Queen's Head Little Marlow Historic Landlords.

Note that it has usually been stated that the Queen's Head began as the King's Head but changed name when Victoria ascended to the throne. However, there was a pub called the Queen's Head in Little Marlow some years before Victoria became queen and a pub called the King's Head continued to exist. I have heard that the two pubs agreed to swap names, but certain details don't quite match up, and it looks very much like the landlords around the time of the coronation were at odds with each other rather than co-operative. Below I simply give landlords and events listed at "The Queen's Head" on the understanding that these probably do not all refer to the same physical premises.

Gaps in dates are gaps in our knowledge.

1826 - pub "The Queen's Head" existed in Little Marlow.

1830 - 32 - Joshua Phillips landlord. He moved to the King's Head.

Until 1870 there is no further mention that we have found YET of the Queen's Head however James Twitchen who had the Queen's Head in 1872 had been a beer seller in the village from 1843 in premises that never seem to be given a name and it is probable for several reasons that he was in fact at the Queen's Head all the while. He opened his premises in 1842 after two cottages were knocked together to form a single property of sufficient rateable value to qualify as a licensed premises. He had been trying to get a licence for the property for a while but complained that his Liberal politics meant that he was deliberately rated under true value to thwart his business plans. Politics in Marlow were very corrupt and sometimes violent in this era so his claims of political persecution are very believable. Other cases are known. After he managed to open James said that a prosecution  for him remaining open later than allowed was politically motivated. The case was dismissed in court. The property he was using having been two domestic cottages up to that point, can't be the old Queen's Head pub unless having fallen out of use it had been converted into two cottages and James wanted to convert back. More likely it was simply a new site for a new pub. More research will hopefully bring some charity to this confusing situation. In particular we need certainty that James Twitchen's pub did indeed bear the name the Queen's Head before 1872. Joshua Phillips who was at the King's Head opposed Twitchen opening his pub as it would of course represent competition for him. The premises which James opened in 1843 were next door to the shop of Henry Hussey. In 1863 James Twitchen of Little Marlow beer seller was also a job master. There was a younger James Twitchen, also a Liberal, and a publican in Great Marlow in this era. 

1872 - 78 James Twitchen as the Queens Head, but probably there years earlier, see above. In 1878 his son Henry took over.

1878 - 91 Henry Twitchen, son of James above. In 1878 he was accused of opening during forbidden hours. In 1885 he opened a little grocery shop next door as an additional to his business.

1891 - Moses Tranter took over.

1895 - beerhouse to let with immediate possession. Includes the little grocery shop too.

1896 - Henry Hester to  Thomas Hughes failed transfer. 2 . Henry Hester to Joseph Pope, briefly, then successful transfer this time to Thomas Hughes.

1897 - Thomas Hughes to George Taylor

1899 - up for sale.

1900- 07 George Taylor

1907 - George Taylor transferred licence to Henry Owen Alma Harris. 

1908 - Henry Owen Alma Harris transferred licence Fred Patterson (but note Pattenden given as his name later)

1910 - Fred Pattenden - (Patterson?) to William Foster, a proposed transfer of the licence to Arthur Turner having been refused. 

1920-  possibly William Foster 

1929 - T.R Whiting took over the licence.

1934- 1952 at least Frederick Hobbs and wife Bertha. They were previously at Crown skirmett. In the early 1950s the pub had a Thrift Club and Slate Clubs for both men and women. There were nearly 100 members to the Thrift Club alone in 1951.

1955 - Victor Woolmore.

Written by Charlotte Day. Researched by both Charlotte and Kathryn Day.

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

Sources Included:

1863 Dutton's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc

Bucks Free Press Nov 7th 1952, Bucks Free Press Archives.

England and Wales census 1851,61,71, 81, 91 transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte Day.

Bucks Gazette September 3rd 1842, British Library collection via the British Newspaper Archive.

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News October 14th 1843, as above

South Bucks Standard 11th October 1895 and 25th August 1899. British Library collection, London.

Personal Interview.

Price & Bowles Grave, Marlow cemetery

Above - in loving memory of a dear son Raymond Francis Price d August 1939 age 7 "just a ray of sunshine called back to heaven". *

ALSO OF

Edith May Bowles his grandmother - died 23rd October 1937 age 44 years "time can never dim the memory of those happy days".

 This grave can be found in Marlow cemetery. 

Further information: 

Little Raymond was drowned in the river near Riverwoods. His parents were Mr & Mrs Nelson Price of "Greenwood" New Town Rd. He was picnicking on the river bank with his mother and some friends when he wandered off, it is believed to look for an ice-cream seller. But the young boy fell into the river somehow and in a flash he was gone. The touching inscription seems entirely appropriate. 

Edith lived at 26 Dean Street in the 1920s and prior to that in South Place.  Her husband was Frederick.  Edith clearly had many ups and downs in her life. If you are interested in her please contact us directly. 

To look for information about any particular person on this blog use the A-z person index on the top drop down menu. 

For other grave images see the index 

here

Index of posts about general Marlow history here

© MarlowAncestors 

Early 20th Century Station Road Businesses Part One

NOTE: numbers given here are the numbers as they were then.

Post by Charlotte...

Right Hand Side (St Peter Street side) 

The Marlow Directory And Almanack of 1907 gives the first occupier on this side of the Street as C.H Carter, baker. That is Charles Henry Carter but his was the large corner premises on the Station Road and Causeway corner and these would be more usually considered to be in the Causeway (as that's where the main door was) so we will pass by him for now.

The first shop doorway proper you would come across was instead that of Miss Lydia Heal dressmaker. She'd first asked permission to fit a shop window into the property front in 1899 but she had already been plying her craft as a dressmaker in Marlow for 11 years by then. Many such businesswomen did not have shops, though to do so would be their ultimate ambition if possible. Even though she may not have had a proper shop window in which to display her goods from the start of her career she certainly lived in the exact same Station Road premises and met her clients there by 1891. A 1903 advert in the South Bucks Standard thanked the "nobility and gentry" for their previous business and said that she would now be continuing "the business" on her own account. So earlier it seems she was in a business partnership with someone else, even though only she is named in the application for the shop front alterations. The advert promises a good fit and moderate prices. Lydia tells us that she sells fancy drapery, millinery, underwear, corsetry, gloves, lace and ribbon as well as operating as a dressmaker. In 1910 lace was advertised as a speciality of her shop. In the same year winter suits are mentioned as being on display there.

We know Lydia still sold ready made underwear in 1906 as a woman pretending to live in nearby Station Villas took some away with her on approval to show an alleged sister but never brought the items back or paid for them, neither did the alleged sister materialize to do either thing. The same woman defrauded another Marlow clothes retailer around the same time using the same ruse. It might seem remarkably, even foolishly, trusting to allow a stranger to take valuable items from your shop on trust without paying for them but the practice of having clothing items on approval was not uncommon at the time. In order to qualify you would have to appear "respectably" dressed however. 

Skipping past the residential property of dairy farmer Augustus Creswell at no 9 we next come to James Faulkner the bootmaker at number 11.

A man whose premises seem to move about on this side of the road was photographer Ernest A. Hewett. He was certainly on this side of the street in all scenarios, and in most was given as being at no 17 so we'll slot him in our list here.

Cycle maker, coach builder and wheelwright H. H Mathews lived (at least for a time) at 21 Station Road but operated his business further along at number 35. He was apparently Henry Harold but was often known just by his middle name. There is also a reference to a Horace Mathews cycle agent in the same premises though that may be a mistake. H.H Mathews certainly operated alongside Harold Haine, motor engineer and cycle maker who wholly took over the business at some point between 1915 and 1920. Harold Haine was a Raleigh cycle agent, amongst other things. He came from Egham Surrey originally. In 1907 an Albert Barnes worked for a H Mathews at no 35.

Between the home of H Mathews and his business premises was (by 1903) Mrs Ann Cockayne who let apartments at her home "St Clare", Woodham's Dairy, Walter Lovegrove the auctioneer, a grocery shop at nos 27-29 run firstly by H W Britnell and then by Raymond G Ford and his wife Lily, and Smewings the tobacconist come newsagents.

Mrs Cockayne the landlady was in business at St Clare (sometimes given as St Claire) by 1899. She was then in her late 60s and by 1911 had retired and moved out. In the early 1890s there had been 4 apartment proprietors at the town end of Station Road as well a boarding house and two further apartment rental buildings at the station end of the road, all with a residential owner. The private lodgings trade in Station Road had clearly dropped off a lot by the second decade of the 1900s though some of that loss was due to similar properties springing up in Glade Road and elsewhere in the town rather than for a lack of desire for furnished apartments. Ann Cockayne herself became a lodger with a family in nearby South Place.

Annie Smewing ran the tobacconist come newsagents at number 31, with her husband Henry assisting her and being the name above the door but mainly being a gardener and groom employed elsewhere at The Lawn. Henry was one of the committee members at Marlow Football Club and one of Marlow's volunteer firefighters in the Edwardian age. In the 1930s this was Morris tobacconist and newsagent.

Also near to these shops was another dairy in 1907, Hornsby's. Presumably this was connected to the Hornsby's who kept a small dairy herd at Wood Barn Farm, Little Marlow. See here for more on them. Be warned - that post contains mention of serious animal cruelty.

Next along in terms of commercial premises in the mid 1910s was tobacconist C.O Mathews which probably became by 1920 the tobacco and confectionery shop of Mrs Annie Truss (who was definitely at no 37). She was still there in 1924 when she served hot drinks too. Probably she remained in business until her death in 1931. Annie, formerly Bailey, was the wife of Albert Truss, a man jailed at least four times prior to his 1916 marriage to Annie for failing to maintain his illegitimate children by Fanny Louisa Penfold. By trade Albert was a boatman though apparently reluctant to work. Prior to his marriage he was "kept" by his brother who was landlord of the Two Brewer's pub in St Peter Street. 

At 39 was the tiny premises of George Gardner AKA George Gardiner the greengrocer and fruiterer by 1920. George did not spend many years in the shop here. He was the grandson of Clara and William Gardner /Gardiner /Gardener of the Nags Head pub in Dean Street, see here.

Our next Station Road businesspeople on this side of the road were the Ways. Robert was a cabinet maker and shopkeeper early in the 1900s and adjoining his premises was the tiny Wheatsheaf pub. This was run by Thomas Way senior until his retirement in 1905 in favour of his son Thomas junior. Thomas junior remained landlord until at least 1921 but was gone by 1939. More on the Way family of the Wheatsheaf, including both Thomas Ways in my biographical post here. 

Finally on this side of the road in terms of commercial property we come to the Railway Hotel across from the station. For a history of this pub / hotel including the early 1900s landlords of these premises see this post.

The other side of the road will be featured in another post in the future along with businesses which we cannot firmly place to one side or the other.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day 

©Marlow Ancestors.

Selected Sources:

Marlow Directory and Almanack 1907 and 1915 editions, Marlow Printing Company. Marlow Directory 1891, Marlow Publishing Company.

"England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26FV-PWY : 13 December 2014), Albert Truss and null, 1916; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1916, quarter 4, vol. 3A, p. 1914, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

South Bucks Standard May 6th 1899, April 3rd 1903 and 10th August 1906 British Library Archives via the BNA.

Kelly's Post Office Directory of Bucks etc 1911, 1915 and 1920 editions. Kelly's Directories Limited.