Dennis Cecil Gibbs. Died aged 21 11th June 1925. Hurley Churchyard. Photographed March 2021.
©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction welcome with credit.
The Fountain family lived in Dukes Place Great Marlow from (at least) 1908 to (at least) 1913. Peter Fountain was born 1868 in Wendover Bucks to Emmanuel, a gamekeeper for Alfred De Rothschild Esq, and Charlotte. Mary Ann his wife was née Clarke and married him in 1895.
Peter appears on the 1881 census as a 12 year old plough boy. The following year his family suffered the loss of his baby brother Henry. The 16 month old died from convulsions brought on by severe whooping cough.
By 1891 Peter lived at "Dirty Bottom" Marlow Bottom and was an agricultural labourer lodging with a 62 year old widower James Clarke who was presumably a relative of his future wife. In the years prior to his marriage however he was working as a gamekeeper for Lord Carrington. As such he appeared in several court cases as a witness for the prosecution when poachers were bought to justice. That didn't seem to stop Peter taking an interest in poaching himself - he was fined in 1901 for stealing a nest of pheasant eggs from another man's land. At the time this was classed as poaching because pheasants were game birds. This didn't seem to stop Peter being employed in later years as a gamekeeper.
Mary Ann was born around 1869 just outside Marlow at Burroughs Grove. I saw an online tree that gave her parents as William and Mary however on the 1881 and 1891 censuses she was living at Burroughs Grove as the daughter of David and Mary Clarke. David was a farm labourer.
In 1908 Peter was fined for being drunk in Little Marlow. This was (at least) his second conviction for public drunkenness. (Fine 10s including costs.) By then the family had moved from Burroughs Grove to Dukes Place. Greater trouble came to the family through Mary Ann a few years later. In July 1912 she was fined £1 for stealing a pair of scissors and a hairbrush from Mrs Debbin at Prospect House. Mary Ann was not a very careful thief as after the act she went for a drink at the Horns public house just down the street from Prospect House. Multiple people in the tap room saw the stolen scissors on the floor at Mary Ann's feet and the hairbrush sticking out of her pocket. In December that year she and James Clarke (perhaps her brother) were found guilty of stealing a ferret from the garden of her Dukes Place neighbour Archibald Grainger. Again careful planning was not foremost in Mary Ann's mind. The theft occurred while another neighbour Mrs Ann Tilbury from no 2* Dukes Place was visiting Mary Ann and was thus a witness to her and James disappearing into the garden and coming back with the ferret. When suspicion began to be thrown at Mary Ann and James, Mary Ann told Mrs Tilbury not to admit to having seen them with the ferret, while James tried to get rid of the incriminating animal by offering it for free to a fellow drinker in the bar of the Railway Hotel. The original intent was to sell it. James tried to say he had found the ferret in the garden of the Carpenter's Arms around the corner from Dukes Place but the court dismissed this explanation.
In May 1913 Mary Ann was jailed for two months hard labour for stealing the hand bag of another woman on the train between Cookham and Maidenhead. Her accomplice was another Marlow woman Gladys Edwards. Inside the bag was 2 sovereigns which the women split between themselves and a gold watch and chain. Gladys kept the gold items. She sold the chain to High Street jeweller Frederick Rowe. The bag was thrown down a drain to hide the evidence. When arrested Mary Ann claimed that the bag was found by Gladys on the Maidenhead platform and having asked anyone around if it was their bag, decided to keep it when it was otherwise unclaimed.
Context for this is provided by a newspaper report that later the same year Peter was brought to court for abandoning his wife and family and thus rendering them as paupers dependent on the Parish. Poor Mary Ann may have been desperate when she stole the ferret. Her youngest child Annie was then only two years old. How much of her previous stealing had been acts of desperation caused by an uncommitted breadwinner? Peter said he left his home because it was used for "improper purposes". The Bench said there was no doubt his house was "badly conducted" but that was no excuse to leave. He was sent to prison for a month.
Four years later Peter, during WW1, was arrested in Marlow as a deserter from the army. More humiliation for Mary Ann.
Mary Ann knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of theft. When she was six her sixteen year old neighbour Sarah Green and Green's father John were jailed for breaking into the Clarke's home via a window and stealing from a box some shoes, 2 pairs stockings, a bonnet and 2 petticoats. The loot was discovered by a constable under the Green family's kitchen floorboards. Mary Ann was out with her mother at the time. Her brother William discovered the theft.
Above, Dukes Place in 2022 including the row known as Sunlight Villas/Cottages.
*numbering in Duke's Place seems to have altered since.
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All mentions of a person on this blog can be found on the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu - 4,000 plus individuals are mentioned here.
A short biography of another, earlier Dukes Place resident Elizabeth Keen is here.
Everyday life in old Marlow post index here
Index of posts relating to specific streets, properties etc here
Other Borroughs Grove related posts here
©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this material for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.
Sourced included:
Census transcriptions from microfilm. my own.
South Bucks Standard editions 18th July 1912, 11th December 1913. British Library Archives.
Bucks Herald 16th October 1875. As above.
Fanny and William Tucker appear on the 1871 census in Queens Road, making them some of the road's earliest residents. I couldn't read William's occupation but in later records he was a wheelwright. Children Rose aged 6, Joseph aged 3, Mary aged 1 and little baby Caroline completed the family. To help with the children the couple had a nurse living with them - 64 year old Phoebe Woods. This was a poor family so it is possible Phoebe was getting free accommodation in return for helping out, or most likely she worked elsewhere.
The couple, minus a nurse remained in Queen's Road at the time of the 1881 census. Earlier in 1881 Fanny took William to court for his alcohol fuelled cruelty to her. He had told her he was throwing her out. When she refused to leave her home and young children he beat her and pushed her out the door. She remained outside all night in the cold. This was not the first time a similar thing had happened. In the morning she went in to make her children's breakfast and found William just as threatening to the point she had to leave again. The magistrate who heard the case raged at William for his "unmanly" behaviour and sentenced him to 14 days in jail. This may not sound much but for any assault in those days, it was. Without any income coming in from her husband during those two weeks Fanny would have suffered too. She must have been highly motivated to try to shock William out of his behaviour to launch the case. None of the children then living at home seem to have been working yet- 15 year old Ada and 13 year old Joseph were both still described as scholars. Sadly Ada died the next year.
Prior to her marriage Fanny (nee Darvill, daughter of Joseph Darvill and Rebecca nee Hopcraft) had worked as a lacemaker. Aged 13 she was listed as such living with her already widowed at age 28 sister Jane Rogers, a grocer on the 1851 census in Monks Risborough, Bucks. Life probably wasn't easy for Jane and Fanny as Jane had been summoned the year before for failing to pay her poor rates. Living with her sister was presumably a choice rather than a necessity for Fanny however, as her parents were still alive, in Monks Risborough. Dad Joseph was a hay dealer and carrier, mum Rebecca was a dressmaker.
The Tucker family were still in Queens Road in 1891. Sons William aged 17 and Charles aged 15 were working as garden labourers. There were market gardens off Queens Road which may have employed them.
In 1897 William senior was a 60 year old in the Wycombe Union workhouse. He was one of several men upon which suspicion was thrown that they were pleading inability to work whilst being able bodied and fit to support themselves. He was ordered to undergo medical tests. The outcome of these I haven't found.
By 1911 as a widow Fanny went to live with her also widowed son Joseph who was a coach builder living in Oxford Road. I believe she died in 1915. Joseph's wife had been Julia née Plumridge whom he married in 1890.
Queens Road as it is now, most buildings are modern. It would be unrecognisable -bar the Duke of Cambridge pub- to the Tuckers.
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Researched and written by Charlotte Day. Census transcribed by Charlotte Day and Jane Pullinger. Census information always remains Crown Copyright.
©Marlow Ancestors.
18413 Private W F White. Royal Defence Corps.
19 August 1920.
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Military related posts including First World War index here
©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction of this image is freely allowed for local or family history purposes, if you credit this blog.
James Hayne(s) was born in Marlow in the first few years of the 1800s. Perhaps not as famous as the late Victorian boat builders of Marlow and Bisham, he deserves a post of his own because of the many roles he played here - from preserving law and order, to preserving Marlow Bridge.
As a young man James followed in his father's footsteps and worked as a carpenter. His dwelling house and work premises were in the High Street or Causeway at this point. He is described as located in one or the other by different sources but the two names may be used interchangeably for buildings at the river end of the High Street. In 1828 the workshop is described as located 200 yards from his home. In any event, in that year a thief broke through the shutters of the workshop and stole a saw and an axe from James. This kind of theft was taken very seriously at the time as depriving a workman of his tools of the trade could too easily lead to him loosing the means to provide for himself. James was lucky in that the tools were recovered and the thief caught. The young man responsible, John Green, was an apprentice to another carpenter. It was James himself that recovered the tools, after he received something of a tip off. They had been hidden under some wood shavings in a loft. The judge expressed a regret that John had begun "a career of crime at a very early period in life" which seems perhaps a little strong given it was a first offence and he had previously borne a good character. Luckily for John, his master was willing to keep him on and spoke of his general steadiness. The judge therefore decided to be merciful and sentenced him to 2 months in prison.
James did well in his carpentry business and seems to have been well regarded by his fellow traders. By 1833 he was working from a workshop and yard "at the wharf" with a residence in the High Street, still officially a carpenter. There were many buildings, some quite ramshackle, that this could have been, used for all kinds of purposes over the years.
James worked on Marlow's new suspension bridge and like so many others involved had to put in a few requests to actually get paid. This would be the start of a long involvement with the bridge. He was regarded as someone who could get things done, so it is no surprise he also later fulfilled the then elected role of parish surveyor. But the biggest role for James was as one of the parish constable in the days before a regular paid police force. If a warrant was issued for someone's arrest, James and his colleagues were supposed to stop their day jobs and execute it without delay. If they failed to do so without sufficient energy, they could themselves end up in court for neglect of duty. They also had to fit in routine patrols. James fulfilled the role for at least 10 years in the 1830s and early 1840s. He was required to follow up leads as regards to suspects or locating stolen goods, such as the parasol he found hidden in a water storage tank in the yard of Bond the builders in 1843 (not stolen by a Bond!) His finest hour was probably policing Marlow Fair in the same year. His patrols with fellow constables Henry Stallwood and Steadman Camden (biographical post about Steadman here) were completed with such a sharp eye and energy that not a single robbery was reported, despite the massive influx of visitors.
It was not all hard work for James at this time. He was a regular participants in the charming Sunny Side v Shady Side of the High Street cricket matches which ran for several annual contests in the 1840s and 50s. It was usually played at the Aldermary - that is the meadow more or less where Marlow Cricket Club is now to be found off Pound Lane. So which side was the sunny one? The West Street / Higginson Park side. The Shady, Liston Court / Station Road side had the best level of success and was the one that James played for. It attracted a good crowd, no doubt including wife Elizabeth (nee Osborn) and their several children. One of these, Caroline, would go on to marry Robert Shaw, son of "King of the River" Robert Shaw, of boatbuilding fame.
A little after this time, James begins to be more consistently described as located at the Causeway or "Bridge House" (of which there have been more than one in Marlow). He also begins to be described as a boat builder. He chose this occupation when filling his census return in 1851. He may well have always had a side line in repairing or maintaining boats but the hiring of them for leisure purposes was exploding in popularity at this time. Marlow was becoming more and more of a fashionable destination for visiting anglers from London and elsewhere - it's easy to underestimate just what a role tourism played in Marlow's past even at this period. See below for some linked posts about this. At some point James began to use what was known as the old tithe barn by the suspension bridge* as part of his business, or at least he used part of the area. It seems he may have shared usage of the actual barn building itself, apparently with a wheelwright at some point. (In 1872 the barn was let by the new Buckinghamshire Chair Co as a temporary workshop, although they were still there several years later) James sold second hand boats and fishing punts as well as making his own river craft to a customer's specifications. It seems he specialised in punts in fact. He would also hire you a boat, house yours out of season, or do routine maintenance such as varnishing the timbers. The Marlow Amateur Rowing Club which started in 1871, used Haynes as their boathouse too, before they had their own premises.
Next to James at the riverside was of course the suspension bridge. The story of its construction was frankly a tale of misery, and you can read about it in the posts linked to below. James must have been only too aware that before the bridge was very old, it needed quite a bit of maintenance. He was Clerk of the Works for the repairs done in 1860 - facing some difficulty due to the reluctance of some to stop attempting to use the bridge while it was worked on. The surveyor assessing this work asked James to provide a boat so he could take a good examination of its state from the water. Finding one suitable proved difficult it seems. When the surveyor was taken ill, James was asked to make a report on the bridges condition himself. But the work was nevertheless completed on schedule. (The deal platform was replaced at "considerable expense" but by 1869 dry rot had set in and more work was needed.) By 1863 James was Surveyor of Bridges for the district, and under his care the bridge was repainted and repaired further. He was responsible for gathering tenders for this work.
In 1866 James was one of a number of local men that testified before a parliamentary committee on improving the condition of the Thames. He made it very clear that he regarded the existing Thames Navigation Commissioners should all be sacked for incompetence. He claimed they had neglected to do routine maintenance on the river for many years and so had made it less appealing for those who wanted to use the river for commercial transportation of goods. While the rival attractions of the railway he acknowledged, he considered that the Commissioners had done nothing to make the river stand up against the competition. Instead James said the Commissioners had bought shares in the Railway and effectively given up! I find his information concerning the river at the time Marlow had a flash lock the most interesting. He said the flash (surge of water) was made twice a week in those days, and this required the "draining" of the river for 4 miles (not literally drained dry of course!) so in "short water time" there was "no water" for days together - that is the water level was comparatively very shallow.
By 1865, the business was known as James Haynes and Son(s) and its location was "Marlow Bridge". The eldest son Joseph James, who initially worked as a carpenter, sadly died aged just 32. It was less than a year after his marriage to Mary Poulton of Ferry House, Cookham. James himself would not live much longer. In May 1879, he passed away at Marlow. Wife Elizabeth survived until 1883, living in her later years in the High Street with son George and unmarried daughter Ann. George defined himself as a boat builder on the 1881 census, but it seems the business under the name of Haynes was largely over. Robert Shaw, mentioned above, would take over the site. Eventually he would build a fancier boathouse by the bridge, the "tithe barn" having been demolished "recently" in November 1877, to make way for a never built hotel that faced strong local opposition. James was to quote one contemporary guide to the Thames, "a grand character" and I'm sure he was sorely missed by the boat men of Marlow.
*This building was where Tierney Court is now. It was known at that time as the tithe or conventual barn but this was not probably its actual purpose. It's the "curious old building" that James Joseph Sheahan described in his History and Topography of Buckinghamshire. He was correct to describe how it was generally referred to by the locals (as there are a number of sources using this title before he did) but I have a suspicion that he got his information about the Marlow building confused with the tithe barn at Bisham. He described the roof of the Marlow barn as Spanish chestnut, which it was not, but the Bisham one was according to several earlier sources. Both were also used to house Napoleonic war prisoners. I wonder if Sheahan might not have poached his description of the Marlow barn from the 1860 John Murray Handbook for Travellers in Berks, Bucks, and Oxfordshire. (John Murray, 1860) in which the description "curious old building" is also used. That book goes on to describe the "monastic barn of Bisham abbey in which French prisoners were kept during the war" and also mentions that the "conventual barn" at Bisham has a roof of Spanish chestnut. So possibly Sheahan confused the two if he helped himself to a little reused information!?
Owner of the "barn" at its demolition (autumn 1877) was Owen Williams who seemed confident his hotel plan would go forward. He had apparently got as far as inviting tenders for its erection. However, this was premature and in the end Mr Williams sold the site to "Mr Burt" for the creation of a 50 bed hotel with stabling for 20 horses, a coffee room and 100ft long covered balcony. The authorities scuppered this plan by making it clear that they would refuse the alcohol licence on the grounds that there were too many others suppliers of liquor in the area. The real reason was probably the objection of existing traders to such competition, in particular that voiced by Charles Miller Foottit of the Compleat Angler who had recently invested in improving his own premises! At this point the barn had descended into a place that tramps and the destitute sort shelter. It was described as dilapidated but also a picturesque feature of the river side and there were clearly many who did not want it to disappear but to no avail.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
More related Posts:
To find all mention of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu.
James' daughter Eliza features in a post here
The amateur who built a barge in his back garden, 1860s here
Life for the parish constables of Great Marlow here
Robert Shaw - here
Marlow Fair here
The troubled building of the Suspension Bridge here
1820s recreated trade directory Great Marlow here
Bellows, bricks and brandy - reviving the drowned here
Picnics and Punts- Summer leisure in late Victorian and Edwardian Marlow here
Biography of Charles Miller Foottit of the Compleat Angler here
The Bucks Chair Co here
SOURCES INCLUDE:
1833 Parish Assessment, original copies held by us.
Census 1841,51,61,71, 81 - transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte and Jane Pullinger.
Harrods Directory 1847, J G Harrod & Co.
Slater's Royal and Commercial Directory 1852
Thames Navigation Improvement Commission, (1866) Parliamentary Papers Vol 33, Great Britain Houses of Parliament.
The Architect, April 17 1869, digitised by Google.
Reading Mercury, 6 April 1839, 24 April 1858
Oxford Journal 26 April 1828.
Bucks Herald 2 July 1836
Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 8 Feb 1873
Berkshire Chronicle 4 November 1843
Bucks Chronicle and Bucks Gazette 4 July 1863
Bicester Herald, 6 June 1879.
GRO BMD index
Q/AB/43/515,Letter, Bucks Archives.
Dickens, Charles - Dictionary of the Thames, 1880 edition.
Pask, Arthur Thomas - From Lock to Lock, "Judy" 1882.
Salter, John Henry. River Thames: a guide, 1881.
© MarlowAncestors.
Dedmere Road, Marlow existed as a rough way through the countryside as "Dedmere Highway" [Deedmere, Dedmore, Dudmere, Dadsmere....] in the 1600s (access to Common Fields) but its residential development was mainly from the early 1890s onwards. One earlier exception was Dedmere House also known as Field House which existed as the home of James and Sarah Webb and their children by 1871 a small distance off Dedmere Road. They had moved there from West Street.
James was a farmer of 20 acres on the 1881 census, employing one man. Two years previously a tame goose and some ducks were stolen from them.
In 1886 the Webb's son in law Charles Fisher a butcher of Harrow was charged with coming to the Webb's house and trying to shoot their guest Mrs Sarah Holm in an effort to force her to produce his wife Mary (known as Polly) who was there with her parents. Sarah had never seen Charles before in her life and seems only to have been confronted by him because she was in the house and opened her window upon hearing banging at the front door in the hope this heralded the arrival of a telegram she was expecting. She seems to have been out of the loop in regards a delicate family situation involving the Webb's and Fishers. The rest of the household, alarm raised by Mrs Webb, in recognising the door knocker had decided to studiously ignore Charles and not let him in to speak to Polly. He fired shots at both the front and rear of the premises. Charles ended up breaking down the door, assaulting a male house guest and asking another to fight with him out in the road. At his trial Polly was excused by the judge from "the pain" of testifying against her husband though she was called as a witness by the prosecution. It is a fallacy that women could not testify against their husband in court- look at court reports and you will see that they did so regularly, but judges and magistrates would be seen as ungentlemanly if they asked a wife to do so if other witnesses could do the job as well. As not everyone in the house had heard any shots and the accused had no reason to wish to harm Sarah Holm the case was dismissed with the option for the Webbs to decide to press charges for Charles breaking into their house or their guest to prosecute for being assaulted but it seems in neither case this happened. Polly was back living with her husband in Harrow at the time of the 1891 census, hopefully with some peace and happiness in her life and this embarrassing incident swept under the carpet. The case seems to have been poorly conducted with the bench ignoring the fact that Charles having a lack of personal animosity towards Sarah Holm was hardly the point on which the probability of his guilt of firing at her hung. She was shot at because she was being intimidated as a person, any person, in the same house as Polly so that Polly would be forced to agree to see him. There is no question that Charles had a gun with him that night, though he initially lied to police about that fact. That poor Sarah Holm had had sufficient motivation to crawl, terrified, in her nightdress along the landing to get help was given no importance by the bench.
Note that Polly's sister Elizabeth was married to Charles's brother William.
The Webb's often seem to have had a house full of guests or lodgers. In 1874 one lodger, Harcout Hardy, who had made his money as a tea merchant in Shanghai, died at the Webb's home from the long term affects of less temperate drinking- several bottles of sherry a day plus whisky. He was only 37. The presence of a live in male medical attendant come servant was insufficient to stop his drinking. The inquest was held at the new Railway Hotel in Marlow. No mention is made in any report of where his wife Amy was living while Harcourt was trying to recover his sobriety in Marlow. The couple had a son Frederick together. Harcourt's will has as beneficiaries a James Hardy and John Gray Hill.
Of long standing farming stock the Webbs would have been quite at home in the then largely still rural vicinity of Dedmere Road. Yes there was the nearby railway station from 1873 with its busy goods yard, and later a chair factory and saw mill in Victoria Road near the junction with Dedmere Road but mostly there were fields all about them.
As was typical in Marlow housing development when it did pick up in Dedmere Road soon far outstripped the ability of the powers that be to keep up with adding the necessary infrastructure. There was no gas main in the road in 1901. A small extension was made that way in 1903 to allow a few street lamps to be provided but five years after that the whole road still did not have the privilege of a gas connection. Nor did all the houses have access even to their own cesspit. The road remained unsurfaced until 1909. The local unemployed were roped in to do the labour for that job.
Flooding from the river could be a problem. Nelson Smith lived at Field House in 1904 and fumed to the council that the land around his home and the lane leading up to it was under a water for a third of every year.
WW1 touched every part of Marlow including Dedmere. The Reading Mercury on 25th September 1915 reported that Private A Ayres of the Border Regiment, late of Dedmere Road, had died of wounds received at Gallipoli. I have not been able to trace his military service otherwise.
During the earlier years of WW1 Field House Farm* was occupied by Keziah and George Barrett who operated it as a dairy farm. It had by then increased in size from the 20 acres James Webb had had to 30 acres. On the 1911 census they had a 20 year old servant girl Florrie Yates living with them but perhaps either servant or mistress was unhappy as a few weeks after the census Keziah advertised for a new servant girl wages up to £11 a year.
Keziah and George both died in 1916 and the farm stock was sold off. Coming in after them was the rather shady Edward Fenner Fennel, horse dealer and dairy farmer, who went bankrupt almost immediately. He had a string of aliases making straightening out his financial affairs a challenge. In 1919 he was given 6 months hard labour in Kent for forging a reference.
After the war there was increased development in the Dedmere area. Though still mainly residential in character the neighbourhood included the Greenwich Saw Mill in Victoria Road which had replaced the earlier chair factory come saw mill as mentioned above. Dedmere Road residents were amongst those who went to the Council in 1946 to complain about the amount of sawdust from it that blew their way. The council did not consider much could be done about it.
From (at least) the 1920s to at least the late 1950s Field House Farm was used as a stud specialising at first in cart and van pulling horses then riding ones.
Researched and written by Charlotte Day.
* The earliest occupier of Field House Farm I have is Hutton Stallworthy in 1893. He also occupied Spring Gardens in Bourne End.
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Everyday life in old Marlow post index: Here
Sources Included:
Reading Mercury 12th August 1911 and 17th July 1886. British Library Archives, accessed via the BNA.
The Timber Trade Journal and Saw MillnAdvertiser Volume 77 published by De LA Rue.
"England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPJ3-3DBS : 30 August 2018), Harcourt William Hardy, 16 Oct 1874; citing Probate, England, United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Great Britain.; FHL microfilm .
Census transcription by Charlotte Day except 1891 Harrow which was by Jane Pullinger.
GRO marriage registration index, GRO online.
Kellys Directory 1915 by Kellys Directories Limited.
Slough Eton and Windsor Observer July 17 1886 - Slough Library
©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this research for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog.
Hurley Flour Mill stood by Hurley Lock, next to the River Thames, and adjoining the grounds of Gen Owen Williams at Temple. Thomas Street (born 1844 in Wargrave Berkshire to William and Miriam Street) ran the business for some years but he started out in a quite different occupation- that of a pub landlord. He and his wife Marie* first took over the Ferry Boat Hotel AKA the Ferry Hotel in Medmenham from Marie's parents Henry and Marie Bitmead, before moving on to the Black Boy in Hurley village in 1871. There they remained until William gave up the lease in 1883. Some time in the next 4 years, perhaps immediately, Thomas took over the flour mills.
Wooden mill buildings were always a fire risk and the Hurley mill burnt down on 5th November 1887 when a stray rocket firework landed on the roof of the main building during local Guy Fawkes night celebrations. Some reports suggest it was the Street families own fireworks that caused the blaze. The mill as well as the stables was reduced to ashes and Hurley lock gates badly damaged but thanks to the effort of Charles Miller Foottit's fire brigade from Marlow, the Temple fire brigade and residents of Hurley and Temple nearby houses were not harmed and the mill horses were rescued from the stable. The mill itself was owned - and insured by - Sir William Clayton of Harleyford. But the Streets lost the entirety of their machinery and equipment, 1,500 sacks of flour and vast quantities of grain etc, the cost of which their own insurance did not quite cover.
The mill reopened in August 1888 with all new fittings for Thomas Street and his employees. The "best modern machinery" was provided by Mr H Simon of Manchester. A party of millers from London and elsewhere toured the mill shortly after it re opened to admire this up to the minute plant. They were treated to lunch at Hurley, complete with bread baked from flour produced by the new machinery. They declared this bread "excellent".
Marie Street died 3 years later so it was Thomas alone who had the pleasure of seeing their second daughter Edith marry in Hurley Church 1892 Alfred Pledge of Abingdon.
The next year would not be so happy for the family- Thomas's 22 year old business partner George Cullingworth killed himself by tying one of the mill weights around his neck and jumping into the Thames. The inquest into George's death was held at the Street family home. While this may seem odd there were few public spaces for such events and they usually took place in the nearest pub or sufficiently large house to the place of death. Thomas and Marie's son Thomas Junior, who had spent George's final day alive with him, gave evidence at the inquest. He and his father searched everywhere for the young man when they realised he was missing. They knew him to be depressed and had their worse fears confirmed when they found his jacket abandoned on the riverbank. With the help of the Hurley lock keeper his body was recovered. George apparently could not free himself from the distress he felt at his father writing to tell him to wait a year before marrying the sweetheart he had met in Hurley. It was not the first time that a close associate of the family was pulled from the Thames- in 1881 Marie's elderly mother was found drowned in the river at Medmenham. It could not be determined how she came to be in the water but foul play was not considered.
In 1896 the Streets suffered another terrible shock when their house guest Thomas Smith dropped dead at Shaw's boatyard in Marlow while waiting for a boat he wanted to hire to be got out. The Street's daughter Gertrude (b 1875) had gone with him and a friend into Marlow and was present at the time of his death. Thomas Smith told Robert Shaw that he was not likely to live long. Just minutes later he collapsed and died. Gertrude gave evidence at the inquest.
Gertrude was a go getting young lady who rowed and canoed as a competitive amateur in local competitions (see a biography of one of her rowing mates here), helped her mother Marie exhort charity donations for the local hospitals from boaters trapped in Hurley Lock and sang in local church concerts. It wasn't just Hurley Lock that had the Victorian equivalent of chuggers by the way. Between themselves the local ladies had most of the local locks covered on Summer weekends and were either very charming or very intimidating as they were a great success at collecting donations. When they had organised a fundraising drive, for a boater to travel between say Henley and Maidenhead was to basically except that they would be rendered penniless by journey's end.
The Street family's mill was completely destroyed in another fire in 1903. This time it did not reopen. Hurley rallied around Thomas, organising a fund raising testimonial for him though there is no reason to think the family were left destitute. I believe they moved to Furze Platt.
*The couple married in Medmenham in 1867. Marie's mother was German, née Rahn.
Written and researched by Charlotte Day. Additional research by Kathryn Day.
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For posts related to Marlow Mills, the River Thames and everyday life in old Great Marlow and nearby see the index here
Posts specific to Hurley,Temple and nearby: here
Land lord listings for Hurley, Medmenham etc licensed premises can be found here
Otters, lampreys, eels and other wildlife in the 18th&19thc Thames at Marlow & Hurley here
Robert Shaw, boatbuilder and fisherman here
©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use my research with credit to this blog for family or local history purposes.
See:
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J94G-LV5 : 19 March 2020), Thomas Street, 1844.
Henley Advertiser 25th March 1893. Reading Mercury 19th March 1881, Maidenhead Advertiser November 1887. British Library Archives.
Hurley Parish Registers. Medmenham ditto.
Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer 1st September 1888, Slough Library.
As Lane End was part of the parish of Great Marlow in Buckinghamshire it is covered by my original 1833 parochial assessment working notebooks of the assessors and related correspondence for that parish, which are held by my family. These were the original notes used to compile the tax assessment for 1834. Pencilled in corrections and additions were added in to the notebooks up to circa 1839. I will add any of those in below and highlight them as such.
©Marlow Ancestors. Freely use quotes from this transcription for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog.
Format:
Name of occupier
Description of property occupied
Assessed annual value of that property
Any notes by me in square brackets.
James Goldswain
Cottage and part of yard
£4
*****
Michael Lewis
House, yard, stable and garden
£7
*****
John Tilby
Cottage
£3
*****
Richard Hansell [name corrected in pencil from original Hasell]
Cottage, yard and woodhouse
£4 10 shillings
*****
Charles Tilby
Cottage and woodhouse
£4
*****
Thomas Goldswain
Cottage and woodhouse
£4
Garden at the common
£1
*****
Ellis Styles
House, bakehouse, yard, shed and garden
£10
Stable and piggery
£1
*****
Henry Goldswain
House, garden and piggery
£6
*****
James Seares
Cottage and garden
£4
Garden on the common
10 shillings
*****
James Bowers [name later replaced with pencilled name Harries]
Cottage and garden
£4
*****
John Seares [He was a potter. Later correction in pencil: name Harries in place of Seares]
House, stable and garden
£5
Old Kiln and two pieces of garden [pencilled note that changed name to Harries also corrected value of kiln to £1 and crossed out the gardens]
£2 10 shillings
*****
Pot kiln, yard, drying house and working house
£5
Cottage and woodhouse
£4 10 shillings
*****
William Gray
Cottage and Woodhouse
£4 10 shillings
******
Thomas Gray
Cottage and garden
£4 10 shillings
*****
James Webb
Cottage
£4
Garden on the common
15 shillings
*****
Thomas Arnold
Cottage and garden
£4 10 shillings
Garden opposite
10 shillings
*****
Richard Oxlade
Garden on the common
5 shillings
*****
Thomas Plummer
The Old Sun house [pub], stable, yard and gardens
£9
Orchard and skittle ground
£1 10 shilings
*****
William Carr
Cottage
£2 10 shillings
*****
Widow Wakefield
Cottage
£2
*****
Each occupying a new cottage and garden belonging to W Jarvis with an annual value each of £5 10 shillings
John Sharp
Thomas Barlow
William Grey
Richard Brazier
*****
James Jarvis
House, garden, yard, sheds, 2 large shops and lofts, stables and boiling house
£20
*****
James Hardell
House and large garden
£5 10 shillings
*****
Thomas Smith
Cottage and part of garden
£5
Garden on the common
10 shillings
*****
Richard Brown
House, woodhouse and large garden
£7 10 shillings
*****
Jonathan Plumridge
House and garden
£6
*****
Joseph Townsend
2 gardens on common
£1 10 shillings
*****
Richard Hatch
House, stables, chaisehouse, piggery, woodhouse, garden, meadow and orchard
£20
Cottage and garden
£4
*****
William Lewis
Cottage and garden
£4
*****
Zachariah Blick
House, garden, another garden on the common and 2 woodhouses
£7
*****
Daniel Block
Garden on the common
£1
*****
Joseph Coleman
Shop and a garden on the common £2
*****
James Saunders
House and garden
£5 10 shillings
*****
Richard Brown
Cottage and garden
£4 10 shillings
*****
James Insden
Cottage and garden
£3 10 shillings
*****
Meaks [no first name, note added later "Ditchfield"]
Half of shop and part of garden
10 shillings
*****
John Wakelin
Part of garden Ditchfield
5 shillings
*****
Mary White
Part of garden Ditchfield
5 shillings
*****
Richard Stallwood
Part of garden and stye Ditchfield
5 shillings
*****
Henry Oxlade
Part of garden and stye Ditchfield
5 shillings
*****
Charles Tilby
Part of garden and stye Ditchfield
5 shillings
*****
James Martin
Cottage and two gardens Ditchfield
£4 10 shillings
*****
John Carr
Cottage and garden Ditchfield
£4 10 shillings
*****
Joseph Dormer
Cottage and garden Ditchfield
£4 10 shillings
*****
Widow Oxlade
Part of garden
7 shillings
*****
Martin Lovelock [name in pencil added later Stockwell]
Part of garden
15 shillings
*****
Thomas Lovelock
Part of Orchard and garden
7 shillings
*****
George Sears
Cottage and large garden [later pencil note corrects to "now 4 cottages"]
£2 10 shillings
*****
John Biggs
Shed, small garden, shed [yes shed written twice], large wood yard, drying shed, tile yard, 6 drying sheds, pavement house and kiln yard
£9
*****
John Stevens
Long garden
£1
*****
Joseph Silver
Part of large garden
5 shillings
*****
William Cooper and Edward Taylor
Part of large garden in joint occupation
10 shillings
*****
Chapman [no first name, later name correction in pencil John Saunders]
Cottage and garden
£4 10 shillings
*****
Edward Wise
Cottage and garden
£4
*****
Powell the Keeper [probably for either toll gate or gate of Seymour Court House]
Cottage, sheds and garden
£5
*****
John East
Cottage and garden
£4
*****
No name
Seymour Court House Mansion [this more in Great Marlow proper really], stables, yard, coach houses, shrubbery and walks, kitchen garden, 3 orchards and wilderness [!]
£30
*****
The End.
Look at Other Places on the top drop menu for more Lane End content.
The Person Index lists every mention of any individual on this blog.
In the 1820's Great Marlow and the country about was in a state of terror to quote one newspaper of the day. The neighborhood was the victim of a prolonged crime wave encompassing house breaking, robbery, and sheep stealing to name a few. Householders were aghast at the seeming impunity with which the criminals were able to conduct their business. It seemed no one was safe from their attentions, whether a shop keeper or a wealthy landowner.
Rumours and counter rumours circulated but the conclusion generally reached was that a good number of the crimes were very professionally done and quite possibly the work of one determined and prolific gang. Some thought they were from London, others from Reading, but the truth was unfortunately a little closer to hand.
Webb's Gang
Webb's gang of marauders, or Webb's banditos as they were generally known, consisted of a large number of men. It is doubtful we can ever be sure of the identity of all the members. Some also worked independently at least some of the time but it was as a "frightful confederacy" that they aroused the most fear. The Webb of the title refers to the supposed ringleader Richard Webb of Cookham Dean, whose brother Thomas was also heavily involved as well as other relatives who participated in a more minor way. The other principle member was blacksmith James Ayres (Earis, Ayris,Eyres) of Handy Cross but there were many others.
Stolen To Order
Richard Webb said he was born in Mapledurham. He certainly worked Oxfordshire as well as Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. James Ayres in his respectable day job as blacksmith was the one responsible for scouting a number of properties for nefarious purposes. He was called upon to do jobs at many of the large estates in the area, including that belonging to significant Marlow landowner Sir William Clayton at Harleyford. James had an excellent reputation as a craftsmen and was often called back to do more work by his satisfied wealthy clients. Unfortunately while on the estates, James took the opportunity to assess the best way in and out, and what livestock would be available to liberate. The gang had a particular interest in meat for reasons that will soon become clear! It is likely that James used his smith skills to provide the tools of the housebreaking trade that were later found in the gangs possession.
Richard had a barn at Cookham Dean, which was used to store much of the gangs tools and ill gotten gains, in pits under the floor to protect them from casual notice. These hiding places were partially uncovered during a thorough search after his eventual capture but it's telling that some of them were only discovered when a gang member revealed their location. Money was also found under the floorboards of his home. Richard worked, amongst other things, as a carrier of goods between Maidenhead / Cookham, and London. This provided him with the perfect cover for frequent trips to the capital to dispose of the stolen goods. It also enables him to take orders for the gangs next jobs. Orders? Yes, such was the gangs success at stealing livestock that they supplied a number of cookshops and butchers with their regular meat orders! Chief amongst these, was that belonging to brother Thomas Webb. Richard appears also to have had a cookshop, at Ipstone (Ibstone) for a time - a premises there was certainly supplied by them but there is some confusion as to ownership. For example, Lord Carrington's estate at Wycombe Abbey was a favourite stop - 13 turkeys, 5 geese and a number of fowls were taken on one average occasion. It was often wondered afterwards how the gang managed to steal such quantities of animals at once, without making too much noise. It was suspected by understandably embarrassed estate staff that the gang were drugging the beasts, but at first this was dismissed as pure speculation The gang were regarded as ambitious and reckless but yet remained at large. Poor farmer James Crook at Clay Lane was another repeated victim. Horses, pigs, sheep...all found their way into the gangs hands. (Another man was 10 years later transported in connection with a theft from James, which also involved some Handy Cross residents!) Mr King of Chisbridge Farm near Bovingdon Green also suffered more than one raid on his larder.
Where it all began
Thomas Webb would later say that he had first came to know Ayres and his friend Reeves while he was living at the tiny hamlet of Spital Cross not far from Handy Cross. Thomas had worked as a farm labourer, shepherd and ploughman and was approximately 35 years old. At some point he had suffered an injury to one eye, leaving him partially sighted.
The men had gone poaching together mostly on Clayton and Carrington land around Marlow, Harleyford and Wycombe. Their success lead them to consider operations on a somewhat wider scale. In 1825 Thomas had moved from Spittal Cross to Willsden, Middlesex where he rented a house and set up a cookshop there, before moving to Sleaford Place Battersea to run the same. Those tucking into the hot mutton dinners and pies may have been surprised to find the shop was entirely supplied by criminal endeavour. The brothers Webb had became the centre of the gang that would bear their name. Ayres was already allegedly an experienced house breaker and the men were connected to many other thieves, poachers, and fences.
Christmas Keeps Them Busy
In December 1826 the gang were particularly prolific, going on a thieving spree on a considerable scale to fulfil Christmas orders. Perhaps they were too busy to be as careful at covering their tracks but suddenly Thomas Webb came under suspicion. On Boxing Day, he was apprehended at his Battersea Fields cook shop where a suspicious amount of valuable meat remained which could not be properly accounted for. He was subsequently sentenced to death and held at Reading gaol in the mean time. Previously only relatively minor if prolific members of the gang had been arrested.
James Ayres was unaware that the net about him was beginning to tighten. Also in December 1826, he partnered with his frequent collaborator, labourer Edward Reeves lately of Wycombe, to commit yet another burglary. The victim this time was the "most respectable" widow Rachel Wise of Cockpole near Wargrave. Rachel had a chandler's shop. She locked up as normal on the 23rd December and retired to bed on the premises, sleeping soundly through the entire experience. This is perhaps fortunate as uncorroborated claims in contemporary newspapers suggested that Reeves had expressed a wish to "do for" the lady should she disturb them at which Ayres had suggested she would scream too much so they had better hold off any plans to finish her off. These "two desperate characters" were waiting and watching outside. Under the cover of darkness they removed the outer door and helped themselves to poor Rachel's seasonal takings plus items from the larder of course. Bacon, butter, pies and tobacco amongst other goods. They around this time also robbed the home of Mrs Skinner in Wargrave.
A Noose Awaits Richard
The end came for Richard early in 1827. He stole a horse from Thomas Pearman of Mapledurham, and also set light to a barn at the property. The exact reason for the latter action is uncertain, with statements at the time suggesting he either had a particular grudge against Pearman or it was an accidental action. Either way, Richard's luck had run out and the horse was traced before he could pass it on. Arrested at last, with something less than the struggle predicted, Richard found himself in Oxford gaol. He was convicted, and sentenced to death. Horse stealing was regarded as a particular serious theft and the sentence was virtually inevitable, even if he had been suspected of involvement in no other crime. He was hung outside the county gaol on the 27th March 1827.
Net Closing On All
Interest was now focused on Ayres and Reeves. It was not the first time the pair had targeted the Cockpole area and it seems their appearance had begun to arouse suspicion when it coincided with a crime. Local landowner Edmund Gardiner of Remenham Lodge was determined to stop the crime wave locally. He set about tracing James and Edward and pursued them relentlessly. Mostly thanks to his efforts in posting rewards for information, the "ruffians" were caught although not for several months. They were recognised as the last remaining significant members of Webb's gang and with their arrest in 1827, the country breathed a cautious sigh of relief. One man in particular must have been grateful.. Wycombe mill clerk John Fowler. When the gang had raided the premises of his employer Mr Prestage in 1824, they had made away with a quantity of money. So skillfully had the gang broke in that at first it was considered an inside job and as counting house clerk poor John Fowler had come under suspicion. He had protested his innocence and no action was taken against him but he felt that suspicion had only really been lifted from his shoulders when items from the mill were found in the gangs possession. Some members subsequently confessed to the group's involvement there. (Ayres and Reeves were the principle two involved)
By the time of Ayres trial, Thomas Webb was already sentenced to death. This was however commuted to transportation for life. His crime was recieving stolen goods, which was often treated as seriously as doing the crime itself, in order to act as a deterrent to those enabling the wrongdoers to lead a profitable life. As such I have noticed that this sequence of events, a capital sentence followed by immediate or virtually immediate commutation to something such as transportation was common. After his conviction at the Berkshire Assizes, Thomas made quite a lengthy confession to his gaoler. In this he detailed the gangs involvement in a number of crimes they had not been suspected of. He was transported for life on the ship Marmion on the 2 Nov 1827, arriving at Van Diemens Land in March 1828. There he was placed in a chain gang with hard labour a condition of his commuted sentence. The time he was to spend in this way was extended by 3 months after he was caught stealing vegetables growing in the garden of a Mr Kennedy.
The Trial Of Ayres
Ayres trial was therefore held after other gang members had at length derailed his involvement in their confederacy. The principle witness against him was described as the wife of an already convicted gang member whose husband had been sentenced to transportation. I believe this was the wife of Thomas Webb. This lady aroused the pity of many of those watching, as she held a baby in her arms during her evidence. This little child was cheerfully gurgling and playing with its mother's bonnet ribbons, unaware of the fact it had lost its father and he or she was hearing words that would seal the fate of another. The judge however said the wives evidence came from a "contaminated" source as she had profited from her own husband's involvement with the crimes committed. The jury should therefore disregard her testimony if it could not be corroborated by other evidence. Unfortunately for 25 year old Ayres, it could. It was proven amongst other things that he had access to a barn in which the tools of the criminal trade were found. (Muzzled pistols, picklocks, crowbars, adapted lanterns). James had used his smithy to process some of the group's bounty. For example he erased the private marks on the silverware stolen from a wealthy lady in Sonning, which would have easily identified the pieces as hers.
He was found guilty and sentenced to transportation for life. He was according to the Berkshire Chronicle, one of the most accomplished burglars ever let loose on his majesties subjects. He was transferred to the York Hulk in September 1827 to await transportation. He left on the same ship as Thomas Webb, the Marmion, which departed Portsmouth on 2 November 1827, and arrived at Van Diemens Land 6 March 1828. In 1843 it was reported that James was going to be given a general pass or ticket of leave, while the governor awaited a decision on his recommendation that James be given a pardon, or end to his sentence. It looks like James was indeed granted a conditional pardon. A pardon is not a quashing of the conviction. Those transported for life were usually entitled to be considered for a ticket of leave after 8 years or so served, subject to good behaviour. This ticket allowed them more freedom, and the ability to do paid work. Then a pardon may be issued, which might be conditional or absolute, the latter allowing legal return to the UK. James appears to have been giving leave to settle anywhere that wasn't in Europe so he could go to another colony. I believe he stayed in Australia as he made an application for his family to join him there.
Bold and Unblushing
It seems that even the most suspicious were stunned by how many crimes the men had got away with for years. "Short of murder they were stained with every species of crime"..their "atrocities" "without parallel". What everyone wanted to know was how they had managed to take sometimes dozens of animals, night after night. The answer according to Thomas Webb, was that they had drugged the beasts by sprinkling peas and barley meal mixed with laudenham on the ground. In 10 minutes they could collect the senseless animals with ease they said and carry them off.
I am uncertain yet as to what happened to Edward Reeve (s) immediately after his arrest. He was caught at the same time as Ayres but does not seem to go on trial at that time. He may be the Edward Reeves who was transported for 7 years on the Sarah in August 1829, although this conviction was for perjury. A delay between conviction and transportation is not uncommon, with the time spent in a mixture of gaol and prison hulks but further research is needed. Edward had lived in Marlow but immediately before his rest he had been living at the Bull inn in High Wycombe.
Other Members:
I have mentioned the leading gang members so now is a mention of some others.
Firstly I will mention two boys who were not gang members but who were taken on at least one burglary expedition. Perhaps to learn the trade. This is according to the confession of Thomas Webb. These were the two nephews of Thomas, William who was age 14 at the time, and James age 11. The two youngsters took no active part in proceedings and no action was taken against them. At the time it was stated as shocking that such young men were due to be indoctrinated in the trade, which was perhaps out of touch with the reality of child crime.
James Rockall/ Rockell of Remenham. Transported for life, Bucks Assizes. Left on ship Mangles July 1824 age 21. Mostly involved in burglary. Worked with Ayres, Biggs, and Dean on a number of jobs. See Dean below. In 1825 was convict servant in Newcastle to Dr Carlyle. In 1828 was working as assigned shephard to F & A Little. Granted ticket of leave 1830 as he apprehended a bush ranger targeting his employer Archibald Little. (A horse had been stolen) Place given then as Gammon Plains. Sometimes given as Rockhol.
Richard Biggs/Briggs of Wycombe. Alias Johnson. Mostly involved in the burglaries.
Transported for life 1824, on the transport ship Mangles. See Dean below.
Josiah "Dutchman" Deane. Age 19 on conviction in March 1824 at Aylesbury. One of those involved in the Chisbridge thefts. Sentenced to transportation for life. A carter from High Wycombe. Left with Rockall and Biggs on board the ship Mangles which departed under master John Cogshill in July 1824 and arrived New South Wales 27 October 1824. Conduct on the journey "pretty good". Assigned as convict servant to "Mr Crawford". In 1828 is still a servant, at Ellalong.
"Donkey Dean" identity not properly established. Not apprehended.
Thomas East of Marlow. Said to have been caught by March 1827 and likely to be transported but I have not researched him further yet. From a long family of butchers. Suspected of handling stolen goods.
William Clark. Possibly of Marlow.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
© MarlowAncestors.
Related Posts:
To find all posts about an individual here use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu.
Other crime related posts including tales of more convicts, poachers etc here
Clay Lane farm mentioned above ; history timeline here
Sources include:
Handy Cross research by Charlotte and Kathryn.
Pearce Egans Life In London, 12 aug 1827, digitised by Google.
Sun London August 1827. (Collected edition, circa 1899)
Oxford University and City Herald
31 March 1827
Hampshire Chronicle 2 April 1827
Oxford Journal 10 March and 28 July 1827, Via the BNA.
The Globe 25 August 1827, via the BNA.
Berkshire Chronicle 29 September 1827 British Library.
Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 89, Class and Piece Number HO11/6, Page Number 291 (147)
Convict Indents. State Archives NSW; Series: NRS 12188; Item: [4/4009A]; Microfiche: 654
Https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com
Updated January 2024
Emma Macklin married Jeremiah Harding in 1845. Both had been living prior to that in Dean Street Marlow and the area adjacent to that street, Marefield, was the couple's home in 1851.
As a young man Jeremiah was a farm worker but he spent most of his life involved in the gardening trade. On the 1861 census he was a gardener's labourer but by 1870 he was the head gardener to Charlotte Cocks at The Glade in Glade Road Marlow. We know this because in that capacity he charged a lad with stealing apples from the garden. Perpetrator John Vernon was fined 1 shilling plus costs for the offence.
On the 1861 census Emma was given as an embroiderer. This was a tough year for the couple as in it they suffered the death of their eleven year old son James. They were living by then at Trinity Cottages. These were next to Holy Trinity church in what was then Gun Lane, now Trinity Road. They still exist but I am uncertain as to whether they are still collectively named Trinity Cottages. Jeremiah later became the sexton of Holy Trinity church. He and Emma lived in their cottage for the rest of their respective lives.
In 1871 Emma was censused as a charwoman but later returned to needlework. Jeremiah must have retired from his role at the Glade because in the South Bucks Free Press 25th July 1879 he advertised for one or two days a week gardening or lawn mowing work.
Jeremiah died at Trinity Cottages in 1899. His South Bucks Standard obituary said that he had never recovered from the death of his wife the year before. The same obituary said that one of the couple's sons had emigrated to New Zealand. It is possible the article meant Australia as their son Robert (possibly Richard) certainly migrated there. But perhaps they also had a son who went to NZ. Their son in Australia was the curator of the Botanic Gardens at "Toowoomba" as it was described in 1887.
Written and researched by Charlotte Day.
Biography of Charlotte Cocks plus a photo of The Glade today here
See the Person Index in the top drop down menu for all mentions of a person on this blog. More than 4000 people get a mention.
More Gun Lane related posts can be found on this index
©Marlow Ancestors.
Sources:
GRO marriage and death indexes on the GRO website accessed October 2020.
Obitury = South Bucks Standard, copy held at the British Library. Accessed via the BNA October 2020.
England and Wales Census from Familysearch website run by the LDS (Intellectual Reserve Inc) accessed September 2020.
Cassandra was nee Creswell. Her first husband was John Miller. She occupied the Prince of Wales pub. Felix also worked as a butcher. In 1887 Felix takes out an action for slander against two individuals who accuse him before many others of killing his wife. A juror is withdrawn for reasons I could not see and the case collapses and does not seem to have been revived.
See the A-Z person index on the top drop down for every mention of a person on this blog. The Pub Related index is the place to look for more Prince of Wales content, or info about other pubs historically in Marlow, Little Marlow, Hurley, Medmenham and Lane End.
See Graves Index for gravestone photos and transcription for Marlow, Little Marlow and Hurley plus a few for Bisham.
©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction welcome with credit.
Trawling through my transcriptions of the 1891 census from microfilm I found some people with slightly more unusual occupations than the usual agricultural labourers, seamstresses and paper makers.
Roughton Henry Whall A native of Gloucestershire, Roughton was an organist and professor of music according to the census. He had the role of organist at the parish church in Marlow. He was also, though not at Marlow, a clarinet teacher. His older brother William Boulter Whall was a mariner who published an important book on English sea shanties in 1910. Roughton contributed the musical settings for the book while their niece Veronica illustrated the work. In 1891 Roughton aged 29 and his wife Flora (nee Adames, married Chichester 1887) lived along with a servant in the High Street. Roughton had lived in Marlow for about 4 years at that point. The Whalls were still there in the High Street in 1892 but seem to have moved away quite soon afterwards. The couple settled finally in Stroud, Gloucestershire where Roughton acted as the church organist for over 20 years. He died in 1937 leaving an estate worth just over £3,500. Flora passed away the next year with an estate worth a little under £9,000.
Charles Campton A watercress grower living Henley Road. Aged 34. The local watercress industry never garners much attention but it encompassed sites at Marlow (along the Henley Road), Little Marlow, Bourne End, Wooburn Moor and Medmenham. It was up in Chesham that the Bucks industry was centered however. There a Henry Dell grew 100 tons of the crop in 1881 alone. Half a bushel of watercress wholesale in 1885 was worth 1 shilling. It was a popular food in the Victorian era. Though it was made into soups and purees, it was thought to be most beneficial when eaten raw such as in a salad or sandwich. Charles Campton may have had streams flowing from the Thames to feed his watercress beds however running water was not necessary to grow the plant, a plentiful supply of near enough water from a well which could be used to wet the soil regularly was enough. Fellow Marlow Ancestors blogger Kathryn has grown watercress in her Marlow garden in the modern day nowhere near a stream. The water of course must be clean. During the 1890s there was a panic when the public began to realise that some growers were using water from streams into which Wycombe Sewage Works discharged their effluent, as well as water from potentially contaminated wells. The victims in all this were mostly Londoners who ended eating up he majority of Marlow area cress. Charles Campton is not known to have been involved in selling dodgy cress!
Jeffery Truss A bill poster aged 77 living West Street with his wife Ann, as they had done for years. Being the town Bill Poster was an official position with public announcements being posted up for the public by the man given that job. Though he does not say so on the census, Jeffrey had also been the town crier since at least 1866. He had earlier in life been a cordwainer. In 1894 poor Jeffrey was rendered bed ridden with paralysis and suffered the loss of his wife. He died himself the next year and was buried in St Peters Roman Catholic churchyard. Perhaps he was a late convert to Catholicism as he was for decades one of the bellringers of the C of E parish church. He was in fact one of the team that first rang the bells when the (current) new church was built back in the 1830s. Jeffrey also played the hand bells in local musical concerts.
A biography of his successor as Bill Poster for Marlow, Edward Hatton, has been published on the blog here.
Ellen Venables A draper's cashier visiting Clara and William Langston at no 12 High Street. It is quite unusual to see shop assistants specifically referred to as cashiers. This implies she most probably worked somewhere sufficiently large or busy for it to be someone's job to just take payment rather than to be a general assistant. More about the Langston's here
See:
Wikipedia article on W. B Whall, brother of Roughton.
Obituary Jeffrey Truss South Bucks Standard 14th June 1895.
