The first coaching inns in Slough were the Crown and the Reindeer, which were built in 1618 by Sir Giles Monpesson. Two more, the White Hart and the Red Lion, had appeared by the mid-1600s, when the first stagecoaches travelled through Slough.

Slough was now growing to rival Colnbrook as an important stopping-off point on the Bath Road, and more inns followed, including the Bear, the Black Boy, the Red Cow and the Pied Horse.

To the west, another rival village was growing up at Salt Hill - their two most famous inns were the Windmill and the Castle (both the subject of separate articles). Other inns in Salt Hill included the Three Tuns and the Swan.

Most of the business from post horses went to the Salt Hill Inns, with most of the trade from stage coaches and wagons going to Slough.

The last surviving inn from the coaching era is the Red Cow at Upton.