It always feels a privilege to be commissioned for a bespoke kitchen design in Berkshire, a county rich in history, tech businesses and beautiful properties.

‘Royal’ Berkshire, so called because Berkshire is home to Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world.  Built by William the Conqueror, Windsor Castle has been a royal home and fortress for over 900 years.  One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974.

This ceremonial county borders Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the northeast, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the southeast, Wiltshire to the west and Hampshire to the south.  No part of the county is more than 81⁄2 mi (14 km) from the M4 motorway snaking its way through the county, affectionately known as the M4 corridor.

Berkshire is also home to private school Eton College.  Eton is particularly well-known for its history, wealth, and notable alumni; where both Prince Harry and Prince William went to school.

The county town is Reading has an historical involvement in the information technology industry.  Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Oracle have established multi-building campuses on the outskirts of Reading. There are many other technology companies with a presence in the town such as Bang and Olufsen, Virgin Media, Xerox.  Amongst other businesses, financial company ING Direct has its headquarters in Reading.

Slough Trading Estate plays a major part in making Slough an important business centre for the Berkshire.  London Heathrow Airport, in the neighbouring London Borough of Hillingdon, is a major contributor to the economy of Slough in east Berkshire.

Bracknell is also a base for high-tech industries, with the presence of companies such as Panasonic and Fujitsu.  Bracknell is also home to the central Waitrose distribution centre and head office, which is on a 70-acre site on the Southern Industrial Estate.  Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of Honda and BMW.

Newbury is home to the world headquarters of the mobile network operator Vodafone, which is the town’s largest employer with over 6,000 people.

With Guild Anderson’s home county of Wiltshire bordering Berkshire in the north, we are often commissioned to design bespoke kitchens and cabinetry and always look forward to visiting such an interesting mix of both modern and period homes.