Berkshire ( Eng. Berkshire , / ˈbɑrkʃə / or / ˈbɑrkʃɪər / , abbreviated Berks , Berks / Eng. Berks ) is a historical and ceremonial county in the south of England , in the Thames River Valley , in the so-called Green Region ( home counties ). It is part of Southeast England . The capital and largest city is Reading . The population is 812,200 (26th among counties; 2005 estimate).
| Ceremonial Non-Metropolitan County | |||
| Berkshire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| English Berkshire | |||
 | |||
| |||
| A country |  Great Britain | ||
| Includes | 6 administrative districts | ||
| Adm. Centre | Reading | ||
| History and Geography | |||
| Square | 1262 km² (40th place ) | ||
| Largest cities | Slough , Windsor , Newbury , Eaton , Sandhurst , see the list in English. | ||
| Population | |||
| Population | 861 870 people ( 2011 ) | ||
| Density | 683 people / km² | ||
| Digital identifiers | |||
| ISO 3166-2 Code | GB-WBK | ||
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![Flag [d]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Flag_of_Berkshire.svg/160px-Flag_of_Berkshire.svg.png)
Content
Geography
The total area of the territory is 1262 km² (40th place). According to the ESBE, the area is 1826 km² (1881) [1] . It borders in the east with Greater London [2] , in the southeast with Surrey , in the south with Hampshire , in the west with Wiltshire , in the north with Oxfordshire , in the northeast with Buckinghamshire .
History
In the early 870s, battles took place on the territory of Berkshire between the army of Alfred the Great and the Danes.
The capital of the traditional county of Berkshire was the city of Abingdon , which, after the reform of local self-government in 1972 , became part of the county of Oxfordshire .
Demographics
According to TSB , the population in 1968 was 612.2 thousand people. [3] , according to the ESB , the population in 1881 was 218.382 thousand people. [one]
Largest cities:
| City | Population |
|---|---|
| Reading | 155,300 |
| Slough | 119 067 |
| Maidenhead | 78,000 |
| Bracknell | 50 131 |
| Wokingham | 30 403 |
| Newbury | 28 339 |
| Windsor | 26,885 |
| Thatch | 22,824 |
| Sandhurst | 20 803 |
Economics
London's largest international airport, Heathrow, is located directly on the border with Berkshire.
In Berkshire are the headquarters of such large companies as Hewlett-Packard [4] , Vodafone [5] and Bayer [6] , the ICI Paints Division of the chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries [7] .
Politics and Power
Berkshire is a non-metropolitan county covering several administrative regions with its own councils, but not having a common county council.
In elections to the House of Commons, the county’s population is divided into eight single-member constituencies. Since 1997, one of the constituencies in parliament has been Theresa May , Secretary of the Interior and Minister for Women and Equality in the Government of David Cameron.
The Thames Valley Police Department is responsible for law enforcement in the county.
Education
Eton College was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI next to the Royal Windsor Castle. Currently, a private boarding school for boys 13-18 years old, about 1300 students.
Culture
Reading Football Club performs in the 2012/2013 season in the Premier League. Takes opponents at the Madeiiski Stadium with a capacity of 24 thousand spectators.
- Pangborn College, formerly Naval College
- en: The Fat Duck , the restaurant of the largest modern English chef Heston Blumenthal ( en: Heston Blumenthal ), in the town of Bray ( en: Bray, Berkshire ).
Attractions
- Windsor Castle - the residence of the British monarchs around 1070 built.
Interesting Facts
At the end of the 18th century, the Berkshire breed of pigs was bred in this county. [3]
At the end of 1974, boiled eggs rained for several days in Berkshire. [eight]
People associated with Berkshire
- Abban of Abingdon is a Catholic saint.
- Leslie Patrick Abercrombie is an architect.
- Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence - Queen Victoria’s eldest grandson, son of Prince of Wales, Edward and Alexandra of Denmark.
- Herbert Henry Asquith - statesman and politician, 52nd British Prime Minister.
- Boris Abramovich Berezovsky is a Russian scientist, entrepreneur and politician.
- Charlie Brucker is a journalist.
- Henry VI - king of England from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471.
- Gervais, Ricky - comedian, actor, director, producer, writer and musician.
- John, Elton is a musician.
- Cameron, David - politician, leader of the Conservative Party, current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge - wife of the Duke of Cambridge William.
- Camilla Anna Luddington - actress.
- William Lod - statesman, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1632 to 1643.
- Sam Mendes is a film director, producer, and playwright.
- William Penn is an entrepreneur, philosopher, founder of the Pennsylvania Colony.
- Nassau William Senior is an economist.
- Laura Sadler - actress.
- Jethro Tall is an agricultural engineer and inventor.
- Kate Winslet - actress.
- Theo Walcott is a soccer player.
- Holt, Nicholas - actor.
- Edward III - King of England from 1327 to 1377.
- Will Young is a musician.
See also
- List of Berkshire sites of special scientific importance
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Berkshire // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Law on Changing the Borders of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey Counties (1994)
- ↑ 1 2 From TSB , Berkshire article
- ↑ Hewlett-Packard UK
- ↑ Headquarters of Vodafone
- ↑ Bayer Headquarters UK and Ireland
- ↑ Office of the ICI Paints Division
- ↑ [ http://i-fakt.ru/neobychnye-dozhdi/ Unusual rains Source: http://i-fakt.ru ] .
Links
- List of places, cities and villages of Berkshire
- Royal berkshire history
- 2011 Census of England and Wales. (eng.)