Slough
- For slough (pronounced 'slew') as a type of aquatic feature, see slough (wetland).
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Slough is a town in Berkshire in the south of England. Villages which form part of Slough are: Britwell, Chalvey, Cippenham, Colnbrook, Langley, Upton, Wexham.
The astronomer William Herschel 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.
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
In the 1960s Gerry Anderson's film company was based in Slough, and his Supermarionation series including Thunderbirds was 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.
The BBC comedy series The Office is set in Slough, reiterating Betjeman's view of the place as a depressing industrial wasteland. In fact Betjeman's poem appears on the inside sleeve of the video and DVD of Series 1.
Slough is part of the traditional county of Buckinghamshire. It was transferred to Berkshire in the 1974 local government reorganisation. It became a unitary authority on April 1, 1998, with the abolition of Berkshire County Council.