A house up Oxford Road, close to the future Cambridge Road and Queens Road turnings and next to the former almshouses. Looks then to be the original name for Tilecotes / Tilecoates. The Tilecotes listed building notes call it vaguely "circa 18th century". IF it was originally Oxford House then a date of 1820s looks more probable. Anyway not the same as Oxford Cottage, or The Cottage, Oxford Road the latter of which despite its cottage name was a large 8 bedroom residence. The garden of Oxford House is almost never mentioned when the house is sold, assessed or let suggesting it was relatively insignificant.
1827 - For Sale or to let. Five beds. Beer and wine cellar. Separate wash house. (Morning Herald, 4th June. British Newspaper Archives) Charles Henry Bouverie (see below) left for St Lucia that year so it was likely him wishing to sell or lease the house. Evidently it was only leased in the end as Charles still owned it in 1836.
1832 - up for sale or let again. Now described as having 3 principal bedrooms, a water closet, principal and secondary staircases, dining and drawing rooms, and 4 servants rooms. Plus a cellar, good courtyard, a flower and kitchen garden (this the rare mention of the garden), 3 horse stable and a coach-house. The furniture was also available to purchase.
1833- late in the year, Charles Henry Bouverie Esq. House with coach house and stabling worth an estimated £30 a year. (Parochial notebooks in my possession, my transcription). He was away working in St Lucia out and leased the house to others. Looks to have returned in 1834. When he died aged 54 in 1836 he left a will (P.C.C. held at the National Archives, Kew, transcribed by me) in which he left Oxford House and the furniture in it to Maria Julia Hedges his partner and the mother of his children Charlotte and Charles. The couple had never married. Their son Charles died in London age only 23 in 1847. Charles junior was bequeathed a portrait of his father and his fishing tackle. The rest of the family portraits went to Charles senior's sisters. Earlier in his life Charles Senior had served as an M.P though a pretty inactive one, and not for Marlow. He was buried at Betchworth Surrey. He had previously lived in Betchworth House there. He was the grandson of the Earl of Radnor.
1839- Robert Richmond. Leaving town so selling off a nearly new pony chaise, mahogany four poster beds, chintz and damask furniture. He was a cattle and sheep dealer. Moved to Shillingford, Oxon. A few months earlier had fallen victim to a forged bill of exchange worth over £1000. His move may have been due to financial distress.
1841- Probably Samuel and Mary Horrod as below. They were certainly in Oxford Road then. For Samuel's role in the circumstances surrounding the 1847 Election riots in Marlow see here.
1851 census- Samuel Horrod age 67 originally from Middlesex and Mary his wife aged 79 originally from Durham with their 39 year old daughter Mary Ann born in Yorkshire and two servants. The family appear to have had Canadian connections. Samuel was a "government pensioner in 1847" when he supported the nomination of Sir William Clayton as Marlow M.P. He himself served as a Guardian of the poor in Marlow.
1853- Henry Sibley Esq. Kelly's Directories by Kelly's Directories Limited. Perhaps a relative of the Herrods?
1856-. Samuel Horrod died there early in the year. Mary the widow of Samuel Horrod died at Oxford House, seven months after her husband. Some of their possessions were auctioned off at the house afterwards by the executors of the estate. These included a phaeton and a gig, a mahogany pianoforte and, more unusually, a blunderbuss. (Reading Mercury 13th September 1856. British Newspaper Archive).
1857- Mary Ann Horrod. Daughter of Samuel and Mary. She must have been resident in name only as nearly all the house's furniture had been sold the previous year. Later that year a new temporary occupier was in place:
1857- T. A Pope was leaving the neighborhood so selling off some of the household goods from his home, Oxford House.
1860 - For sale. "MODERN HOUSE". [Probably 30 odd years old]. Coach house, stables, walled garden. Property surrounded by brick wall and entered by folding gates. Views of Beech woods, short walk to church and river. Being let at £45 a year. [Bucks Herald 26th May via the BNA.]
1861- Peter and Louisa Bossier and their children.
1862. On "edge of town" as the town then was. With coach house, stables, paved yard, walled garden. Ample supply of water. [ Reading Mercury 24th May via the BNA.]
1871 Edmund Mudie and his sisters Eugenia, Elizabeth, Mary and Margaret. All born Venice, Italy plus their English-born cousin Edmund and 3 servants. [Census, my transcription from microfilm. Census information remains Crown Copyright.]
1881. Eugenia and Elizabeth Mudie. Annuitants. Plus a cook, housemaid and needlewoman. Census as above.
1883- Kelly's Post Office Directory - Misses Mudie.
1889 - Frederic Clay composer of light opera music and a number of extremely popular songs and collaborator with Gilbert and Sullivan died there aged 50 after a six year period of debility due to a stroke. He had been left paralysed on his right side and was sadly unable to write another note of music thereafter. In distress at this and the rest of his restricted life Frederic committed suicide during the brief absence of his attendant. Usually unable to walk unaided, he'd struggled to his bath tub which was awaiting emptying and plunged his head under the water in order to drown himself. He left a note apparently, presumably with his non dominant hand. Frederic was born in Paris, the don of J Clay the "famous whist player" and British M.P. He was living with his unmarried sister Emily Clay at Oxford House. The Mudies sisters are not mentioned but Frederic and Emily were related to them. (Source: 1 The Annual Register Compiled and printed 1890. By Edmund Burke. 2, The Musical Times, December 1889. 3 The Referee December 1st 1889 and for more on him see https://garrick.ssl.co.uk/names/SCL00)
1891. Emily Clay born Italy, single as above. Living with her were her cousins Eugenia and Elizabeth Mudie as above plus servants. The sisters Margaret and Mary Mudie both acted as "lady visitors" to the outpatients of the Marlow Cottage Hospital and were obviously still resident in Marlow that year. Perhaps they were temporarily absent at time of census and thus do not seem to live with their family at Oxford House. Emily Clay went to live near Maidenhead in the next few years, taking Eugenia and Elizabeth with her.
1895. A C Tearle was leaving the house. A cricketer, footballer and athletics umpire for Marlow. Teacher at Borlase school.
Address seems to vanish about then. Tilecotes pops up 1896. That house was occupied in its very earliest years by Borlase teachers.
Researched and written by Charlotte Day.
Other sources:
Debretts Complete Peerage 1837.
https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/bouverie-charles-henry-1782-1836
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©Marlow Ancestors.
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