People are sometimes surprised to find their female ancestors working in traditionally male occupations. One of those relevant to our blog area is that of lock keeping. Today's subject is Hambledon Lock Keeper Martha Lomax, who was married to Marlow born John.
Martha was not the first or only female pound keeper at Hambledon (as they were often known in her day, refering to the newer pound style locks). Like most of her fellow Victorian women working in this role, she had taken it on after her husband who had previously performed the task died. Officially the Thames Commissioners had declared it "undesirable" for females to be appointed to pound keeping duties from 1831, but this was not enforced entirely as you can see. It's worth noting that descriptions of journeys up and down the Thames during the Victorian era also include notes of a woman physically operating a lock, eg Temple, even though she was not technically the lock keeper herself. It might be the wife, daughter or other relative for example. Some of these recognise the women as a familiar figure in charge so their help was more than occasional. And of course a woman becoming a lock keeper could not just learn to do it overnight - if they inherited the job they already needed to know how to handle themselves. A lock keeper, male or female, could pay an assistant of course but far better to keep it in the family and get some free help from any children considered old enough!
A DANGEROUS ROLE
Martha was born in Bray. Her husband was a former soldier who had been in receipt of a pension since the age of just 18. John (born Great Marlow c1820) and Martha (nee Butler) married in 1861 and settled in Gun Lane, Marlow [Demolished, now Trinity Rd]. They lived initially with John's widowed mother Deborah, a laundress. After spending some time away from Marlow, John won the role of Hambledon Lock keeper in around 1868. Unfortunately he died in 1873, after a period of illness. And so Martha, with 4 children to care for, stepped into his shoes. She had already operated the lock during his period of sickness. But tragedy had not yet finished with poor Martha.
In the same year, Martha's little boy, age just 4, was drowned at the Lock. An unfortunate number of lock keepers children have died at home in our local area, and not to mention lock keepers themselves*. At the time, the lock had been entirely closed a short while so that it could be entirely rebuilt. (And not before time many said**.) The work was still ongoing although the lock was scheduled to be re-opened a week before. Young John was playing outside with 10 year old brother Henry on a therefore fairly quiet Saturday afternoon. Henry went inside but John hung back in the garden. After a few minutes his mother asked Henry to get John in, but the younger boy was not to be found. Henry sadly caught a glimpse of his brothers body in the water and shouted for help. Afterwards he would say he believed John was already dead. His cries were heard by three workman working on the lock who ran to assist. John had now sunk out of view beneath a tied up punt, so the workman dived in. After several attempts they bought the little boy up, lifeless. He was carried into the lock house and attempts made to revive him by slapping and rubbing him as was the usual way. But Henry's fears were confirmed. John was already gone. The inquest was held at the lock house with the child's body laid out to view. Verdict was accidental death by drowning. It was believed that the boy had attempted to get into the punt, as he had done before alone but sadly it appeared that he had slipped and fell in the water.
LIFE AT THE LOCK
Many accounts can be found of jolly punting and picnic parties passing through Hambledon Lock. They tend to extoll the beauty of the riverside scenery and the prettiness of the surrounding countryside. Life on the river bank was not always quite so romantic however. In the year after Martha's double tragedy, a letter appeared in The Times calling attention to the primitive sanitation arrangements of the Hambledon Lock Keepers cottage. It was singled out as an example of rural toilets that drained directly into the river, resulting in pollution of the water. It was not the only source to suggest you could sometimes smell Hambledon Lock before you could see it. While sewage might find its way into the water, a set of rules for lock keepers from 1867 states that keepers should at least endeavour to keep the lock free of dirt, weeds and dead animals. And they should neatly mow the grass about the lock too.
On the other hand, we have descriptions of the lock in Martha's time that mention the pretty garden, with a profusion of lavender. She also had a little orchard. An account of a river trip from 1876 mentions only pleasant sights and smells at the lock. This included a little kitten called Bob who scampered across the grass. He probably belonged to the surviving Lomax children William, Martha, Jane and Henry. Also mentioned is a tail less dog called Tiny who barks at every barge passing through the lock.
In the late 1860s it was prohibited to put up notices at the Lock advertising the fact you could offer refreshments. This was a traditional side line, and doesn't seem to have come to an end, advertised or not. Martha probably offered these too. She was after all a good cook, as was her daughter Martha. (See below) What she definitely offered was an occasional bed for the night for the weary rower or fishermen. The lock keepers were banned from taking in lodgers in 1871 but occasional occupation of rooms by guests was tolerated. We know that Martha's busy time for this was around Henley Regatta when no beds could be found in that town or any nearer.
Other parts of Martha's role other than the winding up of sluices and opening of gates included taking tolls and issuing tickets, and working with other lock keepers to relieve flooding as required. People would shout "lock! lock!"when they wished to summon her or an assistant. Vessels with goods loaded upon were supposed to be given priority over pleasure craft or empty trade craft. At certain times such as when Henley Regatta was held, the numbers of boats put into the lock at once sometimes caused complaint. It was so before and after Martha's time in charge too. But Martha had the problem of being female and any quibble at how the lock was managed were too often put down to that. Suggestions were made several times that she should be moved to a quieter lock but she resisted this until finally being relieved of her position in 1882. She had held on for nearly 10 years.
AFTERWARDS
When Martha lost her job, she also lost her home. Eventually she settled in Reading, working first as a charwoman, then as a cook. She retired to an almshouse and died there in 1907 age 76. Daughter Martha, born at the lock, would also enter service as a domestic cook, working for example in Kensington and Reading. Son Henry would go on to to have the interesting occupation of attendant on the insane at Montsford Asylum, Oxfordshire.
*Some children to drown at the locks include 8 year old James Johnson at Hurley Lock, Grace Simpkins and Ellen Lawrence Wood, both daughters of Temple Lock Keepers, and in 1868 the 8 year old son of Marlow Lock Keeper Thomas Coster. See below.
**A few years before the repair was made Hambledon Lock was described as having gates that looked as though they might "drop of their hinges" and roll their "battered timbers into the water at any moment". It was "dilapidated". It had had several repairs before - it was considered in "imminent danger of collapse" in 1865. Another remembered it to be so leaky it look a very long time to fill.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Further information:
Other lock keepers children to drown are mentioned here
For other posts related to the River Thames see the list of posts here
Georgian pound keeper at Marlow - here
Our focus is Great Marlow Parish but we cover a few people from nearby places. To see other posts on Hambledon and around, see this here
To find every mention of a person of family here, check the A-Z Person index in the top drop down menu - there's now over 6,000 individuals listed there.
SOURCES
Rules for Lock Keepers 1867, Thames Conservancy.
Reading Mercury August 1873.
Berkshire Chronicle August 1873.
Census 1841, 51, 61, 71 and 81 - courtesy of Jane Pullingers transcript from the microfiche.
United Kingdom, Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records, 1760-1913," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5H1-S8V : 9 March 2021), John Lomax, ; from "Chelsea Pensioners' Service Records 1760-1913," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing WO 97, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
Leslie, John Dunlop. Our River. (Bradbury, Agnew & Co 1881)
Pask, Arthur Thomas. From Lock to Lock: A Playful Guide (Judy publishing office,1882) Digitised by Google and accessed March 2010.
Sterry, Joseph Ashby - Tiny Travels (Tinsley Brothers 1874)
Stirling, A M W - William De Morgan and his wife. (H Holt &Co 1923)
Thacker, Fred S - The Thames Highway Vol 1&2, 1914.
The Illustrated Sporting And Dramatic News September 1876. (Vol 4)
The Little Anglers Annual 1884. (G Little, William Cate 1884)