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Slough Libraries
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About Slough - show infohide info
Slough is a town in the county of Berkshire, with a population of 119,070. The town was originally formed by the amagamation of villages along the Great West Road (now the A4) from London to Bath and Bristol. The name was first recorded as 'Slo' in 1196, and has deviated to Sloo, and Slowe. It is thought that this is due to the numerous sloughs (wetlands) in the area. Pubs and coaching inns set up in the area to service the passing traffic; at this time most of the inhabitants lived in the joint parish of Upton and Chalvey. During the 19th centuries, the railways and canal came to Slough, boosting the economy of the town. Brickmaking became a major industry in the town. This brought a new development of population, which occured to the north of Upton and Chalverly. Housing was built for workers in the brickworks. Later, after WWI, fields near Slough were used to store the hundreds of vehicles which had been used abroad. Engineers soon started to work on this ready resource, thus creating Slough Trading Estate, one of the first such industrial estates in the world (later made famous by the BBC series 'The Office'). Slough is now largely a commuter town for workers in London, and for many working in or around Heathrow Airport. The railway station at Slough sees services to London Paddington, Oxford, Reading and Windsor and Eton, with all services operated by First Great Western Link. Nearby towns to Slough include Windsor, Feltham, Staines, Reading, Wembley, Harrow, Uxbridge and Kingston-upon-Thames.
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