UK Travel Guide - Interesting Bucks, UK Facts

Buckinghamshire (also called Bucks) is a non metropolitan home county in South East Britain and its county town is Aylesbury. The largest city in this ceremonial County is Milton Keynes.

The area that comes under the control of Buckinghamshire County Council, or (shire county), is distributed into four districts ; Chiltern, Aylesbury Vale, Wycombe and South Bucks. The Borough of Milton Keynes is a governing authority and it forms one part of the county for many functions such as Lord Lieutenant. It does not come under control of county council. This ceremonial county, the whole of the area including Milton Keynes borough, shares its borders with Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Greater London, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.

The name of this County Buckinghamshire is basically Anglo Saxon in original and it means the District of Bucca s Home . Bucca s home stands for Buckingham in the northern side of this county, and it derives its name from an Anglo Saxon landowner. This county s name exists since 12th century.

The history of this area, however, precedes the Anglo Saxon period and this county has a rich and a colorful history starting from the Roman and Celtic periods and these Anglo Saxons most probably had the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire s geography. This rural county is vastly as it was during the Anglo Saxon era.

In later times, however, Buckinghamshire became a significant political area, with interventions of King Henry VIII in local politics during the 16th century and a century later the English Civil War erupted in mid Bucks which was started by John Hampden.

In the 19th century the biggest change to the county came, when cholera and famine hit the rural county simultaneously, forcing many to flee to big cities to find work in order to survive.

The local economical picture changed and it meant a lot of land prices were getting cheaper, all this was at a time when the rich became more mobile and Bucks became a famous rural idyll, an image that still exists even today. Daily commuters of London often stay at Buckinghamshire, thus affecting a great local affluence, but still some pockets of relative adversity remain.

The county is split into two sections geographically. The southern side goes from the Thames River up the mild slopes of the Chiltern Hills to the more sudden and abrupt slopes on the northern side that leads you to the Vale of Aylesbury, a large, flat and huge piece of land, that included the path of the Great Ouse River.

Out of the three longest rivers in Britain, this county has two. The Thames River shares the southern boundary with Berkshire, which has grown over its border at Eton and Slough meaning that the river is no longer the only boundary between these two counties. The River Great Ouse starts just on the borders of the county in Northamptonshire and starts flowing towards east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Olney.

The main tributary that belongs to grand Union Canal flows through this county as does its creeks to Aylesbury, Slough, Wendover (not in use) and Buckingham (not used). The canal has been merged into Milton Keynes.

The two highest points are Coombe Hill near Wendover, and Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire, near Wendover. At 267 m (876 ft) above sea level, there is a stone to mark the summit.

Buckinghamshire consists of an area that is governed by Milton Keynes Borough Council. It is also administered by Buckinghamshire County Council. This ceremonial county has a High Sheriff and a Lord Lieutenant. In present times the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire is Amanda Nicholson and the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire is Sir Henry Aubrey Fletcher. Since 1702, the Custos rotulorum has been added to the duties of Lord Lieutenant.

The county council was founded in 1889, with its base at municipal buildings in Walton Street, Aylesbury (which still exists there). Local administration is administrated on a two tier system in Buckinghamshire, it means that public services are separated between the county council and a number of district councils.

The council moved into new places in the 1960s: a 15 story very tall block in the heart of Aylesbury (picture above) sketched by architect Thomas Pooley. It is said to be one of the most disliked and unpopular buildings of Buckinghamshire. Now it is listed a Grade II building.

The northern part of Buckinghamshire in Milton Keynes Borough got separated in 1997, to form a governing authority; however for some celebrations and a few other purposes, Milton Keynes is still regarded as a part of Buckinghamshire.

The County Council is a large employer within Buckinghamshire and a provider of a huge variety of services, which includes social services, education (schools, adult education and youth services), libraries, County Archives and Record Office, highways, County Museum and Roald Dahl Children s Gallery in Aylesbury. All these consumer services and some other aspects like planning and waste disposal.