Slough

Slough (ⁱ/ˈslaʊ/) is a town in Berkshire, England, about 20 miles (30 kilometres) west of central London. It is bisected by the A4 and the Great Western Main Line. In 2011, the population of Slough was 140,200 and the most ethnically diverse in the United Kingdom outside London, with the highest proportion of religious adherents in England.Historically part of Buckinghamshire, Slough is home to the Slough Trading Estate, the largest industrial estate in single private ownership in Europe.

History

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. 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.

Slough (disambiguation)

Slough is a town in Berkshire, England.

Slough may also refer to:

Hydrology

Places

Biology and medicine

Literature

People

See also

Slough (hydrology)

A slough is a wetland, usually a swamp or shallow lake, often a backwater to a larger body of water. Water tends to be stagnant or may flow slowly on a seasonal basis.

In North America, a slough can be a side-channel from or feeding a river, or an inlet or natural channel only sporadically filled with water. An example of this is Finn Slough on the Fraser River, whose lower reaches have dozens of notable sloughs.

References

Slough (UK Parliament constituency)

Slough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Fiona Mactaggart, a member of the Labour Party.

Boundaries

1983-1997: The Borough of Slough (the wards of Baylis, Britwell, Central, Chalvey, Cippenham, Farnham, Foxborough, Haymill, Kederminster, Langley St Mary's, Stoke, Upton, and Wexham Lea).

1997-2010: The Borough of Slough wards of Baylis, Britwell, Central, Chalvey, Cippenham, Farnham, Haymill, Kederminster, Langley St Mary's, Stoke, Upton, and Wexham Lea.

2010-present: The Borough of Slough wards of Baylis and Stoke, Britwell, Central, Chalvey, Cippenham Green, Cippenham Meadows, Farnham, Foxborough, Haymill, Kedermister, Langley St Mary’s, Upton, and Wexham Lea.

The constituency was created in 1983 and covers the Borough of Slough, a unitary authority, in Berkshire, with the exception of one ward.

The former Eton and Slough constituency, which contributed 88.2% of the Slough constituency, was a safe seat for the Labour Party. The remaining northern slice came from the safe Conservative constituency of Beaconsfield.

Berkshire

Berkshire (/ˈbɑːrkʃər/ or /ˈbɑːrkʃɪər/, abbreviated Berks) is a county of south east England, located to the west of London. It has also been known as the Royal County of Berkshire since at least the 19th century because of the presence of Windsor Castle and was recognised as such by the Queen in 1957 and letters patent issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is both a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading.

In 1974, significant alterations were made to the county's administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire and the separate administration of Reading was ended. Since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire (to the north), Buckinghamshire (to the north-east), Greater London (to the east), Surrey (to the south-east), Wiltshire (to the west) and Hampshire (to the south).

Berkshire (soil)

Berkshire soil series is the name given to a well drained loam or sandy loam soil which has developed on glacial till in parts of southern Quebec, eastern New York State and New England south to Massachusetts. It belongs to the podzol soil group and is one of the most important soils in its area of occurrence, supporting extensive forests and a fair number of farms. Many Berkshire soils lack the eluvial (E) horizon characteristic of podzols because they have a history of being cleared for cultivation.

Geology

The deep glacial till which provides the foundation of the Berkshire series contains material derived from mica schist with fragments of gneiss, granite and phyllite also present in some areas. These rocks are not high in mineral nutrients but provide enough fine-grained material to produce a loamy soil.

Agriculture

Cleared areas of the Berkshire series support a livestock industry with an emphasis on dairying. Grasses, legumes and silage corn are raised for cattle food. These crops are likely to need lime and fertilizer for optimum growth. Potatoes are also grown; they are well adapted to the Berkshire's natural acidity. Many Berkshire soils, however, are too rough and stony for easy cultivation and have been allowed to revert to forest.

Berkshire pig

Berkshire pigs are a rare breed of pig originating from the English county of Berkshire.

Herds of the breed are still maintained in England by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust at Aldenham Country Park, Hertfordshire, and by the South of England Rare Breeds Centre in Kent. The Berkshire is listed as vulnerable; as of 2008 fewer than 300 breeding sows were known to exist. Some pigs of the breed are also kept in New Zealand and Australia, but it is estimated that there are now fewer than a hundred purebred sows there.

In the United States, the American Berkshire Association, established in 1875, gives pedigrees only to pigs directly imported from established English herds or to those tracing directly back to such imported animals. The pig is also bred in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, under the trademarked name Kagoshima Kurobuta (かごしま黒豚, lit. Kagoshima black pig).

Culinary uses

Berkshire pork, prized for juiciness, flavour and tenderness, is pink-hued and heavily marbled. Its high fat content makes it suitable for long cooking and high-temperature cooking.