Trees in Marlow History

 While we still have some woods about us, our Marlow ancestors would have been shocked at how denuded of trees the surrounding landscape appears today in comparison to how it was when they knew it. The Gentleman's Magazine wrote in 1752 that Marlow seemed encircled by trees. Others echoed that sentiment over the years, even observing that you could rather suddenly find yourself in the town, so hidden was it by woodland on its approaches. 

The London Journal of 1859 described Marlow as "lying silently amidst the trees". In 1849 a visitor found at Marlow "red and green forests thick with trees and  underwood extending many miles... solemn as any poet could wish for". He noted gigantic juniper trees here and some ancient what he called "whitehorn" trees (probably whitebeams which are common in the town). Even the visitors of the 1800s would have seen nothing like the tree cover in the landscape as previous generations did. At the time of the Domesday book Marlow's forests could support 1000 swine foraging for beech mast or tree nuts.

A fair few historic residents of Great Marlow found themselves in serious trouble because of trees. Most wealthy local landowners and farmers grew at least some trees as a timber crop and they guarded all pieces of their timber jealously. The poor folk of the town, desperate for fire wood or something to sell took a great risk even in breaking off a single twig.

Anyone who went further and gathered themselves an armful of wood faced potentially months of jail time if caught. William Foster for instance got 6 months hard labour for taking some beech wood, the property of Isaac Walker, in 1843 and a John Carter 3 years later was given 3 months hard labour for taking boughs from the fir plantation at Sir George Nugent's house at Little Marlow. His offence was recorded in December court sessions and was probably related to the cutting down of evergreen boughs for Christmas decorations. The average person was at that time years away from having a Christmas tree in their home but boughs of fir decorated the tops of picture frames, shelves and mantel pieces and were used to create swags and garlands in homes, churches and public institutions every Christmas. Each Yuletide season the act of cutting holly from the wild would land several locals in trouble. Sentences for the theft of holly could involve jail time but the offence was more commonly dealt with by way of a fine as holly was not considered very important a crop.

The damage caused to hedgerows by the skewer making industry in Marlow is covered in my skewer making history post here.

One forgotten crop that was very valuable to Marlow farmers was walnuts. Victorians could not get enough of this tree nut - pickled green ones garnished salads or were eaten as snacks, others were made into ketchups, sauces and cakes in great quantities. Walnuts grow very well in and around the town so many local farms had at least one tree planted for the purpose of profit. These nuts were also used gilded as Christmas decorations.

In the days before workplace safety measures those gathering nuts or other tree crops took their lives into their hands. We have in our research efforts come across multiple occurrences of Marlow men who suffered serious injury or death by falling out of trees or off ladders while gathering nuts or fruit for their employers. Older men seemed especially likely to be employed to gather fruit even if obviously unfit to go up a ladder. Despite being "crippled" with rheumatism and gout 71 year old Alfred Lane from Beaconsfield was allowed to harvest cherries at Well End near Little Marlow in 1898. The combination of his infirmity and the defective ladder supplied by his employer inevitably led to tragedy and Alfred died after falling and breaking his neck.

Orchards in the immediate Marlow area were usually cherry orchards (apple orchards supplying more than the grower's own family not being common). In the 1600s there was a cherry orchard in Oxford Road, and probably also one near Munday Dean. In the early 1800s there was a small one behind buildings at the beginning of Dean Street. Nearby Flackwell Heath was well known for its cherry crops in the past too. Wild cherries grow well locally and, despite their tiny size, were used by some Marlow families to make jam or pies even into the 1960s.

It wasn't only farm labourers whose work with trees was hazardous. Domestic gardeners could utilise a frightening amount of dangerous substances in their battle against tree diseases and bug infestations. Bearing in mind this would typically be without the men wearing masks or eye protection and often without gloves on their hands either. Mr Gillett gardener at Court Garden in 1884 used just linseed oil to deal with aphids on his apple trees but other gardeners attacked the problem by the application of caustic lime, sulfur or ammoniacal liquid from gas works (!). Gardeners were nothing if not imaginative when it came to their war on pests. Materials as different as grease from railway engines, treacle, soap, snuff and chalk were all used on trees to cure various problems.

Our ancestors were much closer to nature than we are today and both individual trees or groups of them might be featured in travel guides as tourist attractions in their own right. Those who had the luxury of sufficient leisure time in the 1700s and 1800s would take a day trip to a village or country spot with the sole intention of seeing a particularly old tree or one with some local legend attached to it.

Visitors who came to Marlow were always recommended to visit the relatively near Burnham Beeches wood and Quarry Woods across the river at Bisham. Less advertised to outsiders but enjoyed by local visitors were the woods around Marlow Common. The Reading Mercury in 1840 lamented the loss in a storm of a silver fir tree at Marlow Common "which had long been the admiration of all visitors to that spot". The poet Shelley when resident at Marlow was said to adore walking amongst the trees there.

Also generally admired were the trees that once screened the church from the High Street and Causeway and a row of limes that marked the footpath through the churchyard. The latter were cut down by the then vicar to immense dismay from his parishioners in 1833. Lime flowers would be used to make tea in the past (and by me even today).

Much entertainment was derived by our ancestors from any even slightly unusual happening in the streets. Crowds could gather to see a new family move into a house, or the old one move out, to see scaffolding erected, or a tree felled. An excited crowd gathered to witness woodmen fell a hefty elm tree in Marlow in 1822. One young man, John Ball, got so interested that he insisted on "helping" the woodmen. When the wind pushed the falling tree in an unexpected direction the woodmen got themselves to safety but a flustered and inexperienced John tripped up whilst running for cover and was hit by the tree at full force. Unsurprisingly he died as a result of his injuries.

In 1907 hundreds of Marlow people went to Bisham to see a large old elm that had blown down.

Visitors who got caught in a storm would head for a humble beech tree as there was in the past a firm belief that beeches could not be struck by lightning. Not something to try though reader, beech trees can definitely be struck by lightning!

Beech wood was utilised in the chair industry and beech trees dominate local woodland. Finnemoor Wood and High Heavens Wood, both near the town, were used as commercial timber woods for instance as were woods at Marlow Bottom. At Harleyford trees of beech, walnut, oak, elm, linden, sycamore and larch were all grown for profit.

Spade Oak wharf just along the river was from at least the 1600s a major loading and unloading place for cargoes of locally grown timber, including that bought by the navy for use in ship building.

Grounds studded with trees, especially old ones, were highly desirable for those who had sufficient money to establish them. Court Garden house had a parkland style garden with a screen of sweet chestnut trees next to the Causeway in the later 1800s and an avenue of mixed limes, elms and other trees elsewhere on the estate providing a shady walk for guests to enjoy. I think virtually none of those particular trees (no sweet chestnuts for instance) exist today although there are some other old trees still there. Also long gone is resident Mr Berger's huge glass house at Court Garden which in 1864 housed 144 indoor fruit trees!

Talking of sweet chestnuts, this was used at least sometimes in local building. When James Sawyer's very old bakery building suffered a serious fire in the late 1800s the fact that other buildings were not destroyed in the conflagration was attributed to Sawyer's premises being significantly constructed from chestnut which is known to be slow to burn even when dry. Although terrible damage was done to the West Street premises, this was mostly due to the water used to put out the fire and smoke. More on the Sawyer family and their bakery here.

More general history posts about Marlow here.

All mentions of any individual on this blog can be found on the A-Z Person Index. Thousands of people are mentioned.

Further mentions on this blog of any specific house, street or place such as Harleyford or Court Garden can be found indexed here

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

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

Sources

Berkshire Chronicle 22nd April 1843 and 26th December 1846. Both British Library Archives via the BNA. South Bucks Standard 15th July 1898, as above.

Morning Advertiser. 4th November 1822. British Library Archives.

The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Country Gentleman. (1864) by George W Johnson and Robert Hogg. 

Garden Receipts. United Kingdom: Ed: Charles William Quinn. Published by C. Lockwood, 1884.

Notes and Queries. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1868.

Cooke, William Bernard., Owen, Samuel. The Thames: Or, Graphic Illustrations of Seats, Villas, Public Buildings and Picturesque Scenery on the Banks of that Noble River. United Kingdom: Vernor, Hood & Sharpe and W.B. Cooke, 1811.