South East England
| South East | |
| Admin HQ | Guildford |
| Area - Total | 3rd in England 19,096 km² |
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | 1st in England 8,000,550 419/km² |
| NUTS 1: | UKJ |
South East England is one of the official regions of England. The current boundaries are shown on the map below. Until the late 1990s the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Greater London were also included for official purposes — excluding London left an area called "ROSE" (rest of South East).
In unofficial usage the South East can refer to a varying area - sometimes only to Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, and Surrey. But the most widely used sense is perhaps the larger defunct official designation referred to above, which corresponded very approximately to the London commuter belt. South East England and London are the richest areas of the UK.
The highest point of the region is Walbury Hill in Berkshire at 297m/974 ft.
| Table of contents |
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2 Local Dialects 3 External links |
Local government
The broader governmental Region is divided into the following local government areas:
Counties
See Counties of England
Unitary Authority Areas
See Unitary authorities in England
- Bracknell Forest (part of Berkshire)
- Brighton and Hove (formerly part of East Sussex)
- Medway (formerly part of Kent)
- Borough of Milton Keynes (formerly part of Buckinghamshire)
- Portsmouth (formerly part of Hampshire)
- Reading (part of Berkshire)
- Slough (part of Berkshire)
- Southampton (formerly part of Hampshire)
- West Berkshire (part of Berkshire)
- Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (part of Berkshire)
- Wokingham (part of Berkshire)
Local Dialects
Traditionally the middle class inhabitants of the South East have spoken received pronunciation (also known as "RP", BBC English and Queen's English). Nowadays a form of the English language influenced by working class London accentss and known as Estuary English is more prevalent in the region, even among the higher social classes. The name derives from the estuary of the River Thames which runs through East London and past Essex and Kent, which is the area where this accent is said to have originated.
External links
- Government Office for the South East
- South East England Regional Assembly
- South East England Development Agency
