History Slough Trading Estate

slough power station seen windsor castle eton college chapel in foreground



a picture of part of slough trading estate, near slough station, heading towards paddington.



slough power station (2005)



slough trading estate sign

in june 1918, land west of slough (then in buckinghamshire) , adjacent great western railway main line, forming part of cippenham court farm including site of isolation hospital, bought government form motor repair depot army transport. depot intended receive broken down vehicles train battlefront, repair them, , return them service.

the project not regarded success. depot believed urgent construction work (eventually construction company sir robert mcalpine) began in july 1918 without harvesting crops on land, site still under construction when armistice agreed in november 1918.

although depot s fundamental purpose went end of war, general jan smuts proposed post-war use depot implemented. rather scrapping many army surplus vehicles, sent slough repair prior sale. because of use, many years (until @ least 1980s), site known locally , colloquially dump , , @ time of depot s development known white elephant . relations between management , workforce poor @ 1 point entire workforce sacked.

in april 1920, government surplus disposal board sold 2.7 square kilometre (600 acre) site , contents (17,000 used cars, trucks , motorcycles, , 170,000 square metres (1.8 million sq ft) of covered workshops) on 7 million pounds. sir percival perry, had established british operations of ford motor company , had been appointed assistant controller of uk government s agricultural machinery department during war, , sir noel mobbs, led group of investors acquired depot, establishing slough trading co. ltd.

repair , sale of ex-army vehicles continued until 1925 when slough trading company act passed allowing company (renamed slough estates ltd) establish industrial estate. existing army buildings tenanted factories, , additional units built. on bath road , farnham road frontages designed fundamentally uniform simple art deco offices on front. shared facilities provided workforce , employers, including fire station, restaurant, shops , banks, large community centre (1937) , slough industrial health service (1947).

early businesses established on trading estate included citroën (1926), gillette, johnson & johnson , high duty alloys. in 1932, joined mars ltd , berlei (uk) limited. in late 1933 slough estates journal reported there more 150 companies based on estate.

as trading estate grew despite depression of 1920s , 1930s, people attracted on country come , find work in slough. fast increase in population resulted in shortage of housing.

one solution construction of timbertown, estate of wooden single storey houses built adjacent site occupied community centre , occupied herschel grammar school.

from outside, houses looked army barracks, inside spacious , comfortable – 3 bedrooms, bathroom, big kitchen , living room. @ start, timbertown cared popular community, shop, social hut , sunday school. buildings started deteriorate. wooden houses had never been intended permanent , timbertown demolished in 1930s make way new buildings.

until 1973, estate had railway directly linking factories britain s railway system. passenger service ran paddington , slough stations separate station (accessed spur main line, separate freight access estate), until 1956.

in january 2008, estate s power station sold scottish , southern energy.