Albert Bridgman (Bridgeman) was the Victorian head gardener at Thames Bank House in Marlow. The riverside garden was not as big as that of those of similar grand houses in the neighborhood so you may think Albert's job was comparatively easy and peaceful. But not many of his brother gardeners can have had to garden under the eyes of a pet "wolf" with tame squirrels and otters galloping across his carefully maintained lawn. Albert worked for the Somers Cocks family, one of whom, Alfred Heneage Cocks, maintained a menagerie of tamed British wild animals at Thames Bank. Many of these were sadly constantly caged..at least in theory. But there were escapees, including a Scottish wild cat that was never recovered. Albert was naturally drawn into the search at such times. The so called wolf said to live at Thames Bank was in fact a large hunting dog which had been trained to pursue elks in its native land, or so it was said. Polecat Snap (named due to its habit of nipping fingers) was allowed to run about the lawns but was tethered when the gardeners tended the grass, for obvious reasons! Albert also had to put up with the visits of local men and boys bringing bags of dead rats and mice which Heneage Cocks used to feed his collection, along with skinned hedgehogs!
Albert was born in Wiltshire, the son of a carpenter. He arrived in Marlow with wife Elizabeth to take up his role in the early 1870s. (By 1873) The garden at Thames Bank included lawns, flower beds, and a glasshouse as might be expected. The pride of the garden was always it's fruit trees however. All the local "big houses" entered the fruit of their gardeners labours into the local, regional, and sometimes national horticultural shows. Different gardens had different specialities, and Albert was often crowned supreme in the fruit growing categories. This is a great credit to Albert, as he was working in a smaller garden than his rivals, and without a large team of assistants to aid him. He always had a garden boy to do the more menial tasks, but did not always have a full time adult assistant. I can however find records of several live-out journeyman gardeners who were brought in to assist with particularly busy times.
In addition to sending his prize grapes and apples to horticultural shows, Albert provided flowers which decorated the parish church at times like Easter. And then there were the blooms used to adorn the stage and walls at the St Peters Street public hall (aka the Music Room, now the Masonic centre) during untold numbers of fund raising events. It's fair to say a large proportion of Marlow got to enjoy Albert's horticultural skill, beyond his employers. The gardens themselves were sometimes open to the public. For example in 1876 it hosted a church bazaar to raise funds to pay off money spent on recent improvements. Albert provided some specimen plants for sale - all available for 1s each. Visitors also had the chance to view the menagerie for an extra fee.
A Tragic Accident At Thames Bank
In the summer of 1875, Albert was engaged in watering some plants at Thames Bank. The water was stored in a large lidded cistern, and there was a metal grill over part of the opening below the cover. Albert had to remove the lid to fill his watering pot at the open part (a pot is a watering can as we would call it), replacing it as soon as he finished. Halfway through he was disturbed by a visit from a family friend, who was carrying Albert's two year son. Little William was set on the ground while the adults talked. He amused himself by playing with his dad's empty watering pot, pretending to water the earth while Albert and friend walked away to look at some flowers in another part of the garden. When they returned there was no sign of the toddler. A horrified Albert realised that he had not yet replaced the cistern lid. Tragically, the little boy had done what no one thought possible, and climbed up the cistern side to fill his can. He had tumbled in, and his lifeless body was seen under the grill. The watering can was also found in the water. Dr Shone was sent for, but there was never any hope of recovering the poor child's life. An inquest was held at the Prince of Wales pub, at which Albert gave evidence. Verdict: Found drowned. How hard it must have been to walk past the cistern every day and be reminded of such a terrible accident.
Wife Elizabeth would also be lost to Albert all too soon. She died aged 52 in 1888, when daughter Catherine* was 12 years old. He subsequently remarried, to Susannah.
Happier Times
In the year 1878, the Gardener's Chronicle horticultural journal visited the gardens at Thames Bank. They concluded the grounds were "the model of good and clean cultivation" and that Albert was an "intelligent gardener." A particular marvel at this time was a wall trained pear that took up some 262sq feet of the north east wall. This tree had 1,390 pears and this in a variety that was usually bi-annual bearing. (That is one that did not naturally always fruit every year.)
Albert was involved in setting up the Chrysanthemum show which ran from 1886 (earlier ones had petered out) raising funds for the Royal Berkshire hospital. Before Marlow secured our own cottage hospital, it was to the Royal Berks that the very sick of Marlow would be sent.
Afterwards
Albert spent around 20 years at Thames Bank. Between 1892-4 he left in order to start up as a seedsman and florist in Station Rd. He is also described as a nurseryman at this time. He was in other words growing plants to sell to others. Station Rd was an area long used for nursery gardening. In 1895 Albert also leased a triangle of land opposite the station which was described previously as an "unsightly mess". He turned it into a small decorative garden, presumably as a kind of advert for his gardening skills. On top of this he had the contract to care for The Enclosure or the now unfenced grassed area on the Causeway near the church and war memorial. Wife Susannah also let rooms at their home "Inglewood" to short term visitors coming mainly to Marlow for the summer or "river season". As such she was a host the national Queen magazine/ newspaper recommended as suitable one for respectable young ladies to take lodgings. A recommendation indeed!
*Daughter Catherine would later be a servant to LJ and Alice Smith in Beaumont Rise. Later still she went to Cambridgeshire to act as a housekeeper for a Roman Catholic priest with whom she would stay for decades.
Researched and written by Kathryn Day.
Related Posts
To find every mention of an individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu.
For other posts relating to Thames Bank, see the index here
Biographies of other head gardeners, and general life in Marlow during Albert's life here
List of gardeners at the big houses locally -here
Sources include:
Census 1881,1891 - Transcripts from the originals by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day.
Bucks Herald, 31 July 1875.
Gardeners Chronicle 1878 digitised by Google.
Gardeners Chronicle 1880, courtesy of InternetArchive.org.
Reading Mercury 26 May 1888.
South Bucks Standard 14 February 1886, 10 May 1895 - these editions from the British Library partnership with the BNA.
Kelly's Directories of Buckinghamshire 1883 and 1885. (Kelly's Directories Ltd)
The Victoria History of the County of Buckingham, 1905. Editor William Page F.S.A. (James Street 1905)
The Queen, June 1895 & June 1896.
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