The Danger Of Fire

 Long clothes and ribbons do not always mix well with open fires and candles. But our ancestors had no choice but to use what to us seems risky forms of heating and lighting around small children or the infirm. From researching the lives and deaths of many hundreds of Marlow citizens of old, we know how often accidents occured. This post is dedicated to telling the story of some of them, but be warned, it is sad reading. 

Deaths of babies and children whose bed linen or more often clothing had come in contact with an unguarded candle or a fire spark were sadly the most common. In December 1892, 5 year old Annie Katie Leach of Wood End accompanied her mother Mary Ann and her little brother stone picking in the fields. Her father Jesse worked as a cowman for Mr Field at Wood End. It rained and was freezing cold, so Mary Ann let the children go home ahead of her to their cottage. The boy still felt cold inside, so tragically Annie decided to try and light a fire to warm him. It was not something she was generally allowed to do and there was no fuel in the grate. So she used her initiative and tried to use a little wooden toy horse in the fireplace. She had found some matches which it is believed her father had accidentally left out earlier. Seconds later screams were heard and Annie come running out of the cottage, her clothes ablaze. Neighbour George Low heard her shouting for her "mammy" and managed to catch the running girl and beat out the flames. He ran to collect her Dad and Mum. Little Annie was severely burned but managed to say "Mammy don't hit me, I won't do it again, I was lighting the fire". The adults wrapped her in vaseline coated linen strips and Mr Field came with his cart to take the girl to the Marlow Cottage Hospital in Cambridge Road. But her injuries were so severe she died the same day.  

An adult who suffered a similar accident was "fancy goods" and toy dealer Hannah Bliz(z)ard. Hannah was a 70 year old spinster, but one who was shortly due to marry - possibly. More of which in a moment! She had lived in Marlow 23 years.  Her premises were in the building now occupied by Sainsburys in West Street, which at the time was divided into small shops of which Hannah eventually occupied the next but one to where the Giggling Squid restaurant is now, which then was the Sadlers Arms pub. In June 1896 Hannah was cooking potatoes for her dinner on a small portable or "bargemans" stove in the living room behind the shop. She later said she had been attempting to stir up the fire when her apron caught the flame. She attempted to beat it out with a "chip of wood" which did not succeed. She had then ran screaming into the Sadlers Arms adjacent, where John Adams who occupied the shop next door (see note below) and a youth passing in the street rushed to her aid. They did the best to put the flames out quickly and took her to the Cottage Hospital in Cambridge Rd. But sadly Hannah died. She had been suffering from poor health previously, and had had a paralytic stroke some time before the accident. She seems to have been regarded as tough, stubborn and independent and had resisted attempts by friends to get her to avoid using the stove amongst other things. At her inquest it was said she had been shortly due to marry. However Hannah's nephew Richard Truckell or Tricknell of Rotherhithe strongly denied this and while he admitted banns had been published to this effect, he believed this was against her will. Contemporary accounts are careful to avoid naming the prospective groom, especially given they were hinting at some kind of fraudulent intent on his behalf. Hannah left her business to her family, with niece Ruth North taking over, so any attempts to gain an inheritance by marriage were thwarted. On the other hand, Hannah was known to do her own thing so perhaps a late marriage was something she did not involve her nephew or others in, hence their surprise to hear of it later. You can see Hannah's grave here. Hannah's executors gave a gift of toys and coffee in her honour to the Marlow Cottage Hospital. Such gifts were the life blood of the perennially cash poor hospital and were very gratefully received. 

Last mention goes to Mary Edwards, who was killed by fire in 1838. While in a "state of intoxication" poor Mary fell asleep with a pipe in her mouth, which fell into her lap, and set her clothes aflame. Severely injured, Mary lingered for a few days before succumbing to her burns. The inquest was held at the Greyhound. (It was not as unusual as you may think for working class women in Marlow to smoke pipes.  I have spoken to someone who remembers walking up Chapel Street in the late 1920's as a young boy, past pipe smoking women sitting in their cottage doorways while working on things like sewing or the podding of peas! He associated it mainly with older women at the time)

Note 1

Hannah had taken over the fancy goods, toys and sweets half of neighbouring shopkeeper John Adams. John occupied the little shop immediately next to the Sadlers Arms as a stationer/newsagent. He had originally expanded into toy and novelty sales, taking on the second shop that Hannah would occupy later. He operated both as a bazaar for a while  before financial ups and downs meant he had to split the business and pass the toy shop on to Hannah. He was found dead in his back of shop living room about 6 months after Hannah's terrible accident. He was 70. 

Related Posts:

To find every mention of your ancestor here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. 

Hannah's grave here

Ruth North toy dealer here

John Adams toyseller  here

Patients treated at the first Cottage Hospital here

Other medical related posts can be found in medical section of this index here including the history of the Cottage Hospital and what it was like for patients. 

Gravestones in Holy Trinity Church Great Marlow

William Shorter d 1900 and Rebecca Shorter

William Higgins d May 1896 aged 77. Above. Formerly ran barges up to London but had become incompacitated 7 years before his death. He lived at death in Chapel Street with his wife and daughter. 

Mary Jane Langdon, d Sept 6 1906 aged 55,  wife of John Richard Langdon. Also their son Albert, died 23 Feb 1919 age 32, after serving with the Royal Engineers in Gallipoli and France. 

 

Sarah Everest d Aug 12th 1907, age 70. Above. 

James Gibson, d July 3, 1892 at Chapel Str aged ? years,  also Thomas Gibson his brother d Feb 14th 192? Above

Hannah Blizard d June 2nd 1896, age 70. And Mary Ann Blizard, wife of William, d Sept 14th 1910, age 82.  

Both ladies were from Hampshire originally. Hannah was not married, though as a businessman was sometimes referred to with the respectful title "Mrs". She ran a "fancy goods repository" selling largely toys and sweets in West Street. She suffered a horrific death after her clothes caught fire at her West Street home*. After this tragedy her niece Ruth (nee Blizzard but by marriage North) and Ruth's husband James North took over the business. They brought Mary Ann Blizzard, Ruth's widowed mother with them to Marlow. The William referred to on the grave had been dead a long time by then and is buried Hampshire. 

A post focusing on Ruth North née Blizzard is here and see also this post

 

Anthony Hood, d November 26th 1899 age 63 Above

William Mathews Oct 6, 1916 age 84. Also his wife Maria, d. Jan 7th 1911 age 85. Also his only daughter Annie died age 11, Sept 16th 1875. Above

William Maslin July 19 1896 age 38, Above

? Barksfield. D ? May 1909 age 37 Above

Eliza House d 20 April 1900 age 70, Above

Rebecca Salmon July 1st 1897, Above

Eliza Ann Birdseye, d November 20 1904 aged 79?

And husband John Birdseye d Dec 26 1917 age 87, Above

 As above

Above two photos, Aubrey Montague, not dated.  

Edward, dearly beloved husband of Mary Jane Swadling died 15 Oct 19?? Age 38. Above. 

A selection of gravestones, many from this graveyard have been lost in recent years, with some other graves in poor condition as happens with the passage of time. Photographs from September 2020.

* South Bucks Standard 5th June 1896. Copy held at the British Library and accessed online by me October 2020 via the BNA.

©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction of images permitted with credit and link here.

John Adams Toy Seller And Fancy Goods Man

West Street was a good place to go if you were a little boy or girl clutching a spare coin or two in the Victorian and Edwardian era. It was a street never without a toy retailer. Mr Salier, Hannah Blizzard and the Norths are three toys sellers that come to mind but the subject of today's post is John Adams. 

John was born in Westminister c1827. He arrived in Marlow when he was about 20 years old, on foot, seeking work. He called at cabinet maker Mr Mealing in the High Street. In this he was lucky. He gained a job there, first as a furniture polisher and then as a cabinet maker. But like so many early Victorians John had his finger in many pies, and some ventures went a little more smoothly than others! 

 

Above, the Mealing first workshop and  showroom premises where John initially worked. The Mealing business premises moved very slightly further down the High Street a little while later.

A difficulty of another kind hit John when he fell in love with Sarah Maria Gudgin soon after settling here. Sarah accepted his proposal but her family certainly did not. They considered John an unsuitable match - her family were better off than his for one thing. The couple eloped to London to marry at St Pancras in February 1851. But although the couple had taken out a marriage licence, the priest refused to marry them. It seems this was because they had lied and claimed they were both resident in the parish where the marriage was to take place and the priest knew this not to be so. But the marriage proceeded the following day with the bride's residence corrected to Marlow. This was St Valentines day by a sweet coincidence. How the families "strong opposition" to the couples union broke down after the fact of their marriage isn't clear. But John and Sarah made their home in Marlow and lived here until the end of their lives. 

The exact date of John starting out in business on his own account isn't clear. He was still working for Mr Mealing at the time of his marriage and defined himself as a cabinet maker in some sources even after the first mention of his "toy warehouse" can be found in 1854. Combining sources of income was standard for small shopkeepers at this time in Marlow, the wives usually managing the day to do day shop work. John's obituary mentioned that he had first taken over a small West Street stationers and newsagent and expanded into the neighbouring premises to offer toys and confectionary. These two little shops were in the building currently occupied by the main Sainsburys supermarket. John's toy shop was certainly different from one today - it sold tobacco in that side of the business! Later it also squeezed in some groceries. 

John comes across as a man who always had his eye on a new business or money making opportunity. He is said to have suffered heavy losses on the racetrack, and by unsuccessfully speculating on gold mines. For a while he had a second shop, in the "best part of the High Street", which was a fancy goods repository. What a fancy goods seller offered varied by shop and over time, but in John's case, he sold fancy clothes trimmings and accessories such as braiding and silks, embroidery supplies, costume jewellery, ivory, pearl and tortoiseshell brushes and combs, as well as robes and "oriental goods". And confectionary of course. He combined this with a coal selling sideline, another common Marlow side income. A fire in his warehouse in 1866 saw the building left with just the walls standing.  Luckily John was insured for this loss. In 1869 John offered both the fancy goods business and coal merchant part up for sale as he was "declining" coal selling. But it seems there were no takers. In 1872 John was at least creating the impression that the fancy goods business was doing well. He advertised that he was going to invest in a grand redecoration of his premises. This would involve a big stock sale to create room. But a second notice, saying the clearance would be effected by selling everything at 20% below cost price does sound like the work of a man either extremely eager to begin his decorating, or one with a cash flow problem. Sure enough, less than a year later, John was trying without success to sell his fancy goods business again. Unfortunately the stock in trade and shop fittings were then auctioned off on the premises to appease his creditors and stave off bankruptcy.  It was then back to concentrating on the West Street business. Not to be defeated, John gained a licence to sell British wines there in 1873. He was known for his low prices, and seems to have flourished again. He was constantly improving the two premises, and they became known as a bazaar which probably suits the eclectic range of novelties to be found inside. Some of the fancy goods element had found its way back in by the time Sarah Adams died aged 64 in 1894. 

Around the time of his wife's death, John decided to split his West Street shop back into 2. He would continue with the newsagent side, and unmarried relative Hannah Blizzard would take over the toys and fancy goods element in the neighbouring premises. A few years later Hannah would suffer a horrible death when her apron and then the rest of her clothes caught alight as she cooked potatoes for her dinner on a little stove. Hannah's niece Ruth North would later take it over - read about her here.

John himself lived alone behind the shop after his wife passed away. In 1897 he too died at home, thankfully more peacefully than the tragic Hannah. In the 10 days before his death, he had begun to have his meals at the adjacent toy shop, provided by niece Elizabeth Blizzard. One day he did not come for his tea. Elizabeth knocked at the shop to tell him it was ready but received no answer. Believing him to be out, she though no more of it until he also failed to call for breakfast. She ran to the High Street to fetch John's nephew James Gray who broke in through the back door. They found John dead in his fireside chair, a newspaper folded on the table alongside his customary jug of beer bought from the neighbouring Sadlers Arms. It was decided he had died peacefully of heart failure during an afternoon nap. His shop was subsequently used again with it's neighbour as part of the North's toy shop. 

Note: there was another man in West Street, in the 1890s and early 1900s with the name John Adams. This other John was younger and a domestic coachman /publican.

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

More about the Meaning family, furniture makers to royalty see Charlotte's post here

 Use the A-Z people index at the top to find every mention of an individual here, and the Specific Shops, Streets etc option to find other entries relating to shops or West Street. Thousands of people are featured on this blog.

 For posts about everyday life in Marlow in the past, see the post listing here

 Happy hunting! 

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this post for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog and link here.

Sources include: 

1854, 1869 & 1883 Post Office Directory (Kelly's Directories Ltd)

1876 Harrods Royal and County Directory (Harrod & co)

Marriage Licence research by Charlotte Day

GRO Birth, Marriage and Death index

1851, 1871, 1881, 1891 census transcriptions from microfilm by Charlotte Day

1905 Marlow Guide

South Bucks Standard 22 Jan 1897, British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA. 

1872 sale of stock notice, John Adams. 

Bucks Herald 13 September 1873 as above. 

Reading Mercury 3 July 1869, Maidenhead Advertiser 27 January 1897, as above. 

Bucks Free Press June 5th 1896, Bucks Free Press Archives.

Ruth North The Toy Dealer

If time travel is ever invented you will find me nosing around Ruth Helena North's toy dealers in Edwardian Marlow. She was located in West Street at numbers 18-20 (modern numbering, currently Sainsburys).

Ruth was a Hampshire girl by birth spending her childhood in the fishing village of Itchen and the parish of St Mary Extra near Southampton.

Her father William was a fisherman and mariner but she may have had little memory of him because she was born approx 1866 and he was dead by the time of the 1871 census.

Her mother Mary Ann raised Ruth and her siblings alone. She supported them with occasional work as a charwoman and laundress.

Ruth worked as a servant before marrying fellow Hampshire resident James North in 1895. 

By 1901 the couple (probably in 1896) along with Ruth's widowed mum Mary Ann Blizzard had moved to Marlow to take over the fancy goods repository of Ruth's unmarried elderly aunt Hannah Blizzard who had died. Poor Hannah burned to death after her clothes caught fire on the premises - you can read about that sad event here

Ruth officially "assisted" her husband in this business but as he was also a tobacconist and corn dealer Ruth was most likely the real one running the fancy goods side of things. A fancy goods repository was basically selling fun but non essential items such as you might treat yourself or someone else to. In Hannah's day the business was mainly a retailer of toys and sweets.

After James's death Ruth concentrated on toys. She died in 1939 having ran her toy shop right up until then.

1905 advert, above.

*Hannah Bliz(z)ard and Mary Ann Blizzard share a memorial stone in Holy Trinity churchyard. Image here

See also this related post on relative John Adams toyseller and fancy goods man. 

To find all mentions of a person on this blog please use the Person Index.

To find shops see the "Specific Shops, Streets, Etc" option on the menu.

©Marlow Ancestors. If reusing or quoting this research make sure you link here and credit this blog. 

Sources:

GRO England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death indexes online on their website. Accessed October 2020.

Death Certificate Hannah Blizard.

University of Leicester Special Collections online, Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire 1939.

England and Wales census 1851, 61, 71, 81, 1901 and Hampshire Parish records from Familysearch website, Intellectual Reserve Inc, run by the LDS. Accessed October 2020.

Gravestone transcription by blog member Kathryn Day.

South Bucks Standard Report 5th June 1896 [Hannah's death], paper at the British Library, accessed online via the BNA October 2020.