South East England
From Open Encyclopedia
| South East | |
| Image:EnglandSouthEast.png | |
| Admin HQ | Guildford |
| Area - Total | 3rd in England 19,096 km² |
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | 1st in England 8,000,550 419/km² |
| NUTS 1: | UKJ |
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England. The current boundaries include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex. In common usage the area may widely vary.
The highest point of the region is Walbury Hill in Berkshire at 297m/974 ft.
Contents |
Local government
The region is divided into the following local government areas:
Counties
- Main article: Counties of England
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- East Sussex
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight[{{fullurl:}}#endnote_iw]
- Kent
- Oxfordshire
- Surrey
- West Sussex
- ^ The Isle of Wight is unique in being both a county and a unitary authority.
Unitary Authority Areas
- Main article: Unitary authorities in England
- Bracknell Forest (part of Berkshire)
- Brighton and Hove (formerly part of East Sussex)
- Medway (formerly part of Kent)
- Borough of Milton Keynes (formerly part of Buckinghamshire)
- Portsmouth (formerly part of Hampshire)
- Reading (part of Berkshire)
- Slough (part of Berkshire)
- Southampton (formerly part of Hampshire)
- West Berkshire (part of Berkshire)
- Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (part of Berkshire)
- Wokingham (part of Berkshire)
Historical boundaries
Until the late 1990s the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Greater London were also included for official purposes — excluding London left an area called "ROSE" (rest of South East).
Common usage
In unofficial usage the South East can refer to a varying area - sometimes only to Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, and Surrey, but more usually to the former official region referred to above, which corresponds approximately to the London commuter belt.
Local dialects
Traditionally the middle class inhabitants of the South East have spoken received pronunciation (also known as "RP", BBC English and Queen's English). Nowadays a form of the English language influenced by working class London accents and known as Estuary English is more prevalent in the region, even among the higher social classes. The name derives from the estuary of the River Thames which runs through East London and past Essex and Kent, which is the area where this accent is said to have originated.
External links
- Government Office for the South East
- South East England Regional Assembly
- South East England Development Agency
- Tourism Information - Visit South East England
eo:South East England fr:Région de l'Angleterre du sud-est it:Sud Est (Inghilterra) no:Sørøst-England sk:South East England sv:Sydöstra England zh:英格兰东南
