Today's post is dedicated to two Marlow gentleman who helped our Victorian ancestors get from A to B. Picked at random to feature here, both were actually born elsewhere. They were however most definitely adopted as two of Marlow's own as you shall see. Allow me to introduce you to Mr Joseph James, railway guard, and to Mr Thomas Pearce, postillion and fly proprietor...
First up we will take Thomas Pearce. Born c 1819 at Wargrave, Thomas really comes into our towns history when he was working in the position of postillion at the Crown Hotel in the 1860s. A postillion or postboy acts like a coachman but instead of sitting on the vehicle, he guides the course while riding one of the horses pulling it. The vehicles Thomas were in charge of were ones you could hire privately to leave at a time of your choosing, rather than following a set route and timetable. The Crown was the premier inn in Marlow at this time and the town was already receiving a large number of visitors as tourists from London and elsewhere. It still advertised itself as a "posting house" that is a place where post horses could be hired, although the railways were cutting demand for this kind of travel. Still Marlow did not yet have its own station so there was still a living to be had as a postillion - for now. The Crown employed more than one post boy as obviously each could only take charge of one team at once. I think he'd already left the Crown by the time Marlow station did open in 1873, but he did not choose a wildly different kind of job in his later years because he became a "fly proprietor". A fly was a nippy light vehicle acting as a kind of horse drawn taxi you could hire with a driver. There were quiet a few of these in Marlow, many based at an inn which had the stabling and vehicle storage space to hand. I haven't been able to attach Thomas to one of these premises - at census time he was living in Spittal Street / Square and his yard may or may not have been accessed off there too. I have also noticed that some fly masters had arrangements with one of the inns or hotels who didn't want to maintain their own vehicles, to provide transport for their guests. "Proprietor" tells us that Thomas owned his own vehicle(s) rather than driving them for someone else. He may have acted as the driver too as this seems common, especially in the smaller hiring concerns. He may well have had just one vehicle at his disposal for the reason mentioned below.
In 1892 an interesting appeal appeared in the local papers. It was noted that the popular Thomas had fallen on hard times. His horse had had to be put down and it does not seem that he was immediately able to afford to replace it. His fly was also regarded as needing renovation. Had he suffered an accident that had damaged both horse and vehicle? I'm not sure as his name isn't attached to any accident I can find a report of. Regardless of the cause, a fly proprietor with no horse and a dodgy vehicle was obviously in a dire situation. He was about 73 years old too, so not the easiest time to start over. An appeal was made to raise a subscription to fund the purchase of a new horse, and to renovate the fly. They thought as one of the oldest residents in the town, he deserved a helping hand. I presume the appeal was successful and Thomas was able to continue while he was able.
Joseph James
Joseph James was also born outside of Bucks. He was baptised in Dorset in 1837, although his then wife Hannah was Marlow born. Joseph would have been a well known face to anyone who ever used the train in late Victorian Marlow. He was the guard who bought the first ever train across the branch line from Bourne End to Marlow's new station in June 1873. In the first 10 days of the branch line opening 1,700 tickets were sold so it's fair to say Joseph was kept busy. Huge crowds gathered to watch the first train come in, and depart. The following year, the line recorded its first fatality in the form of the frail and elderly Mrs Lydia Price, who fell off the platform and between the carriages while the train was being shunted backwards at Bourne End. More on Lydia here.
As Joseph was the guard who'd given the "all clear" signal to the driver to move the train, he had to attend the inquest and give evidence. He was cleared of any blame for the accident, as the witnesses agreed that Joseph had checked the sides of the train were free of passengers before giving the signal. It seems the poor lady had left the train and then suddenly remembered a few minutes later that she had left a package in the carriage and had stepped forward and put her foot on the step just as it moved. Joseph got her out from the gap she'd fallen into, and although she was conscious at the time, she sadly was seriously injured and died a few days later "in agony". A special train bought the injured lady back to Marlow.
Most days were obviously not so eventful, although this would not be the only death on the line by any means during Joseph's time. More usual troubles were those failing to buy a ticket or travelling for free beyond the destination they'd paid for. And at regatta time, Joseph's biggest problem was finding room for all those wanting to travel, and keeping an eye out for the inevitable pick pockets. Special trains were put on but even so the number of passengers is sometimes eye-watering.
Joseph continued to act as a guard on the Marlow line for some 25 years. At the time of his retirement in 1897, it was said his conduct was marked by unfailing cordiality. He was then living in Victoria Rd, always a popular spot with railway employees. (His sons Joseph* and Ernest living with him were both employed on the railway too - Joseph as a clerk and Ernest as a porter). Joseph senior had been forced to retire due to serious illness so a subscription was raised in Marlow to help him, in recognition of his good customer service to local travellers. He died in 1899 age 63, leaving a widow and 6 children.
*Joseph junior won a foundation scholarship to Borlase school in 1883. He was one of two boys selected from those from the local national schools who took the entrance exam. He would also spend his life working on the railways, retiring as Bourne End station master in 1933.
Written and researched by Kathryn Day.
Related information:
Crown Hotel timeline and landlord listing here
Historic Marlow coach services here
Stagecoaches and the Wyatt family here.
Station masters who lived at Beaumont Rise here
Turnpike toll gates- here
Descriptions of railway related accidents resulting in victims receiving treatment at the Cottage Hospital here
To find all info about a family or individual here, check the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu.
Posts related to travel, specific industries, and miscellaneous Marlow history etc can be found here
Sources include:
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NR2D-Z76 : 5 February 2023), Joseph James, 1837
Great Marlow census returns, transcribed from the originals by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day.
Kelly's Directory Buckinghamshire 1899
Buckinghamshire Advertiser and Aylesbury News - 4th September 1874, British Library Archive.
South Bucks Standard 4th June 1897, as above. And clipping 1892, thanks to Mrs East.
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