Slough
- For slough (pronounced 'slew') as a type of aquatic feature, see slough (wetland).
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Slough is a town and borough in Berkshire in the south of England. Villages which form part of Slough are: Britwell, Chalvey, Cippenham, Colnbrook, Langley, Upton, Wexham.
History
Most of the area is traditionally part of Buckinghamshire. It was incorporated into Berkshire in the 1974 local government reorganisation. On April 1, 1995, the borough of Slough exanded slightly into Buckinghamshire and Surrey, to to take in Colnbrook and Poyle. It became a unitary authority on April 1 1998, with the abolition of Berkshire County Council.
The astronomer William Herschel (1738 - 1822), and his sister Caroline, produced the first true map of the universe with a telescope he built in his garden in Slough. A monument in Windsor Road commemorates his achievement. William married and is buried in St Laurence's Church, Upton, Slough.
Business
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 town is also home to the National Foundation for Educational Research, which is housed in The Mere.
Sense of Humour
The poet John Betjeman wrote, in his 1937 poem Slough as a protest against the 850 factories and a new town in what was a rural area:
- Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough
- It isn't fit for humans now
As a joke, the comedian Spike Milligan presented it on TV as a holiday resort.
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.
