Britwell
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Britwell was a village and is now a suburb of the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire in the south of England, close to London. Prior to 1974, Britwell was part of Buckinghamshire.
The name Britwell derives from the old English beorhtan wiellan meaning 'bright, clear well'.
Modern-day Britwell was extended onto farmland, as overspill for bombed-out Londoners at the end of the Second World War. The first of 11,000 tenants moved in 1956 and were delighted with the "roomy and modern" houses, complete with large swivel windows - "a boon to housewives". There was a dearth of amenities at first, but after the founding of the community association in 1959, the village finally got a bus service into Slough, and a community centre in 1966.
Subsequently, Britwell has been subsumed into the growing conurbation of Slough.
Britwell used to be renowned throughout the local area for its high rate of petty and drug crime.[1] In 2002 bus drivers refused to drive through there at night because of repeated incidents of teenage boys throwing stones at buses.[citation needed]But with the stirling work done by the neighboroughood Police team crime has been reduced by 50%. The Parish Council have plans to build a Police Office on their Parish Grounds. It does however contain large unspoilt areas of parkland and woodland, not seen elsewhere in the borough.
There is a civil Parish of Britwell, which has a thirteen member Parish Council. A somewhat larger area, including the Parish is a three member ward of Slough Borough Council. See Slough local elections for links to recent Borough election results.
Britwell's row of shops featured as a backdrop in the dystopia themed movie V for Vendetta
[edit] External link
[edit] References
- ^ BBC News Online, Crime crackdown on estate begins, 03 August 2004.
