The County of Berkshire.

"Berkshire, commonly called Berks, is a southern inland shire, on the south bank of the navigable Thames, which forms its northern boundary mark, and in the valley of which it lies, approaching within 20 miles of London, and is about midway between the mouth of the Thames and the Bristol Channel. The county is very irregular in shape, with the greatest breadth of 30 miles from the north to south at the western end.

The area was originally 462,224 acres, but by the "Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (no. (2) Act", which came into operation September 30th 1895, the Berkshire portion of Shalbourn parish was transferred to Wilts, the Wilts part of Hungerford added to Berks and the parish of Coombe added from Hants; by these changes the area is now 462,367 acres. The population in 1831 was 146,234; in 1841, 161,759; in 1851, 170,065; in 1861, 176,256; in 1871, 196,475; in 1881, 218,363; in 1891, 238,709; in 1901, 252,571, viz, males, 122,807; females, 129,764. The number of houses in 1901 was, inhabited, 53,460; uninhabited, 3,918; and building, 564.

The Isis, or Thames, divides it on the north from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire; on the south-east it is bounded by Surrey; on the south by Hampshire, and on the west by Wiltshire. There is much woodland, in which grow hazel, oak, ash, beech and alder. The southern part of the county rises to the chalk range, but in the west the oolite begins. The great chalk range runs through the middle of the west to the south of Wallingford, and joins the Chiltern Hills and the Marlborough Downs. Inkpen Beacon is the highest point of the chalk in the county, being, 1,011 feet in height. The Berkshire Downs rise at White Horse Hill to 893 feet high.

The number of parishes is 194 and the shire is divided into 20 hundreds (at Doomsday, 22).

Berkshire is in the Oxford Circuit and has one court of quarter sessions and 12 petty sessional divisions. The shire towns are Reading and Abingdon; by an order in Council of September 14 1868, the assizes and sessions are to be held exclusively at Reading

The county was separated from Salisbury diocese in 1836, and is now in the diocese of Oxford and archdeaconey of Berks, which is sub-divided into the rural deaneries of Abingdon, Bradfield, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading, Sonning, Vale of White Horse, Wallingford and Wantage.

The Municipal boroughs are, Abingdon, population in 1901, 6,480; Maidenhead, 12,980; Newbury, 11,061; Reading, 72,217; Wallingford, 2,808; New Windsor, 14,130; and Wokingham, 3,551. Other towns are- Faringdon, 2,770; Hungerford, 2,906; and Wantage, 3,766.

Berkshire seems, like most of the southern shires, to have come into the possession of the Belgians before the Roman period, by the expulsion of the Welsh or Celts. Julius Caesar found the county in the power of the Atribates,though perhaps the Bibroci and Segontiaci had also settlements with its bounds. Berkshire had several Roman towns, stations and roads. Spinae (Speen, near Newbury), is the only well known station. There are camps and walls of various ages at Wallingford - Uffington castle on the top of White Horse Hill; Sagbury castle on Letcombe downs; Hardwell camp, near Uffington; Sherbury camp, near Faringdon;

The English held Berkshire as part of the Kingdom of Wessex, but it was sometimes under the Mid-English.

Berkshire was invaded by the Danes, with whom several battles were fought, a very famous one at Ashdown, in which Ethalred and Alfred the Great beat the Danes. During the middle ages, frequent forays took place in the county, but of the many castles few remain; of Wallingford and Donnington there are remains. In the Partliamentary wars most of the Berkshire towns were the scenes of conflict. Two great battles were fought at Newbury in 1643 and 1644, Reading was beseiged and taken; Abingdon, Windsor Castle and Donnington were attacked.

At Abingdon and Reading were large Benedictine establishments richly endowed, of which the abbots were mitred. Of these fine buildings there are extensive remains; those of the Grey Friary, Reading are converted into a church called Greyfriars; of the Benedictine monastery at Hurley, some remains are to be seen.

Kelly's Directory 1903.

Reorganisation of local government in 1974 brought major changes to the bounderies of the county, with parts being lost to Oxforshire, while others were gained from Buckinghamshire. In 1998 Berkshire was finally abolished as an administrative unit and replaced by six Unitary Authorities ie. Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham.

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Happy Hunting.

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