A Social History Of Marlow Train Station Part One -Up to 1889

 This is a two part post about the experience of our Victorian Marlow residents when  travelling to and from Marlow by train. 

I'm sure the average residents of Marlow were divided about whether they actually wanted a railway to come to Marlow at all. Would it bring in visitors with coins in their pockets or take people away to spend their money elsewhere? Would the visitors be of a good class or "beanfeasters" who would crowd out the better heeled tourist asked some traders. Would it help local businesses get their raw materials and goods in  more cheaply and quickly? Would the noisy and dirty railway destroy the peace of the countryside? Would Marlow be left behind if it didn't have a station? 

Whether it was wanted or not, the locals could read about plenty of false starts regarding the rail arriving here. In 1845 it was proposed that the Midland Grand Junction Railway line could go from Reading to Northampton via Henley and Marlow amongst other places. And there was the 1866 Marlow, Uxbridge and Wycombe railway that also never arrived. 

One line that definitely did get laid was between Maidenhead Boyne Hill and High Wycombe which opened in 1854 with a stop tantalizingly close to Marlow at Bourne End or Marlow Road as it was then known. Immediately the local carriers and coach services made sure to offer services to meet the trains there. In 1855 the papers confidently reported that the line would be extended to Marlow itself as there was no engineering difficulty preventing that, with a proposed station near the bottom of the High Street. But no, that didn't happen either. Travelling from Marlow-Road sounds a bit hair raising as in 1866 it was mentioned that the wooden bridge there had for a long time been in a dangerous state and "it is evident that before long the bridge will give way". Not conditions to reassure the nervous train passenger. 

Great Marlow Railway Co

A group of local landowners decided to start the Great Marlow Railway Company, with a station at Marlow, in 1867 although selling enough shares to finance it took time. The first general meeting of the shareholders took place at the Crown in 1869 chaired by Peter Borgnis. The gentlemen expressed regret that they had not met their initial expectations which were to have began construction by this time but they said if more people came forward with capital to invest things would soon be under way. The following year they were still hopeful that construction would start soon. Additional costs had arisen as Great Western had decided that some good sheds at Marlow Rd would need to be moved to the other side to avoid the new line having to cross their various sidings for safety reasons. Move on another year and only 12 subscribers turned up at the Crown meeting to discuss progress (or lack of it.) The increased projected costs this time round were put down to problems negotiating a price for the land the rail line would travel through. But at the end of 1872, the first sod of turf was ceremonially turned over by Mrs Owen Peel Wethered who was presented with a silver salver to mark the occasion. (Her husband was amongst the biggest share holders). 

I don't know how many men from Marlow itself might have been involved in some way with the construction of the line. Local engineer Edwin Clark* had offered to build it for £8000 and some shares, or to oversee the same for a commission based on the outlay plus more shares. He did win the contract. Whoever was involved, the work sounds very cold and wet as you imagine a project started in December on a flood plain would be.  Within a couple of weeks it had to stop altogether due to unusual levels of rain turning the site into a mud bath. But in March it was reported that some of the rails had arrived on site and the workers were nearly ready to lay them. (By 1878 the rails had had to be raised in parts by 15" in total to deal with flooding.)

The new station

Obviously the station at Marlow also had to built. The Windsor and Eton Express said the brick and bath stone building would be a place of "elegance, utility and comfort" which makes it definitely different looking from the current Marlow station! The plans showed a 240ft platform, a 31ft "covered veranda" and 150ft engine shed and tool sheds. The pressure was on to have the line open in time for the Regatta which they did, but actually the station buildings themselves were not quite finished on day one. 

There's a good chance that if your ancestor lived in Marlow in the summer of 1873 they were at the station to see the first public train come in. Before that the first engine to come over the line, driven by Mr Thomson of the Great Western Railway, bought a few officials to and from Bourne End on a trial run. They made the journey to Marlow  in 5 minutes. Peter Borgnis travelled on this journey as the first official passenger, although not a fare paying one. The engine was taken up the sidings too. Following this a heavy goods engine put the line through its paces on behalf of the Railway Inspector. It naturally passed.

  Mr Porter the station master at Marlow Rd/Bourne End transferred to Marlow - you can read more about him and his family who ran the Railway Hotel here. 1,700 tickets were sold in the first 10 days and within the month of August 10,000 passengers travelled on the Great Marlow Railway according to the Reading Mercury. 

The station operated with oil lights* but in 1874 it was proposed to light up the station building and signals by gas. There was no licensed  refreshment room (although it appears it was planned that there would be as a beer selling licence was originally applied for) so for that you'd have to pop across to the Railway Hotel where you could also hire a fly to take you onward if necessary. If you travelled to the new Maidenhead Station (where the current one is) surely you'd find a refreshment room in this smart modern premises? Unfortunately not. It was then the only main junction  station built without a licensed refreshment room. The landlord of the Maidenhead Railway Hotel was quite happy about that but Marlow's Wethered's Brewery did their best to get one installed. It was tiring for ladies and invalids to have to walk out of Maidenhead station and up the front steps to the hotel they said, especially in wet weather. But by the time Marlow station opened the refreshment room at Maidenhead was still a dream of the thirsty traveller.  

The platform at Marlow sounds crowded in these first few years. This is probably why it was announced in 1875 that only passengers intending to travel on the next train would be allowed on the platform prior to departure. But it seems this was generally ignored! 

Danger on the railway

Railways bought some danger to the residents here. There were near misses when people decided to cross the line where they could. The 78 year old Elizabeth Hester of Little Marlow was knocked down and killed in 1878 at the Spade Oak Crossing. The driver sounded his horn but she had crossed close to the train and there was no possibility of avoiding a collision. Was Elizabeth perhaps deaf or partially sighted? It was reported she'd had more than one narrow escape doing the same thing before. 

The first accident involving train passengers on the Marlow line did not happen until 1883 and it was thankfully a minor one although some travellers had slight injuries. The train from Bourne End was in a collision with the stop blocks at the dead end. The following year the engine used on the Marlow line fell over onto its side while being shunted, minus any carriages. No serious damage was done and no one was hurt. A crew from Slough came to move the engine and services resumed later the same day. With the wooden Bourne End railway bridge considered to be in a dangerous state again, there was probably a good take up for the option of adding insurance against calamity to the cost of your train ticket. 

Using the train in the 1880s. 

Two annoyances were reported by the passengers waiting to travel at Marlow. One was that "crowds" of "urchins" met every train and pestered the arrivals for coins. As the children were supposed to be in school, the parents were blamed. The second grievance was that many thought the carriages were in a shabby old condition. But in 1886 these long neglected essentials had been done up and now presented a "trim and tidy appearance". 

A lot of improvements had been made at the station soon after it opened, including a new siding in 1879 which was lamented as expensive but necessary because of goods traffic out doing expectations. (At the same time a general trade depression was reported to have resulted in a slight fall in passenger numbers which must have alarmed those who thought the railway would help local trade. But in the long term they were right, and numbers crept up again.)

From 1889 the Marlow station was in telegraphic communication with the main line. (Marlow Road station and Marlow town were linked by telegraph in 1870 so it took a while.) The other main work was to replace the iron rails with steel ones, which was done gradually over a period of 18 months. Some of the iron rails were sold to GWR. 

Part 2 coming next week deals with the 1890s +, the "disgrace to the neighborhood" otherwise known as Bourne End Station, the proposed new station in Riley Park, flooding, and the perils of travelling in cold weather. Read it here

*I believe it's possible the station was lit by gas for its initial opening but the Bucks Free Press reported that roughly 4 months after the line open Messrs Meakes** of Marlow had "just" completed the installation of lighting on the Silber system (E.g oil fuelled) to the platform and station buildings. It must have been lit before that, but whether by gas or a different form of oil lighting is uncertain. The same article mentions the difficulties of maintaining a good gas supply locally. It could be the GMRC considered gas and decided against it at first or had tried it and found it insufficient. As mentioned above, gas lighting did succeed the Silber system at Marlow before very long. More information on the travails of the Marlow Gas Works can be found here

**More information on the Meakes who were the local Silber agents, can be found here including a picture of their premises. 

Related posts:

For posts related to the station, and other historic transport in Marlow from stage coaches to cycling clubs  see the transport section of the index here

Timeline and proprietors of Railway Hotel: here

To look for information on a particular person or family, use the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

For sources see part 2  here

© Marlow Ancestors.

 

The Switzerland Of England - Spring Celebrations

In May 1849 the Crown (Crown Hotel / Upper Crown) in Marlow hosted a special Easter Ball. It wasn't the first but was one of the last held for that occasion. The room was decorated with a profusion of flowers, and the ladies attending also wore seasonal blooms. An appreciation of the natural beauty of the spring season is a recurring theme. 

The Switzerland of England

The blooming of the wild primroses was enthusiastically welcomed. The Winchbottom Lane area was one abundant in these pretty flowers and some families made it an annual springtime tradition to picnic there to enjoy them. In town, Holy Trinity Church yard was famously carpeted with flowers. 

The most popular outing was however to the sumptuous cherry orchards of Cookham Dean, which the South Bucks Standard thought was "rightly described as the Switzerland of England in all it's spring tide glory". (1906) It's hard for us to visualise the number of trees, and how resplendent the blossom would have been. But people travelled from all around the region to visit the trees, even coming from London to do so. 

Easter finery

Easter saw the churches decorated, traditionally with predominantly white flowers such as arum lillies. The gardeners at the "big houses" prided themselves in producing a selection of forced flowers for the ladies of the congregation to work their wonders with. Wildflowers were also gathered. At All Saints the font, screen, alter and pulpit were smothered in greenery, and Holy Trinity and St Peters had their own floral displays. The latter was also the scene of Canon Bernard Smith's annual famous donkey ride into the church interior - you can read more about this, and Bernard in a dedicated post here

Easter was also the time of the vestry meeting to choose new churchwardens. And Saturday of Easter week was the deadline for hopeful candidates for entry into the Blue Coat School (Borlase) to have got a "ticket" of application signed by the treasurer and committee members - boys only at this time.

The Primitive Methodist Chapel (now Liston Hall) usually had a Good Friday public tea in the Sunday school room followed by an entertainment with singing and music. The chapel choir provided the former and the chapel's piano and famous harmonium the latter. In 1900 the celebrations included a parade lead by the chapel band. All the proceeds went to the chapel building fund, a very long standing debt the Primitive Methodists suffered under. 

The Salvation Army had outdoor services, and marches including a "monster" (contemporary description) Easter parade in 1895. Other sounds of Easter came courtesy of the Marlow Town band who are mentioned as performing across town at Easter 1884 and the "usual" Easter morning peal of bells from All Saints. 

You could buy hot cross buns from the towns bakers such as West Streets Death and Sons who thought they had the very best in town. Deaths sounds a tasty place to visit in any season with mince pies another speciality. 

Football fun

The Easter Bank Holiday Monday was a traditional time for a football match, with Marlow playing at Crown Meadow, and the more minor teams  fitting in where they could (such as a meadow by the station and Gossmore). In 1896, Marlow saw the final of the Berks and Bucks Cup between Maidenhead and Wolverton on Easter Monday. The roads into town were said to be bustling with supporters making their way into town by horse, bicycle and on foot. Just under 3,500 fans were in attendance, and the club were delighted to collect more than £100 in gate money. 

A match of a different kind was played at Crown Meadow at Easter 1897 before a crowd of 500. A High Street v Rest of Marlow football match with all players playing in fancy dress. At least 3 of the men were dressed as ladies!* Not quite the image we sometimes have of staid Victorians! F W Burton captained the High Street and Geoffrey Hide the rest of Marlow.  The High Street lost 5-3. Costumes included cowboys, butchers, crusaders, and a Turkish soldier.  Funds raised were for the cottage hospital. 

Outside of football supporters, Easter saw a huge influx of visitors, especially by train. In good weather the numbers were reported to be sometimes large enough to cause lengthy delays on the railway because of the extra time taken to get everyone on and off the trains. Great Western Railway offered special cheap third class excursion tickets to Marlow from Paddington over Easter, with services running on Easter Sunday as well. In May 1890, all the hotels, inns and lodging houses in Marlow were said to be full, leading to many people heading back to Bourne End to try and find a room there. The main hotels and inns decorated themselves with flags and bunting to add to the holiday atmosphere - the Fishermen's Retreat, Compleat Angler, Crown Hotel, Greyhound, Two Brewers and the George and Dragon were all mentioned as joining in in 1884. 

May Day Celebrations

We immediately think of May poles when we think of May Day. But the "old tradition" of carrying flower garlands about town seems more long lasting in Marlow. This was the spring equivalent of "penny for the guy" of Guy Fawkes day. By the Victorian era, these garlands were made by children and then paraded around the streets in the hope the charmed adults would recognise the children's efforts with a treat or coin or two. In 1886, the May Garland tradition was mentioned as a lingering tradition in Marlow that had faded more rapidly elsewhere. But the traditional pagan figure of Jack In The Green had not put in an appearance for several years. Canny children knew that visiting Highfields, off Henley Rd, home to Mr Borgnis was essential. He was an enthusiastic supporters of the tradition and it was said no child ever went away empty handed from his property. He certainly had an open purse because several hundred children were said to make a stop at his home. Mr Borgnis chose May Day as the date of his annual "levee" or entertainment for friends, and no doubt the arrival of the flower carrying children provided a pleasant addition to the day. 

The most startling mention of a May Pole is from 1842, when 3 May poles were erected, but not for use by dancers. Instead a figure representing an unnamed person was hung from each then set alight.  (It was believed to represent a politician and/or those responsible for encouraging a prosecution against brewer and ropemaker Richard Gibbons for wilfully giving false evidence to a parlimentary committee investigating electoral fraud in the 1842 election. He was arrested by the Sergeant at Arms and sent to Newgate prison. He was later sent home with a severe reprimand from the Speaker for his "disgraceful conduct". Richard said he had become confused about being asked about both the Povey and Pusey votes and had not deliberately mislead anyone. The town as a whole seems to have believed him. A petition for his release was made by numerous inhabitants stressing his integrity and industry. His nephew Charles Gibbons vote was also contested on suspicion of bribery, but was held to be good in the end. He had voted for Clayton. The result of the Electoral Committee was Clayton's victory was over turned and his seat was given to previous runner up Renn Hampden)

The old May Fair, a partner to the longer lasting October Marlow Fair, had ceased by the Victorian era and the "rustic sports" at Bovingdon Green had lapsed by the end of the 19th century. Another lost tradition was a greasy pole climbling competition in the High Street. 

Spring tonic

If the sight of blossom and flowers was not enough, High Street chemist William Baxter could offer flagging spirits his "health giving saline"  spring tonic. It was aimed at children too, and cost 1/6 a bottle in 1897. 

The changing of the seasons also prompted certain shops to promote their new stock or to suggest you could refresh your wardrobe with the latest Paris or London fashions, if you were lucky enough to be able to afford to do so. James Morgan advertised that Spring 1897 would see every department of his drapers  stocked "replete with the latest novelties". Sounds delightful! 

* The "ladies" were F Langley, F Langley junior (in a bathing costume!) and P Chapman (the last dressed as a lady of fashion with a yellow dress and hat trimmed with an abundance of flowers)

Written by Kathryn Day. 

Related posts:

More about the Povey vote scandal here

Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here and part 2 here

New Year traditions here

Bonfire night in Victorian Marlow here

A listing of other posts about every day life in old Marlow  here

SOURCES

Carlisle, Nicholas, Concise Description of the Endowed Grammar Schools in England and Wales, Volume 1 (Baldwin, Craddock and Joy 1818) Reading Mercury, 10 May 1849, 31 May 1890 From the British Library, access via the BNA. South Bucks Standard 19 April 1895, 16 April 1897, 20 April 1900, 20 April 1902, 20 April 1906, as above Windsor and Eton Express 7 May 1842, as above Bucks Herald 11 April 1896, 08 May 1886,19 Apr 1884.

©Marlow Ancestors

 

Man The Barricades- It's Sarah Bliss Hammond

 

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Sarah Bliss Hammond lived at the above house in West Street, Great Marlow for many years. At that time it was named The Heathers and had formerly been used as both a school and private residence. Sarah was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Bliss Barrett [Elizabeth née Waters]. She was born in 1828 and baptised in 1831 in Moulton Northamptonshire. Her father was a miller and coal merchant. Her mother died prior to her daughter's baptism at the age of just 27. Sarah was baptised on the same day as another child to the same parents, Elizabeth but given the fact that Sarah was a late baptism there is no reason to think that the two girls were twins.

 It looks as if the girls' father had some financial difficulties. In 1830 he took a partner into his business, William Wood, but the partnership lasted only a matter of weeks before being legally dissolved. Two years later William was selling up much of his household furniture. What happened to him I am unsure- there is a possible death in 1841- but regardless Sarah was adopted by her uncle Daniel Sharp.

She married her husband Robert Hammond in Cheltenham on 18th November 1848. Her uncle Revd H Barrett was allowed to perform the ceremony though he was not the local vicar, in a traditional mark of courtesy. The wedding announcement tells us that Sarah was also the niece and adopted child of Dr S Sharp esq of Keynsham Bank, Cheltenham. 

Robert was a Navy man and a local.J.P. He had been born in Penshurst Kent where his father Jonathan was the vicar but the Hammond family were of Marlow origin and owned Marlow property. In a will written 1818 and proved 1819 Jonathan had left The Heathers to Robert along with two neighbouring cottages and other Marlow property and land. Robert intended to follow a long navy career but the unexpected death of three older brothers meant fate had other ideas and he was required to take over the management of the family estates on his father's death. He was perhaps as strong willed and stubborn as his wife according to later reminisces, or as the local paper diplomatically put it, he was a "straightforward, outspoken man".

By 1850 if not right away Sarah and Robert had settled at The Heathers. They took time to re-decorate and modernise the house. A painter at work there had a narrow escape in 1850 when, during a lightning storm, a fireball knocked down the chimney and travelled down it, through the flue and out into the hall where he was working. It missed him by a foot. The local paper bemoaned the loss of one of the "highly decorative chimneys". 

In 1853 Sarah gave birth to their daughter Eliza at the house followed in 1855 by a son Robert. Just a few months later her husband died. He was just 56. Eliza too would die young, in 1875. 

Peter Borgnis of the house Highfields in Marlow was one of the guardians appointed for the children in the will of Robert, which he also executed.

When her son was 4 Sarah formally changed his last name to Hammond Chambers to meet a condition of inheritance set out in the will of the child's great aunt Elizabeth Sparrow, formerly Chambers.

In 1860 while she was attending church Sarah's silk umbrella was stolen by Ellen Gibbons. Rosa Cannon had her own silk umbrella stolen at the same time by a different girl in what was obviously a jointly planned theft. You weren't safe from thieves even in church in Victorian Marlow!

In 1868 Sarah had a serious falling out with her neighbours the Fowlers of Western House. Two years previously she had decided to create herself a kitchen garden. She negotiated the giving up of some extra land which the tenants of Western House rented from her. This land was used for farming purposes being part of a rickyard with also pigsties and other outbuildings upon it. By enclosing this kitchen garden and also adding a front wall to her property she cut off sufficient access for herself to the garden for her dung cart. She believed that no one would object to her coming in with the cart across other land occupied by the tenants of Western House. She was wrong. Western House got new tenants the Fowlers. Words ensued. Sarah at first acknowledged that she had no right of way but said she would take it as a kindness if she could have occasional cart access across the land in order to get to her garden. She thought the Fowlers had not behaved well by complaining but did not wish to argue with them as one of the Fowlers was dangerously ill at the time. After a while matters soured further however. I won't go into all the tiny details but to summarise Sarah came to believe upon legal advice that she did in fact have a protected right of way through the land.

The Fowlers disagreed. Charles Fowler, son of the tenant Maria Fowler, paid a carpenter to erect a wooden barricade on their land to stop Sarah's cart from using it. Sarah demolished said barricade (herself apparently!) and carried on. The Fowlers began legal action.

The judge felt unimpressed by both parties calling them ridiculous and petty for arguing over a 15 yard strip of land. He awarded the Fowlers damages for the destroyed barricade but advised the parties to settle the access matter out of court instead of wasting his time. It does look as if that is what happened. I have a feeling Sarah's slowness to erect a new barn as promised on the land rented to the Fowlers was the real cause of them deciding to object to her continued access to her garden across their property. Sarah had also been petty about them having stacks of wood on their land visible from her house.

The case is interesting because it shows us that there were two sides to Sarah- the genteel lady taking a silk umbrella to church and the other lady who'll tear down your barricade if you stop her dung cart! 

This was not Sarah's first brush with the law when it came to defending her property, or so she saw it. In 1862 she had been in a long running dispute with Lieut General Higginson of the neighbouring The Croft (Gyldernscroft). This related to a right of way she claimed through Higginson's land. One day Higginson's staff put some posts in this path to stop animals straying. Mrs Hammond objected and immediately sent her family servant of over 30 years standing William Bradshaw* and her woodman Richard Holloway to remove the posts. The Higginsons put them back. And yes, you guessed it, Sarah's servants removed them again. They were spotted in the act by Higginson's employee Thomas Harris who threatened the digging pair with a pitchfork which he said he would plunge into their hearts! He actually lunged at them with the fork, knocked down Bradshaw, and grazed the wrist of Holloway who grabbed at the fork to save a prone Bradshaw from being stabbed. Harris was summoned for assault but it could not be proved that there had been any injury, there being no outside witnesses, and the case was dismissed. The lawyer for the defence suggested that "rich people should take such cases to the assizes and not send their servants to fight their battles". Harris was also cautioned not to fight on behalf of his master again.

Not long after he turned 21 Sarah's son Robert bought Beech Lodge not far from Highfields and decided to rebuild it. He is described as resident at the Heathers however in 1882. He was a barrister at law.

Sarah remained at the Heathers. 

In 1894 a fire in some outbuildings (reports differ as to exactly which) threatened not only Sarah's home but nearby properties too. Though some damage was done the fire brigade had the flames under control before anything serious could occur. Sarah wrote a warm letter to the South Bucks Standard afterwards to offer her thanks and to praise to the skill and intelligence of the firefighters. She also wished to give "sincere and hearty thanks" to all other "kind friends" who had stepped in to help at that time.

Two years later at the age of 68 Sarah died at the Heathers after some months in decline. The property was sold by the family in 1908 following the death of her son Robert. She was buried with her husband and daughter in All Saints churchyard. 

NB Stratton House was referred to as "formerly known as The Heathers" several times especially around 1909-1910 although the adjacent Stratton House / The Strattens qv was used as an address in its own right earlier than that. 

*William Bradshaw was famous in Marlow for his stories of selling milk from the cows belonging to the Hammond's to the poet Shelley while he stayed in West Street. The Shelleys were apparently regular customers of his. William would not hear of criticism of Shelley or his morals. The poet was he said, "a sight better than a good many who spoke agen' him", with a polite manner and no hint of snobbery. 

Photo by Kathryn. Post researched  and written by Charlotte Day, with updates by Kathryn.

For more posts like this see Biographies Of Individuals on the menu. For more on residents of specific Marlow houses or streets see the menu option "Specific Shops, Streets ...Etc".

All mentions of an individual on this blog can be found on the Person Index. Hundreds of people from or associated with Marlow are mentioned.

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

Sources:

Wills of Jonathan Hammond and Robert Hammond, transcribed by me from wills held at the National Archives, Kew.

Censuses my transcription from microfilm. Census information remains Crown copyright.

South Bucks Standard 23rd November 1894. South Bucks Free Press 14th June 1860. St James Chronicle 21st November 1848. Bucks Gazette 25 November 1848,  British Library Archives.

Dutton, Allen and Co's Directory 1863.

Royal and Commercial Directory of Beds, Bucks etc by J.G Harrod and Co 1876.

Post Office Directory 1869 by Kelly's Directories Limited.

Inns of Court Calendar 1877 by Charles Shaw. Digitized by Google.

Moulton baptism from Jane Pullinger. Thanks Jane.

The Gentleman's Magazine, February 1848. Digitised by Google.