There was an ironmongers in Marlow High Street [Great Marlow] when I was a very small child. Little did I realise then that the building had been used for that trade for well over 150 years by that time.
First known occupier of the premises was James Maclean in 1824. In 1833 his premises consisted of a house, shop, and garden with an annual value of £13. He married twice, the second time to Elizabeth who according to her obituary was born at Munday Dean Farm.
James was a brazier and tin plate worker as well as an ironmonger. He died in 1860 as an old (nearly or a little over 80) and "much respected inhabitant" of the town the Reading Mercury newspaper said.
His wife Elizabeth took over the shop full time. She was one of the first Marlow inhabitants to buy shares in the Great Marlow Railway Company which brought trains to the town.
In 1884 13 year old George Cook alias Payne was sentenced to 10 days hard labour for obtaining a knife from her by false pretences. The next year William Harrison got a month's hard labour for stealing eight pairs of gloves from her premises worth a shilling each. Presumably these were work gloves of some kind.
Elizabeth was by then advanced in age and by 1888 her niece Susanna Goldswain was shop manager for her. Susanna had lived with her aunt and uncle for some years, probably always assisting in the business.
Elizabeth died in 1890 age 92. She, her husband James and niece Susanna are all memorialised on the same gravestone in the churchyard of All Saints, Marlow.
Another female ironmonger was soon in the premises - widow Eliza Newman. What experience she had in ironmongery is uncertain, her husband Charles* had been a brewer's clerk at Wethered's Brewery further down the High Street before his premature death at the age of 48. Whether she was a fast learner or did have some kind of previous experience Eliza made a success of the shop in the few years she ran it before retiring to live in Glade Road with her son Charles Junior. It is noted that Eliza herself was behind the counter the majority of the time - she had not merely put her name to the business. While she retired from actively running the shop by the 1901 census the business continued as "Newman and Chalk". Eliza's daughter Mary had married gardener Sidney Chalk and he was now behind the counter. Sidney's and Mary's son Cyril was a prominent local historian who very kindly when I was only about 3 years old allowed me to go upstairs in this shop and view my first historic photos of Marlow, from his personal collection thus helping to spark my passion for local history.
Above, Eliza Newman's former premises.
Sidney Chalk successfully sued the railway company in 1902 after he had a nasty fall at Bourne End Station on his way onto the Marlow train. The £95 damages were substantial for a trip fall at that time. The station was poorly lit and the carriage had pulled in, unusually, more than a foot from the platform without there being any warning to be careful given to passengers. It's surprising that no one else had an accident on the same gloomy evening! Sidney was on his way home from a Unionist political meeting in Slough at the time.
Eliza Newman died in 1906. The shop continued as an ironmongers for long afterwards.
*The mother of Charles was née Goldswain so that it is likely that the Maclean and Newman families were relatives at least of sorts.
Eliza Newman was née Haines. She was daughter of Elizabeth and James Haines of High Street Marlow. Her dad was a boat builder and engineer, who has a dedicated post here
Post written and researched by Charlotte Day.
To find all mentions of a person on this blog see the Person Index.
To see another historic ironmongers premises, see here.
You can find the historic occupiers of other shops and houses in Marlow by looking on the "Specific Shops, Streets Etc" option on the menu or under Pub Related for hotels, pubs, beer sellers and inns.
Some Sources:
Reading Mercury 28th Jan 1860. Bucks Herald 21st June 1890 and 1st February 1900.Buckingham Examiner 12th April 1884. Copies held at the British Library and accessed by me via the BNA April 2021.
Original property records held by my family and transcribed by me.
Census 1841-91. Transcribed by me from microfilm.
Marriage certificates.
GRO Death Registration Index.
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