Before the Reformation, most of Marlow's residents would of course have been Catholic. Later, Marlow saw its fair share of Catholic "popish recusants" who were hauled before the quarter sessions for repeated failures to attend Protestant church services which had become compulsory. The same names pop up repeatedly and were probably the tip of the iceberg. Some put in a token appearance at the parish church often enough to avoid punishment, if not suspicion about their sincerity. We will feature some of these early Catholic recusants in other posts.
This post is about the experience of Catholic members of Marlow's population during the regency and Victorian period. They were very much in the minority amongst the population and until the 1840's, had no church to worship at. How many Catholics were resident here is hard to judge, but we are gathering a list of names.
In 1827, there was an anti Catholic meeting in the town hall, which resulted in a number of Marlow citizens giving their support to a petition against further concessions being given to the Catholics nationally. This was presented to Parliament by the Earl of Winchelsea (Winchilsea), one of the leaders of opposition to the idea that Catholics could sit as M.Ps. The Earl actually fought a duel with prime minister Wellington over their different approaches to this issue in 1829! It seems that the success of Irish catholic Daniel O'Connell who won the 1827 by-election in County Clare despite technically not being allowed to take up a seat, had worried the local anti Catholics. What if other Catholics ignored the rules and started putting themselves forward for roles the law forbade them to accept? A vote was held after a number of (virulently prejudiced) speeches and unsurprisingly, the motion was passed to send the petition forward. The meeting had been framed as a stand against popery and for patriotism so who would be brave enough to turn up and vote against the petition under such circumstances? Sir George Nugent of Westhorpe House did speak against the motion but he was in the minority. He had previously voted in favour of Catholic emancipation. Those Marlow petitioners were out of luck however, as the Roman Catholic Relief Act was passed in 1829.
On a more everyday basis, people who were not Protestant (or who were not regular parish church goers) could find them excluded from employment. I have found a number of local job adverts which specify that only Protestants or established church members need apply. Mostly this was positions of domestic service, but sometimes it's also shop work.
Things began to improve for local Catholics when the wealthy Charles Scott Murray of Danesfield converted to Catholicism in 1841. He was an MP at the time so was forced to resign. He immediately supported a mission in Marlow but his dearest aim was to build a Roman Catholic church. But given the anti Catholic feeling around, would he find someone to sell him the necessary land? Many of the significant landowners had a history of speaking out against Catholic rights. It was said later that Scott Murray secured a second rate spot for a an inflated price because the sellers agent thought beggars can't be choosers. But an alternative rumour was that the agent acting for Murray disguised both his purpose and client, out of desperation of finding a spot at any price. However I believe neither story is absolutely true, because the land was sold at auction by the Rolls auctioneers rather than through a private sale arranged through agents. Within a week it was reported in the local press who'd bought it and for what purpose, or at least it was stated that Murray wanted to use it for "furthering the Catholic faith" and building a schoolhouse. In the end a field formerly belonging to George Cannon that had been part of the Platts Farm Estate was secured for £150. It was then in the occupation of farmer Hewitt later of Blounts Farm. A few ramshackle farm buildings had to go and a pond was filled in. George Stevens, recalling the site in 1895 said it was a "miserable swampy place". George was one of the early worshippers and it's organist. On the positive side, the church was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and attracted praise (sometimes begrudging!) for its charm and attractiveness.
Scott Murray paid the entire cost of both the land (about an acre) and the building. He also built a convent and school adjacent, and chapel at Danesfield itself.
St Peters Street as a name long predates the arrival of the Church. We are tracking its usage through property transaction and wills. It was in use for the church portion of the modern street as well as a portion of what is now Station Road ahead of Marlow Place. It was used at the same time as other former names for St Peters Street such as Duck Lane and Old Bridge Street.
While the search for land was ongoing, Scott Murray supported the provision of services out of a hired room, possibly in St Peters Street although I have conflicting information about its location. The first mass was attended by a grand total of 3 people - Scott Murray, a relative of the Priest and an Irish woman from Cookham. Priest Peter Coop pressed on with two services on a Sunday, and one in the week. He would also be the priest at the church once completed. At least he could rely on the arrival of Scott Murray, and some of his servants!
The first stone was laid in 1845 before a curious audience. I have not come across any reports of open hostility on this occasion, but it may not have been publicised much in advance outside of the Catholic community. This would limit the opportunity for trouble makers to make elaborate plans to disrupt proceedings. Members of the congregation looking back on this time in general recalled that their priests had suffered name calling and hissing in their direction as they went about their business. George Stevens mentioned above remembered experiencing much prejudice and bigotry at this period.
About 1,500 people attended the stone laying. A procession went from the Deanery along the very short distance to the site of the new church in St. Peters Street. A platform was erected, with a beautifully decorated alter on top. Scott Murray entered fully into the proceedings, donning a cassock and surplice and carrying a large cross at the head of the procession. He also performed the stone laying. Afterwards the event was marked by a dinner for 100 invited guests at the Town Hall and a gift of bread and a shilling to 80 poor families.
A year later the church was opened. The stained glass windows were not all completed on the opening date however and poor Peter Coop had to endure the first winter with just canvas coverings over some of the openings. It was thought necessary to add wooden shutters as a temporary security measure when the windows delivery was again delayed. In 1847 the last of the original windows were finally put in place although the requested image of St. Thomas of Hereford had mistakenly been replaced with that of St. Thomas of Canterbury. It was decided to keep the latter however.
In 1849, the Christmas celebrations were regarded as a particular success. Attendance at the services were good and Rev Ludwig had, despite the "threats and intimidation resorted to by the Protestant clergyman of the neighborhood" secured a large choir than contained members of the parish church. (It may seem surprising that Protestant singers were willing to sing there given the feelings high at the time, but in fact it was a long standing tradition in Marlow for good singers from All Saints to appear at services in the non conformist chapels in the town on special occasions. There were many who remembered singers from the Salem chapel appearing at the Wesleyan one and vice versa too. Unfortunately as time went on the parish church came down more heavily on their own choir members singing elsewhere until doing so was said to earn an expulsion from their choir.) Father Ludwig's day did not go entirely well however. When he arrived home he discovered that while he had been occupied in the church thieves had entered his property. They made off with several items of silver and £5 in gold and silver coins.
The congregation might have been small at first but it grew steadily. In 1850, it was reported that 75 people had converted to Catholicism in Marlow in the previous 18 months. It is certainly true that many long standing Marlow families have Catholic converts amongst their number.
Canon John Morris arrived in Marlow in 1851. He wrote many letters to Scott Murray, updating the latter about his work. His first week at Marlow was marked by the unfortunate locking in of worshipper Charlotte Beckett within the church overnight. It was door keeper Mr Harper who was directly responsible, but poor Charlotte was discovered praying at the altar by Morris on his arrival the following meeting. She had apparently put her time to good use in contemplating various religious matters. John left many letters and comes across as good humoured and hard working.
Shortly afterwards, the Rev Bernard Smith took up the post of priest. Bernard deservedly has a post of his own here, but I will just say in this post that he was responsible for mellowing many people's attitude to the Catholic church in Marlow. His kindness to all, whether a flock member or not, was legendary. The fact that his death in 1903 occasioned expressions of sorrow from all sects and parts of Marlow showed how far things had come.
Related Posts
For more posts like this see Church Related on the menu here
Biography of Canon Bernard Smith here
Index of grave images at St Peters and other Marlow area locations - here
Find all mentions of an individual here by using the A-Z person index, on the top drop down menu. There are currently 3150 people listed there with new content added daily.
More about George Cannon, previous owner of the church site here
General Marlow history posts about everyday life here in the past: here
Posts related to St Peters Street here
Sources include:
Kelly's Directory 1847, 1883, 1911.
Barrow, John Henry. The Mirror of Parliament 1828
Corcoran, James Andrew, Patrick, John et al. The American Catholic Review (Hardy and Mahoney, 1892)
Gibbs, Roger. The Buckinghamshire Miscellany (R Gibbs 1891)
Kelly, Bernard W. Historical Notes on English Catholic Missions (Paul Trench 1907)
Morris,John. Catholic England in Modern Times (Burns & Oates, 1892)
Pollen, John Hungerford. The Life and Times of Father John Morris 1826-1893, (Burns & Oates, 1896)
Shepherd, Stanley A. The Stained glass of A W N Pugin (Spire Books, 2009)
The Catholic Directory and Register (Burns & Lambert 1858)
The Catholic Magazine & Register Volume 11, 1850.
Sadliers Catholic Directory, almanac and Clergy List 1885 & 1895
The Rambler, a Catholic Journal. Vol 8, 1851.
Memories of George Stevens, 1892.
Copies of the Berkshire Chronicle 1827, Windsor &Eton Express 1827 & 1845, Reading Mercury 1845, South Bucks Standard 1892, Bucks Herald 1845, Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 30th January 1848 from the British Library Archive, and accessed via the BNA.
Petitions presented to Parliament 1827, Great Britain House of Commons, digitised by Google.
