Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the in. The is.

Divisions and environs
The area under the control of Buckinghamshire County Council, or, is divided into four districts - , , and. is a unitary authority and forms part of the county for various functions such as but does not come under county council control. The ceremonial county, the area including Milton Keynes borough, borders, , , , and.

Physical geography
The county includes the to the South and the  to the north. At 876 feet (267 m) above sea level, the two highest points are near, and  Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire, near Wendover where a stone marks the summit.

History

 * Main article: .



The name Buckinghamshire is in origin and means The district (scire) of Bucca's home. Bucca's home refers to in the north of the county, and is named after an Anglo-Saxon landowner. The county has been so named since about the 12th century; however, the county itself has existed since it was a subdivision of the of  (585–919).

The history of the area though predates the Anglo Saxon period and the county has a rich history from the through to  periods though the Anglo Saxons did have perhaps the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire out of these groups: the geography of the rural county is largely as it was in the Anglo Saxon period. Later Buckinghamshire became an important political arena, with intervening in local politics in the  and just a century later the  was reputedly started by  in mid-Bucks.

The biggest change to the county historically came in the when a combination of  and  hit the rural county forcing many to migrate to larger towns to find work. Not only did this alter the local economical picture it meant a lot of land was going cheap at a time when the rich were more mobile and leafy Bucks became a popular rural idyll: an image it still has today. Buckinghamshire is a very popular home for celebrities working in London leading to greater local affluence however some pockets of severe deprivation remain.

Economy
Buckinghamshire has a modern service-based economy and is part of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire region, which was the seventh richest subregion in the  in 2002 The southern part of the county is a prosperous section of the. The county has fertile agricultural lands, with many s, especially those of the in the 19th century (see ). Manufacturing industries include -making (traditionally centred at ), pharmaceuticals and agricultural processing.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Buckinghamshire at current basic prices published by the with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling (except GVA index).

Demographics
Today Buckinghamshire is an ethnically diverse area, particularly in the larger towns. At the end of the nineteenth century some Welsh drover families settled in north Bucks and, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, a large number of Londoners (to Milton Keynes). Aylesbury has a sizable Italian population, and Amersham has a large Polish community dating from the Second World War. Amersham is twinned with in. High Wycombe is the most ethnically diverse town in the county, with large n and populations. There is also a and an community.

Education
Buckinghamshire has a completely selective education system with either grammar schools or secondary modern schools. There are 9 independent schools and 34 state schools, not including s. Sixth-form provision is very good, like neighbouring, with all state secondary schools having sixth forms. There are no comprehensives. Neighbouring Milton Keynes is completely comprehensive, and all its schools have sixth forms. At GCSE, in England, the average number of pupils getting 5 grades A-C including English and Maths is 45.8%; for Buckinghamshire's 5600 pupils taking GCSEs at age 16, it is 59.1%, which is the highest for a traditional county in England. For secondary moderns, the best school is the, which gets results better than most comprehensives, followed by in. At A-level, the grammar schools take centre stage, with many achieving superb results, with in  being the best state school, followed by  and the. All these three are boys grammar schools. The best school at A-level is the girls school in High Wycombe, which is the only independent state school in the county to get higher results than the grammar schools. Overall at A-level, Buckinghamshire performs very well, and again has the highest results for a traditional county in England.

Average score at GCSE by district council (%)
% of pupils gaining 5 grades A-C including English and Maths; compare to average house price by district.
 * South Bucks 65.3
 * Chiltern 62.5
 * Wycombe 60.0
 * Aylesbury Vale 57.0
 * (Milton Keynes Unitary Authority 38.7)

Lord Lieutenant
Currently the is  and the  is Alexander Boswell. The Custos rotulorum has been combined with the duties of Lord Lieutenant since 1702. All these titles cover the of Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire County Council
The county council was founded in 1889 with its base in new municipal buildings in Walton Street, (which are still there). In Buckinghamshire, local administration is run on a two-tier system where public services are split between the county council and a series of district councils.

In the 1960s the council moved into new premises: a 15-storey tower block in the centre of Aylesbury (pictured) designed by Thomas Pooley. Said to be one of the most unpopular and disliked buildings in Buckinghamshire it is now a Grade II.

In 1997 the northern part of Buckinghamshire in separated to form a unitary authority, however for ceremonial and some other purposes Milton Keynes is still considered to be part of Buckinghamshire.

Coat of arms
The for Buckinghamshire County Council features a white  in chains. This dates back to the Anglo Saxon period, when swans were bred in Buckinghamshire for the 's pleasure. That the swan is in chains illustrates that, an ancient law that still applies to wild swans in the UK today. The herald was first used at the by the.

Above the swan is a gold band, in the centre of which is, representing the many ancient landmarks of the county. The shield is mounted by a tree, representing the  that once covered almost half the county. Either side of the shield are a, for Buckingham, and a swan, the county symbol.

The motto of the shield says Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum. This is and means 'no stepping back'.

The flag of Buckinghamshire, which flies outside County Hall in Aylesbury, comprises red and black halves with a white swan. The flag takes the county emblem which is on the county shield.

Settlements
This is a list of the towns in the shire county of Buckinghamshire. For the full list of s, s and in Buckinghamshire, see.

This is a list of the towns in the of Buckinghamshire that after various local government reorganisations are no longer administered as part of it.


 * and (to );  (to )
 * In : (including, ,  and ), , .  (The Borough remains part of the Ceremonial County).

Notable people
Anciently Buckinghamshire is the birth place and/or final resting place of several notable individuals. was born in and was buried in  in the 7th century while at about the same time  was buried in. From the medieval period was, as the name suggests, from  and  also owned property in the same town. It is said that made Aylesbury the county town over Buckingham because  owned property there and was a regular visitor himself. Other medieval residents included who had a palace at  and  who lived in.

From a slightly later period Buckinghamshire became home to some notable literary characters. was brought up in and served as  for both  and. and his wife spent some time living in, attracted to the town by their friend  who also lived there. lived in and his cottage can still be visited there and  served as  for. Much later literary characters include who lived at Marlow,  who also lived at Marlow ,  who lived in  ,  who lived in  and  who lived in  and is buried in. Modern day writers from Bucks include who was born in Beaconsfield,  who is from Amersham and  who is from Aylesbury.

During the a number of politicians and world leaders from  came to England to seek exile. Due to its proximity to various locations in Buckinghamshire were selected to house dignitaries. President of  lived at  with his family while his government was stationed at neighbouring  and. Meanwhile, military leader of , lived at and King  lived at. Bucks is also notable for another exile, although this one much earlier: lived in exile at  from 1809 to 1814.

Also on the local political stage Buckinghamshire has been home to who lived in ,  who also lived in Cliveden ,  who lives in  ,  who lived at  and was made Earl of Beaconsfield ,  who was from  and is revered in Aylesbury to this day and   who lived at. Also worthy of note are who believed he was descended from the Penn family of  and so is buried nearby and the current, who has an official residence at. Finally colonial governor of  and, although more notably American, was born in Buckinghamshire

Other natives of Buckinghamshire who have become notable in their own right include:


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Today Buckinghamshire is a very picturesque landscape and is home to numerous celebrities and has attracted its fair share in the past. These include:


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 * In the 2005 movie,, and her family lived in Buckinghamshire.