BERKSHIRE, an English inland county, bounded on the north by Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from which it is separated by the Thames; on the east by Surrey; on the south by Hampshire; and on the west by Wiltshire. At the north-eastern corner this county comes slightly in contact with Gloucestershire. It is of a very irregular figure, its whole northern side being bounded by the sinuosities of the river Thames, which, taking a southern course from Oxford, almost cuts this county asunder at Reading. From east to west it extends about forty-two miles; from north to south, in its widest part, it is about twenty-eight miles; but in its narrowest it is not more than seven. Its extent is about 756 square miles, or 483,840 statute acres.

The face of the country is generally level, but undulating, though on some parts, and those near the Thames, the hills rise rather abruptly, and give diversity and beauty to the scenery. This is especially the case near Farring-don, and on the opposite corner of the county near Windsor. A ridge of chalk hills runs from Oxfordshire westward, and bounds the vale of White-horse. It is needless to advert to the beauties of Windsor forest, since they have been immortalized in song by Pope, at a time when they were far inferior to their present appearance. The south and east sides of the county are well wooded, but the trees are not generally of great size nor of the most valuable or picturesque kind.

The agriculture of the county varies much from its locality. On the gravelly soils, though good barley is raised after turnips, it is liable to suffer in dry seasons. Wheat and beans are well cultivated, and the facilities of watercarriage contribute to bring much manure from London and other distant parts; whilst a species of peat found on the banks of the Kennet yields ashes that are of great value to the soils near that river. More than one half of the land is calculated to be under tillage, about one quarter is pasturage, and the remainder consists of woodlands or uncultivated heaths, affording only scanty food for sheep.

Few parts of England are better supplied with the facilities of water communication than the county of Berks. It is connected by means of the Thames, which runs round or through it, on one hand with London and the sea, and on the other with the Severn at two separate points on that river; one through the Thames and Severn canal, with Gloucester; the other through the river Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, with Bath and Bristol. Besides the navigable rivers, it enjoys the benefit of the Wilts and Berks Canal, which connects the Thames at Abingdon with the Avon at Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, and communicates with the Kennet and Avon Canal. The other rivers, which all finally fall into the Thames, are the Ock, the Loddon, the Auburn, and the Lambourn.

1he woollen manufacture was introduced into this county under the Tudors; and the story of the celebrated clothier, Jack of Newbury, has been handed down to the period when the establishments founded by him have passed to the northern parts of the kingdom. At Abingdon some linen manufactures still linger. The copper smelted in Wales is conveyed to some large mills near Marlow, where it is rolled into sheets for coppering ves sels. 1 here are some tew paper-mills near Newbury. The chief commerce of the county consists in the sale of its agricultural produce, and some transit trade, from beingin the way of inland navigation between the two greatest English rivers, the Thames and the Severn.

The civil division of the county is into twenty hundreds containing ten market-towns and 148 parishes. In ⅛e clerical division it is in the diocese of Salisbury and the archdeaconry of Berks. It is on the Oxford judicial circuit, and the assizes are held alternately at Reading and Abingdon. Under the actual system of representation, two members are returned to the house of commons for the county, two for each of the boroughs of Reading, Wallingford, and Windsor, and one for Abingdon.

At the three decennial enumerations the population of the county and the number of inhabited houses appeared as follows :—
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The families chiefly employed in agriculture in 1821 were 14,769; those employed in trade and manufactures were 8773; and those not comprised in either of the preceding classes were 4158.

From the vicinity to the metropolis, the salubrity of the climate, and the general beauty of the country, few counties have more numerous, magnificent, and convenient seats of the nobility and gentry than are to be found in Berkshire. Among these stands pre-eminent the royal castle of Windsor, the favourite residence of our monarchs during many centuries; for although it was chiefly rebuilt in the reign of Edward III., it was originally constructed by William the Conqueror, soon after he had attained the sovereign power in England. It is built on the summit of a hill whose base is washed by the Thames, and is a prominent object of admiration from an extensive surrounding district. But as a description of this castle, of St George’s chapel, the burying-place of our kings, and of the great and small parks, will be much more appropriate under the head of Windsor, the reader is accordingly referred to that article. The other more distinguished residences are Caversham, near Reading, belonging to Mr Marsac, formerly to Lord Cadogan. It is an elegant structure, on an eminence overlooking the Thames. Benham House, the seat of Lord Craven, is a simple and beautiful building, ornamented with woods, forming a pleasing contrast with the subjacent valley. Park Place, near Henley, built by the late General Conway, possesses high attractions from the beauty and variety of the grounds, and the prospects commanded by them. Basildon House, on the banks of the Thames, between Reading and Wallingford, is a most superb mansion, erected by the late Sir Francis Sykes. The other seats deserving of mention are, Hare Hatch, Sir Μ. Ximenes; Sunning, R. Palmer, Esq.; Coley Park, Mr Monck; Englefield FIouse, Mr Benyon; Dornington Castle, Colonel Stead; Ramsbury House, Sir Francis Burdett; Barton Court, Mr Dundas, Chilton Lodge, Mr Pearce; Pusey House, Mr Pusey; Buscot Park, Mr Loveden Loveden; and Buckland, Sir G. Throckmorton·

Antiquities, both Roman and Saxon, are numerous in various parts of this county. The Watling Street road of the former people enters Berkshire from Bedfordshire at the village of Streatley, and leaves it at Newbury. Another Roman road passes from Reading to Newbury, where it divides into two branches, one passing to Marlborough in Wiltshire, and the other to Cirencester in Gloucestershire. A branch of the Icknield Street road passes from Wallingford to Wantage. Near Wantage is a Roman camp, of a quadrangular form; and there are other remains[7:4:587] of encampments at East Hampstead, near Wokingham, nθ∏ r White-horse Hill, near Pusey, and at Sinodun Hill, near Wallingford. At Lawrence Waltham there is a Roman fort, and near Denchworth a fortress said to have been built by Canute the Dane, called Cherbury Castle. Dragon Hill is supposed to have been the burying-place of a British prince called Uter Pendragon, and near to it is Uffi∏gton Castle, supposed to be of Danish construction. On White-horse Hill, in the same vicinity, is the rude figure of what is called a horse, although it bears a greater resemblance to a greyhound. It has been formed by cutting away the turf and leaving the chalk bare. It is said to occupy near an acre of land, and to have been executed by Alfred to celebrate a victory over the Danes in the reign of his brother Ethelred, in the year 872.

Berkshire comprehended the principality inhabited by the Atrebates, a tribe of people who originally migrated from Gaul before the island was divided into Roman provinces. Under that nation it formed part of Britannia Prima, and during the Saxon heptarchy was included in the kingdom of West Saxony. When Alfred divided the county into shires, hundreds, and parishes, it obtained the name of Berocscire, which subsequently changed to that which it now bears. It was frequently the scene of military operations from the time of Offa down to the troubles in the reign of Charles I. During the civil war two battles were fought at Newbury. In 1643, after a siege, Reading was taken by the parliament forces, and the royalist party expelled from the whole of the county except Wallingford.

Mineral springs are found at Cumner and Sunninghill, and at the latter are establishments for the reception of visitants. There is a strong chalybeate called Gorrick Well, near Luckley House, and some springs near Windsor of the nature of the Epsom waters.

The following are the principal towns in this county, with their population in 1821:—Reading, 12,867; Newbury, 5347; Thatcham, 3677; Wokingham, 2490; Wallingford, 2093; Windsor, 5698; Abingdon, 5137; Wantage, 2560; Farringdon, 2271.