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BERKSHIRE COUNTY

England,

United Kingdom

Introduction	Surnames	Ancestral GenSite(s)
List of Localities	Website Resources	Image Gallery

Berkshire

Introduction

Berkshire sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South East of England. It is also 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 1958, and Letters patent issued confirming this in 1974.^[1]

Berkshire borders Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Greater London. The county town was Abingdon but is now Reading. There is no county council with the highest tier of local government being the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead and Slough.

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").

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. During the English Civil War there were two battles in Newbury. During the Glorious Revolution of 1688, there was a second Battle at Reading, also known as the "Battle of Broad Street".

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 April 1, 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, 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 going to form part of the South Oxfordshire district. In return, Berkshire obtained the towns of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. 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.

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. 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.

BERKSHIRE County,

England

Surnames

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases,

as having been either born, married or died in this location.

McVicker; Moreland; Pinnell; Scruggs and allied families

Beaufo; Bennett; Moleyns

Bozarth; Peiffer; Quigley; Rhubart and allied families

Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar and allied families

To find out more about each surname listed above click on the corresponding LINK.

Additional information regarding these surnames may also be found at:

Surname Locator Resources

Free Genealogy Surname Search Help from Google

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BERKSHIRE County, England

Ancestral GenSite(s)

Clapcot; Mackney; Thatcham

Clapcot

LOCATION: Clapcot ParLib/CP was a Civil Parish in the county of Berkshire, in England. It was part of Wallingford PLU/RegD (until 1934); Wallingford RD (until 1934); Wallingford; and Wallingford All Hallows AP/CP (until 1894).

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s): Thomas Bennett died 1547 at Clapcot in All Hallows parish, Berkshire, England

INTERNET WEB LINK(s): Clapcot, Berkshire (Local history overview);

Mackney

LOCATION: Mackney is a village located about 1.5 miles northwest of Wallingford in Berkshire.

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s): Agnes Ann Moleyns was born in 1496 at Mackney in Berkshire.

INTERNET WEB LINK(s): A vision of Britain through time

Thatcham

LOCATION: Thatcham a village, and parish, is in the Newbury district of Berkshire. The village, once a market town, stands near the Kennet and Avon canal, and is located 3 miles east of Newbury.

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s): - Fulk de Beaufo, born 1140, and his daughter Agatha de Beaufo, born 1165, lived at Thatcham.

INTERNET WEB LINK(s): Thatcham Berkshire through time | Local history overview for the place

LOCATION:

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES(s):

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):

BERKSHIRE County, England

List of Localities

The red star in the map at the left designates the

location of the seat of government for this district.

Source: MapQuest

The list below will assist in your research regarding the matching of your ancestors birth, marriage, death dates and in what locality of this county these events may have occurred. Source: Wikipedia