Historic county of England
Buckinghamshire
Thames south, Chiltern ridge through the middle, Great Ouse country north.
Buckinghamshire runs from the Thames-side country around Eton, Marlow and Slough northwards through the beechwoods and chalk valleys of the Chilterns, across the broad Vale of Aylesbury and into the gentler upper Ouse country around Buckingham and Milton Keynes. It is a long county whose landscapes change markedly from one end to the other.
Aylesbury occupies the central vale; High Wycombe, Amersham and Chesham belong to the Chiltern country; Buckingham gives the county its name; and Milton Keynes has become the great urban focus of the north. Two major river systems pull the county in opposite directions: the southern country drains towards the Thames, while the north belongs to the Great Ouse basin. Between them, the Chiltern escarpment provides Buckinghamshire’s strongest physical divide.
- By 918: 'Buccingahamscire'
- Domesday (1086): Bochehamscire
- Early Mercian territory centred on Buckingham
- Area: 746 sq miles / 1,932 km²
- Population: 916,903
- County top: Haddington Hill 875 ft / 267 m
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
England and Wales Census 2021. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 1,370.1 people per sq mi (529.0 people per km²)
- Population
- 1,022,562
The Chilterns and the Vale
The Chilterns cross southern Buckinghamshire as a broad chalk upland, deeply cut by valleys and clothed in extensive beechwoods. Their north-western scarp falls sharply towards the Vale of Aylesbury, producing one of the clearest landscape transitions in the county: wooded hill country giving way to open, gently rolling farmland.
Two river countries
At the southern end, the Thames gives Buckinghamshire an important river frontage, closely tied to places such as Eton and Marlow. Further north, the Great Ouse and its tributaries organise the upper county around Buckingham and Milton Keynes. The contrast between Thames-side country, chalk upland, central vale and upper Ouse lowland gives the county a strong south-to-north sequence.
Beechwoods and Wycombe
The Chiltern beechwoods did more than shape the scenery. Their timber helped support the chair and furniture industry centred on High Wycombe, creating an unusually direct connection between Buckinghamshire’s natural landscape and one of its characteristic industries. The valleys through the Chilterns also channelled long-established routes towards London, reinforcing the importance of towns such as High Wycombe and Amersham.
County questions
Questions about Buckinghamshire
Is Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire?
Yes. Milton Keynes is geographically in Buckinghamshire. Its separate local-authority arrangements do not remove it from the county.
What are the Chiltern Hundreds?
Burnham, Desborough and Stoke were traditionally grouped as the Three Hundreds of Chiltern. Their name survives nationally because appointment as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is still one of the formal devices used when an MP wishes to leave the House of Commons.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Buckingham
- County day
- 29 July
- Foundation
- c.1011
Buckinghamshire, also expressed as the County of Buckingham, takes its name from Buckingham. The shire name is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the early eleventh century, long before later local-government structures.