Buckinghamshire

(bŭk`ĭng-əmshĭr),

Buckingham,

Bucks,

county (1991 pop. 619,500), 727 sq mi (1,883 sq km), central England. The county seat is AylesburyAylesbury
, city (1991 pop. 51,999), Buckinghamshire, central England. It is an agricultural market for the upper Thames valley and is famous for its ducks. There are printing works, food processing, engineering, and other light industries, developed under a government program
..... Click the link for more information. ; the county is divided into four administrative districts: Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe. The Thames River forms part of the southern boundary of the county. In S Buckinghamshire are the chalky Chiltern Hills with their beech forests; furniture made from beechwood is one of the county's most notable manufactures. The area is largely agricultural; barley, wheat, oats, and beans are the chief crops of the fertile Vale of Aylesbury in N Buckinghamshire. Cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry are raised farther south. Industries have developed in Aylesbury, High Wycombe, and Wolverton.

In ancient times Icknield StreetIcknield Street
, name for a prehistoric road in England, extending SW from the Wash, along the line of the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs, to Salisbury Plain.
..... Click the link for more information. and Watling StreetWatling Street
, important ancient road in England, built by the Romans in the course of their military occupation. It ran from London generally north to the intersection with the Fosse Way, c.
..... Click the link for more information. crossed the county, which has extensive Roman and pre-Roman remains. Thomas GrayGray, Thomas,
1716–71, English poet. He was educated at Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1739 he began a grand tour of the Continent with Horace Walpole. They quarreled in Italy, and Gray returned to England in 1741.
..... Click the link for more information. is buried at Stoke Poges, in the country churchyard that inspired his "Elegy." John MiltonMilton, John,
1608–74, English poet, b. London, one of the greatest poets of the English language. Early Life and Works

The son of a wealthy scrivener, Milton was educated at St. Paul's School and Christ's College, Cambridge.
..... Click the link for more information. had a cottage for a time at Chalfont St. Giles, and the poet William CowperCowper, William
, 1731–1800, English poet. Physically and emotionally unfit for the professional life, he was admitted to the bar but never practiced. After a battle with insanity, Cowper retired to the country, taking refuge with the family of Mrs.
..... Click the link for more information. spent many years at Olney. Also in Buckinghamshire are Hughenden Manor, home of the statesman Benjamin DisraeliDisraeli, Benjamin, 1st earl of Beaconsfield
, 1804–81, British statesman and author. He is regarded as the founder of the modern Conservative party.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Checquers, a historic Tudor mansion and residence of British prime ministers since 1921; and Eton College, England's most famous public school.