Berkshire

Ceremonial County in England

Region: South East

§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.

Overview ⁞ Berkshire is a historic and ceremonial county west of London, often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire due to the presence of Windsor Castle, a royal residence. It has no county council and is instead composed entirely of six unitary authorities: Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham. The county blends prosperous towns, green countryside, and high-tech industry, particularly along the M4 corridor.

Is Berkshire a historic county? Yes—Berkshire is a historic county. Administratively, it has no county council since 1998 and is instead divided into six unitary authorities: West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Slough.

Berkshire has 6 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.

Number of local authority districts in Berkshire and other counties — Number of local authority districts in Berkshire, compared with other counties

This county page, Berkshire, is a sub-page this region page: South East. It zooms in to local authorities, administrative districts, and parliamentary constituencies in this county. We have this list page for easy browsing of all historic counties, ceremonial counties, and administrative counties: List of all counties in the UK.

Local Authorities in Berkshire

Bracknell Forest Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Reading Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 reading.gov.uk
Slough Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 slough.gov.uk
West Berkshire Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 westberks.gov.uk
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 rbwm.gov.uk
Wokingham Borough Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 wokingham.gov.uk

Berkshire, in England’s South East region, is governed entirely by six unitary authorities, as the county council was abolished in 1998. These are Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough Council, and Wokingham Borough Council, each responsible for all local services including education, transport, planning, housing, and social care within their areas. Together, these councils oversee a county without a county council but with a strong ceremonial identity, encompassing the historic town of Windsor with its royal castle, the commercial hub of Reading, the urban centres of Slough and Bracknell, and the market towns and countryside of West Berkshire and Wokingham, balancing heritage, modern development, and community needs.

Districts in Berkshire

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Berkshire is within one of ITLs Level 2 area, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, that contains the following 5 ITLs Level 3 areas:

(ITL 1) South East
(ITL 2) ⇒ Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Milton Keynes ⁞ Buckinghamshire ⁞ Oxfordshire CC ⁞ Berkshire East ⁞ Berkshire West

Constituencies in Berkshire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 9 of them are in Berkshire.

Local Authorities in Berkshire

Districts in Berkshire

Constituencies in Berkshire

Counties in South East