Slough

Slough
Aerial View of Slough Trading Estate.JPG
The Slough Trading Estate
Slough is located in Berkshire
Slough

 Slough shown within Berkshire
Population borough 119,070 (2001)
Urban sub-area 122,000 (2006)
OS grid reference SU978797
    - London  22 mi (35 km) E 
Unitary authority Slough
Ceremonial county Berkshire
Region South East
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SLOUGH
Postcode district SL1-SL3
Dialling code 01753
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Slough
Website www.slough.gov.uk
List of places: UK • England • Berkshire

Slough (pronounced /ˈslaʊ/ ( listen)) is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England and is situated 19 miles (31 km) west of Charing Cross. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Slough was 119,070 (est. 122,000 in 2006) and the borough area was the most ethnically diverse local authority area outside London in the United Kingdom.[1]

Historically, the larger part of the present-day Slough area was formerly in Buckinghamshire with a small part of the borough originally in Middlesex. Slough is home to the Slough Trading Estate, which, coupled with extensive transport links, makes it an important business centre in South East England. It is also home to a campus of Thames Valley University. It is the largest trading estate in Europe.

Contents

Location

Slough is at grid reference SU978797 and is situated just to the west of Greater London. Nearby towns include Windsor to the south, Maidenhead to the west, Uxbridge to the northeast and Beaconsfield to the north.

Most of the area that now makes up Slough was traditionally part of Buckinghamshire. The town developed by the expansion and amalgamation of villages along the Great West Road. Over the years Slough has expanded greatly, incorporating a number of different villages. Original villages that are now suburbs of Slough include Chalvey, Cippenham, Colnbrook, Langley, Poyle, Upton, and Wexham.

Other areas of the town include Brands Hill, Britwell, Huntercombe, Manor Park, Salt Hill, Upton Lea, and Windsor Meadows. The urban area (but not the borough council area) merges into the neighbouring parishes of Burnham, Datchet, Farnham Royal, and Stoke Poges.

History

Former GWR locomotive 6664 photographed near the engine shed at Slough, October 1955.

The first recorded uses of the name occur as Slo in 1196, Sloo in 1336, and Le Slowe, Slowe or Slow in 1437. It first seems to have applied to a hamlet between Upton to the east and Chalvey to the west, roughly around the "Crown Crossroads" where the road to Windsor (now the A332) met the Great West Road.[2] The Domesday Survey of 1086 refers to Upton, and a wood for 200 pigs, worth £15. During the 13th century, King Henry III had a palace at Cippenham. Parts of Upton Court were built in 1325, while St Mary the Virgin Church in Langley was probably built in the late 11th or early 12th century, though it has been rebuilt and enlarged several times.

From the mid 17th century, stagecoaches began to pass through Slough and Salt Hill, which became locations for the second stage to change horses on the journey out from London. By 1838 and the opening of the Great Western Railway, Upton-cum-Chalvey's parish population had reached 1,502. In 1849, a branch line was completed from Slough station to Windsor and Eton Central railway station, opposite Windsor Castle, for the Queen's convenience.

Slough has 96 listed buildings.[3] There are

  • 4 Grade I: St Laurence's Church (Upton), St Mary the Virgin Church (Langley), Baylis House and Godolphin Court
  • 7 Grade II: St Mary's Church (Upton-cum-Chalvey), Upton Court, the Kederminster and Seymour Almshouses in Langley, St Peter's Church (Chalvey), The Ostrich Inn (Colnbrook), and King John's Palace (Colnbrook)
  • Grade II listed structures include four milestones: Beech, Oak and Linden Houses at Upton Hospital, and Slough station

1918 saw a large area of agricultural land to the west of Slough developed as an army motor repair depot, used to store and repair huge numbers of motor vehicles coming back from the battlefields of the First World War in Flanders. In April 1920 the Government sold the site and its contents to the Slough Trading Co. Ltd. Repair of ex-army vehicles continued until 1925 when the Slough Trading Company Act was passed allowing the company (renamed Slough Estates Ltd) to establish an Industrial Estate.[4] Spectacular growth and employment ensued, with Slough attracting workers from many parts of the UK and abroad.

After the Second World War, several further large housing developments arose to take large numbers of people migrating from war-damaged London.

Current developments

In the 21st century Slough has seen major redevelopment in the town centre. Old buildings are being replaced with new offices and shopping complexes. Tesco have replaced an existing superstore with a larger Tesco Extra. The Heart of Slough Project is an ambitious plan for the redevelopment of Slough's town centre. The aim is to create a leading European and national focus and cultural quarter for the 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. Recommendations for the £400 million project have been approved,[5] and planning approval was given by Slough Borough Council’s planning committee on 9 July 2009.[6] Work is scheduled to begin in 2009 for completion in 2018.[7]

The newly refurnished entrance to the Queensmere Shopping Mall.

In December 2009, 2 key components of the project were signed, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) signed its agreement to provide £11m of funding for the infrastructure of the scheme and Thames Valley University (TVU) courses which are due to remain in the town have found a new home at The Centre in Farnham Road, Slough[8] In parallel to the town centre redevelopment plan, SEGRO (owners of the Slough Trading Estate) are planning on spending £600 million over the next 20 years on the trading estate. Creating environmentally sustainable buildings, open green spaces, two hotels, a conference centre, cafés, restaurants, and better transport facilities to improve links to Slough town centre and the surrounding residential areas. It is estimated that the plan will create more than 4,100 new jobs and contribute around £100m a year to Slough’s economy.[9] If both plans go ahead in their current forms, it will mean nearly £1 billion will be spent on redeveloping Slough over the next 20 years.

Herschel Park (known as Upton Park until 1949), is currently being relandscaped in a multi-million pound effort to bring it back to its former Victorian era glory.[10] The park was featured in an episode of the documentary programme 'Who Do You Think You Are?' focusing on the TV presenter Davina McCall[11].

£2 million has been set aside to improve disabled access to Slough train station in preparation for an expected increase in use during the 2012 London Olympics[12] Final preparations are underway for the regeneration of the Britwell suburb of Slough, the multi-million pound upgrade will involve tearing down the dilapidated block of flats in Wentworth Avenue and replacing them with new homes, as well as relocating the shopping parade in the street to nearby Kennedy Park.[13] As part of the Heart of Slough project construction work on the modern bus station will start on Monday, 29 March 2010 following weeks of demolition work to half of the existing bus station and the removal of Compair House near the train station; it is expected to be completed by January 2011.[14][15]

Concerns for the architectural heritage in Slough - The Twentieth Century Society has stated that “[A] tragically high quantity of good buildings have been demolished in Slough in recent years, including grand Art Deco-styled factories by the likes of Wallis Gilbert and high-quality post-war offices. More are to come down as the town tries to erase its past and reinvent itself from scratch. Despite famously heckling Slough, John Betjeman’s praise for the Town Hall’s architecture as ‘a striving for unity out of chaos’ in 1948 has never been so relevant as today. C20 believes that the redevelopment of the Town Hall would be an act of vandalism to the civic centre and is supporting the Campaign to Save Slough’s Heritage in their request for a review of the decision.”

Governance

Borough of Slough
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 (2008 est.)
- Density
Ranked 170th
121,200
3724 / km²
Ethnicity: 62.1% White British
20.7% South Asian
8.2% Black British
0.5% Chinese
3.5% Mixed Race
4.8% Other.
Politics
LogoSlough.jpg
http://www.slough.gov.uk/
Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
Executive: Labour (council Labour)
Mayor of Slough Councillor Joginder Singh Bal

Boundaries

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 Slough Urban Sanitary District in 1875 which was succeeded by Slough Urban District in 1894. In 1930, there was a major extension westward of the Urban District, and the area was divided into wards for the first time (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.

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 town's second Royal Charter. Britwell and Wexham Court became part of Slough at this time, with their own parish councils. On 1 April 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 1 April 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.

Town twinning

Slough is twinned with:

Demography

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 considered an option by many of the war-time refugees, 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 speaking 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 European Union.

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% of Slough’s population, more than any other local authority. Slough also has the highest percentage of Muslim (13.4%) and Hindu residents (4.5%) in the South East region.

Slough's transport links make it a suitable location for those working in London, but looking for more affordable accommodation; as such it attracts a large number of young professionals and families.[17]

Economy

Slough Trading Estate played a major part in making Slough an important business centre in South East England
The Tesco Extra store, one of the largest in Europe
The private power station for Slough Trading Estate. This has been supplying heat and power to the estate since 1920. In 2007 it was taken over by energy supplier Scottish and Southern Energy.
The Horlicks factory is a local landmark.

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. Until the town developed as an industrial area, nurseries were prominent in the local economy; Cox's Orange Pippin apple was first raised in Colnbrook (not then within Slough) around 1825, and the dianthus "Mrs Sinkins Pink" was first raised at some point between 1868[18] and 1883[19] by John Sinkins, the master of the Eton Union Workhouse,[20] which lay in Slough.

In the mid-1800s the only major employer apart from the brickfields was James Elliman, who started as a draper in Chandos Street. In 1847, he changed business and manufactured his Elliman's Embrocation and Royal Embrocation horse liniment at 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 September 1851 William Thomas Buckland, an auctioneer and surveyor from nearby Wraysbury, began livestock sales in a field near the Great Western Road Railway Station belonging to the North Star Inn. Originally held on the first Tuesday of every month, the Cattle Market's popularity soon saw this increased to every Tuesday. A move to Wexham Street was necessitated by the post-war redevelopment of the town. The Slough Cattle Market was run by Messrs Buckland and Sons until its final closure in 1988.[21]

In 1906, James Horlick, one of the eponymous founders of the malted milk company, opened a purpose-built red-brick factory near 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. The Slough Trading Estate meant that the town was largely insulated from many of the effects of recession. For many years, Slough's economy was mainly manufacturing-based.

In the last 20 or so years there has been a major shift from a manufacturing to an information-based economy, with the closure of many factories (some of which have been in Slough for many decades). The factories are rapidly being replaced by office buildings. 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 UK 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 develop and produce the world-famous Mars Bar in Slough over 70 years ago. One of the Mars factories has been demolished and a lot of production has moved to the Czech Republic. The European head offices of major IT companies such as Research In Motion, Network Associates, Computer Associates, PictureTel and Compusys (amongst others) are all in the town. O2 is headquartered in the town across four buildings. The town is also home to the National Foundation for Educational Research, which is housed in The Mere.

The recent new offices include those of Nintendo, Black and Decker, Amazon.co.uk and Abbey Business Centres.[22] Dulux paints are still manufactured in Slough by Imperial Chemical Industries. The town is the headquarters of Furniture Village.[23]

The motor trade has long been represented in Slough. Until 1966 Citroën assembled cars in a Liverpool Road factory (later used by Mars Confectionery), and they retain their UK headquarters in the town. Ford built Transit vans at their factory in Langley (a former Hawker Aircraft site from 1936 to the 1950s[24]) until the site was redeveloped for housing in the 1990s. Ferrari, Mercedes, Fiat and Maserati now have offices in the town.

Transport

Road transport

The Brunel Bus station and car park, opened in 1975[25] has now been partially demolished as work has started on the Heart of Slough project[14]
A First Mercedes-Benz Citaro in the blue "Heathrow 7 Series" livery operates between Cippenham, Maidenhead and Slough to Heathrow Airport
The relief lines at Slough railway station, used for local passenger trains towards Reading (Platform 4, left) and London Paddington (Platform 5, right)

Slough is near London, Heathrow Airport and Surrey, and the town is something of a travel hub. Many people from Slough work in nearby towns and cities such as Windsor, Reading, London and Maidenhead, and there are large passenger movements in the morning and evening rush hours. Road transport in Slough includes:

Rail transport

Slough is served by First Great Western stations at Burnham,[32] Slough[33] and Langley.[34] Slough station is a junction between the Great Western Main Line and the Slough to Windsor & Eton Line for tourists travelling to Windsor Castle and for other passengers to Windsor.

Slough is planned to be part of the Crossrail Project, a new trans-London rail link likely to start construction in the early 2010s.[35] The Windsor Link Railway is another proposed railway line that would link Slough to Heathrow Terminal 5 via Wraysbury, Datchet, Windsor and Chalvey.

Sports

Slough has a senior non-League football team, Slough Town F.C., who currently play in the Southern League Division One Midlands, which is the 8th tier of football in England.

Slough has 42 parks and open spaces plus an ice skating arena where Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean once trained. Slough ice skating arena is also the home to the Slough Jets a UK hockey team in the English Premier Ice Hockey League.

The town has produced many Olympic class athletes as part of the 'Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletics Club' (see List of people from Slough, Berkshire).

Cultural references

Observatory House was given its name because it is the site where astronomer William Herschel lived, and erected his great 40-foot telescope.
Due to is proximity to London, new apartments have been developed in Slough as a place of accommodation for young professionals and families.
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, Mrs Lycett-Green presented Mayor of Slough David MacIsaac with a book of her father's poems. In it was written: "We love Slough".[38]
Drop a bomb on Slough, Drop a bomb on Slough
Drop a bomb on Slough, Drop a bomb on Slough
Crossbow House features in the opening sequences and some of the filming for popular BBC comedy "The Office".

Negative perceptions

Upton Court Park plays host to many carnivals and fun fairs during the summer. The Slough Mela held annually takes place here.
Home to the Slough Jets, Slough Ice Arena is a local attraction.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. National Statistics - Focus on Ethnicity and Diversity (referenced 16 February 2008)
  2. p 46, The History of Slough, Maxwell Fraser, Slough Corporation, 1973
  3. Listed buildings in Slough (referenced 27 November 2006)
  4. p 109, The History of Slough, Maxwell Fraser, Slough Corporation, 1973
  5. "Backing for town's £400m makeover". BBC News. 21 December 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/6201145.stm. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  6. Heart of Slough planning approval
  7. BBC - Berkshire - Features - Heart of Slough
  8. <Progress for Heart of Slough project>
  9. http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3143131
  10. <Herschel Park multi-million Pound refurbishment>
  11. "Who Do You Think You Are? - Davina McCall". The National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/stories/331.htm?WT.hp=nf-37600. Retrieved 16 July 2009. 
  12. http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2010/03/17/45434-olympic-upgrade-for-slough-station-/
  13. http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2010/03/22/45537-britwell-regeneration-scheme-one-step-closer-to-reality-/
  14. 14.0 14.1 http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2010/03/24/45552-heart-of-slough-beats-faster/
  15. http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/news/article-15508-video-heart-of-slough-project-begins-450m-work/
  16. British Latvian Trade – the magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Latvia
    Autumn / Winter 2007 – page 10, column 2 (accessed 11 February 2008)
  17. http://www.nubricks.com/archives/198/the-heart-of-slough/ Attracting Young Professionals and their Families
  18. p20, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, Derby, 2003
  19. p100, The History of Slough, Maxwell Fraser, Slough Corporation, Slough 1973
  20. BBC Gardening Plant profiles - Pinks, dianthus (referenced 24 February 2007)
  21. The History of Buckland & Sons by Edward Barry Bowyer FRICS (1973)
  22. Location of registered office of Amazon.co.uk Ltd accessed 27 December 2008
  23. "Furniture Village Limited", Answers.com, accessed 14 February 2009
  24. p120, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, Derby, 2003
  25. p11, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, Derby, 2003
  26. http://www.slough.gov.uk/services/1039.aspx
  27. First Group: Thames Valley Routes.
  28. http://www.slough.gov.uk/services/10035.aspx
  29. http://www.greenline.co.uk/__80256E2700397232.nsf/vWeb/wpNPOK6CBKGE?OpenDocument
  30. http://www.slough.gov.uk/services/5485.aspx
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_en-GBGB307GB307&ei=WAyPSZ60JeKtjAehy9mtCg&resnum=0&q=m4+motorway+slough&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=uk&ei=WwyPSb_nBpSIjAenyPGwCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image
  32. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/bnm/details.html
  33. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/slo/details.html
  34. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/LNY/details.html
  35. http://www.crossrail.co.uk/80256B090053AF4C/Files/whatiscrossrail/$FILE/route+linear+map+september+2007.pdf
  36. William Shakespeare - The Merry Wiues of Windsor Page 32
  37. Brave New World Chapter 5
  38. Poetic justice at last for Slough
  39. CPRE: Local tranquillity scores
  40. Making Slough Happy (BBC News)
  41. [1]
  42. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/23/kgb_maps_for_sale/
  43. Panorama - Immigration - How we lost count
  44. http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/articles/1/6098/
  45. http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-slough.html
  46. 46.0 46.1 Audit Commission. Community safety inspection Slough Borough Council. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.

External links