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Slough

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For slough (in the UK, pronounced [slaʊ]; in the U.S., pronounced [slu]) as a type of aquatic feature, see Slough (wetland).

Borough of Slough
Geography
Status: Unitary, Borough
Region: South East England
Ceremonial County: Berkshire
Area:
- Total		 Ranked 334th
32.54 km²
Admin. HQ: Slough
ONS code: 00MD
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2022)
- Density		 Ranked

/ km²
Ethnicity: 63.7% White
27.9% S.Asian
5.1% Afro-Carib.
Local Information
Post town: SLOUGH
Postal Districts: SL1, SL2, SL3
Dialling code: 01753
Politics
File:Slougharms.PNG

Slough Borough Council
http://www.slough.gov.uk/
Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
Executive:  
MP: Fiona Mactaggart

Slough (pronounced [slaʊ]) is a town and unitary authority (Borough of Slough) in Berkshire in the South East England region of the UK. In the 2001 census the population was 119,070 (est. 122,000 in 2006). It is one of the most ethnically diverse towns in the UK, situated some 22 miles (35 km) west of central London and 19 miles (30 km) east of Reading.

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. It is also home to the main campus of Thames Valley University.

Slough is located at grid reference SU978797. The town is situated just to the west of Greater London. Proximate towns include Windsor to the south, Maidenhead to the west, Uxbridge to the northeast and Bracknell to the southwest.

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:


Other areas of the town include:

  • Huntercombe
  • Lynch Hill
  • Manor Park
  • Salt Hill
  • Upton Lea
  • Windsor Meadows


History

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 and 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 also 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 Slo 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 and 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 rebuilt 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 1849, a branch line was completed from Slough Station to Windsor and Eton Central railway station 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."[1]

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 a number of listed buildings. There are four Grade I: St Laurence's church (Upton), St Mary the Virgin's church (Langley), Baylis House and Godolphin Court; seven Grade II*: 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); and four Grade II listed milestones and 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 during 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.

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 the London County Council estates at Britwell and Langley, and the estate at Wexham Court .

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. Britwell and Wexham Court became part of Slough at this time, with their own parish councils.

On April 1 1995, the Borough of Slough expanded slightly into Buckinghamshire and Surrey, to take in Colnbrook and Poyle, which received a joint parish council. 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 town's third Royal charter.

Economy

Template:GBthumb Before the 1800s, the main businesses of Slough were 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 European head offices of major IT companies such as Network Associates, Computer Associates, PictureTel and Compusys (amongst others) are all located in the town. 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 industries have been in decline, instead being replaced by modern offices, including those of Nintendo, Black and Decker, 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 focusing on climate controls such as thermostats.

The motor trade has long been represented in Slough. Citroën assembled cars in a Liverpool Road factory (later used by Mars Confectionary) on Slough Trading Estate, and retain their UK headquarters in the town. Ford built Transit vans at their factory in Langley until the site was redeveloped for housing in the 1990s.Ferrari, Fiat and Maserati now have offices in the town.

Cultural, Ethnic and Faith Communities

During the Great depression of the 1930s, Slough became a haven for unemployed Welsh people, who walked up the Great West Road looking for employment.

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 to Poland (then in the Soviet Bloc) was not an option, many Polish families decided to settle in Slough, an expanding town seeking committed workers and offering a chance to own homes for those prepared to work hard. In time, a Polish Roman Catholic Parish was established with its own church building. A new wave of Polish migration to Slough has followed since Poland became part of the EU.

Slough Council made history by electing the country's first black female mayor, Lydia Simmons, in 1984.

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 Pakistani Muslim residents (13.4 per cent) and Hindu residents (4.5 per cent) in the South East region. 53.8% of Slough's residents in 2001 gave their religion as Christian, 0.3% as Buddhist, 0.1% as Jewish, 0.3% as having another religion, 11% as having no religion and 7.7% did not state their religion.

In 1999, a group of young Sikhs got together to create Khalsa Aid, an international, non-profit aid and relief organisation.

Heart of Slough

File:HeartofSloughConcept.jpg
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, multi-functional buildings, visual landmarks and a public space in the Thames Valley.

Transport

  • To Heathrow Airport: First Berkshire bus routes 75, 76 and 77 serve Slough town centre, Langley and Heathrow. Taxis and minicabs are also available at a higher cost.
  • To London: Buses are available, but rail is more generally used. See below. Taxis, minicabs and private cars on roads are also used.


Major roads

  • M4
    • Junction 5 (Langley & Slough East)
    • Junction 6 (Central Slough)
    • Junction 7 (Slough West)
  • M25 (Via M4)
  • M40
  • A4
  • A40
  • A355

Bus services

Slough Bus Station

Crossrail

A map of Crossrail Line 1.
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.

Criticism Trivia

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 Slough
It isn't fit for humans now
There isn't grass to graze a cow.
Swarm over, death!

However, on the centenary of the poet's birth, the daughter of the poet apologised for the poem. Candida Lycett-Green said her father "regretted having ever written it". During her visit, Ms Lycett-Green presented Mayor of Slough David MacIsaac with a book of her father's poems. In it was written: "We love Slough". [2]

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 particularly 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 people's awareness of Slough as a whole.[3].

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 Slough Sewage Treatment Works between M4 Junc 6 and 7, sometimes releases malodorous fumes detectable to drivers on the nearby M4 motorway, a phenomenon known colloquially as The Slough Stench.

Trivia

File:Slough - A century of Change .jpg
Slough - A Century of Change: A book about the historical Borough of Slough

Looking beyond the "popular" perception, a very diverse and multicultural community with its rich heritage due to its close proximately to Windsor Castle and with the immigration during the 1960s.

Slough has a strong rivalry with local neigbouring town, Staines. Both are located near Heathrow and vie for out-of-town businesses, moving from London. Ali G, a fictional resident of Staines pokes fun often at Slough and sports teams of both towns enjoy a strong rivalry.

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 professionals and families alike.

Slough has also produced many Olympic class athletes as part of the "Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics Club".

Time Radio is a local radio station based in Slough.

Slough has 42 parks and open spaces plus an ice skating arena where Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean once trained.

The Beatles began their May/June 1963 British tour with Roy Orbison at Slough's Adelphi Cinema, returning there as headliners in their own right on 5 November 1963Beatles Tour dates</ref>.

Famous people associated with Slough

Sister cities

Slough is twinned with:

See also

Notes and References

  1. ^ http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r042.html
  2. ^ Poetic justice at last for Slough
  3. ^ Making Slough Happy (BBC News)

Official

Mapping

Template:Geolinks-cityscale

Community

Sporting clubs

Business

Heart of Slough Project

Miscellaneous

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