DescriptionSlough, Montem Mount or Mound - geograph.org.uk - 1114264.jpg
English: Slough: Montem Mount or Mound 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 345572 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...!
This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Nigel Cox and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.
== {{int:filedesc}} == {{Information |description={{en|1=Slough: Montem Mount or Mound 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