109-566: Slough ( / s l aʊ / ) is a town in Berkshire , England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading , at the intersection of the M4 , M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire . In 2021 Census, the population of the town was 143,184. In 2021, the wider Borough of Slough had
218-557: A branch line was completed from Slough to Windsor & Eton Central , opposite Windsor Castle , for Queen Victoria 's convenience. Slough has 96 listed buildings . There are 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,
327-474: A 100% win record. In 2010–11 the club finished bottom of National League 2S, with a single win and twenty-nine defeats. The club was founded in 1928 and in 1996 moved to a new purpose-built ground at Monks Lane, which has since hosted England U21 fixtures. The Bracknell Bees Ice Hockey Club are former national champions, who play in the English Premier League . Slough Jets also play in
436-514: A chalk downland and area of outstanding natural beauty , occupy the west of the county. They are the source of the River Kennet , which flows east through Newbury before meeting the Thames at Reading. The Thames then forms Berkshire's northern border, flowing past Maidenhead, before entering the county and flowing past Slough and Windsor . The south-east of the county contains Swinley Forest ,
545-647: 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 postwar redevelopment of the town. The Slough Cattle Market was run by Messrs Buckland and Sons until its final closure in 1988. In 1906, James Horlick , one of
654-475: A generic "slow" sign had been used. It had been intended to trial American and European-style directional signage but it proved too short notice to include these in the experiment. Road signs indicating 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits were trialled for the first time in the UK. In order to maximise compliance police activity in the town was intensified for the duration of the experiment. The police also ran
763-529: A larger Tesco Extra . The Heart of Slough Project is plan for the large-scale redevelopment of the town centre as a focus and cultural quarter for the creative media, information and communications industries created a mixed-use complex, multi-functional buildings, visual landmarks and a public space in the Thames Valley . Approval was given for the £400 million project by Slough Borough Council's planning committee on 9 July 2009, and work began in 2010 for completion in 2018. In December 2009, two key components of
872-665: A live highways environment. Slough was selected as the urban area was relatively compact and the roads were characteristic of the typical British town centre. The study was carried out by the RRL with the assistance of a "management body" that included Slough Borough Council , the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, the RRL, Buckinghamshire Police , the Social Survey Unit of the Central Office of Information ,
981-706: A major draw; the highlight is the Ascot Gold Cup . The most prestigious race is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes run in July. Newbury Racecourse is in the civil parish of Greenham , adjoining the town of Newbury. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 32 Group 1 races, the Lockinge Stakes . It also hosts the Ladbrokes Trophy , which
1090-623: A new bus station began in March 2010, following weeks of demolition work to half of the existing bus station and the removal of Compair House near the railway station. It was opened in May 2011. Redevelopment on this scale has been strongly criticised by conservation groups. 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
1199-478: A population of 158,500. Slough borders the ceremonial counties of Greater London and Buckinghamshire . Slough's population is one of the most ethnically diverse in the United Kingdom, attracting people from across the country and the world for labour since the 1920s, which has helped shape it into a major trading centre. In 2017, unemployment stood at 1.4%, one-third the UK average of 4.5%. Slough has
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#17327649094901308-457: A red light following a fatal road accident. The experiment trialled a wide variety of different road safety measures, many of them unique in the country at that time. On the town's High Street four existing zebra crossings were replaced with six light-controlled pedestrian crossings, these contained pedestrian push buttons to activate a set of vehicle control lights. Three different types of signals for pedestrians at these crossings were trialled:
1417-802: A remnant of Windsor Forest now used as a forestry plantation . There is evidence of prehistoric settlement on the Berkshire Downs, including the Iron Age Uffington White Horse , now in Oxfordshire. In the Anglo-Saxon period the region was contested by Mercia and Wessex , and Alfred the Great was born in Wantage , also now in Oxfordshire. Windsor Castle , which would become the official country residence of
1526-535: A rich history in horse racing, the well drained, spongy grass, open downs and long flats make the Lambourn Downs ideal for training racehorses. This area of West Berkshire is the largest centre of racehorse training in the UK after Newmarket , and is known as the 'Valley of the Racecourse'. Reading F.C. is the only Berkshire football club to play professional football . Despite being founded in 1871,
1635-623: A round signal, backlit rectangular signals and neon rectangular signals. A set of 11 traffic signals were introduced along Bath Road, with their sequencing linked to that of the signals on the High Street and linked to the speed limit of the road with the intention of minimising delays for motorists. These were the first linked traffic signals in the country. Bath Road also saw the introduction of pedestrian crossing islands and refuge areas for waiting right-turning cycles which were described as particularly novel. The trial experimented with
1744-485: A series of road safety courses on the Slough Trading Estate that included cycling proficiency tests for school children. The Slough experiment cost £124,900 in infrastructure and £8,200 in training and publicity. This did not include staff costs which were borne by the budgets of the providing organisations. The experiment provided enough data for years of ongoing study afterwards. By November 1955 it
1853-646: Is Heathrow Airport , about 5 miles (8 km) east of Slough town centre. This part of the Thames Valley is notable for generally having the warmest daytime summer temperatures on average in the British Isles . Typically, according to 1981–2010 normals, the average high temperature in July is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F.) Rainfall is low compared to most of the British Isles, with under 600 mm (23.62 in) annually, and 105 days reporting over 1 mm of rain. Faith in Slough (2021) According to
1962-543: Is a ceremonial county and non-metropolitan county , one of four currently in England that have no council covering their entire area; rather it is divided into six unitary authorities. Berkshire County Council existed from 1889 until its abolition in 1998. The ceremonial county has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff . The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire is Andrew Try, and the High Sheriff of Berkshire for 2018/19
2071-742: Is a centre for rugby union football . The Premiership team London Irish were for 20 years tenants at the Madejski Stadium before their move back to SW London at a new stadium in Brentford. Newbury's rugby union club, Newbury R.F.C. (the Newbury 'Blues'), is based in the town. In the 2004–05 season, the club finished second in the National Two division earning promotion to National One. Newbury had previously won National Four South (now renamed as National Three South) in 1996–97 with
2180-676: Is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling . Reading has a historical involvement in the information technology industry, largely as a result of the early presence in the town of sites of International Computers Limited and Digital . These companies have been swallowed by other groups, but their descendants, Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard respectively, still have local operations. More recently Microsoft and Oracle have established multi-building campuses on
2289-580: Is home to the Slough Ladies 1XI who play in the Women's Premier League, with five adult teams. In 2016, Bracknell and Wokingham Hockey Clubs merged to form South Berkshire Hockey Club. The team plays at Cantley Park in Wokingham and occasionally at Birch Hill, Bracknell. Other hockey teams in the county include Tadley, Yateley, Maidenhead, Windsor, and Newbury & Thatcham Hockey Clubs. Berkshire
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#17327649094902398-560: Is home to the central Waitrose distribution centre and head office, which is on a 70-acre (280,000 m ) site on the Southern Industrial Estate. Waitrose has operated from the town since the 1970s. The town is also home to the UK headquarters of Honda and BMW . Newbury is home to the world headquarters of the mobile network operator Vodafone , which is the town's largest employer with over 6,000 people. Before moving to their £129 million headquarters in
2507-589: Is home to the following universities: the University of Reading (which includes the Henley Business School ), Imperial College ( Silwood Park Campus), and the University of West London . It is also home to The Chartered Institute of Marketing , prestigious independent schools Ludgrove School , Eton College and Wellington College , and several grammar schools including Reading School , Kendrick School and Herschel Grammar School . See
2616-613: Is housed in the Mere. Recent new offices include those of Nintendo , Black and Decker and Abbey business centres . The registered office of Furniture Village lies in the town. 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 it retains its UK headquarters in the town. Ford built D Series and Cargo lorries at its factory in Langley (a former Hawker Aircraft site) from 1936 to
2725-496: Is mostly based in the urban areas to the east and centre of the county: the largest towns here are Reading , Slough , Bracknell , Maidenhead , Woodley , Wokingham , Windsor , Earley , Sandhurst , and Crowthorne . West Berkshire is much more rural and sparsely populated, with far fewer towns: the largest are Newbury , Thatcham , and Hungerford . In recent years, Berkshire has seen consistent population growth, particularly in urban areas like Reading and Slough. Between 2011-21,
2834-477: Is rural, and its largest town is Newbury (33,841). For local government purposes Berkshire comprises six unitary authority areas: Bracknell Forest , Reading , Slough , West Berkshire , Windsor and Maidenhead , and Wokingham . The historic county included the parts of Oxfordshire south of the River Thames , which formed its northern border, but excluded Caversham and Slough . The Berkshire Downs ,
2943-677: Is said to be the biggest handicap race of the National Hunt season apart from the Grand National . Windsor Racecourse , also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor . It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom. (The other is at Fontwell Park ). It abandoned National Hunt jump racing in December 1998, switching entirely to flat racing. Lambourn also has
3052-546: Is significantly lower due to the large shares of the British Asian and Black population speaking English as their first language. Aside from English, the most commonly spoken languages are Punjabi , Polish , and Urdu . Figures from the 2021 census showed that 32% of Slough's population identified as Christian, 29.4% as Muslim, 11.4% as Sikh, 7.8% as Hindu, 0.5% as Buddhist, 0.1% as Jewish, 0.5% as having other religions, 13% as having no religion and 5.4% did not answer
3161-677: Is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 13 of the UK's 35 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family , being approximately 6 mi (10 km) from Windsor Castle , and owned by the Crown Estate . Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteen flat meetings held between May and October. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains
3270-484: The 2021 census , Slough is a large town with a population of 158,400 of which 46.9% of the population was Asian , 35.9% white , 7.5% black , 4% mixed race , 1.2% Arab and 4.5% of other ethnic heritage. This makes the town one of the most ethnically diverse local authorities in the country outside of London. Despite its diverse population, English is the most spoken language in 2021, with over 110,212 citing English as their first language. Those stating other languages
3379-584: The Blackwater draining parts of two counties south, and the Kennet draining part of upland Wiltshire in the west. Heading west the reduced, but equally large, part of the county extends further from the Thames which flows from the north-north-west before the Goring Gap ; West Berkshire hosts the varying-width plain of the River Kennet rising to high chalk hills by way of and lower clay slopes and rises. To
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3488-608: The British monarch , was built after the Norman Conquest . The county has been the site of several battles, particularly during the First English Civil War , when Reading and Wallingford were besieged two battles took place at Newbury, in 1643 and 1644 . The proximity of the east of the county to London led to development from the nineteenth century, when Slough became an industrial centre and Bracknell
3597-526: The Elizabeth line , a new railway line across central London opened in 2022. Berkshire The Royal County of Berkshire , commonly known as simply Berkshire ( / ˈ b ɑː r k ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / BARK -sheer, -shər ; abbreviated Berks. ), is a ceremonial county in South East England . It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to
3706-574: The English Premier League winning the title in 2007. Slough Jets also won the play-offs in 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10 & 2011–12. They also won the EPIH Cup in 2010–11. Slough Jets have been in the EPIHL since 1999. Phoenix Reading Hockey Club, based at Reading University, has six adult teams and a large junior development section. Reading Hockey Club and Sonning Hockey Club are situated close to each other near Blue Coats School. Slough Hockey Club
3815-539: The Labour Party ) with employed executives, whereas Labour Party local councillors run both Bracknell Forest and Reading , with Slough being run by the Conservative Party . After the 2024 United Kingdom general election , 5 of the elected Members of Parliament (MPs) were Labour, 3 Lib Dem and one conservative. The prime minister between 2016–19, Theresa May represented Maidenhead . This
3924-659: The List of places in Berkshire , List of settlements in Berkshire by population and the List of civil parishes in Berkshire Slough experiment The Slough experiment was a two-year road safety trial carried out in Slough , Berkshire, England, from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957. Different road safety innovations were tested to determine if they would reduce the number of road accidents. Amongst other innovations
4033-579: The M4 motorway , on the south side of Sonning Bridge , on the A404 southbound by Marlow, and northbound on the A33 past Stratfield Saye . A flag for the historic county of Berkshire was registered with the Flag Institute in 2017. All of the county is drained by the Thames. Berkshire divides into two topological (and associated geological) sections: east and west of Reading . North-east Berkshire has
4142-585: The Municipal Borough of Slough was replaced by a larger non-metropolitan district with borough status called Slough. The enlarged district gained the Britwell and Wexham Court areas, and was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire. The borough was enlarged in 1995 to take in Colnbrook with Poyle . In 1998 Slough Borough Council became a unitary authority when Berkshire County Council
4251-583: The Thames Valley from the Hannington TV transmitter. Those parts of Berkshire closest to London such as Maidenhead , Windsor and Slough , receive BBC London and ITV London from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter. The county’s local radio stations are BBC Radio Berkshire , Heart South and Greatest Hits Radio Berkshire & North Hampshire . Berkshire hosts more Group 1 flat horse races than any other county. Ascot Racecourse
4360-618: The Vale of White Horse district, and Didcot and Wallingford added to South Oxfordshire district. 94 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, even though the White Horse is now within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire. The original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire: this proposal did not make it into
4469-570: The county town of Reading . Slough is within the Greater London Urban Area and on the border with London Borough of Hillingdon and London Borough of Hounslow . Heathrow Airport is 5 miles away. Nearby towns are Uxbridge to the northeast and Beaconsfield to the north. Most of the area that now makes up Slough was anciently part of Buckinghamshire , however, Poyle was historically in Middlesex. The town developed by
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4578-453: The panda crossing which were in use from 1961 and the pelican crossing which were implemented from 1969 and remain in use. The use of luminous road markings was not adopted as it proved no more effective than existing markings in areas with a good level of street lighting. The use of amber cat's eyes at junction approaches did not prove effective and was discontinued. The "keep left" pedestrian footpath markings did not prove effective as
4687-556: The 1950s until the site was redeveloped for housing in the 1990s. Ferrari , Mercedes , Fiat and Maserati now have offices in the town. Located roughly 20 miles (32 km) west of Central London , Slough is a commuter town near Heathrow Airport (7 miles (11 km) south-east), Uxbridge (6 miles (9.7 km) north-east), Maidenhead (5 miles (8.0 km) west) and Staines (7 miles (11 km) south-east). Slough residents also commute to Windsor, Reading and Bracknell as well as Central London. There are large passenger movements in
4796-538: 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 in Slough, the main factory having been established in 1932 by Forrest Mars Sr. and Frank C. Mars . It produced the Mars Bar in Slough over 70 years ago. One of the Mars factories has been demolished and some production has moved to
4905-652: The 2012 London Olympics. Preparations were under way for the regeneration of the Britwell suburb of Slough, involving tearing down a dilapidated block of flats and the closing of the public house the Jolly Londoner in Wentworth Avenue and replacing them with new homes, as well as relocating the shopping parade in the street to nearby Kennedy Park. As part of the Heart of Slough project, construction work on
5014-593: The Bill as introduced. On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission , and the districts became unitary authorities . Unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Signs saying "Welcome to the Royal County of Berkshire" exist on borders of West Berkshire, on the east side of Virginia Water , on
5123-570: The Chilterns, and often contain layers of chalk rock. Less consolidated Palaeogene clays , sands , gravels and silts of the Lambeth , Thames and Bracklesham Groups overlie these rocks in some areas. These hills, and the valleys that surround them, were shaped by the rivers Kennet , Lambourn , Pang and Enborne , and the Quaternary sands and gravels they brought with them and (in
5232-404: The Czech Republic. The European head offices of major IT companies such as BlackBerry , McAfee , Computer Associates , PictureTel and Compusys (among others) are all in the town. O 2 is headquartered in the town across four buildings. The town is also home to the business support organisation Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group and National Foundation for Educational Research , which
5341-469: 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 . Spectacular growth and employment ensued, with Slough attracting workers from many parts of the UK and abroad. Slough Town Hall , which was designed by Charles Holloway James and Stephen Rowland Pierce ,
5450-448: The Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror established Windsor as a royal residence. On 1 April 1974, Berkshire's boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972 . Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. The northern part of the county came under governance of Oxfordshire , with Faringdon , Wantage and Abingdon and their hinterland becoming
5559-410: The Slough Road Safety Council and Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents . The experiment ran from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957, with the public given no prior warning so that the data for the preceding period was not affected. During the experiment Slough was designated as a "safety town" and this term was widely circulated by means of posters and leaflets. In addition a "safety town" song
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#17327649094905668-613: The UK headquarters is still based there. Bracknell is a base for high-tech industries, with the presence of companies such as Panasonic , Fujitsu (formerly ICL ) and Fujitsu-Siemens Computers , Dell , Hewlett-Packard , Siemens (originally Nixdorf ), Honeywell , Cable & Wireless , Avnet Technology Solutions and Novell . Firms spread into the surrounding Thames Valley or M4 corridor , attracting IT firms such as Cable & Wireless , DEC (subsequently Hewlett-Packard ), Microsoft , Sharp Telecommunications , Oracle Corporation , Sun Microsystems and Cognos . Bracknell
5777-592: The UK headquarters of Mars, Incorporated are based in Slough . The European head offices of major IT companies BlackBerry , CA Technologies , are in the town. The town is home to the National Foundation for Educational Research , which is housed in The Mere. Other major brands with offices in the town include Nintendo , Black & Decker , Amazon , HTC , SSE plc and Abbey Business Centres . Dulux paints were manufactured in Slough by AkzoNobel , which bought Imperial Chemical Industries in 2008. Manufacturing ceased in 2018 with operations moving elsewhere, however
5886-542: The area after which it was named). The heaths and woodland south and east of Bracknell are mostly covered by (Eocene) Bracklesham Group sands and clays, and Quaternary sands, silts and gravels. After the Thames broke through the Goring Gap that river and its tributaries the Loddon , Emm Brook , Blackwater and (to some extent) Wey shaped the geography of eastern Berkshire but have not yet eroded away its Eocene cover. According to 2003 estimates there were 803,657 people in Berkshire, or 636 people/km . The population
5995-417: The area to the west of Reading and the western edge of the Chiltern Hills . The lower (early) Cretaceous rocks are sandstones and mudstones (now visible only on the slopes of Walbury Hill ) whilst those of the upper (late) Cretaceous are the various formations that comprise the Chalk Group . In Berkshire, White Chalk Formation beds tend to be shallower than those further west ( Wiltshire ) or those in
6104-423: The case of the Kennet) left behind when they changed course. The early Eocene London Clay (Thames Group) generally gets thinner as we proceed westwards, though the thickness of beds can vary considerably over short distances. Where rivers have cut through these beds Lambeth Group layers are found (notably, the Palaeocene Reading Formation , used for brick-making since Roman times but now increasingly scarce in
6213-532: The civic centre and is supporting the Campaign to Save Slough's Heritage in their request for a review of the decision. During November 2016, the Slough Queensmere and Observatory shopping centres were sold to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in a deal worth £130 million. Slough is 20 miles (32 km) west of Charing Cross , central London , 2 miles (3 km) north of Windsor , 5 miles (8 km) east of Maidenhead , 11 miles (18 km) south-east of High Wycombe and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of
6322-428: The club did not join the Football League until 1920, and first played in the top tier of English football in the 2006–07 season . Newbury was home to A.F.C. Newbury , which was one of only two football clubs to be sponsored by Vodafone (the other being Manchester United ). In 2006 Vodafone ended its sponsorship of the club, following which the club collapsed. A local pub team from the Old London Apprentice took over
6431-419: The county's downlands , south and east of which the London Clay spans almost the whole county, and in the south-east corner sandy Palaeogene heath covers the London Clay. This is an oversimplification, however. A gently folded succession of sedimentary rocks dating from the Cretaceous period, with some surviving Palaeogene cover and extensive Quaternary deposits, characterise the downlands, which cover
6540-408: The county's early history is recorded in the Chronicles of the Abingdon Abbey , which at the time of the survey was second only to the crown in the extent and number of its possessions, such as The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay . The abbot exercised considerable judicial and administrative powers, and his court was endowed with the privileges of the hundred court and freed from liability to interference by
6649-447: The directories company Hibu . The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town. PepsiCo and Holiday Inn have offices. As with most major cities, Reading also has offices of the Big Four accounting firms Deloitte , Ernst & Young , KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers . The 110-year old charity, Berkshire Vision is also located within Reading city centre. The global headquarters of Reckitt Benckiser and
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#17327649094906758-399: 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. 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
6867-438: The economy of Slough in east Berkshire. Abingdon Abbey once had dairy-based granges in the south-east of the county, Red Windsor cheese was developed with red marbling. Some Berkshire cheeses are Wigmore, Waterloo and Spenwood (named after Spencers Wood ) in Riseley ; and Barkham Blue, Barkham Chase and Loddon Blewe at Barkham . Local news and television programmes are covered by BBC South and ITV Meridian for
6976-469: The estate. This was intended to create 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 was claimed that the plan would create more than 4,100 new jobs and contribute around £100m a year to Slough's economy. If both plans went ahead, nearly £1 billion would be spent on redeveloping Slough over
7085-454: 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 . Named neighbourhoods include Brands Hill, Britwell , Huntercombe , Manor Park, Salt Hill , Upton Lea and Windsor Meadows . The urban area merges into
7194-516: The experiment trialled the first linked traffic signals in the country, single yellow no-waiting lines , a keep left system for pedestrians and yield signs at junctions (the latter developed into the modern give way sign). The experiment also saw the first use of 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits in the UK. The experiment cost at least £133,100 and resulted in a 10% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities. The British Government's Road Research Laboratory 's (RRL) Traffic and Safety Division
7303-429: The founders of the eponymous malted milk company, opened a purpose-built red-brick factory near Slough Railway Station to manufacture his malted milk product. In 2015, the business was sold by Glaxo Smith Kline and in 2017, manufacturing at the site ceased altogether. The site is currently proposed to become residential making use of the original buildings as much as possible. Starting in the 1920s, Slough Estates Ltd ,
7412-426: The grassy and wooded bends a large minority of East Berkshire's land mirrors the clay belt, being of low elevation and on the left (north) bank of the Thames : Slough, Eton, Eton Wick, Wraysbury, Horton, and Datchet. In the heart of the county Reading's northern suburb Caversham is also on that bank, but rises steeply into the Chiltern Hills . Two main tributaries skirt past Reading, the Loddon and its sub-tributary
7521-413: The ground temporarily and now compete in the Hellenic Football League as Newbury F.C. There are several amateur and semi-professional football clubs in the county. These include Maidenhead United , Slough Town , Hungerford Town , Thatcham Town , Ascot United , A.F.C. Aldermaston , Sandhurst Town , Windsor F.C. , Wokingham & Emmbrook F.C. , Bracknell Town F.C. and Reading City . Reading
7630-481: The heightened police presence. The experiment led to an increase in the number of people surveyed who considered that Slough was safer than other towns. The new light-controlled pedestrian crossings proved to be three times safer than an uncontrolled crossing. The neon rectangular pedestrian signals were selected as the most appropriate of the three types trialled and were adopted for future crossings. Light-controlled pedestrian crossings were further developed into
7739-421: The highest concentration of UK HQs of global companies outside London. Slough Trading Estate is the largest industrial estate in single private ownership in Europe, with over 17,000 jobs in 400 businesses. Blackberry , McAfee , Burger King , DHL , Telefonica and Lego have head offices in the town. The name was first recorded in 1195 as Slo . It first seems to have applied to a hamlet between Upton to
7848-436: 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 had 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
7957-499: 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 (later absorbed into Slough), 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,
8066-452: The library service. The library was officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor DR Peters, on 15 May 1975. It was demolished in May 2017 as part of the programme of redevelopment in the town centre. In the 21st century, Slough has seen major redevelopment of the town centre. Old buildings are being replaced with new offices and shopping complexes. Tesco has replaced an existing superstore with
8175-415: 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
8284-595: The low calciferous (limestone) m-shaped bends of the Thames south of which is a broader, clayey, gravelly former watery plain or belt from Earley to Windsor and beyond, south, are parcels and belts of uneroded higher sands, flints, shingles and lightly acid soil and in the north of the Bagshot Formation , north of Surrey and Hampshire . Swinley Forest (also known as Bracknell Forest), Windsor Great Park , Crowthorne and Stratfield Saye Woods have many pine, silver birch, and other lightly acid-soil trees. East of
8393-425: The majority of the pedestrians proved to walk on the right-hand side or else walked adjacent to shop frontages for ease of window shopping. The experiment's final report recommended the adoption of the no waiting and no loading kerbside markings and further experimentation with the 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits – these measures would later be adopted across the country. Slough continued to promote itself as
8502-680: The mid-19th century, 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
8611-813: The morning and evening rush hours. Road transport in Slough includes: Slough is served by Great Western Railway stations at Burnham , Slough and Langley . Slough station is a junction between the Great Western Main Line and the Slough to Windsor & Eton Line to allow passengers to connect for Windsor & Eton Central . Reading : Great Western Railway operate fast services to Reading every half an hour which take about 15 minutes, as well as slow services every fifteen minutes which take 30 minutes. London Paddington : Great Western Railway operate express services to London every half an hour which take 14 minutes, as well as slow services every fifteen minutes taking 26 minutes. Slough has services on
8720-600: The neighbouring parishes of Burnham , a small area of Taplow near Cippenham , Farnham Royal and Stoke Poges which remain in the county of Buckinghamshire and Datchet which is in Berkshire. Eton is narrowly buffered by the Jubilee River and by green space (mainly the college playing fields) from part of Slough, and the two areas formerly formed the Eton birth, marriages and deaths registration district. The nearest Met Office weather observing station to Slough
8829-569: The new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon , which remained in the county. Under the Local Government Act 1888 , Berkshire County Council took over functions of the Berkshire Quarter Sessions , covering the administrative county of Berkshire, which excluded the county borough of Reading . Boundary alterations in the late 19th century and early 20th century were relatively rare, but included ceding
8938-556: The next 20 years. In 2009, Herschel Park (known as Upton Park until 1949), named for astronomer William Herschel , was relandscaped in a multimillion-pound effort to bring it back to its former Victorian era glory. The park was featured in an episode of the documentary programme Who Do You Think You Are? focusing on the TV presenter Davina McCall . In 2010, £2 million was set aside to improve disabled access to Slough railway station in preparation for an expected increase in use during
9047-502: The north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town . The county has an area of 1,263 km (488 sq mi) and a population of 911,403. The population is concentrated in the east, the area closest to Greater London, which includes the county's largest towns: Reading (174,224), Slough (164,793), Bracknell (113,205), and Maidenhead (70,374). The west
9156-450: 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. The company Zwicky Limited, a manufacturer of liquid pumps, filters, compression valves and aircraft refuelling units, runway sweepers were based in Slough. In
9265-619: The outskirts of Reading. Other technology companies with a presence in the town include Huawei Technologies , Agilent Technologies , Audio & Design (Recording) Ltd , Bang & Olufsen , Cisco , Comptel , Ericsson , Harris Corporation , Intel , Nvidia , Rockwell Collins , Sage , SGI , Symantec , Symbol Technologies , Verizon Business , Virgin Media O2 , Websense , Xansa (now Sopra Steria ), and Xerox . The financial company ING Direct has its headquarters in Reading, as does
9374-523: The outskirts of the town in 2002, Vodafone used 64 buildings spread across the town centre. As well as Vodafone, Newbury is also home to National Instruments , Micro Focus , EValue , NTS Express Road Haulage, Jokers' Masquerade and Quantel . It also is home to the Newbury Building Society , which operates in the region. In Compton , a small village, roughly 10 miles from Newbury , a chemical manufacturing company called Carbosynth
9483-439: The parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey (including the old village of Upton) and a smaller part of the neighbouring parish of Stoke Poges . The town was then governed by an elected local board. Such local government districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . In 1900 the Slough urban district was enlarged to absorb most of the residual parts of the old Upton-cum-Chalvey parish that had been outside
9592-439: The parts of the borough of Oxford south of the Thames in 1889, and gaining Caversham from Oxfordshire in 1911. The administrative county's full legal name was "Berks" rather than "Berkshire" until 1967, when the government changed the name to Berkshire at the county council's request. Berkshire received the title "Royal County" in 1957 due to the presence of Windsor Castle. The area has historical ties to royalty dating back to
9701-416: The population increased by 6.7%, largely due to migration and economic opportunities in the region. Reading has experienced significant growth due to its reputation as a technology and business hub. In 1831, there were 146,234 people living in Berkshire; by 1901 the population had risen to 252,571 (of whom 122,807 were male and 129,764 were female). Below were the largest immigrant groups in 2011. Berkshire
9810-662: The project were signed: the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) signed its agreement to provide £11m of funding for infrastructure and Thames Valley University (TVU) courses which were due to remain in the town found a new home at the Centre in Farnham Road, Slough. In parallel to the town centre redevelopment plan, Segro (owner of the Slough Trading Estate) planned to spend £600 million over the following 20 years on
9919-415: The question. Further information can be found on the page Demographics of Slough . There is one main tier of local government covering Slough, at unitary authority level: Slough Borough Council , which is based at Observatory House in the town centre. Most of the urban area is unparished , although some of the suburbs are included in civil parishes , including Britwell and Wexham Court . Slough
10028-456: The road it was sited on was pedestrianised . RRL testing revealed that of all the crossings trialled the zebra crossing was the best solution and this was adopted for nationwide use. In 1954 Slough was selected as the site for a study of road safety measures. This was at the instigation of the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation John Boyd-Carpenter , who wanted the measures tested in
10137-644: The road to service the passing trade. Until the town developed as an industrial area, nurseries were prominent in the local economy; the 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 and 1883 by John Sinkins, the master of the Eton Union Workhouse , which lay in Slough. In
10246-473: The sheriff. Berkshire and Oxfordshire had a common sheriff until the reign of Elizabeth I , and the shire court was held at Grandpont . The assizes were formerly held at Reading, Abingdon, and Newbury, but by 1911 were held entirely at Reading. Berkshire has been the scene of notable battles. Alfred the Great 's campaign against the Danes included the battles of Englefield , Ashdown and Reading . Newbury
10355-720: The south, the land crests along the boundary with Hampshire ; the highest parts of South-East and Eastern England taken together are here. The highest is Walbury Hill at 297 m (974 ft). To the north of the Kennet are the Berkshire Downs . This is hilly country, with smaller and well-wooded valleys: those of the Lambourn , Pang , and their Thames sub-tributaries. The open upland areas vie with Newmarket, Suffolk for horse racing training and breeding centres and have good fields of barley, wheat, and other cereal crops. Berkshire’s surface can be divided into three bands:
10464-518: The urban district, including Chalvey . The urban district was further enlarged in 1930, when it was significantly expanded to take in most of the neighbouring parish of Langley (including the village), the Salt Hill area from the parish of Farnham Royal , and the Cippenham area from the parish of Burnham . In 1938 the urban district was incorporated to become a municipal borough . In 1974,
10573-546: The use of T-junction and crossroad advanced warning signs on the A4 trunk road , a development of a scheme first trialled during blackout conditions in the Second World War . The use of 6-inch reflective metal discs mounted on posts at the edge of carriageways on bends was also trialled. The experiment also trialled the use of yield road signs at junctions (these later developed into "give way" signs) where previously only
10682-472: The use of a single yellow line to mark the extent of no waiting areas and yellow stripes on kerbs to denote no loading areas. Two types of luminous road marking paint were also trialled and the use of amber cat's eyes on the approach to junctions. Road marking footprints were also trialled on footways to attempt to encourage pedestrians to follow certain routes and to follow a "keep left" system. Various new road signs were also trialled. This included
10791-478: The war, several further large housing developments arose to take large numbers of people migrating from war-damaged London. Between 1955 and 1957 the town was the site of the Slough experiment , a large-scale road safety trial. The old Slough library was opened on 28 November 1974. It was officially called the Robert Taylor Library, named after Alderman Taylor in recognition of his contribution to
10900-515: Was Graham Barker. The six unitary councils formed a joint Berkshire Prosperity Board in February 2024 and submitted an expression of interest in forming a non-mayoral combined authority in September 2024. As of the 2023 local elections, Liberal Democrat groups of local councillors run the unitary authorities of West Berkshire , Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham (in coalition with
11009-519: Was abolished and the borough council took on the former county council's functions in the borough. Since 2015, Slough has had a Youth Parliament to represent the views of younger people. Slough is twinned with: Before the 19th century, 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
11118-462: Was completed in 1937. During the Second World War , Slough experienced a series of air raids , mostly in October 1940 (the largest number of people, five, dying as a result of a raid on the 13th), and an emergency hospital treating casualties from London was set up in Slough. Local air raid deaths and deaths at the hospital account for the 23 civilian lives recorded lost in the borough area. After
11227-424: Was composed which was played in Slough's cinemas and taught to school children in music lessons. A short ditty that ran: "Slough is the safety town, let us keep it so, road safety is the code everyone should know" was also promoted. The experiment was described at the time as one of the world's biggest road safety experiments. To improve public awareness a beacon was erected in the town's shopping centre that showed
11336-430: Was designated a new town . Software development and high-tech industry dominate the economy in the east, but the west remains an agricultural region. According to Asser 's biography of King Alfred , written in 893 AD, Berkshire takes its name from a wood of box trees , which was called Bearroc (a Celtic word meaning "hilly"). This wood, perhaps no longer extant, was west of Frilsham , near Newbury . Much of
11445-482: Was established at Langley , near Slough in 1946. The division was soon tasked with developing a new type of pedestrian crossing that would be visible in all weather conditions. These had previously been marked only by lines of metal studs across the road and poles on the footway at either side. Several different crossings were trialled in Slough from 1951 with the first zebra crossing being laid out on 31 October. The very first zebra crossing has since been lost as
11554-418: Was founded, in 2006. Since 2019, it has merged with a Swiss company called Biosynth AG to form a key global organisation within the fine chemical industry and operates under name Biosynth Carbosynth . Biosynth Carbosynth, along with its acquired companies, vivitide and Pepscan rebranded to Biosynth in 2022. London Heathrow Airport , in the neighbouring London Borough of Hillingdon, is a major contributor to
11663-463: Was historically a hamlet in the parish of Upton , also known as Upton-cum-Chalvey, in Buckinghamshire . Until 1863 it was administered by the parish vestry and manorial courts , in the same way as most rural areas. As Slough began developing into a town, the need for more urban forms of local government grew. In 1863 a local government district was established for Slough, covering part of
11772-403: Was shown that road accident injuries and fatalities were steady in Slough, in spite of an increase of 11% nationwide. By the end of the experiment it was shown that Slough had achieved a 10% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries compared to a 9% rise nationwide over the same period. A rise in the number of minor injuries was attributed to better reporting due to greater public awareness and
11881-670: Was the site of English Civil War battles: the First Battle of Newbury , at Wash Common in 1643, and the Second Battle of Newbury , at Speen in 1644. Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle. Another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It was the only substantial military action in England during the Glorious Revolution and ended in a decisive victory for forces loyal to William of Orange . Reading became
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