Effra is a river in London and have its name to a house in Beaumont Rise Marlow. It is possible that the house was previously known as Wood View and was built in the 1880s or at the turn of the 1890s. There were at least three houses in Marlow called Wood View at the same time which is typical of our townsfolk's not very helpful approach to house naming and addresses in general. The residents of Wood View Beaumont Rise were a family of elderly sisters Ada, Amy and Charlotte from the Barton family. Headed by Ada, they were baby linen manufacturers and embroiders. More on these ladies and the Barton family as a whole in a future post.
Some time between 1904 and 1907 Miss Caroline Patrickson (bn 1832 /33) moved in to Effra with her maidservant and lady's companion and remained there until her death in 1924. It is most likely that she entered into the house following the demise of Ada Benton in 1906, IF we are correct in thinking that Effra was previously Wood View, and it was at this point that the name of the house changed. Caroline was a very religious lady and a bird lover, being the honorary secretary of the Marlow branch of the RSPB. She helped out in many Congregational Church events in Marlow suggesting she was a member of that church but in her will written in 1912 and proved in 1924 she left money not only to that church and to it's minister George Jones but to the Plymouth Brethren place of worship in Oxford Road, the local and nationwide Salvation Army, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the London Missionary Society for Jews, The Society For The Propagation Of The Bible In Foreign Parts, South African Mission To Lepers, Baptist Missionary Society For The Congo.
She also left money to her two servants but these had changed since the year before reflecting the often complained of difficulty of retaining servants in that era.
Prior to living in Beaumont Rise Caroline made Glade Road her home but she was by origin an Islington woman. Her father William had been for many years the mathematics teacher at the Mercers School. Either this was a lucrative position or there was otherwise family money as Caroline was able to live her life by way of "private means" rather than working and she left an estate worth an impressive £14,000. On the 1871 census Caroline's income like her widowed mother Ann's was specifically described as coming from "houses and dividends". The women later moved to Penn, Buckinghamshire where Ann was buried in 1879, and sometimes between 1881 and 1891 Caroline arrived in Marlow. As well as the churches, she supported the Cottage Hospital generously during her residency.
Well off as she was Caroline did not own Effra. The owner, at least in the early 1920s but most likely the whole time of her occupancy was Mr R.N Smith of Marlow. He owned numerous properties in Beaumont Rise. Following his death in 1922 his real estate was sold off. Effra was bought by Mr L.R Nash for the princely sum of £835!
By the mid 1930s the house had been divided into two flats.
Effra does not seem to exist as a named property today, though it may be sat there right under our noses without any current name. It was on the North side of Beaumont Rise, nearest to the Institute Road end.
Researched and written by Charlotte Day.
Posts about other specific houses or streets in Marlow are indexed here.
©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use our research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.
Some Sources.
1891,1907 and 1915 editions of the Marlow Directory and Almanack. Produced by the Marlow Printing Company.
Kelly's Post Office Directory of Buckinghamshire etc 1911 and 1915, Kelly's Directories Limited.
RSPB Annual Report 1904, Google Books.
Reading Observer 22nd March 1924 British Library Archives via the British Newspaper Archive.
South Bucks Standard 25th October 1901.
The Register, and Magazine of Biography: A Record of Births, Marriages, Deaths, and Other Genealogical and Personal Occurrences. V. 1-2; Jan.-Dec. 1869. United Kingdom, Nichols and sons, 1869.
https://www.rootspoint.com/record/1901-UK-Census/Joseph-Erdall-1869-Raonan-Warwickshire-Marlow-Urban/ff85ab5b-a76d-4a6b-91f2-b2210bb8eb04/
"England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-X47 : 22 July 2019), Rose Patrickson in household of Caroline Patrickson, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
Will of Caroline Patrickson.
1891 census Great Marlow transcribed by me from microfilm.
" 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VFXM-RJF : 26 June 2022), Caroline Patrickson in entry for Ann Patrickson, 1871.
"England and Wales Census, 1861", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M76Z-PCW : Fri Mar 08 23:56:35 UTC 2024), Entry for William Patrickson and Ann Patrickson, 1861.
"England and Wales Census, 1881", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27Z-T36F : Tue Mar 05 03:55:56 UTC 2024), Entry for Caroline Patrickson and Hannah Routledge, 1881.
"England and Wales Census, 1841", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQJV-DMB : Sat Mar 09 18:41:36 UTC 2024), Entry for William Patrickson and Anne Patrickson, 1841.
"England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHQ-36NJ : 3 November 2021), Caroline Patrickson, 1924.
"England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPLZ-XFWH : Sat Mar 09 08:41:51 UTC 2024), Entry for Caroline Patrickson and Arthur Joseph Clarke, 11 March 1924.
"Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FKQ-KNP2 : 2 June 2022), Ann Patrickson, ; Burial, Penn, Chiltern District, Buckinghamshire, England, Holy Trinity Churchyard; citing record ID 239315913, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
Bucks Herald July 22nd 1922. British Library Archives, via the BNA.
