Alicia Wallop Of Marlow Place

Alicia Wallop née Borlase, born circa 1658, deserves a place in Marlow history as the probable first occupier of Marlow Place. 

Alicia's paternal grandfather founded the grammar school in Marlow on a charitable basis as well as a lace making school. One of the first things any writer or commentator wrote about Marlow in the centuries that followed was always the Borlase charity bequest, so Alicia would have reason to have grown up feeling proud of her birth family.

She married John Wallop Esquire of Farleigh Wallop in Hampshire in 1683. In that county they made their home and that of their 7 children. 

In 1688 Alicia's mother Joan died and made her and her sisters executors of her will and its residuary legatees. The sisters were also to share their mother's jewelry.

John Wallop's death in 1694 began a decades long widowhood for Alicia. She was the executor of his will. As her the guardian of her children she had to represent their interests in their Hampshire, Devon, Dorset and Somerset estates and inheritances  while they were minors. Part of that responsibility was managing political matters in what would be the inherited sphere of influence for her husband's young heirs. As such Alicia strongly supported the Whig political candidate William Guidott. So skilled at persuasion was she that the Corporation of Andover complained that she was making voters break their solemn promises to vote for Guidott's rivals -something which would have been an enormous breach of gentlemanly conduct for those voters. Guidott won but was later found to be embezzling funds from the Duchess of Marlborough's estates leading to supporters distancing themselves from him.

Alicia was busy elsewhere, engaging in some land speculation in the Bond Street area of London as part of a wealthy syndicate. She was the only female member of the syndicate. Other efforts to increase her wealth included her interest in playing the Lottery! There's no evidence that she won anything, sadly.

In 1705 her mother in law Dorothy Wallop left Alicia £100 to buy a ring in her memory.

By 1721, probably not too much before that, Alicia moved to Great Marlow. Her home was probably not yet Marlow Place as it does not seem to have been built for a few years yet but Alicia was resident in that house by 1741, probably by 1734. Her will was written at her St James London home in 1731 but she mentions her Marlow mansion and at other times appears to be back in Hampshire so she was obviously a bit of a floater when it came to residency.

Alicia died on 20th October 1744 and was buried with her husband and other Wallops at the church of St John in Farleigh Wallop though in her will she was one of the many people of the day who simply instructed their executors to bury them decently wherever they saw fit. The memorial to her erected in the church by her only surviving son, the Earl of Portsmouth, stated that Alicia had seen and conversed much with the world in her lifetime but chose to spend her later years in quiet and Christian retirement. She was said to be a constant friend to the poor and one who had approached life with "great decency, prudence and wisdom" as a "very virtuous and exemplary woman".

In the will Alicia left £10 to the poor of Marlow and £10 to those of Fairleigh. All servants employed by her at the time of her death were to get £5 each to buy mourning clothes. Black clothes were expensive to produce and had good second hand resale value so the servants were likely well pleased with this bequest.

The main beneficiaries of her will were the only two of her seven children who survived her- daughter Mary and son John.

Related content:

History of Marlow Place here

More posts like this in the biographies Of Individuals Index here

Sources included:

Wills of Alicia Wallop, John Wallop, Dorothy Wallop and Joan Borlase, transcribed by me from wills at the National Archives, Kew.

Hayton, D., Handley, S., Cruickshanks, E. (2002). The House of Commons, 1690-1715. United Kingdom: History of Parliament Trust.

Cosmic Rays: Essays on Science and Technology from Royal Institution: Essays in Science and Technology from the Royal Institution. (2001). United Kingdom: OUP/The Royal Institution. [Despite its title this collection contains some London property history].

House of Lords Journal Volume 16. London. Pp 503-504. British History Online.

Property records.

Handy Cross Farm History And Occupiers

Handy Cross Farm. Historically a mixed farm.

Existed 1741.

1781= for sale freehold (except a few copyhold acres). 366 acres, all but 11 acres within a ring fence. Meadow and arable land (Oxford Journal 03 February 1781).  Includes dwelling house, two tenements (cottages for farm workers etc)  and outbuildings. Let to Thomas Allen for £150 per annum. Also 67 acres woodland available with it. "Handicross". May be the same Thomas Allen at Pigeon House Farm 1784. 

1817= Bought by William James Atkinson (of whom lots more here).  Later owned by Lord Carrington.

1818 - tenant Richard Badcock is leaving the farm so there is a livestock etc sale on the premises. It includes 24 cows and heifers, 6 cart horses, 8 sheep and 20 pigs plus the usual selection of ploughs, dung carts etc. 

1843?= outgoing tenant Mr Stacey Rayment. 

1843-50= Daniel Carr. Had chickens and geese stolen from him in 1843. Subject to a serious rick fire one afternoon in 1844. Believed to be arson. (The Sun, 22 Jan 1844). Thankfully Lord Carrington the landowner had his own fire engine to help put it out. The wheat rick in which it started, containing 10 loads, could not be saved, but several standing nearby were undamaged. 

1851= 20 year old Ambrose Reddall Turney living with his sister Sarah and others in High Wycombe, then called Chepping Wycombe, described himself as a farmer of 320 acres employing 8 workers. There is a good chance that he, probably with his brothers, was working Handy Cross farm. See below.

1864= Mr Turney. Had no buildings on it then but by 1870 did at least have a barn and apparently also had a worker's cottage by 1875.

1866 - the Messrs Turney. 

1868= Ambrose Reddall Turney, John Turney and George Turney in partnership which was dissolved that year. These were brothers, the sons of John Turney. Ambrose was properly Alexander Ambrose Reddall Turney and also operated as the Parish Surveyor and Rate Collector for High Wycombe. He emigrated to the USA the next year. He and his brothers were mentioned in the will of their step grandmother Elizabeth Turney of Winslow which is transcribed on the Winslow history website. This also gives more background to the family. Link to this website here. The will of her husband can be downloaded from the National Archives.

1870= John Turney. Prosecuted his shepherd Mathew Clarke for refusing to work for him while injured. Mathew had hurt his arm trying to catch a sheep. John argued that the injury did not mean that Mathew was incapable of all work and that there were light duties he could perform on the farm. The court allowed Mathew to be released from his contract with John and ordered his employer to pay him £1 owed Michaelmas money out of which the court costs would be deducted.

1869= J and G Turney, presumably brothers John and George.

1871= John Turney. Poachers set traps for rabbits in his field that year.

1873= J Turney.

1877= J Turney. Seven of his heifers died in agony after workers from landlord Lord Carrington left open cans of lead paint where the animals could get at them and lick the poisonous paint. 

1878= J Turney sold off his stock of clover and hay etc as he was leaving the farm.

1881= whoever was at the farm sold off all stock and left.

1887-1894= William Morris, who also occupied nearby Hill Farm as well as farms in West Wycombe. The farmhouse was in 1894 put up to let and was then a 5 bedroom house with 2 sitting rooms and 2 kitchens (South Bucks Standard 22nd June 1894). It seems Edward Nuttall also occupied some of the land 1894-96 but the Morris family continued to farm most of the land even if they did not live in the farm house for a while.

1895= rooms and apartments in the farm house up to let. Bracing air is promised. By which was meant biting winds presumably as Handy Cross was renowned for suffering heavy snow, deep frosts, and harsh winds being in a slightly elevated position.

1901= W and T Morris.

1913= Morris family still farming there.

1920 - George Parker.

Ongoing research. This post will always be updated if new information arises. Gaps in the dates above represent gaps in my knowledge.

Related Content:

History and landlords of the Blue Flag pub Handy Cross here

And of the Blacksmith's Arms there in this post

More Handy Cross content indexed here

Other sources:

1833 parochial assessment Great Marlow, working notebooks of the assessors in my possession and transcribed by me.

"England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGBT-VMM : 11 September 2019), Ambrose Turney in household of Hannah Howlett, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England; citing High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, p. 1, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

1871 census, my transcription. Crown Copyright.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors

Not You Again Reuben!

Today's subject is Reuben Anderson, a man who is fair to say kept the police constables and J.Ps more than a little busy! 

The age of Reuben differs by a few years here and there when he gives it in court, on censuses and the like. He generally decides on a birth year of 1845, although he may have been a couple of years older. He was the son of George and Emma Anderson of Dean Street (more commonly known as Well End, Great Marlow at the time Reuben was born, not be confused with Well End, near Little Marlow.) Another Reuben Anderson living in Marlow in the early Victorian era was our Reubens uncle, born in Maids Moreton, Bucks. 

Reuben's father spent several spells in prison throughout the boys childhood, usually lasting a month or two, mostly relating to petty thefts and trespass after game. His was not a wealthy family, and George's work principally as a general and agricultural labourer was not necessarily regular. Dean Street was a poor and populous neighbourhood, the haunt of many a poacher. Many lived on the edge of destitution in a way that's much underestimated now. Those that didn't tended to supplement their income in many  ways, not all of them quite legal. 

Starting Young 

Reuben therefore started his somewhat shady career rather young. In 1858 the boy found himself called to the petty sessions, suspected of stealing a quantity of iron from the premises of baker John Millward in West Street. (Formerly Gibbons the tallow chandlers - see the premises here) At this point the petty sessions were held in a small and often raucous room in the Crown at the Market Square. In court, his age was given as 11 but I think he was more likely 13-15 years. Generally speaking if a resident of Dean Street was bought to the sessions room, a crowd of friends and relatives from the area would attend to offer vocal support much to the magistrates annoyance. Perhaps the same thing happened to young Reuben. Regardless, he was found guilty and sentenced to be privately whipped. This was regarded as a lenient punishment compared to time in gaol. Two months before either Reuben or his uncle of the same name had been summoned and fined for stealing underwood at Little Marlow. I suspect it was the elder of the two. 

 Reuben is often recorded as either an agricultural labourer or general labourer, that catch all term for a variety of unskilled and semi skilled work. But the type of crimes he tends to get arrested for, indicates a slightly different story. By far the most common is wilful damage to a tree or stealing underwood. Reuben isn't gathering firewood, he is collecting the type of material he needs for his sideline as a "skewerter". That is he makes wooden skewers that are sold wholesale to butchers, usually in London. It was a very common and perfectly legitimate trade in Marlow, centred around Dean Street. However it was not legal to help yourself to the wood wherever you found it locally, as almost every tree belonged to someone specifically. Some landowners sold the right to collect the skewer materials to an individual, who naturally would be at a serious disadvantage if it all had vanished come harvest time. But skewer makers like Reuben could not afford to lease woodland and it's unlikely that buying the materials from a middle man would be profitable. Snarky comments were often made about how "wealthy" the skewer makers of Marlow were, given that it was pure profit to make goods from materials obtained free and illegally. But the reality was those we have identified as long time workers in the trade were in poor (sometimes shockingly so) houses and never escaped them. It was hardly a road to riches! Reuben is also identified later as a fruiterer - another classic Dean Street occupation. In this case it was the wholesale trade that involved Reuben along with his father - he did not have a shop. This was a seasonal source of employment for him, something to add to his other sources of income. 

Reuben's punishment for the wood rustling and tree damage tended to be a fine. (For example 2d plus costs in 1861 for damaging trees belonging to magistrate Benjamin Atkinson of the Rookery.) If he could not pay, he would be forced to spend time in gaol in lieu. Sometimes the fine was demanded immediately after the case was heard, on other occasions a week or two to gather the required finds was allowed. (Two weeks in the case mentioned above.) In 1862 he was imprisoned for 3 months for stealing the lunch of a farm labourer William Harris who was working in the fields. (His accomplice James Grace recieved 2 months)

A Familiar Defendant 

1863 was an especially busy year for young Reuben. He plead guilty to 3 offences in the same petty session in January. He was at this point described as a youth "well known to police", as was his co accused in two of the offences, James Grace. First up was two charges for stealing swedes and turnips, both offences committed on the same day. The quantity of swedes was large and they were likely intended for selling on as fruiterers had the connections to sell vegetables too. The second offence occured at Blunts Farm. In both cases the young men were bought to the intention of the authorities by an "informer" Thomas Tilbury. When Reuben heard this, he had gone after Thomas and threw stones at him several hitting their mark. Hence the 3rd case for which he was summoned. For each of the first two offences, Reuben was sentenced to 1 months imprisonment with hard labour. The same sentence was awarded to his co accused who had like Reuben plead guilty. For the stone throwing, Reuben was set a high fine of £1 plus costs. As he could not pay, he was taken to prison for an additional 2 months. As he was led away, our miscreant was heard to mutter threats of dire vengeance against the informant. Thankfully for both, nothing cane of these dark mutterings - as far as public records show at least! Come October Reuben was back in front of the magistrates again. This time he was accused of stealing a higher value item, and this along with his string of previous convictions meant Reuben was remanded for trial at the Assizes. The theft involved a large quantity of straw belonging to surgeon William Hickman. This time the sentence was for one years imprisonment. His age at sentencing is given as 18. 

Father George Creates A Scene

A little under a year after his release, Reuben's father was yet again in hot water. The cause this time was a very public act of rebellion. It was November, and he was out of work as many of those with partially seasonal occupations naturally were. He applied to the Relieving Officer Mr Russell for some parish aid. Mr Russell refused to sanction any "outdoor relief" - that is an allowance of bread or money paid to George while he continued to look for work and live in his existing lodgings. Instead he said he would issue an order that George should go to "the House". That is the parish workhouse. George was furious. No one wished to be admitted there, but the parish officers had decided to crack down on the giving of aid that would allow the poor an alternative to the house. It was considered the provision of out relief made things too easy for the poor and prevented the workhouse acting as proper deterrent to the merely idle. It was noted in the newspaper reports of the events that followed that George had a "good" summer income as a fruiterer and skewer maker, the inference being if he had no money now it was because he had not spent it wisely or saved enough. (This was of course usually an attitude espoused by those who had never had to manage on such wages or live in the condition of those that did.) But it's obvious from study of others in the Anderson families position that the debts and rent arrears speedily increased over a winter when little money came in. These then had to paid out of the next summer's income.  

The following evening, George was heard to declare publicly that he would "wreck" the relieving officers home. He took a bludgeon and smashed 15 panes of glass. He made no attempt to disguise himself and was arrested immediately. It may be that Reuben acted heedlessly out of bravado or anger or both. It may also be that his situation was dire and he did what many others in Marlow did and commited a public crime certain that he would be sent to prison and provided for. We have found many examples of people doing just that, often going to confess immediately at the police station. Was prison better than the work house? Unlikely, but it perhaps carried less stigma for men in Georges situation who had often been in prison before. Whatever the motivation, George's attack earned him two months behind bars, with hard labour. It just be said the conditions of providing parish aid were not set by poor Mr Russell and he could have been dismissed if it was considered he was too lenient. 

Happier Events

In 1879 Reuben married Martha Sparkes, daughter of Maria and William, the landlords of at various times the Barge Pole, Black Boy and Fisherman's Retreat inns in St Peter's Street/Church Passage. Martha was just over a decade younger than he. The couple made their home in Oxford Road, and then St Peter's Street. See links below for detailed information about Martha's family. 

It was not exactly the quietest start in life for the couple, as in 1880 Reuben was arrested for his supposed role in the wide scale election riots in Marlow. The case against him was dismissed over uncertainty about his identification although Reuben himself did admit to being present in the area - as an innocent bystander of course. The riot is covered in more detail in a post here

And now at last we have a report of Reuben in which he is the hero. A few months after the riot, he stepped in to rescue a women who was being threatened and harassed by her brother after the siblings had quarreled. It must have been quite the novelty to appear in court as a witness! But old habits die hard and less than two months later Reuben was back at the petty sessions in the role of defendant, along with John Price. The pair had stolen some wood and both recieved hefty fines based on previous convictions for both. 

Throughout the 1880s minor convictions continue to be earned by Reuben. Charges of drunk and disorderly behaviour, being asleep while in charge of a horse and cart, and tresspass in pursuit of game for example. All resulted in fines. 

Reuben died in 1890. He was only in his forties. Poor Martha was of course even younger when she entered her widowhood. She went to live with her brother George at first, then her elderly widowed mother and youngest  brother Thomas in West Street. At this point she took to working as a laundress or washerwoman.* 

*Tragedy struck in 1907 when Martha's brother Thomas went missing and was subsequently found drowned in the Thames. The circumstances were not known. He was working for Lovell's the builder as a labourer  and carter at the time. It was considered by some that he may have been worried about a summons he had recieved for drunk driving a horse and cart presumably because a conviction may have lead to the loss of his job. He had been sleeping rough at times over the few weeks before, although he had returned home by the time he was last seen alive. Verdict: Found Drowned. Age given as 49.  

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts

Sparkes family of the Barge Pole here

Index of posts about life in Dean Street when Reuben was growing up - here

The skewer trade in Marlow here

Posts linked to crime and disorder in old Marlow - here

To find every mention of an individual or family here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. There's more than 4,000 people mentioned there! 

Sources:

Census 1841,1851,1861,1891 - transcript made by Jane Pullinger. 

Sparkes family and 1880 election rioters research by Charlotte. 

 Bucks Chronicle and Bucks Gazette 5 May 1858. From the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA. 

Bucks Herald 27 March 1858, 25 May 1861, January 24th 1863, 10 December 1881 as above. 

Windsor and Eton Express 24 Jan 1863. As above. 

Buckinghamshire Advertiser and Free Press 24 October 1863,as above

Reading Mercury 3 December 1875, 

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer, 21 September 1907. Slough Reference Library. 

© MarlowAncestors 

Deacon Grave, Great Marlow

 

The tragic grave in the churchyard of little Charles Sidney Deacon "beloved child" who died aged 6 months on November 11th 1898.

Parents: Charles and Ida.

Photograph from November 2020. © Marlow Ancestors. Image reproduction fully permitted for family or local history purposes.

To find all grave images on the blog see this index here

And for all mentions of a family or individual see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's over 4,300 people there. 

A Triangle Used In Anger - Life In Eton Place, Marlow

While Eton Place survives as a place name in Marlow, unlike it's "twin" Cambridge Place, the old buildings are all long gone. As we have often been contacted by those with ancestors living in this busy little place in the Victorian and Edwardian era, this post will hopefully bring the old street back to life. 

Most of the housing was occupied by working class families, but it did not have the reputation for real poverty that some of the other nearby streets and rows did. This is not to say there were not some individuals there who were really badly off however. It's worth noting that Eton Place is in the general area known as Marefield and many people give that as their address as opposed to anything more specific well into the 1920s. Sometimes they may describe their address as "Eton Place, Marefield(s). 

It's proximity to the very many public houses in Dean Street did mean a certain amount of drunk and disorderly behaviour spilling over there, not necessarily actually involving any of the residents! It's amusing how often those slightly worse for wear seem to end up wandering down Eton Place when it was not exactly part of their route home.  However there was one nasty brawl that did involve a resident, 37 year old bricklayer William Stacey, in April 1882. The victim was John Neighbour of Marefield and the weapon a rather unusual one...

A Triangle Wielded In Anger

Constable Birch was on routine patrol around midnight in Cambridge Road, just behind Eton Place. He heard a tremendous row going on so hot footed it to the scene. As he approached he heard John Neighbour call out several times that he had been hit, and what he took to be the sound of a bottle falling to the floor.  It was dark in the place but eventually he saw John leaning up against a wall with blood pouring down his face. It transpired that William Stacey had struck John on the head not with a bottle but a "triangle" which was in fact an iron cornice mould. Amusingly William had been using it as a triangle in the musical sense as part of an impromptu band celebrating a local wedding, I think in one of the Dean Street pubs. (Concertina, spoons..) He was returning home to Eton Place with his wife in what might be called a jolly state. It was at the corner of the Place and Queens Road that he met brothers John and William Neighbour also on the way home from an evening drinking. William Neighbour made a comment that it was time Stacey went home to bed, and especially his wife Elizabeth should do the same. Stacey took that as an insult, insinuating that Mrs Stacey was the sort of woman to stay out late, with the connotation of immoral character. He asked the Neighbours if they wanted to "start something" at which John Neighbour turned and asked him just what he meant by that. The end is not hard to predict and Stacey hit John on the head above his eye, knocking him unconscious briefly with the results we've seen. He was taken to Mr Atterbury, assistant to surgeon Shone, and then PC Birch returned and arrested Stacey who admitted the action. The doctor said the cut to Neighbour went to the bone and narrowly avoided destroying his eye. 

The background to this seemingly petty squabble is a little complicated. The Neighbour brothers were something of a terrible twosome, getting into no end of minor scrapes and brushes with the law.** They seem inseparable and rarely does a case involving one not involve the other. But they were not serious offenders, mostly troubling police with drunk and disorderly behaviour and silly nuisance offences such as kicking a door and then running away. It was one of the last offences in February 1882 that saw Mrs Stacey testify that she had seen William Neighbour kick the door of William Smith in Queens Road, an action that resulted in him recieving a fine. It was insinuated that Elizabeth had lied about this as another man there "Potter" confessed to the action and yet another witness said it was in fact brother John who was guilty. It seems in the melee it was probably difficult to see what was going on. So there was bad blood between the Neighbours and the Staceys who also trouble the courts fairly often with drink related bad behaviour. The court found against Stacey noting that you could not be under the illusion that hitting someone with such an implement could do anything other than a nasty injury. But they also decided he had acted under provocation and counted the fact the weapon was not carried with the intention to do any harm. So a sentence of 4 months detention with hard labour came Stacey's way.* 

Most crime associated with Eton Place was minor thefts such as the loss of  George Rockell's ferret, lifted from his back garden. It was thankfully recovered alive and well! 

A Stranger Appears...

Although the number of people living in Eton Place was relatively dense, it's certain they all knew each other well and a stranger wandering about would attract attention, especially if he was discovered to be foreign. In 1902 one such person visited the Boddy family home. Ellen Boddy opened the door to a loud knock and found a well dressed man unknown to her standing there. He said (in a heavy foreign accent) that he had lodged with a Mrs Boddy in Station Rd about 5 years previously and wished to call on her. Young Ellen was clearly not this person so she took him to see her mother in law who had indeed lived previously at Station Rd but she did not recognize him either. Whether he himself thought Mrs Boddy senior was his former landlady is not clear. Regardless he left, having asked for no assistance or favour of any kind. A day later he was found floating face down in the river off the end of St Peters Street. He was spotted by Charles Woodley, who alerted the landlord of the adjacent Two Brewers, John Clark Truss. Truss recovered the body but the victim was not immediately identified. I do believe his identity was eventually established as a Frenchman who had been living in London but the circumstances of his trip to Marlow were a mystery. 

Tragedy for No.14

In 1939, resident of no 14 Eton Place, chauffeur Henry Samuel Batt, was killed on the sinking of the Dutch liner Simon Bolivar. This sank after coming in contact with a German mine. Henry was traveling aboard with his employer Sydney Preece of Maidenhead and the latters 3 year old daughter Elizabeth. He helped to put little Elizabeth in a wooden box to act as a sort of life raft for her, an action that undoubtedly saved her life. Preece managed to keep Elizabeth afloat and push her in front of him as he kept afloat in turn but he became separated from Henry. Henry is buried in Maidenhead cemetery. The horror for the Preece family was that Sydney Preece's wife and parents had all died in a car accident recently and so father and daughter had been travelling to visit her other grandparents who would be taking care of little Elizabeth for a while. 

Eton Place Gossip

Other events an Eton Place ancestor would have remembered and talked about were the scarlet fever outbreak amongst children in 1882. There were thankfully no fatalities. The Sanitary authorities ordered that the landlords of the affected properties should have them thoroughly cleaned out and disinfected. Predictably some landlords were less than forthcoming with work and at least one was fined for delaying the necessary actions. (He claimed he did not think the children really had scarlet fever and the house was already clean.)

Then there was the great stink of March 1887. A cart carrying barrels of waste from cess pits in neighbouring cottages was left standing by Eton Place for more than an hour, causing a sickening odour and obstructing the road. A brave soul ventured past the cart and summoned a constable to investigate. The cart was driven by William Burt but the case presented against him was dropped as he was only following orders of employer farmer William Creswell. 

I hope this gives you an idea of the events that impacted on the lives of our Eton Place residents of days gone by. There's many more we could mention..but if you are looking for a specific person or family, look for them in the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu or the Biographies of Families menu here

William Stacey's wife Elizabeth or Lizzie was nee Sadler and her little sister Ellen was the "Sleeping girl of Turville" - see here

To find other posts on specific streets see the menu here

Other posts about everyday life in old Marlow here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

© MarlowAncestors. 

* Also present at the infamous Triangle fight was labourer George Jones of Marefield. 

**The Neighbour brothers were aged 23 (John) and 19 (William). Their sister Matilda features in a post to follow shortly.  The boys grandfather, a convict transported to Australia will also feature soon. 

Blue Flag / Old Blue Flag Handy Cross

Today we would probably call this High Wycombe but Handy Cross was historically in Great Marlow parish.

Property owned by the Clayton family and leased by Wethered's Brewery of Marlow. Sometimes referred to as The Blue Standard. 

 Landlords listing and history timeline:

1833 - William Earis. Premises consisted of a house, adjoining cottage and shoeing forge for a blacksmith. The surname Earis is a very Handy Cross one. It also occurs as Earys, Ayres, Eyres, Ayris, Airis, Aris etc.

1840-Mrs Earis keeps a shop at Handy cross (beer shop?)

1841 - The scene of a meeting of Liberal supporters (known as the Blues) after the election at Great Marlow. Clayton who owned the property was the successful Liberal candidate. The name of the beer house is definitely not a coincidence! The celebration was however premature as Clayton had a majority of just 1 and the  election result was over turned when some of the votes were considered invalid. A Tory candidate then overtook him in the polls and he lost the seat. 

1842 Susanna Earis widow of William of the Blue Flag died age 64. She may be the Mrs Earis who was a shop keeper at Handy Cross in 1840. In this instance "shop" may mean beer shop. Though in 1844 a Joseph Earis, (her son?) was running a grocers shop at Handy Cross and getting in trouble for selling alcohol in it without a licence.

1845 "Old Blue Flag"  - Joseph Earis. Wife Mary Ann nee Beesley.

1863-64= presumably James Clarke / Clark publican of Handy Cross in those years was at the Blue Flag as there were only two pubs at Handy Cross and James was definitely not at the other one, the Blacksmith's Arms. James was an inveterate poacher! In 1863 for example he was fined for being in possession of a pheasant which he said he'd come across on the side of the road. Such things were happening to James a little too often go convince the authorities! On the 1861 census he was a shepherd at Handy Cross with his wife Elizabeth who was a dressmaker.

1868 - William Harper

1869- Brewery were struggling to find a licensee sufficiently respectable for the magistrates to approve of.

1869-72 Samuel Beasley / Beesley. Wife Mary. In 1870 Samuel's gun, knife and handkerchief were amongst other articles stolen from his premises (Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 23rd October 1870). The thief was caught and earned 18 months in prison.  Samuel may have sold groceries on the premises too. The Beasleys took over the Royal Oak High Wycombe in 1874 and remained there until 1877.

1873- the police try to get the premises closed, saying it did not meet the minimum size requirements for an alcohol licence. Two adjoining cottages were being used for the business but their combined size couldn't be allowed to count, the police argued, as there was no door or other communication between the two cottages. The magistrate at the licensing hearing offered the brewery a chance to have the property surveyed and revalued but they said they were not bothered about keeping it open as they had the bigger Blacksmith's Arms also at Handy Cross. Yet the Blue Flag at Handy Cross is still mentioned as late as 1902. It is possible it continued as a lodging house only. Many of these had pub-like names and signs. 

1875- premises used for an agricultural auction.

1902- Last known mention of the Blue Flag, Handy Cross as existing (South Bucks Standard 4th July 1902).

Landlords and history of the nearby Blacksmith's Arms, Handy Cross here

Index of pub related posts on this blog here. Contains pubs Great Marlow, Little Marlow, Lane End, Medmenham, Well End.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

The Resilience Of Jane Moody / Anson

*Please be aware that the contents of this post contains historic information that may be distressing to read, related to the Anson, Moody, Bowles, Anderson and Neighbour families. * 

Jane Ann Moody was born to agricultural labourer William and wife Jane of St Peter's Street, Great Marlow in 1856. We have chosen to feature her as she represents a tale of survival. Life for the men and women of the working class Victorian Marlow was often extremely tough and the reality of the existence of those on the lowest income bracket can be shocking to read to modern Marlow residents long separated from this period. We will tell Jane's story honestly but also fairly. She did not conform to the moral standards of the day and as such was always going to be looked down upon by some in authority. We want to flesh out some the official details of her life so her struggles can be put in context. 

By the time she was 15 years old Jane had moved to Dean Street with her parents and siblings, a densely populated working class area of town. It was about this time that the young girl met the teenage William "Billy" Bowles, grandson of the then landlady of the Cherry Tree pub also in Dean Street. He worked as a hawker. William's grandfather  Thomas Bowles had died under tragic circumstances when still young - you can read more about it and the Cherry Tree here. He was therefore from a family that knew hardship. But it was also one that had came back from disaster, thanks to the strength and determination of his grandmother Emma. William and Jane began to court each other openly - their young age and relative lack of supervision was commented on later but they remained together for something like 7 years. Their relationship was by all accounts tempestuous at times, driven by mutual jealousy. They began to fight both verbally and physically. When Jane was 18 she took out a summons on William for assaulting her but the case was settled out of court. 

A Poor Diet Leads To Tragedy

If Jane and William had to deal with gossip about their relationship before, it was going to get a lot harder after 1876 when Jane fell pregnant.  At the time of the baby's birth, the couple had not married which was another black mark in the eyes of society. This infant would sadly not live beyond a few months. An inquest was held at the Duke Of Cambridge, and the doctor described the child's emaciated condition. But the coroners jury was quick and specific to state that they cleared Jane of any charge of neglect. She had made a mistake it was said, and had weaned the child when it was just a few days old, feeding the little one on cornflour and sugar paste with milk. Surgeon Shone who completed the post mortem said such a diet was nutritionally insufficient and the child had never thrived and therefore died of natural causes hastened by malnourishment. Some of the papers made much of the fact that the bereaved mother was called into the court room and given a "severe reprimand" as to regards her future conduct. (Moral that is, not as regards to infant care). But let's also look at what the more sympathetic sources had to say. They stated that Jane was at this point living in lodgings with one of  her sisters, and both girls had gone to work all day every day. As an unmarried women Jane could not simply become a stay at home mother and still support her child, nor could she take the baby to work with her. She needed to have the baby fed while she was away, and while the cornflour and sugar mix seems to us a strange feed, it was in fact a standard feeding mixture of the time for babies old enough to be truly weaned. The surgeon stated that the diet should have been primarily milk based and Jane's error was in the thinking the balance should be different. What's more the initial decision to "dry nurse" or wean the child was made because of Jane's poor physical state of health immediately after the birth. 

Two years later, Jane was pregnant again and William Bowles was the acknowledged father of this boy, known as William Moody. He paid a weekly sum for maintenance, as ordered by a court. The couple still did not marry however, which further blackened her reputation.  

Body Found In The River

In 1878, the relationship of Jane and William was going through a particularly difficult time. She had begun to see other men, at least according to rumour, but William declared he still loved her. Sadly, a young woman, Matilda Neighbour*, decided to cause a little trouble, although she may have been motivated to protect William too. In any case she went to the Cherry Tree where William was to be found and told him that Jane was with another man (a relative of hers) and that if he didn't believe her perhaps he should come and see. William left, and his grandmother told Matilda off, asking her not to come to her premises with such gossip. It seems William did see Jane walking with another man, as well as others, and according to some, a fight broke out although who was involved exactly is hard to pick out from confused accounts given later. Jane said William had threatened to kill her, struck her, and dragged her by the hair. John Neighbour, of whom William had been jealous, intervened. She said they had actually agreed to seperate a few days before, but William did not want to be replaced as a sweetheart so soon. (Jane denied there was a successor to her affections and said John Neighbour was actually the sweetheart of another.) Ultimately Jane was said to be aggrieved at William acting in an possessive way as she saw it, and told him to go home as she did not want him. These words were alleged to weigh heavily on the young man. A few days later, William was found floating face down in the river near the bottom of St Peter's Street. His lifeless body was retrieved by John Clark Truss of the adjacent Two Brewers pub, where the inquest into his death was also held. Much was naturally made of the events of the days leading up to his death and the reports tend to hold Jane to blame for it, although a verdict of "found drowned" was recorded rather than suicide. One declared that Jane was a young woman of "considerable notoriety" in the neighborhood of Marlow, and that the case shone a dark light into the immoral "going ons" in the Dean Street area. 

But there is another fact the newspapers skip over. Jane was living with her sister in a cottage in Dean Street that had been previously declared as unfit for human inhabitation. Numerous orders were made to force the owners to clean it up and provide proper sanitation, most of which were ignored. Finally some work (but not all that was required) had been done and Jane had found a home there. Would those who criticized Jane for being always out, have happily stayed in in such a premises? The neighbouring cottage was let to another woman tarred with the same brush as Jane, the "notorious" Eliza Anderson. 

What's That In Your Apron?

By 1881, Jane and her little boy were back living with her parents and numerous younger siblings elsewhere in Dean's Street - sometimes they were also living in Hatches Row, off Dean Street. The next few years were eventful for her. It started with a 10s fine for stealing some rape greens (used like spring greens, a common edible of the past and only recently "rediscovered" here as a gourmet vegetable) growing in a farm field. A number of other woman were caught in the same sweep - this kind of harvest or turnip greens were a common subject of crop rustling as they were easy to gather quickly. The woman had collected them in their aprons and when challenged they claimed to be gathering primroses. This claim unfortunately fell apart when the ladies were ordered to empty their aprons! Some time after this, Jane was also amongst a group of woman caught taking mushrooms from some fields belonging to the Wethered family. In this instance she escaped a fine despite pleading guilty as the Wethereds declined to press the charges further. They had suffered a plague of mushroom thefts and so wanted to make a point without making a particular example of the women. They hoped the summons to court would act as a deterrent for others. 

A little later Jane fell out with a lady, Sarah West** of Marefield Passage, also located off Dean Street. What the two bickered over the records don't really make clear but Sarah went to court asking that Jane be bound over to keep the peace against her. Sarah said Jane would follow her up the street and swear at her and call her names, to the point Sarah was in fear of her life. However once Jane had spoke in her own defence, the case was dismissed.

 

In 1884 Jane was pregnant with another illegitimate child, young Nellie. It was her 5th according to statements reported as uttered by Jane during a maintenance order hearing. This does not quite tally with the numbers of her then children given elsewhere. Regardless, she said the current babies father was William Price but she was denied a maintenance order for "lack of corroborating evidence". 

Jane would go on to marry William Anson. He was usually described as a general labourer at this time. 

Happily Ever After?

Jane, her husband, and her two illegitimate children moved eventually to Primrose Lea, another fairly crowded group of houses adjacent to Dean Street (the place name remains but none of the housing). Was this the start of happier times for the troubled woman? Sadly for her children in particular, the answer is no. We have written many posts about the number of drinking establishments to be found in Marlow, and in the Dean Street/Marefield area of Marlow in particular at this time. If you had sorrows to drown, there was plenty of opportunity to do so on your doorstep. Tragically, William appears to have been an alcoholic, or at least a heavy drinker unable to hold his drink. Numerous convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour and/or using obscene language while under the influence came his way. But William was not a happy drunk winding his way home singing merrily with a few swear words thrown in. In the words of Inspector Pearce of Marlow police, Anson became "nearly mad" when in drink. On one day in 1908 the officers were called because Anson was rolling drunk and welding an axe. He chopped up every single piece of furniture in the couple's home. (In Church Road, now Trinity Road, previously Gun Lane. Can also refer to Wethered Rd) The next day he was drunk and armed with an axe again, this time he was apparently attempting to chop up some wooden clothes pegs and the washing. Without much success naturally. It's a miracle he didn't loose a limb! He bravely plead not guilty to behaving in a disorderly fashion on this occasion but given the witness and obvious state of his belongings, he was found guilty and fined. This was not his last conviction for something similar. A few weeks later, Jane had finally had enough. She said he had deserted her and so begged for a separation order to be made. This entitled Jane to live apart from him without legal harassment to re join the marital home. She was granted it along with a maintenance order for a weekly sum to be paid by her husband for the care of her youngest daughter Maude. Jane explained that her husband had even before this time frequently stayed away from work. She had found him at the Cherry Tree or slumped drunk on their doorstep on such occasions. He in his defence accused her of being a heavy drinker herself but I have found no convictions for any public misdemeanours on her part of this kind.  At the separation order hearing, a weary policeman stated that really Anson's problems were all alcohol related and if only he could stay sober, he'd get on well. (In 1891 William Anson was described as a labourer at the Gas Works which were off Dean Street very close to the couple's home. He may have still been working there at this point.)

Afterword

Anson did not learn his lesson straight away as at least one more drunkenness related conviction followed in 1909. But let us hope he did so eventually, because as is so often the case, Jane would return to live with her husband. In 1911 both he and the couple's son Charles who lived with them were described as wood cutters. A tragic comic occupation for Anson given his form with an axe. This blog deals with the pre First World War period primarily but we must finish by saying that Jane lived to the age of 83, dying in 1939. 

* Matilda Neighbour age 17 was the daughter of Dean Street general dealer William Neighbour and wife Jane a needlewoman. 

** Sarah West's son William John Stacey features in a post here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Other related posts:

All mentions of a person can be found in the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu where you will find more than 4,000 people mentioned. The same menu has options for post listings of  more detailed entries relating to specific individuals and families. 

More beer sellers than bakers : temperance in Marlow here

Crime and disorder in old Marlow -  here and images of the police court at which Jane made her several appearances here

History of the gas works where William Anson worked: here

More on the history of some of the streets/addresses mentioned above can be found here

Every day life in old Great Marlow when Jane lived here here

SOURCES INCLUDE:

Census 1841,1851,1861,1871,1881,1891 - Transcribed from the original microfilm by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day

Judicial case notes for Great Marlow Petty Sessions compiled by Jane Pullinger in 1975, and used with thanks. 

Maidenhead Advertiser 5 April 1876, copy from the British Library archive. 

Reading Mercury 1 April 1876

Berkshire Chronicle 28 April 1883

Bucks Herald 8 November 1884.

South Bucks Standard 7 August 1908. 

England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHP-QKBB  Jane A Anson, 1939. 

© MarlowAncestors

 

1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow Quoiting Square / Oxford Terrace Continued

My family has the original working notebooks written up for this assessment. It was to be used to set the 1834 rates. 

It's age means the material is faded and falling apart so I am transcribing it in parts starting with the house and building information. The notebooks have some corrections and additions added up to circa 1839. If any are present for these entries I will indicate so. I have been adding the different parts to this blog as and when they chime with other bits of research I am doing.

Format I use:

Name

Property

Annual value of property

Any notes of mine added in square brackets

Quoiting Place [Quoiting Square] and Oxford Terrace [in Oxford Road] in book but the assessors made a hash of this section. Many of these properties were actually round the corner in West Street and I have noted this below as appropriate.

Continued [1st part of Oxford Terrace and Quoiting Square is here]

Thomas Davis

House, woodhouse, garden, stables and shed

£11

*****

William Harper [tinplate worker. Apparently actually West Street. Certainly was West Street earlier]

House, two gardens, workshop and yards

£10

*****

George Wyatt

House, woodhouse, stable and lofts

£10 10 shillings

Large garden

£2

*****

Thomas Wyatt 

Cottage and garden

£3

*****

Edward Tyler [a tallow chandler and market gardener who was sent to a debtors prison in London in 1834. Property actually West Street though probably by Quoiting Square turning].

House, storehouse and large garden

£9

A large market garden 

*****

Henry Stallwood [The Marlow parish constable and hayward for Marlow manor. Very good at his constable job! His dad William lived next door see other 1833 assessment posts]

Cottage

£3

*****

Miss Lord [Eleanor Lord. This was a boarding School. See my Schools In Marlow History post published here. Premises actually West Street].

Dwelling house, yard and convenient offices

£23

*****

Widow Clark [Actually West Street]

House and garden

£8

**

Widow Puddifant [Sarah Puddifant. Died 1840. Actually West Street. Post about her here].

House, yard and garden

£12

[Added in pencil after the name of widow Puddifant without crossing her name out is the name James Thomas Lovegrove and added to the annual value column in pencil words "raised to £22". More on James here]

*****

John Musprat [Actually West Street]

Three Tuns [inn] house, yard, stables and garden

£11

[More on John and also the Three Tuns here ]

*****

Samuel Carter

House and garden

£5

*****

George Greenwood

House, garden and shop

£13

Large garden

£2

*****

George Gale [master of the National School in Oxford Road]

House, play ground, stable and gardens

£17

Large Garden

£2

*****

William Windsor [a baker. Also actually West Street. He still there 1844]

House and garden

£5

*****

Richard Musprat [actually West Street]

House, yard and garden

£6

******

William Smith [actually West Street]

Cottage and garden 

£4 10 shillings

*****

James Allum [actually West Street]

House and garden

£6

*****

William Humphrey [West Street]

House and garden

£7 10 shillings

*****

Francis Pearce

House and garden

£7

*****

William Pusey [Surely this too is actually West Street?] [A straw bonnet maker and chair turner. See here for more about him and his family]

House, washhouse, shop, yard and large garden

£11

*****

Robert Sawyer [West Street again]

House, part of yard, stable, sheds, piggery and large garden 

£15

Tolls of the market 

£3

*****

George Westbrook

The Crown [Inn. This was in Market Square though the grounds and back of it could be accessed from Oxford Road], house, pleasure gardens and garden adjoining, large garden at the top of the yard, stable yard, stables, coach houses, skittle ground and other convenient offices

£60

The Town Hall card room [next door to the Crown, again not in Quoiting Place or Oxford Road!], parlour etc belonging to it

£10

*****

Oxford Road

Late Charles Bowerie Esq [probably Bouverie]

House, yard, stable, coach house and garden

£30

*****

Sarah Pimm [nee Hale, widow of Richard Pimm, hurdle maker who had died that year aged 62]

Cottage and garden

£4 10 shillings

*****

Richard Frith

Cottage and garden

£4 10 shillings

*****

Alexander Higginson Esq

House with offices, lawn, garden and green house

£45

To find all mentions of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There are thousands of people listed there.

For other posts about Quoiting Place, Oxford Road or West Street see the index here

For a full list of former schools like Miss Lord's school see Schools in the index here

Index to posts about the every day life for Marlow people at the time of the assessment and others see - here

© Marlow Ancestors

World War Two In Marlow Part Three 1942-3

 Part Three 1942-43.

Part One - preparations for war and early days of the struggle here

Part Two 1940-41 here

For a (distressing) case of a soldier involvement with a young Marlow resident in 1945 see here

*****

January 1942- two soldiers convicted of breaking into the shop stores of the Women's Voluntary Service Marlow at the Armoury in Institute Road and stealing chocolate, tea, matches, cigarettes and cash. They also stole collection boxes in aid of the Red Cross with over £2 inside which were being kept there.

January 1942- Marlow Urban Council and the Marlow Town Band are among those raising money to buy the Bucks Battalion Band new instruments.

April 1942- Leading Aircraftsman of the Elementary Flying School R.H Jenkins is injured in a Tiger Moth crash at Booker Airfield then known as RAF Booker (previously Marlow Airport).

March 1943- Marlow First Aid Station is in the charge of Red Cross Commandant Mrs Wethered. Youth members of the Red Cross in Marlow are among those helping out.

July 1943- there is a Girls Training Company in Marlow, part of the war effort. I have not been able to ascertain the nature of the training offered in Marlow specifically, other than it included first aid. 

September 1943= modern fiction is wanted for a book drive at Marlow, raising money for St John's Ambulance and Red Cross war work. Similar events took place at Bourne End and other local towns.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this information, with credit to this blog.

Sources included:

Bucks Herald 21st Jan 1942 and 19th March 1943. British Library Archives.

Air Ministry and RAF records, National Archives,Kew.