BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (abbreviated Bucks), a south mid land county of England, bounded on the north by Northampton shire, east by Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex, south by Berkshire, and west by Oxfordshire. Its area is 743•2sq.m. The county has parts of the basins of Ouse and Thame, and reaches from the chalk Chilterns to the first outcrop of Jurassic rocks which rise in the west to form the Cotswolds, while the extreme south is drained by tributaries of the lower Thames flowing from the chalk.
Geologically it includes a succession of outcropping rocks dip ping generally south-east from the Lias in the north-west to the Eocene of the London basin. The Great Oolite rises north west of Buckingham in gentle undulations to a height of nearly 50of t. The upper portions are limestones, quarried for build ing stones at Thornborough, Brock and elsewhere; the lower parts are more argillaceous. A large expanse of Oxford clay, rich grass-land and famous hunting country, runs from Bicester to Bedford, including the low divide (Whaddon Chase) between the Vale of Aylesbury (mainly Kimmeridge clay) and the valleys of the Ouse and Ouzel. The clay is covered by numerous outliers of Portland, Purbeck and lower greensand beds. The upper greensand follows, and at the junction with the gault are numer ous springs which have determined the sites of several villages. The chalk rises abruptly from the low-lying argillaceous plain to form the Chiltern hills. The crest-line of these hills crosses the centre of the county from north-east to south-west at its narrowest point (11 m.), though another portion, Steps hill, is included in a loop made by the county boundary on the north east. To the south of this line almost the whole land is hilly, the chalk outcropping and determining the form of the hills as far as Beaconsfield and Burnham. Eocene deposits, Reading beds and London clay, occupy the remaining south-east of the county. Between the Tertiary-capped chalk plateau and the Thames a gentle slope, covered with alluvial gravel and brick earth, reaches down to the river. Thick deposits of plateau gravel occur on most of the high ground in the south while much of the northern part is obscured by glacial clays and gravels which help to diversify the soil of this essentially agricultural county. To the west of Aylesbury, on the Oxford border, a few nearly isolated hills stand out, e.g., Muswell hill and Brill hill (each over Goof t. ), marked on the geological map by outliers of gault. The Thames forms the entire southern boundary of Bucks. The River Ouse forms various portions of the northern boundary and receives the River Ouzel flowing along the north-eastern side of the county. In the south the dip-slopes of the Chilterns are drained by the Wye, Misbourne and Chess, streams flowing to the south-east.
Traces of early man are not common in the county, though palaeolithic implements have at various times been found in the gravels of the Thames valley. Neolithic man probably inhabited the higher parts of the Chilterns, and though the numerous camps found there seem to be of the early iron age some may date farther back. The Icknield way is without doubt pre Roman in origin. There is some indication that the Vale of Aylesbury was settled in pre-Roman times. The territory which was to become Bucks was reached by the West Saxons about 570, as by a series of victories they pushed north from the chalk of Hants and Wilts over the upper Thames. A large occupation of the chalk, such as one finds in Kent, Sussex, Berks and Wilts, is not indicated. The higher open ground was inhabited during the early part of the 7th century, as is shown by the mention of the Chiltern-Saetna, or "dwellers in Chiltern," in the tribal hidage, but it is suggested that there may have been a considerable element of native population among them. The Chronicle states that Aylesford, Bensington and Eynsham were captured by the Saxons in 571, and there is abundant archaeo logical evidence for their occupation of the Vale of Aylesbury. With the grouping of the settlements into kingdoms and the con solidation of Mercia under Offa, Buckinghamshire was included in Mercia until, with the submission of that kingdom to the Northmen, it became part of the Danelaw. In the loth century Buckinghamshire suffered frequently from the ravages of the Danes, and numerous barrows and earthworks mark the scenes of struggles against the invaders. These relics are especially abun dant in the Vale of Aylesbury, probably at this time one of the richest and best protected of the Saxon settlements. The Chil tern district, on the other hand, is said to have been an impass able forest infested by hordes of robbers and wild beasts. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, Leofstan, 12th abbot of St. Albans, cut down large tracts of wood in this district, and granted the manor of Hamstead (Herts) to a valiant knight and two fellow-soldiers on condition that they should check the depreda tions of the robbers. The same reason led at an early period to the appointment of a steward of the "Chiltern Hundreds" (q.v.). The district was not finally disforested until the reign of James I.
Thy necessity of controlling this wild Chiltern country, with its important routes from London, probably explains its inclu sion within the county. The shire of Buckingham was formed by the aggregation of pre-existing hundreds as they were recaptured from the Danes. This explains the irregularities of the boundary line. As in the case of the midland counties generally, it took its name from the chief town, but it is a matter of some difficulty to understand why Buckingham should have been chosen. It was doubtless the chief town at the time; in the Domesday survey it is the only borough to receive separate mention. From the first, however, the church at Aylesbury tended to become the chief ecclesiastical centre of the county, while Buckingham never had more than one parish and one church. The earliest churches of the county were probably subject to the West Saxon see of Dorchester; but the see was transferred to Lincoln at the Con quest, and so remained until transferred to Oxford in 1837. Of monastic foundations the Cistercian abbey of Medmenham was founded in 1201, while the Augustinian Notley abbey dates from 1162. The 18 hundreds of the Domesday survey have now been reduced to eight, of which the three Chiltern hundreds, Des borough, Burnham and Stoke, are unaltered in extent as well as in name. The boundaries of the shire have altered very little since Domesday.
The proximity of Buckinghamshire to London caused it to be involved in most of the great national events of the ensuing cen turies. During the war between King John and his barons, William Mauduit held Hanslape castle against the king, until in 1216 it was captured and demolished by Falkes de Breaute. The county was visited severely by the Black Death, and Winslow was one of many districts which were almost entirely depopulated. In the civil war Buckinghamshire was one of the first counties to join in an association for mutual defence on the side of the parliament, which had important garrisons at Aylesbury, Brill and elsewhere. Newport Pagnell was for a short time garrisoned by the royalist troops and in 1644 the king fixed his headquarters at Buckingham.
A consideration of communications is best based on the struc tural facts that have been outlined. Thus there are chains of villages along the water-bearing strips at the foot of the Chil terns, while it was along the Icknield way that the mediaeval traffic passed from the west of England to East Anglia. The raids of the West Saxons from beyond the Thames, and of the Angles from the Wash, were guided by similar influences, while the spread of the great diocese from Oxford and Dorchester to Lincoln is significant. The site and importance of Buckingham is probably indicative of the early use of the route on the oolite from north-east to south-west. In Roman times Watling street was built, crossing the Chilterns near Dunstable (Durocobrivae) in the transverse direction from south-east to north-west. Akeman street used the low route between Tring and Berkhampstead. The mediaeval, turnpike and modern roads chose the same gaps, using the Thames valley in the south and the High Wycombe, Wendover and Tring routes within the county. The main line of the L.M.S.R. uses the gap between Berkhampstead and Iving hoe and crosses the north-east of the county. Bletchley is an important junction on this system, branches diverging north-east to Fenny Stratford and Bedford, and west to Oxford and Banbury. The pass controlled by Wendover is followed by the railway to Aylesbury and Buckingham. In the south the chief railway is the G.W. passing through Slough and Taplow. Another line uses the High Wycombe valley, passing through Princes Risborough and Beaconsfield.
There is no general manufacturing industry. Amongst those which have developed since the middle of the 19th century is boat-building, on the banks of the Thames. The thriving trade in various articles of turnery, such as chairs and bowls, carried on at High Wycombe and in its neighbourhood, is centuries old and may be attributed to the presence of the beech woods of the Chilterns.
Lace-making for a long period formed the most important industry of Buckinghamshire. Tradition attributes its introduc tion to Queen Catherine of Aragon who, besides holding several manors in the county, also lived for two years at Ampthill. Flem ish refugees, and later, French immigrants seem to have played a part in establishing the industry. The greatest period of pros perity came in the 18th century, when bone-lace was in wide demand. The trade lingered on for some time after the intro duction of machine-made lace about 1835, and attempts are being made to revive it. Paper-mills have been established in the Thames valley since the close of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Of other old industries the potteries of Brill and the making of strawplait for hats may be mentioned. Newer industries include those connected with communications. The Wolverton works, belonging to the L.M.S.R., give employment to a large number of people in the neighbourhood.
The soils of the county vary greatly in different localities. On the lower lands, especially in the Vale of Aylesbury, about the headwaters of the Thame, they are extremely fertile. Beech is the predominant tree in the woods. In the south a remnant of ancient forest is preserved as public grounds under the name of Burnham Beeches (q.v.). There are numerous old-established private parks such as Ashridge, Biddlesden, Ditton, Stowe, Thorn ton and Whaddori. The Hampden estate is perhaps the most famous in the county. Of old country houses, Chequers Court dates from the late 16th century and is, since 1921, an official residence of British prime ministers. Many towns and villages have become famous for their associations with statesmen or poets, e.g., Stoke Poges with Gray, Beaconsfield with Burke, and Hughenden with Disraeli. The most notable institution within the county is Eton college. Much of the county is pasture, while the Aylesbury district is famous for ducks.
The area of the ancient county is 47 5,682ac. ; of the admin istrative county 479,358ac., with a population, in 1931, of 271,565. It is in the midland circuit, and assizes are held at Aylesbury. It has one court of quarter sessions, and is divided into 13 petty sessional divisions. The administrative county contains 230 civil parishes. It is entirely within the diocese of Oxford. There are three parliamentary divisions; those of Aylesbury, Buckingham and Wycombe, each returning one member. The municipal boroughs are :—Aylesbury, the county town, pop. (1931) 13,382; Buckingham (3,082) ; and Chepping Wycombe, also Wycombe or High Wycombe (27,987). Urban districts include Beaconsfield Bletchley (6,169), Chesham (8,809), Eton (2,005), Linslade , Marlow (5,087), Newport Pagnell ( 3,95 7 ) Slough (33,530), and Wolverton (12,870). Other towns were in 1921 Amersham (C.P. 4,221), Olney (2,651), Princes Risborough (2,438), and Wendover (2,366) . Several of the villages on or near the banks of the Thames have become centres of residence, such as Taplow, Burnham and Wooburn.