Buckinghamshire

I

Introduction

Buckinghamshire (abbreviation, Bucks), county, south-central England, bordered on the north by Northamptonshire; on the west by Oxfordshire; on the south by Wokingham, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Slough unitary authorities; and on the east by Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Greater London. As a result of a new round of local government reforms implemented on April 1, 1997, Milton Keynes was separated administratively from the rest of Buckinghamshire to become a free-standing unitary authority (see Population and Administration below). However, it remains part of the county geographically and for ceremonial and related purposes. Buckinghamshire has a geographical land area of 1,879 sq km (725 sq mi), the area administered by the county council is 1,565 sq km (604 sq mi). Aylesbury is the administrative centre.

Buckinghamshire is renowned for the beauty of the Chiltern Hills, once far more densely wooded with beech trees than they are today, and also for its fine hunting country and fertile soils. Easy access to London has made it a highly popular residential region for commuters. A typical feature of Buckinghamshire towns and villages is a broad main street of brick-built Georgian (or Georgian style) houses. Milton Keynes is the most successful of the United Kingdom’s new towns.

II

Land and Resources

The chalk range of the Chiltern Hills, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1994, crosses the county from north-east to south-west, reaching its highest point at Coombe Hill, near Wendover (260 m/852 ft). South of the Chilterns, the land slopes gently down towards the River Thames, with some chalky outcrops and deposits of gravel. To the north of the hills, there is an area of rich Oxford clay interspersed with gravel, providing rich grassland. The Vale of Aylesbury is particularly fertile and is renowned for the excellence of its poultry, notably its ducks. The ancient grass track known as the Ridgeway passes through the county, as does part of the old Icknield Way, which once ran from The Wash along the Chilterns and the Berkshire Downs. Buckinghamshire is drained by the Thames in the south and the River Ouse in the north, and by their tributaries.

Burnham Beeches is a magnificent tract of ancient beech forest west of Stoke Poges. The beechwoods of the Chilterns traditionally supplied the raw materials for the manufacture of furniture in and around High Wycombe. Buckinghamshire has a moderate climate, with annual average rainfall in the region of 760 to 1,000 mm (30 to 40 in).

III

Population and Administration

The population of Buckinghamshire as a whole is about 686,100, of whom 479,028 (2001) live in the area administered by the county council. Aylesbury (1991, 58,058) is an important market town, as well as the administrative centre of the county. Other important towns in the administrative county are High Wycombe (1991, 71,718) and Buckingham (1991, 10,168), the former county town. Milton Keynes (2001, 207,063) was created as a new town in 1967, and is now a separate unitary authority, incorporating the small towns of Bletchley (1991, 41,435), Newport Pagnell (1991, 12,285), and Wolverton.

Until April 1, 1997, Buckinghamshire was administered by a county council and five district councils: Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, Milton Keynes, South Bucks, and Wycombe. On that date, Milton Keynes district became administratively separate as a unitary authority responsible for all local government services in its area, including those previously provided by the county council. The rest of Buckinghamshire has retained the two-tier structure of county and district councils. The administrative change was a result of the recommendations of the Local Government Commission, established under 1992 legislation to review the structure of local government in England. The police authority is the Thames Valley Police, with headquarters at Kidlington, Oxford. A Crown Court sits at Aylesbury.

IV

Education and Culture

The Open University, based in Milton Keynes, received its royal charter in 1969. It was established to widen access to higher education, particularly for those without formal qualifications. Tuition is by radio broadcasts, podcasts, DVDs, correspondence courses, and residential summer schools. The United Kingdom’s only independent university, the University of Buckingham (founded 1973) is located in Buckingham. Stowe School, formerly Stowe House—the home of the dukes of Buckingham (a title now extinct), is a boys’ public (fee-paying, independent) school.

Literary connections in the county include Stoke Poges, said to have inspired the poem “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray; and Chalfont St Giles, where John Milton lived during the Great Plague of 1664 to 1666, and where he wrote part of Paradise Lost. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in the United States, is buried at Jordans, where he and his fellow members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, built their meeting house in the 17th century. The evangelical poet John Newton and his friend and fellow poet William Cowper lived at Olney.

Olney is also home to a special pancake race on Shrove Tuesday. Local women compete in the race, tossing their pancakes as they run.

Buckinghamshire has two professional football teams. Wycombe Wanderers FC is based at the Adams Park stadium, High Wycombe. In 2002 south London club Wimbledon FC was granted permission by the Football Association to relocate to Milton Keynes—a move that finally took place in September 2003 when the club played its first match at the town’s National Hockey Stadium. The club was renamed Milton Keynes Dons ahead of the 2004-2005 season and moved to a new, purpose-built stadium—the Denbigh Stadium—in the town in 2007.