Slough
For slough (in the UK, pronounced ; in the U.S., pronounced ) as a type of aquatic feature, see Slough (wetland).'''
Slough (
pronounced ) is a town and
unitary authority (
Borough of Slough) in the
county of
Berkshire in the south of
England. In the
2001 census the population was 119,070. Slough is one of the most ethnically diverse towns in the UK.
It is home to the
Slough Trading Estate, the
UK's first such estate, the largest in single ownership, and one of the largest in Europe overall. This, coupled with extensive transport links, makes it one of the most important business centres in the
south east of
England.
Slough is located at , about 20 miles (32 km) west of
London, and almost a similar distance east of
Reading. It isn't officially part of London but is part of the metropolitan area. Towns that are near include
Windsor to the south,
Maidenhead to the west,
Uxbridge to the north-east and
Bracknell to the south-west.
Suburbs
Over the years Slough has expanded greatly, in time it has incorporated a number of different villages.
Original
villages which now form
suburbs of modern-day Slough are:
*
Britwell *
Chalvey *
Cippenham *
Colnbrook *
Langley *
Poyle *
Upton *
Wexham *
Burnham (much of)
Pre-trading estate
Most of the area was traditionally part of
Buckinghamshire and formed over many years by the amalgamation of villages along the
Great West Road between
London and
Bath and
Bristol. The first recorded uses of the name occur as
Slo in
1196,
Sloo in
1336, and
Le Slowe,
Slowe or
Slow in
1437. The name may have derived from the various
sloughs in the area; although some people think it may refer instead to
Sloe bushes growing in the vicinty.
Pubs and Coaching Inns grew up along the
Great West Road to service the traffic between London and the West. Most people in the area lived in the joint parish of Upton and Chalvey, termed
Upton-cum-Chalvey.
Montem Mound, located in Chalvey, is an ancient monument, its date of origin is not known. Eton College held its '
Eton Montem' ceremonies here until
1844.
Montem Mound is also known as
Salt Hill (originally Salts Hill). The area of Slough to the north of
Chalvey and the
Great West Road is known as Salt Hill, as is Salt Hill Park, closely associated with
Eton Montem. Salt Hill Park once boasted great iron gates, which were subsequently smelted as part of the war effort during
World War II.
The
Domesday Survey of
1086, refers to Upton, and a wood for 200 pigs, worth £15. Upton, with its
Norman Church, was situated at the top of the slope from the river terrace - the various levels in the area having been formed in the
Ice-Age.
In
1196, one
Henry de Slough is mentioned in a
Pipe Roll - the earliest documentary reference found to
Slough.
During the
13th Century, King
Henry III had a palace in Cippenham, the spot is still marked on modern maps as "
Cippenham Moat".
St Laurence's Church in Upton is around 900 years old, it is the oldest building in Slough. Parts of Upton Court were built in
1325, while St Mary's Church in Langley was probably built in the late
11th or early
12th century, though it has been re-built and enlarged several times.
The
astronomer William Herschel (
1738 -
1822), and his sister
Caroline, produced the first true map of the
universe with a 40 foot long, 49 inch reflecting
telescope he built in his garden in Windsor Road, Slough. A monument in Windsor Road commemorates his achievement. William married and is buried in
St Laurence's Church, Slough. It is also believed that
Joseph Haydn also visited Slough and met Herschel during his time there. According to one account, Haydn asked the esteemed astronomer for his opinion on the Biblical story of the seven days of Creation. Herschel's answer is unknown, but - so the story goes - Haydn went back to his lodgings and began to compose his famous oratorio
The Creation.
The arrival of the railway in Slough in
1840 led to
Queen Victoria making her first ever railway journey, from
Slough station to
Bishop's Bridge near
Paddington, in
1842. In later years, a railway spur would be built from Slough Station to
Windsor Central for the Queen's greater convenience. Originally, the headmaster of Eton College, Dr. John Keate, had resisted efforts to place a station closer to Eton College than Slough, because he feared that it would "interfere with the discipline of the school, the studies and amusements of the boys, affecting the healthiness of the place, from the increase of floods, and endangering even the lives of boys."
[http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r042.html]On
January 1 1845,
John Tawell, who had recently returned from Australia, murdered his lover, Sarah Hart, at Salt Hill in Slough by poisoning her with
prussic acid. With various officials in chase, Tawell fled to Slough Station and boarded a train to Paddington. Fortunately, the
electrical telegraph had recently been installed and so a message was sent ahead to Paddington with Tawell's details. Tawell was trailed and subsequently arrested, tried and executed for the murder at
Aylesbury on
March 28 1845. This is believed to be the first time ever that the telegraph had been involved in the apprehension of a murderer.
In
1858,
Charles Dickens rented a cottage on Church Street, under the name of
Charles Tringham. This was most likely to be closer to his
alleged mistress,
Ellen Ternan. Dickens' second link to the town was his publisher,
Richard Bentley, proprietor of the publishing firm 'Bentley's'.
In
1863 Slough became a local government area for the first time, when a Slough Local Board of Health was elected to represent what is now the central part of the modern Borough. This part of Upton-cum-Chalvey Parish became an urban
sanitary district in
1875 and an
Urban District Council area in
1894.
The
Grand Junction Canal spur arrived in
1882, and, during the mid to late
1800s, the arrival of the large-scale brickmaking industry into Langley and the area north of the Great West Road, saw dramatic growth northwards encroaching on the very south of the parish of
Stoke Poges. This new development saw the population centre of the town move northwards and the name Slough suppressed Upton-cum-Chalvey. The part of that parish not originally included in the Slough Urban District was incorporated in 1900.
The
Church of England ecclesiastical parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey still exists, however, and includes the parish church of St Mary, and the churches of St Laurence (Upton) and St Peter (Chalvey). St Laurence's church recently installed an impressive set of stained-glass windows commemorating the work of
Sir William Herschel, and remains an important historical building. Dating from Norman times, several walls bear testament to 'pudding-stone' construction, and overlooks Upton Court - now the administrative home of the Slough Observer newspaper - famously said to be haunted by a young woman in a blood-stained nightdress.
Slough has 4
Grade II listed
milestones.
Slough has 4 Grade I
listed buildings: St Laurence's Church (Upton), St Mary the Virgin's church (Langley), Baylis House and Godolphin Court; 7 Grade II*
listed buildings: St Mary's church, Upton Court, the Kederminster and Seymour Almshouses in Langley, St Peter's church (Chalvey), The Ostrich Inn (Colnbrook), King John's Palace (Colnbrook);4 Grad II
listed buildings:
Slough Station, and Beech, Oak and Linden Houses at Upton Hospital
Post-trading estate
An area of boggy ground to the west of Slough was used to store huge numbers of motor vehicles coming back from the
First World War in
Flanders. Local engineering companies sprung up to service this ready resource, and, in the early
1920s, these companies formed the
Slough Trading Estate, one of the first such
Industrial Estates in the world. Spectacular growth and employment ensued, with Slough attracting workers from many parts of the
UK and abroad. Large
housing estates were formed to cater for these workers and their families, notably Manor Park and Cippenham. During the
Great depression of the
1930s, the town became a haven for unemployed
Welsh people, who walked up the
Great West Road looking for employment.
There was a major extension of the Slough Urban District in 1930. The local government district expanded westward. The town was divided into wards for the first time; which were the new areas of Burnham, Farnham and Stoke as well as the divisions of the old district Central,
Chalvey,
Langley and
Upton.
In 1938 the town received its first
Royal charter and became a
Municipal Borough. See
List of Mayors of Slough which starts with the Charter Mayor in 1938, who became the first elected Mayor in November 1938.
After the
Second World War, several further large housing developments arose to take large numbers of people migrating from war-damaged London, notably Britwell, Wexham Court and Langley. In the post-war years, immigrants from the Commonwealth, notably
Anguilla,
Antigua and Barbuda,
India and
Pakistan were attracted to the town, settling predominantly in Chalvey.
In the early
1950s there were a number of Polish refugee camps scattered around the Slough area. As returning back to
Poland was not an option (being under
Soviet occuption), many Polish families decided to settle in Slough. Slough was an expanding town, seeking committed workers and offering a chance to own homes for those prepared to work hard.
In the early
1970s the main
A4 road was routed onto Wellington Street, north of and parallel to the High Street. This re-routing allowed the building of a major shopping complex, Queensmere, between the High Street and Wellington Street.
Slough was incorporated into Berkshire in the
1974 local government reorganisation. The old
Municipal Borough was abolished and replaced by a
Non-metropolitan district authority, which was made a Borough by the towns second
Royal charter. The parishes of
Britwell and
Wexham Court became part of Slough at this time.
Slough Council made history by electing the country's first black female mayor, Lydia Simmons, in
1984.
On
April 1 1995, the Borough of Slough expanded slightly into
Buckinghamshire and
Surrey, to take in
Colnbrook and
Poyle.
Slough became a
unitary authority on
April 1 1998, with the abolition of
Berkshire County Council and the 1973-1998 Borough. The present unitary authority was created a Borough by the towns third
Royal charter.
Before the
1800s, the main business of Slough was brickfields and agriculture. The bricks for the building of
Eton College were made in Slough. Later, as the
Great West Road traffic increased, inns and pubs sprang up along the road to service the passing trade.
During the
1800s the only major employer apart from the brickfields was
James Elliman, who started as a draper in Chandos Street. In
1847, he changed careers and manufactured his
Elliman's Embrocation and
Royal Embrocation horse liniment from factories in Wellington Street and Chandos Street. Elliman became a major benefactor to the town, and is remembered today in the names of local roads and schools.
In
1906,
James Horlick, one of the founders of the
eponymous malted milk company, opened a purpose-built red-brick factory near to Slough Railway Station to manufacture his malted milk product.
Starting in the
1920s,
Slough Estates Ltd, the operator of the original
Slough Trading Estate, created and operated many more estates in the
UK and abroad.
Hundreds of major companies have sited in Slough Trading Estate over the years, with its proximity to London
Heathrow Airport and good motorway connections being attractive.
In the
1960s Gerry Anderson's film company was based in Slough, and his
Supermarionation series including
Thunderbirds were filmed there.
The European headquarters of
Mars, Incorporated is based in Slough. The main factory having been created in
1932 by
Forrest Mars Sr. after a quarrel with his father,
Frank C. Mars. He proceeded to produce and develop the world famous
Mars Bar in Slough over 70 years ago.
The town is also home to the
National Foundation for Educational Research, which is housed in The Mere. Also,
O2 is headquartered in the town.
In recent years, Slough's manufacturing has been on the decline, instead being replaced by offices, including those of
Nintendo,
Ferrari,
Fiat,
Maserati, and the UK branch of popular online retailer,
Amazon.com.
Dulux paints are still manufactured in Slough by
Imperial Chemical Industries. Satchwell have been manufacturing electrical and electronic products in Slough since the 1920's, currently focussing on climate controls such as thermostats.
* To the Airport: Green Line Coaches, National Express Coaches, Heathrow Mercedes Buses
* To London: Coaches are avialable, buses, taxis, motorway M4, A-roads
* To Heathrow: Slough is very close to the busiest airport in the world, there are many way to get there. There is the public transportation (i.e. local buses), Heathrow Mercedes Buses, Taxis
Major roads
*
M4 **Junction 5
**Junction 6
**Junction 7
*
M25 (Via M4)
*
M40 *
A4*
A40 *
A355Bus services
*
Slough Bus ServiceRail links
*
Slough Railway Station*
Langley Railway StationCrossrail
 |
A map of Crossrail Line 1. |
Slough, along with a number of other boroughs, is bidding to be part of the
Crossrail Project:
* Cross
London Rail Links (Crossrail) is a 50/50 joint venture company formed by
Transport for London (TfL) and the
Department for Transport (DfT).
*Crossrail is tasked with promoting and developing two new routes through London: Crossrail line 1 (West-East) and Crossrail line 2 (NorthEast-SouthWest).
*Crossrail was allocated a budget of £154m in 2001 by central Government to carry out feasibility work for both Lines 1 and 2, and to acquire Parliamentary powers for Line 1.
Slough has been the subject of much derision. The poet
John Betjeman wrote, in his
1937 poem
Slough as a protest against the 850 factories and a new town in what had been formerly a rural area, and the onslaught of the
suburban lifestyle:
Come, friendly bombs, and fall on SloughIt isn't fit for humans now:''There is not grass to feed a cow
Swarm over, death!
As a joke, the comedian Spike Milligan presented Slough on TV as a holiday resort. In a possible reference to this, the 1998 song "Costa del Slough" by the rock band Marillion posits the town as a post-global warming coastal resort.
The Tiger Lillies have recorded a song entitled Slough
, probably inspired by Betjeman's poem. The lyrics to the chorus are:
Drop a bomb on Slough, Drop a bomb on Slough
Drop a bomb on Slough, Drop a bomb on Slough
The BBC comedy series The Office is set in Slough, reiterating Betjeman's view of the place as a depressing industrial wasteland. In fact the character David Brent comments on Betjeman's poem in the series, and it also appears on the inside sleeve of the video and DVD of Series 1.
The BBC also aired a four-part series called 'Making Slough Happy', where a team of experts attempted to bring happiness to the whole town. Despite complaints by some residents who said "the series was not particulary representative of the diversity of Slough", this can be contradicted because the sample "50" did provide a cross section of Slough with different ethnic minorities and age groups represented. However, most of the criticism was seen to come from people within Slough while the majority of people outside Slough thought it was quite good, overall it did make a big impact and raised peoples awarness of Slough as a whole.[Making Slough Happy (BBC News)].
Comedian Jimmy Carr said: "I was born in Slough in the 1970s, if you want to know what Slough was like in the 1970s, go there now".
The Taplow sewage treatment plant between M4 Junc 6 and 7, near Slough, sometimes releases malodorous fumes detectable to drivers on the nearby M4 motorway, a phenomenon known colloquially as The Slough Stench''.
In the book
Crap Towns, Slough ranked 43rd. It alleged that a resident of nearby Cookham Dean had been campaigning for the letters SL to be dropped and be replaced with WM for the Windsor and Maidenhead area
postal code, as residents were "too embarrassed to be associated with Slough". It also alleged that 95% of the local area's residents supported the resident's case.
Looking beyond the "popular" perception, a very diverse and multicultural community may be found.
Slough has the highest percentage of
Sikh residents in the country according to the latest national
census figures (
2001). Sikh residents make up 9.1 per cent of Slough's population, more than any other local authority. Slough also has the highest percentage of
Muslim residents (13.4 per cent) and
Hindu residents (4.5 per cent) in the South East region.
In
1999, a group of young Sikhs got together to create
Khalsa Aid, an international, non-profit aid and relief organisation.
The
Polish Community in Slough have been a hardworking and welcome addition to the town, ever since they first settled in the early
1950s. They have become an even larger part of the community since Poland has become part of the EU, and make up a sizeable part of the community in the past two years.
The
Slough Trading Estate has meant that the Town has been largely insulated from many of the effects of recession; and it has an employment rate higher than the national average.
Slough's transport links make it an ideal location for those working in "
The City", but looking for affordable accommodation; as such it attracts a large number of young executives and families alike.
Slough has also produced many
Olympic class athletes as part of the "Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics Club".
Star Radio is a local radio station based in Slough.
|
Heart of Slough Concept Art |
The
Heart of Slough Project is a highly ambitious, multimillion Pound plan for the redevelopment of Slough's Town Centre.
The aim is to create a leading European and national focus, and cultural quarter for creative media, information and communications industries. It will create a mixed-use complex of world-class, multi-functional buildings, visual landmarks and an outstandingpublic space in the
Thames Valley.
*
Henry III (Monarch)
*
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall (Royal Aristocrat)
*
Gerry Anderson (Broadcaster)
* Richard Bentley ('Bentley's', the publishing firm)
*
Fenner Brockway (Anti-War Activist and Politician)
*
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Engineer)
*
Jimmy Carr (Entertainer)
*
Charles Dickens (Novelist)
*
Rod Evans (Original lead Singer of Deep Purple)
*
Thomas Gray (English Poet, Classical Scholar, and Professor of History)
*
Geri Halliwell (Entertainer)
*
Caroline Herschel (Astronomer)
*
William Herschel (Astronomer and Composer)
*
John Herschel (Mathematician and Astronomer)
*
Iain Lee (Entertainer)
*
Forrest Mars Sr. (Entrepreneur)
*
Gary Numan (Musician)
*
William Ramsay (Scientist)
*
Ellen Ternan (Actress)
*
Helen Sharman (Scientist and Astronaut)
*
Una Stubbs (Actress)
*
Tracy Ullman (Entertainer)
*
Robert Watson-Watt (Scientist)
Slough is
twinned with:
* -
Montreuil,
France (Since 1988)* -
Riga,
Latvia*
Electrical telegraphOfficial
*
Slough Borough Council*
Slough Infonet (however the site is presently suspended)*
Slough Schools Online*
Slough Primary Care Trust*
Slough Arts Info*
Slough Council for Voluntary Services*
Slough Community LeisureCommunity
*
The Best of Slough*
Slough Philharmonic Society*
Slough History Online*
Slough Museum*
The Slough Observer*
Slough "Town Talk"*
St. Laurence's Church*
Polish Association Slough*
Slough Baha'i Community*
Khalsa Aid*
Cineworld Cinema Slough*
Queensmare and Observatory ShoppingSporting clubs
*
Slough Town Football Club "The Rebels"*
The Slough "Jets" Ice Hockey Team*
Slough Rugby Club*
Slough Hockey Club*
Slough Ladies Hockey Club*
Slough Cricket Club*
Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics ClubBusiness
*
The Best of Slough*
Slough Trading Estate*
Slough Estates*
Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce*
South East England Development AgencyHeart of Slough Project
*
Heart of Slough Flagship*
Heart of Slough Project Brief*
Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Vision for Slough*
Funding SecuredMiscellaneous
*
BBC article on the history of Slough*
Text of Betjeman's Slough poem*
The murder of Sarah Hart
