Stephen made a mark on Marlow history as the home he owned in West Street was later dubbed Remnantz in his honour. I can find no evidence it was known as that during his actual occupancy.
Stephen's family does not appear to be ultimately of local origin but he married a Marlow girl in Sarah Manning. The marriage was celebrated at Charlton Kent in 1747.
Stephen and Sarah first lived in Westminster then occupied a rented house in nearby Bisham before coming to Marlow. He also owned farmland in Bisham. His armaments business, which he inherited from his dad Samuel, was based in Woolwich however so it was there he was most often to be found. He was described as "of Woolwich" in his apprenticeship indenture as a young man when he was bound to a mariner. Though he followed his father into the arms trade rather than pursue a career as a mariner in the end, he did grow up to be a ship owner too, something which required significant capital.
Samuel Remnant had died in 1752 under a cloud after it was realised he was party to a £10,000 fraud. His heirs were expected to pay the money back.
Despite this Samuel had had enough left (he believed) to leave a legacy in his will of £100 to a London lunatic asylum.
Stephen's success in the armament trade meant he probably did not have any money worries despite the burden of the repayment his father's estates had.
He could count a bit less cash in his pockets however after he and another man were robbed on the Highway at Blackheath!
The sale of Remnantz to him occurred in circa mid 1750s. He was still "of Bisham" in 1755 but resident "of Marlow" in 1757. He had bought also Albion House virtually opposite in West Street with some nearby land by 1779.
He was nominated as a potential Sheriff for the County of Berkshire while at Bisham and for Bucks when at Marlow but I do not believe he won either role.
His commitment to both counties can be shown by his being one of the subscribers to the a new Marlow Bridge which connected the two of them in the 1780s. This was the oak bridge which was the predecessor of the current suspension bridge.
Stephen continued his father's interest in hospitals too, being a subscriber to the London Lying In Hospital for Married Women in 1750. His brother John also gave to this hospital. When John died in middle age Stephen erected a memorial in Chiselhurst Church in Kent to him.
Stephen died in 1801 leaving a long will. All his Marlow and Bisham property was to be sold by a Frederick Booth [whose relationship to him I could not decipher] with the money used to benefit Stephen's grandchildren*
Remnantz in 1802 became the Royal Military College Junior department [nearly ready to receive first cadets in April 1802]. It later reverted to a house again. Some reports suggest that Stephen had agreed to lease the house to the planned College as early as 1799.
*One of his grandchildren Stephen Remnant Chapman became the governor of Bermuda.
Stephen's wife died long before him. Some of their children are buried at Bisham including Sarah and Ann who died within a fortnight of each other in 1754, and young Stephen who died early the following year.
Related Posts
Life for the mutinous cadets of the College here
For other West Street related posts see the menu under "Specific shops, streets etc" on the menu. Biographies of other Marlow people can be found under Biographies of Individuals or see the Person Index for all mentions of people on this blog.
To see a small selection of items dug up at Remnantz in days past see this post here
See:
Will of Stephen Remnant 1801. I obtained my copy from the National Archives, Kew and transcribed it.
Apprentice Indenture. National Archives. REF IR1 14 F 200.
Bisham lease: Berkshire Archives.
Charlton marriage. London Metropolitan Archives.
Navy Board Letters, National Archives catalogue online. ADM106/12409/21
An Account Of The City Of London Lying In Hospital For Married Women At Shaftesbury House In Aldersgate Street Instituted 1750. Digitized by Google Books from a copy owned by Oxford University.
A Poll For The Knights Of The Shire For Buckinghamshire 1784.
Researched and written by Charlotte Day.
©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this post for family or local history purposes if with credit to this blog and a link here.
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