The Entertaining Hammerton Family Of Glade Rd/Beaumont Rise

If you were to stroll down Glade Road in the 1880s, you would probably eventually find yourself outpaced by a particularly vigorous octogenarian on one of his shorter strolls, perhaps to Maidenhead or Cookham. If you don't think that's a particularly short ramble for a man the age of James Humphrey Hammerton, he will scoff at your ideas. Known to be a sociable and chatty fellow, he would probably love to stop and tell you how when he lived at Brixton he used to walk to Portsmouth to breakfast with friends. No doubt joining the Royal Navy at the tender age of 10 gave the young James plenty of experience of physical discomfort to harden his constitution! We will leave James to his exertions while we take a look at the entertaining Hammerton family. 

Agent and dressmaker

Browsing the census entries for Great Marlow, you would find James Humphrey Hammerton at The Kentons Glade Rd from 1881 when he's given the occupation of "retired commercial agent" while his daughter Edith is in later life a dressmaker. Both roles sound typical for the generally reasonably well off  Glade Road residents at the time and it would be easy to assume there was not much interesting about the pair. But how wrong we would be! 

I think James, his second wife Jessy and the aforementioned daughter Edith arrived in Marlow around 1876. For James it was a retirement from a busy life but for Edith it was probably the start of an even busier one. 

HMS Victory Souvenirs

James was born 1802 at Newington Butts Surrey. He joined the navy young as a "first class volunteer" and was promoted to Lieutenant. His father, James Hamilton Hammerton was also a naval man and one who was a gunner on HMS Victory under Nelson no less. A looking glass said to have been made from the timbers of the Victory was a treasured family possession and one proudly shown to visitors at Marlow. Naturally with such a family background, James had no shortage of stories of derring do and "breathtaking escapes" from his families naval years. The most famous story of all was that James had - somewhat unwittingly perhaps- saved the life of George IV when the latter slipped when boarding a vessel at Portsmouth. He reached out and grabbed James who managed to steady him and so both were prevented from taking a watery tumble. James was later part of the "Preventative Service" who were on the prowl along the south coast for smugglers. No wonder he was ready to leave the navy in his 20s and settle down to marriage and life in Brixton. 

He was seemingly always interested in science and among his roles in life before he arrived in Marlow was as director of The Electric Telegraph Company in the 1840s. He wrote to various scientific and technical journals about the subject of using gutta percha to insulate telegraphic wires, which he hoped could be laid underground in existing gas pipes. Some of the practical experiments James had conducted sounds alarmingly hands on considering they involved sending electrical currant through wires he only hoped were sufficiently insulated. His chief idea to insulate telegraph wires at their point of mounting onto posts, also using gutta percha, does not seem to have been tried in use as it was feared the material was too subject to weathering to be worthwhile. He is said to have later been the superintendent of the telegraph company charged with laying wires between Scotland and England and also to have worked with the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I wonder if he was a friends of Marlow's native born engineering family, the Clarks - specifically Edwin and Latimer. They all had special interests in many areas of science as well as telegraph systems and they also worked with Brunel. Edwin Clark and James were both enthusiastic members of the Marlow Mutual Improvement Society too, which aimed to bring educational  lectures in reach of everyone. The Victory looking glass, and the naval swords belonging to both James and his father were on display at some of the Society events. And Edwin and James also shared a passion for photography. How interesting the photo albums of James Hammerton would no doubt be for us today. 

Later in life James was a cement and slate etc agent hence his latter description as a "retired commercial agent". 

 Retirement in Marlow 

By the time James came to Marlow with wife Jessy he had retired. They would seem to have had a comfortable life, with a live in servant in their Glade Road home. Jessy died in 1891, after which James was said to have somewhat curtailed his vigorous exercise regime. Perhaps he felt he was finally "getting on" a little. But when he was not physically able to walk too far, was this the end of meeting James around town? Not a bit of it. He had a wheeled chair hired so he could still go out and get his daily dose of fresh air. And when he wasn't doing that, he loved to sit out the front of the house  all day to chat to passers by. But even the redoubtable James could not last for ever and he died at home in his 96th year. (1898) 

Edith Hammerton is a busy lady 

Now we come to Edith Hammerton, daughter of James and Jessy. After her father death she moved to "Holmeleigh" or "Homeleigh"  in Beaumont Rise, which leads off Glade Rd. Both Edith and her mother can be found listed as helpers at church events, but it's after her parents death that Edith seems to have come into her own. After this Edith becomes a whirlwind of energy when it comes to helping the community. Whether she favoured long walks herself isn't recorded but she certainly knew her way to All Saints Church. Edith was a Sunday School teacher for a great number of years. She seems to have been a favourite with the children, who remembered her fondly many years later although they also remembered she was a stickler for politeness and decorous conduct. But what else could we expect from a Sunday school teacher. Edith was a frequent donor of goods and money to the Cottage hospital and was one of its lady visitors. These were generally speaking better off ladies who did the rounds of the sick when it was considered necessary, and also visited within the hospital. A different lady from amongst the committee or subscribers would fulfill the role each week, and they often made suggestions as to how improvements could be made to better support the need of the mainly poor patients. 

Edith could be found serving at parish teas, fundraising for various events, and hosting stalls at bazaars for every cause imaginable. She was also amongst the ladies who decorated the parish church for the  Harvest festival. These decorations sometimes seem bewilderingly complex constructions of corn, bread, flowers and produce completely covering the alter etc. I wonder sometimes how the poor vicar made it through!  Works of art they surely were and it's a great shame that images of these ladies amazing creations have not survived. 

Her day job was as a dressmaker until she had earned enough to retire on "private means". Dressmaking seems the inevitable occupation in Marlow of better off unmarried woman who still needed an income to some degree. Edith worked from home but she also employed others to assist her. 

Edith Hammerton died in 1949 aged 92. 

*Did you know that if you go to Marlow Museum you can see a charming miniature kitchen presented by Edith? The accompanying plaque says that it had been in her family since 1796! Please check with the museum that it will be on display before your visit. 

Find out more about this lovely object here: Marlow Museum

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Related posts: 

Early residents of Beaumont Rise - (Edith's neighbours!) here

Latimer Clark here and Edwin Clark here

The mutual improvement society and Marlow Literary and Scientific Institute - both supported by James Hammerton - here

For other posts about Glade Rd or Beaumont Rise residents - see the street index here

Everyday life in the Marlow of Janes and Edith - here

To look for a specific person use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

Sources:

Marlow Directory and Almanack 1907 

Marlow Directory and Tourists Guide, 1903. 

Marlow Guide 1907. 

Mechanics Magazine, Register and Gazette, 1848 collected edition.  Knight and Lacey, 1848. 

Mechanics Magazine, Register and Gazette, 1849 collected edition.  Knight and Lacey, 1849.  

PCC will of James J Hamilton Hammerton "gunner of His Majesty's ship The Victory" proven 1828  PROB 11/1735/190, National Archives, Kew. 

Prescott, G. B. (1860). History, Theory, and Practice of the Electric Telegraph. United States: Ticknor and Fields.

Bucks Herald 28th February 1891 

Hampshire Telegraph 4th June 1898

Henley and South Oxford Standard - 27th May 1898 

South Bucks Standard 29th October 1897, 29th May 1898, 29th September 1899, 24th October 1902, 30th November 1906. 

Kelly's Directory Of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxon 1883, 1911, 1920, 1939 by Kelly's Directory Limited.

England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N242-NFM : 14 July 2023), James Hamilton Hammerton, 1799.

England and Wales Census, 1861", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MP-3P3Q : Sat Mar 09 01:12:50 UTC 2024), Entry for Edith Hammerton and Ada Hammerton, 1861.

"England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHB-K4XV : 4 September 2014),

Census transcripts from originals by Jane Pullinger, 1881 & 1891 with thanks. 

Edith E Hammerton, 1949; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

Marlow's Vanished Houses No 1= Hillside

Hillside was a substantial house perched on a slope just off what is now Seymour Park Road in Marlow. It was said to have been built originally as two homes. Any joining together of the two must have happened very early because in all historic references to Hillside I find it mentioned as one single habitation only. The house was far from any other homes and enjoyed magnificent views of the town all the way to the River Thames.

In 1873 Reynold Alleyne Clement and his wife Louisa rented Hillside at a cost of £75 a year. He was an adjutant to the Bucks Volunteers and by 1876 a member of Queen Victoria's bodyguard. In 1877 just as Reynold's lease was about to expire the house was put up for sale along with various cottages in Marlow by the unknown owner of the lot. In the sale description Hillside was said to comprise 11 bedrooms and dressing rooms, a w.c, three reception rooms, a kitchen, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, and cellars. Outside there was a garden, 2 coach houses, stabling for 3 horses, a harness room and a paddock. Later records suggest that the land adjoining the house came to a total of 9 acres.

After he left Hillside Reynold became clerk of the course at Ascot racecourse. The family lived then at Sunninghill.

The successful purchaser of Hillside was Mr Thomas Whalley Vowe. He had previously been a district magistrate in South Africa. Thomas would enjoy his new home for no more than a few months before he was killed in a hunting accident near his former home of Hallaton in Leicestershire. His executors emptied the house and sold up.

Next in was the Bedford family- John, Elizabeth, their children and a governess Ada Browne. They had moved from London. For some reason the house was then said to have one less bedroom than previously. 

At the time of their residency some of the land next to the house was farmed by Marlow fishmonger /fruiterer Alfred Allam. Alfred dumped "night soil" (human waste) on his land. This was not an unusual thing to do in Victorian England as fertiliser and of course as a natural form of waste disposal. Instead of spreading out the night soil and digging it in, he had heaped it up near the boundary of his land and Hillside and left it in the open air. John Bedford feared that this was a health hazard for his children. He won an injunction from the High Court preventing Allum from adding to the waste already there. As concerning the heaps already present, John sought an order from the local council ordering their removal. This he failed to obtain on a legal technicality - despite him telling the court that his eight year old boy Bertie had been sick and feverish of late. This he believed was as a result of the contamination of the neighborhood air by Allum's waste. Feverish illness was common at the time so that isn't certain. No doctor presented medical evidence as to the cause of Bertie's illness in court, which is surprising as you would think the Bedford's would have used such testimony as a trump card in the case had it been available. This likely suggests that it was the Bedfords themselves rather than a doctor that had formed the theory of Bertie's troubles being as a result of the dung in a neighbouring field. No one who lived in the countryside was far from dung heaps, or dung in fields. The Bedfords themselves kept chickens, geese and pigs on their own property and may have farmed more widely in the area too. Nevertheless in an era when the belief that bad smells alone could cause sickness or death was near universal you would have every sympathy for a parent trying to protect their child. The Bedfords were at the time grieving from the loss of their five year old daughter Maggie earlier that year. The anxiety they must have felt at another child's illness in the family would have been very painful.

Alfred Allam was quite a "character". More about him including an apparent haunting by a poltergeist (!) and other brushes with the law can be found in my post here.

He died in 1888 which likely brought an end to the Bedford's difficulties with his use of the field. They chose to stay with their children at Hillside until 1895.

Another daughter of the family Eva at the age of 16-17 found herself caught up in one of the biggest scandals of the Victorian age. Hers was a walk on part but the courage it took to appear at the trial and the embarrassment she would have felt cannot be underestimated. In what became known as the Cleveland Street Scandal scores of the most powerful men in England including Prince Albert Victor second in line to the throne were found to have visited a male b*othel in the above street. All of those who worked at the establishment at night were boys who worked for the Post Office by day. Some may have been trafficked into this position. The clients of the house because of their privilege were given notice to leave the country so as to avoid arrest. Various witnesses were also paid to leave the country. Eva witnessed as far as I can gather simply the presence of a certain person at a certain time in the house of a lawyer later prosecuted for conspiracy for facilitating the removal of relevant witnesses to foreign lands. Eva had been taken to the house on a visit by a Mrs Samuelson. Any connection however slight to these events risked being socially disastrous for Eva. How her protective parents must have cringed to know that her name and address would appear in almost every local and national paper in the land plus plenty of foreign ones too. Their judgement on allowing their daughter to be placed in contact with anyone not above suspicion would also be called into question. There is no suggestion that Eva was aware of the goings on in Cleveland Street.

Lucy Wood lived at Hillside by 1905 until at least 1911. With her was her sisters Isabella (who died in 1909) and Susanna. All three elderly women were unmarried and of private means. Also living in the house (as opposed to in a separate lodge) was the sisters' coachman Alfred Hickman, his wife Emily and their three children. At the time the house was described as having 17 rooms not including any service rooms like pantries and sculleries. The sisters were described as very kind to all those around them. Isabella left a legacy in her will to Marlow hospital. They moved out by 1915 to Remnantz in West Street.

On the south side of the house was a pit used to dig out gravel for use by the local council amongst others. The council seems to have owned the pit. When supplies started to dry up in the early 1920s a new pit was dug also near Hillside. In 1924 geologists on a field trip to Marlow investigated both pits and found a Paleolithic worked flint flake in one of them.

In the late 1930s (at least) Estelle Devereux who described  herself as an artist and writer made Hillside her home.

The house had disappeared by the 1960s, probably earlier.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

To find posts about other named houses in Marlow look at the "Specific Shops, Streets, Farms etc" option on the menu. For all mentions of any person on this blog see the A-Z Person Index.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use my research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

Selected Sources:

Jubilee Celebration: Handbook to the Loan Exhibition Held in The Town Hall, Aylesbury, 5th and 6th, July, 1905. United Kingdom, n.p, 1905.

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Netherlands, Geologists' Association, London., 1924.

1881 census of England and Wales, transcribed from microfilm by me.

Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc. 1883, 1911, 1915 and 1920 editions. Published by Kelly's Directories Limited.

Bucks Herald 21 jul 1877. Bucks Herald mar 23 1878.  Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 3rd January 1884. Both newspapers held in the British Library Archives and accessed via the BNA.

Berkshire Chronicle 27th September 1884.

Theal, George McCall. History of South Africa from the Foundation of the European Settlement to Our Own Times 1834-1854. United Kingdom, S. Sonnenschein & Company, 1893.

Wikipedia article= Reynold Clement.

Rictor Norton (Ed) "The Cleveland Street Scandal" Homosexuality in Nineteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook, 28 July 2020, amended 10 Aug. 2020 <http://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1889clev.htm>

Early 20th Century Shopkeepers In Queen's Road Marlow

Queen's Road was fields before residential development began, slowly at first, from the mid 1800s. In Victorian times it had at least a pub and a grocers. This post deals with the early 20th century.

Virtually all historic buildings have been destroyed in this road so that any street numbers given here bear no relationship to any modern property in the road with the same number. 

Henry and Margaret Brown(e). Margaret Brown(e) grocers. Not here 1907 but this husband and wife are censused together with Henry named as a grocer in 1911. Margaret seems to have started operating alone from late 1911, suggesting that Henry had died. She was still there running the shop in 1915 but not 1920.

John Bryant general shopkeeper at number 24 from at least 1911 to at least 1921 but not before 1901. This shop was on the Cambridge Road side of the street, not far from Eton Place. Also a market gardener. John was a retired soldier who came originally from Flackwell Heath. Probably still in the shop in 1924. Born c.1846. Wife Annie assisted in business. The couple previously ran the Fighting Cocks pub in Dean Street for a few months before it was closed down. They had also lived at Spittal Square (c1899-1901) and possibly also at Newtown Road Marlow before arriving in Queen's Road. Their son Robert was killed in action in WW1. During that period John was charged with profiteering by selling potatoes at inflated prices at High Wycombe. He grew potatoes at allotments in Marlow. He'd probably need more than an allotment to consider himself a market gardener. There were market gardens in Queen's Road itself at the time which he may have hired part of. In 1939 John Dawkins occupied these premises.

William Buckland a general shopkeeper cum grocer at number 41 from at least 1907 (but probably not before 1905) until at least 1939. This was on the corner of Prospect Road. It was later turned into a house. William was born circa 1865. 

Mary Grantham (Mrs) called herself a sweetshop keeper in 1901 but later was a grocer. Mary was originally from Wiltshire and the widow of Thomas Grantham. She died aged 55 in 1915. The business was taken over by her daughter Elsie Grantham who ran it as a general shop. Elsie was born circa 1894 and looks to have married Harry Armstrong in 1935. The shop was almost on the corner of Oxford Road, on the Cambridge Road side of the street.

William Henry Saunders at no.26. On Cambridge Road side of the road not far from Eton Place. Bakery by 1907 to at least 1920. Assisted by wife Jane (nee West, whose parents lived at Keynsham's Farm, Cadmore End when their daughter married in 1896). This couple were Wesleyans. They lived in nearby York Road before being based in Queen's Road. Number 28 was later converted into a house without the removal of the bread ovens and still referred to as "The old bakery".

Just as a bonus, another business in Queen's Road in this period though not a shop:

Frederick Dunn insurance agent at no 36 at least 1911-20. Wife Louisa. He was born Lane End 1870. They moved to Marlow from High Wycombe but had also previously lived briefly in Manchester. Frederick had previously worked as a chair caner. The couple's son Frederick jnr worked at the paper mills as a boilerman.

And also mention must be made of:

J East a general dealer in 1907 (Cambridge Road side of the road). Uncertain whether he had a shop or dealt more informally which was common in that occupation.

And the Grace family whose shop was on the corner of Dean Street and Queens Road in this period and earlier with the main entrance however on Dean Street. More on them and other Graces here

Some Sources:

England and Wales Census, 1911," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-VH9 : 22 July 2019), Mary Grantham, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

"England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-J4M : 22 July 2019), Fred Dunn, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

Marlow Almanack and Directory 1907.

Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc 1911, 1915 and 1920 editions 

1891 census of England  and Wales Great Marlow transcribed from microfilm by Jane Pullinger and 1901 census transcribed by me. Census information is Crown Copyright

"England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV8Z-KYB5 : 8 October 2014), Elsie M Grantham and null, 1935; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1935, quarter 2, vol. 3A, p. 3266, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England. 

Personal Interviews - thanks to all!

South Bucks Standard 4th September 1896.

Reading Standard 7th September 1916. This edition from British Library Archives via the BNA. As was Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News April 17th 1917.

.

Frith Graves, Marlow

Grave of George Frith d.  1926 age 84

ALSO OF

Emma his wife

April 1930. Aged -6 yrs. 

Grave in Marlow Cemetery. Hard to read.

The above grave is for Charles William Frith died September 19 1936 age 68

Also:

Mary Jane 

Died July 19 1935 age 73

This is also in Marlow Cemetery. 

See the Grave Index for links to all gravestone photos and transcriptions on the blog. Graves are included for Marlow churches and cemetery plus some for Little Marlow and Bisham churchyards too.

NB: We try to group graves belonging to individuals of the same surname on the same post but it doesn't necessarily mean they are all related. 

©Marlow Ancestors.

Recreated 1920's Marlow High Street Trade Directory with notes

Part One - odd numbers

With notes

Recreated from adverts, letters, trade directories, property transactions, newspaper stories, court cases etc.

The property numbers quoted here are not necessarily going to match up with modern numbers because of demolitions and amalgamations or other reasons and remember that the High Street had already been renumbered in the 1910s so that any 1920s property numbers will not usually be referring to the same property as their Victorian counterparts. 

Some properties on this side of the High Street were residential at this time and are not included in this post. The post office was also in the High Street, and the entrance to the brewery.

Many people mentioned here already have multiple mentions on this blog. To see all posts featuring any person looking for that person on the A-Z Person Index on the top drop down menu. More High Street history posts are indexed here, including

1-3 Lawrence and Son estate agents for domestic and commercial sales and lettings, auctioneers, valuers, insurance agents. The surveyor at the company was John Robert Laird who lived on the premises with his family. The business was later "Lawrence Son and Laird". One of the Mr Lawrences was a director of the Marlow Water Company.

5 Harold John Welch hairdresser in 1920 (bn 1879). (Sometimes given as being at 3 but was not) / The Cafe (that was the official name!) ran by Rose Owles.

7 National Provisional and Union Bank  - previous occupants of this building are listed here. The bank manager Cuthbert Raymond lived on the premises with his family. This was normal for banks at the time. More history of this premises here

9 Mrs Bonner Wellicome antique and furniture dealer 1920,21 (in business by 1911) New Branch of London County Westminster And Parr Bank mentioned as opening at no 9 1922. Head clerk on opening was Mr G. W Cousins.

11 Welbourne and Simpsons printers. Simpson was Herbert Edward Simpson born c1872. Earlier Smith & Co stationers, printers and circulating library. By 1942 was just ran by Herbert as H.E Simpson's  newsagent, tobacconist and lending library. At some point in the 1920s the printers also apparently used number 15 High Street.

13 Lawrence J Smith office insurance agent, correspondence address for Great Marlow Water Company. Also in 1920 custom and excise office of James Gauld and the premises of confectioner Bert Jaynes. Lawrence at least was still there in the early 1930s. Presumably the offices  were above or behind the shop.

17  Harrell Limited grocers. Below is an ad from 1929. Possibly had moved from the other side of the High Street.

Harrell's were still at no. 17 in 1939. In the early 1930s there was an off licence at no.45 High Street called Harrell's which must have been a related business. Number 17 was later taken over by Barksfield Brothers for a second Marlow premises. 

19-21 Charles Drye "coach builder" of long standing but was already moving into the field of motor cars. Business came to be known as the "Marlow Carriage and Motor Car Company". A lot more on the early days of motoring in Marlow in this post. 

23 British and Argentine Meat Company. There by 1915. Some staff seem to have lived in. Formerly the base of royal furniture makers the Mealings

25 Phillip Brothers fishmongers from at least 1911. Some staff lived on the premises. By 1931 was Mac Fisheries. 

27 George Frederick Hill offices? Later amalgamated with number 29 into one premises.

29 Arthur George Hill upholsterer and cabinet maker. Arthur was in business with James Henry Tugwood until 1900 when they dissolved their partnership as furniture dealers, upholsters and decorators under the name Tugwood and Hill. Thereafter Arthur continued under his own name only. He witnessed his neighbour Gutteridge (below) being burgled in 1912. In the 1930s this was Hill and Son Upholsterers and in 1942 "A.G Hill and Son".

31 William Guttridge  hairdresser, perfumer, fancy goods /Harriet Guttridge toy seller on the same premises. Husband and wife. William had been in premises some years. In 1912 he was was described as a hairdresser and tobacconist when he was burgled. [Building demolished - site is now Oxfam]

33 Ellen Arnold confectioner. The toy shop today. Formerly the Way family premises see here.

35 Lovell's building company offices. Edward Turner the manager lived in the premises. Their builder's yard was behind some of the neighbouring buildings along here. They also had a bit of yard in Dedmere Road. Offices still here 1942. Lovells as a whole became a national business. In Marlow they also functioned as undertakers and house decorators. History of other former builders who occupied this property here and about Young James Lovell himself here.

37 Daisy Ilsley's Prep School 1921. Her sister Emma Ilsley taught music and shorthand here too /Leo Redver Ryan electrical supplies and radio seller/electrician in 1929, probably earlier too. Moved premises to number 44 by 1938. Killed when a bomb fell near Bovingdon Green in WW2. His son was also injured. They were delivering a radio. A WW1 Navy veteran. The Imperial War Museum has a photo of Leo as a young man see here (leaves this site). The man for whom Ryan's Mount in Marlow is named. 

41 [Cromwell House] Gerald Berkeley Wills  surveyor and architect in 1920. He was still in the High Street several years later but I am not certain if his premises were still at Cromwell House. Gerald designed the Marlow Cottage Hospital in 1914. He built Wolmer Cottage Bovingdon Green and lived in it with his family. Prior to his marriage to his wife Kathleen, Gerald lived at Stratton House, West Street Marlow.

The building became by 1926 the offices of the Marlow Urban District Council. It housed the Post Office from December 1897.  The council clerk Llewellyn Shone had an office in the building. 

By 1921 also offices of Cripps and Shone solicitors. 

Full history of Cromwell House here

47 Alfred Davis junior journalist. Prominent in the organisation of local sports - and the Olympics! 

49 Walter Davis tailor. A Long standing business. 

The Chequers Hotel / pub [53] Billiards room. RAC approved. Pub also mentioned as a "masonic hall" 1927. In 1920 and 21 run by Lillian Long (bn 1888). Her husband William was a motor engineer. Could be something to do with the below motor company's there is some reason to believe William and Lillian also rented no 55 in the early 1920s. They had moved to Aylesbury by 1932 where William worked as the manager of the Aylesbury Motor Company.

55 Marlow Motor Company. Newly formed with £500 capital in 1920, most likely involving William Long above. Also the premises of an unknown electrical engineer in the same year. / The Corner Restaurant in 1927 which also offered boarding. In 1927 proprietor was Charles J Paul. Restaurant still there late 1930s. Charles was also an insurance agent. On corner of High Street/Institute Rd. 

57 Grays' Stores. Henry Gray born c1867. Took over the Clifton grocer's and wine merchant's in 1901. Initially ran the shop with his brother James who was also a rent collector / letting agent but James had left the shop by about 1906 to concentrate on the latter business. Henry's shop was one of the fancier places in town to buy your provisions. He lived in Glade Road in this period. James lived in the Old Vicarage then later the house Thamesfield.

59 TNW Watts possibly residential address. He was also secretary to Hambledon Council. Long term surveyor and inspector of nuisances for Marlow Urban District Council. Later became a confectioner's shop. Today is Fego.

61 William and Thomas Sellman builders, plumbers and painters. Here by 1911. William lived in. The Sellman went from these particular premises before 1939. In 1942 no.61 was Tillion's florists. 

"Palmers" George Downes. Physician. His home and premises. 

67 James Eyre Jackson artist.

73 "Quarry House" Francis Culhane doctor, surgeon. Biographical post on him here

75 William Jackson dentist 1920. This building does not exist anymore. Not in same spot as modern 75. Formerly a doctor's premises.

77 George Morton antiques. By 1939 was Kendall and Morton antiques dealers. Not in same place as modern 77 due to renumbering.

79 William Robinson pianoforte tuner in 1920. He probably also gave piano lessons. In 1921 his widow Lily Robinson operated as a piano and music dealer here. Not in position of modern 79 due to renumbering. 

81 Thomas Wheeler refreshment rooms. Also tobacco seller. These premises were on the corner with Station Road. Not the same as modern 81 due to renumbering. Thomas  was not there 1915. He had previously ran a restaurant in Slough. Born c1863. 

Also Honourable mention to 

Charles Carter baker and confectioner on the Causeway which is a continuation of the High Street.

- Unnumbered - Currall's Garage (sales and service) plus radio agents. 

Part two will contain the even numbers plus selected references.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this information for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

. 

Vintage Bourne End shop adverts no 2

 As regular readers will know, we focus mainly on Great Marlow parish with occasional forays further afield to nearby places that have tied in to our research. Today however we would like to share some vintage shop advertising from our riverside neighbour Bourne End. These come from a little undated (but post 1948)  guide to the village which calls it a "grand place in which to spend a holiday" as well as to live. This booklet comes from the collection of the late great Michael Eagleton who kindly left it to me. 

Above, Griffins Stores, proprietor J M Davis. Newsagent with stationary, confectionary, tobacco and ice creams available. 

Above, R H Wicks, The Parade. Offers to make and fit carpets, and repair and renovate upholstery and bedding. Below that is an advert for the longstanding Townsend Bros. boat builders of the Eagle Boat House - "two minutes walk from the W.R Railway Station". 

Above, Arthur Shortland's department store at 2-3 The Parade. Clothing, footwear, mattresses, floor coverings, fabric and bedding are amongst the goods on offer. Many locals will remember this trading into modern times. 

Above, E J Machpherson newsagents, stationers, printers  and confectioners with library, fancy goods and toys. Also The Cafe at  Station Approach. 

Bourne End motors "automobile agents and engineers". 

Above, the Station Fruit stores. "Personal attention given to all orders". 

Above, the Old Forge Well End, opposite the Black Lion,  was then operating as an accomodation and refreshments provider. They promise tea is served in an attractive tea garden in the summer months. Sounds delightful! 

And from the Marlow Directory and Thames Guide 1891 - 

The Railway Hotel, Bourne End. "Every accomodation for Boating Parties, Cyclists, etc."

More adverts in the post here

As mentioned above we focus on Great Marlow but any other posts containing info relating to areas such as Bourne End, Hedsor, Well End etc are indexed here

For a specific family, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's thousands of people listed there. 

©MarlowAncestors. 

Foxes Piece Marlow History

Foxes Piece was originally a name given meadow off what is now Glade Road (but was a mere track then). This was on the opposite side of the road from the modern Foxes Piece flats and school. The meadow got the name from school proprietor George Faux (pronounced Fox) who with his wife Ann, a former servant of Princess Amelia, ran a private boys' school where Cedar House is now from 1757 until George died in 1797. The boys used the meadow as an extension of their playground and as a cricket pitch. A detailed post about this school with more about the Fauxes can be found on the blog: here.

Across the road from the school were two more fields called "Upper and Lower Foxes" comprising parcels of land known as Foxes Two Acres, Foxes Little Two Acres and Foxes Lower Acres, presumably also once used by Faux. Over the years all the fields became known collectively just as Foxes Piece. The Faux school meadow site was eventually built over but the name Foxes Piece lingered for the rest of the fields and for the area around them.

 

 Above, from the 1839 map drawn by William Francis for the Platts Farm estate sale which included land  within Marlow Fields such as Foxes Piece. The land is shown as plots 20-23 comprising lot VII here. Glade Rd can be seen running between plots 20 and 21. 

Part of the site amounting to 23 acres extending down to the side of Glade Road as well as Little Marlow Road was hired out as private (and not particularly cheap) allotments by the end of the Victorian area by landowner Sir William Clayton. Previously they had been let to farmers. The allotments were put up for sale in one lot in 1910. At the time land in the Glade Road area was highly desirable for property development. The buyer was John Langley, whose interesting biography Kathryn has written in a post under our Marlow Heroes series here. He did not immediately build on the site. Part of this land was later given by John to the town for the building of the Cottage Hospital.

In 1939 part of the Foxes Piece were bought by the Urban District Council under sanction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health at a cost of £1300 for use as community allotments. These are the modern allotments.

During the second world war many evacuee children came to Marlow. There was relatively little playing space for them or for the children who were already living in the town so the future school site at Foxes Piece was purchased for £800 by the council in 1940 as a recreation ground which became known as Foxes Piece Playing Fields. It totalled 8.5 acres.

After the evacuee families left Marlow the recreation ground remained in use for local people for a few years but in the 1950s Foxes Piece First School was built on part of the site between 1954-56. There were only three classrooms back then plus cloakrooms, a staffroom and scullery. It isn't clear whether any part of the playing fields were retained for public use or whether the whole of the playing fields were enclosed for the school use. I remember being told multiple times by Marlow people as a child in the 1980s /90s that a public right of way ran through the school playing fields and that you were allowed into the fields themselves at the weekend. I remember them seeing people walking dogs there and many people walking through the school grounds on a weekend as a shortcut. My dad took me through there himself. I am sure that that was not with the council blessing and certainly the site is not open access today! I presume that the lingering belief that the grounds were public land was a throwback to the days of the official playing fields there.

In 1966 it was decided that the critical shortage of infant school places in the town meant that new schools had to be built. Foxes Piece was picked as the site for a middle school to adjoin the first school. Following an over two year build the school welcomed its first pupils in 1969. It had a 320 child capacity. The two schools together combined were then known together as Foxes Piece Infants School with Mrs Nye as the new head. Later the schools were again  referred to separately as the First School and Middle School.

By 1969 the school buildings were used as polling stations in elections, something which gave the pupils some welcome days off!

Newly built next door were the local authority owned rental flats of Foxes Piece (the first families moved in 1964/1965). The flats were initially usually described as Foxes Piece Estate. Council houses in the Newfield Gardens area were also in their early days referred to under that name sometimes.  

Meanwhile the Foxes Piece allotments continued. They were mostly unfenced until 1974 when sadly the theft of produce and some vandalism forced their enclosure behind fence and padlock. They remain in cultivation today. More on the history of the various allotments in Marlow and those who used them here.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Sources:

1833 Parochial Assessment of Great Marlow,  surveyors working notebooks in my family possession and transcribed by me.

1839 map, copy in my family possession.

Personal Interviews.

Bucks Herald cuttings May 10th 1940 and 16th July 1910.

Bucks Examiner December 2nd 1955. British Library Archives via the BNA. Reading Evening Post February 11th 1966. As previous. Reading Mercury February 11th 1939. As previous.

© MarlowAncestors