The length of Berkshire on an east and west line is 41 miles. It may
be described as a rectangle with a somewhat square projection at the
south-eastern corner. Ashmole compares it to a lute and Fuller to
a slipper. The northern boundary is practically formed by the river
Thames, and is in consequence most irregular. Where the river curves
in a southerly direction, the width of the county is contracted until
it is less than seven miles at Reading. Until 1844 Three Mile Cross
and the country between that place and the Hampshire border was an
outlying part of Wiltshire, so that the width of Berkshire at Reading
was less than four miles. This little bit of Wiltshire has however
now been joined to Berkshire.
Berkshire as it is shown upon most maps is known as the "Geographical"
or "Ancient County" of Berkshire, and its area is 462,208 acres,
that is about one-seventieth of the area of England.
For administrative purposes the boundaries are slightly different, and
the area of Administrative Berkshire including the county borough of
Reading is 462,367 acres. By deducting from this the area under water,
i.e. rivers, ponds, lakes, etc., we arrive at the figures 459,403,
which are used as the area of Berkshire in acres for the purpose of
agricultural and other returns issued by Government. The county of
Berks for registration purposes, that is for Parliamentary elections,
etc., includes all the Administrative County and also Egham in the
east, Culham and Crowmarsh in the north-east, small bits of Oxfordshire
and Gloucestershire in the north, and the rural district of Ramsbury
in the west, giving a total area of 573,689 acres.
Berkshire was, as we have said, a part of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex,
and it has inherited from that kingdom its northern boundary, the
river Thames. It is interesting to note that some rivers have been
selected as boundaries to a much greater extent than others. Thus
the Thames forms a county boundary for a great part of its course,
whilst the river Severn flows through the middle of counties.
The Thames forms the county boundary at Old Windsor from a point
a little above Magna Charta Island and separates Berkshire from
Buckinghamshire, and later on from Oxfordshire, the boundary sometimes
running in midstream, sometimes on one bank, and sometimes on the other
bank. Near Oxford the boundary passes for a short distance a little
to the west of the river, that is on the Berks side. The Upper Thames
or Isis becomes the boundary between Berkshire and Oxfordshire, and
then for a very short distance between Berkshire and Gloucestershire,
until near Buscot the river Cole joins the Isis and the boundary
turns in a southerly direction near to the bank of the Cole, the
adjoining county being then Wiltshire. The county boundary runs by
or close to the river Cole to near Bourton, and it then crosses the
chalk country with no definite marks. At one point it crosses an old
earthwork, Membury Fort, and reaches the river Kennet a little east
of Chilton Foliat. From this point to near Woodhay, a distance of
some 14 miles, the boundary of the county for administrative purposes
differs from the boundary of the ancient or geographical county (see
page 9), indeed considerable alterations have been made in this part
of the county boundary at various times. The present administrative
boundary after crossing the Kennet, turns in a westerly and then in
a south-easterly direction following the border of Hungerford and
Inkpen parishes and runs on to a point at the south-western corner
of Combe parish where Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire meet. The
Berkshire boundary then runs west to Pilot Hill and then turning
takes a northerly or north-easterly course until it reaches the
stream Emborne which it follows for several miles until near Brimpton
the stream bends sharply northwards to join the river Kennet, while
the county boundary continues its easterly course through a forest
country to the Imp Stone plantation. It then makes a wide detour to
the north leaving Mortimer West End and the Roman town of Silchester
in Hampshire. This part of the boundary has at more than one date been
subject to alteration and for a time it ran close to Silchester and
is thus marked on many maps. Stratfield Mortimer is in Berkshire, and
about a mile to the east of Silchester the county boundary reaches
a Roman road which it follows pretty closely for a considerable
distance, crossing the river Loddon at Stamford End Mill. On the east
of the Loddon we come to a small tract which, until modern times,
was an outlying part of Wiltshire, bounded in part by Berkshire and
in part by Hampshire. It is now included in the former county, and
the Berkshire boundary continues its easterly direction on or near
the Roman road until it reaches the stream Whitewater close to its
junction with the Blackwater. The county boundary reaches the latter
river close to a ford, no doubt a well-known place, for these fords
are in most cases very old crossing-places and this one certainly goes
back to Roman times and may very likely have been used in still earlier
days. The boundary then turns along the Blackwater, and though it does
not always follow the present course of the stream, it keeps near to
it for some eight miles, until we reach the Blackwater Bridge on the
London and Southampton Road. This is another ancient crossing-place,
and here the counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, and Surrey meet. The
Berkshire and Surrey boundary now runs in a north-easterly direction,
through the grounds of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, up a
small stream to a place named Wishmoor Cross, possibly the site of
a cross in former days, and evidently a well-known place, for five
parishes meet there. From this point the boundary crosses the forest
district of Bagshot Heath, celebrated in connection with highwaymen,
and eventually reaches the Thames near Old Windsor.
In old maps it will be noticed that there are detached portions of
Berkshire surrounded by Oxfordshire, and also detached portions of
Wiltshire partially or wholly surrounded by Berkshire, but in modern
times the county boundaries have been much modified for purposes
of convenience. Thus an Act of Parliament was passed in 1844 to
annex detached parts of counties to the counties in which they are
situated. This Act transferred from Wiltshire to Berkshire parts of
the parishes of Shinfield, Swallowfield, and Wokingham. Shilton and
Little Faringdon were transferred from Berkshire to Oxfordshire, and
part of Inglesham was given to Wiltshire. The boundaries of counties
were still further simplified by an Act of Parliament of 1887,
one of the objects of which was to arrange that no Union, Borough,
Sanitary District, or Parish should be in more than one county.