This is part two of a Victorian Christmas in Marlow. Part one deals with the Christmas ball, slate clubs, carol singing, shop displays and festive shopping...
Christmas Day at last
We think of snow bound Victorian Christmas Card scenes, but alas snow could not be guaranteed. A warm and muggy Christmas Day in 1885 saw one local journalist comment on how unlike the "old fashioned Christmas with snow covered ground and ice bound streams" it was, so the nostalgia for a white Christmas is an old one. From various reports we can gather an idea of how some of our ancestors spent their day. Church services obviously featured heavily for many, and work crept in for others. There are many reports of the town being busy with walkers on December 25th. A sweet account by the Marlow correspondent of the Maidenhead Advertiser in 1885, who was seemingly short of actual news, describes how the folk around him had spent Christmas Eve enjoying the traditional children's games beneath the branches of a Christmas tree groaning with gifts and "gaily dressed dolls, money boxes, flags, artificial fowls and bonbons". That certainly would make an interesting tree. Gifts were often hung directly on the branches if small, and some families invited guests to take a present off as they left. The games enjoyed by the youngsters in their "jolly juvenile Christmas Party" include Snap Dragon, and bran bag dips. (Small gifts hidden in sack of bran to be found by feel by a blindfolded child, a variation of a bran tub party game). Others played these kind of games on the 25th. The adults were said to have amused themselves with card games such as whist and nap as well as toasting the season.
Of course not all children received much in the way of gifts, let alone a tree drooping under the weight of them. It's heartening to hear how many of Marlow's little ones did receive something courtesy of a benefactor, often via a Sunday school. The little patients of the Cottage Hospital always received a small gift and the hospital in general saw lots of donations of food around this time of year for example some turkey and vegetables from Lady Clayton in 1897.
What's for dinner?
Beef was such a popular gift for the poorer folk from the various charities and well off givers that we know several hundred families in Marlow would have ate that for their Christmas meal. As for the others, it can be hard to pin down what they ate but we can at least know what was available to buy from Marlow shops. Smoked gammon was obviously popular as many sellers made a point of stressing how superior their offering was to all the others. In 1893, Clifton's provisioners in the High Street had 150 prime smoked gammon available. Geese do of course get mentioned, but turkeys are too. Mr Cripps of Highfields bred turkeys and poulterer Mr Wood was proud to advertise that he stocked them, along with turkeys from other local suppliers such as Finnemore and Wood End Farms. Mr Wood is often singled out as a man that made a particularly spectacular Christmas Show at his premises. In 1893, he also displayed ducks, pheasants and hares. In the same year, W H Clark advertised that they had a "lordly ox" on show, which had come from Winslow. Adverts do not often mention geese specifically because it was a given that they would be easily available. But turkeys were worth promoting. So we know that Mr Woods had competition from Mr Maddison in the High Street and Mrs Maskell in Market Square on the turkey selling front.
As a vegetarian, I think the display at bakers Messrs Death and Son, of West Street and later of the High Street is more appealing although lard probably featured in a good few recipes! Deaths were renowned for the fancy cakes they could make in almost any design. So it's not surprising that their extensive Christmas exhibition was said to be a remarkable collection of the finest mince pies "and dainties in pastry of all descriptions."
Alternative Christmas traditions
Prior to around the 1880's and stretching back decades, was a tradition Christmas Day gathering on Marlow Common with the main aim of catching rabbits and pheasants. Several hundred people are said to have turned up at times. Some were clearly there just to socialise but others came with dogs and guns. The authorities stamped this out as the land surrounding the common was in private ownership and the landowners said dogs and hunters strayed on their land and so were effectively poaching. A sweep in 1878 saw several arrests.
Goodwill to all men?
The Christmas period was a busy one for our police constables. Drunkenness and family squabbles feature strongly in petty session records of the time. In 1870, husband and wife Jacob and Julia Martin were charged with abusing each over loudly in Gun Lane (now Trinity Road) on the evening of Christmas day while under the influence of alcohol. They received a 16s fine. That is one example of many. Other seasonal misdemeanours include the frequent apprehension of those pilfering holly and mistletoe from private land in the hope of selling it on. Henry Beaver is one such Marlow man caught making away with part of a farmers holly tree in Hambledon in 1872. There also tends to be an increase in arrests for begging in the run up to Christmas, especially on Christmas Eve itself. But there are two ways of looking at this. There may have been more beggars congregating in town in the hope that the season would encourage generosity and the police might then act to deal with a nuisance. But many of those arrested were homeless tramps and it was a tradition in some places for them to be "round up" and arrested in order that they could be hosted in the relative warmth of the police station cells over Christmas.
Boxing Day
On Boxing Day some may have been nursing sore heads and fraught domestic relations, but at least an increasing number of workers could enjoy Boxing Day off from their labours. In 1872, the Reading Mercury journalists praised the Marlow traders closed on the 26th, as "by this thoughtful act of employers many of their assistants were able to visit their friends at a distance." However 3 years later, they noted that the grocers and some other traders in Marlow had not closed on Boxing Day. By 1900 it was announced that the drapers of Marlow, who traditionally took the lead in such things, would be closing for 3- 4 days over Christmas and other traders would likely follow their lead. However, it was possible that a knock at the door of a "closed" establishment would still be answered in an "emergency". George Hide the West Street draper advertised that his side door would be answered should there be any "special enquiries" requiring immediate attention over the Christmas closure.
It was a tradition to drink the health of friends on Boxing day so pubs did a roaring trade. Those unfortunate to have many friends whose health they cared for might find themselves before a not too understanding magistrate if they ignored the soft warning to go home quietly usually issued by our local police.
And of course Boxing Day was a traditional time for football matches, played at that time on Crown Meadow or Riley Recreation Ground as we call it now with the minor teams playing at Star Meadow or Gossmore or the station ground.
The Salvation Army often hosted many of the towns poorest citizens on the 26th instead of or in addition to pre Christmas feasts. On Boxing Day 1892 100 of the needy sat down to a "meat tea."
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Related posts:
Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here
Edwardian Christmas in Marlow here
New Year traditions here
Skating on the Thames etc here
Bonfire night in Victorian Marlow here
A listing of other posts about every day life in old Marlow here
Easter and May day here
©Marlow Ancestors