Berkshire

Berkshire county
	; flag
	; flag
Country	United Kingdom
Part of the country	England
region	South East England
status	Ceremonial county
First mention	893
Ceremonial county
surface	1,262 km²
Residents	911,403
was standing	2018
	Districts / Unitary Authorities;
	West Berkshire; Reading; Wokingham; Bracknell Forest; Windsor and Maidenhead; Slough;

Berkshire (/ ˈbɑːrkʃər /) is a traditional and ceremonial county west of London in southern England .

Berkshire is also known as Royal Berkshire after the title was bestowed on the county in an official act in the 1930s. The county is one of the oldest in England, its borders can be traced back to the time of King Alfred of Wessex . After the territorial reform of the counties in 1974, the places Abingdon (the former administrative seat of the county) and Vale of the White Horse were added to the county of Oxfordshire . For this, Slough from Buckinghamshire was added to the county. Reading became the new administrative center. In 1998, as part of another national territorial reform, the county council and administration were abolished; since then, the districts are unitary authorities , but they do not have county status. Although Berkshire no longer has a county-level administration, it is still a non-metropolitan county .

Since Berkshire no longer exists as a political entity, most maps equate the district boundaries with the boundaries of the surrounding counties. There are also no more signs referring to Berkshire. This makes Berkshire a specialty in England.

The name of the county comes from the Celtic : The great birch forest was the Bearroc (also Celtic for hilly ). He was sold to King Cenwalh of Wessex . At that time the county consisted only of the northern and western parts of its present area.