Wethered Road first existed as an unnamed foot way and cart track that led from Dean Street round to the back of the cottage and pub at the top of Trinity Road and the nearby fields. Access on foot could continue via paths all the way to Marlow Bottom eventually, the sand and a gravel pits of Sandygates (Sandegate) and Hillside, down Trinity Road (apparently blocked to vehicle traffic in some way, the rights or otherwise of carts to use it were much disputed! ) or around to Chapel Street so although nobody lived in the road itself it would not have lacked a certain busy feeling.
A pound is mentioned as being beside the road there in 1896. There were various pounds in the town during the 1800s for the purpose of containing stray animals.
The first few homes pop up in Wethered Road in the early 1900s. The road was then called Church Road after nearby Holy Trinity church. Because Marlow people loved nothing more than being confusing when it came to street addresses, Trinity Road was also at that time often referred to as Church Road (not to mention Trinity Lane). To make things even more confusing early properties in the future Wethered Road were numbered as if they were part of Dean Street rather than a separate address. Marlow postmen of the past, we salute you. You must one and all have had the patience of saints.
Some of the earlier residents were the Austin family, headed by Thomas and Anne ("Annie"). Thomas was a domestic gardener at an unknown house in Marlow. He was originally from Upton cum Chalvey near Slough, she from Windsor according to the census. As a young man in Chalvey Thomas found himself unwittingly involved in a murder case that was the talk of the county at the time. A Chalvey coal dealer had been robbed and brutally murdered on his premises. Drops of blood were found outside the chief suspect's lodgings and his landlady observed blood on his feet. Thomas Austin gave evidence that he had seen the suspect near the coal premises on the night in question, wearing a coat matching the description of the one later believed by police to have been worn by the killer. He also testified that the suspect had been out of money on the night of the murder but had predicted that he was about to have some. The accused was acquitted and went off to sea to escape the scandal. Thomas was not the only prosecution witness to appear against him but as he had been on friendly terms with the suspect his having given evidence was deeply resented by him. When some months later the acquitted man returned home again he attacked and threatened to kill Thomas whilst under the influence of alcohol. For this he was fined 21 shillings. You can see why Thomas might have wanted to leave Chalvey, which he swiftly did. First he went to Eton as a gardener and then came to Marlow. By then he had lost his first wife Elizabeth and married Annie Cannon. When they first arrived in Marlow the couple lived in a cottage behind the Verney Arms pub in Dean Street. Thomas was soon winning prizes for the vegetables, fruit and flowers he grew at home just as he had done when he lived elsewhere.
Another resident family in the 1910s and 20s were the Moodys headed by Kate and William. He worked as a builder's labourer and a fruit gatherer at different times. Because of the latter important occupation application was made for him to be exempt from the draft in 1916 but the application was unsuccessful. Earlier in his life he had been convicted like so many working class Marlow men of poaching. William's mother Jane features in this post. The post celebrates her resilience throughout what was a very hard life - please be aware that the post contains distressing content. Jane and her husband lived in Wethered Road themselves in 1916.
In 1913 a new Church of England Boys' School was opened in Wethered Road following some time of fundraising by local people including Lucy Winters. The buildings alone cost £4000 and were built by Marlow builders Thomas and William Sellman. It is now Holy Trinity, a middle school for both boys and girls. Princess Christian who was staying at Medmenham Abbey performed the opening ceremony after which she took tea in one of the classrooms. Some 900 local schoolchildren lined up outside the school to welcome her. A portrait of the then king and queen was presented to Princess Christian who then presented it back to be put up in the school premises.
The new school was quick to harness the technology of the day for the purposes of education. The head invested in a gramophone in 1923 to help music teaching and a radio in 1924 so educational programmes could be listened in to. It also enjoyed a garden for the pupils to gain practical experience at growing vegetables.
The school was not the only important facility to arrive in Wethered Road in the Edwardian era- the town cemetery opened in 1910. A post about the first person to be buried in the new cemetery and their link to Peter Pan is a available here. Originally different denominations were to have different parts of the burial ground to use but that idea soon gave way to a mingling of one and all.
In 1916 Mr Owen Wethered of Seymour Court donated some land in celebration of his 60th wedding anniversary to enable the road to be widened. Who needs diamonds or flowers for their anniversary when they can have a road widening scheme? (We hope you got something else too Mrs O). After this donation the road was officially renamed Wethered Road.
Further reading:
Landlords of the pub that formerly existed near the top of Trinity Road here.
No comments:
Post a Comment