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 (2004 est.)
- Density		 Ranked 168th
117,600
3,614 / km²
Ethnicity: 63.7% White
27.9% S.Asian
5.1% Afro-Carib.
Local Information
Postal 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: Independent + Conservative + Liberal Democrats
MP: Fiona Mactaggart

Slough (pronounced [slaʊ]) is a town and unitary authority in the county of Berkshire in the south of England. In the 2001 census the population was 119,070.

It is home to the Slough Trading 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.


Geography

Slough is located about 20 miles west of London, and almost a similar distance from Reading, Berkshire. Towns that are near include Windsor, Berkshire, Maidenhead, Berkshire, Uxbridge and Bracknell

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:


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 (wetland) 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.

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.

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'.

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 parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey still exists, however, and includes the parish churches of St Laurence and St Mary. 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.

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.

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. On April 1 1995, the Borough of Slough expanded slightly into Buckinghamshire and Surrey, to take in Colnbrook and Poyle. It became a unitary authority on April 1 1998, with the abolition of Berkshire County Council.

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

Slough has 4 Grade II listed milestones.

Business

Template:GBthumb 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 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.


Transport

  • To the Airport: Green Line Coaches, National Express Coaches, Heathrow Mercedes Buses
  • To London: Coaches are avialable, buses, taxis, motorway M4, A-roads
  • To Heathorw: 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
  • A4
  • A355

Bus Services

Rail Links

Crossrail

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 of Slough

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 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.


In Praise of Slough

Looking beyond the "popular" perception, a vibrant, 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.

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 accomodation; 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".


Heart of Slough Project

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 of world-class, multi-functional buildings, visual landmarks and an outstanding public space in the Thames Valley.

Famous people associated with Slough

See also


External links

Official

Community

Sporting Clubs

Business

Heart of Slough Project

Miscellaneous


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