Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

and one of the home counties. It is bordered by

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

to the north,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

to the north-east,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

to the east,

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

to the south-east,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

to the south, and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

to the west. The largest settlement is the city of

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, and the county town is

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

. The county has an area of and had a population of 840,138 at the 2021 census. ''plus'' Besides Milton Keynes, which is in the north-east, the largest settlements are in the southern half of the county and include Aylesbury,

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, and

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

. For

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

purposes Buckinghamshire comprises two

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

Buckinghamshire Council Buckinghamshire Council is the Local Government in England, local authority for the Buckinghamshire (district), Buckinghamshire district in England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, performing both county and district- ...

and

Milton Keynes City Council Milton Keynes City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City of Milton Keynes, a local government district in Buckinghamshire, England. The council was established in 1974 as Milton Keynes Borough Council. Since ...

. The historic county had slightly different borders, and included the towns of

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

and Eton. The

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

, an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, occupy the south of the county and contain its highest point, Haddington Hill (). The Chilterns are the source of the

River Ouzel The River Ouzel , also known as the River Lovat, is a river in England, and a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises in the Chiltern Hills and flows north to join the Ouse at Newport Pagnell. It is usually called the ''River Ouzel'', e ...

, which flows across the lowland

Vale of Aylesbury The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshir ...

in the north of the county and through Milton Keynes before meeting the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

. The

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

forms part of the county's southern boundary. Notable service amenities in the county are

Pinewood Film Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, Dorney rowing lake and part of Silverstone race track on the Northamptonshire border. Many national companies have head offices or major centres in Milton Keynes.

Heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

and quarrying is limited, with agriculture predominating after service industries.

History

The name Buckinghamshire is

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

in origin and means ''The district (scire) of Bucca's home''. ''Bucca's home'' refers to

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

in the north of the county, and is named after the Anglo-Saxon landowner, '' Bucca''. The county has been so named since about the 12th century; however, the county has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

(585–919). The history of the area predates the Anglo-Saxon period and the county has a rich history starting from the Brittonic and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

periods, though the Anglo-Saxons perhaps had the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire: the geography of the rural county is largely as it was in the Anglo-Saxon period. Later, Buckinghamshire became an important political arena, with

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

intervening in local politics in the 16th century, and just a century later the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

was reputedly started by

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

in mid-Bucks. Historically, the biggest change to the county came in the 19th century, when a combination of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

hit the rural county, forcing many to migrate to larger towns to find work. Not only did this alter the local economic situation, 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 popular home for London commuters, leading to greater local affluence; however, some pockets of relative deprivation remain. The expansion of London and coming of the railways promoted the growth of towns in the south of the county such as

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

and

, leaving the town Buckingham itself to the north in a relative backwater. As a result, most county institutions are now based in the south of the county or

, rather than in Buckingham.

Geography

The county can be split into two sections geographically. The south leads from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

up the gentle slopes of the

to the more abrupt slopes on the northern side leading to the

and the City of Milton Keynes UA, a large and relatively level expanse of land that is the southern

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

of the

Waterways

Rivers

The county includes parts of two of the four longest rivers in England. The Thames forms the southern boundary with

, which has crept over the border at Eton and

so that the river is no longer the sole boundary between the two counties. The Great Ouse rises just outside the county in

and flows east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Olney.

Canals

Medmenham River Thames geograph-4090549-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The main branch of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

passes through the county as do its arms to

and

, as well as the disused arms to

Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...

and

. The canal has been incorporated into the landscaping of Milton Keynes.

Landscape

The southern part of the county is dominated by the Chiltern Hills. The two highest points in Buckinghamshire are

Haddington Hill Haddington Hill (also called Wendover Hill) is a hill in The Chilterns within the parish of Halton, and the highest point in the English county of Buckinghamshire. On the north-eastern flank is Coombe Hill, not to be confused with another ...

in Wendover Woods (a stone marks its summit) at above sea level and Coombe Hill near

at .

Mineral extraction

Quarrying has taken place for chalk, clay for brickmaking and gravel and sand in the river valleys. Flint, also extracted from quarries, was often used to build older local buildings. Several former quarries, now flooded, have become nature reserves.

Demography

The administration of Buckinghamshire is further sub-divided into civil parishes. Today Buckinghamshire is ethnically diverse, particularly in the larger towns. At the end of the 19th century some Welsh drover families settled in north Bucks and, in the last quarter of the 20th century, a large number of Londoners in Milton Keynes. Between 6 and 7% of the population of Aylesbury are of Asian or Asian British origin. Likewise Chesham has a similar-sized Asian community, and High Wycombe is the most ethnically diverse town in the county, with large Asian and

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

populations. During the Second World War there were many Polish settlements in Bucks, Czechs in Aston Abbotts and Wingrave, and Albanians in Frieth. Remnants of these communities remain in the county.

Politics

Ceremonial

The

of Buckinghamshire consists of both unitary authority areas combined. The ceremonial county has a

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

and a High Sheriff. Since November 2020, the

Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire There has been a Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire almost continuously since the position was created by King Henry VIII in 1535. The only exception to this was the English Civil War and English Interregnum between 1643 and 1660 when there was n ...

is The Countess Howe and the

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. Sheriff is the oldest secular office under th ...

is Dame Ann Geraldine Limb, DBE of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a market town in Buckinghamshire and a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located on Watling Street, historically the Roman road from London to Chester. It is also a civil parish with a town council in the Cit ...

The office of '' Custos rotulorum'' has been combined with that of Lord Lieutenant since 1702. The ceremonial county has two top-level administrations both are unitary authorities

, which administers about four-fifths of the county and two-thirds of its population, and

, which administers the remainder.

Buckinghamshire County Council (1889–1997)

Buckinghamshire County Council Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London ...

was founded in 1889 with its base in new municipal buildings in Walton Street, Aylesbury (which are still there). In 1966, the council moved into new premises: a 15-storey tower block in the centre of Aylesbury (pictured) designed by county architect Fred Pooley. It is now a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. From 1974 (following the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

) local administration was run on a two-tier system where public services were split between the county council and five district councils (

Aylesbury Vale The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshir ...

, Chiltern,

South Bucks South Bucks was one of four local government districts in the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in South East England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, by the amalgamation of the area of Beac ...

and Wycombe).

Buckinghamshire County Council (1997–2020)

In 1997, the northernmost part of Buckinghamshire, until then Milton Keynes District, was separated to form a unitary authority, the Borough of Milton Keynes; for ceremonial purposes Milton Keynes remains part of Buckinghamshire. The administration of the remainder of the county continued to be called Buckinghamshire County Council. Buckinghamshire County Council was a large employer in the county and provided a variety of services, including education (schools, adult education and youth services), social services, highways, libraries, County Archives and Record Office, the County Museum and the

Roald Dahl Children's Gallery The Roald Dahl Children's Gallery is a children's museum that uses characters and themes from the books of Roald Dahl to stimulate children's interest in science, history and literature. It is located on Church Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshi ...

in Aylesbury, consumer services and some aspects of waste disposal and planning.

Buckinghamshire Council (2020 onwards)

is a unitary authority covering most of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire. It was created in April 2020 from the areas that were previously administered by

and the district councils of South Bucks, Chiltern, Wycombe, and Aylesbury Vale.

Milton Keynes City Council

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for North Buckinghamshire was formed by the Local Government Act 1972, styled as the "Milton Keynes District Council" and subordinate to Buckinghamshire County Council. Its (district) council was first elected in 1973, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the District of Milton Keynes on 1 April 1974. The council was granted

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

on its foundation, entitling it to be known as "Milton Keynes Borough Council" and to annually appoint a (ceremonial) Mayor of Milton Keynes. On 1 April 1997, the Borough became a self-governing

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, independent of the County Council. Following award of

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

in 2022, the Borough became the

City of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Regions of England, Regio ...

, and its council became

. The remit of the City Council extends beyond the

Milton Keynes urban area The Milton Keynes urban area or Milton Keynes Built-up Area is a designation established by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics. Milton Keynes has no statutory boundary: the 1967 designated area only determined the area ass ...

, encompassing a significant rural area with villages, hamlets, and the market town of Olney.

Flag

The traditional flag of Buckinghamshire comprises a chained swan on a bicolour of red and black. The flag was registered with the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a membership organisation and UK-registered educational charity devoted to the study and promotion of flags and flag flying. It documents flags in the UK and around the world, maintains a UK Flag Registry, and offers advic ...

on 20 May 2011.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the former

features a white

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

in chains. This dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when swans were bred in Buckinghamshire for the king's pleasure. That the swan is in chains illustrates that the swan is bound to the monarch, an ancient law that still applies to wild swans in the UK today. The arms were first borne at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

by the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

. Above the swan is a gold band, in the centre of which is Whiteleaf Cross, representing the many ancient landmarks of the county. The shield is surmounted by a

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

tree, representing the Chiltern Forest that once covered almost half the county. Either side of the shield are a buck, for Buckingham, and a swan, the county symbol. The motto of the shield is ''Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum''. This is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and means 'no stepping back' (or 'no steps backwards').

Economy

Buckinghamshire has a modern service-based economy and is part of the

, Buckinghamshire and

NUTS-2 region, which was the seventh richest subregion in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2002. As well as the highest GDP per capita outside Inner London, Buckinghamshire has the highest quality of life, the highest life expectancy and the best education results in the country. The southern part of the county is a prosperous section of the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to work area, Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London' ...

. The county has fertile agricultural lands, with many

landed estate In real estate, a landed property or landed estate is a property that generates income for the owner (typically a member of the gentry) without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In medieval Western Europe, there were two compe ...

s, especially those of the

Rothschild banking family of England The Rothschild banking family of England is the British branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), who first settled in Manchester before moving to London, Kingdom of Great Britain (in pre ...

in the 19th century (see Rothschild properties in England). The county has several annual agricultural shows, with the

Bucks County Show The Bucks County Show is an annual one-day agricultural show held in Buckinghamshire, England, established in 1859. In recent years it has been held in Weedon, Buckinghamshire, Weedon Park, two miles north of Aylesbury on the last Thursday of August ...

established in 1859. Manufacturing industries include furniture-making (traditionally centred at

), pharmaceuticals and agricultural processing.

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

Iver Heath Iver is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets of Shreding Green and Thorney. Geography, tr ...

is a principal centre of operations for film and TV production in the UK. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Buckinghamshire at current basic prices published by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

with figures in millions of

Pounds sterling Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

(except GVA index).

Places of interest

Lake at Stowe Landscape Garden with Temple in distance - geograph

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre - geograph

Buckinghamshire is notable for its open countryside and natural features, including the

, Stowe Landscaped Gardens near

, and the

. The Ridgeway Path, a long-distance footpath, passes through the county. The county also has many historic houses. Some of these are opened to the public by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, such as

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...

West Wycombe Park West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baro ...

and

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hi ...

. Other historic houses are still in use as private homes, such as the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's country retreat

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

Claydon House Claydon House is a country house in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, near the village of Middle Claydon. It was built between 1757 and 1771 and is now owned by the National Trust. The house is a listed Grade I on the National He ...

(near

Steeple Claydon Steeple Claydon is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about south of Buckingham, west of Winslow and northwest of Waddesdon. The 2011 Census recorde ...

Hughenden Manor Hughenden Manor, Hughenden Valley, Hughenden, Buckinghamshire, England, is a Victorian architecture, Victorian mansion, with earlier origins, that served as the country house of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. I ...

(near High Wycombe), Stowe Landscaped Gardens, and

(near Aylesbury) are in the care of the

Mentmore Towers Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...

, a 19th-century

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

built by the

Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...

is located the village of

Mentmore Mentmore is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about three miles east of Wingrave, three miles south east of Wing. The village toponym is derived from the Old English for "Menta's moo ...

. It is the largest of the English Rothschild houses and is known for its Jacobean-styled architecture designed by

Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

in Milton Keynes is the site of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

British codebreaking and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...

, the world's first programmable electronic

digital computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', wh ...

. Together with the co-located

National Museum of Computing The National Museum of Computing is a UK-based museum that is dedicated to collecting and restoring History of computing hardware, historic computer systems, and is home to the world's largest collection of working historic computers. The muse ...

, it is a nationally important visitor attraction. Examples of historical architecture in the Chiltern region are preserved at the

Chiltern Open Air Museum Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM) is an independent open-air museum of vernacular buildings and a tourist attraction located near Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St. Giles in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. Its collection consists ...

, an open-air

folk museum A folk museum is a museum that deals with folk culture and heritage. Such museums cover local life in rural communities. A folk museum typically displays historical objects that were used as part of the people's everyday lives. Examples of such ...

near

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

. The site contains reconstructed buildings which might otherwise have been destroyed or demolished as a result of redevelopment or road construction. The market town of Olney, in the Milton Keynes UA, is home to

Cowper and Newton Museum The Cowper and Newton Museum is a museum in Olney, north Buckinghamshire, England, around north-east of Central Milton Keynes. Celebrating the work and lives of two famous local residents: William Cowper (1731–1800), a celebrated 18th-centu ...

which celebrates the work and lives of two famous figures:

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the Engli ...

(1731–1800) a celebrated 18th-century poet; and

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery Abolitionism, abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Nav ...

, a prominent slave trade abolitionist who was curate in the local church. Together, Cowper and Newton wrote the ''

Olney Hymns The ''Olney Hymns'' were first published in February 1779 and are the combined work of curate John Newton (1725–1807) and his poet friend William Cowper (1731–1800). The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish, which was made u ...

'', including one of the world's most popular hymns,

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

''. Buckinghamshire is the home of various notable people in connection with whom tourist attractions have been established: for example the author

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

who included many local features and characters in his works. Artists William Callow and Harriet Anne Smart Callow produced many paintings of the area in the late 19th century. Sports facilities in Buckinghamshire include half of the international

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...

which straddles the Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire border, the

Adams Park Adams Park is a Association football, football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers Football Club in EFL League One, League One, with a c ...

Stadium in the south and Stadium MK in the north, and

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around ...

(named 'Eton Dorney' for the event) was used as the rowing venue for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Media

The county is covered by three overlapping TV regions *

BBC South BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying between ...

and

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at midnight on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

, covering the western side of the county, *

BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (including the City of Milton Keynes). It is headquartered in The Forum ...

and

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

, covering the north and east of the county, and *

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...

ITV London ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...

, covering the south of the county. Local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio,

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...

(covering Marlow),

Heart Thames Valley Heart Thames Valley was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Berkshire, Oxfordshire, north Hampshire and parts of west Buckinghamshire from studios in Reading, southern England. T ...

(now

Heart South Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England. The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a merger between four sister stations: H ...

Heart Four Counties Heart Four Counties was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. The station launched on Friday 16 July 2010 as a r ...

(now

Heart East Heart East was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes. The station launched on 3 June 2019, following a merger of four Heart station ...

Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts Greatest Hits Radio Bucks, Beds and Herts (formerly Mix 96) is an Independent Local Radio station, owned and operated by Bauer, which broadcasts to Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. It is part of the Greatest Hits Radio networ ...

(formerly Mix 96) and Wycombe Sound (covering

Transport

Roads

M40 - Chiltern Cutting - Stokenchurch - geograph

Buckinghamshire is served by four motorways, although two are on its borders: *

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

: serves Milton Keynes in the north via junctions 13 and 14 (although the former is just outside the county boundary in Bedfordshire). *

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

: passes through the very south of the county with only J7 in Bucks. *

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...

: passes into Bucks but has only one junction (J16-interchange for the M40). *

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry hig ...

: cuts through the south of the county serving towns such as High Wycombe and Beaconsfield. Six important A roads also enter the county (from north to south): *

A428 The A428 road is a major road in central and eastern England. It runs between the cities of Coventry and Cambridge by way of the county towns of Northampton and Bedford. Together with the A421, (and the A43, M40 and the A34), the eastern s ...

: has a very small section through the county, serving the northern villages of

Lavendon Lavendon is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost village in the Milton Keynes UA and South East England, near Olney, about WNW of Bedford and N ...

and Cold Brayfield. * A5: serves Milton Keynes. * A421: serves Milton Keynes and Buckingham; links the M1 to the M40. * A40: parallels M40 through south Bucks and continues to

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. * A41: cuts through the centre of the county from Watford to Bicester, serving

. * A4: serves

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...

in the very south. Also less important primary A roads enter the country: * A404: serves Marlow and High Wycombe. * A509: serves the north of the county, starting at the A5 near Central Milton Keynes, heading north-east towards Olney via M1 J14, eventually leaving the county at

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

for Wellingborough and Kettering. * A4010: runs from M40 J4 (High Wycombe) to Stoke Mandeville. * A4146: runs from Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) to Milton Keynes. The county is poorly served with internal routes, with the A413 and A418 linking the south and north of the county.

Rail

As part of the

, Buckinghamshire is well connected to the national rail network, with both local commuter and inter-city services serving some destinations.

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rail ...

is a principal

train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

in Buckinghamshire, providing the majority of local commuter services from the centre and south of the county, with trains running into . Great Western operates commuter services from and into London Paddington.

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Rai ...

provides these services from into or , and Southern operates commuter services via the West London Line from Milton Keynes Central to

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station, tram stop and associated bus station in Croydon, Greater London, England. It is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is the 20th List of busiest railway stations in Great Britain, busiest station in Bri ...

Avanti West Coast First Trenitalia West Coast Rail, trading name, trading as Avanti West Coast, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership. In November 2016, the Department for Tra ...

operates inter-city services from Milton Keynes Central to Euston,

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

, the West Midlands, the Scottish

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demographics of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...

, and

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. Great Western operates non-stop services through the south of the county from Paddington to

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. There are four main lines running through the county: *The

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

in the north of the county serves stations in Milton Keynes *

London to Aylesbury Line London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

serves

and other settlements along the A413 towards London. Once part of the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, which now runs to Amersham *

Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham (Birmingham Moor Street railway station, Moor Street and Birmingham Snow Hill railway station, Snow Hill) on a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington ...

: serves the towns along the M40 motorway including

and

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...

: runs through

. Slough is now in

, but the line enters Bucks twice, on either side of Slough, with

and

Iver Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...

both having stations in Buckinghamshire. There are the following additional lines: * Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line: a single track branch that connects the Chiltern Main Line to the London to Aylesbury Line. *

Marston Vale Line The Marston Vale line is the line between and in England, a surviving remnant of the former Varsity Line between and , most of which was closed in the late 1960s. The line is sponsored by the Marston Vale community rail partnership. The line ...

: between

Bletchley Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, in the south-west of the city, split between the civil parishes in England, civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley, which In 2011 had a com ...

and

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. This is a remnant of the former

Varsity Line The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, a ...

between and *

Marlow Branch Line The Marlow branch line is a single track railway line in England, between Maidenhead station in Berkshire and Bourne End and Marlow stations in Buckinghamshire. It is in length. Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway using ...

: between Marlow, Bourne End and

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

. *

: between and to London *

Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway with its headquarters and main station at Chinnor in South Oxfordshire, England. It runs along the foot of the Chiltern Hills, Chilterns escarpment. Al ...

, a preserved railway. * The new

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...

(constructed as

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

) serves

. , contractors are working on behalf of the

East West Rail East West Rail (or the East West Main Line, EWML) is a strategic aim to establish a new main line railway between East Anglia and Oxfordshire. The immediate plan is to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Mi ...

Company to reinstate the route between and Bletchley via , enabling services to Milton Keynes Central from 2025. The line between Aylesbury and Claydon Junction may also be reinstated in the same programme, enabling services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes, but this option is not programmed. Construction of

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...

is also underway and is planned to run non-stop through the county at some future date.

Settlements

For the full list of towns, villages and

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

in Buckinghamshire, see

List of places in Buckinghamshire This is a list of places in the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. It does not include places which were formerly in Buckinghamshire. For places which were in Buckinghamshire until 1974, and were then transferred to Berkshire, and o ...

. Throughout history, there have been changes to the Buckinghamshire boundary.

Education

Artist and composer Harriet Anne Smart started a school in Buckinghamshire in the 1850s to teach local labourers how to read. Today, education in Buckinghamshire is governed by two

Local Education Authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

, Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council. Buckinghamshire Council is one of the few remaining LEAs still using the

tripartite system The Tripartite System was the selective school system of State school#United Kingdom, state-funded secondary education between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 onwards in Northern Ireland. It was an administrative implementa ...

, albeit with some revisions such as the abolition of

secondary technical school Secondary technical schools, referred to colloquially as secondary techs or simply techs, were a type of secondary school in England and Wales that existed in the mid-20th century under the Tripartite System of education. Few were built; their mai ...

s. It has a completely selective education system: pupils transfer either to a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

or to a

secondary modern school A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...

or free school depending on how they perform in the

Eleven-Plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...

and on their preferences. Pupils who do not take the test can only be allocated places at secondary modern schools or free school. There are 9 independent schools and 34 maintained (state) secondary schools, not including

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

s, in the county council area. There is also the

Buckinghamshire University Technical College Aylesbury UTC is a university technical college (UTC) which opened in September 2013 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. In November 2021, the college joined a Multi-Academy Trust. In 2022, the school underwent a rebrand and name-change from ...

which offers secondary education from age 14. The unitary authority of Milton Keynes operates a

comprehensive education Comprehensive may refer to: * Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. *Comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, th ...

system: there are 8 maintained (state) secondary schools in the City Council area. Buckinghamshire is also home to the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

Buckinghamshire New University Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a public university in Buckinghamshire, England, with campuses in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and A ...

, the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

, and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. The

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a Public university, public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The university has roots in further and higher education from 1882: it gained university status in 19 ...

has a campus in Milton Keynes.

Notable people

Buckinghamshire is the birthplace and/or final resting place of several notable individuals. St

Osyth Osgyth (or Osyth; died 700 AD) was a Mercian noblewoman and prioress, venerated as an English saint since the 8th century, from soon after her death. She is primarily commemorated in the village of St Osyth, in Essex, near Colchester. Alternati ...

was born in Quarrendon and was buried in

in the 7th century while at about the same time Saint Rumbold (or Rumwald) was buried in

. In the medieval period,

Roger of Wendover Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century. At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell ...

and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

also owned property in the same town. It is said that

made Aylesbury the county town in preference to Buckingham because Boleyn's father owned property there and was a regular visitor himself. Other medieval residents included

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

, who had a palace at

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, and

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christianity, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxfor ...

who lived in Ludgershall. Buckinghamshire later became home to some notable literary characters.

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, 3 March 1606 to 21 October 1687, was a poet and politician from Buckinghamshire. He sat as MP for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and was one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. Althoug ...

was brought up in

and served as Member of Parliament (MP) for both

and Wycombe.

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

and her husband

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

lived for some time in Marlow, attracted to the town by their friend

Thomas Love Peacock Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels ...

who also lived there.

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

lived in

and his cottage can still be visited there and

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

was MP for

. Later authors include Jerome K. Jerome who lived at Marlow,

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

who also lived at Marlow,

who lived at

Great Missenden Great Missenden is a village and civil parish in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover. It adjoins the village of Little Kingshill, and is a mile from Lit ...

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

who lived in

and

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...

who lived at Bourne End and is buried in

Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to th ...

. Modern-day writers from Bucks include

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

who was born in Beaconsfield,

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

who is from Amersham and

Andy Riley Andy Riley (born 1970) is a British author, cartoonist, and Emmy-winning screenwriter for TV and film. Riley has written and drawn many best-selling cartoon books, including '' The Book of Bunny Suicides'' (2003) and its sequels, and ''Great Li ...

who is from Aylesbury. During the Second World War a number of European politicians and statesmen were exiled in England. Many of these settled in Bucks as it is close to London. President

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

lived at

Aston Abbotts Aston Abbotts or Aston Abbots is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about north of Aylesbury and south-west of Wing. The parish includes the hamlet of Burston and had a population of 426 at the 2021 Census. Manor " ...

with his family while some of his officials were stationed at nearby Addington and

Wingrave Wingrave is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, about four miles northeast of Aylesbury and three miles southwest of Wing. The civil parish is called Wingrave with Rowsham within Buckinghamshire district and incorporates the hamlet of Ro ...

. Meanwhile,

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, military leader of Poland, lived at

and King

Zog of Albania Zog I (born Ahmed Muhtar Zogolli; 8 October 18959 April 1961) was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's youngest ever Prime Minister (1922–1924), then as president (1925–1928), and finally as King ...

lived at

Frieth Frieth is a village in the parish of Hambleden, in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies on the top of "Frieth Hill", which is part of the chalk escarpments of the Chiltern Hills. Frieth lies at a height of around , on the edge of a broad and dee ...

. Much earlier, King

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 ...

lived in exile at Hartwell House from 1809 to 1814. Also on the local political stage Buckinghamshire has been home to

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

who lived in

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

who also lived in Cliveden,

Baron Carrington Baron Carrington is a title that has been created three times, once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. History The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1643 in favour ...

who lives in

Bledlow Bledlow is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bledlow-cum-Saunderton, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about west-southwest of Princes Risborough, and is on the county boundary with Oxfordshire. In 1931 the parish had a ...

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

who lived at

and was made Earl of Beaconsfield,

who was from Great Hampden and is revered in Aylesbury to this day and Prime Minister

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

who lived at

. Also worthy of note are

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

who believed he was descended from the Penn family of Penn and so is buried nearby and the current

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

, who has an official residence at

. John Archdale, the colonial governor of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, was born in Buckinghamshire. Other notable natives of Buckinghamshire include:

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Buckinghamshire County Council

Buckinghamshire County Museum and Roald Dahl Children's Gallery

Buckinghamshire Libraries

Buckinghamshire Tourist Guide

Bucks County and District Councils Portal

Photographic Archive of Buckinghamshire

Images of Buckinghamshire
at the

English Heritage Archive The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway. It is a public archive of architectural and arc ...

{{Authority control South East England Home counties Counties of England established in antiquity

History

Geography

Waterways

Rivers

Canals

Landscape

Mineral extraction

Demography

Politics

Ceremonial

Buckinghamshire County Council (1889–1997)

Buckinghamshire County Council (1997–2020)

Buckinghamshire Council (2020 onwards)

Milton Keynes City Council

Flag

Coat of arms

Economy

Places of interest

Media

Transport

Roads

Rail

Settlements

Education

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links