In 1891 this is described as a boys boarding school for those 10-16 years. It had 9 boarding pupils, though the school took day pupils too. On census night, mathematics teacher Mr M Jefferies was present along with a housekeeper and servant. The school was run by the Misses Curtis, sisters Martha and Alice, whose school started in a Marlow Bottom farmhouse before moving to Cambridge Road and finally to Leighton House late in 1883 following the death of the elderly previous occupier Ellen Bennett. Alice Curtis died at Leighton House in 1893 but Maria remained running the school until at least 1898. The Curtises offered a classical education but cricket and (unusually) football were available too. The older boys played in local amateur cups alongside older teams. Their home ground was the meadow by the Railway Station, now built over, which was just a stone's throw from the school and used by many sporting teams. It was presumably the case that male teachers were also part of the team outside of junior competition as the school had a total of 15 pupils only in 1897 and some of these would have been too young to play against teens and adults.
The school was a successful one both academically and financially for the sisters. Maria Curtis often donated money from her profits to the local cottage hospital and to Holy Trinity Church in Marlow.
The goal of the boy pupils' academic studies was to prepare them for entry into the public schools and thus to university and the professions. In 1897 the South Bucks Standard reported that the local vicar had organised an essay writing competition for the boys on the subject of the "life of Queen Victoria"* The winner was Charles Smith of Rose Villa, Great Marlow. Charles was the son of Lawrence Smith and grandson of Reuben and Mary Smith all of whom there is a full post about here.
In 1889 two less fortunate boys from the town, 11 year old Joseph James and 12 year old Henry Wheeler, were accused of stealing two pairs of boots from the school premises (Bucks Herald 23rd February 1889, British Library Archives). Henry Wheeler had the charges against him dismissed for want of evidence. But Joseph was given 4 lashes from a birch rod and labelled in court a "bad, artful boy". He was the son of James and Charlotte James. He appears with them on the 1881 census in Queens Road.
Sometimes during the Summer holidays the house was let to tourists. Many other Glade Road homes were put to the same use at that time.
By 1900 Leighton House was a fully residential property occupied by George Tweedie. In 1904 it was Marlow bank manager Percy Quayles in residence, though he left that year to manage a Hampshire branch.
In 1910 Ernest and Mrs Williams lived it seems not altogether happily in the house. He was arrested for being roaring drunk in Beaumont Rise after his wife refused him entry into their home. A few weeks later the contents of the house were forcibly put up for sale in distress of rent - polished brass bedsteads and fine carpets included - which doesn't seem to bode well for the continued state of their marriage either. It took multiple sales to clear things.
Between at least 1915 and 1938 Leighton House was home, let's hope more happily, to solicitor Leonard Nash, his wife Julia and their family who had moved there from "Westwood" in Institute Road. Leonard and Julia (nee Syrett) had married Loudwater, Bucks in 1905.
Being close to the railway station made Glade Road good for holiday rentals as said above but it also made the residents the first victims of travelling salesman who arrived in town that way. Leonard Nash sued a travelling china repairer in 1915 for doing more harm than good to a vase Leonard entrusted to him!
In 1925 Leonard bought for £1300 some 29 acres of land off Newtown Road, a canny piece of work as this was an area of Marlow where houses were being rapidly thrown up.
Related posts:
To find out more about the historic residents of other Glade Road properties in Marlow see this index.
Listing of 72 plus Marlow schools of yesteryear here
Education related posts and everyday life in old Great Marlow here
To find every mention of an individual here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down.
Photo by Kathryn Day. Post researched and written by Charlotte Day.
©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this content for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.
*edition 24th December. Copy at the British Library. Accessed via the British Newspaper Archive.
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