Born according to the census in Hurley as Rachel Thatcher somewhere between 1782 and 1791, Rachel married her butcher husband Robert, a widower by license in Medmenham. They then moved to his native Marlow. After his death in 1823 Rachel ran the butcher's shop herself. It was located in West Street on the same side as the Ship Inn, about half away along the road. Rachel would go on to run the shop for some 30 years.
On the 1833 parish assessment her premises consisted of a house, shop as part of that, stables, slaughterhouse, yard, sheds, a garden and offices (as in the old meaning of the word - places for the fulfillment of those domestic chores or business functions requiring their own space).
Both her step sons William and Robert became butchers. William assisted Rachel for at least a while, as did Rachel's niece in law Alice Hall. Robert operated his own business in Hambledon. Relations between him and his step mother were not cordial it seems. He was engaged in lengthy litigation against her for unknown reasons according to a report in the Windsor and Eton Express 1842. Dissatisfied with the speed at which the case was progressing Robert junior walked into Marlow, dragged his legal representative into the street and gave him a good shaking. For this he was arrested and bound over to keep the peace. The lawyer is not named in reports. There were several in Marlow at the time. If the injured party was Ralph Spicer who lived and worked in premises close to Rachel's shop in West Street Rachel likely witnessed the event.
Relations with his step mother may have deteriorated following Robert being kicked off the list of Marlow men eligible to vote. At the time you needed to occupy a certain amount of proper in order to register as a voter. Robert had claimed to be in partnership with Rachel, who owned her shop. This wasn't deemed sufficient property qualification and his voting rights were removed. Rachel may have been blamed for this if she denied to investigators he had any part of the Marlow business. This was nothing but the truth, but still.
Her husband's will was unequivocal, the business went to Rachel for life as long as she didn't remarry. After her life or if she remarried the property, and others he owned, was to be divided equally between his children. If Rachel decided she wanted to give up the business before her death or remarriage then son Robert got it. He was not made a partner in the business otherwise.
Robert senior also gave Rachel for life two houses in St Thomas's Street Marlow (now called Spittal Street).
In 1832 Rachel's shop was broken into and a saddle of mutton, 4 ribs of beef and a shoulder of veal were stolen. She offered a reward for the apprehension of the guilty party but I find no evidence that he or she was found.
Twelve years later Rachel had a leg of mutton stolen from her shop and six years after that 31bs beef disappeared. In the latter case the thief was caught. Keziah Godding received a sentence of 14 days. She was apprehended immediately on leaving the shop by parish constable Thomas Walker, with the meat hidden under her apron. The shopman Thomas Webb Anthony said he had only sold her a shillings worth of mutton, which was also beneath her apron.
Rachel was suffering no particular targeting of her premises- thefts from shops were common in Marlow and elsewhere.
Whatever difficulties Robert junior and Rachel had they were forgiven at least on Rachel's side by the time of the writing of her will in 1852.
She herself had three properties to leave: a cottage in Lane End left to Robert junior, a cottage in Spittal Street with all it's encumbrances (debts secured upon it or mortgages or annuities drawn upon their rents) to son William and a further cottage in West Street. This latter, in the occupation of Ann Plumridge, was to go to the will's executors Robert Maddox (who lived in the High Street) and James Thomas Lovegrove (a plumber in West Street who lived a few doors from Rachel ) to sell. The money raised was to be used to pay her debts and funeral expenses and to help pay off some of the encumbrances on the property she was leaving. Any money left after that was to be equally divided between Robert junior and William. In 1853 William advertised the butchery business for sale, along with immediate possession of the premises it was carried out in.
Josiah Smith and Robert Howard later ran their own butchery businesses on the same premises. Robert Howard was also a dairyman.
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Sources:
Wills of Rachel Hall and Robert Hall senior. Obtained from the National Archives, Kew and transcribed by me.
Reading Mercury 16th April 1832 [theft from Rachel].
Windsor and Eton Express 20th August 1842 [Robert junior duffs up his legal representative] and 10th October 1840 [Robert's voting problems].
All newspapers accessed October 2020 via the BNA online. Copies held at the British Library archives.
Judicial records research of Jane Pullinger. Thanks Jane!
1841 and 1851 censuses my transcription from microfilm.
Medmenham parish records
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