Grave of Robert Hayes Smith B. Mar 1st 1827, d. September 13th 1903. Also beloved wife Margaret Ann.
If your ancestor attended almost any public event in the second half of the 19thc, a certain familiar figure could invariably be seen scribbling away at the sidelines. If you attended a cricket match at Marlow, you might see the same man scoring the game. Attending the Institute? There he is again, giving a lecture, taking notes or leading a debate. If you wander down the High Street, our busy friend will greet you from the door of his stationer and booksellers premises. Mr Robert Hayes Smith is a man hard to miss. He is someone Marlow has had reason to be very grateful to, because he completely transformed our towns access to news and information.
Robert was born in London in 1827, moving to Marlow when he was 7. He attended both Faulkners School (a private one for young gentlemen) and the Blue Coat School as a foundation scholar (that is for free) - the latter is now known as Borlase. He was a bright young man and is said to have excelled at his studies. While young he took part on a long and arduous over land expedition to India, looking at the best trade routes to follow before the Suez Canal was operational. In Egypt, the intense heat meant the group chose to travel only when it was dark, after several members became seriously ill. This bought dangers of its own, and Robert became separated from his companions on one occasion. He was found and they continued on to Alexandria. He reached Bombay via a steamship so the journey was not overland all the way. The return journey was made by ship, via Alexandria, and the Bay of Biscay to Southampton. At this point, Robert was said to be ill himself. This was put down at the time to the physical demands of travel and the rapid changes of climate he had experienced. He was said to take years to fully recover from his trip.
On his return he concentrated on his stationary and printing business. At first he was located in Spittal Street where he combined his work with hairdressing - a common Marlow pairing. Later he was in the premises previously used by stationer and hairdresser George Smith Pearce who you can read about elsewhere on the blog - link below. It's probably this role of Robert's that had the most significant effect on Marlow life. He was the first person to organise the regular delivery of daily papers to Marlow, a parcel of them arriving here by train and horse. This may not seem extraordinary but it was. In 1836 Mr J Juggins of Quoiting Place placed many adverts promoting his plans to supply Marlow with newspapers and periodicals from the London press, in anticipation of a reduction of stamp duty then applied to them. But the price reduction was not large and despite Mr Juggins promising the "upmost punctuality" in their arrival and onwards dispatch, this paper delivery service was remembered as sadly slow. A decade later Marlow had a billiard room and "newsroom" in the High Street, at the property of Mr Maddocks. (In the former Lower Crown Inn, which was then let to more than one tenant. Mr Maddocks was a friend of the poet Shelley in Marlow and lead a colourful life - you can read more about him here ) This was patronised by the male gentry who were members. Together, they subscribed to The Times newspaper, receiving a single copy between them, and only the day after it was printed. It had to be sent from London you see and papers were before 1855 were still subject to a stamp tax. They were expensive hence why people went to newsrooms and coffee shops to read them. This copy of the Times was described as the only copy of a London newspaper in town to be present on a regular and reliable basis soon after publication. Some of the inns, such as the Three Tuns, had newspapers but they tended to be older copies and the easier to come by regional titles. So when the "Tax on Knowledge" was abolished as far as newspapers was concerned, the cost of the papers went down and many more publications started up. With the better train services also improving the chance of a paper arriving soon after printing*, Robert saw the opportunity to organise a fresh supply of news into town. His shop became the place to go for up to date information. Robert was not just a fancy and commercial stationer, bookseller and newsagent, but in common with others in a similar line, he was also a printer and ran a circulating library. (His premises were often referred to as the Library in fact.) He took in advertisements for the papers and sold tickets to events and Salter Steamer boat trips and more. He was also the man to go to if you wanted to take out insurance as a rail passenger to cover you in the event of a train crash. And he also acted as a tea dealer and spirit agent later on!
Robert would later spend 50 years as the Marlow correspondent for the South Bucks Standard. It's in this role he could be found attending almost every meeting and event in town. It's hardly surprising he was said to know everything about Marlow and it's people. The reports Robert must have looked most forward to making were those related to his beloved Marlow Cricket Club, which he devoted himself to for 60 years. Aside from scoring their matches, and filing match reports, he served various roles on their committee including that of Secretary for 10 years. When receiving a presentation (and gold half hunter watch) from the club in honour of such long devotion, he made a speech. He said he had spent thousands of the best days and the best hours of his life in it's service and had done so cheerfully and willingly "because of my profound admiration for the noble game, a game which I hold to be worthy of all the sacrifices I made for it." This received a resounding cheer. He also recommended the playing of cricket to all young men seeking to succeed in any field of life as it was a sure remedy against "ennui and melancholy, an infallible prescription for providing a healthy mind in a healthy body."
Music was another of Robert's passions. A member of the Choral Society, he appears often as a singer at local charity events. His fellow worshippers at the Roman Catholic church could also hear Robert singing in their choir for decades.
The Marlow Institute also saw Robert sitting on its board, and he gave lectures on mostly literary subjects such as "The life and times of Charles Dickens." He frequently donated books to the Institute library. In 1891 he proposed a debate on the subject of a potential tax on bachelors to encourage marriage. This was only a semi serious suggestion from the long time happily married Robert whose wife Margaret was probably in the audience. He naturally supported the tax! For many years Robert had the contract to supply the newspapers for the library of the Institute in the 1860's before it arrived in permanent premises in Institute Rd.
When he died in 1903, the world of his youth where up to date newspapers were scarce must have seemed incredible to the young people around him. Robert had retired from his business in 1892 but it was hardly a quiet retirement as he continued to serve on committees and support the Marlow Cricket, Football and Rowing Clubs. He was also treasurer for the Marlow Victoria football club in its early days. He is buried at St Peter's Catholic Church in St Peter's Street. His grave, and that of his wife, is still visible and is shown above. One slightly unusual aspect of his funeral is the second funeral service, read by F O Wethered in his role as "Brother Wethered" of the Loyal Orphans Hope Lodge of the Oddfellows. This organisation had a long history in the town and Brother Smith was a longstanding member. They were a kind of friendly society with a sort of Masonic love of ritual. Each local lodge had it's own name, with Orphans Hope belonging to Marlow. The Oddfellows were a national organisation and had their own funeral service to be read at a Lodge of the grave side when a member died. They also sprinkled sprigs of thyme on Robert's coffin. Not everyone may have sprinkled herbs on his grave, but the turn out for the funeral was very large. It was observed that Marlow had lost an adopted son that had loved the town dearly. (He had been due to leave the neighbourhood for a villa "near the Crystal Palace at Norwood" shortly before his death.)
NB There was later a branch of W H Smith in town but that is not Robert's family business. Other Smith's were drapers or china dealers. The Spittal Street W H Smith was a draper/milliner although they did stock Christmas and New Year cards, as did many other shops besides stationers and the like.
*The blocking of train lines in times of snow or flood caused occasional delays in the papers sent from London arriving. For example the papers due to arrive by train at Marlow at 8.30 am just after Christmas in 1886 did not arrive until 3.30pm due to snow related blockage on the line.
Those of lower incomes could read newspapers at pubs and refreshment rooms. It was noted in the 1880s that those sending their children to the pubs to bring home a jug of beer in Marlow often requested that the child return with one of the papers, to be bought back a little later.
You can read about Robert's predecessor George Smith Pearce here
More on other members of Robert Hayes Smith family see here
For more on the Institute, see this post
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