This post covers some of the ways our Marlow predecessors celebrated the Diamond jubilee in 1897. A post on the charming celebrations in nearby Hurley is linked to below.
Marlow was made up of individuals with all kinds of opinions regarding the Queen and criticism had been made in the past about the lack lustre nature of some local acknowledgement of royal events. But the 1887 Jubilee involved many people and had been regarded as a big success. It was used as a blue print for the Diamond Jubilee. You can read about the 1887 event in an earlier post linked below.
The celebrations were held in late June in somewhat mixed weather conditions. The "terrible roaring hissing mist" of the dramatic summer storm of that year threatened chaos on the evening of the 25th and saw celebrants at the Little Marlow sports and tea run for cover. See the link below! Thankfully much of Marlow's events had already taken place, although rain had put in an appearance then too.
A meeting was held in May to thrash out a plan for the main day. Three elements were pretty much guaranteed to form a part of any Marlow high day and holiday - a free dinner for the "aged", a free tea for the children, and sporting events for all. All three were present and correct. The aged in this occasion were those over 60. The children were to be aged 5-14. All of these were paid for by donations from the better off citizens, and it was also suggested that an endowment fund would be set up to pay for a nurse at the Cottage Hospital. The hospital was at this point still in Cambridge Road and acutely understaffed. They had great trouble retaining the nurses they did manage to recruit due not least because of the exhausting workload and difficult working conditions in an building not ideal for their purpose. I can not see evidence in the annual reports of the hospital that a nurse was paid for specifically from a Jubilee endowment fund, however a number of subscribers were recruited to give a annual subscription for terms of 3-5 years in honour of the event and an overall donation of £300 was made to the hospital by the Jubilee organisers. The fact that many of these did not renew their regular donations once the terms were over caused the hospital some difficulty. See links below for more.
The Wethereds at Remnantz in West Street offered the use of their meadow for the sports. Two refreshment tents would be set up and a band was in attendance. A large number of children were apparently expected to attend, freed from the afternoon schooling.
On the Sunday before the jubilee, special services of Thanksgiving for the Queen's reign were held at both All Saints and the Catholic church. To the latter the congregations of the non conforming chapels in town were invited, although they naturally also wanted to host their own services. Some members of the chapel choirs joined the Parish church choir which must have made for a delightful performance. A Church parade was also organised on this day, that is a parade to the Church, by both the Bucks Volunteers and the volunteer fire brigade, both of whom had some reserved seats in the full to capacity All Saints. The Bucks Volunteers marched from the Armoury in Institute Rd, and were joined by a few members of the Royal Bucks Hussars in uniform.
On the 22nd June, Remnantz opened her gates. Most likely the direct entrance to the meadow from West Street, the large green gates closest to Borlase School, were the ones used. Those entering that way would have passed the dairy and chicken runs, and wondering through a little cluster of trees out into the meadow, formerly used as the parade ground for the Royal Military College cadets. It was not an unfamiliar sight for fun loving Marlovians as the meadow often housed events at this time from church fetes to agricultural shows. The children's sports events, with no entry fee, started at 1.30pm for under 14's. The children competed for a mixture of practical and cash prizes. Another race for boys only was planned for the High St with a 2s 6d prize for the winner and 1s 6d for the runner up but I'm not sure this actually came off.
One event that certainly did was a donkey race down Chapel Street, round a post set near the Junction of Glade Road and back. No sticks or whips allowed. Donkeys have a long if forgotten association with Marlow, in particular the traders and residents of the Dean Street and Marefield areas who used them as an affordable transport option for businesses both legal and shady. See linked posts below. This was also a race with a cash prize for those coming first and second. Another donkey race was held as part of the sports at Remnantz. (Winner there was John Bowles on Victoria, the donkey that is! And George Bowles triumphed in the Chapel Street race) A cycle race was also held in Chapel Street, under starter Mr Barnard's watchful eyes.
Those aged residents had sat down for dinner at noon, in the oft used celebration spot of "the music room" (now the Masonic Centre, St Peter's Street) and the adjoining girls school. In the previous Jubilee the wall between the two had been knocked down to allow more room but nothing so dramatic had been thought necessary this time around! Around 200 residents were in attendance then, out of 300 that had applied for a free ticket to attend. The event includes loyal toasts to her Majesty and the National Anthem, as well as music by the Reading Excelsior band who had paraded up the High Street earlier. The catering for this tremendous dinner was left to the very able hands of the Marlow Volunteers who used some military ovens at their disposal to roast 336lbs of meat! Full credit to the cooks Corporal S East and Private W Hardwood - let's hope they were remembered when the "flagons of strong ale" donated by Wethered's brewery were handed round! All those attending left with a small gift of tea or tobacco.
At 4.30 pm some 1,000 children were expected to take part in a parade from Remnantz, up the High Street to the Music room and school where they would be treated to a tea, served in sittings. The mammoth organisation of this fell to a committee mostly of local ladies who also inveigled donations in money or tasty treats for the young marchers. All the youngsters recieved a mug bearing a portrait of the Queen Victoria on her succession to the throne in 1837 as well as a current image of her majesty. Catering was by Death & Sons, the Marlow bakers who had been working flat out to provide more than 1,400 buns and 900 rock cakes, not to mention ordinary loaves.
The day was not yet done, for those who were neither old or young were invited to Remnantz at 5.30pm to enjoy a summer evening of sports. That is mostly light-hearted races such as the needle and thread and egg and spoon races for both men and women run for money. These were run in heats accorded to age and gender e.g 60+ but officials were instructed not to "enquire too closely" into the stated ages of the ladies taking part!! The band was back and the marquees humming with thirsty runners and their families.
A traditional end to many Marlow celebrations was some kind of river based event from water dramas to flotillas. Chosen on this occasion was an evening "river fete" starting at 8.45pm ending a little later with fireworks. This means a parade of patriotically decorated and brightly lit boats and that the riverside properties were also adorned with lights, flags and bunting. And music came from bands on their lawns and aboard.
The individual shop keepers in the main streets competed to offer the best window displays, with lots of VR banners and motifs in evidence. The South Bucks Standard reported the church tower, Marlow bridge, the station, the gas works and the Enclosure were all specially decorated too. (The Enclosure is the area of grass in the Causeway where the War Memorial and flagpole would later stand. It was indeed originally enclosed by fencing.) It was noticed that bunting, flags and the like had long sold out from the town's ships and even some of the very poorest homes were seen to be decorated. An unusual display was given by baker John Birdseye who exhibited some bread and cakes which he had made for the 1887 Jubilee, still in very good condition.
Outside of the immediate High Street area, there was a fire set up in Spittal Square in order to roast two sheep which were given away along with a vast quantity of boiled beef for free a little after midday. This was a considerate option to provide a celebration meal to the poorer adults in Marlow who did not qualify as aged and so who were not part of the main dinner. (The idea of butcher Mr Copcott who did the roasting) If on the other hand, a leg of mutton was what a Marlow man had set their heart on, they could compete in the afternoon greasy pole contest in the same location where it was the prize. A tall and sturdy pole was set up in the middle of the square, which must have made any horse traffic impossible given the numbers if bystanders gathered about it. The pole was spread with grease and the mutton was set on the top. Contestants would then attempt to climb to the top - the first to do so and seize the leg of mutton could keep it. I believe I have the record of the winner somewhere and I will update the post if I find it!
Some of the pubs held their own celebratory dinner of which the most remembered is that provided by William Rose of the Wheelwrights Arms, Spittal Street. ("The Wheelers" in popular Marlow speak.) He entertained 50 grateful men and women to a "cold ham and roast beef dinner" complete with a champagne finish.
Above I mentioned the terrible storm that would affect Marlow shortly after the main Jubilee celebrations. Little Marlow was less fortunate in their timing and so some of the planned sporting races had to be cancelled. There there had been a special church service offering thanks for the queen's long reign (as there had been at the Parish church in Marlow, and at the Congregational church in Quoiting Square). After this a procession headed to the Ferns, its use donated by Mr Roberts for the villagers games and feasting. The kitchens of Westhorpe had been bought into service to roast 20 joints of meat and some plum puddings. Other householders volunteered their kitchens to cover the production of yet more plum puddings - used as part of many many Victorian celebrations, outside of the Christmas season. First off was a cricket match, then an amazing 500 people sat down inside two terrific tents to enjoy the hot dinner. The logistics of organising this is mind boggling. The meal fine shed with the singing of the National Anthem, music and dancing. A beautiful baby competition was won by the unnamed 4 month old son of "Mrs Harris" with the runner up the little 6 month old Miss Allen. At 4pm it was the children's turn to enjoy the tea, after which they received a medal to mark the occasion, provide by the Mrs Ellames of Little Marlow Manor who had also donated substantially to make the events possible. A little later events were disrupted by the torrential rain and high winds but eventually the villagers ventured back out from the tents to at least enjoy a few sports - the tug of war and yet another greasy pole competition, with a leg of mutton at stake.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
RELATED POSTS:
To find all mentions of an individual here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu or the biographies of individuals section there...
Biographies of families index - here
1887 Jubilee in Marlow - Here
Hurley village Jubilee celebrations for 1887 and 97. here
Roaring hissing mist, the 1897 storm - here
1902 Coronation celebrations in Marlow - here
The Other Royal Celebrations in Marlow (Victoria's Coronation, marriage etc) - here
Other posts about Little Marlow here
Other posts about everyday life in Victorian Great Marlow - here
© Marlow Ancestors.
SOURCES INCLUDE:
South Bucks Standard 4& 18 June, 2 July 1897.
Queen Victoria - Diamond Jubilee, Stokes & Co 1898.