The Crown and Cushion was a small beer house.
Frederick Brooks / Brookes took over the licence in 1873. With him was wife Harriet. The couple had married in Bisham Berkshire back in 1855. By then Harriet was a widow in her forty forth year, and the couple do not appear to have had any children. Harriet was baptised in Rickmansworth Hertfordshire, Frederick in Bisham. Both worked as paper makers prior to their marriage.
After their marriage Frederick became an agricultural labourer. He and Harriet lived on the 1861 census in Bisham but were away in Ealing 1871.
Why they decided to move to Marlow and become publicans is unknown.
Like many of the other Dean Street beershops the Brooks' premises also functioned as a cheap lodging house. It had what what was described as a "tramp ward" or dormitory as part of the premises. This attracted the poorer and most desperate of Marlow's visitors.
In 1881 George Allen, a man who had slept the night there, left in the morning with the sheet and blanket from his bed. He received a sentence of 1 month's hard labour for the offence.
Four men were lodging with Frederick and Harriet at the time of the census that year.
Frederick himself faced court in 1876 for allegedly serving an already drunk man. This would be a potential breach of his license. He was given the benefit of the doubt but in 1883 he was found guilty and fined for the same offence. Another lucky escape followed the same year when police called and found two men and a woman passed out drunk on the premises. Frederick said he couldn't help their state as they were his lodgers, and had come in already drunk. The police found jugs and mugs of half drunk beer along side the inebriates and so viewed this excuse with some scepticism. They said the premises was "often filled with persons who were in the habit of fighting, swearing and creating a great noise." The court however said it could not be proved that the alcohol hadn't been purchased elsewhere so didn't endorse the licence but slapped on another fine. It was agreed that the Crown & Cushion was better conducted after this, at least as far as the law was concerned!
Frederick died in 1886 and Harriet took over the license. She held it for five years before her own death. The 1891 census taken just before she died, shows Harriet had expanded her lodger numbers to eight. It must have been crowded!
James Edwards was the next landlord of the Crown and Cushion.
The pub closed as such in 1909 after breweries were forced to cut the number of local premises they ran. It was still operating as a lodging house though at least two years after that.
Related Posts:
Posts about life in Dean Street and neighbouring streets here
More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here
Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here
To find all pub related content see the Pub option in the top drop down menu and the A-Z person listing for every mention of your ancestor no matter how small.
See:
Censuses England and Wales 1851, 71, 81, 91 from Familysearch website ran by the LDS church. Accessed October 2020.
Bisham Parish Registers.
Great Marlow Parish Registers
Bucks Herald newspaper 12th November 1881 [theft by lodger] Copy held by the British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020. Also Bucks Herald 1st December 1883, accessed as previous.
Maidenhead Advertiser 20 June 1883, Slough Libraries.
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