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Berkshire

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.56 sec.
Berkshire (bärk`shĭr, –shər, bûrk`–) or Berks (bärks, bûrks), former county, S central England. Part of the ancient kingdom of Wessex Wessex (wĕs`ĭks), one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England.
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 and the birthplace of King Alfred Alfred, 849–99, king of Wessex (871–99), sometimes called Alfred the Great, b. Wantage, Berkshire.

Early Life



The youngest son of King Æthelwulf, he was sent in 853 to Rome, where the pope gave him the title of Roman consul.
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, the county of Berkshire was abolished as an administrative entity in 1998 and divided into the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire, Reading, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham.

Berkshire

Geographic county, southern England. It occupies the river valleys of the middle Thames and its tributary, the Kennet, immediately west of London. Settlement of the area dates from the Iron Age, and the Belgic site at Silchester later became a Roman route centre. With the Norman Conquest the Thames valley's strategic importance was recognized, and the first Windsor Castle was built. Windsor and Eton, on Berkshire's eastern boundary, contain the county's most noted structures. With its seat at Reading, it was an administrative county from 1974 to 1998.


Berkshire
1. a historic county of S England: since reorganization in 1974 the River Thames has marked the N boundary while the Berkshire Downs occupy central parts; the county council was replaced by six unitary authorities in 1998. Area: 1259 sq. km (486 sq. miles)
2. a rare breed of pork and bacon pig having a black body and white points


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A short time ago, I was favored with a flying visit from my young friend Eustace Bright, whom I had not before met with since quitting the breezy mountains of Berkshire.
You've heard of the Pusey horn, which King Canute gave to the Puseys of that day, and which the gallant old squire, lately gone to his rest (whom Berkshire freeholders turned out of last Parliament, to their eternal disgrace, for voting according to his conscience), used to bring out on high days, holidays, and bonfire nights.
This uncle was Thomas Melville, president of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, and a successful gentleman farmer.
 
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