You *#!*#* - Speaking Old Marlow

One of the most amusing aspects of reports of Victorian court cases and also the (few) letters we have been able to read written by Marlow people in the same era is the opportunity they give to us to glimpse the everyday language spoken by Marlow people,  recorded as it was without filter or correction.

Here's our little guide to fitting in in Victorian and Edwardian Marlow =

1.) Swear like a trooper, and then some. Numerous times police constables explained to flustered magistrates that the terrible words used by Marlow people in the dock were in everyday use in the town and didn't mean quite so much here as they would in most places. One unnamed word quoted by a Marlow witness managed to cause a sensation when used in the, you would think, hardened and heard -it- all-before High Court in London. This again was explained as a normal word in Marlow. Officers from elsewhere were flabbergasted during WW1 by the effing and blinding capacity of Marlow recruits. Quite literally as the F word was familiar in the town long before it was so elsewhere, at least in male-only company. Marlow ladies were also prosecuted for using "indecent language" on a regular basis however, usually directed at their husbands during a row. Ladies of Dean Street and Chapel Street we are looking at you. The guiltiest parties amongst the men for cussing were bargemen and chairmakers.

 2.) Use "be" in front of many verbs. You didn't call someone you "becalled" them. This was used to mean simple calling out to someone and also calling them unpleasant nanes, depending on context. And in terms of thinking  you "bethink" and "bethought" not think or thought. Going anywhere meant "becoming" there. And if you wanted to say that you are not something you would say "I Be Not" or more commonly "I b'aint" whilst "I am" was "I be". To "belabour" someone was to attack them. This way of speaking was widely used in the nearly villages such as Stokenchurch and Lane End and probably the wider area too.

 3.) The town is not pronounced  "Mar-low" but "Marler".  Failing to pronounce the town name correctly instantly marked you out as an "foreigner" - that is born beyond Marlow Bottom. It still did when I was a child. There are still a (very) few elderly people alive in the 2020s who keep to the traditional pronunciation. The use of "Marlow upon Thames" to refer to the town became briefly quite common in late Victorian times, almost always by newcomers  and produced eye rolling and sniggering from longer standing residents rich and poor for what was seen as it's pretentiousness.

4.) Sprinkle your speech with these expressions, all of which I have recorded in use more than once in Victorian or Edwardian Marlow :

Blackguarding someone=  calling them names. Pronounced "blaggarding".

Bread and Cheese = hawthorn leaves. This was very old usage and common in Southern England as a whole. Still used in the 20th century.

Bullragging = using abusive, deliberately provoking language to someone.

Bumbledom = pomposity. A common word in all of Victorian England.

Coachee= coachman. A dismissive and insulting term similar to calling a maid a skivvy or slavvy.

Chuff something =  to throw it.

Collar someone = any laying of hands on someone. It could mean anything from taking hold of someone's arm up to grabbing them by their throat. The Buckinghamshire working class use of this expression to mean something other than simply taking someone by the lapels or collar as it did elsewhere caused many judges and magistrates to get confused in court cases. Note that the use of " to collar" someone as a term for arresting them doesn't seem to have been usual. Instead it was said that someone had been "ketched".

Daughter of Egypt / Son of Egypt = Gypsy. This was also common throughout England as it was wrongfully presumed that Romanies originated in Egypt.

Getting on = tipsy, on the way to being drunk. "Having a spree" meant letting your hair down and having a drink. Often used in mitigation, to imply tipsiness that might have been noisy but was not in danger of causing violence or other anti-social behay  e.g "She's only having a spree, constable". Another expression used to described tipsiness was "to be a bit elevated". Someone more drunk than tipsy had had a "smart little drop" or just "a smart drop". Someone very drunk was "bursted with beer".

Give someone one or two = beat them up.

Give someone beans = to annoy or pain them.

Have something by you =  possessing something ,not necessarily having it on your person though- you could describe your family by saying, "I have three children by me" for instance or your business by saying "I have a hundred cows by me on my farm".

Hot lot = skilled sports team or person.

"Lady or man", used to call the toss of a coin, rather than heads or tails. Lady instead of heads as of course Queen Victoria was on all the coins. Presumably this when out when Edward came to the throne.

Lemon time = half time in a football match. It was lemons that the players sucked rather than oranges in those days. Rather them than me!

Little breeze = an argument. Often sarcastic, referring to a major row in fact.

Look after someone  / to belook after someone =  to be seeking them, or to be keeping a watchful eye on them on suspicion of their going to misbehave, or to be caring for them.

Piece of jobbery = the result of a conspiracy.

Sharp with someone= today being sharp with someone would mean expressing  unkindness or criticism verbally but in this era was also often used to describe physically harming them. So that an ill-treated wife might tell the police her husband was sharp with her when she meant that he had hit her.

Son of Crispin = a shoemaker. An old expression and used throughout England.

Son of Galen = a doctor. Used throughout the country too.

Sow bug = woodlouse, this was general Buckinghamshire dialect. They'll always be  Cheese Bugs to me though because my family is from Kent and Sussex originally!

Sweep = as in "You sweep!", an insult. Probably because the devil was traditionally depicted as sooty due to the burning fires of hell.

Treacle seller/ Keeper of a treacle shop (insulting) = seller of low priced, poor quality goods, especially a grocer. General Victorian and Edwardian use in England which remained in some places well into the 20th century.

Weathercock = someone who changed their opinions or loyalties frequently. Strongly insulting. Being steadfast in your principles was a cornerstone of what it meant to be a good person, especially a gentleman, in this era.

Withy tree = willow. Withys / Withies = pieces of willow.

Worth your hire = to be worth a fair wage for the job you do. This seems to have become a common expression in Edwardian times. Used as in "I'm worth my hire, give me a pay rise".

Compiled by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors.

General Sir George Higginson - the man and the myth

 General Sir George Higginson was one of Marlow's most famous residents of his day, with a long and distinguished military career with the Guards. Many in Victorian and Edwardian Marlow were obviously very proud of him and of course he lent his name to Higginson Park* as presented to the town on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 1926. However this post isn't about the man as a soldier. As such his career obviously took him far away from his childhood home. I was interested in the General as a Marlow resident, how he fitted into the life of the town. There are many stories and images conjured up that name and I wanted to separate something of the man and the myth. I've been told he was seen as: a venerated hero, an unpopular and cruel J.P who sent poor men to jail for minor offences, an eccentric who personally dug a canal, a distant figure who "did nothing for the town", "the man who sent Marlow boys to their death in the First world War"  and the generous stalwart of every institution going. I'm pleased to say I can clear George absolutely of those most negative charges! 

A local..or not?

As I mentioned above, Sir George's long military career meant he saw service in many foreign theatres of war. His various postings meant his time in Marlow was necessarily limited when he was on active service. His family home for decades was "Gyldernscroft" in Henley Rd, now sub divided. Previously it was known as The Croft, The Hall, and Townsend Cottage - Gyldernscroft was a revival of the older name for the place. Like many people of a similar comfortable background, Sir George's family long maintained a London home too, for example in Wilton Crescent. So even when in England, his residence in Marlow was not usually year round. Marlow thought of him as absolutely theirs but in reality those in his area of London probably would have claimed him too. And would have expected his trade and custom just as much as the Marlow ones - it was said later that he didn't support Marlow shops which caused resentment but without the family account books this is impossible to verify! The fact that local tradesmen were invited to celebrations of the wedding of his daughter Maud in 1889 suggests relations were reasonably cordial or that the General wished them to be. 

Gyldernscroft was sometimes let out for example for the river season and Sir George also spent time abroad for health and leisure reasons. For example the General and wife Florence spent several months in Italy in 1887 and in the south of France in early 1914.

 But the important thing is, while he was in town he threw himself into the life of the place. He was a J.P,  a member of every club and committee going and was one of those heading the list of just about all charity appeals. While it was a given that any owner of big house in town would get voted into positions such as vice president of social and sporting committees and events, some politely sent apologies for non attendance at meetings more often than not. Not Sir George, and not even when he was in his 90s did he slow down much. He wasn't just a member of the Literary Institute but gave lectures there when they struggled financially to find speakers. (Subject 1889 - heroism. It went down well). 

A friend to the little ones 

One aspect of Sir George which is not often recalled was his affinity with children. While the adults may have treated him with something like awe at times, Sir George recounted his pleasure when the youngsters came up to him in the street, took his hand and told him their news. Not quite the image we have of the stern war hero is it? He was especially devoted to the children of Bovingdon Green school, an area where he owned a lot of land. He provided a sorely needed extra room for the overcrowded village school in 1892 in memory of his mother. But he was also hands on there, serving the children personally at some of the special teas he provided them with. Others recalled that the General actively joined in with the children's games at parties - even in his 90s. 

Peril to poachers? 

Sir George was a J.P for decades. As such he saw a poaching related case at almost every session he attended. It was, like the theft of prickwood** one of the most popular Marlow activities. But after reading reports of quite literally hundreds of these kind of cases heard by Sir George at Marlow, I can say with confidence that a very small number of those accused of either went to prison on a first offence. Those that did had an been guilty in the eyes of the bench of an aggravating factor such as the use of particular violence against the game keeper or police when apprehended. What is more surprising is how those whose convictions ran comfortably into double figures managed to keep "getting away" with fines. That doesn't mean the game preservation laws were not heavily weighted towards the wants of landowners - of which the J.P's were to a man. Or that it was any less reprehensible to put  sporting pleasure above the physical needs for free food for the wretched. On the other hand some of those engaged in the "midnight art" were without questions doing so as a profitable business, rather than through abject necessity and they were capable of great brutality againgst those who got in their way. The issue of poaching in Marlow is a multi layered one with many shades of gray.  The J.Ps did not adjudicate on cases occuring on their own holdings although they inevitably sometimes did sit judgement on cases involving land occupied by their friends and neighbors. I think some of the confusion has been because Sir George's namesake father and other relatives were J.P's in an era when the punishments were harsher still. I believe the magistrates avoided setting jail sentences because while the convicted persons families could not claim parish relief while they were behind bars, if the convicted person lost a job or fell behind on rent later as a result then the family could potentially qualify for support. And there there was the expense of keeping them in prison and transporting them there and back. And for felonies, the Marlow bench including Sir George didn't get to decide the sentence anyway - the case went to the Quarter Sessions. If they had sent every poacher to jail on first arrest, it feels like half of Marlow's less well off population would have been behind bars at any one time! 

There was one way you could get sent immediately to jail on a first poaching conviction, and that was to fail to pay the inevitable fine. Poorer people could ask for time to pay and nearly always got it, unless they had an extra long list of convictions or had cheeked the police. This was usually 7 or 14 days. Almost all cases I looked at saw those convicted pay immediately or within the allowed time. We can only guess at the struggles they had to raise those sums. 

 Once he (semi) retired to Marlow, Sir George was one of the most present J.Ps at the Marlow sessions.  

As for other types of case, Sir George was often generous by the standards of the time in his decisions especially during the First World War years. For example in 1914 he adjourned a case of using indecent language against Emily Carter of Trinity Rd indefinitely so that she may have every chance to "reform her character". It wasn't her first offence and she had unpaid court fines. As such she could have been sent to jail and certainly could have got a hefty fine. He accepted that she became - in others words - a "terror" when in drink but also that she had three serving sons, and a hardworking husband. 

Canals and gondoliers

The "General's Canal" from Gyldernscroft to the Thames opposite Bisham church was said to be dug by the man himself, with just one helper. It would have been hard work for whoever did it,  especially where the willow trees roots spread. Was he hands on with the shovels? I have no evidence to the contrary! 

The motivation was to provide easy access to the river. Sir George in 1899 had just purchased a genuine Venetian gondola for use on Thames. It was said at the time that "Sir George and Lady Higginson are frequently to be seen on it in the Marlow district, propelled by a gondolier from Vienna". 

Above, floral art in Higginson Park to mark the park centennial. 

War recruiter

Sir George was as the most well known military man in the district the obvious person to address the first public recruitment meetings for soldiers in the First World War. No doubt his stirring words helped to persuade many to join up. But everyone was singing the same tune. If Sir George had not addressed this and other meetings, others would have done so. In 1915 he expressed the feeling that many of those who had gone overseas "were far too young". Accepting the need for as many as possible to enlist did not mean he was immune from sorrow at the results. Later the retired military officer would recall the gradual "thinning out" of the Marlow youth and the haunting sight of window blind after window blind drawn down as you walked around the town. (To indicate a house in mourning.)

Sir George disliked the term "Tommy" for a British soldier as he considered it lacking in respect and dignity for those doing the donkey work of war. 

He obviously believed in the capacity of military service to straighten out those before him as a J.P. In 1915 he recognised a prolific ex offender invalided back from the front as a spectator at the back of court, in uniform. He called the soldier forward to praise the man's smart appearance and the "new leaf" he'd turned over. Sir George went as far as to now call the soldier "a credit to his country" and to say he had every confidence he'd remain so. At the time the view that the petty criminal was born and effectively irredeemable was still expressed not infrequently.

In conclusion, if I met Sir George Higginson walking the streets of Marlow, would I have wanted to stop and shake his hand like the little Marlovians of the past? Actually I would, not least to ask if he'd like to come and dig my garden..

Above, the memorial marking at All Saints Church, the burial of various Higginson family members including our subject, his father and mother, his brother Charles and sister Frances, plus his relative by marriage the historian Rev Thomas Langley. 

NB - I've deliberately kept mention of wife Lady Higginson  to a minimum in this post because she will have eventually a post of her own. We do not like to treat the old time female Marlovians only in terms of whose wife they were  - as happened far too often in the past! 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

*Story of the foundation of Higginson Park here

George's interesting relative and Jewish convert Martha Higginson nee Isaacs, artist here

**More about the prickwood "thefts" to support the early Victorian skewer making industry here

To find all mentions on the blog of the Higginson family or any other use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

The general Marlow history index includes links to more detailed posts about World War One in Marlow and to other military subjects here

Sources include: 

Vanity Fair, vol 22, 1879.

Hart's Annual Army List vol 9,  Henry George Hart (1884)

Journal of the Household Brigade, Ed. I E A Dolby, (W Clowes & Sons, 1877)

Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica (Hamilton, Adams and Courtenay 1892) 

Country Life, 26th June 1926

Bucks Herald - July 9th 1926

Bucks Free Press - 13th Feb &  25th September 1914, 26th Feb & 6th August 1915, 30th July 1920

Slough, Windsor and Eton Observer 2nd June 1906

Bucks Standard 9th September 1899

South Bucks Standard 28th October 1892. 

Seventy one years of a  Guardsmen's life, General Sir George Higginson 1916. 

© MarlowAncestors 

Empire Day in Edwardian Marlow

 Marlow's reaction to royal landmarks such as birthdays, weddings and jubilees could range from polite indifference by the majority to all out take-over-the-streets celebrations that you couldn't ignore even if you wanted to.  So it's no surprise that Empire related celebrations had somewhat mixed receptions too. But if you were a child in Edwardian Marlow, one event was very likely to feature in your annual school experience - Empire Day.  This was especially intended to instil feelings of patriotism in the young participants but it doesn't mean involvement was restricted to the youthful. In this era, Empire day was celebrated on Queen Victoria's birthday of May 24th even though the Queen had died before the event really took off as a national celebration. Marlow's recognition of the day seemed to actually decline as the Edwardian era progressed but it was not one of the towns where the celebrations spread widely beyond the school participants and their parents - the town church service excepted.  However there were always reports of at least some people decorating the outside of their home enthusiastically, and of business people ornamenting their premises for the day. In 1908 it was already noted that only a few homes displayed a Union Jack however. The following year an extra effort was made to build the event with more bunting erected in the High Street. 

One important element was to educate the children about the countries that made up the Empire. This often involved in one way or another the young dressing up as inhabitants of other nations in tableaux- with varying degrees of accuracy! They were on familiar form here as such dressing up was a favourite of Marlow missionary pageants, Sunday school entertainments and the like. 

The day nearly always followed a similar pattern from around 1906 - a procession by all the various schools up and down the High Street to the Causeway, a salute to the flag, a few (or quite a few) words from the Vicar and of course the singing of the national anthem. Generally a small crowd would gather to watch the events at the enclosure. There were sometimes reports that the schools would get their own flag staff and Union Jack but the point was always a public display of patriotism in the most visible place. Often a special effort was made to get the pupils dressed in patriotic colours or to accessorize their outfits with flowers. It would be completely unrealistic to have asked many of the families to provide a colour appropriate costume for the day.  Poverty was a part of far too many young Marlovians lives and the idea of  the children having a choice of smart outfits to choose from would not have occured to the teachers. Instead they tended to rely on cheaper red, white and blue ribbons, hat or cap accessories or sashes made up by benefactors. The good news for those perhaps enduring a speech too many was the half day holiday was generally allowed to the children. 

On the Sunday nearest the event, there were usually special services in the churches in the town. That in the parish church of All Saints was obviously the biggest, not least because invitations to attend were made to all the major groups and bodies in the town. It's fair to say, if your organization wore a uniform you were a shoo in for participation for any civic event and this was no exception.  Groups such as the Church Lads Brigade and the volunteer Fire brigade were present and correct.  Technically this was an event open to all rather than merely the Church of England congregation but the non conformist churches in town tended to have their own parade with the Salvation Army.  This was followed by a combined service often in the spacious Congregational Church (URC Oxford Rd). The non conformist Church Lads Brigade equivalent the Boys Life Brigade headed this "other" parade with their ever popular drum and fife band and of course the Salvation Army musicians. In 1908 the Salvation Army also held a separate outdoor service. 

At Bovingdon Green 

The children of Bovingdon Green school usually gathered on the green there to do their salute to the flag. They often ended with a charming display of dancing round a temporary maypole and so attracted quite an audience beyond the villagers. However they are also recorded as participating in Marlow's Empire Day parade on the same day, so they were perhaps the most active of all the participants! 

Plans Awry

In 1910, the funeral of Edward VII meant the Empire day celebrations were officially muted and recognised in Marlow only in a minor way. A representative group of  children from the church schools  went to the Causeway to sing some appropriate songs such as the inevitable "Flag Of Britain" but the flag waving banner carrying  procession was cancelled. The Bovingdon Green pupils did not come because their schoolmistress was unwell and there wasn't enough hands to marshall them. Those at Little Marlow assembled in their school playground to hear some improving thoughts on "responsibility, duty, sympathy and self sacrifice" - the "watch words" of Empire Day they said. Unfortunately the half day school holiday was cancelled as inappropriate for a country in mourning. It had originally been intended that 1910 would see a larger scale event in Marlow than previous, with sports and a special public tea. 

Then in 1911 it was decided that Empire Day could be marked as part of a combined day of celebration related to the coronation. So for the second year in a row there was no large scale children's parade. But relevant flags were flown on the Overseas League Flagstaff on the Causeway on May 24th and some shops and other premises were "dressed up". This was not the end of event though.  It was revived in 1913, continued throughout the First World War and featured largely in the 1920s and 30s. Some Marlow children received a special medal from the Empire Medal Association as a prize for loyal essays on empire related subjects. These were provided with the financial assistance of local benefactors. I have some of the winning entries from other areas and it will be no surprise to hear that they are not the product of education aiming for a critical or balanced view of the empire for it's members. 

NB The images of Edwardian Empire Day celebrations in Marlow I have been shown have proven to actually be of other events - understandably so given the common decorations, themes and activities. Others do not in fact show the town but I have some more to check and will upload later if possible. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day 

List of posts about general Marlow history including town celebrations such as coronations, jubilees, fetes etc here

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

Sources include:

A Pattern of Hundreds - Bucks Federation of Woman's Institutes (Richard Sadler Ltd, 1975)

Memories and/or information from Elsie Coster, Betty Wethered, Gus & Dennis Winterbourne, "Vivian", Michael Eagleton and one who wishes to remain anon. 

South Bucks Standard 29th May 1908, 21st May 1909, & 27th May 1910

South Bucks Free Press 8ty may 1908, 21st May 1909, 26th May 1911

Bucks Free Press 14th Jan 1927 

The Dominions Song Book, undated..

©MarlowAncestors