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111-473: A prominent member of the group is Anthony Bennett , a British politician. In May 2002 Bennett was prosecuted for removing 29 metric road signs, claiming they were illegal and that he was preventing the law from being broken. He buried the signs in four locations under bushes. Initially found guilty of theft and criminal damage, his theft conviction was overturned in October 2002 on appeal. The judge stated that "there

222-503: A Dorset sign from Chewton Bunny at Highcliffe and moved it to its historic location at the original County Gates border between Bournemouth and Poole , claiming that while Bournemouth and neighbouring Christchurch had been administered by Dorset County Council for the past 30 years, they remained historically Hampshire towns. In May 2006, CountyWatch announced that it has been contacted by Durham residents who were unhappy that Durham County Council had recently relocated signs from

333-538: A "reasoned, academic exposition" aimed at explaining the reasons behind the 11 September terrorist attacks. UKIP described Bennett as "an energetic campaigner, with some extremely eccentric and individualistic views". On 15 August 2004, Bennett began work as Robert Kilroy-Silk 's researcher and became a founder member of the Veritas Party in January 2005. In February 2005, however, Bennett was involved in controversy when it

444-464: A 100% win record. In 2010–11 the club finished bottom of National League 2S, with a single win and twenty-nine defeats. The club was founded in 1928 and in 1996 moved to a new purpose-built ground at Monks Lane, which has since hosted England U21 fixtures. The Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club are former national champions, who play in the English Premier League . Slough Jets also play in

555-664: A Diploma in Management Studies. Bennett is married with two children. He was employed as the Principal Welfare Rights Adviser for Harlow Council from 1978 to 1987. In 1987, he became head of the Money Advice Unit for Hertfordshire County Council , a post he held until 1992, after which he was admitted as a solicitor in 1995. It has been reported that he worked for the UK Independence Party as

666-664: A Referendum on the European Constitution (CREC), which campaigned using purple pre-addressed postcards to send to Queen Elizabeth II , asking her to refuse Royal Assent to any Bill to adopt the EU constitution, until the British people had had the chance to accept or reject it in a referendum . After Tony Blair agreed to a referendum in May 2004, CREC changed its name to the Campaign to Reject

777-482: A fund called The Madeleine Foundation to fund a private prosecution for child neglect . In November 2007, he started such a prosecution against the parents of Madeline – Gerry and Kate McCann. The initial hearing was at Loughborough Magistrates' Court where the application was dismissed on the grounds that it was a matter for the Portuguese authorities, and thus beyond the jurisdiction of British courts. The foundation

888-496: A homophobic hate crime. He stated further that, "There is material on the website which is critical of the lifestyle of homosexuals which activists might take exception to, but I don't have a problem with people from gay lobbies contacting us." Bennett believed the complaint was made because of the forthcoming release of the Not Awight book. The police stated they had received an allegation about homophobic comments being published on

999-673: A major draw; the highlight is the Ascot Gold Cup . The most prestigious race is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes run in July. Newbury Racecourse is in the civil parish of Greenham , adjoining the town of Newbury. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 32 Group 1 races, the Lockinge Stakes . It also hosts the Ladbrokes Trophy , which

1110-501: A method of sorting mail, using instead the post code. However, they have a "flexible addressing policy" whereby historic counties can be used. Luton became a unitary authority on 1 April 1997. Bedfordshire County Council no longer runs any services in the area covered by Luton Borough Council . The County Council erected the signs only in November 2006 in a struggle to save Bedfordshire County Council from extinction against rival bids from

1221-642: A pressure group opposed to metrication, in June 2001. In 2002, as part of a campaign by the group, Bennett removed various road and footpath signs in metres which the group claimed contravened the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 . He was prosecuted for an action in Kent where he removed around 40 metric signs. He was found guilty in May 2002 of theft and criminal damage at Maidstone Magistrates' Court . In October 2002, his conviction for theft

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1332-408: A request from them, some of that page had been removed. Terry Lubbock responded by distancing himself from the controversy saying, "This is a diversion from the campaign which I don't want to take any part in. My aim is as it has always been, to get justice for my son Stuart and that is the only thing in my life now. I'm not going to let anything distract me from that. This latest episode is not doing

1443-502: A result of a violent attack on him, which Barrymore and his associates that night covered up. He campaigned against the parents of Madeleine McCann , who disappeared while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007. He asserted that they should have been prosecuted for child neglect and accused them of covering up what happened to their daughter, a charge which ultimately led to the family successfully pursuing legal action against him. Bennett

1554-567: A rich history in horse racing, the well drained, spongy grass, open downs and long flats make the Lambourn Downs ideal for training racehorses. This area of West Berkshire is the largest centre of racehorse training in the UK after Newmarket , and is known as the 'Valley of the Racecourse'. Reading F.C. is the only Berkshire football club to play professional football . Despite being founded in 1871,

1665-659: A solicitor. On 9 September 2003, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found him "guilty of conduct unbefitting a solicitor". On 15 October 2009, he voluntarily removed himself from the Roll. He is currently a self-employed rights adviser and writes for Christian newspapers. Bennett became active in politics when he lived in Derbyshire from 1972 to 1978. In May 1976, he was voted onto North East Derbyshire District Council as an Independent Labour candidate for

1776-446: A written submission to the APPG making suggestions for achieving greater recognition of the nation's historic county boundaries. Anthony Bennett (Veritas politician) Anthony John Stuart Bennett (born 7 September 1947) is an English former solicitor and former candidate for public office. He was a member of the British political party Veritas and was listed on the database of

1887-406: A year and half later, on 22 June 2007. He is the co-author, with Terry Lubbock, of a book analysing the events which led to Stuart's violent death, published in June 2007: Not Awight: Getting Away With Murder . Bennett claims Lubbock's death was caused by a violent attack and that there was an elaborate cover-up of the true circumstances of his death including a staged drowning. On 10 July, Bennett

1998-604: Is Walbury Hill at 297 m (974 ft). To the north of the Kennet are the Berkshire Downs . This is hilly country, with smaller and well-wooded valleys: those of the Lambourn , Pang , and their Thames sub-tributaries. The open upland areas vie with Newmarket, Suffolk for horse racing training and breeding centres and have good fields of barley, wheat, and other cereal crops. Berkshire’s surface can be divided into three bands:

2109-532: Is a ceremonial county and non-metropolitan county , one of four currently in England that have no council covering their entire area; rather it is divided into six unitary authorities. Berkshire County Council existed from 1889 until its abolition in 1998. The ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff . The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire is Andrew Try, and the High Sheriff of Berkshire for 2018/19

2220-473: Is a ceremonial county in South East England . It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town . The county has an area of 1,263 km (488 sq mi) and a population of 911,403. The population

2331-718: Is a centre for rugby union football . The Premiership team London Irish were for 20 years tenants at the Madejski Stadium before their move back to SW London at a new stadium in Brentford. Newbury's rugby union club, Newbury R.F.C. (the Newbury 'Blues'), is based in the town. In the 2004–05 season, the club finished second in the National Two division earning promotion to National One. Newbury had previously won National Four South (now renamed as National Three South) in 1996–97 with

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2442-672: Is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling . Reading has a historical involvement in the information technology industry, largely as a result of the early presence in the town of sites of International Computers Limited and Digital . These companies have been swallowed by other groups, but their descendants, Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard respectively, still have local operations. More recently Microsoft and Oracle have established multi-building campuses on

2553-471: Is concentrated in the east, the area closest to Greater London, which includes the county's largest towns: Reading (174,224), Slough (164,793), Bracknell (113,205), and Maidenhead (70,374). The west is rural, and its largest town is Newbury (33,841). For local government purposes Berkshire comprises six unitary authority areas: Bracknell Forest , Reading , Slough , West Berkshire , Windsor and Maidenhead , and Wokingham . The historic county included

2664-564: Is home to the Slough Ladies 1XI who play in the Women's Premier League, with five adult teams. In 2016, Bracknell and Wokingham Hockey Clubs merged to form South Berkshire Hockey Club. The team plays at Cantley Park in Wokingham and occasionally at Birch Hill, Bracknell. Other hockey teams in the county include Tadley, Yateley, Maidenhead, Windsor, and Newbury & Thatcham Hockey Clubs. Berkshire

2775-549: Is home to the central Waitrose distribution centre and head office, which is on a 70-acre (280,000 m ) site on the Southern Industrial Estate. Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of Honda and BMW . Newbury is home to the world headquarters of the mobile network operator Vodafone , which is the town's largest employer with over 6,000 people. Before moving to their £129 million headquarters in

2886-573: Is home to the following universities: the University of Reading (which includes the Henley Business School ), Imperial College ( Silwood Park Campus), and the University of West London . It is also home to The Chartered Institute of Marketing , prestigious independent schools Ludgrove School , Eton College and Wellington College , and several grammar schools including Reading School , Kendrick School and Herschel Grammar School . See

2997-496: Is mostly based in the urban areas to the east and centre of the county: the largest towns here are Reading , Slough , Bracknell , Maidenhead , Woodley , Wokingham , Windsor , Earley , Sandhurst , and Crowthorne . West Berkshire is much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns: the largest are Newbury , Thatcham , and Hungerford . In recent years, Berkshire has seen consistent population growth, particularly in urban areas like Reading and Slough. Between 2011-21,

3108-710: Is said to be the biggest handicap race of the National Hunt season apart from the Grand National . Windsor Racecourse , also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor . It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom. (The other is at Fontwell Park ). It abandoned National Hunt jump racing in December 1998, switching entirely to flat racing. Lambourn also has

3219-611: Is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 13 of the UK's 35 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family , being approximately 6 mi (10 km) from Windsor Castle , and owned by the Crown Estate . Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteen flat meetings held between May and October. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains

3330-494: The Borough of Bedford to become a unitary Borough Council and from Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire Councils to become another unitary authority, to be called Central Bedfordshire . The signs were unpopular with some Luton residents, some of whom called the signs "snooty". Bedfordshire County Council responded by saying, "Luton has been a unitary authority since 1997 and is therefore not part of Bedfordshire. In July 2007,

3441-539: The Electoral Commission as official leader for three days, before the real leader was revealed as Robert Kilroy-Silk . In 2006, he began a private prosecution against Michael Barrymore for alleged drugs and drink offences committed on the night Stuart Lubbock was found dead at the entertainer's home. Bennett co-wrote a book with Terry Lubbock, the father of Stuart Lubbock, Not Awight: Getting Away With Murder , explaining their theory that Stuart Lubbock died as

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3552-565: The English Premier League winning the title in 2007. Slough Jets also won the play-offs in 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10 & 2011–12. They also won the EPIH Cup in 2010–11. Slough Jets have been in the EPIHL since 1999. Phoenix Reading Hockey Club, based at Reading University, has six adult teams and a large junior development section. Reading Hockey Club and Sonning Hockey Club are situated close to each other near Blue Coats School. Slough Hockey Club

3663-582: The Flag Institute in 2017. All of the county is drained by the Thames. Berkshire divides into two topological (and associated geological) sections: east and west of Reading . North-east Berkshire has the low calciferous (limestone) m-shaped bends of the Thames south of which is a broader, clayey, gravelly former watery plain or belt from Earley to Windsor and beyond, south, are parcels and belts of uneroded higher sands, flints, shingles and lightly acid soil and in

3774-525: The Labour Party ) with employed executives, whereas Labour Party local councillors run both Bracknell Forest and Reading , with Slough being run by the Conservative Party . After the 2024 United Kingdom general election , 5 of the elected Members of Parliament (MPs) were Labour, 3 Lib Dem and one conservative. The prime minister between 2016–19, Theresa May represented Maidenhead . This

3885-612: The Thames : Slough, Eton, Eton Wick, Wraysbury, Horton, and Datchet. In the heart of the county Reading's northern suburb Caversham is also on that bank, but rises steeply into the Chiltern Hills . Two main tributaries skirt past Reading, the Loddon and its sub-tributary the Blackwater draining parts of two counties south, and the Kennet draining part of upland Wiltshire in the west. Heading west

3996-623: The Thames Valley from the Hannington TV transmitter. Those parts of Berkshire closest to London such as Maidenhead , Windsor and Slough , receive BBC London and ITV London from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter. The county’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Berkshire , Heart South and Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire & North Hampshire . Berkshire hosts more Group 1 flat horse races than any other county. Ascot Racecourse

4107-722: The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). In April 1999, he became the Campaign Manager for UKIP's Eastern Region campaign and, in July 1999, he became Political Assistant to Jeffrey Titford , UKIP MEP , a post he held until February 2001. In January 2000, he co-founded the UKIP's Metric Martyrs Fund with Jeffrey Titford, and published leaflets encouraging traders to defy the new laws making it an offence to sell fruit, vegetables and other "loose goods" using weighing scales calibrated in pounds and ounces. He stood for

4218-406: The county borough of Reading . Boundary alterations in the late 19th century and early 20th century were relatively rare, but included ceding the parts of the borough of Oxford south of the Thames in 1889, and gaining Caversham from Oxfordshire in 1911. The administrative county's full legal name was "Berks" rather than "Berkshire" until 1967, when the government changed the name to Berkshire at

4329-567: The A505 and the B579. CountyWatch claimed these were being stored at a secure location and added that the signs would be returned to the County Council if they were re-sited on what CountyWatch deem to be the true Bedfordshire boundaries. The County Council responded by stating that, "This is absolutely crazy. We are proud of our county and we like to ensure that visitors are given a warm welcome. The signs on

4440-591: The CPS and that there would be no further police action. Bennett however, responded by saying that he wanted an outside police force to investigate Essex police's handling of the complaint and the actions of the Essex Police Hate Crimes Unit. He continued, "I have had to endure among other things headlines such as "Gay Hate of Barrymore Accuser" in the Daily Express . I need a full, fair and impartial enquiry by

4551-554: The Chilterns, and often contain layers of chalk rock. Less consolidated Palaeogene clays , sands , gravels and silts of the Lambeth , Thames and Bracklesham Groups overlie these rocks in some areas. These hills, and the valleys that surround them, were shaped by the rivers Kennet , Lambourn , Pang and Enborne , and the Quaternary sands and gravels they brought with them and (in

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4662-466: The County of Lincolnshire" sign near Brigg . Lincolnshire County Council Area Highways Manager Eric Jorgensen described the group as "self-appointed and unelected" and stated that taxpayers would be forced to pay for the signs to be replaced. On 22 September 2005, CountyWatch removed ten road signs stating: "Welcome to the County of Lincolnshire" between Brigg and Immingham , which the group claimed there

4773-582: The Department for Communities and Local Government announced that nine all-purpose local authorities would be created in 2009 in England. CountyWatch see this as the next phase of attempts to replace the administration of England and Wales by county and district councils with a series of so-called 'unitary' authorities, which combine the administrative functions of both district councils and county councils. Region-wide functions will be carried out by regional development agencies and new government quangos, following

4884-584: The European Constitution . The CREC maintained that the EU constitution was part of an attempt to create a European superstate. Bennett stood for the Veritas party in Harlow in the 2005 general election , securing 941 votes (2.4%) and finishing fifth out of five just behind UKIP's John Felgate on 981 votes (2.5%). Whilst still a member of UKIP, Bennett co-founded the "Active Resistance to Metrication" (A.R.M.),

4995-529: The Foundation in those terms. After receiving a letter from libel lawyers Carter-Ruck dated 27 August 2009, Bennett gave an undertaking "Not to repeat allegations that the McCanns are guilty of, or are to be suspected of, causing the death of their daughter Madeleine McCann, and/or of disposing of her body, and/or lying about what happened and/or seeking to cover up what they had done". In November 2012, lawyers for

5106-517: The Government announced that it planned to permit the display of the Union flag as well as the national flags of England, Scotland and Wales vehicle numberplates in the UK. This was implemented on 27 April 2009 with the caveat that drivers who chose to take advantage of this dispensation need to display a "GB sticker" on their vehicles when driving abroad. In early 2002, he was banned from holding office in

5217-732: The Great was born in Wantage , also now in Oxfordshire. Windsor Castle , which would become the official country residence of the British monarch , was built after the Norman Conquest . The county has been the site of several battles, particularly during the First English Civil War , when Reading and Wallingford were besieged two battles took place at Newbury, in 1643 and 1644 . The proximity of

5328-571: The Great 's campaign against the Danes included the battles of Englefield , Ashdown and Reading . Newbury was the site of English Civil War battles: the First Battle of Newbury , at Wash Common in 1643, and the Second Battle of Newbury , at Speen in 1644. Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. Another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It

5439-424: The Hasland Ward, where he served until 1978. In 1978, he moved to Harlow where, in 1985, he joined Harlow Constituency Labour Party . Bennett founded two credit unions in the 1980s – the Harlow Community Credit Union in 1980 and, in 1988, the Harlow Council Employees Credit Union . They merged several years later to form HarlowSave Credit Union . In November 1997, Bennett left the Labour party and joined

5550-455: The IPCC into what Essex Police thought they were doing investigating something they must have known from the word go could never have been a crime." In August 2007, it was announced that the police would be taking no further action against the complaint of homophobia on the Lubbock Trust website. On 1 August 2007, three months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal , Bennett set up

5661-449: The McCann family went to the High Court to argue that Bennett was not abiding by the terms of his undertaking and was continuing to spread false allegations against them. Bennett, in an interview with the Harlow Star , said that he still had valid arguments and that "Britain's libel laws are so oppressive that I had no alternative but to agree to the terms of the formal undertakings set out by the McCanns' lawyers in November 2009". Bennett

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5772-403: The River Tees. The BBC and Tyne Tees Television filmed CountyWatch removing the boundary signs at Royal Oak . Twelve signs with, "County Durham: Land of the Prince Bishops " were removed. Three of them were re-erected along the historic border between Yorkshire and Durham – the River Tees, also the current ceremonial border. The Council were informed by CountyWatch of the location of

5883-613: The UK headquarters is still based there. Bracknell is a base for high-tech industries, with the presence of companies such as Panasonic , Fujitsu (formerly ICL ) and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers , Dell , Hewlett-Packard , Siemens (originally Nixdorf ), Honeywell , Cable & Wireless , Avnet Technology Solutions and Novell . Firms spread into the surrounding Thames Valley or M4 corridor , attracting IT firms such as Cable & Wireless , DEC (subsequently Hewlett-Packard ), Microsoft , Sharp Telecommunications , Oracle Corporation , Sun Microsystems and Cognos . Bracknell

5994-592: The UK headquarters of Mars, Incorporated are based in Slough . The European head offices of major IT companies BlackBerry , CA Technologies , are in the town. The town is home to the National Foundation for Educational Research , which is housed in The Mere. Other major brands with offices in the town include Nintendo , Black & Decker , Amazon , HTC , SSE plc and Abbey Business Centres . Dulux paints were manufactured in Slough by AkzoNobel , which bought Imperial Chemical Industries in 2008. Manufacturing ceased in 2018 with operations moving elsewhere, however

6105-419: The UKIP in Harlow in the 2001 General Election , where he finished fifth with 1,223 votes (3%). A Eurosceptic , Bennett was a member of The Drive the Flag campaign founded by Leeds businessman Peter Rogers, to allow national flags on vehicle number plates , in the face of proposed government legislation which would have only allowed the European Union (EU) symbol on the number plates. In December 2001,

6216-434: The White Horse is now within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced. On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission , and the districts became unitary authorities . Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at

6327-485: The announcement earlier in the month of the abolition of unelected regional assemblies from 2010. On 4 November 2020 County Watch was represented by Patron Count Nikolai Tolstoy and Secretary Tony Bennett at the formation of the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Historic Counties. The meeting was chaired by Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford. The Parliamentary Group consisted of Conservative and Labour MPs and members of both houses. County Watch has made

6438-542: The area after which it was named). The heaths and woodland south and east of Bracknell are mostly covered by (Eocene) Bracklesham Group sands and clays, and Quaternary sands, silts and gravels. After the Thames broke through the Goring Gap that river and its tributaries the Loddon , Emm Brook , Blackwater and (to some extent) Wey shaped the geography of eastern Berkshire but have not yet eroded away its Eocene cover. According to 2003 estimates there were 803,657 people in Berkshire, or 636 people/km . The population

6549-417: The area to the west of Reading and the western edge of the Chiltern Hills . The lower (early) Cretaceous rocks are sandstones and mudstones (now visible only on the slopes of Walbury Hill ) whilst those of the upper (late) Cretaceous are the various formations that comprise the Chalk Group . In Berkshire, White Chalk Formation beds tend to be shallower than those further west ( Wiltshire ) or those in

6660-456: The campaign a lot of good." On 13 July 2007, during the launch of Not Awight , Terry Lubbock made a speech, in which he announced that Bennett would no longer be representing him and that The Lubbock Trust was being wound up as most of its original purposes had been achieved. It was further claimed that Lubbock and Bennett had split following the police investigation into Bennett. On 22 July, Essex Police announced that they had consulted with

6771-423: The case of the Kennet) left behind when they changed course. The early Eocene London Clay (Thames Group) generally gets thinner as we proceed westwards, though the thickness of beds can vary considerably over short distances. Where rivers have cut through these beds Lambeth Group layers are found (notably, the Palaeocene Reading Formation , used for brick-making since Roman times but now increasingly scarce in

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6882-428: The club did not join the Football League until 1920, and first played in the top tier of English football in the 2006–07 season . Newbury was home to A.F.C. Newbury , which was one of only two football clubs to be sponsored by Vodafone (the other being Manchester United ). In 2006 Vodafone ended its sponsorship of the club, following which the club collapsed. A local pub team from the Old London Apprentice took over

6993-413: The contents of the site had been agreed by all members of The Trust 13 months earlier, and the reason for including the information was that it related directly to the probable cause of Stuart Lubbock's death. He added that, due to concerns expressed by Lubbock Trust chairman Harry Cichy that some of the material might be seen as 'homophobic', and following a complaint to the website's server, NetPivotal, and

7104-403: The county and flowing past Slough and Windsor . The south-east of the county contains Swinley Forest , a remnant of Windsor Forest now used as a forestry plantation . There is evidence of prehistoric settlement on the Berkshire Downs, including the Iron Age Uffington White Horse , now in Oxfordshire. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was contested by Mercia and Wessex , and Alfred

7215-482: The county council in 2004 to show where its services begin. CountyWatch responded stating that, "The sign says 'Welcome to Lancashire', it doesn't say 'Welcome to the administrative unit of Lancashire County Council - that would be all right." The signs which were dumped by the side of the A682 in Blacko, near to the historic border with Yorkshire, were recovered by Lancashire County Council who stated that they would re-erect them. CountyWatch also claimed to have removed

7326-426: The county council's request. Berkshire received the title "Royal County" in 1957 due to the presence of Windsor Castle. The area has historical ties to royalty dating back to the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror established Windsor as a royal residence. On 1 April 1974, Berkshire's boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972 . Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of

7437-419: The county's downlands , south and east of which the London Clay spans almost the whole county, and in the south-east corner sandy Palaeogene heath covers the London Clay. This is an oversimplification, however. A gently folded succession of sedimentary rocks dating from the Cretaceous period, with some surviving Palaeogene cover and extensive Quaternary deposits, characterise the downlands, which cover

7548-447: The directories company Hibu . The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town. PepsiCo and Holiday Inn have offices. As with most major cities, Reading also has offices of the Big Four accounting firms Deloitte , Ernst & Young , KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers . The 110-year old charity, Berkshire Vision is also located within Reading city centre. The global headquarters of Reckitt Benckiser and

7659-420: The east of the county to London led to development from the nineteenth century, when Slough became an industrial centre and Bracknell was designated a new town . Software development and high-tech industry dominate the economy in the east, but the west remains an agricultural region. According to Asser 's biography of King Alfred , written in 893 AD, Berkshire takes its name from a wood of box trees , which

7770-438: The economy of Slough in east Berkshire. Abingdon Abbey once had dairy-based granges in the south-east of the county, Red Windsor cheese was developed with red marbling. Some Berkshire cheeses are Wigmore, Waterloo and Spenwood (named after Spencers Wood ) in Riseley ; and Barkham Blue, Barkham Chase and Loddon Blewe at Barkham . Local news and television programmes are covered by BBC South and ITV Meridian for

7881-572: The edge of Luton mark the boundaries of their responsibilities and the beginnings of ours." In April 2006 the group set up "Royal County of Berkshire" signs on the ancient border between Berkshire and Oxfordshire . The signs were quickly removed. The Mayor of Abingdon , once the county town of Berkshire, now administered by Oxfordshire County Council, said "I still get letters addressed to me with Abingdon, Berkshire, and many older people still have allegiances." The Mayor of Wantage , however, noted, "I think Count Tolstoy and his supporters are living in

7992-528: The former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. The northern part of the county came under governance of Oxfordshire , with Faringdon , Wantage and Abingdon and their hinterland becoming the Vale of White Horse district, and Didcot and Wallingford added to South Oxfordshire district. 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, even though

8103-496: The government announced that Bedfordshire County Council would be abolished in 2010. On 9 August 2007, CountyWatch removed four Welcome to Bedfordshire signs from Luton, claiming they were misleading to the public. One sign was removed from the B653 to Wheathampstead and re-erected on the A505 near Stopsley in front of a Welcome to Luton sign. The other three signs were removed from the A6,

8214-479: The ground temporarily and now compete in the Hellenic Football League as Newbury F.C. There are several amateur and semi-professional football clubs in the county. These include Maidenhead United , Slough Town , Hungerford Town , Thatcham Town , Ascot United , A.F.C. Aldermaston , Sandhurst Town , Windsor F.C. , Wokingham & Emmbrook F.C. , Bracknell Town F.C. and Reading City . Reading

8325-473: The grounds of insufficient evidence. After the decision was made, Bennett announced that he had been acting independently but that he had the support of the Lubbock family. Barrymore released a statement in which he said, "Mr Bennett's motivation to seek the truth as to how Mr Stuart Lubbock received the injuries to his body is absolutely right. I remain totally committed, as I always have been, to continue to pursue

8436-486: The highway". In January 2006, Bennett started a private prosecution against the entertainer Michael Barrymore over alleged offences involving drink and the possession and use of Class A and Class B drugs by Barrymore during the night when 31-year-old Stuart Lubbock was found dead at Barrymore's house in March 2001. The prosecution was blocked by a District Judge (Magistrates' Court) at Southend-on-Sea Magistrates' Court on

8547-479: The historic Lancashire/Yorkshire border at Blacko near Nelson , where they telephoned the Council's Solicitor. Lancashire County Council reacted by stating that "the cost of replacing the signs would be met from taxpayers' money." and also that it would be speaking to the police about the group. The Welcome to Lancashire signs were erected on the boundaries with Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities by

8658-572: The historic boundary between Durham and Yorkshire and relocated them to the Darlington boundary. It would be travelling around Durham looking to see whether signs were on what it consider to be the correct, true border and would remove County Durham signs from the border with the unitary authority of Darlington to the historic and currently ceremonial border with North Yorkshire on the River Tees on 25 May 2006 and re-erect them on suitable posts along

8769-621: The larger brown-coloured motorway signs on the M6, M66 and M61 which read "Welcome to Lancashire the Red Rose County". They also claimed that they had a legal right to remove signs under the section 131 of the Highways Act 1980 because "they misinform the public". On 27 July 2005, the BBC TV Look North regional news programme featured the group and filmed it in the act of removing a "Welcome to

8880-535: The main roads on the north, west and south sides out of Luton proclaiming 'Welcome to Bedfordshire'. Luton is the largest town within the historic and ceremonial county of Bedfordshire. Some letter writers still address mail to "Luton Beds". Some organisations based in Luton, such as the University of Bedfordshire , include 'Bedfordshire' as part of their address. In 1996, the Royal Mail stopped using Postal Counties as

8991-450: The name to "Counties" when they placed their own Counts in charge of the shires. The Conservatives under Edward Heath started the process of dismantling our network of shire Counties when they created the hugely unpopular new "Counties" of Avon , Humberside and Cleveland . Now it seems Labour wants to finish them off. Many English people have a strong sense of place and we are sure many of them will fight hard to keep alive and healthy

9102-484: The names and the real boundaries of our Counties. CountyWatch sees the abolition of democratically elected county councils in the UK as part of a long-term project to weaken the constituent nations of Europe, notably the UK, and to concentrate power at two levels: Brussels (the European Commission ) and the "regions" within countries. There have been similar illegal acts before. The former county of Humberside

9213-464: The north of the Bagshot Formation , north of Surrey and Hampshire . Swinley Forest (also known as Bracknell Forest), Windsor Great Park , Crowthorne and Stratfield Saye Woods have many pine, silver birch, and other lightly acid-soil trees. East of the grassy and wooded bends a large minority of East Berkshire's land mirrors the clay belt, being of low elevation and on the left (north) bank of

9324-512: The one conviction in 2002. Bennett has since been actively involved in the direct action group CountyWatch , which has relocated road signs marking modern administrative county borders to historic county borders in a number of English counties, including Lancashire. These campaigns were justified by CountyWatch under section 131 of the Highways Act 1980 , which allows members of the public to remove road signs which are "not lawfully placed on

9435-636: The other signs they removed. Durham County Council issued a statement saying that CountyWatch's actions were "nothing more than sheer vandalism, no less mindless or anti-social than smashing bus stops or phone boxes". On 31 May 2006, an article in The Northern Echo newspaper praised the group's actions, calling the council's statement "a trifle wide of the mark" and ended the article - "Carry on CountyWatch". In November 2005 CountyWatch removed over thirty 'Welcome to Lancashire' signs from Blackburn, Blackpool, Skelmersdale and Southport, placing all of them on

9546-609: The outskirts of Reading. Other technology companies with a presence in the town include Huawei Technologies , Agilent Technologies , Audio & Design (Recording) Ltd , Bang & Olufsen , Cisco , Comptel , Ericsson , Harris Corporation , Intel , Nvidia , Rockwell Collins , Sage , SGI , Symantec , Symbol Technologies , Verizon Business , Virgin Media O2 , Websense , Xansa (now Sopra Steria ), and Xerox . The financial company ING Direct has its headquarters in Reading, as does

9657-513: The outskirts of the town in 2002, Vodafone used 64 buildings spread across the town centre. As well as Vodafone, Newbury is also home to National Instruments , Micro Focus , EValue , NTS Express Road Haulage, Jokers' Masquerade and Quantel . It also is home to the Newbury Building Society , which operates in the region. In Compton , a small village, roughly 10 miles from Newbury , a chemical manufacturing company called Carbosynth

9768-555: The parts of Oxfordshire south of the River Thames , which formed its northern border, but excluded Caversham and Slough . The Berkshire Downs , a chalk downland and area of outstanding natural beauty , occupy the west of the county. They are the source of the River Kennet , which flows east through Newbury before meeting the Thames at Reading. The Thames then forms Berkshire's northern border, flowing past Maidenhead, before entering

9879-468: The party in 2004 after he privately circulated a pamphlet in which he called the Islamic prophet, Muhammad , a paedophile for having consummated his marriage to his child bride Aisha when she was nine years old, which Bennett stated would have been prosecuted today as a case of child sexual abuse. The pamphlet also warned of the probable rise of militant Islam in the UK, which were later claimed to be part of

9990-547: The past. They need to face reality. I know there are many older people in Wantage who still think of themselves as Berkshire people, but the reality is that time has moved on and we can't go backwards." The Mayor of Faringdon said that "Faringdon should stay in Oxfordshire", noting that "when we were in Berkshire, County Hall in Reading was so far away. It's much better for us to get into Oxford." On 10 November 2005, Tony Bennett removed

10101-416: The population increased by 6.7%, largely due to migration and economic opportunities in the region. Reading has experienced significant growth due to its reputation as a technology and business hub. In 1831, there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire; by 1901 the population had risen to 252,571 (of whom 122,807 were male and 129,764 were female). Below were the largest immigrant groups in 2011. Berkshire

10212-466: The private prosecution would proceed, but that he would reconsider if asked to drop the case by the Lubbock family. He added that evidence from the night of Stuart Lubbock's death, made available at the inquest, had not been seen by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Bennett was secretary of The Lubbock Trust which was founded by Terry Lubbock in late January 2006 and formally wound up

10323-490: The reduced, but equally large, part of the county extends further from the Thames which flows from the north-north-west before the Goring Gap ; West Berkshire hosts the varying-width plain of the River Kennet rising to high chalk hills by way of and lower clay slopes and rises. To the south, the land crests along the boundary with Hampshire ; the highest parts of South-East and Eastern England taken together are here. The highest

10434-599: The same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Signs saying "Welcome to the Royal County of Berkshire" exist on borders of West Berkshire, on the east side of Virginia Water , on the M4 motorway , on the south side of Sonning Bridge , on the A404 southbound by Marlow, and northbound on the A33 past Stratfield Saye . A flag for the historic county of Berkshire was registered with

10545-505: The truth. Allegations about drugs on that night have always been a complete irrelevance as to how Stuart Lubbock suffered those injuries. The court held Mr Bennett's misguided application to prosecute me for drugs offences was an abuse of process." Before the decision was made not to allow the prosecution, Terry Lubbock, the father of Stuart Lubbock, met with Barrymore, when it was alleged that Terry Lubbock told Barrymore he did not blame him for his son's death. Bennett, though, maintained that

10656-522: The website, and that Essex Police has to investigate all reports of hate crime. They continued that a full investigation was currently being conducted to identify whether offences had been committed. The next day, 11 July, Essex Police Professional Standards Department referred his complaint to the IPCC to investigate. In a statement on 13 July 2007, which appeared on the Lubbock Trust website, Bennett said that

10767-505: Was Graham Barker. The six unitary councils formed a joint Berkshire Prosperity Board in February 2024 and submitted an expression of interest in forming a non-mayoral combined authority in September 2024. As of the 2023 local elections, Liberal Democrat groups of local councillors run the unitary authorities of West Berkshire , Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham (in coalition with

10878-564: Was called Bearroc (a Celtic word meaning "hilly"). This wood, perhaps no longer extant, was west of Frilsham , near Newbury . Much of the county's early history is recorded in the Chronicles of the Abingdon Abbey , which at the time of the survey was second only to the crown in the extent and number of its possessions, such as The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay . The abbot exercised considerable judicial and administrative powers, and his court

10989-603: Was educated at Bournemouth School . He then attended Sheffield University where he was awarded a first class honours Bachelor of Arts degree in geography, and the London School of Economics where he received a Diploma in Social Administration. He also attended University of Nottingham where he was awarded a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW) and an M.A., and Hertfordshire University , where he received

11100-405: Was endowed with the privileges of the hundred court and freed from liability to interference by the sheriff. Berkshire and Oxfordshire had a common sheriff until the reign of Elizabeth I , and the shire court was held at Grandpont . The assizes were formerly held at Reading, Abingdon, and Newbury, but by 1911 were held entirely at Reading. Berkshire has been the scene of notable battles. Alfred

11211-496: Was extremely unpopular with some of its residents. The book The Fight for Yorkshire by Michael Bradford detailed a series of cases where signs were altered to read "East Riding of Yorkshire" in North Humberside. None of these acts were ever prosecuted and in 1996 the county was abolished. In August 2007, CountyWatch took its campaign to Bedfordshire , where, in November 2006, Bedfordshire County Council erected four signs on

11322-576: Was formally constituted in January 2008 with Bennett as secretary. One of the actions for which Tony Bennett and the Foundation were criticised by the British press was the leafletting of the village of Rothley where the McCanns live. He referred the articles in the UK media, which called him and others in the Madeleine Foundation "sickos" and "stalkers", to the PCC. The PCC replied that the newspapers had been justified in referring to him and other members of

11433-493: Was found guilty of contempt of court and, on 21 February 2013, given a three-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay the McCanns' court costs. The court had considered 13 representative instances relating to breaches of his undertakings "on well over 100 occasions." Berkshire The Royal County of Berkshire , commonly known as simply Berkshire ( / ˈ b ɑː r k ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / BARK -sheer, -⁠shər ; abbreviated Berks. ),

11544-418: Was founded, in 2006. Since 2019, it has merged with a Swiss company called Biosynth AG to form a key global organisation within the fine chemical industry and operates under name Biosynth Carbosynth . Biosynth Carbosynth, along with its acquired companies, vivitide and Pepscan rebranded to Biosynth in 2022. London Heathrow Airport , in the neighbouring London Borough of Hillingdon, is a major contributor to

11655-602: Was informed by the Hate Crime Unit at Harlow police station that they had received a complaint about comments attributed to him about the practice of fisting on the Lubbock Trust website. The police said that as someone had accused him of a homophobic hate crime, they were investigating him over a hate crime. Bennett immediately complained to the Chief Constable of Essex, stating that there was no such thing in British Law as

11766-467: Was no evidence of dishonesty or that he intended to permanently deprive the owners of their signs." His conviction for criminal damage was upheld, but the judge discharged the sentence, which had been 50 hours of community service. The Anglo-Saxons set up a network of shires whose boundaries, in some cases, have been unchanged for over 1,000 years. The Normans may have conquered us in 1066 but at least they left our shire boundaries in place, just changing

11877-479: Was no point in putting up a welcome sign 15 miles into the historic county. CountyWatch claimed, "Lincolnshire starts where Yorkshire finishes – not 20 miles into Lincolnshire. We want them erected on the proper boundary". Lincolnshire County Council however attacked the group for taking council property and said "it will cost the taxpayer to put the signs back up". The signs were deposited at a council depot after being removed. In August 2004, CountyWatch's first action

11988-410: Was overturned by Judge Keith Simpson at Maidstone Crown Court . Judge Simpson upheld the conviction for criminal damage but discharged the sentence, which had been 50 hours of community service to an absolute discharge . Up to September 2004, Bennett was arrested six times as part of the group's campaign to remove metric signs which they claim are illegal. He was charged three times, but received only

12099-621: Was revealed that he had previously co-founded the People's Campaign to Keep the Pound with Ian Anderson , a former chairman of the far right, white nationalist party, the National Front . Bennett denied any knowledge of Anderson being chairman of the National Front at the time the two men formed the campaign, describing Anderson as an "English patriot". Bennett was a co-founder of the Campaign for

12210-642: Was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange . Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon , which remained in the county. Under the Local Government Act 1888 , Berkshire County Council took over functions of the Berkshire Quarter Sessions , covering the administrative county of Berkshire, which excluded

12321-512: Was the removal of five signs saying 'Welcome to the County of Somerset', on the northern border of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset with either Bath and North East Somerset or North Somerset . The signs were taken down by CountyWatch members and relocated on the historic borders of Somerset with neighbouring historic counties Gloucestershire and Wiltshire . On 25 July 2007, the Local Government Minister, John Healey from

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