©Marlow Ancestors. Use image or research if you give credit to this blog.
Note: We have grouped these graves together for ease of use as they are for people of the same last name but there is no reason to conclude that those on the different graves were related to each other.
Philip Homan Miller "of Moyleen" died 1928 aged 82 and his wife Marianne Sophia who died 1929 aged 78.
Both of the above were artists / painters. Phillip and quite possibly his wife were of Irish origin. He contributed artwork to numerous illustrated newspapers of the day.
Moyleen was a 14 room house/farm off West Street/Henley Road. This would at the time have been referred to usually as "West End".
This grave is in Marlow Cemetery. Marianne was obviously a skilled maker of preserves as her "pure orange jelly" was exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society show in London in 1909, earning her a Banksian Medal no less. This was followed by other similar awards for fruit syrups and "confections". During the 1st world war it is said that as part of the war effort a jam factory was based there. Local schoolchildren were allowed time out of lessons to pick rose hips and blackberries to feed the factory and others. In 1922 the Millers received planning permission to construct a jam factory at Moyleen, which may have been an extension of an existing concern or perhaps a restart of it.
Update by Kathryn:
Mrs Miller was a long term supporter and committee member of the Children's Country Holiday Fund. This provided the much appreciated opportunity for young children of London County Council schools to enjoy a fortnight's holiday in rural areas. During their stay the youngsters were encouraged to record the beauty of nature in drawings and paintings. The school with the best work, as judged by the Fund art critic Mrs Miller, received a trophy. In 1928 the two winning schools of that year would also receive two large artworks painted locally by Mrs Miller. They were entitled "Spring" and "Autumn" and showed woodland scenes.
Lastly the Millers were well known in Marlow for starting the West End Social Club, in the early 1920's. This is almost totally forgotten now but was a big thing at the time. It was intended as a way for the residents of the west end part of Marlow to socialise together. There was little development in the Spinfield area at the time, and the Pound Lane area housing estates were yet to be built. The residents of West End, Red Pits and Henley Rd therefore felt a little "out of the way". It started in a small way with the virtually compulsory 1920s Marlow entertainment of whist drives and talks on subjects such as rose growing. It soon snowballed and hosted events in the centre of Marlow too, including a hugely successful chrysanthemum show which had open classes attended by those from quite a distance. And the social club even had its own orchestra! More about it will follow shortly.
The above grave is in All Saints Parish Church. It's badly weathered but here's what is readable..
John Miller who departed this life November 19th 187-
Aged 35 years.
ALSO -
Daughter of the above, Jane born Jan 1867, died June 1878.
It is not probable that these Millers are related to those at the top of the page.
© MarlowAncestors.
For other graves see the index here
To see more about any particular property or area of Marlow see the index here
To search for any individual or family, use the A-z person index on the top drop down menu - there is over 7,000 people listed there.
