Slough: Montem Mount or Mound

Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 8 Jan 2009

The 1881 Ordnance Survey map describes this earthwork as The Mount, a Supposed Barrow. At that time the Mount was the main feature in the hamlet of Salt Hill. The urban sprawl of Slough had yet to consume it. However the mound's main claim to fame is that until 1844 it was the destination of the Eton Montem when every Whit Tuesday the boys of Eton College Image marched, army-style, to the location collecting 'salt' or money from visitors and passers-by. The ceremony dated back until at least 1561 and was regularly patronized by Royalty. In its later years it became a triennial event, with the tickets to the 1838 event costing one shilling. However in 1844 the masters of the College decided that the boys should be studying rather than indulging time in making their Montem costumes, decided that the ceremony was anachronistic and should be abandoned forthwith. In truth the real reason for its demise was that with the advent of the railways the ceremonies of 1841 and 1844 had attracted rowdy crowds brought by train from London, and the authorities feared that a serious riot could break out in a subsequent event. The Times, reporting the 1844 event tongue-in-cheek, described the crowd as "mixed"... Evidently the hoi-polloi were not to be welcomed. One wonders what would happen today if the ceremony was to be revived...!

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