Buckinghamshire

ounty of southeast central England. First recorded in 1016 as Buccinghamscir meaning 'The farm of Bucca's people'. Buckinghamshire County Council - Aylesbury Vale District Council
owns and cities	Aylesbury (administrative headquarters), Beaconsfield, Buckingham, High Wycombe, Olney The old towns of Amersham, Beconsfield and Aylesbury have a range of Tudor and Georgian buildings.
rea	1,565 sq km / 604 sq miles
opulation	468,700 (1997 est)
opography	Buckinghamshire is one of the Home Counties, and is bounded by Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes to the north; Oxfordshire to the west; Wokingham, and Windsor and Maidenhead to the south, where the River Thames forms part of the county boundary; and by Greater London, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire to the east. The county is partly commuter belt for London. Buckinghamshire is divided into eight `hundreds´: Ashendon, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Burnham Cottesloe, Desborough, Newport, and Stoke; Burnham, Desborough and Stokeform the Chiltern Hundreds.Physical features include the Chiltern Hills - Highest point - Coombe Hill, Wendover at 852 feet and Vale of Aylesbury. Main rivers: Ouse, Ray, Thames, Colne, Chess, Wyte, Lovat, Lyde.
ommerce	Industry: engineering; furniture (chiefly beech); paper; printing; railway workshops; motor cars Agriculture: about 75 % of the land under cultivation, fertile soil; cereals (barley, wheat, oats); cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep
amous people	John Hampden, William Herschel, Ben Nicholson, George Gilbert Scott, Edmund Waller.The 19th-century prime minister Benjamin Disraeli grew up at Bradenham Manor. Later in life, he and his wife purchased Hughenden Manor near High Wycombe, where he lived until his death.
ttractions	Chequers (country seat of the prime minister). The church of the poet Gray's `Elegy´ at Stoke Poges; Cliveden, a country house designed by Charles Barry (now a hotel; it was once the home of Nancy, Lady Astor). Bletchley Park, home of World War II code-breaking activities, now used as a training post for GCHQ (Britain's electronic surveillance centre); The home of the poet William Cowper at Olney and of the Tory prime minister Disraeli at Hughenden. Stowe landscape gardens Burnham Beeches, a 600 acre forest of mainly beech trees which look spectacular in autumn. Aylesbury Has a lovely cobbled Market Square dominated by a Victorian clock tower. Home to the famed Aylesbury ducklings. Beaconsfield Although much developed recently, has kept is red-brick Georgian high street buildings, but is better known for Bekonscot, the oldest model village in the world. Buckingham Once created the county town by Alfred in 886, this is a delight to wander through with its steep narrow streets. Burnham Its claim to fame is the forest of Burnham Beeches - a famous beauty spot. Chalfont St. Giles Pretty village hosting the former home of Poet John Milton - author of Paradise Lost, with a museum dedicated to him. Eton Has the famous ivy-covered buildings of Eton College - the second oldest public school in the country, founded in 1440. Grendon Underwood Village with Shakespeare associations. High Wycombe Has paper and postage stamp-making heritage. Jordans Long associated with early Quakers. Grave of William Penn of Pennsylvania fame. Marlow Charming Thames-side town boasts a suspension bridge built in 1831 by the same architect who linked Buda to Pest in Hungary. Olney Synonymous with a pancake race which each year is run between the ladies of the town. Princes Risborough Olde-worlde town with gabled and herringbone houses. Princes Risborough Manor House is worth a visit. Slough High-rise offices dominate this industrial centre. Sir William Hershel gained his first view of Uranus from his garden on the town's outskirts. Buckinghamshire contains a number of fine houses, including Claydon House, Waddesdon Manor, and West Wycombe House, with their priceless collections of art treasures. There are lesser houses of interest at Gayhurst (once the home of Everard Digby, one of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators), Nether Winchendon, and Tyringham. Stowe School (1923) now occupies the former residence of the duke of Buckinghamshire.