We Power Flush heating systems in these Buckinghamshire towns:
Amersham
Aylesbury
Beaconsfield
Buckingham
Burnham
Chesham
High Wycombe
Marlow
Buckinghamshire also known as Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England bordered by Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, and Hertfordshire to the east.
Buckinghamshire is one of England’s Home Counties, the counties that surround Greater London. Towns in the east and southeast of the county, such as High Wycombe, Amersham, Chesham, and the Chalfonts, are part of the London commuter belt, forming some of the most densely populated areas of the county, with some even served by the London Underground. The Metropolitan Green Belt limits development in this area. Other major towns and cities include Aylesbury in the center, Buckingham in the northwest, Marlow in the south near the Thames, and Princes Risborough in the west near Oxford. The largest settlement in the northeast is Milton Keynes, which, along with the surrounding area, is administered as a unitary authority separate from the rest of Buckinghamshire. Buckinghamshire Council, another unitary authority, administers the remainder of the county.
A large portion of the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, runs through the county’s south and attracts many London walkers and cyclists. Older buildings in this area are frequently made of local flint and red brick. Many parts of the county are quite wealthy, and as in many other parts of London, this has resulted in high housing costs: several reports have identified the market town of Beaconsfield as having among the highest property prices outside of London. Chequers, a government-owned mansion estate, serves as the Prime Minister’s country retreat. The rolling countryside of the Vale of Aylesbury and the Great Ouse lies to the north of the county. The Thames runs along the county’s southwestern border. Pinewood Film Studios, Dorney Rowing Lake, and a portion of the Silverstone race track on the Northamptonshire border are notable service amenities in the county. Many national corporations have headquarters or major operations in Milton Keynes. Heavy industry and quarrying are scarce, with agriculture taking precedence after service industries.
HISTORY
Buckinghamshire derives from Anglo-Saxon and means “the district (scire) of Bucca’s home.” Bucca’s home is named after an Anglo-Saxon landowner and refers to Buckingham in the county’s northwestern corner. The county has been known as such since the 12th century, but it has existed since it was a subdivision of the kingdom of Mercia (585–919).
The area’s history predates the Anglo-Saxon period, and the county has a rich history dating back to the Brythonic and Roman periods,[citation needed], though the Anglo-Saxons may have had the greatest impact on Buckinghamshire: the rural county’s geography is largely unchanged since the Anglo-Saxon period. Later, Buckinghamshire became an important political arena, with King Henry VIII intervening in local politics in the 16th century, and the English Civil War allegedly being started by John Hampden in mid-Bucks a century later.
Historically, the most significant change in the county occurred in the nineteenth century, when a combination of cholera and famine struck the rural county, forcing many to migrate to larger towns in search of work. This not only changed the local economic situation, but it also meant that a lot of land became 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 commuter county for London, which has resulted in increased local affluence; however, some pockets of relative deprivation remain.
The growth of London and the arrival of railways encouraged the growth of towns in the county’s south, such as Aylesbury, Amersham, and High Wycombe, leaving Buckingham itself to the north in a relative backwater.
As a result, the majority of county institutions are now located in the county’s south or Milton Keynes, rather than in Buckingham.
GEOGRAPHY
Geographically, the county can be divided into two sections. The southern catchment of the River Great Ouse is a large and relatively level expanse of land that extends from the River Thames up the gentle slopes of the Chiltern Hills to the more abrupt slopes on the northern side leading to the Vale of Aylesbury and the Borough of Milton Keynes.
Waterways
Rivers
Parts of two of England’s four longest rivers run through the county. The River Thames forms the southern border with Berkshire, which has crept over the border at Eton and Slough to the point where the river is no longer the only boundary between the two counties. The River Great Ouse flows east through Buckingham, Milton Keynes, and Olney after rising just outside the county in Northamptonshire.
Canals
The Grand Union Canal’s main branch, as well as its arms to Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover (disused), and Buckingham, run through the county (disused). The canal has been incorporated into Milton Keynes’ landscaping.
Landscape
The Chiltern Hills dominate the southern part of the county. Buckinghamshire’s two highest points are Haddington Hill in Wendover Woods (a stone marks its summit) at 267 m (876 ft) above sea level[8] and Coombe Hill near Wendover at 260 m. (850 ft).
Extraction of minerals
Quarrying for chalk, clay for brickmaking, and gravel and sand in river valleys has occurred. Flint, which was also extracted from quarries, was frequently used to construct older local structures. Several former quarries, which have now been flooded, have been turned into nature reserves.
ECONOMY
Buckinghamshire has a modern service-based economy and is part of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire NUTS-2 region, which was the European Union’s seventh richest subregion in 2002.
Buckinghamshire has the highest quality of life, the highest life expectancy, and the best educational results in the country, in addition to having the highest GDP per capita outside of Inner London. The county’s south is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. The county has fertile agricultural lands and many landed estates, particularly those of England’s Rothschild banking family in the nineteenth century (see Rothschild properties in England). The Bucks County Show, which was founded in 1859, is one of several annual agricultural shows held in the county. Furniture manufacturing (traditionally centered in High Wycombe), pharmaceuticals, and agricultural processing are examples of manufacturing industries. Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath is a major hub for film and television production in the United Kingdom.
This is a trend chart of Buckinghamshire’s regional gross value added at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics, with figures in millions of British Pounds sterling (except GVA index).
