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BERKSHIRE [abbreviated Berks, pronoun...

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 784 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BERKSHIRE [abbreviated Berks, pronounced Berkshire] , a See also:southern See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. by See also:Oxfordshire and See also:Buckinghamshire, E. by See also:Surrey, S. by See also:Hampshire, W. by Wilt-See also:shire, and N.W. for a See also:short distance by See also:Gloucestershire. Its See also:area is 721.9 sq. m. Its entire See also:northern boundary is formed by the See also:river See also:Thames, in the See also:basin of which practically the whole county is included. In the See also:north-See also:west a narrow and broken See also:line of hills, pierced in the west by the See also:Cole stream, which here forms the county boundary, extends past See also:Faringdon and culminates in a height over 500 ft. at Cumnor See also:Hurst, which, with Wytham See also:Hill, fills a deep northward See also:bend of the Thames, and overlooks the See also:city of See also:Oxford from the west. The range separates the Thames valley from the Vale of See also:White See also:Horse which is traversed by the small river Ock, and bounded on the See also:south by a line of hills known as the White Horse Hills or Berkshire See also:Downs, richly wooded along their See also:base, and rising sharply to See also:hare rounded summits. In White Horse Hill on the western confines of the county a height of 856. ft. is reached. The line of these hills is continued north-eastward by the Chiltern Hills in Oxfordshire, but a See also:division between the two is made by the Thames in a narrow valley or See also:gap at See also:Goring. Southward the Downs are scored with deep narrow valleys, the See also:chief of which are those of the See also:Lambourn and the Pang. The last stream runs eastward directly to the Thames; but the Lambourn and others join the Kennet, which drains a beautiful sylvan valley to the Thames at See also:Reading. Another line of downs closely confines the vale of Kennet on the south from See also:Newbury upwards, and although the greater See also:part of these does not fall within the county, their highest point, Inkpen See also:Beacon (See also:roll ft.), does so. The Enborne stream, rising here, and flowing parallel to the Kennet until turning north to join it, is for a considerable distance the county boundary. Between Reading and See also:Windsor the Thames makes a northward bend, past See also:Henley and See also:Marlow, in the See also:form of three sides of a square.

Within the bend slight hills border the river, but south of these, and in the Loddon valley south of Reading, the county is See also:

low and See also:flat. In the south-See also:east of the county, however, there is a high sandy See also:plateau, forming part of Bagshot See also:Heath, over 400 ft. in See also:elevation, and extending into Surrey. See also:Fir-See also:woods are characteristic of this See also:district, and northward towards the Thames extends the royal See also:park of Windsor, which is magnificently timbered. The proportion to the See also:total area of the county which is under woods is, however, by no means so See also:great as in the adjacent counties of Surrey and Hampshire. There is See also:fine See also:trout-fishing in the Kennet and some of its feeders. See also:Geology.—The dominant feature of the county, the Chiltern and White Horse Hills, owes its form to the See also:Chalk, which spreads from Ashhury and See also:Hungerford on the west to Henley and See also:Maidenhead on the east. In the northern See also:face of the escarpment we find the See also:Lower Chalk with a hard See also:bed, the Totternhoe See also:Stone; on the southern slope lies the Chalk-with-Flints. At Kintbury it is quarried for the manufacture of See also:whiting. At the See also:foot of the Chalk escarpment is the Upper See also:Greensand with a narrow See also:crop towards the west which is broken up into patches eastwards. Looking northward from the Chalk hills, the low-lying ground is occupied successively by the See also:Gault See also:Clay, the Kimmeridge Clay, and finally by the Oxford Clay, which extends beyond the Thames into Oxfordshire. This low-lying See also:tract is relieved by an elevated See also:ridge of See also:Corallian beds, between the Kimmeridge Clay and the Gault. It extends from near Faringdon past See also:Abingdon to Cumnor and Wytham Hill.

At Faringdon there are some interesting gravels of Lower Greensand See also:

age, full of the fossil remains of See also:sponges. South of the Chalk, the county is occupied by See also:Eocene rocks, mottled See also:clays, well exposed in the brickfields about Reading, and hence called the Reading beds. At Finchampstead, Sunninghill and See also:Ascot, these deposits are overlaid by the more sandy beds of the Bagshot See also:series. Between the two last named formations is a broad outcrop of See also:London Clay. Numerous outliers of Eocene See also:rest on the Chalk beyond the See also:main line of boundary. The Chalk of Inkpen Beacon is brought up to the south See also:side of the See also:Tertiary rocks by a synclinal See also:fold; similarly, an anticline has brought up the small patch of Chalk in Windsor Park. Clay-with-Flints lies in patches and holes on the chalk, and See also:flint gravels occur high up on either side of the Thames. Fairly thick beds of See also:peat are found in the See also:alluvium of the Kennet at Newbury. See also:Industries.—About seven-ninths of the total area is under cultivation; a large proportion of this being in permanent pasture, as much See also:attention is paid to See also:dairy-farming. See also:Butter and See also:cheese are largely produced, and the making of condensed See also:milk is a See also:branch of the See also:industry. Many See also:sheep are pastured on the Downs, important sheep-markets being held at the small See also:town of East or See also:Market Ilsley; and an excellent breed of pigs is named after the county. The parts about Faringdon are specially noted for them.

Oats are the See also:

principal See also:grain crop; although a considerable acreage is under See also:wheat. Turnips and swedes are largely cultivated, and apples and cherries are grown. Besides the royal See also:castle of Windsor, fine county seats are especially numerous. The only manufacturing centre of first importance is Reading, which is principally famous for its See also:biscuit factories. The manufacture of clothing and carpets is carried on at Abingdon; but a woollen industry introduced into the county as See also:early as the Tudor See also:period is See also:long See also:extinct. See also:Engineering See also:works and See also:paper See also:mills are established at various places; and See also:boat-See also:building is carried on at Reading and other See also:riverside stations. There are extensive See also:seed warehouses and testing grounds near Reading; and the Kennet and Windsor See also:ales are in high repute. Whiting is manufactured from chalk at Kintbury on the Kennet. Communications.—Communications are provided principally by the Great Western railway, the main line of which crosses the county from east to west by Maidenhead, Reading and Didcot. A branch line serves the Kennet valley from Reading; and the northern line of the See also:company leaves the main line at Didcot, a branch from it serving Abingdon. The See also:Basingstoke branch runs south from Reading, and lines serve See also:Wallingford from Cholsey, and Faringdon from Uffington. Communication with the south of England is maintained by a See also:joint line of the South Western and South Eastern & See also:Chatham companies terminating at Reading, and there are branches of the Great Western and South Western systems to Windsor.

The Lambourn valley See also:

light railway runs north-west to Lambourn from Newbury. Wide See also:water-communications are afforded by the Thames, and the Kennet is in part canalized, to form the eastern portion of the Kennet and See also:Avon See also:canal See also:system, connecting with the See also:Bristol Avon above See also:Bath. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the See also:ancient county is 462,208' acres; with a population in 1891 of 239,138, and in 1got of 256,509. The area of the administrative county is 462,367 acres. The county contains twenty hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Abingdon (pop. 648o), Maidenhead (12,980), Newbury (11,o6r), Reading, the county town and a county See also:borough (72,217), Wallingford (2808), Windsor or New Windsor (14,130), See also:Wokingham (3551). See also:Wantage (3766) is an See also:urban district. Among lesser towns may be mentioned Faring-See also:don in the north-west (2900), Hungerford on the Kennet (2906), and Lambourn in the valley of that name (2071), the villages of See also:Bray (2978), Cookham (3874) and Tilehurst (2545), which, like others on the See also:banks of the Thames, have grown into residential towns; and See also:Sandhurst (2386). The county is in the Oxford See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Reading. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions, and is divided into twelve pettysessional divisions. The boroughs of Abingdon, Newbury, Maidenhead, Reading, Wallingford and Windsor have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace, and Abingdon, Newbury, Reading and Windsor have separate courts of quarter sessions.

There are 198 See also:

civil parishes. Berkshire forms an archdeaconry in the See also:diocese of Oxford; a small portion, however, falls within the diocese of See also:Salisbury. There are 202 ecclesiastical parishes or districts, wholly or in part within the county. There are three See also:parliamentary divisions, Northern or Abingdon, Southern or Newbury, and Eastern or Wokingham, each returning one member; while the parliamentary borough of Reading returns one member, and parts of the borough of Oxford and Windsor are included in the county. There are several important educational establishments in the county. Radley See also:College near Abingdon, See also:Wellington College near Sandhurst, and Bradfield College, at the See also:village of that name, 8 m. west of Reading, are among the more important See also:modern public See also:schools for boys. Bradfield College was founded in 1850, and is well known for the realistic performances of classical See also:Greek plays presented by the scholars in an open See also:theatre designed for the purpose. Abingdon and Reading schools See also:rank among the lesser public schools. At Reading is a university See also:extension college, and in the south-east of the county is the Sandhurst Royal Military College. See also:History.—During the See also:Heptarchy Berkshire formed part of the See also:kingdom of Wessex, and interesting See also:relics of Saxon occupation have been discovered in various parts of the county. Of these the most remarkable are the See also:burial grounds at Long Wittenham and Frilford, and there is See also:evidence that the Lam-bourn valley was occupied in early Saxon times. The cinerary urns found in Berkshire undoubtedly contain the ashes of the Anglians who came south under See also:Penda in the 7th See also:century.

The fortification called Cherbury Castle, not far from Denchworth, is said to have been first made up by Canute. At the See also:

time of the See also:Norman invasion Berkshire formed part of the earldom of Harold, and supported him stanchly at the See also:battle of See also:Hastings. This See also:loyalty was punished by very sweeping confiscations, and at the time of the Domesday survey no estates of any importance were in the hands of Englishmen. When See also:Alfred divided the See also:country into shires, this county received the name of Berrocscir, as See also:Asser says, " from the See also:wood of Berroc, where the See also:box-See also:tree grows most plentifully."' At the time of the survey it comprised twenty-two hundreds; at the See also:present See also:day there are only twenty, of which eleven retain their ancient names. Many parishes have been transferred from one See also:hundred to another, but the actual boundary of the county is practically unchanged. Part of the parishes of Shilton and Langford formed detached portions of the shire, until included in Oxfordshire in the reign of See also:William IV. Portions of See also:Combe and Shalbourne parishes have also been restored to Hampshire and See also:Wiltshire respectively, while the Wiltshire portion of Hungerford has been transferred to Berkshire. The county was originally included in the see of See also:Winchester, but in A.D. 909 it was removed to the newly-formed see of " Wiltshire," afterwards See also:united with See also:Sherborne. In 1075 the seat of the bishopric was removed to Salisbury, and in 1836 by an See also:order in See also:council Berkshire was transferred to the diocese of Oxford. The archdeaconry is of very early origin and is co-extensive with the county. Formerly it comprised four rural deaneries, but the number has lately been increased to nine.

Much of the early history of the county is recorded in the See also:

Chronicles of the See also:abbey of Abingdon, which at the time of the survey was second only to the See also:crown in the extent and number of its possessions. The See also:abbot also exercised considerable judicial and administrative See also:powers, and his court was endowed with the privileges of the hundred court and was freed from liability to interference by the See also:sheriff. Berkshire and Oxfordshire had a See also:common sheriff until the reign of See also:Elizabeth, and the shire court was held at Grauntpont. The assizes were formerly held at Reading, 1 The derivation from Bibroci, a See also:British tribe in the time of See also:Caesar, which probably inhabited Surrey or See also:Middlesex, seems philologically impossible. Abingdon and Newbury, but are now held entirely at Reading. At the time of the Domesday survey the chief See also:lay-proprietor was See also:Henry de See also:Ferrers, ancestor of the earls of See also:Derby, but it is remarkable that none of the great Berkshire estates has remained with the same See also:family long. See also:Thomas See also:Fuller quaintly observes that " the lands of Berkshire are very skittish and See also:apt to See also:cast their owners." The De la Poles succeeded to large estates by a See also:marriage with the heiress of Thomas See also:Chaucer, son of the poet, but the family became extinct in the male line, and the estates were alienated. The same See also:fate befell the estates of the Achards, the Fitzwarrens and later the families of See also:Norris and Befils. The natural advantages of this county have always encouraged agricultural rather than commercial pursuits. The See also:soil is especially adapted for sheep-farming, and numerous documents testify to the importance and prosperity of the See also:wool-See also:trade in the 12th century. At first this trade was confined to the export of the raw material, but the reign of See also:Edward III. saw the introduction of the clothing industry, for which the county afterwards became famous. This trade began to decline in the 17th century, and in 1641 the Berkshire clothiers complained of the deadness of their trade and the difficulty of getting ready See also:money, attributing the same to delay in the See also:execution of See also:justice.

The malting industry and the See also:

timber trade also flourished in the county until the 19th century. Agriculturally considered, the Vale of the White Horse is especially productive, and See also:Camden speaks of the great crops of See also:barley grown in the district. Owing to its proximity to London, Berkshire has from early times been the See also:scene of frequent military operations. The earliest recorded See also:historical fact See also:relating to the county is the occupation of the district between Wallingford and Ashbury by See also:Offa in 758. In the 9th and loth centuries the county was greatly impoverished by the ravages of the Danes, and in 871 the invaders were defeated by lEthelwulf at See also:Englefield and again at Reading. During the disorders of See also:Stephen's reign Walling-See also:ford was garrisoned for See also:Matilda and was the scene of the final treaty in 1153. Meetings took See also:place between See also:John and his barons in 1213 at Wallingford and at Reading, and in 1216 Windsor was besieged by the barons. At the opening of the civil See also:war of the 17th century, the sheriff, on behalf of the in-habitants of Berkshire, petitioned that the county might be put in a posture of See also:defence, and here the royalists had some of their strongest garrisons. Reading endured a ten days' See also:siege by the parliamentary forces in 1643, and Wallingford did not surrender until 1646. Newbury was the site of two battles in 1643 and 1644. In 1295, Berkshire returned two members to See also:parliament for the county and two for the borough of Reading. Later the boroughs of Newbury, Wallingford, Windsor and Abingdon secured See also:representation, and from 1557 until the Reform See also:Act of 1832 the county was represented by a total of ten members.

By this act Abingdon and Wallingford were each deprived of a member, but the county returned three members instead of two. Since the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the county has returned three members for three divisions, and Windsor and Reading return one member each, the remaining boroughs having lost representation. Antiquities.—The remains of two great See also:

Benedictine monasteries at Abingdon and Reading are scanty. The ecclesiastical See also:architecture of the county is not remarkable, excepting a few individual churches. Thus for Norman See also:work the churches of Shellingford and Cholsey may be noted, together with the very small See also:chapel, of early date, at Upton near Didcot. The See also:church of Blewbury in the same locality is in the main transitional Norman, and retains some of its See also:original vaulting. Of Early See also:English churches there are several See also:good examples, notably at Uffington, with its unusual angular-headed windows, See also:Buckland near Faringdon, and Wantage. The See also:tower of St See also:Helen's, Abingdon, well illustrates this period. The cruciform church of Shottesbrooke, with its central See also:spire, is a beautiful and almost unaltered Decorated building; and St See also:George's chapel in Windsor Castle is a superb specimen of Perpendicular work. Apart from Windsor, Berkshire retains no remarkable See also:medieval castles or mansions. AuTHORITIEs.—Chief of the older works are: See also:Elias Ashmole Antiquities of Berkshire (3 vols., 1719, 2nd ed., London, 1723; 3rd ed., Reading, 1736) ; D. and S. Lysons, Magna Britannia, vol. i.

Other works are: See also:

Marshall, Topographical and Statistical Details of the County of Berkshire (London, 183o); See also:Earl of See also:Carnarvon, See also:Archaeology of Berkshire (London, 1859) ; C. See also:King, History of Berk-shire (London, 1887) ; Lowsley, Glossary of Berkshire Words (London, 1888), and See also:Index to See also:Wills in the Court of the See also:Archdeacon of Berkshire, 1508–z 65a (Oxford, 1893) ; See also:Victoria County History, Berkshire. See also The Berks Archaeological Society's Quarterly See also:Journal, and Berkshire Notes and Queries.

End of Article: BERKSHIRE [abbreviated Berks, pronounced Berkshire]

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