Editing Britwell

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name        = Wentworth Avenue - geograph.org.uk - 6880362.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Wentworth Avenue, Britwell
| country                  = England
| official_name            = Britwell
| civil_parish             = Britwell
| unitary_england          = [[Borough of Slough|Slough]]
| region                   = South East England
| lieutenancy_england      = [[Berkshire]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Slough (UK Parliament constituency)|Slough]]
| post_town                = Slough
| postcode_district        = SL2
| postcode_area            = SL
| dial_code                = 01753
| os_grid_reference        = SU955825
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.5337|-0.6238|display=inline,title}}
| population               = 5,989
| population_ref           = ''(2001)'' 
}}
'''Britwell''' is a residential [[housing estate]] and [[civil parish]] in the north west of [[Slough]], [[Berkshire]], [[South East England]]. It is about {{convert|23|miles}} west of Charing Cross, the centremost point of [[London]].

The name Britwell derives from the old English ''beorhtan wiellan'' meaning 'bright, clear well'.

==History==
[[File:Wentworth Avenue, Britwell - geograph.org.uk - 162775.jpg|thumb|Shops and flats at the run-down heart of the Britwell estate in 2006. The buildings have since been demolished and replaced by low-rise housing.]]
The place now known as the Britwell Estate was originally farm land. Modern-day Britwell, which has the well-defined geographic boundaries of Farnham Lane (in the north), Lower Britwell Road and Haymill Road (to the west), Whittaker Road and Northborough Road (south) and Long Readings Lane (east), was created as a large [[overspill estate|overspill]] housing estate for [[London overspill|bombed-out Londoners]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}} at the end of the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Britwell was one of a number of [[London County Council]] estates built at the time, with other estates in places including [[Langley, Slough|Langley]] and [[Swindon]]. The first of 11,000 tenants arrived in August 1956 and were delighted with the "roomy and modern" houses, complete with large swivel windows – "a boon to housewives".{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} There was a dearth of amenities at first, but after the founding of the community association in 1959, the estate finally got a bus service into Slough, and a community centre in 1966.

When the Britwell Estate was created, its postal address was [[Farnham Royal]], near Slough. The local authority at the time was [[Eton Rural District|Eton Rural District Council]] in the county of [[Buckinghamshire]].

In 1965, the London County Council was one of a number of authorities replaced by the [[Greater London Council]] (GLC). When the GLC was in turn abolished in 1986, the social housing on Britwell was transferred to Slough Borough Council. Mortgages issued by the GLC authority were transferred to the [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]].

==Government==
Following the [[Local Government Act 1972]], Britwell was [[List of Buckinghamshire boundary changes|transferred to Berkshire]], to form part of the borough of Slough. A [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] was established at that point for the part of the estate that had previously lain in the [[Burnham, Buckinghamshire|Burnham]] civil parish. The current [[Parish councils in England|Parish Council]] had 13 parish councillors and covers approximately 60% of the Britwell Estate.

The Britwell Electoral [[Ward (politics)|ward]] included the parish area and extends westwards to the Five Points crossroads in Burnham. It has three borough councillors. 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 following a Boundary Commission review.

The Parish Council have provided premises for use as a Neighbourhood Police Office within their parish ground; this is well used by the local beat team, PCSOs and community wardens.

In 2018 the parish, and neighbouring [[Wexham Court]], were scheduled for abolition in April 2019, but after an appeal by the parish councils and a judicial review the order was quashed and the parishes remain unchanged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Reviews/South%20East/Berkshire/West%20Berkshire/CGR/SloughCC-SloughCGR-2019-01-21.pdf|title=The Slough Borough Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2019|publisher=[[Local Government Boundary Commission for England]]|access-date=13 May 2019|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202636/http://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Reviews/South%20East/Berkshire/West%20Berkshire/CGR/SloughCC-SloughCGR-2019-01-21.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slough.gov.uk/consultations-petitions/community-governance-review-2018/5?documentId=611&categoryId=20150|title=Community Governance Review 2018, Judicial review|publisher=Slough Borough Council}}</ref>

==Geography==
Britwell has two [[Local nature reserve]]s, the first is on the South Western border of the village called [[Haymill Valley]], and the other is on the northern border called [[Cocksherd Wood]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271008944%27 |title=Magic Map Application - Haymill Valley |publisher=Magic.defra.gov.uk |date= |access-date=2017-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271009271%27 |title=Magic Map Application - Cocksherd Wood |publisher=Magic.defra.gov.uk |date= |access-date=2017-04-28}}</ref>

==In the media==
Britwell's row of shops featured as a backdrop in the [[dystopia]] themed movie ''[[V for Vendetta (film)|V for Vendetta]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sloughhistoryonline.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=slough&f=generic_theme.htm&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXMAXHITS_=1&%3Dtheme_record_id=sl-sl-screen |title=Slough on Screen |publisher=Sloughhistoryonline.org.uk |date= |access-date=2017-04-16}}</ref> Britwell has also featured in the ITV drama ''[[Torn (TV series)|Torn]]''. The shops also represented 1970s [[Belfast]] in the film ''[[Titanic Town (film)|Titanic Town]]'' starring [[Julie Walters]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

==External links==
* [http://britwell-pc.org.uk/ Britwell Parish Council]
* [http://www.stgeorgesbritwell.org/ St George's Church]
* [http://www.lhsprimaryacademy.org.uk/ Lynch Hill School Primary Academy]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Slough suburbs}}

[[Category:Suburbs of Slough]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Berkshire]]