Coordinates: 51°20′56″N 0°48′00″W / 51.349°N 0.800°W / 51.349; -0.800

Sandhurst
Daffodills in Ambarrow Court
Sandhurst  Sandhurst shown within Berkshire
Population	20,803 (2001)
OS grid reference	SU836618
Civil parish	Sandhurst
District	Bracknell Forest
Shire county	Berkshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SANDHURST
Postcode district	GU47
Dialling code	01344
	01276
	01252
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Bracknell
List of places: UK • England • Berkshire

Sandhurst is a small town and civil parish in England of 7,966 homes and 20,803 inhabitants (2001 Census data), primarily domiciliary in nature with a few light industries. It is in the south eastern corner of the ceremonial Royal County of Berkshire, within the Borough of Bracknell Forest, and is situated 33 miles (53 km) south west of central London, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north west of Camberley and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bracknell.

Sandhurst is known worldwide as the location of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (often referred to simply as "Sandhurst", "The Academy" or "The RMA"). Despite its close proximity to Camberley, Sandhurst is also home to a large and well-known out-of-town mercantile development. The site is named "The Meadows" and has a Tesco Extra hypermarket and a Marks and Spencer, two of the largest in the country.^{[citation needed]}

Geography[link]

Sandhurst is located at grid reference SU836618. Sandhurst is situated within the South East of England on the border of the home counties of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey. The town itself consists of four main districts, from west to east: Little Sandhurst, Sandhurst (central) and College Town, with Owlsmoor to the northeast. North of the town are Edgbarrow Woods and Wildmoor Heath. To the east is Broadmoor Bottom, an expanse of heathland together with fir tree plantations. This eventually backs onto the high-security Broadmoor Hospital.

Sandhurst is bordered, on the south, by the River Blackwater, and several of the Yateley Lakes along its course are within the parish, notably Trilakes with its country park. This is also the county boundary with Hampshire at Blackwater. The town of Crowthorne is to the north, the village of Finchampstead to the west, and Camberley, across the Surrey county boundary, is on its southeastern side. This is the closest sizeable town, though Sandhurst is also only 9.5 km (5.9 mi) south of the new town of Bracknell.

The soil is sandy, with a subsoil of sand and gravel.

Communications[link]

Sandhurst lies just off the A30, is close to junction 4 of the M3 motorway (3.4 miles) and within easy reach of the M4 (10.3 miles) via the Crowthorne bypass (A3095) to Bracknell and the A329(M) towards Reading. Sandhurst railway station is served by First Great Western, on the line between Gatwick, Guildford and Reading.

Local government[link]

Sandhurst has representation through several tiers of government - town council, unitary authority, parliamentary (UK and European). Its Town Council is divided into four wards, Central Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst, College Town and Owlsmoor, all represented by twenty-four councillors. It is also part of the Bracknell Forest District. The ancient parish of Sandhurst also covered Crowthorne, until this became an ecclesiastical parish in its own right in 1874 and a civil parish in 1894. The current Mayor of Sandhurst is Councillor Dale Birch.

History[link]

The Church of St Michael and All Angels

Saxon and Medieval periods[link]

The name of the village is Anglo-Saxon and originates from the sandy soils and the hurst (a wooded eminence) of the area. In early 14th century records, Sandhurst appears as part of township of Sonning, a large minster parish spreading over much of eastern Berkshire, which later became a hundred when its villages obtained their own churches.^[1] These lands belonged to the Bishops of Salisbury. There were two manors in Sandhurst: ‘Hall’ in the grounds of what is now the Royal Military Academy and ‘Sandhurst’ on the site of Sandhurst Lodge. Nothing remains of the original buildings.

Tudor to Georgian periods[link]

In the early modern era, Sandhurst parish was a small farming community on the very edge of Windsor Forest, Sandhurst Walke being an important forest division subject to forest laws.^[1] Locals had the right to cut turf, bracken, heather and wood that was primarily cultivated to feed the forest deer. These were hunted by Royal parties from a hunting lodge in the vicinity of Hart's Leap Road.^[1] A number of disputes are on record, showing how Sandhurst people sometimes took more resources than was allowed.

Farming has always remained a major part of village life here and some defunct farms are still remembered in the names of housing estates, roads and even a restaurant: Sandhurst Farm, Snaprails, Caves Farm, Ambarrow Farm, College Farm, Rectory Farm, Beech Farm and Rackstraws Farm. In the mid-16th century, William, Lord Sandys, the Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII, owned a supposed manor called 'Buckhurst' in the area between College Town and Central Sandhurst.

Victorian and Modern periods[link]

Life changed very little in Sandhurst until the 19th century when large sections of land were sold for the building of the Royal Military College, which moved from Marlow in 1812.^[1]

The railway arrived in 1849 and a number of large country residences were subsequently erected in the area: amongst them, Harts Leap, Forest End, St Helens Upland, The Warren, Longdown Lodge, Ryefield, Snaprails, and Ambarrow Court. Sandhurst Lodge was erected in about 1858 by Robert Gibson and leased to John Walter, of the Times Newspaper, and then Sir William Farrer, solicitor to Queen Victoria and The Duke of Wellington. Perry Hill and The Ceders came later. Only a few remain today. The others have been demolished and land developed.

Such large houses and institutions, including the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane and Wellington College in nearby Crowthorne, led to a great expansion of the local population as people moved into the area looking for work. Further residential housing was erected for these workers, as well as more schools for their children, more places of worship and other community resources.

• St. Michael's Parish Church, Little Sandhurst, dates from the 13th century, but was largely rebuilt in 1853.
• The Baptist Church, Central Sandhurst, was built in 1884.
• The Wesleyan Methodist chapel, Central Sandhurst, followed in 1906.
• The Parish Church of St George's [1], Owlsmoor, was built as a wooden structure in 1960 and was rebuilt in 1993.
• The Roman Catholic Church, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Yorktown Road, was built in 1959.

St. Michael's Church of England School, Little Sandhurst, was opened in 1862 and other schools followed in quick succession:

• Old Scotland Hill, Little Sandhurst, in 1871,
• The Methodist, Central Sandhurst, in 1906,
• College Town in 1907,
• Uplands, Central Sandhurst, in 1962 and
• Owlsmoor Primary was added in 1974.

Until Sandhurst Comprehensive - now Sandhurst School - was built in 1969 in Owlsmoor, Secondary-age pupils were sent to Edgbarrow school in Crowthorne, Forest Grammar School for boys in Winnersh or Holt School for girls in Wokingham.

From the late 1950s to the 80s, large housing estates have been built creating the conglomerate town of today from the original four villages of College Town, (Central)Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst and Owlsmoor.

Recreation and sport[link]

• The Sandhurst tug of war team have been three times World champions, as seen on sign posts entering the town.
• Sandhurst's football team, Sandhurst Town F.C., has its home ground at Bottom Meadow. It currently plays in the Combined County League [2] - Division premier.
• Sandhurst Cricket Club field two teams in the Berkshire League with the 1st XI in the premier division. They also have a Sunday side and a Midweek XI, plus a growing junior section (U11s & U9s).
• Sandhurst Joggers has more than 300 members. Founded in 1987.
• Sandhurst Recreation Park contains tennis and basketball courts, cricket and football pitches, playground (with large sand-play area) and a small skatepark. The Coffee Spot - a local public dining establishment - is in the vicinity. The park has a large water area (called a balancing pond) where a firework show is held once a year, usually on the closest Saturday to Guy Fawkes Night and the Sandhurst Donkey Derby - a community festival - is also an annual event.
• Sandhurst Sports Centre is in the Owlsmoor area. It is facilitated By Sandhurst School and has various facilities for sporting and recreational activities.
• Sandhurst has an active Historical Society.

Famous residents[link]

• HRH Prince William of Wales (now Duke of Cambridge) resided at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst between January and December 2006.
• Emily Marsden Payne - World Age Tumbling Gymnastics Champion 2009

References[link]

• PH Ditchfield (1923), The Victoria County History of Berkshire.
• Sandhurst Town Council Website: History Page
• Sandhurst Town Council Website: FAQ Page

External links[link]

• Historical Society
• Sandhurst Weather Station
• Sandhurst Town Council
• Sandhurst Cricket Club
• RMA Sandhurst
• Sandhurst Town FC
• Sandhurst Joggers
• Sandhurst Residents' Association
• Royal Berkshire History: Sandhurst
• Local Sandhurst Information & Facilities
• Sandhurst School
• Sandhurst Sports Centre

The Royal County of Berkshire
Shown within England
Geography
Status	Non-metropolitan and ceremonial county
Origin	Historic
Region	South East England
Area - Total	Ranked 40th 1,262 km2 (487 sq mi)
ISO 3166-2	Consists of GB-BRC, GB-RDG, GB-SLG, GB-WBK, GB-WNM, GB-WOK
ONS code	Formerly 10
NUTS 3	UKJ11
Demography
Population - Total (2005) - Density	Ranked 26th 812,200 643 /km2 (1,670 /sq mi)
Ethnicity	88.7% White 6.8% S.Asian 2.0% Black.
Politics
No county council
Members of Parliament	Adam Afriyie (C) Richard Benyon (C) Phillip Lee (C) Fiona Mactaggart (L) Theresa May (C) John Redwood (C) Alok Sharma (C) Rob Wilson (C)
Districts
West Berkshire (Unitary) Reading (Unitary) Wokingham (Unitary) Bracknell Forest (Unitary) Windsor and Maidenhead (Unitary) Slough (Unitary)

Berkshire ( /ˈbɑrkʃər/ or /ˈbɑrkʃɪər/, abbreviated Berks) is both a ceremonial county and a historic county of England. The administrative county of Berkshire including the Berkshire County Council were abolished in 1998. The county is often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and letters patent issued confirming this in 1974.^[1][2]

The ceremonial county has the same boundaries as the former administrative county, but historically the county was not co-terminous with this. The county borders the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Wiltshire and Hampshire. Historically the county included several towns to the northwest of the county (including Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage) that were moved into Oxfordshire in 1974 boundary changes. At the same time the town of Slough was moved into Berkshire from Buckinghamshire.^[3]

Under boundary changes in 1995, the county also acquired a boundary with Greater London.^[4] A later reorganisation, in 1998, abolished the county council. The highest tier of local government in Berkshire are now the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham.

History[link]

Windsor Castle, viewed from the Long Walk

The county is one of the oldest in England. It may date from the 840s, the probable period of the unification of "Sunningum" (East Berkshire) and "Ashdown" (the Berkshire Downs, probably including the Kennet Valley). The county is first mentioned by name in 860. According to Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called Bearroc (believed, in turn, to be a Celtic word meaning "hilly").^[5]

Berkshire has been the scene of many battles throughout history, during Alfred the Great's campaign against the Danes, including the Battle of Englefield, the Battle of Ashdown and the Battle of Reading. Newbury was the site of two Civil War battles, the First Battle of Newbury (at Wash Common) in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury (at Speen) in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. The Battle at Reading took place on 9 December 1688 in Reading. It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange. It was celebrated in Reading for hundreds of years afterwards.

Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon which remained in the county. Under the Local Government Act 1888, Berkshire County Council took over functions of the Berkshire Quarter Sessions, covering an area known as the administrative county of Berkshire, which excluded the county borough of Reading. Boundary alterations in the early part of the 20th century were minor, with Caversham from Oxfordshire becoming part of the Reading county borough, and cessions in the Oxford area.

On 1 April 1974 Berkshire's boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972. Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire.^[3] The northern part of the county became part of Oxfordshire, with Faringdon, Wantage and Abingdon and hinterland becoming the Vale of White Horse district, and Didcot and Wallingford added to South Oxfordshire district.^[3] 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, even though the White Horse is now in Oxfordshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, and the districts became unitary authorities. Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished.^[6][7] Signs saying "Welcome to the Royal County of Berkshire" have all but disappeared but may still be seen on the borders of West Berkshire District, on the east side of Virginia Water and on the M4 motorway. There are also signs at the south side of Sonning Bridge on the B478 and going north on the A33 at the start of the dual carriageway just past Stratfield Saye.

Geography[link]

Aerial view of Virginia Water Lake on the southern edge of Windsor Great Park

From a landscape perspective, Berkshire divides into two clearly distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of Reading.

The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the River Thames, with that river forming the northern boundary of the county. In two places (Slough and Reading) the county now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the Loddon and Blackwater increase the amount of low lying riverine land in the area. Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with Surrey and Hampshire. Much of this area is still well wooded, especially around Bracknell and Windsor Great Park.

In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the (current) county boundary, leaving the county behind at the Goring Gap. This is a narrow part of the otherwise quite broad river valley where, at the end of the last Ice Age, the Thames forced its way between the Chiltern Hills (to the north of the river in Oxfordshire) and the Berkshire Downs.

View from Combe Gibbet, looking north over the Kennet Valley

As a consequence, the western portion of the county is situated around the valley of the River Kennet, which joins the Thames in Reading. Fairly steep slopes on each side delineate the river's flat floodplain. To the south, the land rises steeply to the nearby county boundary with Hampshire, and the highest parts of the county lie here. The highest of these is Walbury Hill at 297 m (974 ft), which is also the highest point in South East England region and between London and South Wales.

To the north of the Kennet, the land rises again to the Berkshire Downs. This is a hilly area, with smaller and well-wooded valleys draining into the River Lambourn, River Pang and their tributaries, and open upland areas famous for their involvement in horse racing and the consequent ever-present training gallops.

As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the Summer Snowflake (a.k.a. the 'Loddon Lily') as the county flower.

Demographics[link]

According to 2003 estimates there were 803,657 people in Berkshire, or 636 people/km². The population is mostly based in the urban areas to the east and centre of the county (Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Wokingham, Windsor, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and Twyford being the largest towns) with West Berkshire being much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns (Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford and Lambourn). The Reading/Wokingham Urban Area alone has a population of more than 350,000, making it south east England's second largest 'city' in all but name.

The population has increased massively since 1831; this is largely due to Berkshire's proximity to an expanding London^{[citation needed]}. In 1831, there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire; by 1901 the population had risen to 252,571 (of whom 122,807 were male and 129,764 were female).

Population of Berkshire:

• 1831: 146,234
• 1841: 161,759
• 1851: 170,065
• 1861: 176,256
• 1871: 196,475
• 1881: 218,363
• 1891: 238,709
• 1901: 252,571

Ceremonial County[link]

The ceremonial county of Berkshire consists of the area controlled by the six unitary authorities, each of which is independent of the rest. Berkshire has no county council. The ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire is Mary Selina Bayliss, appointed in May 2008^[8] and the High Sheriff of Berkshire for the year 2011 is Robert Barclay Woods CBE.^[9]

Population figures for 2007 estimates [1]. See List of English districts by population for a full list of every English district.

Politics[link]

Berkshire is a ceremonial county and non-metropolitan county and it is unique in England in that it has no county council, or district council covering its entire area; rather it is divided into several unitary authorities, which do not have county status. It is the only non-metropolitan county to function in such a manner.

The Conservative Party controls the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest, whilst the Labour Party controls Reading and Slough.

In the 2010 general election, Conservative Party candidates were elected in seven of the eight parliamentary constituencies. Slough is the exception, being represented by a Labour MP.

Economy[link]

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.

Notes

1. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
2. Includes hunting and forestry
3. Includes energy and construction
4. Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Industry[link]

The Oracle Corporation campus

Reading has a significant historical involvement in the information technology industry, largely as a result of the early presence in the town of sites of International Computers Limited and Digital. Whilst both these companies have been swallowed by other groups, their respective descendents in Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard both still have local operations. More recently Microsoft and Oracle have established multi-building campuses in the borough. Other technology companies with a significant presence in the town include Agilent Technologies, Assuria, Audio & Design (Recording) Ltd, Bang & Olufsen, Cisco, Comptel, DediPower Managed Hosting, Ericsson, Harris Corporation, Intel, Nvidia, Rockwell Collins, Sage, Sagem Orga, SGI, Symantec, Symbol Technologies, Verizon Business, Virgin Media, Websense, Xansa (now Steria), and Xerox. The financial company ING Direct has its headquarters in Reading, as does the directories company Yell Group and the natural gas major BG Group. The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town, whilst PepsiCo and Holiday Inn have offices. As with most major cities, Reading also has offices of the big 4 accounting firms Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst and Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Slough Trading Estate plays a major part in making Slough an important business centre in South East England

Slough is home to Europes largest trading estate and the world 2nd largest trading estate. Slough has more company HQ's than any other town or city in the UK. Slough is also home to the UK's biggest Business Park and is to be increased by Segro over the next few years. The global headquarters of Reckitt Benckiser and the UK headquarters of Mars, Incorporated are based in Slough. One of the Mars factories has been redeveloped and some production moved to the Czech Republic. The European head offices of major IT companies such as Research In Motion, Network Associates, Computer Associates, PictureTel and Compusys (amongst others) are all in the town. O₂ is headquartered here across four buildings. The town is also home to the National Foundation for Educational Research, which is housed in The Mere. Other major brands include Nintendo, Black and Decker, Amazon.co.uk, Honda, HTC and Abbey Business Centres and many more.^[10] Dulux paints are still manufactured in Slough by AkzoNobel which bought Imperial Chemical Industries in 2008. Slough is also home to popular companies such as Blackberry, HTC, Scottish and Southern Energy and many more world wide organisations. The Slough Trading Estate attracts many worldwide organisations due to its distance from London Heathrow Airport. Slough has seen major companies such as Burger King, Black and Decker, LG Electronics and many more move into the trading estate over the past few years. More details on the trading estate are available on the Segro website.

Bracknell is another base for high-tech industries, home to companies such as Panasonic, Fujitsu (formerly ICL) and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens (originally Nixdorf), Honeywell, Cable and Wireless, Avnet Technology Solutions and Novell. Its success subsequently spread into the surrounding Thames Valley or M4 corridor, attracting IT firms such as Cable and Wireless, DEC (subsequently Hewlett-Packard), Microsoft, Sharp Telecommunications, Oracle Corporation, Sun Microsystems and Cognos. Bracknell is also home to the central Waitrose distribution centre and head office which is on a 70-acre (280,000 m²) site on the Southern Industrial Estate. Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of BMW Group.^[11]

Newbury is home to the world headquarters of the mobile network operator Vodafone, which is the town's largest employer with over 6,000 people. Before moving to their £129 million headquarters in the outskirts of the town in 2002, Vodafone used 64 buildings spread across the town centre.^[12] As well as Vodafone, Newbury is also home to the UK headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, National Instruments, Micro Focus, NTS Express Road Haulage, Jokers' Masquerade, Newbury Parcels and Quantel. It also is home to the Newbury Building Society which operates in the region.

Agricultural produce[link]

Berkshire has a number of traditional dairy farming areas and has been famous of its cheese production for centuries. Abingdon Abbey once had many dairy-based granges in the Vale of the White Horse (now Oxfordshire) and in the south-east of the county, Red Windsor Cheese was developed with elderberry marbling. Today, a number of distinctive cheeses are exclusively produced in Berkshire, including Wigmore, Waterloo and Spenwood (named after Spencers Wood) cheeses from the Wigmore family at Village Maid Cheese in Riseley [2] (adjoining the Duke of Wellington's estate); and Barkham Blue, Barkham Chase and Loddon Blewe from Two Hoots Cheese at Barkham. [3]

Sport[link]

Horse racing[link]

The new grandstand at Royal Ascot

Ascot Racecourse is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races, the same number as Newmarket. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle, and owned by the Crown Estate.^[13]

Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteen Flat meetings held in the months of May and October. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains a major draw, the highlight being the Ascot Gold Cup. The most prestigious race is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes run over the course in July.

Newbury Racecourse in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 31 Group 1 flat races, the Lockinge Stakes.

Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. It abandoned National Hunt jump racing in December 1998, switching entirely to Flat racing.

Lambourn also has a rich history in horse racing, the well drained, spongy grass, open downs and long flats make the Lambourn Downs ideal for training racehorses.

Football[link]

Reading vs Swansea in the The Championship at the Madejski Stadium

Reading F.C. is the only Berkshire football club to play professional football. Formed in 1871, the club is one of the oldest teams in England, but did not join the Football League until 1920, and first played in the top tier of English football in the 2006–07 season.

Newbury was home to A.F.C. Newbury, which was for a period one of only two football clubs to be sponsored by Vodafone (the other being Manchester United). In May 2006 Vodafone ended its sponsorship of the club,^[14] following which the club collapsed. A local pub team from the Old London Apprentice took over the ground temporarily and now compete in the Hellenic Football League as Newbury F.C..

There are several amateur and semi-professional football clubs in the county. These include Slough Town, Thatcham Town, Ascot United, A.F.C. Aldermaston, Sandhurst Town and Windsor F.C.

Rugby[link]

Reading is a centre for rugby union football, with the Aviva Premiership team London Irish as tenants at the Madejski Stadium.

Newbury's rugby union club, Newbury R.F.C. (the Newbury 'Blues'), is based in the town. In the 2004/05 season, the club finished second in the National Two division earning promotion to National One. Newbury had previously won National Four South (now renamed as National Three South) in 1996/97 with a 100% win record. In 2010/11 the club finished bottom of National League 2S,^[15] with a single win and twenty-nine defeats. The club was founded in 1928 and in 1996 moved to a new purpose-built ground at Monks Lane,^[16] which has since hosted England U21 fixtures.

Slough Rugby Club play in the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Southern Premier League (5 leagues away from the Aviva Premiership)

Ice hockey[link]

The Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club are former national champions, who currently play in the English Premier League.

Slough Jets also play in the English Premier League winning the title in 2007. Slough Jets also won the play-offs in 2005/2006, 2007/2008, 2009/2010 & 2011/2012. they have finished in the top 4 in the last 9 seasons. They also won the EPIH Cup in 2010-11. Slough Jets have been in the Premier League since 1999.

Hockey[link]

Slough Hockey Club is home to the Slough Ladies who play in the Women's Premier League. Slough Hockey club have 10 teams, The Ladies First and Mens 3rd play in their respective Division 1 leagues.

Towns and villages[link]

See the List of places in Berkshire and the List of civil parishes in Berkshire

Notable people[link]

King Edward III of England

David Cameron

Ricky Gervais

Berkshire has many notable people associated with it.

• Henry Addington, Viscount Sidmouth (1757–1844; former Prime Minister; donor of land for Royal Berkshire Hospital)^[17]
• Alexander Pope (1688–1744; poet)
• Prince Albert Victor (1864–1892; eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII)
• George Alexander (1858–1918; actor and theatre manager)
• Jane Austen (1775–1817; author)
• Francis Baily (1774–1844; astronomer)
• Lucy Benjamin (1970; actress)
• Michael Bond (b1926; author, creator of Paddington Bear)
• Kenneth Branagh (b1960; actor & film director)^[18]
• Charlie Brooker (b1971; journalist)
• Richard Burns (1971–2005; rally driver)^[19]
• David Cameron (b1966; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since December 2005)
• Jimmy Carr (b1972; comedian)
• King Edward III of England (b1312–1377; one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages)
• Emma Crosby (1977; television presenter)
• Uri Geller (b1946; mentalist)
• Ricky Gervais (b1961; comedian)^[20]
• Dani Harmer (b1989; actress)
• Chesney Hawkes (b1971; pop singer)
• King Henry I of England (1068/1069–1135; founded and buried at Reading Abbey)
• King Henry VI of England (1421–1471; King of England, born at Windsor)
• Lenny Henry (b1958; comedian)
• Nicholas Hoult (b1989; actor)
• Kate Humble (b1968; television presenter)
• Joseph Huntley (1775-?; innovative biscuit maker; founder of Huntley & Palmers)^[21]
• Elton John (b1947; lives in Old Windsor)
• Peter Jones (b1966; entrepreneur)
• William Laud (1573–1645; former Archbishop of Canterbury)^[17]
• John Kendrick (1573–1624; merchant and mayor)^[17]
• John Madejski (b1941; entrepreneur and philanthropist)^[22]
• Sam Mendes (b1965; director)^[23]
• A. P. McCoy (b1974; jockey and winner of the 2010 Grand National and the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year)
• Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (b1982; spouse of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge)
• William Penn (1644–1718; founder of Pennsylvania)^[24]
• Lawrie Sanchez (b1959; former footballer and manager)^[25]
• Ayrton Senna (1960–1994; racing driver, Formula One champion)^[26]
• Mark Stephens, solicitor and broadcaster, mediator, writer, educator and patron of the arts (b. Old Windsor 1957)
• Chris Tarrant (b1946; radio broadcaster and host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?)^[27]
• Jethro Tull (1674–1741; agriculturist)
• Theo Walcott (b1989; footballer, originally for A.F.C. Newbury)
• Neil Webb (b1963; professional footballer)^[28]
• Oscar Wilde (1854–1900; poet and playwright, author of The Ballad of Reading Gaol, and prisoner in Reading Gaol)^[17]
• Kate Winslet (b1975; actress)^[29]
• Will Young (b1979; singer-songwriter)

Places of interest[link]

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Museum (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Theatre
	Zoo

• Basildon Park National Trust
• Beale Park
• Berkshire Downs
• Bisham Abbey
• Blake's Lock
• California Country Park
• Calleva Atrebatum
• Combe Gibbet
• Donnington Castle
• Eton College
• Frogmore House
• Greenham Common
• Highclere Castle
• Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down National Trust
• The Living Rainforest
• Legoland Windsor
• Museum of English Rural Life
• Museum of Reading
• North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Reading Abbey
• Reading School Grade II listed building designed by Alfred Waterhouse
• River Thames
• Shaw House
• REME Museum of Technology
• Slough Museum
• Stanlake Park Wine Estate
• The Ridgeway
• Walbury Hill
• Watermill Theatre
• Welford Park
• Wellington Country Park
• West Berkshire Museum
• Windsor Castle
• Windsor Great Park

See also[link]

Berkshire portal

• Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
• High Sheriff of Berkshire
• Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire - Keepers of the Rolls
• Berkshire constituency - Historical list of MPs for Berkshire constituency
• Thames Valley
• Berkshire Record Office
• Schools in Berkshire

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Berkshire

• Berkshire at the Open Directory Project
• BBC Berkshire website
• Photographs of Berkshire
• Berkshire Enclosure Maps Digital copies of Berkshire enclosure maps and awards 1738–1883
• "Victoria County History: Berkshire". British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/subject.aspx?subject=5&gid=2. Retrieved 13 July 2009. 

Neighbouring counties

	Wiltshire	Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire	Buckinghamshire
	Wiltshire		Greater London
		Berkshire    East
	Wiltshire	Hampshire	Surrey

Coordinates: 51°27′18″N 0°58′09″W / 51.455°N 0.96917°W / 51.455; -0.96917