donnington just north of Newbury. The nearby small town of Thatcham also stands on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal. The Old Bluecoat School was built in 1304 as the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr. West of Thatcham, from near Aldmasteron Wharf the Kennet flows north-west across the county, flowing in to the Thames at Reading.
Basildon Park (NT) is a country house with a magnificent garden between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon.
Rose Garden, Basildon Park
Reading is the largest town of Berkshire. It stands on the River Thames where the River Kennet enters it. Reading is well connected, by the M4 motorway and the Great Western Main Line railway. Reading was an important national centre in the mediæval period, the site of a monastery with strong royal connections. Today it remains a commercial centre, with links to information technology and insurance. It is also a university town with a large student population. Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town. It was founded by Henry I in 1121. In its heyday the abbey was one of Europe's largest royal monasteries.
Reading Abbey
South and west of Reading is the Lodden Valley. The Lodden enters Berkshire near Swallowfield and flows south to north, entering the Thames near Wargrave. The small market town of Wokingham lies on the Emm Brook in the Lodden Valley. The town's formerly important industry, brick-making, has given way to software development, light engineering and service industries. The commuter village of Twyford sits beside the River Loddon as it enters the meadows running down to the River Thames.
Bracknell, in the south-east of the county, was designated a new town in 1949. The town is surrounded, on the east and south, by the vast expanse of Swinley Woods and Crowthorne Woods. South of Bracknell, close to the borders of Hampshire and Surrey, is the small town of Sandhurst, known worldwide as the location of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Ascot, close to the Surrey border, is famed as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. The racecourse, which is owned by Her Majesty, has shaped the town around itself, as it stands at one end of the High Street and all around are gallops, training grounds, stud farms and shops catering to horsemen and visitors.
North of Ascot, on the Thames, is the suburban town of Windsor. Windsor is the Queen's main residence outside London. This jewel of a town is dominated by Windsor Castle, the largest castle in Britain and indeed the largest inhabited castle in the world. The village of Old Windsor lies on the Thames at the eastern edge of the county. Old Windsor was originally the site of an important palace of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. The Saxon palace was eventually superseded by the Norman Windsor Castle at 'New' Windsor. Windsor Great Park is largely within the bounds of Old Windsor, including both the Royal and Cumberland Lodges.
The Long Walk, Great Windsor Park
Maidenhead is a prosperous town standing on the River Thames, north-west of Windsor. Maidenhead is in England's 'Silicon Corridor' along the M4 motorway. The current Maidenhead Bridge, a local landmark, dates from 1777. King Charles I met his children for the last time before his execution in 1649 at the Greyhound Inn. Bisham Abbey is a 13th-century manor house at nearby Bisham.
Berkshire is one of the oldest counties in England. The county is first mentioned by name in 860. According to Asser's biography of King Alfred, written in AD 893, its old name Bearrocscir takes its name from a wood of box trees, which was called Bearroc, near Abingdon. The Berkshire flag features a traditional symbol of the county, the stag and oak. This design's connection with the county dates from at least Michael Drayton's 1627 poem Battle of Agincourt, where he describes the men of Berkshire marching under the symbol of "a Stag, under an Oake that stood".