There were several technological innovations in Slough during this time, and one of the most significant was the introduction of gas lighting. In 1848, gas was used to light business premises, and in 1849 it was used to light Slough High Street.

The towns' first sewerage system was devised by James Bedborough to serve Upton Park, but in 1866 the Slough Health Board drew up a scheme to cover the whole town. This was finally operational in 1880.

Other developments included the installation of an Electric Magnetic Telegraph in 1843 - this was used to announce a royal birth and also to catch a murderer.

One of Sloughs' famous residents, William James Herschel, was responsible for another of the innovations of the age - the discovery of fingerprinting. And the 'Mrs Sinkins Pink' was first grown in 1868.

Slough also gained its' very own newspaper in Victorian times. Although the Windsor Express, founded in 1812, covered Slough news, the first newspaper published specifically for Slough was the Slough Observer. This was founded by Charles Luff and was published for the first time in 1883.

Several public services also appeared in Slough for the first time in the Victorian era. In 1841 the town's first post office opened in Buckingham Place. The postmistress was Maria Luff. And the town got its first police station, in William Street, in 1846. The town's waterworks were built in 1870.

A local fire brigade, staffed by volunteers, was formed in 1873. It was not until 1897, though, that a fire station was built, from money donated by James Elliman, who also provided for a new fire engine in 1900.

By 1900, Slough was the largest town in South Buckinghamshire, but it still lacked several amenities. There was no town hall, no public gardens, and no hospital. These were to come later.

Queen Victoria died on the 22nd of January, 1901, by which time Slough was a much larger, busier and more advanced town than it had been at the beginning of her reign.