Edwardian Spittal Street and Spittal Square Part One

Odd Numbered Properties

Note: Our Marlow ancestors were terrible at giving precise or consistent street addresses for themselves or others, knowing exactly what number they lived at (!), and the authorities made some bizarre property numbering decisions (don't get us started on Berwick Road... ). Some properties in Market Square at the bottom of Spittal Street were officially numbered as if in Spittal Street and could be described as being in either Market Square or Spittal Street  depending on the whim of the describer. They are included here. Properties in Spittal Square were also numbered as if in Spittal Street (but could also be referred to as being in Chapel Street or Dean Street by local residents depending on the property). Throughout history Spittal Street and Chapel Street which run into each other were repeatedly confused. Never believe any property is definitely in one street rather than the other without multiple pieces of evidence!

Edwardian building numbers are not necessarily those of the modern day. Multiple of the properties mentioned below no longer exist.

In this post I follow the popular perception of the "Edwardian age" as extending 1901-1914. Some incidences in the earlier lives of the named residents are also included. This is an ongoing project, if anyone has been missed we hope to remedy that as soon as possible.

For unplaced people who were in unidentified buildings in Spittal Street or Spittal Square see that the end of the upcoming Edwardian Spittal Street Part Two post here

1-3 Anne "Annie" Badger's fancy goods repository. Anne (born c 1842) had been in the shop for some years, though initially as a boot and shoe seller. Late on the night of Christmas Eve 1896 the horse-drawn omnibus from the Crown Hotel next door crashed into Anne's shop, smashing the window glass and breaking the gas pipe used to fuel the illuminated lamps in her windows. This represented a major fire risk but thankfully the leak was swiftly spotted and contained. Not a great Christmas present for Anne nevertheless! At least the accident did not occur in the run up to Christmas, when fancy goods shops were especially busy (they were effectively gift shops). Giving New Year gifts to friends was common at this time period however so any disruption to Anne's business would still have been costly to her, and of course the premises were also her home.

The omnibus horse received cuts from the plate glass window but the driver and sole passenger of the vehicle were unharmed.

Anne was the widow of Joseph Badger who had first ran the boot and shoe shop on these premises. He died aged just 35 leaving Anne with 6 children but thankfully also the shop to support them. Anne already served in the shop before Joseph's death. Her daughter Mary assisted in the business. A son Joseph junior was a solicitor's clerk.  When Anne retired in 1903 she moved with Joseph Junior into the newly built house Lulworth in Claremont Road. Sadly Anne died of heart disease not long afterwards. She was a Roman Catholic and is buried in St Peter's churchyard in St Peter's Street Marlow.

The Badger's shop was properly in Market Square. Confectioner Elizabeth Bennett may have been in these premises at the end of the Edwardian age.

5 John Ford's wholesale and retail tobacconist's / newsagent and confectionary shop in 1912 and 1913. John sold some unusual tobacco varieties as well as cigars  according to his ads. He supplied publicans amongst his other customers. Gone by 1915. Site later a cafe. Previously the International Tea Company Stores (who also occupied other premises in Marlow at different times). Property usually considered to be in Market Square.

7 Allam's fishmongery, then George and Elizabeth Davis newsagents who would remain there to at least the late 1930s.  Alfred Allam took over his mother Sarah's fishmongers. It has previously belonged to his father who was also called Alfred and who operated it as both a fishmongers and fruiterers plus a horse and carriage hire business. To read more about the characterful Alfred senior and Sarah, not to mention their brush with a "poltergeist" see this post. Alfred also features in this post. 

9 The Wheelwright's Arms pub. For landlords Edwardian and otherwise and for the history of this pub see this post.

11 The home of a Mr Welch in 1905 but seems to have been the site of business premises too. Situation needs clarifying.

13 Emma Carter's butchers premises. A biography of Emma is on the blog here.

15 The Carpenters Arms. Ran by Charlotte Rose and then her grandson Thomas Probert. More on the history of this pub and it's landlords here.

17 -  updates to follow.

19 Henry Harris master harness maker and saddler, rope and twine maker and - early in the Edwardian era - agent for motorcycles and a seller and hirer of bicycles too. He also sold horse care equipment like blankets and cleaning sponges. A long standing business in Marlow. In 1904 his ad says that he also traded in Wooburn. Henry was born circa 1854. Wife Ellen. In 1915 their only son Edward, who had previously worked as an engineer, was killed in action when the Navy ship he served was torpedoed and sank.

21 Richard Bowles boot and shoe dealer. Richard was born c 1839. Throughout the Edwardian era he had several members of the Bailey family as his lodgers, previously he had himself been a lodger with Baileys. Richard died circa 1914. By 1920 his former premises were incorporated into no 23.

23 Charles Baker gentleman's outfitter and hatter. Charles was originally from Wiltshire and born circa 1856. His wife Catherine took over the business as a widow. By them number 23 had been incorporated into it. The shop was still in operation in the late 1930s as "Baker's Clothiers" with a live in manager.

25 Colonial Meat Stores ran by Grace and co. Employee George Tennant lived on the premises with his wife Eliza in 1910 and 1911 (at least).

27 Boot family. Eliza (nee Collins) Boot kept a confectionery shop. Her husband Henry Boot was a French polisher. The family housed several lodgers. Daughter of the family Florence attracted much sympathy when she was stood up at the altar in 1907 by her fiancee Arthur Henry Lynch. He left her family home where he was helping with final preparations on the Sunday in order to go home to London where he lived with his mother. He was due back in Marlow on the day of the wedding on the 9.15 train from Paddington. He sent a telegram to Florence saying that he had missed the 9.15  but would arrive on the 11.15 instead which would be early enough for the wedding. However he never turned up. Nor as it turned out had he even told his mother he meant to get married and she did not know where he was either. The couple had "courted" for 5 years. Poor Florence had used much money from her savings to help pay for the wedding and the necessities for their first home together. She had also given up her long standing job in readiness for her married life. Arthur had been given as a wedding gift by his employers Great Western Railway two free passes to Teignmouth in Devon for their honeymoon. Henry Boot died  in 1907, the same year as his daughter's marriage disaster. A tough time for the Boot family. Eliza died in 1927. She retired from the shop after 1911 but by 1915.

29 Sawyer family home, a small cottage. Ada Sawyer born circa 1876 with her husband George who was a builder's foreman in carpentry for Sellmans builders in Marlow. Amongst the Edwardian building projects George would have worked on for the Sellmans were six houses built in Station Rise in 1904, the new C of E Boys' School in 1913 (now Holy Trinity) and the Borlase School chapel in 1914. His brother Harry was also a house carpenter and in this era lived with him. 

In 1903 Ada and George's daughter Edith had a miraculous escape after being ran over by a cart in Spittal Street. The vehicle went right over her legs. After the initial swelling went down however Edith regained the use of her legs and was able to walk again.

George was one of Marlow's volunteer firefighters and in fact the deputy fire captain.

The building of this old number 29 longer exists.

31 cottage and premises of Henry Collins gas fitter and whitesmith born circa 1838. His wife was Eliza. She was born circa 1850. Building no longer exists. Henry also had premises in Chapel Street in 1915.

At end of this odd number side of street with numbers indifferently given, all really in Spittal Square=

S Dorrell wheelwright business premises. Building no longer exists. Probably Sidney Dorrell born c 1878 who lived in Station Road with his parents.

Albert Hillsdon blacksmith / farrier business premises. There by 1906 but had previously operated from premises in Institute Road. The buildings on both sites no longer exist. This Spittal Street forge were previously the premises of W.J Walker. Albert was born c 1874. Wife Kate born c 1876. Albert was the son of William who had been a blacksmith up at Marlow Common. 

Henry Arber's. Building no longer exists. Henry Arbor senior and his wife Rosa lived prior to this in Duchess Place off Victoria Road and their son Henry junior when grown up also lived in that street. It is not clear which Henry is the "Henry Arbor" recorded in a property in Spittal Square in 1907 though I'm reasonably sure it was Henry junior. In either case the Arbor occupation was not for long. Henry senior was originally from Cambridgeshire and had been a stone dresser in Stephen Smith's corn mill. He was born circa 1856. In 1898 he was one of those who formed a committee to set up a sick benefit club for women as an off shoot from the Clayton Arms pub slate club. A few years previously Rosa had been seriously ill and the couple's eldest daughter Lillian was kept home from school to help look after the other children in the family and her mum. This went on long enough to lead to Henry being summoned to court for neglecting her education. Extra money from a benefit club to pay for hired domestic help and extra medical support in such a situation would have helped this family tremendously so you can understand Henry's interest in such schemes. At around the same time his son Henry junior "Harry" was refusing to go to school anyway and staying out all night. His father repeatedly asked for him to be placed in an "industrial school" as he considered the young teen uncontrollable. This was eventually achieved when a place for him was found in an Isleworth industrial school. The school didn't work as after he arrived back in Marlow Harry soon found himself fined for  throwing stones in the station goods yard with other lads. Obviously he found self discipline in himself in the end as he became a regular player for Marlow Football club during the Edwardian era and also then won prizes for his punting on the river. He worked as a boat building labourer at Shaw's boatyard (who hired no one who wasn't hardworking and good at their job). While at work in 1908 Harry found in the river mud a diamond studded gold purse. It was realized to be the lost property of someone who had lost it when visiting Marlow seven years previously. Hopefully the eagle-eyed Harry got a reward!

Sadly Harry died of complications following an appendicitis operation while he was in service in France in the First World War. He left a widow Mary and three children. His bereaved parents had previously lost their baby son Edwin of convulsions caused by "teething".

By 1911 Henry senior appears to have moved to Water Eaton in Bucks to work at the Smith's corn mill there while Rosa was left behind in Marlow. This was probably a temporary job for Henry rather than evidence of a separation for the couple, however I do not know for certain. Rosa lived in Marlow Fields in the Newtown area of Marlow.

Lillian Arber became a domestic nurse.

Picture Palace cinema constructed 1913. Much more about the cinema on this post.

Post researched and written by Charlotte Day. © Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use my research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

Compiled from a great many sources. It would take a blog of its own to list them all. Some are listed below.

Kelly's Post Office Directory of Buckinghamshire etc 1911, 1915, editions. Kelly's Limited. 

Kelly's Directory Of the Leather Trades 1881.

Marlow Directory and Almanack 1902, 1907 and 1914 editions. 

Marlow Printing Company.

Property and rental records, shop bills.

England and Wales Census 1901 and 1911 from the National Archives, Kew. Census information remains Crown Copyright.

South Bucks standard 7th Jan 1898 and 26th June 1903.

GRO death and marriage registrations from the National Archives.

"England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7XNJ-PCN2 : Tue Mar 05 23:44:45 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry Walker and Mary Ann Stockbridge, 25 Oct 1894.

Marlow's Vanished Houses No 1= Hillside

Hillside was a substantial house perched on a slope just off what is now Seymour Park Road in Marlow. It was said to have been built originally as two homes. Any joining together of the two must have happened very early because in all historic references to Hillside I find it mentioned as one single habitation only. The house was far from any other homes and enjoyed magnificent views of the town all the way to the River Thames.

In 1873 Reynold Alleyne Clement and his wife Louisa rented Hillside at a cost of £75 a year. He was an adjutant to the Bucks Volunteers and by 1876 a member of Queen Victoria's bodyguard. In 1877 just as Reynold's lease was about to expire the house was put up for sale along with various cottages in Marlow by the unknown owner of the lot. In the sale description Hillside was said to comprise 11 bedrooms and dressing rooms, a w.c, three reception rooms, a kitchen, housekeeper's room, butler's pantry, and cellars. Outside there was a garden, 2 coach houses, stabling for 3 horses, a harness room and a paddock. Later records suggest that the land adjoining the house came to a total of 9 acres.

After he left Hillside Reynold became Clerk of the Course at Ascot racecourse. The family lived then at Sunninghill. One of many local families with horse racing connections! 

The successful purchaser of Hillside was Mr Thomas Whalley Vowe. He had previously been a district magistrate in South Africa. Thomas would enjoy his new home for no more than a few months before he was killed in a hunting accident near his former home of Hallaton in Leicestershire. His executors emptied the house and sold up.

Next in was the Bedford family- John, Elizabeth, their children and a governess Ada Browne. They had moved from London. For some reason the house was then said to have one less bedroom than previously. 

At the time of their residency some of the land next to the house was farmed by Marlow fishmonger /fruiterer Alfred Allam. Alfred dumped "night soil" (human waste) on his land. This was not an unusual thing to do in Victorian England as fertiliser and of course as a natural form of waste disposal. Instead of spreading out the night soil and digging it in, he had heaped it up near the boundary of his land and Hillside and left it in the open air. John Bedford feared that this was a health hazard for his children. He won an injunction from the High Court preventing Allum from adding to the waste already there. As concerning the heaps already present, John sought an order from the local council ordering their removal. This he failed to obtain on a legal technicality - despite him telling the court that his eight year old boy Bertie had been sick and feverish of late. This he believed was as a result of the contamination of the neighborhood air by Allum's waste. Feverish illness was common at the time so that isn't certain. No doctor presented medical evidence as to the cause of Bertie's illness in court, which is surprising as you would think the Bedford's would have used such testimony as a trump card in the case had it been available. This likely suggests that it was the Bedfords themselves rather than a doctor that had formed the theory of Bertie's troubles being as a result of the dung in a neighbouring field. No one who lived in the countryside was far from dung heaps, or dung in fields. The Bedfords themselves kept chickens, geese and pigs on their own property and may have farmed more widely in the area too. Nevertheless in an era when the belief that bad smells alone could cause sickness or death was near universal you would have every sympathy for a parent trying to protect their child. The Bedfords were at the time grieving from the loss of their five year old daughter Maggie earlier that year. The anxiety they must have felt at another child's illness in the family would have been very painful.

Alfred Allam was quite a "character". More about him including an apparent haunting by a poltergeist (!) and other brushes with the law can be found in my post here.

He died in 1888 which likely brought an end to the Bedford's difficulties with his use of the field. They chose to stay with their children at Hillside until 1895.

Another daughter of the family Eva at the age of 16-17 found herself caught up in one of the biggest scandals of the Victorian age. Hers was a walk on part but the courage it took to appear at the trial and the embarrassment she would have felt cannot be underestimated. In what became known as the Cleveland Street Scandal scores of the most powerful men in England including Prince Albert Victor second in line to the throne were found to have visited a male b*othel in the above street. All of those who worked at the establishment at night were boys who worked for the Post Office by day. Some may have been trafficked into this position. The clients of the house because of their privilege were given notice to leave the country so as to avoid arrest. Various witnesses were also paid to leave the country. Eva witnessed as far as I can gather simply the presence of a certain person at a certain time in the house of a lawyer later prosecuted for conspiracy for facilitating the removal of relevant witnesses to foreign lands. Eva had been taken to the house on a visit by a Mrs Samuelson. Any connection however slight to these events risked being socially disastrous for Eva. How her protective parents must have cringed to know that her name and address would appear in almost every local and national paper in the land plus plenty of foreign ones too. Their judgement on allowing their daughter to be placed in contact with anyone not above suspicion would also be called into question. There is no suggestion that Eva was aware of the goings on in Cleveland Street.

Lucy Wood lived at Hillside by 1905 until at least 1911. With her was her sisters Isabella (who died in 1909) and Susanna. All three elderly women were unmarried and of private means. Also living in the house (as opposed to in a separate lodge) was the sisters' coachman Alfred Hickman, his wife Emily and their three children. At the time the house was described as having 17 rooms not including any service rooms like pantries and sculleries. The sisters were remembered as very kind to all those around them. Isabella left a legacy in her will to Marlow hospital. They moved out by 1915 to Remnantz in West Street.

On the south side of the house was a pit used to dig out gravel for use by the local council amongst others. The council seems to have owned the pit. When supplies started to dry up in the early 1920s a new pit was dug also near Hillside. In 1924 geologists on a field trip to Marlow investigated both pits and found a Paleolithic worked flint flake in one of them. There was also sandpits close to the house. In 1909 Miss Wood's sent her coachman to carry a sand digger to the hospital after he was completely buried in a sand collapse.

In the late 1930s (at least) Estelle Devereux who described herself as an artist and writer made Hillside her home.

The house had disappeared by the 1960s, probably earlier.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

To find posts about other named houses in Marlow look at the "Specific Shops, Streets, Farms etc" option on the menu here For all mentions of any person on this blog see the A-Z Person Index.

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

Selected Sources:

Jubilee Celebration: Handbook to the Loan Exhibition Held in The Town Hall, Aylesbury, 5th and 6th, July, 1905. United Kingdom, n.p, 1905.

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Netherlands, Geologists' Association, London., 1924.

1881 census of England and Wales, transcribed from microfilm by me.

Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc. 1883, 1911, 1915 and 1920 editions. Published by Kelly's Directories Limited.

Bucks Herald 21 jul 1877. Bucks Herald mar 23 1878.  Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 3rd January 1884. Both newspapers held in the British Library Archives and accessed via the BNA.

Berkshire Chronicle 27th September 1884.

Theal, George McCall. History of South Africa from the Foundation of the European Settlement to Our Own Times 1834-1854. United Kingdom, S. Sonnenschein & Company, 1893.

Wikipedia article= Reynold Clement.

Rictor Norton (Ed) "The Cleveland Street Scandal" Homosexuality in Nineteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook, 28 July 2020, amended 10 Aug. 2020 <http://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1889clev.htm>

Election Rioters 1880 *Updated January 2024*

On 2nd April 1880 the electors of the Borough of Great Marlow went to the polls to elect an MP. When the Liberal candidate was revealed to have lost out to Conservative Owen Williams tempers frayed amidst the deep disappointment of many working class people. Men, women, boys and girls threw stones at William's election base at the Crown and at other town centre properties known to be occupied by his supporters. They then took to using umbrellas, walking sticks and clubs to do damage. As the evening drew on the women and children melted away and Marlow men were joined by those who had come from Bisham, Little Marlow and High Wycombe to protest. Some estimates give the number of rioters then at over 2000, some even 3,000. Violence escalated when ladders that had been left leaning up against the Crown by those putting up new lights were used to break windows and as an attempted battering ram to try to get into the building. (The men using the ladders may have been working on the framework intended to hold illuminations to mark Williams victory.)  Police were outnumbered and summoned soldiers to quell the riot. This they did but not until some £1000 worth of damage had occurred in the town. 

45 people were arrested as a result, of which 42 were charged. Of the 42 most were Marlow men, said to have been at a disadvantage as the local constables knew their faces and names and so could easily find them later if not seized at the time. Wycombe men could flee with less risk of being called to account. I could not find evidence of an outcome for all of those charged, or even all their names, at least not yet. It may be not all charges were pursued.

The following were those I have found charged with being part of the riot, with outcomes to their cases if any are known. I have confined myself to Marlow men. None of the ladies were arrested. To read about an earlier mainly female lead riot in Marlow see this post

Reuben Anderson

Bill against him thrown out by Jury at early stage in legal process. A labourer aged 36 in Oxford Road at time of 1881 census. But he lived St Peter's Street 1880, a few months after the riot, when he intervened to stop a woman neighbour of his being harassed and threatened by a man who had fallen out with her brother. A few weeks later fined for gathering wood that didn't belong to him. He died in 1890. Read a biography of Reuben here

Alfred Edward Allum

Age "25" or "26", court reports differed [probably actually a few years older] labourer when sentenced. 2 months hard labour. Probably aka Brassey - see here

Edward Anson

Aged 18. Sentenced to just one day in prison because of his youth and low involvement in events. Had been recommended for mercy by the jury. 

William Borden or Burden or Barden

Only rioter denied bail. 2 months hard labour.

Henry Bowles

Age 27. Labourer. 2 months hard labour. Grew up Dean Street. Also known as Harry.

John Bowles

2 months hard labour. Age 24, labourer. 

Robert Bowles

Age 22 and a labourer when tried. 2 months hard labour. 1881 census - skewer maker. For more on this trade in Marlow see this post. Son of Robert, a fruiterer, and Eliza. Grew up Hatches Row, Dean Street and still there 1881 census. This row is now demolished. He was an agricultural labourer age 13 on 1871 census. Robert was allegedly one of those who wrested a ladder from workers at the Crown, in order to use ladder to batter their way inside. He struck the man in charge of the ladder - bricklayer John White - causing John to loose vision in his eye for three days. Described by one policeman as "very violent" on the day. 

Joseph Cox

Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Presumably the 49 year old labourer who appears in Marlow on the 1881 census in South Place although it sounds in some accounts he was younger. Was seen with a bludgeon by one witness. 

Joseph Dormer

Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Bricklayer's labourer around 40 years old. Lived Marefield at time, later York Road (the same area). Grew up Gun Lane [now Trinity Road] and Dean Street.

Henry East

Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify in other records.

James East

Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify for certain in other records.

James Folly / Folley  alias Steptoe

Aged 32/34 and a bricklayer. Seen using a ladder to break windows. 2 months hard labour.

Joseph Hicks

 A tinker who lived Dean Street 1881. In his late 40s, exact age varies on censuses. Fined the year before the riots along with another man for stopping their cart in the road for too long. Case not proceeded with for riot. 

John Langley junior 

Ringleader of the initial protest but tried hard to calm things down when shops started getting damaged. Given 6 weeks hard labour only after jury recommended mercy. Could afford his own representation at the Quarter Sessions. Aged 25. On the 1881 census a salesman, earlier was a fruiterer, a long time Langley association. His conviction caused outrage in some quarters as it was believed he was targeted because of recent active promotion of the Liberal cause in Marlow. His father, also John had campaigned for the Liberal candidate Griffith too. A subscription fund was set up and the money raised was used to present to John a tea and coffee set from an expensive London maker as a token of esteem. The presentation was made at the Verney Arms, Dean Street, long connected with the Langley family. Read more about the pub here. John himself wrote a public letter of complaint against his conviction, after he had completed his sentence. He said he had been denied the opportunity to call witnesses that could have proved his innocence. A full biography of John is available here

Charles Mullett

Labourer aged 41. Lived in Dean Street 1881 census and a "pensioner". Originally from High Wycombe. Bill against him is "ignored" eg not proceeded with. 

William Moody. 

Threw stone at a policeman early on. Sentenced 2 months hard labour. Nearly 40 years old. Lived Oxford Road 1881 and a chair polisher. 

Albert Rockell

Age "18" [actually nearly 22]. Labourer when convicted. 6 weeks jail. (Or 8 weeks according to second source)  He was the son of James, a bargee / labourer and Sarah an embroiderer. Grew up in Gun Place and Gun Lane Marlow. The former no longer exists, the latter is called Trinity Road today. Albert had been fined £1 in 1876 for playing the illegal game of pitch and toss (coin throwing game which involved betting and was very popular with young men) at Bovingdon Green. He was listed as a hawker on the 1881 census when he lived with his older brother George and his family. Two years later was fined 10 shillings for assaulting a William Fletcher.

Henry Rockell

2 months hard labour. There are a couple of different potential Henry Rockells in other records which this one could be. Was said to be very active at Remnantz, throwing stones and attempting to break in, unsuccessfully. 

William Henry Silvey

A 33 year old shoemaker. Had a witness, grocer Joseph Dorsett of Market Square to show he went shopping with his wife [Fanny] early in the evening after leaving the Crown crowd. However witness admitted William's pockets looked bulging and prosecution said yes that was with stones he later returned and threw at the Crown. 6 weeks jail. On 1881 census he and Fanny lived Cambridge Road. Later lived Queen's Road. Later convictions for drunkenness.

James Benjamin Smith

Aged 22. Bricklayers labourer. 6 weeks in jail. Probably of Lane End. Limited evidence of his direct involvement in any serious damage but considered to be just as guilty as those taking a more active part simply by his presence there!

George Sparkes

Jury threw out bill against him. A 28 year old general labourer. Lived Oxford Road 1881 census.

Henry Stone

Six weeks hard labour. 

Thomas Stone

Six weeks hard labour. Was seen to be one of those wielding ladder that broke the Crown windows. 

William Tubb

Fined £5 plus costs by Magistrates for malicious damage, relating to breaking a pane of glass at The Horns, Chapel Street.  (One of 17 broken there that day.)  He went to the pub the following day, denied breaking the glass and asked the landlord John Coleshill not to press charges for the sake of his wife and 5 children. Coleshill's daughter Sarah had said there were about 40 persons in the mob outside their premises but she only recognised Tubb. He did not have to go to Quarter Sessions after evidence behind further charges for riotous assembly was not considered sufficient. Shoemaker aged 33 on 1881 census. Lived Dean Street.   

Cases not proceeded with against Wycombe men Owen and John Watkins, both chairmakers and labourer Charles Mullett also of Wycombe. 

*Additional info by Kathryn -  Riot Act was read by magistrate Somers Cocks at about 9pm, 3 hours after the election result was announced. (Some reports say at 8pm) All the lights had been put out. An 1882 account says that hot water and a hose from the brewery was used to dispell the group. Later accounts list other dispersal tactics, not necessarily mutually exclusive, of which the one that's survived longest in the popular imagination is the idea that guns were loaded with red jam and blanks to make the rioters think they had been both shot and hurt. I have not found a contemporary reference to this yet though! (The same story was related about the commotion after the 1868 election, complete with raspberry jam.)  Contemporary reports say that although a call for help was made for military assistance to the Grenadier Guards at Windsor, some confusion meant it was not actually delivered. Those describing the riot first hand immediately afterwards do not mention any Guards present while the riot was ongoing. The Bucks Herald says a repeat order for military assistance was countermanded as quiet had been restored by about midnight. The Buckinghamshire Advertiser credited the end of the riot to the gathering together of about 60 special constables, under command of a police superintendent from High Wycombe, who formed a barrier across West Street and used their truncheons "freely". (This superintendent thought there was 3,000 men gathered by 7pm!) The following morning 70 police and an untold number of special constables were on duty in Marlow while the operation of bringing the alleged ringleaders to court was ongoing, and that of rounding up other participants. The police were to patrol in groups, according to the order of  the Chief Constable of Bucks. He had arrived on the morning after the riot to assume control of the police force in Marlow temporarily. 

Violence had actually broken out before the voting even began, outside the Crown as Conservative headquarters. Blows were exchanged with liberal supporters but they dispersed before law and order arrived. The Greyhound was regarded as the centre of Liberal supporters before voting day. It hosted a "working man's meeting" the week before, which ended in a vote to support Liberal candidate Mr J Griffiths. Among the other damaged properties were the Prince Of Wales pub, the Three Tuns (every window broken and the bar damaged), the brewery offices, the shops of Charles Miller Foottit (chemist, High Street and Conservative supporter, lamp and flag pole trashed, upper windows broken, lower ones protected by iron shutters) and William Hankin (tobacconist, High Street. Shop totally sacked. Pipes from here were allegedly bring flogged cheaply in the beer houses that evening), the home of Charles Carter (parish surveyor),  the home of George Ward (High Street, all windows and any sashes broken), the home of Dr Shone, and in a minor way, the Railway Hotel (the Marlow Donkey as it's now known. The widowed Mrs Porter in charge had apparently been seen sporting Conservative colours on her carriage the week before). At the home of Robert Hammond Chambers, the avalanche of stones was severe enough to break plate glass windows a quarter inch thick and smash the substantial closed wooden shutters inside them. The stones damaged a wall across the other side of the room. A man was seen to be in the attempt of using a large stone to smash the entrance door but he was knocked down by a constable before he could break in.  Foottit said he'd found a quarter of a hundredweight of large stones on one of the beds in his home. Some paving slabs had been torn up for use too!

Interestingly Superintendent William Sargent of Wycombe said that the defeated Liberal candidate Griffiths had warned him long before the result was known that he suspected the potential for trouble if the Liberals lost. He added that Griffiths had suggested that policeman should be stationed outside the Conservative Wethered's home but he declined to do so in case it "tantalized" the crowd and he was blamed personally for this. Reports that the contents of Bisham's ballot box were going to be seized by a group of "roughs" as they were bought across the bridge to be counted in Marlow were taken more seriously. It was closely guarded. 

Griffith's himself appears to have left in his carriage quite soon after his loss was announced. Some reports say he passed the Crown just as the victor Colonel Williams appeared at an upper window to address the crowd, and that Williams called for three cheers for his opponent, but had trouble being heard. 

Even children (of both sexes) were apparently seen throwing stones at the various windows. The Bucks Herald (very pro conservative) said the first blow was struck by a liberal supporter on a conservative one, who was taken into the Crown with the aid of 4 men fighting their way through. They also claim that there was a cry to torch the Crown. The next day (Saturday)  there were here and there "significant stains of blood" to be seen in the streets. Even then a flare up of violence was feared and 70 police were on duty. Colonel Wethered decided that most of the arms of the Volunteers should be removed from their Armoury which was then at the Crown. He bought them back to his home and placed them under the care of 16 armed men. Two consignments of the Berkshire police were put on guard outside Bisham Abbey and Temple House but they had nothing to do. The biggest interest on Sunday was in viewing the damage, and people are said to have travelled from Wycombe to do just that. Some later reports suggest a guard made up of members of the Volunteers had been kept up outside the brewery for the next week. 

It's interesting that Colonel Williams held an open session at the Crown in the following April to hear complaints from his tenants about their treatment. He said during the election campaign he'd often been told his tenants were against him but he didn't believe it as no one had said so to his face. On reflection he thought "2 or 3" of these complaints justified further investigations and so so the aggrieved could present their case to him at The Crown on the day mentioned. If any did so, I don't know. 

Rioters info researched and written by Charlotte Day. Additional research Kathryn. 

Related Posts:

Marlow people loved a good riot. So far we have posts up on three previous riots, the 1800 Women's Riots here, 1847 Election riot here and the Swing Riots here.

Voters bribery case of Jason Povey here

For other crime related posts look see the list here

To find every mention of an individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Sources:

Census, my transcription from microfilm. 

Great Marlow Parish Registers, my transcription

Newspapers from the British Library / BNA collaboration: Buckingham Advertiser 3rd July 1880, Bucks Herald 3rd& 10th April, 26th June and 7th August and 30th August 1880, Maidenhead Advertiser 14th April 1880, Reading Mercury 17th April 1880. Buckingham Advertiser and Aylesbury News April 10th 1880. 

Judicial records research of Jane Pullinger.

Padk, Arthur Thomas From Lock to Lock, a playful guide, "Judy Office" 1882. 

Information from Anthony Wethered. 

Bucks Free Press 8th June 1934, High Wycombe library 

The Spittal Street Poltergeist??? Allam / Hoare Family

 

Allam grave in All Saints Parish Church. 

Alfred Allam died October 26th 1888 age 51 years

Also Sarah Tilleard Allam

Also Charlotte Hoare,  died  - 17th ? 1890

Also Charles Frederick Allam died Jan 29 1940 age 7(2?) years.

Research notes:

Alfred Allam in true Victorian shopkeeper fashion managed to be a fishmonger, fruiterer, potato merchant, hirer of pony and traps, minor farmer and gravel seller all at once with premises on Spittal Street plus a field at Hillside. Census entries suggest he was born Wooburn or Wooburn Green. Alfred's father Francis had also been a fishmonger. Although the business was left to Alfred's mother, she agreed to give it up to him subject to his paying her an allowance. He fell out with older brother Absalom about this arrangement, and other business dealings. Alfred in 1863 sued his brother for withholding money earned by him for selling fish on Alfred's behalf. Absalom said he'd done so because Alfred was keeping a watch that belonged to him and also had withheld goods due to him under his father's will. 

In 1876 Alfred was prosecuted for renting out a windowless wooden hovel not fit for human habitation to the large Moody family.  This wasn't his only brush with the law. Both he and his son Alfred junior seem very ready to get into fights with others.

At one point some thought the family had got on the wrong side of a far more unusual foe than your standard Marlovian- an "evil spirit". 

The back windows of the family premises were repeatedly broken by "unseen hands". At one point breakages were occurring every few minutes. Constables and neighbours were baffled and the household frightened for several weeks until it all suddenly stopped. This was an age of intense interest in Spiritualism and inevitably some people insisted only a spirit could be responsible for the broken windows. Myself I think someone Alfred had had a dust up with was likely having a little fun at his expense.

To read about an incidence of Alfred getting into a legal dispute with a flesh and blood Marlow family see here.

The Sarah on the grave above was Alfred's wife who ran the fishmonger's shop after his death for some years. She was assisted by her sons Alfred and Charles Frederick the latter of whom is also on the gravestone. Alfred would eventually take over the business from his mother. Sarah was born Sarah Tilleard Hoare in 1840 to Charles and Charlotte Hoare.

Charlotte Hoare on this gravestone was her mother. She was born circa 1815 according to census but we believe that she was baptised in Marlow 1814 nee Tilleard, to parents William and Elizabeth. She ran the Three Horseshoes Gun Lane, The Traveler's Rest Dean Street and The Bear, Chapel Street with husband Charles who predeceased her. He owned gravel pits in Marlow which probably explains Alfred Allam's gravel sideline.

Poor Charlotte's death came from shock after she fell over in her yard and fractured her hip [Reading Mercury 30th August 1890 and Buckinghamshire Examiner 28th August 1890. Copies held at British Library. Accessed via the BNA ]. She lived with her widowed daughter Sarah Tilleard Allam at the time and Sarah gave evidence at the inquest. Reports of this inquest tell us that though she is memorialised in All Saints graveyard she was a worshipper at the Wesleyan Chapel at the time of her death. The alarm that she had fallen was raised by close neighbour Emma Carter the butcher who heard Charlotte scream.

Charlotte's death report in the paper called her a much respected woman of the town. [To read about dramatic events at The Bear just before Charlotte gave it up, see the post Here]

To read a post about Emma Carter the butcher see here.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. You may freely reproduce the grave images for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog. 

Bovingdon Green In The 1800s

The 1833 parochial assessment notebooks which my family has records only 6 households in the village of Bovingdon Green plus another 11 at Marlow Common and more at Forty Green. During the day the population swelled however as workers from Marlow walked up to Bovingdon Green and near it for their work.

By 1851 the population was around 65.

Many of the male residents were agricultural labourers or workers in gravel pits or brick kiln. 

These thirsty workers were served by the pubs the Royal Oak and the Jolly Cricketers. The latter was sometimes referred to as the Cricketer's Arms. There was also a newly built beer sellers called the Coach and Horses in 1836 which does not seem to have lasted long unless it eventually morphed into the Jolly Cricketers which did not yet exist in the mid 1830s. The Coach and Horses was said to enjoy a good trade and had the advantage of a garden well laid out with fruit and nut trees. 

Inevitably with drinking came some trouble. Convictions for being drunk and disorderly on the green happened frequently. More seriously, in 1843 two men who had been drinking in the Royal Oak fell out and went out onto the green to settle their differences. As an added incentive the men put down several shillings between them as a prize for the victor. William Wakefield died after nearly 20 rounds and two hours of fighting. Investigations found that he had suffered a brain hemorrhage. His opponent James Davis was tried for manslaughter but found not guilty. Marlow surgeon Robert Colbourne said that William's alcohol intake that evening could have caused his final fall to the ground and that fall itself could have caused him to hit his head on the ground and hemorrhage [as his energy flagged in the fight he had been plied with brandy to revive his spirits]. While this was only a possibility the suggestion was enough to raise reasonable doubt as to James' responsibility for the death.

In 1894 Frederick Coleshill landlord of the Cricketer's Arms was assaulted when he went for a drink at the rival Royal Oak. The assailant was customer George Todd who accused Frederick of informing the police that his brother had stolen moss and rabbits. Poaching was endemic in the area and the Todd family of Marlow and Bovingdon Green was amongst the most involved families in that. If Frederick had snitched on one of the Todds it was a bit rich of him as he was a poacher himself!

Two years earlier Frederick's wife Lottie was summoned for assaulting fellow Bovingdon Green resident Sarah Sawyer after a falling out between them. She was found not guilty. The magistrate said that he was fed up with the women of the village airing their "dirty laundry" in public and Marlow's courts having to deal with it!

The village did have a rough reputation for much of the 1800s and the Royal Oak tended to be the epicentre of much of that trouble.

It had respectable functions too being sometimes used to hold auctions and often for coroner's inquests concerning village residents. The saddest inquests I have seen were those of toddler Esther Swadling who burned to death when her clothes caught fire in 1830, and of the unnamed newborn baby girl whose body was found wrapped up in a parcel in a field near the village in 1878. An open verdict was returned on the baby. 

The Royal Oak was unusual in having a Sick and Dividends Club just for women. It was established 1898/99. Later there would also be a traditional Slate Club based at the pub.

Bovingdon Green had a small school from the 1860s onwards. It suffered at times from lack of money. This combined with the necessity of teaching children of too wide a span of ages all together at once meant that the level of education was sometimes inadequate through no real fault of the teachers. Sir George Higginson of Marlow helped by paying for an extra classroom in 1892 in memory of his mother Frances. By 1894 the school could accommodate over 100 pupils, though the average attendance was a little over half that. Greater funding came from the authorities in the early Edwardian era. These factors led to inspectors' reports praising the school's much risen standards. The great affection felt for Bovingdon Green by Sir George Higginson and his wife meant that the pupils of the school had, courtesy of them, more than the usual number of organised treats. From a child's perspective I'm sure that it was THE local school to go to. On New Years Eve 1885 General Higginson himself waited on the children of the school who were enjoying a special tea with cake, and a magic lantern show thereafter. His wife and daughter also helped serve the tea. 

By 1888 there was also a Sunday School in the village.

Residents of all ages benefited from the kindness of the Higginsons. During a severe winter in 1895 much agricultural work and general labour ground to a halt for weeks. Families in Bovingdon Green faced destitution. Lady Higginson distributed coal and money to the worst affected families and organised with Marlow's vicar for local children to have a free breakfast every day. 

Others also came to the aid of struggling villagers, organising extra work at Mrs Allam's gravel pits or by providing jobs helping to widen the road near Seymour Court.

The men and youths of the village had fun by playing cricket on the green. The spot had long been a place for it, hence the name Cricketer's Arms / Jolly Cricketers for one of the pubs. Illegal playing of games of coin tossing and dice for money took place on the green and in the lanes nearby too- before the constables chased everyone off each time.

Those constables did not often have burglaries to deal with in the village but both pubs suffered break ins.  The Royal Oak landlord was relieved of a gun, bread, cheese and bacon in 1841 while two years later the family at the Jolly Cricketers lost a pair of shoes, some drinking glasses and bacon in a raid on their premises.

Bovingdon Green traditionally held May Day sports and in the 1840's it had its own fair (June) - nothing like as big as that at Marlow of course but animals were sold, and sports were again a big feature. Chief among these was donkey racing. This was taken seriously - a large number of locals kept donkeys in this era, especially those engaged in the skewer trade. In fact the sight of a cavalcade of donkeys leaving Marlow early in the morning was considered a feature of the neighborhood.  

For more on Bovingdon Green look at the Nearby Places option on the top drop down menu.

A list of the landlords of the Royal Oak can be found in our post here and of the Jolly Cricketers here.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this content for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and a link here so that the sources listed below also retain credit for contributing information.

Some sources:

Report of the committee of Council on Education, HMSO 1894, UNI of Illinois. 

1833 parochial assessment working notebooks of the assessors owned by my family, transcribed by me.

Newspapers:

Reading Gazette and Oxford Journal 19th November 1843. Bucks Herald 11th November 1843. Windsor and Eton Express 23rd October 1841. South Bucks Standard 8th January 1892.

All copies held in the British Library and accessed through their partnership with the BNA.

1851 census Great Marlow, my transcription from microfilm.