This suburb of Slough is located just to the south of the Bath Road, which runs through the centre of town. This means that the Queensmere Observatory shopping centre is also just 15 minutes walk from most addresses in the area, which coupled with the monumentally sized Tesco over the road, makes Chalvey well placed for your weekly shop. Similarly Slough station is only slightly further away, making this a popular area with those looking to commute into the big smoke. Couple these convenient amenities with relatively cheap house prices, and it is unsurprising that Chalvey is popular with young working class families. However, Chalvey has been the subject of controversy in the past, featuring heavily in the 2007 Panorama special “Immigration - How We Lost Count”. While the show makes a big deal of the area’s large South Asian community, arguing that immigration has caused ‘overcrowding’ in the area, many locals actually see Chalvey’s diversity as a strength, praising the sense of community that comes with it.

Looking further back, Chalvey began life as a small village which overlooked the marsh land known as ‘Slo’ or ‘Slough’ which was located to its north. In fact, for many years Chalvey was the larger settlement with the neighbouring marsh land playing host to a small selection of buildings, one of which was a rest stop for stage coaches travelling along the road from London to Maidenhead. Slough’s status as a small transport hub would eventually grow and is arguably the reason Chalvey ended up being a suburb of Slough not the other way around. For a long time, Chalvey’s reputation for hotels catering to wealthy travellers visiting Windsor made it far more significant. Nonetheless, as Britain industrialised at the beginning of the 19th century, railways began being built and Slough was quickly identified as prime real estate. Nearby Eaton College actually resisted the construction of a station at Slough initially, meaning that many trains just ‘happened’ to be held at the interchange to allow local residents of Chalvey and Slough to board. This technophobic attitude did not last long however, as Queen Victoria took her first ever train journey from Slough to Bishops Bridge near Paddington. Eventually, the Slough Windsor railway was built in 1849, and the town began to expand, merging into nearby villages like Chalvey, Langley and Burnham.

As industrialisation intensified the relatively small brick-making workshops that were once characteristic of the area, were replaced by factories making products that would be traded around the world. Chalvey became a fully incorporated suburb located to the south of the town centre, and many rows of terraced houses were built to house the growing population of factory workers. This architecture still dominates the area, and while there is less industry in Slough than there once was, Chalvey has maintained its working class character to this day.

Built in 1861 St Peter’s Church is the subject of Chalvey’s most curious local legend. At some point between 1850 and 1880, the story of the “Chalvey Stab Monkey” began to circulate which involved a suspicious organ grinder and a stabbed monkey which was found nearby. To this day the first person to get blind drunk on the anniversary of the monkey’s funeral is given the prestigious title of Mayor of Chalvey, and the area’s residents are still sometimes known as “stab-monks”.

Looking forward, Slough will likely continue to grow as a commuter hub, as the opening of the Elizabeth Line now means it is even easier than before to commute into the big smoke. Notably, a block of 29 flats is scheduled to be built on Wellington Street, just behind the Queensmere Observatory Shopping centre. The development would see the block built next to the existing Verona Apartments and would reach ten storeys high in places.