one of the midland counties of England, bounded on the north by Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from which it is separated by the Thames; on the east by Surrey; on the south by Hampshire; and on the west by Wiltshire. At the north-eastern corner this county comes slightly in contact with Gloucestershire. It is of a very irregular figure, its whole northern and eastern side being bounded by the sinuosities of the Thames. From east to west it extends about forty-two miles; from north to south, in its widest part, it is about thirty miles; but in its narrowest it is not more than seven. Area 451,040 acres.

The surface is generally level, diversified with undulations, though in some parts, as in the vicinity of the Thames, the hills rise rather abruptly, and give diversity and beauty to the scenery. This is especially the case near Eppingdon, and on the opposite corner of the county near Windsor. Windsor forest was immortalized by Pope, at a time when its beauties were even less conspicuous than at present. The south and east sides of the county are well wooded, but the trees are not generally of great size, nor of the most valuable or picturesque kind. A line of chalk hills, a continuation of the Chilterns, runs east and west through the county at its broadest part, separating the two fertile valleys of the Kennet and the Thames. The highest land in the county is a range of chalk downs which extend from the banks of the Thames, between Reading and Wallingford, towards the north of Wiltshire, the highest point being White-Horse Hill, 893 feet high. The western and most elevated part is devoted to the pasture of sheep. The most celebrated breed is the well-known Southdown, which, together with a cross from Berkshire, the old Notts and Leicester breeds, has almost entirely superseded the native stock.

The agriculture of the county varies much according to the locality. Wheat and beans are well cultivated; and a species of peat found on the banks of the Kennet yields ashes that are of great value to the soils near that river. More than one-quarter of the land is calculated to be under tillage, about one-quarter is pasturage, and the remainder consists of woodlands or uncultivated heaths. In the two valleys already mentioned, namely the vales of Kennet and White-Horse, dairy farming predominates. There is a large proportion of woodland in the south and east parts of the county. The district to the south of Reading, which has a mixed soil of clay, gravel, and sand, together with the fertile tract to the east of Wantage, yield rich crops of corn. Near Faringdon pigs are extensively reared, and the breed is celebrated. The eastern part of the county, though picturesque, is, with some exceptions, the most backward in its agriculture. The estate of Mr Pusey, M.P. for Berks, situated in the N.W. of the county, may be cited as one of the best examples of the improved system of farming. The farms are generally held from year to year. The condition of the labouring population is considered to have improved, and cottage rents are moderate.

Few parts of England are better supplied with the facilities of water communication than the county of Berks. It is connected by means of the Thames, which runs round or through it, on one hand with London and the sea, and on the other with the Severn at two separate points on that river; one through the Thames and Severn canal, with Gloucester; the other through the river Kennet and the Kennet and Avon canal, with Bath and Bristol. Besides the navigable rivers, it enjoys the benefit of the Wilts and Berks canal, which connects the Thames at Abingdon with the Avon at Trowbridge in Wiltshire, and communicates with the Kennet and Avon canal. The other rivers, which all finally fall into the Thames, are the Ock, the Loddon, the Auburn, and the Lambourn.

The turnpike roads are generally good. The principal of these are the roads from London to Bath and Oxford, both of which enter the county at Maidenhead, and soon afterwards separate, the former running S.W. to Reading, the latter nearly due west to Henley. The Great Western railway passes through Berkshire from Maidenhead to near Swindon. The branch lines pass from Didcot to Oxford, from Reading to Newbury and Hungerford, from Reading to Basingstoke, on the South-Western railway, and from Reading to Guildford and Reigate, on the South-Eastern and Brighton railways. Besides these there is a branch of the South-Western line to Windsor, and another branch to that town from the Great Western.

The woollen manufacture was introduced into this county under the Tudors; and the story of the celebrated clothier, Jack of Newbury, has been handed down to the period when the establishments founded by him passed to the northern parts of the kingdom. At Abingdon some linen manufactures still linger. The copper smelted in Wales is conveyed to some large mills near Marlow, where it is rolled into sheets for coppering vessels. There are some few paper-mills near Newbury. The chief commerce of the county consists in the sale of its agricultural produce, and some transit trade, from being in the way of inland navigation between the two greatest English rivers, the Thames and the Severn.

The county is divided into twenty hundreds, containing twelve market-towns and 142 parishes, besides fourteen others chiefly or partially included in Berks. The county is in the diocese of Oxford and the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury. It forms an archdeaconry by itself; and is divided into the four rural deaneries of Abingdon, Newbury, Reading, and Wallingford. It is on the Oxford judicial circuit, and the assizes are held alternately at Reading and Abingdon. County courts are held at Abingdon, Faringdon, Hungerford, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading, Wallingford, Wantage, Windsor, and Wokingham.

Berkshire returns nine members to parliament, three for the county, two each for Reading and New Windsor, and one each for Abingdon and Wallingford.

At the five decennial enumerations the population of the county was as follows:

| Year | Males | Females | Total | |------|-------|---------|-------| | 1811 | 57,936 | 61,494 | 119,430 | | 1821 | 65,832 | 66,807 | 132,639 | | 1831 | 72,983 | 73,251 | 146,234 | | 1841 | 80,582 | 81,177 | 161,759 | | 1851 | 84,927 | 85,138 | 170,065 |

From the vicinity to the metropolis, the salubrity of the climate, and the general beauty of the country, few counties have more numerous seats of the nobility and gentry than are to be found in Berkshire. Among these stands prominent the royal castle of Windsor, the favourite residence of our monarchs during many centuries; for although chiefly rebuilt in the reign of Edward III., it was originally constructed by William the Conqueror. See Windsor.

Antiquities, both Roman and Saxon, are numerous in various parts of this county. The Watling Street road of the former enters Berkshire from Bedfordshire at the village of Streteley, and leaves it at Newbury. Another Roman road passes from Reading to Newbury, where it divides into two branches, one passing to Marlborough in Wiltshire, and the other to Cirencester in Gloucestershire. A branch of the Icknield Street road passes from Wallingford to Wantage. Near Wantage is a Roman camp, of a quadrangular form; and there are other remains of encampments at East Hampstead near Wokingham, on White-Horse Hill near Pusey, and at Sinodun Hill near Wallingford. At Lawrence Waltham there is a Roman fort, and near Denchworth a fortress said to have been built by Canute the Dane, called Cherbury Castle. Dragon Hill is supposed to have been the burying-place of a British prince called Uter Pendragon, and near to it is Uffington Castle, supposed to be of Danish construction. On White-Horse Hill, in the same vicinity, is the rude figure of what is called a horse, although it bears a greater resemblance to a greyhound. It has been formed by cutting away the turf and leaving the chalk bare. It is said to occupy nearly an acre of land, and to have been executed by Alfred to celebrate a victory over the Danes in the reign of his brother Ethelred, in the year 872.

Berkshire comprehended the principality inhabited by the Atrebates, a tribe of people who originally migrated from Gaul before the island was divided into Roman provinces. Under that nation it formed part of Britannia Prima, and during the Saxon heptarchy was included in the kingdom of West Saxony. When Alfred divided the country into shires, hundreds, and parishes, it obtained the name of Berceire, which was subsequently changed to that which it now bears. It was frequently the scene of military operations from the time of Offa down to the troubles in the reign of Charles I. During the civil war two battles were fought at Newbury. In 1643, after a siege, Reading was taken by the parliament forces, and the royalist party were expelled from the whole of the county except Wallingford.

Mineral springs are found at Cumnor and Sunninghill, and at the latter there are establishments for the reception of visitants. There is a strong chalybeate called Gorrick Well, near Luckley House, and some springs near Windsor of the nature of the Epsom waters.

The following are the principal towns in this county:— Reading, Newbury, Thatcham, Wokingham, Wallingford, Windsor, Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon.