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'Britwell' was a village and is now a suburb of the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire in the south of England, close to London.
The name Britwell derives from the old English ''beorhtan wiellan'' meaning 'bright, clear well'.
Modern-day Britwell was extended onto farmland, as overspill for bombed-out Londoners at the end of the Second World War. The first of 11,000 tenants moved in August 1956 and were delighted with the "roomy and modern" houses, complete with large swivel windows - "a boon to housewives". There was a dearth of amenities at first, but after the founding of the community association in 1959, the village finally got a bus service into Slough, and a community centre in 1966.
When Britwell was created, its postal address was Farnham Royal, near Slough. Its local authority was Eton Rural District Council (ERDC) which subsequently became South Bucks District Council (SBDC). Its original bus services were London Transport's 484, 441, 400 and Thames Valley Traction Company's 64 and later 70.
Britwell was a London County Council (LCC) housing estate. None of the residents came from "bombed-out" dwellings in London. This is a wrong statement printed in a local newspaper and probably due to sloppy reporting. After the ending of the Second World War in 1945, family sizes inevitably increased and more homes were needed.
The LCC's successor was The Greater London Council (GLC). When British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC the LCC/GLC social housing was transferred to Slough Borough Council (SBC).
SBC's control of Britwell's social housing (some of the original homes had been bought by their tenants) began a decline in living standards and housing and roads maintenance. The situation was made worse by SBC's policy of dumping problem families in Britwell's social housing and then failing to provide support and supervision.
The southern part of Long Readings Lane and the south side of Cowper Road became part of the Britwell ward for the first time in 2004 as a result of a suggestion by then SBC Conservative Group research assistant Eva Antao to the Boundary Commission (now part of the Electoral Commission). Houses in Cowper Road are of two distinctive types. The north side was built as part of the original LCC Britwell Estate. The south side was built by SBC.
Britwell, like the entire borough of Slough, was transferred from
Buckinghamshire to Berkshire on 1 April 1974.
Subsequently, Britwell has been subsumed into the growing conurbation of Slough.
Britwell used to be renowned throughout the local area for its high rate of crime.^[1] In 2002 bus drivers refused to drive through there at night because of repeated incidents of teenage boys throwing stones at buses.But with the stirling work done by the neighboroughood Police team crime under police sergeant Tony Welch has been reduced by 50%. The Parish Council have plans to build a Police Office on their Parish Grounds. It does however contain large unspoilt areas of parkland and woodland, not seen elsewhere in the borough.
There is a civil Parish of 'Britwell', which has a thirteen member Parish Council. A somewhat larger area, including the Parish is a three member ward of Slough Borough Council. See Slough local elections for links to recent Borough election results.
Britwell's row of shops featured as a backdrop in the dystopia themed movie V for Vendetta

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References

External link

★ Britwell Parish Council

References

1. BBC News Online, ''Crime crackdown on estate begins'', 03 August 2004.