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South East England is one of the nine official
regions of England The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they n ...
at the first level of ITL for
statistical Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industr ...
purposes. It consists of the
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
and
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
. Major towns and cities in the region include
Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
,
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
,
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
,
Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...
,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...
and
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. South East England is the third largest region of England, with an area of 19,096 km2 (7,373 sq mi), and is also the most populous with a total population of over eight and a half million (2011). The region contains seven legally chartered cities:
Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
,
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
,
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
,
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
. The region's close proximity to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and connections to several national motorways have led to South East England becoming a prosperous economic hub with the largest economy of any region in the UK, after
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The region is home to
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
, the UK's second-busiest airport, and
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
(the UK's busiest airport) is located adjacent to the region's boundary with
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
. The coastline along the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
provides numerous ferry crossings to mainland
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The region is known for its countryside, which includes two national parks: the
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...
and the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, as well as the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...
, the
Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshi ...
and part of the
Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of J ...
. The
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
flows through the region and its basin is known as the
Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...
. It is also the location of a number of internationally known places of interest, such as HMS ''Victory'' in Portsmouth,
Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern ...
in Buckinghamshire,
Thorpe Park Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
and
RHS Wisley RHS Garden Wisley is a garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, Surrey, south of London. It is one of five gardens run by the society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, and Bridgewater (which opened on 18 May 2 ...
in Surrey,
Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non- royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, ...
in Oxfordshire,
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...
in Berkshire,
Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...
, the
White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...
and
Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
in Kent,
Brighton Palace Pier The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old Steine. Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be const ...
, and
Hammerwood Park Hammerwood Park is a country house in Hammerwood, near East Grinstead, in East Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building. One of the first houses in England to be built in the Greek Revival architectural style, it was built in 1792 as t ...
in East Sussex, and Wakehurst Place in West Sussex. The region has many universities; the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
is the oldest in the English-speaking world, and ranked among the best in the world. South East England is host to various sporting events, including the annual
Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thr ...
,
Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...
and The Derby, and sporting venues include
Wentworth Golf Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the club in Sept ...
and
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...
. Some of the events of the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...
were held in the south east, including the rowing at
Eton Dorney Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of ...
and part of the cycling road race in the Surrey Hills. In
medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, South East England included much of the
Kingdom of Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...
, which was the precursor to the modern state of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
was the capital of England after unification of the various states, including the kingdoms of
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
and
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , y ...
. Winchester stopped being the administrative capital of England some time in the 13th century as its influence waned while the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
dominated commerce. The last
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
to be crowned at Winchester was
Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...
in 1377, although the last monarch to be crowned by the
Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...
was Queen Mary I in 1553.


History

The Meonhill Vineyard, near
Old Winchester Hill {{Infobox SSSI , image= OldWinchesterHill.JPG , image_caption = , name= Old Winchester Hill , aos= Hampshire , interest=Biological , gridref={{gbmappingsmall, SU 642 208 , area= {{convert, 66.2, ha, acre, abbr=off , notifyda ...
in east Hampshire on the South Downs south of
West Meon West Meon is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, with a population of 749 people at the 2011 census. Geography It is north-west of East Meon, on the headwaters of the River Meon. Its closest town is Petersfield which is to the ...
on the A32, is an example of a site where the
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
grew Roman grapes.


Second World War

Much of the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
was fought in this region, especially in Kent.
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
was based at
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
.
RAF Medmenham RAF Medmenham is a former Royal Air Force station based at Danesfield House near Medmenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. Activities there specialised in photographic intelligence, and it was once the home of the RAF Intelligence Branch. Durin ...
at Danesfield House, west of Marlow in Buckinghamshire, was important for
aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of im ...
.
Operation Corona Operation Corona was a Royal Air Force (RAF) initiative to confuse German nightfighter defences during RAF bomber raids on German cities during World War II. The RAF used both native speakers and people who could speak German to a standard ...
, based at RAF Kingsdown (at
West Kingsdown West Kingsdown is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England, on the A20 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Swanley, 5.5 miles (9 km) northeast of Sevenoaks and from London. The Area The parish was part of A ...
next to Brands Hatch in Kent, between the A20 and M20), was implemented to confuse German
night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
s with native German-speakers, and coordinated by the RAF
Y Service The "Y" service was a network of British signals intelligence collection sites, the Y-stations. The service was established during the First World War and used again during the Second World War. The sites were operated by a range of agencies inc ...
.
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...
in north Buckinghamshire was the principal Allied centre for codebreaking. The
Colossus computer Colossus was a set of computers developed by British codebreakers in the years 1943–1945 to help in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. Colossus used thermionic valves (vacuum tubes) to perform Boolean and counting operations. Colossus ...
, arguably the world's first, began working on Lorentz codes on 5 February 1944, with Colossus 2 working from June 1944. The site was chosen, among other reasons, because it is at the junction of the
Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line wa ...
(between Oxford and Cambridge) and the
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
. The
Harwell computer The Harwell computer, or Harwell Dekatron computer, later known as the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH), is an early British computer of the 1950s based on valves and relays. From 2009 to 2012, it was restore ...
(Dekatron), now at the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley, was built in 1949 and is believed to be the oldest working digital computer in the world.


Scientific heritage

John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...
of Kent, introduced the symbol for infinity, and the standard notation for powers of numbers in 1656.
Thomas Bayes Thomas Bayes ( ; 1701 7 April 1761) was an English statistician, philosopher and Presbyterian minister who is known for formulating a specific case of the theorem that bears his name: Bayes' theorem. Bayes never published what would become his ...
was an important statistician from Tunbridge Wells; his
theorem In mathematics, a theorem is a statement that has been proved, or can be proved. The ''proof'' of a theorem is a logical argument that uses the inference rules of a deductive system to establish that the theorem is a logical consequence of t ...
(of
probability theory Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expressing it through a set ...
) is used for
spam filter Email filtering is the processing of email to organize it according to specified criteria. The term can apply to the intervention of human intelligence, but most often refers to the automatic processing of messages at an SMTP server, possibly appl ...
s and Google's search. Sir
David N. Payne Sir David Neil Payne CBE FRS FREng (born 13 August 1944) is a British professor of photonics who is director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton. He has made several contributions in areas of optical fibre com ...
at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre invented the
erbium-doped fibre amplifier An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from ...
, a type of
optical amplifier An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback fr ...
, in the mid-1980s, which became essential for the internet. Henry Moseley at Oxford in 1913 discovered his
Moseley's law Moseley's law is an empirical law concerning the characteristic x-rays emitted by atoms. The law had been discovered and published by the English physicist Henry Moseley in 1913-1914. Until Moseley's work, "atomic number" was merely an element's ...
of X-ray spectra of chemical elements that enabled him to be the first to assign the correct atomic number to elements in
periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...
; he did not receive any
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
as it is not awarded posthumously (he was killed in 1915 at Gallipoli with the Royal Engineers).
Carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
was invented in 1963 at the RAE in Farnborough by a team led by William Watt. The Apollo LCG space-suit cooling system originated mostly from work done at RAE Farnborough in the early 1960s. Donald Watts Davies invented
packet switching In telecommunications, packet switching is a method of grouping data into '' packets'' that are transmitted over a digital network. Packets are made of a header and a payload. Data in the header is used by networking hardware to direct the p ...
in the late 1960s at the National Physical Laboratory in
Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...
. Packet-switching was taken up by the Americans to form the
ARPANET The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
, the precursor to the Internet. Surrey's Alec Reeves invented
pulse-code modulation Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the ...
(PCM) in 1937 (at
ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...
's research laboratories in Paris), the standard for
digital audio Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...
recordings. Sir
John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (; 7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English polymath active as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint and did botanical wo ...
, son of the astronomer, from Kent, invented the term ''photography'' in 1839, meaning ''light writing''. and discovered the first
photographic fixer Photographic fixer is a mix of chemicals used in the final step in the photographic processing of film or paper. The fixer stabilises the image, removing the unexposed silver halide remaining on the photographic film or photographic paper, leaving ...
,
sodium thiosulphate Sodium thiosulfate (sodium thiosulphate) is an inorganic compound with the formula . Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate, . The solid is an efflorescent (loses water readily) crystalline substance that dissolves well ...
, known as ''hypo'', also in 1839. GLEEP was Britain's first nuclear reactor, in August 1947 at the
Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned and funded by the British Government. A number of early res ...
(AERE) at Harwell, it would stay operational until 1990.
William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and propert ...
of Folkestone, in Kent, discovered the
circulation of blood The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
. The Lilly Research Centre in Windlesham, Berkshire, part of
Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and ...
, developed
Olanzapine Olanzapine (sold under the trade name Zyprexa among others) is an atypical antipsychotic primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. For schizophrenia, it can be used for both new-onset disease and long-term maintenance. It is t ...
in 1996 (for
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...
, selling around $5bn worldwide annually). Beecham Research Laboratories at
Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At ...
Park in 1959 discovered meticillin (or methicillin), the first semi-synthetic penicillin (
beta-lactamase Beta-lactamases, (β-lactamases) are enzymes () produced by bacteria that provide multi-resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, monobactams and carbapenems ( ertapenem), although carbap ...
stable), deriving from their discovery in 1958 of 6-APA, the core constituent; the team, led by Prof George Rolinson, won the
Mullard Award The Mullard Award is awarded annually by the Royal Society to a person who has "an outstanding academic record in any field of natural science, engineering or technology and whose contribution is currently making or has the potential to make ...
in 1971.
Bipyridine Bipyridines also known as bipyridyls, dipyridyls, and dipyridines, are a family of chemical compounds with the formula (C5H4N)2, consisting of two pyridyl (C5H4N) rings. Pyridine is an aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycle. Bipyridines are of si ...
compounds (Paraquat-Gramoxone and Diquat) were discovered for herbicide use in 1954 by
William Boon William Robert Boon FRS FRSC (20 March 1911 – 28 October 1994) was a British chemist, known for developing the herbicide paraquat. Early life He was educated at St Dunstan's College and King's College London (BSc; PhD). Career ICI He devel ...
at ICI's Plant Protection division at Jealott's Hill, being released onto the market in 1958. AZT/Retrovir (
zidovudine Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mother-to-child ...
) was first manufactured by Wellcome in 1987 in Kent; they also introduced Zovirax (
aciclovir Aciclovir (ACV), also known as acyclovir, is an antiviral medication. It is primarily used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections, chickenpox, and shingles. Other uses include prevention of cytomegalovirus infections following tra ...
), and the naturally occurring
digoxin Digoxin (better known as Digitalis), sold under the brand name Lanoxin among others, is a medication used to treat various heart conditions. Most frequently it is used for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure. Digoxin is o ...
, a
cardiac glycoside Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for c ...
. After a plane crashed near his house in Oxford in 1940, Sir
Peter Medawar Sir Peter Brian Medawar (; 28 February 1915 – 2 October 1987) was a Brazilian-British biologist and writer, whose works on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance have been fundamental to the medical practice of tissu ...
helped the injured pilot, and in the process discovered homograft rejection, leading to
organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpor ...
using
azathioprine Azathioprine (AZA), sold under the brand name Imuran, among others, is an immunosuppressive medication. It is used in rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, ...
. Viagra (
Sildenafil Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is unclear if it is effective for treating sexual dysfunction in women. It is taken by ...
) was synthesized at Pfizer in Sandwich, Kent.


Industrial heritage

Sir
Francis Pettit Smith Sir Francis Pettit Smith (9 February 1808 – 12 February 1874) was an English inventor and, along with John Ericsson, one of the inventors of the screw propeller. He was also the driving force behind the construction of the world's first scr ...
of Kent invented the screw
propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
. Maidenhead Railway Bridge is known for its flat arch, built in 1839 with 39-metre spans. The
Wealden iron industry The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Iron ...
in the
Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
was the site of the first
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheri ...
in Britain in 1491, and produced much of Britain's
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuri ...
until the 1770s.
Portsmouth Block Mills The Portsmouth Block Mills form part of the Portsmouth Dockyard at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and were built during the Napoleonic Wars to supply the British Royal Navy with pulley blocks. They started the age of mass-production using ...
were the site of the world's first metal
machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. Al ...
s, built for the manufacture of wooden
pulley A pulley is a wheel on an axle or shaft that is designed to support movement and change of direction of a taut cable or belt, or transfer of power between the shaft and cable or belt. In the case of a pulley supported by a frame or shell that ...
s, invented by
Henry Maudslay Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were ...
, and the site of the world's first industrial
assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in se ...
in 1803.
South Foreland Lighthouse South Foreland Lighthouses are a pair of Victorian lighthouses on the South Foreland in St. Margaret's Bay, Dover, Kent, England, used to warn ships approaching the nearby Goodwin Sands. There has been a pair of lighthouses at South Forelan ...
on 8 December 1858 was the world's first lighthouse with electric light, with the first type of industrial electrical generator made by
Frederick Hale Holmes Frederick Hale Holmes (born 1812) was a professor of Chemistry at the Royal Panopticon of Science and Art and pioneer of electric lighting. Career In 1853 he demonstrated the ability of electro-magnetic generators to provide continuous current t ...
, from work he had carried out with
Floris Nollet Floris Nollet (16 September 1794 – 11 January 1853) was a Belgian physicist, engineer, inventor. Nollet was a grandnephew of Jean-Antoine Nollet. He became professor of physics at the École Militaire in Brussels. He also founded the British-F ...
of Belgium, and 36 permanent magnets. By 1880, of the ten lighthouses with electric light, five were in the UK. From the lighthouse in 1899, the first international radio broadcast to France was made.
Zénobe Gramme Zénobe Théophile Gramme (4 April 1826 – 20 January 1901) was a Belgian electrical engineer. He was born at Jehay-Bodegnée on 4 April 1826, the sixth child of Mathieu-Joseph Gramme, and died at Bois-Colombes on 20 January 1901. He invented ...
of Belgium made a much better design in 1870 with self-excitation of magnets, and the first modern
dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...
. North Foreland Lighthouse was the UK's last-staffed lighthouse until 1998. Portland cement was developed in Northfleet, Kent, by William Aspdin, son of Joseph Aspdin. The development was to heat the ingredients to around 1450C, producing
clinker Clinker may refer to: *Clinker (boat building), construction method for wooden boats *Clinker (waste), waste from industrial processes *Clinker (cement), a kilned then quenched cement product * ''Clinkers'' (album), a 1978 album by saxophonist St ...
. Previously, temperatures were taken to only 800C, which was not enough. The first ever cement kiln is still in Northfleet today in a cardboard factory. In the late 1800s, the rotary kiln made the process much more efficient. Concrete, effectively human-made stone, is the most widespread human-made material. 5% of all carbon emissions worldwide are from concrete production. On 16 October 1908 the
British Army Aeroplane No 1 The British Army Aeroplane No 1 or sometimes Cody 1 was a biplane built by Samuel Franklin Cody in 1907 at the Army Balloon Factory at Farnborough. It made the first recognised powered and sustained flight in the United Kingdom on 16 October 19 ...
, flown by the American
Samuel Franklin Cody Samuel Franklin Cowdery (later known as Samuel Franklin Cody; 6 March 1867 – 7 August 1913, born Davenport, Iowa, USA)) was a Wild West showman and early pioneer of manned flight. He is most famous for his work on the large kites known a ...
, was the first aircraft flown in the UK, at Farnborough; on 14 May 1909 he flew it for more than a mile. On 13 August 1909, his wife would be the first woman in the UK to fly in a plane, also at Farnborough. The first Harrier aircraft ''XV738'' flew on 28 December 1967; this was the first aircraft of the RAF to have a
head-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
avionics system. The first two-seat Harrier ''XW174'' flew on 24 April 1969, later crashing at
Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...
in June 1969. The
British Aerospace Sea Harrier The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered service ...
''XZ450'' first flew on 20 August 1978; on 4 May 1982 this aircraft would be hit by anti-aircraft fire at
Goose Green Goose Green is a settlement in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 40, it is the third-largest ...
, killing the pilot with
800 Naval Air Squadron () , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , battles_label = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , cur ...
from HMS ''Hermes''; the aircraft had no
radar warning receiver Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected, like a fighter aircraft's fire control radar. The warning can ...
(RWR), due to testing the
Sea Eagle A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Taxonomy and evolution The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
, so could not detect the Skyguard radar had locked on to it, being destroyed with the
Oerlikon GDF The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA/35 ...
(35mm) of GADA 601; it was the first Sea Harrier lost in the Falklands campaign. The first human airborne ejection seat firing took place on 24 July 1946 over Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire, in a
Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
, piloted by Bernard Lynch; the first dummy ejection had been 10 May 1945 over
RAF Oakley RAF Oakley is a former Royal Air Force station between Oakley and Worminghall, Buckinghamshire, England. It was located in a flat, damp wooded area. History Second World War usage Intended as RAF Westcott's satellite, the land at Field Far ...
in west Buckinghamshire (today near the M40); on 13 March 1962, the first in-flight rocket-powered ejection took place by Peter Howard, an RAF doctor based at Farnborough's Institute of Aviation Medicine in Meteor ''WA364'' at 250 ft over Chalgrove, with the rocket giving a maximum force of 16G. The Miles M.52, designed at
Woodley Aerodrome Woodley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England, east of Reading and joined to the neighbouring town of Earley, to the west, and from Wokingham. Nearby are the villages of Sonning, Twyford, Winnersh, Hur ...
in Berkshire by
Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herber ...
, was an advanced design of aircraft which had the innovation of the ''flying tail'' or ''all-moving tail'' also known as a
stabilator A stabilator is a fully movable aircraft horizontal stabilizer. It serves the usual functions of longitudinal stability, control and stick force requirements otherwise performed by the separate parts of a conventional horizontal stabilizer and e ...
; this would solve the problem of stability and
aircraft control A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft ...
at
supersonic speed Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
s, and its design was taken wholesale into the American
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics–U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
, the first
supersonic aircraft A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach number 1). Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been use ...
. On 3 May 1830 the world's first passenger train service, the
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the "Crab and Winkle Line", was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England. Early history Ther ...
(6 miles) built by
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...
, began, hauled by the locomotive '' Invicta'' and introduced the world's first railway
season ticket A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 182 ...
in 1834. Maidenhead Railway Bridge, known for its flat arch, was built in 1839 with 39-metre spans. The
Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment The Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE) was a British defence research unit on Chobham Lane, Chertsey in Surrey. It was responsible for many innovations in armoured vehicle design, including ceramic Chobham armour. History T ...
, in Chertsey, developed
Chobham armour Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common, Surrey. The name has since become the common generic term for composite ceramic vehicle armour. Other name ...
. On 12 April 1903, the world's first bus service was by
Eastbourne Buses Eastbourne Buses was a bus operator running within the Borough of Eastbourne and into the surrounding area, including Pevensey, Hailsham, Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield, and East Grinstead, with a fleet of around 50 vehicles. Eastbourne Buses was so ...
from Eastbourne railway station to
Meads The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Italy ...
.
ThrustSSC ThrustSSC, Thrust SSC or Thrust SuperSonic Car is a British jet car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers, and Jeremy Bliss. Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and driven by Andy Green, ...
, the fastest car in the world in 1997, was built in
Aldingbourne Aldingbourne is a mixed rural and residential civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. It is centred north of Bognor Regis and east of Chichester. The civil parish, named after the small village of Aldingb ...
, West Sussex, by G-Force Engineering, designed by
Ron Ayers Ronald Ayers (born 1932) is an English engineer who was responsible for the aerodynamics of the land speed record-holding vehicles, ThrustSSC and JCB Dieselmax, and is chief Aerodynamicist for the Bloodhound SSC. Early life and career Born in L ...
, with further work done by the
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) between 1995 and 2 July 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation. It was regarded by its official h ...
at Farnborough. UK-Belgium 5 laid in 1986 from Kent was the world's first
optical fibre An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
submarine cable, and is 36 miles long. The world's first
submarine telephone cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...
was laid between England and France in 1891 by HMTS Monarch, enabling London-Paris calls from April 1891. On 3 December 1992, Neil Papworth of Reading, an engineer from Sema Group Telecoms at Vodafone in Newbury, sent the world's first text message from his computer to an Orbitel 901 handset of Richard Jarvis, Vodafone's technical director. The first public automatic
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...
in the UK was at Epsom telephone exchange from 18 May 1912, and was introduced as standard across the UK's 6,700 telephone exchanges in 1922, lasting for around 70 years; it could handle up to 500 lines, and was the Strowger design and made by
Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company The Automatic Telephone and Electric Company (originally the Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company (ATM)) was a British telephone exchange manufacturer established in 1911. After several name changes and acquisitions, the company was merged ...
of Liverpool. The world's first automatic telephone exchange had opened in
La Porte, Indiana La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, India ...
in November 1892. The
BritNed BritNed is a 1,000MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom; and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The BritNed interconnector would serve as a link for the foresee ...
1000MW power-supply submarine cable from Isle of Grain to Rotterdam, was built in 2009. The
HVDC Cross-Channel The HVDC Cross-Channel (french: Interconnexion France Angleterre IFA 2000) is the 73 km long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that operates since 1986 under the English Channel between the continental European grid at Bonningues- ...
(2000MW) submarine cable was built in 1986. This is the world's highest-capacity submarine HVDC cable; it goes from France and lands near Folkestone, with the large transformer station (built by GEC) squeezed between the CTRL and the M20 in Aldington and
Smeeth Smeeth is a mostly agricultural land use village and civil parish, centred east of Ashford in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England. Geography Smeeth is a small village in population near Mersham Hatch Park on the A20 road from Ashford to Fol ...
, made of eight 270kV cables. Royston Instruments of Byfleet developed the world's first multi-channel
flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
s in 1965. Although the
Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
is generally accepted as the world's first production-run jet airliner, the first jet airliner ever built (individual) was a Nene-powered
Vickers VC.1 Viking The Vickers VC.1 Viking is a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. After the Second World War, the Viking was a ...
on 6 April 1948 from
Wisley Airfield Wisley Airfield is a former wartime airfield located in the Parish of Ockham near Wisley in Surrey, England. Originally a grass airstrip, the runway was converted to tarmac in 1952 and used to test aircraft built at Weybridge by Vickers. Flying ...
; the world's first
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
airliner would fly from there on 16 July 1948 by
Mutt Summers Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, (10 March 1904 – 16 March 1954) was chief test pilot at Vickers-Armstrongs and Supermarine. During his career, Summers flew many first flights on prototype aircraft, (a record of 54 by a test pilot), from the Su ...
. In 1939 at Cowes ( Northwood) John Godeck invented the
plan position indicator A plan position indicator (PPI) is a type of radar display that represents the radar antenna in the center of the display, with the distance from it and height above ground drawn as concentric circles. As the radar antenna rotates, a radial tra ...
method of
radar display A radar display is an electronic device to present radar data to the operator. The radar system transmits pulses or continuous waves of electromagnetic radiation, a small portion of which backscatter off targets (intended or otherwise) and retur ...
as most commonly known ever since; the site became Plessey Radar in 1965, and currently is run by BAE Systems.
Sperry Gyroscope Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County * Sperry, Missouri * Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County * Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana *Sperry Glaci ...
in Bracknell produced the
guidance system A guidance system is a virtual or physical device, or a group of devices implementing a controlling the movement of a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or any other moving object. Guidance is the process of calculating the changes in po ...
s for Britain's 1960s space rockets. The tallest freestanding structure in the region is the chimney of
Grain Power Station Grain Power Station is a CCGT power station and former oil-fired power station in Kent, England, with operational capacity of owned by Uniper (formerly E.ON UK). Oil-fired power station Grain was built on a site for the nationalised Centr ...
at 801 ft; it is the second-tallest chimney in the UK after Drax power station.
George Albert Smith George Albert Smith Sr. (April 4, 1870 – April 4, 1951) was an American religious leader who served as the eighth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Early life Born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territor ...
developed the first
colour film Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...
process, known as
Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith in 1906. He was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, Ed ...
, in 1906 at
Southwick, West Sussex Southwick () is a town in the Adur district of West Sussex, England located five miles (8 km) west of Brighton. It covers an area of 863.7 hectares ( 2,134.25 acres) and has a population of 13,195 persons (2001 census). The town is lo ...
.
George E. Davis George Edward Davis (1850–1907) is regarded as the founding father of the discipline of chemical engineering. Life Davis was born at Eton on 27 July 1850, the eldest son of George Davis, a bookseller. At the age of fourteen he was apprenti ...
from Slough, is the founding father of chemical engineering. Wiggins Teape, later ARJO Wiggins Fine Papers, had the largest paper research centre in Europe at Butlers Court in Beaconsfield; built in 1891 and vacated in 2009.
Bentalls Bentalls is a British department store chain with a branch in Kingston upon Thames. The well regarded 'county' department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867. The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchang ...
in Bracknell (now Fenwick since 2017) had the first point of sale terminal in Europe - the NCR 280 in 1973. The
National Fruit Collection The United Kingdom's National Fruit Collection is one of the largest collections of fruit trees and plants in the world. Over 2,040 varieties of apple, 502 of pear, 350 of plum, 322 of cherry and smaller collections of bush fruits, nuts and grap ...
is the largest collection of
fruit tree A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, ...
s in the world, at
Brogdale Brogdale is a hamlet in Kent, England, immediately south of the M2 motorway (Great Britain), M2 motorway, south of Faversham. It is one of several hamlets making up the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Ospringe and is in the Borough o ...
, and is next to the M2 at the A251 junction in
Ospringe Ospringe is a village and area of Faversham in the English county of Kent. It is also the name of a civil parish, which since 1935 has not included the village of Ospringe. The village lies on the Roman road Watling Street (nowadays the A2 ro ...
.
Scalextric Scalextric is a brand of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s. The Scalextric were first invented by engineer B. Fred Francis, when he added an electric motor to the ''Scalex'' tin cars that were produced by Minimodels Lt ...
was invented by Fred Francis in 1956, who founded Minimodels in Havant; initially the model cars had been
clockwork Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight. A clockwork mec ...
; it was made from 1967 at
Triang The term Triang can refer to * Teriang, a town in Pahang, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South Chin ...
in Margate. The world's first
Mars Bar Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. The bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with mi ...
was made in Slough in 1932; it was modelled on the
Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
, popular at the time in the USA. Twix was introduced at Slough in 1967, with production moving to eastern France (Mars Chocolat France at
Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...
in
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
) in 2005. The Ford GT40 was developed by
Ford Advanced Vehicles Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobile ...
at Slough in the mid-1960s.


Geography

The largest city in the region is
Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
. The dominant influence on the region's economy is neighbouring
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The highest point is
Walbury Hill Walbury Hill is a summit of the North Wessex Downs in Berkshire, England. With an elevation of , it is the highest natural point in South East England. On the hill's summit is the Iron Age hill fort of Walbury Camp, whilst the flanks of the hill ...
in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
at . Britain's tallest native tree, according to
The Tree Register The Tree Register, or more fully, the Tree Register of the British Isles (T.R.O.B.I.), is a registered charity collating and updating a database of notable trees throughout Britain and Ireland. It comprises a computer database which in 2022 conta ...
in April 2015, is a 144-ft beech at Devil's Dyke in
Newtimber Newtimber is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located north-west of Brighton. The parish also includes the hamlet of Saddlescombe. The parish lies almost wholly with the South Downs Nati ...
Woods in West Sussex.


Historical boundaries

Until 1999, there was a south east Standard Statistical Region, which also included the counties of
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
,
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
and
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. The former south east Civil Defence Region covered the same area as the current government office region.


Alternative definitions

In unofficial usage, the South East can refer to a varying area – sometimes only to London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, and Surrey; but sometimes to an area corresponding to the former Standard Statistical Region. The South East is also occasionally used as a synonym for the
home counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...
.


Demographics

The population of the region at the 2011 census was 8,634,750 making it the most populous English region.2011 Census: Population density, unrounded estimates, local authorities in the United Kingdom
, Accessed 20 January 2015
The major
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
s of the region include
South Hampshire South Hampshire is a term used mainly to refer to the conurbation formed by the city of Portsmouth, city of Southampton and the non-metropolitan boroughs of Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Eastleigh in southern Hampshire, South East England. The ...
(855,000),
Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton The Brighton and Hove Built-up area or Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation has a population of 474,485 (2011 census), making it England's 12th largest conurbation. This was an increase of around 3% from the 2001 population of 461,181. N ...
(474,000) and
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
(318,000). Settlements closer to London are part of the conurbation known as the
Greater London Urban Area The Greater London Built-up Area, or Greater London Urban Area, is a conurbation in south-east England that constitutes the continuous urban sprawl of London, and includes surrounding adjacent urban towns as defined by the Office for National Sta ...
. The South East has the highest percentage of people born outside of Britain other than
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Estimates in 2007 state 87.2% of people as
White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...
, 4.8%
Other White The term Other White is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom and has been used in documents such as the 2011 UK Census to describe people who self-identify as white (chiefly European) persons who are not of the English, Welsh, S ...
(inc. 1.0%
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
), 3.5%
South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
s, 1.5%
Mixed Race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
, 1.6%
Black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...
, 0.7%
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, 0.7%
Other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
.


Cities and towns


Ethnicity


Governance and politics

South East England is an official region for statistical and strategic planning purposes, but is not served by any directly elected regional government. From 1998 to 2010 local councils sent to the voluntary South East England Regional Assembly, based in
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
. Delegates met six times a year and was responsible for the South East England Development Agency, a project which oversaw investment projects in the region. It was abolished on 31 March 2009 and replaced with
South East England Councils South East England Councils (SEEC) is a voluntary association of council leaders from the 74 local authorities in the South East region of England. It is a regional grouping of the Local Government Association. It was established following the ab ...
in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
. The region is sub-divided into several local councils, most composed of two-tiered council- featuring county and district councils- and
unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
:


Westminster seats

The South East of England is the most
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
voting region of Britain in terms of both seats and votes. The area also has some seats where there is strong support for other parties, for example,
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
and
Southampton Test Southampton Test is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Alan Whitehead, a member of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, when the previous two ...
for
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
and
Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion, and surrounding gardens, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Pri ...
which is held by the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
. Out of 84 parliamentary seats, the Conservatives hold 72. In the 2017 general election, the Conservatives won 54.8% of votes, Labour 28.6%, Liberal Democrats 10.6%, Greens 3.1%, and UKIP 2.2%.


Eurostat NUTS

In the
Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...
(NUTS), South East England is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKJ", which is subdivided as follows:


Education


Schools

Buckinghamshire, Medway and Kent, and Slough have an almost completely selective education system - not just a few
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
s as other English areas may have - with
secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...
s as the alternative. Kent has 33 grammar schools, Buckinghamshire 13, Medway 6 and Slough 4. The other areas are comprehensive. In the top thirty schools at
A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
, it is almost exclusively selective schools; one or two are
sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
s. However, the results for each county as a whole are not always directly related to the number of grammar schools, as Kent and Medway perform under average at A-level.
The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...
claims to be oldest in England - 597AD. Herschel Grammar School in Slough is the most oversubscribed school in England - 14 people per place, Langley Grammar School in Slough is next with 13 per place, then Burnham Grammar School. 508,000 in the region are at state secondary schools - the highest in England, with 101,000 at Kent, the highest in England for a county and completely selective, then 70,000 in Hampshire, 60,000 in Surrey, 45,000 in West Sussex, 36,000 in Oxfordshire, 35,000 in Buckinghamsire. The lowest is 6,000 at Bracknell Forest, then Reading with about 6,000. Of all regions, the South-East has the greatest percentage that attend a grammar school - 12%; the next highest it the South-West - 6%. The most-educated people ( NQF level 4 or above) in the region live in Elmbridge (51%), then Waverley, and Epsom and Ewell; 33% of people are at this level for the South-East, only second to London at 40%. The region has highest number of sixth formers, outside of London, in England; the highest number is in Kent, the highest for England, then Buckinghamshire (also completely selective), then Surrey. For state school pupils, there is patchy STEM participation - Hampshire has the most passing STEM subjects in England and in the region, followed by Kent, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. For STEM subjects, Portsmouth is lowest by some distance (6 people passed A level Chemistry) - almost the worst in England, and also Southampton gets low STEM subject results. Bracknell Forest gets low STEM results, for its economic prosperity, but does not include private schools. For languages, the best is Kent - the county gets the most A level language passes in England, although Hampshire is a close second. Both counties get more German A level passes than the whole of
North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
. Buckinghamshire and Surrey have high language A-level passes. Hampshire gets the most A-level passes in England (27,500), again more than North-East England (25,000). Although Hampshire is the best at languages, Portsmouth gets the fewest language passes in the region, and some of the lowest in England, with four French A levels, and has only 500 A level passes in total; next lowest is Slough, Bracknell Forest, and Southampton. Reading School, a grammar, is the state school that gets the highest percentage (23%) into Oxbridge in 2010, behind 10 independents, and is also the oldest existing state grammar school in England; above it in the region, of the independent schools are
Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, ...
(32%),
Guildford High School Guildford High School is an independent day school for girls that was founded in 1888. Approximately 1,000 girls between ages 4 to 18 attend the school from Guildford and its surrounding towns and villages. The school comprises a Junior School ...
(26%) and
Wycombe Abbey Wycombe Abbey is an independent girls' boarding and day school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls schools in academic results. The school was founded in 1896 by Dame Frances Dove (1847 ...
(25%). The
Kendrick School Kendrick School is a selective girls' grammar school situated in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, UK. In February 2011, Kendrick became an Academy. History The school is named after John Kendrick, a Reading cloth merchant who died in 1624. ...
, also in Reading, gets the 4th highest state school acceptance percentage to Oxbridge (18%) and the second highest in England outside of two grammar schools in London. Of the 25 state schools in the top 100 schools getting to Oxbridge, 7 are from the region. Many people from the north of East Sussex go to Kent's grammars, and people on the London-edge of Surrey attend grammars in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
, and Buckingham's two grammars attract people from nearby Milton Keynes; Buckinghamshire's grammar schools get some of best admissions to Oxbridge in the UK. Surrey has twice as many acceptances into Oxbridge than the whole of Wales; acceptances to Oxbridge are concentrated in 10 counties in the South-East. 1% of those at school in the South-East gained no GCSE passes in 2010; Portsmouth was most with 2.5%, and Windsor and Maidenhead had the lowest with 0.2%. For school free school meals, the region has the lowest percentage in England with 7.2%; the highest percentage is Southampton with 17%, and the lowest is Wokingham with 3.5% (the second lowest in England after
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
); Buckinghamshire is 4.3%, then Bracknell Forest and Surrey are 4.9%. For truancy, the highest is South Bucks at 7.0, then Canterbury 7.0, Portsmouth 6.9, Thanet 6.9, Southampton 6.4, and Rushmoor 6.1. The lowest truancy percentages are for Tandridge 2.5, Windsor & Maidenhead 2.5, and Slough 2.5. At
GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
, the area in the South East (and England) with the highest results is consistently Buckinghamshire. Berkshire is split into unitary authorities, and Wokingham, Windsor and Slough have the next best GCSE results. All of Berkshire's unitary authorities have results above the England average, with West Berkshire considerably above average. Schools in Surrey and Hampshire also have consistently good GCSE results, and they are above average in Oxfordshire, West Sussex, Kent, Medway, and East Sussex. There are a small number of districts where results are significantly below average including the unitary authorities of Portsmouth (one of the lowest
LEA Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...
s in the country), the Isle of Wight, Southampton, Brighton, and the districts of Oxford in Oxfordshire, Adur in West Sussex and Hastings in East Sussex. There are forty-nine FE colleges in the region. The two main FE colleges are
Northbrook College Northbrook College is a further education and higher education college with three campuses: Broadwater Campus and West Durrington Campus in Worthing and Shoreham Airport Campus in Shoreham-by-Sea. It was founded as West Sussex College of Art & D ...
in Sussex and
Basingstoke College of Technology Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) is a further education college in Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The college is located in the centre of Basingstoke on Worting Road, and consists of three campus buildings: North, South, and ST ...
in Hampshire. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshore share an LSC (which fund FE colleges), and Sussex has a combined LSC. The region's LSC office was in Reading, looking after five areas.


Universities

The best known university in the region is the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, famous for its ornate
colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
and its rowing teams on the Thames. It was ranked the fourth best university in the world by the Times Higher Educational Supplement in 2013. Other well-known universities include: *
University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
, Brighton and Eastbourne *
University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...
, Buckingham *
Buckinghamshire New University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = 2007 – gained university status 1891 – Science and Art School , type = Public , staff = , chancellor = Jay Blades , vice_chancellor = Nick Braisby , st ...
, High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden * Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, Medway towns and Tunbridge Wells *
University of Chichester , mottoeng = By teaching, we learn , type = Public , established = 2005 , administrative_staff = 600 , vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore , city = Chichester, West Sussex , country = England, UK ...
, Chichester and Bognor Regis *
University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
, Canterbury *
The University of Law , motto_lang = lat , mottoeng = Let us know the laws and rights , established = ,2012 (university status) , closed = , type = Private, for-profit , endowment ...
, Guildford (as well as 8 other UK campuses outside South East England) *
University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
, Reading, Henley-on-Thames * The
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
, Milton Keynes *
Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...
, Oxford *
University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...
, Portsmouth *
Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
, Egham *
Solent University Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...
, Southampton *
University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
, Southampton *
University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...
, Guildford *
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
, Brighton *
University of Winchester , mottoeng = Wisdom and Knowledge , established = 1840 - Winchester Diocesan Training School1847 - Winchester Training College1928 - King Alfred's College2005 - University of Winchester , type = Public research university ...
, Winchester By total HEFCE funding, the biggest university is the Open University, followed by Oxford University. The Open and Oxford each receive around three times as much funding as any other university in the region, and Oxford receives the largest research grant in England (as of 2009). The University of Southampton gets the third largest amount of funding, with the next largest research grant, one of the largest in England. Other universities with a large research grant are Reading, Sussex and Surrey. Oxford gets twice as much total income (around £700 million) as the next largest, Southampton. Surrey and Reading get the next largest total income. Oxford and Southampton have the most numbers of students, followed by Brighton. For total students in the region, around 45% are from the region and 35% from other regions. For full-time first degree students in the region, over 35% are from the region, 15% are from London, and 10% each are from the East of England and the South-West; in total, around 70% are from the south of England. Very few are from the North-East or Scotland. Around 35% of the region's native students stay in the region, with 15% going to London and over 10% going to the South-West. In general, for other regions of the UK, the South-East's students are more prepared to study in other regions than those regions' students are prepared to study in the South-East. Once graduated, over 50% stay in the South-East, with 25% going to London, around 5% going to the East of England, and around 10% going to the South-West; around 90% stay in the south of England.


Economy

Overall, the South East of England is a very prosperous area with the second largest regional economy in the UK (after London), valued at £177 billion in 2006. GDP per capita in 2007 was estimated at £22,624, compared with a UK average of £19,956, making South East England the second richest region per capita, behind London. However prosperity varies significantly across the region and despite its image of wealth there are large pockets of deprivation. GDP per capita in Berkshire and Milton Keynes is more than twice that of East Sussex and the Isle of Wight. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is on the A30 in
Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
, north Hampshire The
UKTI , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = UKtrade.svg , logo_width = 190px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Department for Business, Enter ...
service for the region is on Victory Park in
Whiteley Whiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west. L ...
, off junction 9 of the M27, opposite the ''Solent Hotel''. The
South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also co ...
has three headquarters, one each for Kent, Surrey and Sussex. These are on the B2163 at
Coxheath Coxheath is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Maidstone, Kent, England. The parish is approximately south of Maidstone. It is mainly centred along Heath Road which links the villages of Yalding and Boughton Monchelsea to the we ...
(for Kent), on the A217 at
Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...
(for Surrey), and on the A277 in
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
(for Sussex). The
South Central Ambulance Service The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is the ambulance service for the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire. It is a foundation trust of the National Health Service, and one of ten NHS a ...
is headquartered on the B4100 next to
Bicester Town railway station Bicester Village (2015–present, previously Bicester Town 1987–2014, Bicester London Road 1954–1968, Bicester 1850–1954) is one of two railway stations serving the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire (the other is ). It is northeast of on ...
, with offices at Otterbourne, Hampshire and
Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...
. The charity-funded air ambulances are Kent Air Ambulance at
Marden, Kent Marden ( or ) is a village and civil parish in the Kent borough of Maidstone approximately south of Maidstone. The civil parish is located on the flood plain of the River Beult, and also includes Chainhurst and the hamlet of Wanshurst Green. Th ...
; Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance at
Thruxton, Hampshire Thruxton is just off the A303 road west of Andover. It is a village with a Manor House, thatched cottages and village green. Pillhill Brook runs from Thruxton Down through the grounds of the Manor House and along the village street to Mullen ...
; Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance at
Dunsfold Aerodrome Dunsfold Aerodrome (former ICAO code EGTD) is an unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It extends across land in the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold. It was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contracto ...
, Surrey; and the
Thames Valley Air Ambulance The Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA), previously the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance, is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter-based air ambulance covering the counties of Berkshi ...
at
RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...
. Many high technology companies are located near the M3 in Surrey and the M4 in Berkshire.
Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
had their UK base in Blackwater near
Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...
until 2009.
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and
Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...
have their UK headquarters next door to each other in Reading (Wokingham borough), as do the
Yell Group Hibu Inc. (styled hibü), formerly Yellowbook Inc., is a provider of digital marketing and advertising solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses across the US. Hibu’s specialties includes web development and hosting, digital listings and ...
and
Logica Logica plc was a multinational IT and management consultancy company headquartered in London and later Reading, United Kingdom. Founded in 1969, the company had offices in London and in a number of major cities across England, Wales and Scotl ...
(near junction 11 of the M4). The Gatwick Diamond is also a hub for hi-tech industry, centred at
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
with
Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
to the north and
Burgess Hill Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
to the south. The largest company, by turnover, in the South East is Vodafone, followed by Ineos.


Transport

The main road transport routes are along the M1 through Buckinghamshire; the M40 through Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; the M4 through
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
and
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
; the
M2 motorway This is a list of roads designated M2: Europe * M2 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England * M2 expressway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary * N2 road (Ireland)#M2 motorway, a motorway in the Republic of Ireland * M-2 highway (Monteneg ...
/ A2 and M20 through Kent; the M23 through Surrey and West Sussex; the M3 through Surrey and Hampshire. All these routes connect to the M25, which runs near to and occasionally through the region's border with Greater London. The A34 provides a north–south road link through Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire. The east–west corridor through the south of the region is provided by the A27 and the M27. The main intercontinental airport is
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...
, with regional airports at
Kent International Airport Manston Airport was a British airport. It was branded as Manston, Kent International Airport and was located in the parish of Minster-in-Thanet and partly adjacent to the village of Manston in the Thanet district of Kent, England, north-east ...
(
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
),
Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in the parish of Lancing in West Sussex, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying i ...
and
Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...
.
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
is in
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
but also serves (and is serviced by) the South East region. The
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
passes through Berkshire, Oxfordshire and southern Buckinghamshire. The
South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the ...
and
High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...
pass through Kent; the latter connects to the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
. The
Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
passes through Surrey and West Sussex. The
North Downs Line The North Downs Line is a passenger-train line connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Redhill and , along the Brighton Main Line, linking many centres of population in that part of the North Downs which it traverses en route. ...
runs from
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
then through
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
to connect with
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. The
West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
passes through northern Buckinghamshire. The
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of tw ...
is a major commuter line between Birmingham and London passing through central Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The
Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pa ...
and the port at
Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
have many ferry services to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and though none currently run to
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. As part of the transport planning system the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the
Highways Agency National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...
and
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
. Within the region the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan (LTP) which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme. The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006–11. In the South East region the following transport authorities have published their LTP online:
Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Warfield and Winkfield. The borough bor ...
U.A.,
Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
U.A.,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
,
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
U.A.,
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
U.A.,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
U.A.,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...
U.A.,
Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...
U.A.,
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
U.A.,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
,
Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot, Berkshire, Asc ...
U.A.,
Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...
U.A. and
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
.


Counties


Berkshire

Companies in Berkshire essentially follow the
M4 corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...
. In
Theale Theale () is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal (which here incorpor ...
are Nvidia UK (components for smartphones) and Wolseley, the builders' and plumbers' merchants who own
Bathstore Bathstore.com Ltd., (also known as bathstore) is the largest specialist bathroom retailer in the United Kingdom. History Bathstore was originally started in the beginning of the 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring q ...
and Plumb Center. SPP Pumps (owned by
Kirloskar Group Kirloskar Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Pune. The group exports to over 70 countries over most of Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe. The flagship and holding company, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, established in 1888, is India's l ...
) is at the
Arlington Business Park Arlington Business Park is a business park in Theale (west of Reading, Berkshire), England. specially designed to blend the benefits of a modern working environment with the benefits of outdoor living. The park is home to a number of major corpor ...
; on the same estate
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
is next to the GWML railway. Porsche Cars Great Britain is in Calcot,
Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundarie ...
, west of Reading near Theale Interchange. Harley-Davidson UK is in
Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, Pangbourne railway station, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a vill ...
.
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
, and High and Mighty are based in Newbury; Bayer UK (
Aspirin Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...
, Rennie and
Alka-Seltzer Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States. Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) (ASA), sodium bicarbonate ...
) is to the west;
National Instruments National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an American multinational company with international operation. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software. Comm ...
UK is to the east off the A4 on the Newbury Business Park, and
Quantel Quantel was a company based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1973 that designed and manufactured digital production equipment for the broadcast television, video production and motion picture industries. They were headquartered in Newbury, ...
was off the A4 and is now Snell (former Snell & Wilcox, previously in Lower Earley), an important video technology company, near
Aricent Aricent was a global design and engineering services company. It was acquired by French-based company Altran in 2018 and renamed Altran North America in April 2019 and Altran Americas in early 2020. With Altran's acquisition by Capgemini, the ...
UK. The
Atomic Weapons Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...
is in
Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingstoke ...
on the Hampshire boundary. The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre and
Xtrac Limited Xtrac Limited, also known as Xtrac Transmission Technology, is a British engineering company founded in 1984 by the former Hewland engineer Mike Endean to make 4WD systems and gearboxes for rallycross and later rally and racing cars. Endean, tog ...
are at
Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...
. The
Royal School of Military Survey Royal School of Military Survey (DCI RSMS) is a joint services survey training facility associated with the Corps of Royal Engineers (RE) but attached to the United Kingdom Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC). History The Royal Sc ...
is in Hermitage. East of the A34, north of the M4, at
Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...
since 1992 is the UK HQ of
Baxter Healthcare Baxter International Inc. is an American multinational healthcare company with headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The company primarily focuses on products to treat kidney disease, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. The compan ...
, part of a global company which is working on a vaccine for
H1N1 In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the Spanish flu, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus ...
, and next door is the Institute for Animal Health, which also researches H1N1. Retriever Sports, on the Mill Street Ind Est near
Slough railway station Slough railway station, in Slough, Berkshire, England, is on the Great Western Main Line, halfway between London Paddington and Reading. It is down the line from the zero point at Paddington and is situated between to the east and to the w ...
, is the world's largest manufacturer of
darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...
equipment. Mars Limited has a large chocolate factory, run under the name of Effem Holdings Ltd, also in Slough on the enormous
Slough Trading Estate The Slough Trading Estate founded in Slough in Buckinghamshire in 1920, was an early business park in the United Kingdom. According to the estate's owners and operators, Segro, Slough Trading Estate consists of of commercial property in Slough ...
which makes 3m Mars bars a day; nearby is Johnson Controls UK (car seats), and ICI Paints, Polyfilla, and
Dulux Dulux is an internationally available brand of architectural paint originated from the United Kingdom. The brand name Dulux has been used by both Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based pa ...
.
Horlicks Horlicks is a sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was so ...
is made by GSK there.
Oki Oki or Ōki may refer to: Places *Oki District, Shimane, a district in Shimane Prefecture, Japan *Oki Islands, an archipelago in the Sea of Japan *Oki Province, a former province of Japan *Ōki, Fukuoka, a town in southern Japan *Oki Airport, the ...
UK (
desktop printer In computing, a printer is a peripheral machine which makes a persistent representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Differ ...
s) are based next to Mars. Honda UK, Citroën UK, Fiat UK, Douwe Egberts UK (and its owner Sara Lee UK), BlackBerry UK, Black & Decker Europe,
Amazon UK Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
, Ingres UK, Telefónica O2 Europe UK and
Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...
are also in Slough. Toyota Material Handling UK (fork lifts) is next door to Slough Heat and Power station. Lonza UK makes
biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...
s (
monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...
) on the A4. Honda Motor Europe is at the Langley Roundabout (A4/B470) of the M4 at Brands Hill, part of
Colnbrook with Poyle Colnbrook is a village in the Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their co ...
, and near the
Queen Mother Reservoir The Queen Mother Reservoir is a public water supply reservoir that lies between the M4 and the M25 to the west of London, close to Datchet. It is in size or about 1 km in diameter - making it one of the largest inland areas of water in So ...
; on the opposite side of the M4 in
Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
(Slough borough) is
Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...
's
Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC) is a sorting office for inbound and outbound international mail operated by Royal Mail. Located close to Heathrow Airport, the HWDC is situated in the town of Langley, Berkshire, Langley, Berkshire, ...
, and next door is
Pentax is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corporation ...
Ricoh Imaging UK, next to Langley's leisure centre.
Hovis Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of merge ...
,
Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...
(Unilever),
FM Global FM Global is an American mutual insurance company based in Johnston, Rhode Island, United States, with offices worldwide, that specializes in loss prevention services primarily to large corporations throughout the world in the ''Highly Protecte ...
UK (insurance), and
Morgan Crucible Morgan Advanced Materials is a company which manufactures specialist products, using carbon, advanced ceramics and composites. The company is headquartered in Windsor, United Kingdom, and has 85 sites across 30 countries. A public limited compa ...
, are in Windsor; Nintendo UK is next to the Royal Mews Riding School.
Centrica Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is the largest su ...
is in Dedworth, next to
Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Des ...
. Groupe SEB UK (owner of
Krups Krups is a German kitchen appliance manufacturer. It is part of the Groupe SEB. It is named after its founder, Robert Krups. Wednesday, 02 December 2020 The company produces a large variety of household appliances such as coffee makers, toa ...
,
Moulinex Moulinex is a Groupe SEB brand along with Rowenta, Calor, All-Clad, Lagostina, Krups, and Tefal, all household products brands. The company designed and produced the Mouli grater. The company was founded by Jean Mantelet who in 1932 invented the ...
, Rowenta, and
Tefal Tefal S.A.S. (a portmanteau of TEFlon and ALuminium.) is a French cookware and small appliance manufacturer, owned by Groupe SEB (a global manufacturer of cookware) since 1968. The company is known for creating the non-stick cookware categor ...
) is next to
Windsor & Eton Riverside railway station Windsor & Eton Riverside station is a station in Windsor, Berkshire, England. The station, close to the River Thames and Windsor Castle, is a Grade II listed building. It is down the line from and is the terminus of the Staines to Windsor L ...
and near the castle (previously next to Langley railway station until 2012).
CA Technologies CA Technologies, formerly known as CA, Inc. and Computer Associates International, Inc., is an American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City. It is primarily known for its business-to-business (B2B) software with a product po ...
UK is at
Ditton Park Ditton Park, Ditton Manor House or Ditton Park House was the manor house and private feudal demesne of the lord of the Manor of Ditton, and refers today to the rebuilt building and smaller grounds towards the edge of the town of Slough in Englan ...
in
Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventually tr ...
, home of the former Radio Research Station until 1979, which discovered the
ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...
in the 1920s. Ledco, near B3020/A329 junction in Sunninghill and Ascot, is the UK distributor of LED Lenser torches, made by Zweibrüder Optoelectronics.
Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
,
Corel Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo (pronounced like "all you do"), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviation ...
UK, NSK Europe (off the A308 to the north), Weight Watchers UK (next to Desborough School) and the
Rank Group The Rank Group is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom. Rank was involved in the cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation's film distribution subsi ...
(leisure) are in Maidenhead. Further east on the A404(M) is
McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...
UK in Cox Green; other the side of the A404(M) at the Cox Green Interchange (9A), GSK makes
Sensodyne Sensodyne is a brand name of toothpaste and mouthwash targeted at people with sensitive teeth. Sensodyne is owned by Haleon and is marketed under the name Shumitect in Japan. Effectiveness Sensodyne toothpastes work in different ways dependin ...
, Corsodyl, Aquafresh, and Macleans;
Volvo Cars Volvo Cars ( sv, Volvo personvagnar, styled VOLVO in the company's logo) is a Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The company's ...
UK are at Scandinavia House (in Marlow from 1986 to 2012) next to GSK; Nortel UK left in 2009. Sanofi Pasteur MSD UK (vaccines) is based next to the Maidenhead council offices. Initial Washrooms Solutions is next to the railway station and on the other side of A308 is Hutchison 3G UK; on the other side of the railway is the
Rank Group The Rank Group is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom. Rank was involved in the cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation's film distribution subsi ...
at the A308 roundabout, in Braywick.
Adobe Systems Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
have their European HQ on the A4, south of the B4447 roundabout, next to a Sainsbury's.
Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...
UK is based at the A4/A308 roundabout; Hitachi Europe (with Maxell Europe) is off the A4094 on the northern outskirts towards
Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
at Whitebrook Park, with
DS Smith DS Smith plc is a British multinational packaging business, headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The business was founded by two cousins, David Gabriel ...
, at the former
Formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type species of genus ''For ...
Research Centre. Avery Dennison UK are based to the north off the A308 at
Furze Platt Furze Platt railway station is a railway station in the town of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is down the line from station and measured from . History The Wycombe Railway (WR), part of which now forms the greater portion of the Marl ...
.
Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
UK (pharmaceuticals) are based on the Vanwall Business Park; nearby is
Costain Costain is a surname of English, Scottish and Manx origin. When originating in Scotland and northern Ireland the surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Mac Austain'', meaning "son of ''Austin''". The English surname is a reduced form of '' ...
, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare UK (
Centrum (Latin for ''center'') may refer to: Places In Greenland * Nuuk Centrum, a district of Nuuk, Greenland * Centrum Lake, Greenland In the Netherlands * Amsterdam-Centrum, the inner-most borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands * Rotterdam Centrum, a borou ...
multivitamin A multivitamin is a preparation intended to serve as a dietary supplement with vitamins, dietary minerals, and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids, or injectable ...
s); Toys "R" Us UK and Mattel UK are opposite each other, with
Compuware Compuware Corporation was an American software company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers products aimed at the information technology (IT) departments of large businesses, and its services also include testing, development, automation ...
UK. McNeil Products (
Benylin Benylin is a brand name owned by Johnson & Johnson for a range of cough, cold and flu medications. Some Benylin products also contain codeine, which is used to treat pain, cough and diarrhea. The flagship cough syrup and cold care brand is ma ...
,
Benadryl Benadryl is a brand of various antihistamine medications used to stop allergies, whose content varies in different countries, but which includes some combination of diphenhydramine, acrivastine, and/or cetirizine. It is sold by Johnson & Johnso ...
,
Daktarin Miconazole, sold under the brand name Monistat among others, is an antifungal medication used to treat ring worm, pityriasis versicolor, and yeast infections of the skin or vagina. It is used for ring worm of the body, groin (jock itch), and fee ...
,
Sudafed Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a sympathomimetic drug of the substituted phenethylamine, phenethylamine and substituted amphetamine, amphetamine chemical classes. It may be used as a decongestant, nasal/sinus decongestant, as a stimulant, or as a wake ...
and
Calpol The medication paracetamol ( INN) ( or ), also known as acetaminophen (USAN) , is sold around the world under a number of different brand names. Common brand names include Tylenol, Excedrin, Calpol, and Panadol. Tylenol Tylenol is a brand of ...
) is at Foundation Park, next to the Great Western Main Line, in Cox Green, south of Maidenhead, with other Johnson & Johnson (beauty) brands, and
Lexmark Lexmark International, Inc. is a privately held American company that manufactures laser printers and imaging products. The company is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. Since 2016 it has been jointly owned by a consortium of three multination ...
UK.
Bisham Abbey Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the trad ...
, on the Thames, is a site of one of the
National Sports Centres There are three National Sports Centres as part of Sport England's strategy to create elite English world class sporting talent: * Bisham Abbey * Lilleshall * Plas y Brenin Each centre provides elite athletes with a range of specialist facil ...
, at the A404/A308 Bisham Roundabout, to the west of Maidenhead.
GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's f ...
UK ( prisoner custody) is off the
A4130 The A413 is a major road in England that runs between Gerrards Cross (west of London) to Towcester (northwest of Milton Keynes). It passes through or near various towns and villages including (in northbound order) Amersham, Great Missenden, ...
in Hurley, on the western edge of the district, with
Hospira Hospira was an American global pharmaceutical and medical device company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois. It had approximately 19,000 employees. Before its acquisition by Pfizer, Hospira was the world's largest producer of generic inj ...
UK, owned by Pfizer.
BG Group BG Group plc was a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. On 8 April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory and ...
,
Prudential plc Prudential plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people. Prudential has dual primary list ...
(the country's biggest
life insurer Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
with 7m customers), the
Rural Payments Agency The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Prior to Brexit, the RPA delivered the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to farmers and trad ...
, and
Guide Dogs for the Blind Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in Wo ...
are in Reading. Primark UK, near
Reading Civic Centre Reading Civic Centre was a civic centre in the town of Reading, itself in the English county of Berkshire. The centre dated from the mid-1970s. History Prior to the 16th century, civic administration for the town of Reading was situated in the ...
, was started by
Arthur Ryan Arthur St. John Ryan (18 July 1935 – 8 July 2019) was an Irish businessman who was the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Primark. The company trades under the name of Penneys in the Republic of Ireland. Early life Arthur Ryan was bor ...
in Ireland; it arrived in the UK in 1973 and has bought many former sites of C&A and Littlewoods. North of the railway line is
TP-Link TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd. (), is a global manufacturer of computer networking products based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China. History TP-Link was founded in 1996 by two brothers, Zhao Jianjun ( ''Zhào Jiànjūn'') and Zhao Jiaxing ( ...
UK (routers). Off the A33 towards the Three Mile Cross Interchange (M4) in south Reading is the
Green Park Business Park Green Park is a business park near junction 11 of the M4 motorway on the outskirts of the English town of Reading. The park opened in 1999, and is currently owned by Mapletree. It covers and comprises 19 office buildings arranged around the ...
, home of Symantec UK (previously in Whitley), many Cisco offices and
Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshir ...
and to the south is the former Berkshire Brewery (closed in April 2010 by Heineken UK) and
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
UK. Borland UK,
Interserve Interserve is a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and which is expected to be wound up in 2024. At that time, the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and h ...
and Mabey Group, the bridge manufacturer, are in Twyford. Bang & Olufsen UK is in
Winnersh Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...
.
Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...
UK (avionics,
flight control systems Flight or flying is the process by which an object (physics), object motion (physics), moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space ...
), is next to Jacobs Engineering UK, at the end of the A3290 near the A4 Sutton Seeds Roundabout, at Suttons Business Park in Earley; on the opposite side of the railway is Thames Valley Park, with Oracle next to ING Direct UK in Earley and Microsoft UK in Woodley; The University of Reading's
Reading Scientific Services Reading Scientific Services Ltd. (RSSL) is a British company providing scientific analysis, consultancy, product development and training to the global food, drink, healthcare, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and consumer goods sectors. It has ...
(RSSL) in Earley is Cadbury's main research centre. Foster Wheeler UK is in
Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming p ...
in the old headquarters of Berkshire County Council, next to the M4; next door is the
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom; Bologna, Italy; an ...
on the site of the former Met Office College.
Auto Trader Group Auto Trader Group plc is a British automotive classified advertising business. It specialises in new and second hand automotive sales, including cars sold by private sellers and trade dealers. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is ...
is in nearby
Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local ...
. The
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...
(REME) are based at
Arborfield Garrison Arborfield Garrison was a British Army garrison, now the site of Arborfield Green, a new village approximately south east of the village of Arborfield Cross in the English county of Berkshire. The army vacated the site in 2015 and it is now b ...
, partly in
Barkham Barkham is a village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England, located around southwest of the town of Wokingham. Geography The old part of Barkham is the small settlement by the parish church and is close to Barkham ...
, also home of the School of Electronic and Aeronautical Engineering.
Pelco Pelco Incorporated is a U.S.-based security and surveillance technologies company, founded in 1957 and headquartered in Fresno, California. Pelco is a provider of security cameras, recording and management systems, software, and services. Pelco p ...
UK is at the Mulberry Business Park in south-west Wokingham. Christie Digital Systems (
EMEA EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...
office) is in the centre. Off the B3430 in
Wokingham Without Wokingham Without is a civil parish in the Wokingham district of the English county of Berkshire. It was formed in 1894 when the parish of Wokingham was split into two parts — one rural and one urban. The population of the civil parish as of the ...
, McNeil have a laboratory, south of district. Syngenta UK and
Wincor Nixdorf Wincor Nixdorf was a German corporation that provided retail and retail banking hardware, software, and services. Wincor Nixdorf was engaged primarily in the sale, manufacture, installation and service of self-service transaction systems (such a ...
UK ( ATMs) are in Bracknell.
Boehringer Ingelheim C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical ...
UK is off the A3095 in west Bracknell in
Easthampstead Easthampstead is a former village and now a southern suburb of the town of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire, although the old village can still be easily identified around the Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene. This building ...
; nearby to the north is
Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...
; to the east along the A3095 is
Panasonic UK formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb s ...
; next door to the south is IHS UK (owner of
Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...
) and HHI Europe (construction equipment); further along the A3095 is BMW (GB); BMW sold their first model in the UK in 1966, the
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, and sold 230,000 cars in the UK, a record amount; the UK buys £40bn of German cars. To the south on the Southern Ind Est is
Daler-Rowney Daler-Rowney Ltd is an English art materials manufacturer based in Bracknell. The company, a subsidiary of conglomerate F.I.L.A. Group, manufactures and commercialises a wide range of artist products such as Acrylic, oil, watercolor, brushes, ...
(known for its
acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depe ...
; Rowney was the first supplier in Europe in 1963. On the other side of the A329, towards the B3408, is Cable & Wireless (the former overseas equivalent of BT); to the west on the Amen Corner Business Park in
Farley Wood Farley Wood is a suburb in the civil parish of Binfield, approximately west of Bracknell, in the English county of Berkshire. Farley Wood is dominated by Farley Copse (sometimes known as Farley Moor Copse), a large woodland and local nature ...
next to the A329 and the
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, is Dell UK; next door is HP UK (in
Winnersh Winnersh is a large suburban village and civil parish in the borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. The village is located around northwest of Wokingham town centre and around southeast of central Reading. It is roughly bounded by the ...
from the 1970s to 1990s) to the west; 3M UK is to the north-east, next to
Bracknell Bees The Bees Ice Hockey Club are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1 ...
ice-hockey stadium. Novell UK is on the A329, north of the A322 roundabout at Arlington Square (former
Sperry Gyroscope Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County * Sperry, Missouri * Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County * Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana *Sperry Glaci ...
), and next door is Honeywell UK on the A329 at the Skimped Hill Roundabout near the Odeon cinema.
Avis Europe Avis Europe plc is a United Kingdom-based company which holds the licence to operate the two main vehicle rental brands of Avis Budget Group (Avis Rent a Car System and Budget Rent a Car) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as Asia in ...
(with Budget UK) is further north at the A322/A3095 Met Office Roundabout near
Bracknell and Wokingham College Bracknell & Wokingham College is a general college of further education, offering courses for school leavers, adults and employers training their staff, and based in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. The college became Bracknell & Wokingham Colleg ...
; Imation UK is next door on the roundabout; south of the roundabout is Netgear UK next to the A3095. To the north,
Syngenta Syngenta AG is a provider of agricultural science and technology, in particular seeds and pesticides with its management headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It is owned by ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Syngenta was founded in 2 ...
have their main worldwide (
pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
) research centre at
Jealott's Hill Jealott's Hill is a village in the county of Berkshire, England, within the civil parish of Warfield. The settlement is on the A3095 road approximately north of Bracknell. The nearest railway station is in . The name of the hill is reported to ...
, formerly owned by ICI. The
Transport Research Laboratory TRL Limited, trading as TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) is an independent private company offering a transport consultancy and research service to the public and private sector. Originally established in 1933 by the UK Government ...
and
Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...
are in
Crowthorne Crowthorne is a large village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district of south-eastern Berkshire, England. It had a population of 6,711 at the 2001 census, which rose to 6,902 at the 2011 census. A 2020 estimate put it at 7,808. Cr ...
near the Wokingham boundary.


Surrey

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...
Insurance have their UK headquarters in Guildford as do
Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...
, Colgate-Palmolive UK, Constellation Brands Europe,
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
(formerly in Chertsey before 2008),
Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Syn ...
, the CTC,
Surrey Satellite Technology Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, or SSTL, is a company involved in the manufacture and operation of small satellites. A spin-off company of the University of Surrey, it is presently wholly owned by Airbus Defence and Space. The company began ...
, Avaya UK, and Philips UK. Alexander Dennis (ADL) is off the
A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...
at
Worplesdon Worplesdon is a village NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and a large dispersed civil parish that includes the settlements of: Worplesdon itself (including its central church area, Perry Hill), Fairlands, Jacobs Well, Rydeshill and Wood S ...
on the north of Guildford on the Slyfield Ind Est, towards Jacobs Well.
Lionhead Studios Lionhead Studios Limited was a British video game developer founded in July 1997 by Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson (British game designer), Steve Jackson. The company is best known for the ''Black & White (series), Bl ...
and BAE Systems Detica are near the
Royal Surrey County Hospital The Royal Surrey County Hospital (RSCH) is a 520-bed District General Hospital, located on the fringe of Guildford, run by the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in a facility at Farnham Road which opened ...
. BOC Gases UK are also in Guildford. UCL's
Mullard Space Science Laboratory The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is part of the Department of Space and Climate Physics at University College London (UCL), one of the first universities in the ...
is high in the Surrey Hills. Mövenpick Ice Cream UK is off the A248 at St Martha, to the east of Guildford;
Vivid Imaginations Vivid Imaginations is a British toy manufacturer, distributor and wholesale company, based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 1992, one of the company's first toy lines it manufactured was Captain Scarlet, which has since been followed by Thund ...
, in
Artington Artington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Guildford, Surrey, England. It covers the area from the southern edge of the built-up centre of Guildford and steep Guildown, the start of the Hog's Back and part of the North Downs AO ...
to the south, own the UK rights to
Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...
. The former company, now owned by
The Linde Group Linde plc is a global multinational chemical company founded in Germany and, since 2018, domiciled in Ireland and headquartered in the United Kingdom. Linde is the world's largest industrial gas company by market share and revenue. It serves ...
, was based in
Windlesham Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffix 'ham', the Old Engli ...
.
British Car Auctions BCA Marketplace, formerly British Car Auctions, is a used vehicle marketplace. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by TDR Capital in November 2019. History In 1946 Royal Navy officer David Wickins decided to sell h ...
is on the A325 in
Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...
. Motor company
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
and
McLaren Automotive McLaren Automotive (formerly known as McLaren Cars) is a British luxury automotive manufacturer based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. The main products of the company are supercars, which are produced in-house in designat ...
are based at the
McLaren Technology Centre The McLaren Technology Centre is the headquarters of the McLaren Group and its subsidiaries, located on a 500,000 m2 (50-hectare) site in Woking, Surrey, England. The complex consists of two buildings: the original McLaren Technology Centre, ...
in
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
as are the UK base of Yum Restaurants (owner of
KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
),
SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...
, BIW Technologies (project software),
SPSS SPSS Statistics is a statistical software suite developed by IBM for data management, advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, and criminal investigation. Long produced by SPSS Inc., it was acquired by IBM in 2009. C ...
(statistical software), and
Capgemini Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France. History Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The comp ...
;
ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
UK & Ireland (Danish services company, similar to Serco or G4S) is next to the railway on the Sheerwater Ind Est. In the south of Woodham, next to the Basingstoke Canal, is Playtex UK, and to the east is Fernox (water treatment, owned by
Alent Alent plc is a supplier of surface treatment plating chemicals and electronics assembly materials. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Platform Specialty Products ...
). Towards Woking along the railway is
Pirbright Pirbright ( ) is a village in Surrey, England. Pirbright is in the borough of Guildford and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area. Pirbright contains one buffered sub-locality, Stanford Common near the nati ...
(home of the
Pirbright Institute The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological Sci ...
), where Merial Animal Health also make vaccines. Tupperware UK is in
Knaphill Knaphill is a village in Surrey, England, between Woking to the east and Aldershot to the west; to the south and north on the A322 – its western border – are Brookwood, and Bisley. Some of the village is on a hill, hence its name. ...
.
Friends Life Friends Life Group Limited was a Guernsey-incorporated investment vehicle which had the stated intent of forcing consolidation in the British life insurance industry. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the F ...
have an office in the north of Dorking in the former HQ of Friends Provident and
Kuoni Travel Kuoni Travel is a tourism company, operating various services including charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, and hotels in destinations around the world across nine different geographic regions. The company ...
are on the former Deepdene estate. Kimberley Clark Europe is in the north of
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...
;
Esure Esure Group plc (stylised as ''esure'') is an Internet and telephone based insurance company based in Reigate, Surrey, England. It also has offices in Manchester and Glasgow. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquir ...
and Sheilas' Wheels is on the A25 south of
Reigate College Reigate College is a state college in Reigate, Surrey, England, for students aged between 16–19 years of age. The college occupies part of the town centre between the High Street and railway station. Reigate College was graded by Ofsted as " ...
; Canon UK is to the south in Woodhatch. SGN is in
Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own ec ...
. Bristow Aviation is at Redhill and the food research centre Campden-BRI is at Nutfield.
Cubic Transportation Systems Cubic Corporation is an American public transportation and defense corporation. It operates two business segments: Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions (CMPS). History Cubic Corporation was founded i ...
make
ticket barrier A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
s on the Perrywood Business Park south of Redhill, and were responsible for the
Oyster card The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
next door is
Rapiscan Systems Rapiscan Systems is an American privately held company that specialises in walk-through metal detectors and X-ray machines for screening airport luggage and cargo. The company is owned by OSI Systems. The company headquarters, in Torrance, Cali ...
Europe ( luggage X-ray and metal detectors). In the area straddling the M25, the huge
Compass Group Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in locations including off ...
is based in
Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...
as is Samsung UK, Siemon UK,
Crest Nicholson Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1963-2000 The company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Hom ...
( housebuilding),
Kone Kone Oyj (; officially stylized as KONE and trading as KONE Corporation) is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Espoo near Helsinki, F ...
UK (escalators), the business facilities company
Regus IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a British holding company.IWG PLC
Bloomberg. Accessed June 2021.
It provide ...
, and
Britax Britax () is a British manufacturer of childcare products including car seats, pushchairs and high chairs. History The company began making automotive safety equipment and accessories in 1938, as well as importing car and motorcycle accessorie ...
;
Papa John's Pizza Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolita ...
UK is off the A320 near the M25;
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
UK is on the B375. Juniper Networks UK ( routers, off the B3121),
Pandrol Pandrol is a global rail technology company, founded in 1953 and operating in over 100 countries worldwide, with over 400 railway systems having adopted its products. A member of the Delachaux Group, Pandrol is based in Colombes, France and ...
UK (design rail fastenings), and Royal Caribbean Cruises UK (with Azamara Club Cruises UK) are in
Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is ...
; at Hamm Moor (in the east of Addlestone) on the A317 and Weybridge Business Park is Thales Group UK and the UK corporate headquarters of
Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
, who have another base in Camberley; further west along the A317 is Aviator Park, on the B3121, a former main research site of Plessey Radar, later GEC Marconi. Near Weybridge are the UK headquarters of Sony with SSP Group (situated in Byfleet) and Procter & Gamble (next door to each other on The Heights Business Park near the former Brooklands racing circuit) with Kia Motors, Kia Motors UK and Petroleum Geo-Services, Petroleum Geo-Services UK, and Gallaher Group (cigarettes) is to the north, next to the Brooklands Museum; to the east is Verint Systems UK on the B374. In Weybridge are the local newspaper group Newsquest, Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha Motors UK; BAE Systems Regional Aircraft is on the Brooklands Ind Park off the A318 road, A318 (since 2001 it has no longer manufactured). On Sprint Ind Est in Byfleet, west of Weybridge, off the A318, AIM Altitude (former Henshalls) make cabin Galley (kitchen), galleys for airliners. The Central Veterinary Laboratory, which is run by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, is in New Haw to the west on the other side of the M25. Mouchel is in West Byfleet. Air Products, Air Products UK is in Walton-on-Thames. Atkins (company), Atkins, the civil engineering company, and are in
Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
; Sartorius AG, Sartorius UK (laboratory equipment) is to the north off the B284 next to the Sutton and Mole Valley Lines, railway; Toyota, Toyota UK (towards
Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...
) is on the A240 road, A240 at the B284 junction at Great Burgh, Tattenham Corner, at the site of the former R&D HQ of SmithKline Beecham (Beecham Pharmaceuticals) from 1979 until the mid-1990s before their research centre moved to Harlow; Toyota arrived in the UK in 1965 with their Toyota Corona, Corona, and have made 3m cars in the UK. Legal & General have their largest office near Kingswood railway station. Dairy Crest is in Esher. Ian Allan Publishing is at Hersham. SHL Group (former Saville & Holdsworth) is just to the north-east at Thames Ditton. Samaritans (charity), Samaritans is in Ewell. Ann Summers is in Whyteleafe near Caterham. Caterham Cars sales and marketing offices are in Caterham. Swiftcover (owned by AXA) is on the A307 road, A307 in the west of Cobham, Surrey, Cobham; further to west on the A245 is Berkeley Group Holdings, and Europa Technologies (digital mapping data) is on the A245 opposite Waitrose; Cargill, Cargill Europe is on the eastern edge. Pfizer, Pfizer UK is at Walton Oaks (the former R&D HQ of Beecham Pharmaceuticals until 1979) next to the B2032 bridge over the M25 at Walton-on-the-Hill. Edmund Nuttall Limited, Edmund Nuttall (opposite Camberley Theatre) and Krispy Kreme UK (south of the M3 near junction 4 on Albany Park) are in
Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...
; Alfa Laval UK (heat exchangers) is on the Yorktown Ind Est, in York Town off the A331 near Stihl, Stihl UK with a technical centre of Toshiba on the other side of the A331; to the south on Watchmoor Park off the A331 are Adaptec, Adaptec UK and Fluor Corp., Fluor UK (construction and civil engineering), with Bisque Radiators UK (owned by Zehnder), Trescal UK (calibration), and Zodiac Seats UK (former Contour Aerospace, who make Airline seat, aircraft seats, previously Britax, now owned since 2012 by Zodiac Aerospace). Further south in Frimley Green, home to the Lakeside Leisure Complex, between the B3411 and the railway is S. C. Johnson & Son, S.C. Johnson UK and their ''Glade (brand), Glade'' air freshener factory. Opposite Albany Park over the A331 is Frimley Business Park, with Advanced Micro Devices, AMD UK, off M3 junction 4 next to the A331; nearby is Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK (Sandoz) and Alcon UK. Further along the A325 towards Frimley at the B311 roundabout is Siemens, Siemens UK (the former site of Marconi Command & Control Systems, then BAE Systems Insyte). Frimley has Amer Sports UK (the world's largest sporting equipment manufacturer) on the B3411 Lyon Way Ind Estate, with VMware UK. Zoggs (Swimsuit, swimwear and goggles) is in Lightwater, near the M3 Bagshot Interchange. ExxonMobil, ExxonMobil UK (Esso), part of the largest oil company in the world, is in the east of Leatherhead, next to the M25 towards Ashtead at ExxonMobil House, off the A24 (founded as Anglo-American Oil Company in 1888, the brand Esso was introduced in 1935, and the company became Esso Petroleum in 1951); ExxonMobil, in 2010 by revenue, was the world's second largest company, second to Royal Dutch Shell (BP was fourth). In the town is the research centre Leatherhead Food International with the Wates Group nearby, opposite Leatherhead railway station, Unilever, Unilever Bestfoods (in Crawley before 2008), and to the south is Robert Dyas; Puma AG, Puma UK is east of Unilever near the M25 and A243 road, A243. Harsco UK (former SGB Scaffolding, and Multiserv) is off the B2430. On the B2122 in Fetcham, to the west of Leatherhead, is the UK division of Carrier Corporation, Carrier, the world leaders (and originators) of air conditioning. Rowlett Rutland in Great Bookham, Bookham is Britain's only manufacturer of (commercial-size) toasters, next to Bookham railway station and Photo-Me International. Although BP has its international headquarters in central London, most of its UK division (chemicals and energy) with Air BP UK (aviation fuel) is headquartered at Sunbury-on-Thames, and the UK's third largest company by stock market value; nearby is Kingston Technology, Kingston Technology Europe (the world's second largest producer of flash memory), just inside the Surrey boundary; ADT Security Services, ADT UK (fire alarms) is at the end of the M3 in Sunbury, and Chubb Security, Chubb UK (owned by UTC Fire & Security, UTC) is on the other side of the roundabout, and M3. Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Enterprise Rent-a-Car UK is near Thorpe, Surrey, Thorpe, near to Cemex, Cemex UK and
Thorpe Park Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
(situated on a series of former gravel pits). Shepperton Studios is next to Littleton, Spelthorne, Littleton. Del Monte Foods, Del Monte Foods UK is in Staines-upon-Thames on the side of the A30 and Veolia Energy-Dalkia, Dalkia UK is on the A308; British Gas plc, British Gas is on the A308 in Pooley Green nearby to the west, with Salesforce.com UK at Lotus Park, next to Dow Chemical Company, Dow Chemical UK. Kerry Group, Kerry Foods UK are based on the B388, east of the M25, in the south end of Pooley Green at Thorpe Lea. Cisco Videoscape (previously NDS Group before 2012), on the A308 in Birch Green, makes software for digital set-top boxes worldwide for the Pay television, pay TV industry.


Buckinghamshire

High Wycombe is known historically for its furniture industry, and has the Association of Master Upholsterers & Soft Furnishers. Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai UK and Tetra Pak UK are at Wycombe Marsh on the A40, and Dreams (bed retailer), Dreams, the UK base of Ariston (now owned by Indesit), Wilkinson Sword, Merisant, Merisant UK, and Staples Inc., Staples are based in
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
; Cofely (energy services) and Rank Hovis McDougall, Rank Hovis are off the M40 Handy Cross Interchange, with The Perfume Shop, the food technology centre of Premier Foods, and Instron Europe (tension testing machines), off the A4010. To the north of the town centre is Sennheiser UK (audio equipment). RAF High Wycombe (RAF Air Command, Air Command) is at Bradenham, Buckinghamshire, Bradenham on Grim's Ditch (Chilterns) off the A4010. To the west of the town, United Biscuits have their group technical centre on Sands Ind Estate, off the A4010, near the rugby ground of Wasps RFC, London Wasps. Swedish Match, Swedish Match UK (all their matches are made in Sweden) are in Totteridge. Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson UK have their base at Booker, Buckinghamshire, Booker next to the M40 near Handy Cross, with Janssen-Cilag UK (Loperamide, Imodium); George Wimpey, Taylor Wimpey is off the A4010, with Focusrite, a big industry player in consoles for sound recording, with Novation Digital Music Systems MIDI controllers and keyboards. Pilot (pen company), Pilot Pen UK is on the Wessex Road Industrial Estate in Wooburn and Bourne End; Psion Teklogix, Psion Teklogix UK is in the middle of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne End, east of Marlow, on the A4155 road, A4155 (Symbian, found on most smartphones until 2010, was developed from Psion's EPOC (operating system), EPOC); nearby are Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki UK and Nuance Communications UK. In Wooburn Green, to the east off the A4094 is Menarini UK Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Takeda UK (both pharmaceuticals). Wyeth, Wyeth UK (pharmaceuticals) is in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, Burnham, next to the M4 Huntercombe, Slough, Huntercombe Spur junction. Saclà Italia UK (pesto) is in Beaconsfield; Grünenthal GmbH, Grünenthal UK (pharmaceuticals) is off the Stokenchurch Interchange of the M40. The UK base of Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch is in Denham, Buckinghamshire, Denham. Martin-Baker is in Denham, Buckinghamshire, Higher Denham, and InterContinental Hotels Group is in Denham Green (formerly in Windsor) at Broadwater Park on the A412 road, A412. On the edge of Uxbridge, but on the Buckinghamshire side of Shire Ditch in (New) Denham is Amgen UK (biotechnology), Bristol-Myers Squibb UK (pharmaceuticals), and Mondelēz International UK (former Kraft); on the other side of the Uxbridge Road, A4020 in the south of Denham next to River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne, on the Great London boundary, is Medirest, Eurest, at the HQ of Compass Group UK. Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer UK is in Stoke Poges on the former site of the Fulmer Research Institute; Hitachi Data Systems
EMEA EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...
is at Sefton Park (a former Glaxo research centre) on the B416, now home of Urenco Group (international Enriched uranium, uranium enrichment). DX Group (couriers), are next to Muller Martini UK (Bookbinding, binding), and Cummins UK, Cummins have a design plant at Rideway Trading Est next to the M25 at Iver; Pinewood Studios is in Iver Heath; it takes its name as it is next to the adjacent pine trees in the 530 acres of Black Park. Avid Technology UK (industry-standard Pro Tools audio and Sibelius (software), Sibelius notation software) is also based at Pinewood. Timberland Europe is at Wexham Springs, in Wexham west of Pinewood Studios in the same place is Servier Laboratories UK and Sun Chemical Europe (the world's largest producer of printing inks). STMicroelectronics UK (French-Italian, based in Geneva), is based next to Trend Micro, Trend Micro UK (Japanese) on Globeside Park at Marlow, next to the A404 road, A404 and nearby are Expansys and Whistl (former TNT Post UK, part of PostNL), both north of Marlow railway station; Techtronic Industries UK (Ryobi power tools) is on the same estate. Dun & Bradstreet UK (Credit rating agency, credit references) is on the A404 bypass at the A4155 road, A4155 Westhorpe Interchange. GE Healthcare has its world HQ in Little Chalfont. Uniq plc (bought by Greencore in November 2011) was in Chalfont St Peter, next to the A413 and River Misbourne, off the B416 Kingsway Roundabout, next to Citrix Systems, Citrix UK; Doro (telecoms), Doro UK (Swedish mobile phones) are off the A413. Bahlsen UK is in Gerrards Cross off the B416. NT CADCAM in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, Haddenham is the UK distributor of the industry-standard SolidWorks CAD software package; Schwartz (brand), Schwartz UK (spices) and McCormick & Company, McCormick UK, the parent company of Camp Coffee, is near Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station off the A418 between Thame and Aylesbury. ACCO Brands, Acco UK (stationery), who own Rexel (stationery) and General Binding Corporation, GBC (pouch laminators), are on the A418 road, A418 in Aylesbury, opposite Aylesbury College; Askeys have made ice cream cones since 1965 next to the A4157 and Grand Union Canal. Demag Hamilton (owned by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Sumitomo) who make Injection moulding, plastic injection-moulding machines, is based on the Triangle Business Park on the A413 road, A413 next to the London to Aylesbury Line, railway in Stoke Mandeville. At Long Crendon is Demag, Terex Demag UK (cranes), and Furukawa Unic, Unic UK (mini cranes). Arla opened its huge Aylesbury dairy in Aylesbury in 2014, on the A41 Aston Clinton bypass. Arla Aylesbury is a fresh milk processing facility with 34 acres; its plastic bottles are made on-site by Alpla.
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
is home to many national companies such as Santander UK, Santander UK operations. The Home Retail Group (Argos (retailer), Argos and Homebase), Filtrona, Ingram Micro, Ingram Micro UK and BP Oil UK (retail) are in Central Milton Keynes, as is the
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
headquarters at Quadrant:MK. Rightmove is in Campbell Park (civil parish)#Winterhill, Winterhill. Nearby, on the other side of A5 road (Great Britain), A5, Loughton, Milton Keynes, Loughton is the home of the National House Building Council (NHBC), the National Energy Foundation, and the former Atmosphere Bars and Clubs west of the A5, near Central MK; Leica Geosystems (owned by Hexagon AB, List of surveying instruments, surveying equipment), on the same estate, is opposite the NHBC, and the Parcelforce HQ is nearby; to the south of Loughton is Korg UK (keyboards) and Vox (musical equipment), Vox (originally from Kent, makers of amplifiers), just north of the National Bowl, off Watling Street; to the west of Loughton at the Crownhill Ind Est in Shenley Church End, SMC Corporation, SMC Pneumatics have their European Technical Centre. The Badminton England, National Badminton Centre is in Loughon Lodge. East of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, Luminar Leisure is headquartered in Rooksley (Bradwell, Milton Keynes, Bradwell CP). In the north-west, the European HQ of WD-40 and Rockwell Automation UK (former Allen-Bradley) are in Kiln Farm, Bradwell Abbey; near Sysmex Corporation, Sysmex UK (healthcare electronics) and Volkswagen Group's National Learning Centre. To the north, NEFF, NEFF UK, Gaggenau Hausgeräte, Gaggenau UK, and BSH Hausgeräte, BSH Home Appliances are in Wolverton and Greenleys; opposite is Mars Horsecare UK; Electrolux have their distribution centre next to the WCML and Wolverton railway station, Wolverton station. To the east, near the M1 and the A422 road, A422 in Great Linford, Chrysler, Chrysler UK (Jeep and Dodge), Scania (company), Scania UK (part of VW), Rohan (clothing), Rohan (clothing), Makita UK (power tools) and Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz UK (including Smart (marque), Smart Cars) are in Tongwell; Volkswagen Group, VAG UK (VW and Audi) is opposite in Blakelands on the north side of the A422 opposite Tongwell Lake. DRS mark exam papers by electronic data capture at Linford Wood, south of the A422 and Stantonbury, near Leica Microsystems; Mitsubishi Pencil Company UK (uni-ball) is off the A422 at the B4034 Redbridge Roundabout; H. Bronnley & Co. (soap) is on the site of a factory used to build the Marconi Electronic Systems, GEC-Marconi AI.24 Foxhunter radar in the 1980s. In the south-east of Milton Keynes, The Open University is in Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Walton Hall, in Walton, Milton Keynes, Walton; BT Development & Training (management) is based at Kents Hill, Monkston and Brinklow, Kents Hill, next to the OU, after it moved from Bletchley Park in 1993; south of the OU is Walton Manor, home of Schering-Plough, MSD Animal Health (former Merck & Co., Intervet, and previously a Hoechst AG, Hoechst laboratory). Red Bull Racing is off the A4146 in Tilbrook, south of the OU; nearby is Jungheinrich UK (forklifts) in Walton, Milton Keynes, Walton near Bow Brickhill railway station, and Yamaha Music Europe; north of Tilbrook on the A4146 is Walker Greenbank (upmarket furnishings). Fisher & Paykel, Fisher & Paykel UK (fridges) are in Kingston, Middleton (Milton Keynes Village), Milton Keynes Village. Nearby is Duravit UK (bathroom plumbing); in Kingston off the A421 are Alpla UK (plastics), and Koyo Seiko, Koyo UK (JTEKT). Just east of the A421, near Wavendon and M1 Junction 13, John Lewis, River Island and Amazon have large logistics warehouses in the Magna Park distribution centre. In the south-west of Milton-Keynes, Chemetall, a chemical company, is in Denbigh, Milton Keynes, Denbigh West, Bletchley, near Marshall Amplification, near Denbigh Roundabout (B4034); Yokohama Rubber Company, Yokohama UK (tyres) is at Mount Farm (Bletchley and Fenny Stratford) north of Denbigh West, next to the A5 (Fenny Stratford bypass); to the east of Mount Farm, Kemble and Co. were Britain's last piano manufacturers, until the factory closed in 2009. Holophane Europe make floodlighting on the Mount Farm Ind Est, east of A4146/A5 Caldecotte Interchange; on the west of Mount Farm, on the B4034, Basell Polyolefins UK (part of the Dutch LyondellBasell) make polypropylene compounds. Domino's Pizza Group (arrived in the UK in 1985) is in West Ashland near the A5/A421 junction. Suzuki GB is on the A421 near B4034 roundabout at Tattenhoe in Shenley Brook End on the south-western edge. Elsewhere in the borough, Welcome Break is at the M1 Newport Pagnell services, service station in Newport Pagnell, where Aston Martin had a factory until 2007 (The existing site is now home to the Aston Martin Works, which focuses on heritage sales, service, spares and restoration operations). The town is also home to a customer centre of car retailer Cazoo, located just off the A509/A422 junction at Tickford Roundabout. FCO Services and Her Majesty's Government Communications Centre, HMGCC is based at Hanslope, Hanslope Park, in a rural area north of Central Milton Keynes.


Hampshire

The British Army, Army have a large Aldershot Garrison, garrison in Aldershot, with Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Sandhurst being nearby. Elica also make extractor hoods in Aldershot, and the European HQ of the Computer Sciences Corporation consulting firm is based at the A323/A325 road, A325 roundabout. Rentokil Initial have their head office and pest control division next to Blackwater railway station, north of the A30, towards Camberley. Farnborough, Hampshire, Farnborough has many international aerospace companies as well as Sofa Workshop. Nokia, Nokia UK, which had also been a R&D base for Nokia Siemens Networks on the A327, left in 2012; further along the A327 is Autodesk, Autodesk UK. DKB Household UK (Zyliss) is off the A327 road, A327 in North Farnborough; at the A325/A327 roundabout is Parametric Technology Corporation UK (known for its industry-standard PTC Creo Elements/Pro (Pro/ENGINEER) CAD/CAM software) with Red Hat UK. Thomson Local directory is on the A325 next to Farnborough (Main) railway station, Farnborough railway station, next to the Catholic National Library; opposite is the design centre for Qualcomm UK (W-CDMA UMTS mobile technology) with Hogg Robinson Group UK (its worldwide headquarters are in Basingstoke). BAE Systems with CORDA (UK), CORDA is south of the airfield at the Farnborough Aerospace Centre, off the A325/A3011 road (Great Britain), A3011 Queen's Roundabout.
Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
had their UK headquarters at Guillemont Park (former Guillemont Barracks until 1997) north of the M3 Minley Interchange at Blackwater and Hawley, until 2009. The Ford Southampton plant of Ford Motor Company, Ford, near
Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...
and Stoneham Interchange (A335) of the M27, closed in July with production of the Transit moving to the Ford Otosan plant in Gölcük, Kocaeli (Turkey). Skandia, Skandia Insurance have their UK base there. Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise ship operator, has one of its two headquarters at Carnival House. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is in the town centre near the A3057. Swatch UK (and Omega SA, Omega UK) are based near Millbrook, Southampton, Millbrook Flyover (A33 road, A33). B&Q and Draper Tools are based in Chandler's Ford, also Pips Technology (owned by Federal Signal Corporation) who make Automatic number plate recognition, ANPR cameras. Prysmian Cables & Systems, who make Electric power transmission, high-tension electric cables (for Offshore wind power, offshore windfarms), communication cables and Circuit integrity, fire-resistant cable, are off the B3037 in Eastleigh, next to a rail servicing plant and the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen. Bacardi, Bacardi-Martini and London Camera Exchange are in
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
and four miles (6 km) north-west, Arqiva (broadcasting infrastructure, at the former technical division of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, IBA) are based in Crawley, Hampshire. Industrial Acoustics Company, IAC UK, an acoustics company, is off the Winnall Interchange (M3) north of Winchester. The Adjutant General's Corps HQ (former Royal Army Pay Corps) is at Worthy Down Camp off the A34 north of Winchester at Kings Worthy, since 2012 the home of the Defence School of Personnel Administration. To the north-west, the Leckford Estate, with Longstock Park, next door provides much of the milk, mushrooms, fruit, honey and free-range chicken for Waitrose; John Spedan Lewis, founder of John Lewis, lived there until his death in 1963. Garmin, Garmin Europe is in Hounsdown just west of Southampton. Esso has its main UK refinery at Fawley, Hampshire, Fawley (the largest refinery, by production, in the UK); north of Fawley is Polimeri Europa UK (former International Synthetic Rubber, now owned by Eni) off the A326, which makes elastomers. Ineos, the third largest chemicals company in the world, is in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, Lyndhurst in the New Forest (A35). Roke Manor Research (founded by Plessey in 1956, and owned since 2010 by Chemring) at Roke Manor at Romsey Extra developed the Hawk-Eye system in 2001. Cannon Technologies next to the railway in the west of New Milton make computer ancillary equipment and data centres. The Ordnance Survey have a new headquarters (previously further east in Southampton before 2011) at Nursling and Rownhams, off the M271 motorway, M271 Nursling Interchange. On the A337 in Mudeford in the east of Christchurch is a large BAE Systems radar site (the former Signals Research and Development Establishment). Best Buy Europe is in Hedge End; SPI Lasers make Fiber laser, fibre lasers for Optical fiber, optical fibres; Glen Dimplex have an HQ north of the A334 road, A334. Chemring Group, Royal Boskalis Westminster, Boskalis Westminster (dredging) and the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) are in Fareham (Swanwick, Hampshire, Swanwick) near Zurich Financial Services, Zurich Insurance UK. At Locks Heath off the A27 further south at Kite's Croft Business Park is Estée Lauder Companies, Estée Lauder UK and the scrapped South East Regional Control Centre (FiReControl). On the opposite side of the A27 on Funtley Ind Est is Eaton Corporation, Eaton Aerospace, who have their Fuel & Motion Control Systems Division (Aerial refueling, aerial refuelling, making fuel valves for aircraft), which is the former Abbey Works site of Plessey Dynamics (Mechanical Systems) and Plessey Aerospace. Nearby, Tallent Automotive (former ThyssenKrupp, TKA Body Stampings, now owned by Gestamp Automoción, Gestamp) have their Fareham Plant. Meggitt Avionics (former Negretti and Zambra) are south of the Office for National Statistics, ONS, which makes flight deck displays, flight recorders, threat warning indicators and oxygen systems for aircraft. Raymarine Marine Electronics (owned by FLIR Systems) off the A27 (near Estée Lauder) at Titchfield is the world's leading leisure marine electronics company. TÜV SÜD UK (product certification) are next to Gemalto UK, who make EMV, chip and PIN cards, at Segensworth between the railway and the M27; further along is The Cooper Companies, CooperVision, who make contact lenses, and next door is Turbomeca UK (part of Safran). GE Aviation, on a site which was formerly Folland Aircraft then British Aerospace, BAe Aerostructures, has a factory at Hamble-le-Rice which makes Composite material, composites for airframes and racing cars, using products such as Maleimide, Bismaleimide resin. Crewsaver (owned by Survitec Group, Survitec), Covidien UK (owned by VNUS), and Wickham Laboratories are off the A32 road, A32 at Fleetlands, (north of Gosport), south of Fareham, and north of DM Gosport, which handles the Navy's armaments including Sea Skua, Sea Wolf (missile), Sea Wolf, the Eurosam Aster (missile family), Aster, Sea Dart (Surface-to-air missile, surface-to-air), and GEC-Marconi Sting Ray (torpedo). Kenwood, owned by De'Longhi since 2001, have a factory at West Leigh, Havant; next-door, Sumika Polymer Compounds (owned by Sumitomo Chemical), and Pfizer (former Wyeth Biotech before 2009) have plants on New Lane Ind Est next to the Portsmouth Direct Line, railway. Lockheed Martin U.K. is at the Langstone Technology Park off the A3023, near the A27, at Brockhampton, Hampshire, Brockhampton, near to Apollo Fire Detectors, Jobsite (owned by dmg::media), and Pains Wessex (a leading manufacturer of maritime distress flares); SSE plc have their main southern HQ on the Southmoor Lane Ind Est next door. Paradigm Secure Communications (Airbus Defence and Space) control the UK's Ariane-launched Skynet (satellite), Skynet military satellites from former the RAF Oakhanger off the A325 road, A325 west of Bordon. Southwick House, off the B2177 in Southwick and Widley, is the home of the Defence School of Policing and Guarding and the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Military Police. VT Group is based in Hedge End, with VT Education & Skills and VT Flagship based in North Harbour, Portsmouth, North Harbour,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
. Near the A2030/A27 Farlington, Hampshire, Farlington Roundabout in east Portsmouth, Airbus Defence and Space (former Astrium before 2014, and earlier Marconi Space and Defence Systems) at Anchorage Park near Hilsea railway station, make payloads for the Galileo (satellite navigation), Galileo navigation system, at its Broad Oak Works, with SELEX Elsag and BAE Systems on the former Portsmouth Airport, Hampshire, Portsmouth Airport; GKN Aerospace (former FPT Industries) situated at the former make aviation self-sealing fuel tanks; Atmosphere Control International (former Wellman Group, Wellman Defence before 2012, and part of TPG Engineering) in Portsmouth make the air purifiers for the British and French nuclear submarines. Pall Corporation, PALL Europe (fluid filtration) is based on the Harbourgate Business Park, on the opposite side of the M27 from Port Solent. Much of the Royal Navy is based at HMNB Portsmouth with BAE Systems Surface Ships; Navy Command Headquarters is at Whale Island, Hampshire, Whale Island, next to the M275 motorway, M275. IBM is headquartered in Cosham, North
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
, with large laboratories in Hursley House. Lenovo UK and Serco are at Bartley Wood Business Park, off the B3349 (M3
Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
Interchange), with Virgin Media (13,600 staff in the UK, with 1,200 at the head office); next door is First Drinks, a whisky distributor owned by William Grant & Sons, Trimble Navigation UK (GPS systems) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services, HP Enterprise Services Defence & Security UK (former EDS Defence). The Police Staff College, Bramshill, the Police's main training centre, is nearby to the north; the European Police College (CEPOL, run by Europol) was at Bramshill until 2014 when it moved to Budapest. Festo GB (industrial automation, based at Esslingen am Neckar) is next to the M3 on Ancells Business Park, next to Rohde & Schwarz UK (electronic testing). Vertu, division of Nokia makes luxury phones at Church Crookham. CV-Library is in Fleet; Conair Corporation, Conair Group (BaByliss hair dryers) are at the nearby Waterfront Business Park. The The Automobile Association, AA, Scott Wilson Group, Scott Wilson, Genus plc, and Winterthur Group, Winterthur Life are based in Basingstoke. The pharmaceuticals group Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly UK, with Elanco UK (Veterinary medicine, animal health), is in Norfolk House, Basingstoke, Norfolk House in Houndmills east of the North Hampshire Hospital, the main home for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; also in Houndmills are Fyffes, Fyffes UK (next to the railway), and GAME (retailer), GAME Group, with Gamestation (formerly in York), which it bought in 2007; Palgrave Macmillan, a leading worldwide trade publisher with the Pharmaceutical Press, is south of A339 and hospital. Thales Missile Electronics (former Thorn EMI) is in central Basingstoke near the A3010/A339 junction, which makes parts for the Brimstone (missile), Brimstone missile. On the Hampshire International Business Park, next to Chineham in the north-west off the A33, are Shire (pharmaceutical company), Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc and Alberto-Culver, Alberto-Culver UK; Shire is Britain's third-largest pharmaceutical firm, founded in 1986 outside of Basingstoke, and now has 5,000 employees. On the Chineham Business Park is the Gas safe register, Gas Safe Register (predecessor Council for Registered Gas Installers, CORGI was also in Basingstoke), and Hama Photo, Hama UK (photography equipment); Peek Traffic, south of Shire, is one of two companies in the UK that make Traffic light, traffic signals. Motorola, Motorola UK, next-door to Meggitt Sensing Systems, and De La Rue are on the Viables industrial estate next to the M3 and Cranbourne, Hampshire, Cranbourne; BD UK (former CareFusion UK before 2014) makes ''Alaris'' infusion pumps, medical ventilators and automated dispensing cabinets. De La Rue have a main banknote printing works at Overton Mill in Overton, Hampshire, Overton, to the west towards the A34 road, A34, and a holographics factory on the Daneshill industrial estate, in the west of the town; De Dietrich UK (kitchen appliances) are near a plant of Thermo Fisher Scientific UK, and Boeing UK, Boeing Defence UK. Mars Drinks (Flavia Beverage Systems and Klix (company), Klix) is north of the railway, south of Daneshill. Further west, Kyoeisha UK (mechanical garden equipment) is at Mapledurwell and Up Nately next to the M4 and south of Old Basing, off the A30. Gale (publisher), Gale Cengage UK are in the east of Andover, Hampshire, Andover, off the A3093 on Walworth Industrial Estate; further south are Twinings (who also own Ovaltine) and to east of the estate is Stannah Lifts (owned by Schaefer Group, SSI Schaefer), next to Petty Wood, owner of the Epicure food brand, with Le Creuset UK (Cookware and bakeware, cookware); Euronics UK is further west. To the north-west, Ecophon UK (Saint Gobain) are at Ramsdell, Wootton St Lawrence. The Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), Army Air Corps trains at AAC Middle Wallop, off the A343. Britten-Norman (B-N Group) make
turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
aeroplanes on the Isle of Wight. The Danish Vestas (former NEG Micon before 2004) closed the UK's only wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight in 2010, and Vestas Technology have a research site in Northwood; Stainless Games developed Carmageddon. GKN Aerospace at East Cowes make engine nacelles, with its GKN Aeropace Composites Research Centre, Composites Research Centre, in the former main plant of Saunders-Roe. Ratsey and Lapthorn make sails at Cowes.


Sussex

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, RSPCA is on the A24 road (England), A24 in Southwater, south of Horsham. FrieslandCampina, Campina UK is in Horsham. Dunkin' Donuts UK on the B2237 in the south of Horsham centre at the Prewett's Mill Roundabout in the same building as Beam Inc., Beam Global UK (Bourbon whiskey, Bourbon whisky), and its subsidiary Thomas Lowndes & Co (formerly owned by Allied Domecq, and the UK's leading supplier of culinary alcohol). RSA Insurance Group (former Royal and Sun Alliance, and the UK's largest commercial insurer) has its main office in Horsham, straddling the A281 road, A281, including the More Than (company), More Th>n offices. Novartis manufacture and their large Horsham Research Centre (Respiratory tract, respiratory and Human gastrointestinal tract, gastro-intestinal, former Ciba-Geigy) is next to Sutton and Mole Valley Lines, railway in North Horsham; Novatis Consumer Health own Lipsyl, Otrivin, and Savlon. The Caravan Club is in East Grinstead, with Rentokil Specialist Hygiene, and Initial Medical Services. Roche Diagnostics UK headquarters and CAE Inc., CAE Inc. UK are in the Victoria Business Park off the A273 road, A273 in the west of
Burgess Hill Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
near Tesco; further to east is the HQ of Filofax, and Heidenhain GB, who make linear encoders for CNC machines. Southern Water is on the A2032 in Durrington, West Sussex, Durrington, Worthing; Durrington Bridge House on the Barrington Road Ind Estate, next to Durrington-on-Sea railway station, in Goring-by-Sea has HM Revenue and Customs, HMRC's national office for its Voluntary Arrangement Service (former Enforcement & Insolvency Service, for Individual voluntary arrangement, IVAs) and members voluntary liquidation, United Kingdom insolvency law, company administrations, and Trading while insolvent, voluntary arrangements. GSK in east Worthing is the former Beecham Pharmaceuticals, on the western edge of Sompting, which makes antibiotics such as Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, Augmentin; to the south of GSK on the same estate is Electronic Temperature Instruments, a worldwide manufacturer of thermometers, and the UK's largest manufacturer of digital thermometers. Bowers & Wilkins, B & W is an important loudspeaker company in the north of Worthing at the A2032/A24 junction in Tarring, West Sussex, West Tarring. Eurotherm make temperature controllers. Virgin Atlantic is off the A23, with Paslode UK (nail guns) next-door, on the Manor Royal Ind Estate in the north of Crawley, as is Edwards (Vacuum), Edwards (former BOC Edwards), an international engineering company that makes vacuum pumps, with another plant on the A259 road, A259 in Kingston by Sea, Shoreham. Also on Manor Royal are the headquarters of Spirent, G4S, Doosan Babcock, Doosan Babcock Energy, Pilz GmbH & Co. KG, Pilz UK and TUI Travel PLC with TUI Airline Management (the fifth largest European air carrier). Air Miles (now called Avios since November 2011) is on Fleming Way Roundabout of the A23 north of Crawley in the former headquarters of British Caledonian, at County Oak retail park, and to the west is the British Dualit brand of catering electrical equipment (iconic toasters). Nestlé UK has been based since 2013 at City Place Gatwick, off the A23, next to the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), Civil Aviation Authority. To the south, on the east of Manor Royal, is Monier Group, Monier Redland plc, Redland (roof tiles) and ARINC UK (avionics), and a large site of Thales, with its civilian Flight simulator, aircraft simulation Thales Training & Simulation, TTS division (former Rediffusion, Redifon) now owned since 2012 by L-3 Communications); much of Thales in Crawley is the former Mullard, who made radars, and Thomson Racal Defence Electronics (and Thorn EMI); Thales in Crawley make much of the Royal Navy's electronic (mission) systems. UK Power Networks (electrical operator for region) is south of Manor Royal in Three Bridges, West Sussex, Three Bridges; SEEBOARD was based on the A23 in Broadfield, West Sussex, Broadfield. Invensys have many sites in Crawley. WesternGeco (Geophysics, geophysical services) is at the end of the Gatwick Interchange M23 spur. Colas Ltd (road engineering) is in Worth, West Sussex, Worth, east of Crawley. The former ICI Agrochemicals research department was at the Fernhurst Research Station (later part of Zeneca) at Fernhurst. John Wiley & Sons, Wiley UK (reference books) is in Chichester (off the A286 road, A286) next door to Shippam's, Shippam's Foods. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars make vehicles at Westhampnett off the A27. Vie at Home is at Tangmere; Philips Respironics UK is at Tangmere airfield. Hayes UK make plumbing supplies on the Huffwood Trading Est on the other side of the Arun Valley Line, railway. MTU Friedrichshafen, MTU UK (diesel Engine-generator, engine generators, owned by Rolls-Royce Power Systems) are on the Birches Ind Est at the A22/A264 junction in Felbridge; nearby are Thermo Fisher Scientific UK and Jencons UK (owned by VWR International). Cats Protection is at the National Cat Centre on the A275 in Danehill, East Sussex, Danehill in the Ashdown Forest. The Body Shop is at the A259/B2187 Body Shop Roundabout in Toddington, West Sussex, Toddington, Littlehampton. Palmer and Harvey is in Hove and Hosiden Besson, near Aldrington railway station, makes telephone equipment; a Legal & General main office is on the A2023 road, A2023 next to Hove Park. C Dugard (Numerical control, CNC machines) is at the A2023/A270 junction. American Express, American Express UK is in Brighton. EDO Corporation, EDO MBM near Moulsecoomb railway station makes electrical equipment for the Brimstone (missile), Brimstone missile. Elektromotive is at Falmer (electric vehicle charging). Jones Bootmaker head office is based in Eastbourne; Alfa Laval UK have a manufacturing plant at Birch Road Ind Est, off the A2290 road, A2290 near the A259 road, A259 roundabout. Ricardo plc, the engineering consultancy, is on the A27 next to
Shoreham Airport Brighton City Airport , also commonly known as Shoreham Airport, is located in the parish of Lancing in West Sussex, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying i ...
and River Adur. Merrydown cider was formerly made in Horam until 2004, when it was bought by SHS Group of Belfast. Páramo Directional Clothing and Nikwax are on the B2099 in Durgates, in Wadhurst, East Sussex, towards the Kent boundary. Notifier UK (fire alarms, owned by Honeywell) is in South Malling in Lewes, also the HQ of Morley-IAS UK, who make fire alarm control panels.


Kent

BAE Systems Electronics, Intelligence & Support is next to Rochester Airport (England), Rochester Airport and the M2, where they make helmet mounted displays and
head-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
s; it was GEC Avionics, previously Marconi Avionics and Elliott Flight Automation, and Kent's biggest employer in the 1980s; the display technology originated from acquiring Cintel in 1963; the site was a Shorts factory in the war, and built many Short Sunderlands. The Royal Engineers and the Royal School of Military Engineering are based in Chatham, Medway, Chatham at Brompton Barracks. London Thamesport is on the Isle of Grain. Metsä Board UK (paper) is off the A289 road, A289 near Medway Tunnel, and next to the Universities at Medway, Chatham. Sleepeezee (owned by the Simmons Bedding Company) is at Conquest Ind Est in Strood on the A228 next to the River Medway. Bose Corporation, Bose UK are on the Gillingham Business Park, off the A278 road, A278 near the A2 Bowaters Roundabout; on other side of A278 is Delphi Automotive, Delphi Diesel Systems. Bovis Homes Group, Bovis Homes is near Gravesend and in Northfleet on the B2175, Kimberly-Clark (formerly Bowater-Scott Paper Company, Scott until 1996) makes Andrex toilet rolls. Caterham Cars manufacturers of British sports cars including the Caterham 7 have their manufacturing facilities in Dartford. Laing O'Rourke is off the A206 in Stone, Kent, Stone, east of the Dartford Tunnel on Crossways Business Park, where Mazda, Mazda UK are; in the same building is Forest Laboratories UK (bought by Actavis in 2014), who make Veno's (Cough medicine, cough mixture, the brand was bought from Beechams-GSK in 2011), Sudocrem, Otomize (Dexamethasone) and Bisodol (Antacid, indigestion), made in Dartford; Crosswater (taps and showers) is in Stone, Kent, Stone, further along the A206 road, A206 near the Thames Europort. Bluewater (shopping centre), Bluewater in Greenhithe is the third-largest shopping centre in the UK; it was built on the former Blue Circle Industries, Blue Circle Swanscombe Cement Works, which closed in 1990. South East Water is in Snodland. H+H UK (aerated concrete) is based at the A25/A227 road, A227 roundabout at Ightham, south of Wrotham; to the east is Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas, Geographers' A-Z Map Company off the A227 near the Borough Green & Wrotham railway station, railway station, near the M26. Aylesford Newsprint (owned by Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget and Mondi Group), between the M20 and River Medway, makes newsprint and is Europe's largest recycler of paper. Rolex since 2010 has had its European headquarters (it moved from Bexley) at Kings Hill near West Malling on the A228 road, A228; Kimberly-Clark have their UK HQ there, on the former RAF West Malling wartime airfield, near FLIR Systems UK (Thermography, thermal imaging); opposite is the Charities Aid Foundation and to the east is Voyages-sncf.com (former Rail Europe before 2013, who operate InterRail) near the Tonbridge and Malling council offices. Readers in Teston, to the south on the A26, are the UK's leading manufacturer of cricket balls.
DS Smith DS Smith plc is a British multinational packaging business, headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The business was founded by two cousins, David Gabriel ...
Paper (former Rexam, Bowater-Scott), Britain's largest paper manufacturer is at Kemsley, north of Sittingbourne, off the A249 road, A249/B2005 Grovehurst Road Junction. Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham is Britain's oldest brewer. Brake Bros is on the Eureka Business Park, off the A251 road, A251 north of M20 junction 9 in Boughton Aluph; nearby is Coty, Inc., Coty Rimmel UK (perfumes) and Houchin (company), Houchin (owned by Illinois Tool Works, ITW), who make ground power units for airport aprons. Further south along the M20, Givaudan UK (flavourings, former Quest International, and previously Proprietary Perfume and Flavours, or PPF International) has a 10-acre large plant in Kennington, Kent, Kennington; next-door is Premier Foods (former RHM before 2007, and opened as Batchelors in 1957) on the A2070 road, A2070 next to the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour and the Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) Line, railway, east of the M20; the 16-acre site makes Paxo stuffing, Savoury Rice, Pasta n Sauce, Bisto, Cup-a-Soup (introduced in 1972), Vesta curries (launched by Batchelors in 1961), and claims to be the largest dry food manufacturing site in Europe; it now makes Bird's Custard and Angel Delight. Chartham Papers (owned by Arjo Wiggins) is the UK's only manufacturer of tracing paper at Chartham. Kent grows three-quarters of the UK's Bramley apples. Cummins, Cummins Power Generation is in Acol, Kent, Acol, near Manston Airport on the A299 road, A299, and Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world and manufacturer of Anadin, had its European R&D site in Sandwich until 2012, next to the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and A256 road, A256. Hornby, with Airfix and Humbrol, is on the A254 road, A254 on Westwood, Kent, Westwood Ind Est on the southern edge of Margate; the site started out as Tri-ang Railways in 1954, becoming Hornby in 1972 when the parent company collapsed, and the last Rail transport modelling, model train sets were made there in 1999; these are now made by a company owned by Kader Group, Kader. Delfinware (owned by WPP plc) makes dish drainers off the A259 road, A259 on the Pennypot Ind Estate in Hythe, Kent, Hythe. Megger Group Limited make electrical test equipment in Dover on the A20; nearby P&O Ferries is on the A20 below the Dover Western Heights. Saga plc, founded in 1959, has a large headquarters in Sandgate, Kent, Sandgate, next to Folkestone School for Girls, at the A259/B2963 junction. AXA Personal pension scheme, PPP is in Tunbridge Wells, and Lamberts Healthcare (part of Merck KGaA, Merck), based at High Brooms, are a leading manufacturer of vitamin supplements. J.H. Dewhurst (founded in 1919) was last based in Tunbridge Wells, until it closed in 2006 (it had in the early 1990s over 1,100 stores nationwide and was Britain's largest butcher). Panini Group, Panini UK are on the A264 road, A264 in the west of Tunbridge Wells. Rotosound on the A22 near Sevenoaks railway station makes Strings (music), guitar strings. Salter Housewares (weighing equipment) is in the east of Tonbridge at the A26/B2017 roundabout in Tudeley, Capel, Kent, Capel; Adrian Scripps produce apples off the B2017 near the A228 east of Tonbridge.


Oxfordshire

Oxford University Press, Blackwell UK, Electrocomponents and Amey plc are in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
as is the BMW plant that builds the Mini. BMW assemble the Mini (marque), MINI at Cowley, Oxfordshire, Cowley; in the south of Oxford is Unipart and TI Automotive UK. South of Oxford in Littlemore, off the A4074 at the Oxford Science Park is Nominet UK (.uk, UK domain names). SAE Institute has its world HQ on Littlemore Park off the A4074. Grafton Group, Grafton Merchanting GB (Buildbase, and Hirebase) are on Oxford Business Park in Cowley, with Electrocomponents next to Publishing Technology plc, Publishing Technology, Blackwell UK and Harley Davidson UK; to the south on the side of the B480 is Oxfam GB at Oxfam House, BT iNet, and TI Automotive; further north along the B480 at the B4495 junction is Macmillan Education, a leading worldwide publisher of school textbooks, with Genzyme UK (owned since 2011 by Sanofi). Ascari Cars, Ascari are in Banbury. Kenco coffee is made at Kraft Foods Banbury owned by Mondelēz International (former Kraft before October 2010) with Café HAG and Carte Noir off A422/A423 roundabout opposite a Tesco; the site was built to make Bird's Custard in 1964, by General Foods who were bought by Kraft in 1990, and claims to be the biggest coffee-production site in Europe; Nestle make much of their coffee in South Derbyshire. On other side of A422 to Kraft is a manufacturing site of Dematic UK, with Terex MHPS (former Demag Cranes), and Kannegiesser UK (industrial clothes washers). On north-east side of Banbury is the large site of Norbar Torque, who are a main international manufacturer of torque wrenchs. Next door is a large factory of Barry Callebaut UK, a Swiss manufacturer of cocoa (for Nestle and Cadbury), on the Wildmere Road Ind Est, north of the A422 near the M40 junction 11. Prodrive are on the north of the estate, and iSOFT are on the east near the M40. Further north was a main site of Alcan Extrusions (former British Aluminium, bought by Alcan in 1982), which closed in 2008. After the Buncefield fire damaged the Golden West bakery nearby in 2005, which made McDonald's burger buns, all the UK production had to be made at its Heywood, Greater Manchester, Heywood (Lancashire) site; Golden West did not rebuild the Hertfordshire site, and opened a new site (Trousdale Bakeries, owned by C.H. Guenther) in Banbury on the south of the estate. Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Yaskawa UK (Motoman Robot welding, robotic welding equipment) is on the Wildmere Ind Est, off the A422 near junction 11; Kärcher UK (pressure washers) are nearby off the A423. Marussia F1 are in the east of Banbury. Hook Norton Brewery is to the south-west. Travelodge UK is at the A418/B4445 roundabout in Thame next to CPM Group (the UK's largest field marketing company), with W. Lucy & Co., Lucy Electric (switchgear) in the east of Thame off the B4012, with the UK site of Universal Media Corporation, UMC (branded televisions from Slovakia). Kubota Corporation, Kubota UK, the tractor manufacturer, on the B4445, is the UK market leader of ride-on (diesel) lawn mowers; Kidde Products UK (fire protection) is off the B4012. Renault F1 is in Enstone; off B4030 at Enstone Airfield Complex, Airbus Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters UK (Eurocopter before 2014) is at London Oxford Airport. Agilent Technologies (former Magnex Scientific) make superconducting magnets for NMR applications on the A44 next to the railway at Yarnton. Solid State Logic (mixing consoles) is at Begbroke on the A44, which has the Begbroke Science Park. The Leadbitter Group (construction) and the UK base of Miele and Sophos are on the Abingdon Science Park. The Joint European Torus is developing fusion power at Culham on a RNAS Culham (HMS Hornbill), former airfield. Also on the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre at Clifton Hampden is the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and the Reusable launch system, re-usable Skylon (spacecraft), Skylon spacecraft is being developed by Reaction Engines Limited; ABSL Space Products Culham (owned by EnerSys) made batteries for Philae (spacecraft), Philae. The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Diamond Light Source (built by the Wellcome Trust) are on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Chilton, Oxfordshire, Chilton and East Hendred. Harwell has an office of Telespazio VEGA UK (satellites) and the UK's base of the European Space Agency (ESA), with the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications and the UK's Satellite Applications Catapult; Rutherford Appleton also has the Central Laser Facility, the UK's site of research into inertial confinement fusion power from the HiPER project. The science cluster is known as Science Vale UK. In Rotherfield Peppard, near Sonning Common, is the Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, which research fuel cells (with platinum supplied by Anglo American Platinum, the world's largest producer). Stuart Turner (engineer), Stuart Turner (pumps) is at Henley-on-Thames, with Ella's Kitchen. Countax UK, off the A329 road, A329 at Great Haseley (nearer to Great Milton), manufactures Britain's best-selling garden tractors, and distributes ECHO (company), ECHO (Japanese) power tools; to the south off the B480, Martin-Baker test ejector seats at Martin Baker Aerospace Chalgrove. Castrol Technology Centre is towards the Thames. South of
RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...
off the A4074 at Howbery Park, Crowmarsh is HR Wallingford (former Hydraulics Research Station) and further south along the Thames is CAB International (agricultural research). RM Education, Kaspersky Lab, Kaspersky Lab UK, Achilles (company), Achilles (supply chain risk management, international HQ), Routledge (publisher), Chroma Therapeutics, and Smeg (appliances), Smeg UK are at Milton Park. The former Esso Research Centre at Milton Hill is now the headquarters of Infineum, a division of Esso and Shell which researches oil additives. Rowse Honey is in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford. All parachute training for the RAF and Army takes place at RAF Brize Norton; the RAF 's refuelling force (No. 10 Squadron RAF, 10 Sqn and No. 101 Squadron RAF, 101 Sqn) operate the Airbus A330 MRTT, Voyager, the RAF's largest aircraft, a converted Airbus A330 which carries 111 tonnes of fuel; they also operate the twice-weekly air-bridge to RAF Mount Pleasant; Brize Norton has 24 Lockheed C-130 Hercules, C-130 Hercules, 8 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, C-17 Globemasters (No. 99 Squadron RAF, 99 Sqn), 8 Voyagers (the replacement for the Vickers VC10, VC-10), and one Airbus A400M Atlas, A400M Atlas (the future replacement for the Hercules). The Blue Cross (animal charity), Blue Cross animal charity are further north on the B4020. Siemens Magnet Technology (former Oxford Magnet Technology), the main provider of superconducting magnet, superconducting History of electromagnetism, magnets (30% of the world's market) for Magnetic resonance imaging, MRI scanners, is in Eynsham; in Witney is Wychwood Brewery (owned by Marstons) which makes Hobgoblin, and brews Brakspear Brewery (formerly of Henley until 2002). Oxford Products, off the B4047 west of Witney, make cycle and motorcycle safety products, with Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Diabetes Care and Corndell Furniture at River Windrush, Windrush Park. JSP are market leaders in industrial head protection, based next to the River Windrush at Worsham, Oxfordshire, Worsham in Asthall west of Witney. Further south, Aurora Fashions has a main office off the B4449 on the Lakeside Ind Estate, Stanton Harcourt. Williams Grand Prix Engineering is based at Grove, Oxfordshire, Grove on the A338 north of Wantage. Towards Wiltshire, the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom is in Shrivenham, with the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Defence School of Languages (previously at Wilton Park Estate, Wilton Park north of the M40 Beaconsfield Interchange), and the Joint Services Command and Staff College is in Watchfield.


Culture

The culture of South East England has been influenced a number of factors: by its part of contributing to the "idealised English identity", due to the region's historic idyllic rural landscape; its serving for
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
as commuting hinterland, and, in recent times, the concentration of the UK's creative industry across the South East as well as London.


Literature, TV Puppetry & Animation, Cinema, Music and Cuisine

Ashdown Forest in
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
was the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories by A.A. Milne who also lived in the nearby village of Hartfield and visited the forest with his son Christopher Robin. Alice Liddell, also known as Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Alice in Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', spent the majority of her childhood living in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and in her later years lived in and around Lyndhurst, Hampshire after her marriage to Reginald Hargreaves. She is buried in the graveyard of St Michael and All Angels Church in the town. Roger Hargreaves lived in Lower Sunbury on the River Thames on the next to London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames borough boundary, and wrote his ''Mr. Men'' books. Mary Tourtel from Canterbury created ''Rupert Bear''. Frank Hampson, of ''Dan Dare'', drew all his pictures when he lived in the east of Epsom, off the A2022 road, A2022. Buckinghamshire's E. L. James author of the erotic romance novels, erotic romance ''Fifty Shades (novel series), Fifty Shades Trilogy'' has the UK record for the fastest-selling paperback of all time. ''Trumpton'' (1967) was based on Plumpton, East Sussex, with other titles in the series based on nearby villages; ''Trumpton'' was actually shot by Gordon Murray (puppeteer), Gordon Murray's company in Crouch End, London. Gerry Anderson's AP Films filmed ''Thunderbirds (TV series), Thunderbirds'' on the Slough Trading Estate near to the site's cooling towers, being first broadcast in 1965. The Native Americans in the United States, Native American woman Pocahontas is buried at St George's Church, Gravesend in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and was the inspiration for the popular Pocahontas (1995 film), Disney animated film of the same name. The first multiplex cinema in the UK was in Milton Keynes, in the mid-1980s. Elgar wrote his Cello Concerto (Elgar), Cello Concerto at Fittleworth, West Sussex, in 1919. Isaac Watts, a hymn writer from Southampton, wrote ''When I Survey the Wondrous Cross'' and ''O God, Our Help in Ages Past''. John Goss (composer), John Goss, who wrote the hymn tune for ''Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven'', came from Fareham. At Chalfont St Giles, John Milton, Milton finished ''Paradise Lost''. Olney in Buckinghamshire is known for the ''Olney Hymns'' - ''Amazing Grace'', and the composer of the tune of ''Once in Royal David's City''. The Christian non-profit music festival ''Big Church Day Out'' takes place annually on the last Saturday and Sunday of May at Wiston House, Wiston, West Sussex, Wiston in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
. Pimm's was invented by James Pimm of Kent in the 1820s. Banoffee pie was invented in 1972 in Willingdon and Jevington, Jevington in East Sussex. Maria Ann Smith from Sussex emigrated to Australia and created the Granny Smith apple. Horticulturist Richard Cox (horticulturist), Richard Cox lived in Colnbrook, where he bred his Cox's Orange Pippin, a popular apple. Elizabeth David, a cookery writer who Elizabeth David bibliography, revolutionised the nation's English cuisine, home cooking in the 1950s, came from Sussex.


Media

The BBC operate ''South Today'' (BBC South) out of Havelock Road, Southampton and ''South East Today'' (BBC South East) in Tunbridge Wells,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. ''ITV News Meridian'' (ITV Meridian) which has sub-regions for the South and South East based in
Whiteley Whiteley is a community in the county of Hampshire, England, near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and east, and the city of Winchester to the north and west. L ...
, near Fareham. ** N.B. Television coverage for Buckinghamshire is complex and is split three ways depending on location. The western part of the county is in the BBC South and ITV Meridian (South Coast sub-region) Milton Keynes UA is covered by BBC East based in Cambridge, with the ''BBC Look East, Look East'' programme; similarly the ITV region for most of Milton Keynes is ITV Anglia with the ''ITV News Anglia'' programme, also from Norwich. The ITV region for the south of the county is ITV London with signals from Crystal Palace - these are supplemented with a number of relay stations such as High Wycombe. *''That's Solent TV'', a subsidiary TV station from That's TV based in Portsmouth, it covers Portsmouth Isle of Wight, Southampton and Winchester. TV signals come from Oxford transmitting station, Oxford at Beckley and Stowood in the north of the region, and Rowridge transmitting station, Rowridge in the south of the region, the two most powerful transmitters in the region, which carry ''South Today'', along with Hannington, Hampshire, Hannington in north Hampshire, and Midhurst at Easebourne, near Bexleyhill in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
. ''South East Today'', in the east of the region, comes from the lower-powered Heathfield transmitting station, Heathfield at Heathfield and Waldron,
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
off the A267, Dover transmitting station, Dover in Kent, and the even lower-powered Blue Bell Hill at Aylesford on the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...
. Digital switchover dates in the United Kingdom, Digital switchover took place in mid 2012. ;Radio * BBC Local Radio services in the region include BBC Berkshire, Berkshire, BBC Surrey, Surrey, BBC Sussex, Sussex, BBC Radio Solent, Solent, BBC Radio Oxford, Oxford, and BBC Radio Kent, Kent, with Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes served by BBC Three Counties Radio (which also covers Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, and falls under the BBC East region). * Commercial radio stations include: ** Wave 105, a regional adult contemporary music service based in Fareham ** Heart South serves much of the region, created in 2019 by the combination of Heart Sussex and Surrey (formerly Heart Sussex of Brighton and Mercury FM in Crawley), Heart Thames Valley (Heart Berkshire and Heart Oxfordshire), Heart South Coast (Heart Dorset and New Forest and Heart Hampshire), and Heart Kent. Milton Keynes is served by - and is the studio base of - Heart East (via the former Heart 103.3/Horizon Radio) ** Capital South (previously known as Galaxy South Coast/Power FM based in Segensworth and Capital Brighton, Juice 107.2 in Brighton), ** Greatest Hits Radio South operates on the former frequencies of The Breeze (previously Andover Sound, Newbury Sound (former Kick FM), Reading 107 FM, and Kestrel FM (Basingstoke)), Spirit FM (UK radio station), Spirit FM (
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
), and 96.4 Eagle Radio (Guildford). In Buckinghamshire, Greatest Hits Radio East took the place of Mix 96 (Aylesbury) on FM and this was added to the Herts/Beds/Bucks DAB multiplex. ** Nation Broadcasting operates two services based in Southampton: Greatest Hits Radio South Coast (a regional station, previously broadcasting as Sam FM, JACK FM and Original 106), and The Breeze (South & East Hampshire), Hits Radio (former 107.4 The Quay, Portsmouth; The Saint, Southampton; and Dream 107.2, Winchester). ** More Radio is broadcast on four frequencies in Sussex, previously Arrow FM (Hastings), Arrow FM (Hastings), Bright 106.4 FM (
Burgess Hill Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
), Sovereign FM (Hailsham), and More Radio Worthing, Splash FM (Worthing). A countywide service broadcasts on DAB, alongside from 2021 a digital-first sibling station, More Radio Retro. ** Isle of Wight Radio ** KMFM (radio network), KMFM, a network of seven stations in Kent, and a countywide DAB output, since 2012 sharing all programmes from the premises of KMFM Medway * National radio on FM comes from Rowridge transmitting station, Rowridge, the most powerful transmitter, then Wrotham transmitting station, Wrotham (next to the M20), and Oxford. ;Newspapers * Southern Daily Echo (Southampton), Portsmouth News, Hampshire Chronicle The Oxford Times, Oxford Times, Oxford Journal, Oxford Mail, The Argus (Brighton), Argus (Brighton), Reading Evening Post, the KM Group titles (Kent), Surrey Advertiser, Reading Chronicle, Medway News, KOS Media titles (Kent), Basingstoke Gazette (Basingstoke)


Sport

Badminton England is at Milton Keynes. The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is headquartered at Hamble-le-Rice, Hamble in Hampshire. The World Squash Federation is headquartered in Hastings. England Hockey is headquartered at
Bisham Abbey Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the trad ...
on the south side of the Thames. The first List of World Transplant Games (WTG), World Transplant Games were held in Portsmouth in 1978. The All England Jumping Course at Hickstead (Royal International Horse Show) is held (usually) at the A2300 Hickstead Interchange on the side of the A23, west of Burgess Hill, next to the River Adur in Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common. There are many horse-racing stables on the North Wessex Downs, Lambourn Downs. The Epsom Derby is held in early June. In the mid 18th century, the Hambledon Club, Hambledon Cricket Club, in south-east Hampshire, was the focal point of modern cricket. It was here where a number of innovations were made to the game until the formation of Marylebone Cricket Club and the opening of Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground in 1787. The BDO World Darts Championship are held in early January at Lakeside Leisure Complex. Wentworth Club, Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey is the home of the BMW PGA Championship. Charles William Miller, who went to school in Southampton, was responsible for taking football to Brazil. He had a Scottish father and a Brazilian mother; around the same time, Alexander Watson Hutton, a Scottish teacher, had taken football to Argentina; Dresden English Football Club, founded by British workers, would bring football to Germany.


See also

*''Outline of England'' *List of schools in the South East of England


Notes


References


External links


Government Office for the South East

South East England Councils

Government's list of councils in the South East

Tourism Information - Visit South East England



South East England Intelligence Network - facts, figures and research on the South East

South East England Business Community Directory
{{Authority control South East England, Regions of England Southern England, East NUTS 1 statistical regions of England NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union