| Date | 10 February 2012 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0016 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Views of the Past |
Transcript
Take with a pinch of salt
Views of the past by Elias Kupfermann
IN THIS second article on the archaeological monuments of Slough we look at the Montem Mound, a small hillock which stands at the junction of Montem Lane and Bath Road.
There have been many suggestions of what the mound was originally constructed for, ranging from a prehistoric tumulus to a small Norman Motte and Bailey Castle.
Archaeological excavations have not revealed any structures on top of this mound or evidence of prehistoric burial. It is probably none of these, but romanticism over the years has always said this was an ancient monument.
So what was it originally used for? My guess is that it was what was known as a ‘swannímote‘ or meeting mound, where the hundred courts would meet. The County of Buckinghamshire was originally divided up into administrative units known as ‘hundreds’.
Slough is found within the Hundred of Stoke, and the Montem Mound was where the inhabitants around the area would meet. This is backed up by the fact that the network of medieval roads within the surrounding area all converge near the Montem Mound, such as Stoke Poges Lane and the Farnham Road.
From the middle of the 16th century, the Montem Mound was used as an initiation ceremony for new boys at Eton College.
The earliest Montem was in 1561. The ceremony consisted of sprinkling the new boys with ‘salt’ at the mound. The mound was known as ‘Salt Hill’, but is now used to refer to the whole area.
By the 18th century it was no longer an initiation ceremony and was a sham military march with pupils dressed in brightly coloured uniforms carrying staves and standards. It became a ceremony which was used to collect salt, where salt was given in exchange for money from people who came to witness the ceremony – the money collected was given to the Senior Colleger. By the end of the 18th century, the ceremony was held every three years rather than yearly.
Sadly, this unique ceremony came to an end in 1847, when the headmaster of Eton College deemed that the coming of the railways brought too rowdy an element to Slough, which disrupted the Montem Ceremony.
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