BUCKS, or Buckinghamshire, an interior county of England. It is bounded on the north-west and north by Northamptonshire, on the west by Oxfordshire, on the south by Berkshire, and on the east by Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and in part by Middlesex, the southernmost part of the county, which ends in a point, approaching to within twelve or fourteen miles of London. It is in the form of a crescent, but, owing to indentations, very irregular in its breadth, being in the widest part only twenty-two miles. In length it is about fifty miles, and in extent about seven hundred and thirty square miles, or four hundred and seventy thousand statute acres, including roads, rivers, and the sites of towns.

The southern part of the county is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, is well wooded, has abundant and transparent streams, and is in a state of cultivation which exactly corresponds with the features of the district. The centre of the county is less picturesque, though some of the spurs of the hills which protrude into the vale of Aylesbury have a striking effect. The northern part is less beautiful, though the soil is commonly fertile. The principal rivers which convey to the sea the waters of this county are the Thames and the Ouse. The former rises in the vale of Aylesbury, enters Oxfordshire at Thame, and after various sinuosities again approaches Buckinghamshire at Henley, and becomes the boundary between it and Berkshire, till it receives the waters of the Coln, and passes by London to the sea. The Ouse, which drains the northern part of the county, comes out of Northamptonshire, receives the water of the Lysell at Newport-Pagnell, runs through Bedfordshire before it becomes navigable, and finally enters the sea at Lynn. The grand junction canal, which brings the coal districts into connection with the metropolis, passes through'the northern and middle parts of the county, and, by means of subsidiary cuts, to Buckingham, Aylesbury, and Wendover, and extends the dispersion of cheap fuel over a wide district, which formerly suffered severely from the scarcity and dearness of that necessary of life.

A part of that range of hills consisting of chalk and flints, which begins in Norfolk, and extends to Dorsetshire, is here denominated the Chilterns. The soil in general is poor, and the climate bleak; but by assiduous cultivation, it produces moderate crops of barley, and some wheat, and feeds both sheep and horned cattle. The vale of Aylesbury, by which it is bounded to the south, is a district rich in the productions of the dairy; in wheat, beans, and especially in grazing pasture, it is also highly fertile. There is a part of the county adjoining to Bedfordshire, [7:5:635]near Leighton-Buzzard, consisting of barren heaths; but, with this exception, the whole may be considered as highly fertile and well cultivated. According to the returns of rental under the property-tax, the average rent of land in Buckinghamshire by the acre, when compared with that of all England, was as 713 to 595; and was exceeded by no county except Leicester, Somerset, Warwick, and Hertford. The largest landed proprietors are the Grenville and Cavendish families, Mr Drake, Sir John Dashwood King, Lord Carrington, Mr Dupre, and some others.

The manufactures of Buckinghamshire are by no means considerable in number or extent. A few years ago the females were generally occupied in making pillow lace, both from thread and silk; but the progressive improvements in machinery have enabled the people of Nottingham and other parts of the kingdom to offer a substitute in machine lace so much cheaper, and equally beautiful, that the trade has been diminished to a very insignificant demand. There are several extensive establishments for making writing paper, on the transparent streams near Wycombe. At Amersham .there are manufactories both of cotton and silk, which of late years have been extended. The chief trade of the county is that which arises from the internal navigation, by which heavy commodities, such as coals, iron, timber, and limestone, are supplied to the inhabitants.

The civil division of the county is into the eight hundreds of Buckinghamshire, Burnham, Cottesloe, Desborough, Ashenden, Aylesbury, Newport, and Stoke. It contains nine towns, a hundred and eighty-one parishes, and twenty-six hamlets. The bishop of Lincoln is the superior ecclesiastic, and administers his jurisdiction by the archdeacon of Bucks; but four of the parishes within the county are peculiars of the archbishopric of Canterbury, and four others are in the diocese of London and archdeaconry of St Albans. The county forms a part of the Norfolk judicatory circuit, and the assizes are held alternately at Buckingham and at Aylesbury; the quarter sessions always at the latter town.

The following titles are derived from this county,viz. Duke of Buckingham, Earl of Buckinghamshire, and Marquis of Aylesbury. Three members are returned to the House of Commons by the county.

The population of Buckinghamshire, and the inhabited houses, at the four decennial enumerations, have been as follows:
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The families, according to the census of 1821, who were chiefly engaged in agriculture, were 16,640; those employed in trade, manufactures, or handicraft, were 8318; and those not comprised in either of the preceding classes were 3909.

The most attractive object in this county of a public nature is the college at Eton. This establishment, founded in 1440 by the unfortunate King Henry VI., is distinguished by the beauty of the valley in which it stands, the flourishing state of its endowments, and the number of eminent men who have there received the first rudiments of knowledge. The chapel is a fine specimen of the architecture of the age in which it was erected. The number of pupils has generally amounted to between three and four hundred, with the exception of the king’s scholars, mostly the sons of families of the first rank.

Although some of the most magnificent seats of noblemen and gentlemen have been suffered to go to decay, such as Bulstrode, formerly belonging to the Dukes of

Portland, and now to the Duke of Somerset; and Eye-thorpe, the property of the Earl of Chesterfield; yet many remain to adorn the county of Bucks. The most eminent is that of Stowe, belonging to the Duke of Buckingham, celebrated for its grounds, its collection of pictures and statues; to which may be added, Cliefden on the Thames, belonging to the Countess of Orkney; Dropmore, to Lord Grenville; Wooton, to the Marquis of Chandos; Stoke Park, to J. Penn, Esq.; Hampden, to the Earl of Buckinghamshire; Hedsor, to Lord Boston; Wilton Park, to J. Dupre, Esq.; Latemers, to Lord George Cavendish; Hartwell, the residence of the late King of France, to Dr Lee; Shardelos, to Mr Drake; Taploe House, to Marquis Thomond; Wycombe Abbey, to Lord Carrington; Wycombe Park, to Sir John Dashwood; Chequers, to J. Russell, Esq.; and Kimble Magna, to Sir Scroope Barnard.

This county has been the birth-place or the residence of several distinguished individuals. Brown, usually called Capability Brown, celebrated for his taste and skill in ornamental gardening, was born and first employed at Stowe; Bishop Atterbury was born at Milton Keynes; Sir Kenelm Digby, “the prodigy of learning, credulity, valour, and romance,” was born at Gaythurst, near Newport-Pagnell; Hampden the patriot, Waller the poet, and Ingoldsby and Desborough the parliamentary generals, were all related to each other, and natives of Bucks. It was the residence of Milton during two periods of his life; and the house near Chalfont, St Giles, which he inhabited, is still to be seen. Edmund Burke, Cowper the poet, and Herschel the acute and indefatigable astronomer, were inhabitants of Bucks. The observatory of the latter, and his powerful telescopes, still remain at Slough, and are usefully employed by his talented son.

The name of this county has been traced by some to the Saxon word Buc, which signifies a buck; but with more probability by others to the word Such, which signified the beech, a tree which was the most abundant, especially on the Chilterns. Before the invasion of the Romans it was included in the division of the Catieuch-lani, and after their conquest in their third province of Elavia Coesariensis. During the Heptarchy it was a part of the kingdom of Mercia, having had eighteen successive kings.

The chief towns, with their population in 1821, were the following:
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