Jubilee Celebrations Marlow 1887

Jubilee Cottages, New Town Road. 

Most towns and villages in England celebrated Queen Victoria's Jubilee in June 1887. Marlow was no different. Here as everywhere numerous committees were set up to decide on a suitable programme. Here as everywhere no one could at first decide what to do!

The most enthusiastically supported early idea was to build a proper Literary and Scientific Institute in the Queen's honour. Enthusiasm in principle failed to translate into enthusiasm for emptying one's purse for the purpose. Too little money had been raised for the town to think of starting proper building work before the Jubilee. Disappointment was expressed that Marlow hadn't been more forthcoming. The town did get a new institute but not until 1890 (see here for more)  Of the money that was raised before the Jubilee £100 was reserved to pay for the festivities. And £79 was spent on a gift of coal for the poor the proceeding winter when it was most needed. 

Less ambitious plans to mark the Jubilee were eventually put in place instead.

The Jubilee day itself, a Tuesday, was a national holiday a certain degree of celebration was to take place in some towns all that week however.

Marlow had a special trading connection to Victoria as it was from Marlow that all the beech logs she used for fires in Windsor Castle came.

Local residents could take advantage of special trains laid on from Marlow and Bourne End during Jubilee Week to take them to Windsor for a look at the decorations and to participate in the celebratory atmosphere there.

Marlow itself packed most of it's celebrations into one single day, the Tuesday. But on Monday a public dinner was held in Queens Road, opposite the Duke of Cambridge. We are told that a "loyal and jovial" bunch of tradesmen and others sat down to enjoy the meal. The pub was decorated with flags and Japanese lanterns and bunting stretched across the road. The Marlow band also attended. 

On the morning of Tuesday the bells of All Saints church rang out before a thanksgiving service was held.

At lunch time a hot meal was provided for residents aged over 60 in tents erected for the purpose in the High Street. The men came away with pipes and tobacco as a gift, generously donated by Mrs Lovell*. (The ladies received a parcel of tea) These tents were then used in the afternoon to give all 6 to 14 year olds a tea. As a souvenir these children received a Jubilee "medal" each. These were donated by Miss Somers Cocks and Miss Wethered. (The Wethereds were also among several local breweries that donated ale for the dinners)

Miss Caird of Sunny Bank house [see my first "Where in Marlow was...?" post if you are not sure where that was] gave all widows of the Almshouses 1 shilling each. Those in the Almshouses also received a bottle of wine, some cake, a Jubilee handkerchief and a necktie thanks to Mr Charles Walker of Hampstead. He extended the gift to a number of the poor outside the Almshouses too.  

Sports were organised in a meadow adjoining the site of the proposed institute, for the evening. (Donkey races, greasy pole, skipping, tug of war..) There had also been a few races and games within the High Street itself. The races were for both adults and children and were free to enter. They competed for "useful" prizes and those commemorating the Jubilee. 

The day ended with a fireworks display and a torchlight procession of more than 100 people. The "monster" bonfire was created at the junction of the "new roads on Mr Williams land". (Institute Road & Beaumont Rise - the latter sometimes going by the name of Junction Rd in its early years, although this name was given to other "new" roads in Marlow too including Claremont Gardens and Station Rise before their current names stuck.)

During the day bunting and flags flew from houses, while in the evening Chinese lanterns were used. Marlow Bridge, the bridge across to Marlow Lock, the parish church and Thames Bank house were amongst the structures lit up with special coloured lamps as an additional decoration.

Bunting could be homemade but it could also be bought, along with flags and royal standards, from London suppliers by mail order as well as local fancy good shops.

The Black Lion pub in Well End, Little Marlow promptly applied to stay open an hour later than normal on account of the celebrations. In the end all licenced premises were granted an hours extension. 

Every Jubilee year in England there was a rash of little girls given the first or middle name Jubilee, as well as newly built houses dubbed Jubilee Cottages or Jubilee Villas or the like.  Marlow parents Caroline and Joseph Harris were a little unusual in using Jubilee for their male child Sydney Harold Jubilee Harris who appears on the 1891 census. Jubilee Cottages in Newtown Road dated 1887 still stand although Jubilee Terrace Dean Street, finished in 1887 does not. 

The 1897 Jubilee of Queen Victoria was also much celebrated - see more here. A post on the coronation of her successor King Edward appeared on the blog a short while ago here

*Others donating in kind or loaning items to the celebrations include Mr William Fisher (meat, he was a butcher of Market Square), Charles Miller Foottit (various foods) Mr George Maskell (of the George and Dragon - cutlery and plates). The over 60s dinner menu was cold roast and boiled meat, hot vegetables, plum pudding (part of any celebration back then, not confined to Christmas!), bread, cheese, tea and ale. 

Other posts connected to Royalty in Marlow can be found listed under Royalty on the General Marlow History post index here

All mentions of an individual on this blog can be found on the A-Z  Person Index in the top drop down menu. There's 4,000 + names there! 

See:

Bucks Herald 18th and 25th June 1887. Reading Mercury 18th June 1887. Copies British Library. Also available from the BNA.

1891 census Familysearch International by the LDS. Accessed July 2020.

Nash's Pall Mall Magazine Volume 18 published 1899.

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer June 25th 1887 - Slough Library

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Three Little Marlow Scandals

The village today, above.

Breach of Promise

In 1885 Little Marlow resident William Goggs De Bunting was sued for breach of promise by Alice Maud Haygarth of Roseville, Bridge Road, Maidenhead. Alice was a widow and said that having promised to marry her William dropped her in favour of another, richer woman. William had no hope of winning the case after he first stated that there was no promise and then somewhat backtracked and said that if (hypothetically of course) there had been one it would of have quite rightly been ended by him as a result of her misrepresenting her wealth to him. The unimpressed jury awarded Alice £450 compensation.

William was a native of Norfolk born in 1837. He was a printer in London before moving to Little Marlow. He had been declared bankrupt 17 years previously.

The marriage he actually made was to Elise or Eliza Blackwell Macgregor in London in 1884. Two years later they sued each other for divorce. She alleged cruelty and adultery. He accused her of adultery herself with a Robert Standish.

It seems the divorce was granted as William was married again in 1888. He had moved back to London by then.

I was not able to trace Alice Haygarth further.

The Death Of Maria Young

In 1862 fourteen year old Maria Young of Marlow Bottom Farm contracted St Vitus dance. A complication of an infection, especially rheumatic fever, it results in the sufferer making involuntary jerking movements with their limbs. Some patients exhibit psychiatric symptoms too like uncontrolled weeping.

Her parents sent for a Wooburn doctor and chemist George Walter James. He told them that the condition was rarely dangerous and prescribed some medicine. He received letters from them saying that Maria was "rather worse" but still did not consider her case urgent. No one sent for him for a further visit so he presumed some nearer doctor was dealing with the case if necessary.

Nevertheless when his other duties took him around a mile away from Maria he asked after her and was surprised to hear that she was seriously ill. He visited her and told her parents that she needed to be put in a "straight coat" to prevent her accidentally harming herself with her movements. He said that he would bring her one.

But he didn't. Besieged he said with patients at his home, and working through illness himself he was unable to get away again before Maria died. A verdict of manslaughter through neglect came against him from the Little Marlow jury after an inquest at the Black Lion, Well End*

The furious doctor wrote a letter of complaint to the South Bucks Free Press. He said her parents, the vicar and others who had seen the girl had been neglectful in not sending to him with urgency when they saw her worsen further. Why they had not summoned a Marlow doctor if they were worried he could not understand. He also said he never took on outlying patients who needed repeated visits because he was too busy with walk-in patients at Wooburn. The implication was any family who did call him out would understand that. In any case he said he had to prioritise the obviously dangerous cases he had above rarely dangerous ones like a patient with St Vitus Dance. He had patients due to give birth and others dangerously ill. He could not afford to leave them to go on a 6 mile round trip to give a patient something that was not life saving, only a matter of comfort or to visit a patient whose life shouldn't be in danger.

A Grand Jury threw out the charges against him.

To be fair to George no doctor felt that the advice or basic treatment prescribed to Maria had been incorrect. I could find no cases of anyone dying of St Vitus's dance. It usually gets better in a few months of its own accord and isn't necessarily even treated today. You have to suspect whatever infection had caused the St Vitus was the real cause of her death. But if he had been able to see Maria more often might he not have realised she needed additional treatment? Her parents, having been told by him that her condition might seem dramatic but was really not a big concern, can't be blamed for taking George at his word in that respect and not pressing him more earnestly to return to her.

George himself died aged 62 in 1865. He had moved to Bucks only in the 1850s from Staffordshire. He was by then a widower.

I was unable to trace Maria and her parents. There are Youngs in Little Marlow on the 1861 census but no Maria. No Youngs were the tenants of Little Marlow Farm in 1860 or in 1869.

The Bailey Murder Case

In 1920 Kate Bailey (known as Kitty) was murdered by her husband George who became the last man hung at Oxford Gaol as a result. She had been poisoned. Kate was pregnant at the time. 

Three women were in the jury and one of them asked the judge to be excused service on the grounds that women should be shielded from hearing disturbing evidence. Many people male and female would have agreed with that view at the time but the judge dismissed their objections saying "There is no delicacy here [in a courtroom]". Counsel was also warned to stop hesitating to ask "indelicate" questions of the accused on the grounds that there were ladies present! The Bailey trial was the very first murder case in England involving female jurors. It took place in Aylesbury.

George was a dairyman and had administered prussic acid to poor Kate probably in her tea at their home Barn Cottage. (Aka Old Barn Cottage, Church Lane) Her body was found wrapped in a sheet and hidden under a camp bed in a bedroom. At trial the defence argued she had committed suicide. George claimed he saw her drink the acid from an eggcup and had in the act of dying invited him to "come too". They had an infant daughter Hollie, and Bailey suggested later he had intended to kill her too. He certainly drugged her and laid the girl next to her dead mother for several hours. 

A large number of locally bought drugs were found in the Bailey home. George said he bought then to use in a new business he wanted to set up as farrier while the bottle of prussic acid on his person when arrested was for killing ants and wasps he insisted. He had pretended to be a vet previously in order to get drugs from wholesalers but was refused. Hence the reckless local buying.

Shortly after the murder George induced a young woman Lily Marks to stay at his home saying he needed her to help him demonstrate a new "music system" he had supposedly invented. He then repeatedly tried to attack her over the course of 8 hours. It seems his plans to seduce Lily was the motivation for removing Kate from his life.

George appealed against his sentence but it was refused. He wrote many rambling letters to the public which stress he considered he had a great gift for music and was misunderstood. His greatest gift however appeared to be committing fraud, for which he had several previous convictions and had served jail time. The murdered woman had also spent a short period in prison for following Baileys orders and cashing a stolen cheque on his behalf. Their little daughter was therefore born in prison. 

Marlow's Inspector West was one of the policeman that discovered Kate's body, while PC Poole was one of those that arrested Bailey at Reading. Other local people involved in the case were Drs Dunbar Dickson and Wills of Marlow who carried out the post mortem in the presence of Home Office Pathologist Dr Spilsbury. He appeared twice at the Marlow Police Court in Trinity Rd, and on both occasions was met by a good crowd of angry locals, heavily dominated by vocal women who could apparently be heard from some distance. The same also saw Bailey off at Marlow train station on his way back to Oxford Prison where he was being held. The ladies "invaded" the platform and still more angry crowds saw him at Bourne End. 

Kate is buried in Little Marlow. 

*For a list of the Black Lion historic landlords with information about them see here

Sources:

Divorce File, National Archives, Kew. Ref J77/365/1018.

The Bookseller, the Organ of the Book Trade Volume 10. Booksellers Association. Published by J Whitaker 1867.

GRO marriage registration and death registration indexes.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydenham%27s_chorea

My census transcriptions.

South Bucks Free Press 12th December 1862.

Newspaper Sources for Kate Bailey murder: Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 14th and 17th January 1921.

All newspapers at British Library Archives and accessed via their partnership with the BNA.

To IA ANY TYLERS, borgnis, Wright's. Cresswell. 

Landlords and History Black Lion Well End

Landlords found from court cases, wills, adverts, census etc.

This pub was routinely used to hold coroner's inquest and auctions of  both goods and real estate. The earliest mention I have of it is in 1839 but this doesn't give a landlord name. The pub is a much older building so I hope eventually to find some names for earlier landlords.

1841-43 William Suthery /Suthury

1843 -63 George Tyler "late of Box, in the county of Oxford.". In 1844 Robert Lunnon of Well End was fined and bound over to keep the peace for a year for breaking a window of the pub and damaging the pub sign by shooting at them not to mention threatening to shoot Mrs Tyler, George's wife. Presumably this was Sarah who is on 1851 census. Perpetrator was apparently known for his drunken antics which left him "very violent"*. George was also one of the parish poor rate collectors for Little Marlow and Well End which could have led to tensions with some. Robert however was said in court to be comfortably off, in receipt of an income paid by the executors of an unnamed individual  who had desired the money to be dished out gradually so he wouldn't spend it too easily! George Tyler had been assaulted by another customer in 1843. You had to be tough to be a Victorian landlord!

1863 William Nutt, must have been briefly.

1863- 80 Stephen Nutt

Above, the grave of Stephen and Sophia Nutt in Little Marlow Church yard. Stephen died Sept 16 1880 age 65, Sophia "his beloved wife" died January 15 1887 age 62. 

1880-87 Sophia Nutt taking over from her dead husband Stephen Nutt. Pet canary stolen from her premises 1882.

1887 Edwin Alma Bruce for few weeks only, caretaker publican following the death of Sophia Nutt.

1887-89 Robert Way. 

1889-96 Thomas Henry Jeffreys. 1891 census publican and gardener. Thomas suffered a serious assault in 1896 and is on the 1901 census as a gardener only. In 1895 customer Arthur Hughes was fined for assaulting another customer after a hypothetical argument as to whether it was acceptable to shoot a dog that strayed into your garden got out of hand. Arthur said he would do it, fellow drinker William Green said if any man turned a gun on his dog he would shoot that man. I'm with you, William.

1899-11 George Benjamin Hughes. Wife Sarah.

1914 Edward Walker, J Gilby at different times (holdovers) 

1915 George Benjamin Hughes (see also the Carrier's Arms)

1920 George Benjamin Hughes.

1927- Charles James Gregory 

1927-29 Mr and Mrs Sidney James Benning or Bennell who had come from Southsea. Took over from Mr Gregory. Mrs Benning /Bennell 's father retired naval lieutenant Alfred Edward Parnall lived with them. He died at the pub aged 71 in 1929.

1932 Edward Henry Lloyd transferred licence to Albert Ernest Holder**. Albert is perhaps the same man who was earlier at the Bricklayers Arms, Marlow.

1933 Louisa Holder (could be a widow of Albert above perhaps) transferred license to Charles Hawkes Todd.

1936 A.W Brinkman.

1941 Arthur Thomas Granville.

GAPS IN DATES REPRESENT GAPS IN MY KNOWLEDGE. SOME OF THE ABOVE LANDLORDS WILL HAVE BEEN IN THE PREMISES LONGER THAN STATED.

*Windsor and Eton Express 27th April 1844, via the BNA/ British Library Archives.

** Bucks Free Press October 21st 1932 via the Bucks Free Press Archives.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

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