The Other Royal Celebrations In Marlow

We have posts due on events such as the Golden and Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Queen Victoria's reign, but this entry is about how the town celebrated (or not) some of the other events in Queen Victoria's life. 

If your ancestor lived in Marlow in June 1838, then it is very likely they at least heard celebrations of the Queen's coronation because it appears to have been a very noisy event. Victoria had succeeded to the throne in June 1837 so the residents of Marlow had plenty of time to consider how to mark the occasion. The reports vary widely with rival political groups accusing the other of doing little, which is reflected in the accounts published in local newspapers. The Windsor and Eton Express said that the church bells were rung on Coronation day and that the shops were closed. Others said this was a lie, and only the Tory supporters in town would be content to do so little. The Bucks Gazette said liberal tradespeople took on the task with enthusiasm as did the Clayton family at Harleyford. The Clayton's Conservative political rivals, the Williams of Temple House, who included the Marlow M.P, were accused of not organising anything grand. So the reports have to be filtered with the understanding of the political bias of the reporter. One thing all can agree on is that many fireworks were let off, some guns, and a few cannons. The last were courtesy of Harleyford where the din of artillery was said to have been kept up all day. After 41 discharges of cannon, even the most devoted royalist in the neighbourhood must have been happy a new Queen was not crowned everyday!

 Amongst the criticism levelled at MP Thomas Peers Williams and his supporters such as the Wethered family of the Brewery, was that they had not as wealthier citizens put their hand in their pockets to subsidise any celebrations for the poorer classes. It seems they had been expected to pay the bell ringers for their services, but had not offered to do so so the money had to come out of the Church rates fund. It was also hoped a subscription would have been raised to provide some relief to the poor.  The Bucks Gazette went further and said those who put on events publicly had "resisted the will of the domineering tyrant in the town." (Williams) This may be a little unfair, as while Williams was a controversial politician who was accused of evicting those of his tenants who did not vote for him, his family did entertain members of the Royal Family at Temple House in latter years and so was not exactly anti royal. It seems the feeling was that big occasions meant those who acted in power in the town should play their part and help those with little money to celebrate. Failure to do so was regarded as "selfish". 

Those who did include the less well off were Joseph Tyler of the Clayton Arms in Oxford Lane/Quoiting Place. Joseph entertained more than 100 to dinner - an "elegant repast". And Messrs Wright of Marlow Mills gave a hot beef dinner with ale and punch to 100 or so staff and their family members. This dinner included plum pudding which might seem unseasonal to our eyes but it's a regular feature of many Victorian celebration dinners in Marlow and elsewhere whatever the time of year. 

Moving on to 1840, when Queen Victoria was married to Albert. On this occasion the liberal papers again accused the conservative interests of failure to mark the occasion properly. The celebrations were described as "very limited". But Harleyford House bought out their "artillery" again. (41 discharges of cannon). The bells were of course rang and guns fired. The reliably generous and kind Benjamin Atkinson of The Rookery entertained all his staff to a meal along as did a few unnamed tradesmen working on a smaller scale. But the "most influential  inhabitants of the town who owe all this wealth and influence to the lower ranks of society did very little."

In 1858, the Queen's eldest daughter, Victoria the Princess Royal was married in turn to Prince Frederick of Prussia. Mr Borgnis and Mr William Ward decided to treat the boys of the Blue Coat school (now Borlase) to something to mark the event. Their choice would probably not get distributed today, given that it consisted of cake - and wine! Those attending the National schools recieved some tasty buns while the pupils of the British Schools were given a full tea, presumably without alcoholic beverages. 

The Queen's birthday was usually marked in a small way. Prayers for her continued health were a standard in the local churches. The church bells were rang, and some shops and homes were decorated with bunting. This is more often recorded in the later part of the reign. The local Oddfellows lodge (friendly society) held a church parade (that is a parade to the parish church in full regalia for a  special service) on several occasions in the 1880s in honour of Her Majesty's birthday. In 1887, they were lead by the town band and they followed this with a public dinner for 100 people at The Greyhound.

Various members of the Royals visited the big houses in the area such as Temple, Gyldernscroft and Harleyford. Some of these visits were "under the radar" but others very much the opposite. When the prince and princess of Wales passed through Marlow in a steam launch, on their way to visit the Williams at Temple House, they were expected. Their arrival was somewhat inconveniently timed to occur during the Regatta. They were late, but they did indeed arrive in the end and were greeted with a royal salute. 

The last event other than the Jubilees to mark was of course the death of the Queen. The first notification of any significant news usually came courtesy of a telegram to the post office which would then be displayed either inside or out for all to see. (Less seriously the match reports of Marlow Football Club when playing away also arrived this way.) A week before the Queen's death, a telegram bought news the Queen was seriously ill. Special prayers were said in the various churches and chapels the following day, in the hope of a recovery. Public events due to take place in the next few days were cancelled as a gesture of respect - dramatic performances in the Music Room and a football match. But on 22 January 1901, the news was recieved by telegram late in the day that the Queen had died at Osbourne House, surrounded by her family. It was immediately ordered that the bells should toll in the church. This sound was said to be what made many Marlow residents realise that the rumour about the Queen's death were true. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related posts:

Coronation Celebrations 1902 here

Jubilee 1887 Here

Storm disruption during 1897 jubilee Little Marlow here

Royal furniture makers the Mealings here

Other posts about everyday life in old Marlow here

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

Sources:

Goodrich, Samuel Griswold. Peter Parley's visit to London during the Coronation (Library of Alexandria, 1838)

McCarthy, John - A History Of Our Own Times, 1871. 

Wilson, Robert. Life and Times of Queen Victoria (Cassell and Company, 1891) 

Bucks Gazette 14 July 1838, 22 February 1840 - British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA. 

Reading Mercury 30 January 1858, 31 May 1890, 26 January 1901 - As above

Bucks Herald 13 July 1878, as above. 

Windsor and Eton Express 30 June 1838. As above. 

Slough Eton and Windsor Observer May 28 1887, Slough Library. 

©Marlow Ancestors

The Marlow British Schools *Updated September 2025*

 If you try and find what schools your ancestors went to in any town, you will quickly come across references to both "British" and National schools, and later "Board" schools as well. The National schools, run under principles of the Church of England, are well known in Marlow, as they survived a long time. Marlow's British Schools didn't last long enough to leave much record behind, and so it was once thought that Marlow never had any. These were schools established by the "British and Foreign School Society for the Education of the Labouring Classes of Every Religious Persuasion"  - in reality they appealed to non conformist families. Given that Marlow had a number of non conformist places of worship and they had a tradition of promoting education, it did not seem likely that no British school was established in our town. So I began a search and can now confirm we had both a Boys and Girls British school in Marlow in the 1850s. They may not have lasted decades but there would have been a small group of children who had most of their education in one of the schools. 

A meeting was held at the Salem Chapel (aka the Independent Chapel/Congregational Church, now the Christchurch URC, Oxford Rd) in 1852 to discuss the desirability of setting up a British School. The response was positive, and fund raising began immediately. The supporters were naturally from mostly non conformist families, and those who were identified as supporters of the liberal political  fraction (the two tend to go hand to hand in Marlow). The latter is probably why the use of the town hall, which was under the control of the conservative MP, was refused for the meeting. The fact a prominent guest was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate in the recent election, Jacob Bell, probably didn't help either. Later the school idea was identified as proceeding from the supporters of Bell. Although he was not a Marlow man, to his credit he maintained an interest in the school for this place he was not in the end elected to represent. No doubt he had half an eye on future election opportunities here. But he had campaigned on the extension of the vote (including to women) and he said such voting rights would be meaningless if not backed by good quality non sectarian education for the voters. 

In February 1853, a second meeting was held, to proudly announce that support had been sufficient to allow for the establishment of the boys school which would open on the 1st March. The meeting was said to have far outstripped any similar public one "as regards numbers or respectability". After the meeting proper, there was a fundraising tea and exhibition of penmanship and drawings from the pupils of the British School High Wycombe. The ladies organising the tea provided the food to the school for free, so every penny of the sale of tickets could be regarded as profit. 

It was always intended to begin one for the education of girls too, but they decided to start with boys because it was there they could, at the time, be most confident of generating enough demand to support the school. They also intended to build a permanent dedicated school building but until then they would use a temporary home. I am not certain which building(s) they adopted at first. I can see references to places they held various events and meetings such as public examinations and special teas but I can't pin point the location of the boys hired school rooms beyond the fact that they were located somewhere in the High Street in 1856.  I don't believe the British school were able to realise their dream of a permanent specially built school building but this is still being researched. I can say for certain that they had not erected or purchased one by August 1856 as it was noted that £10 raised towards this was sitting untouched in a bank account. A plea was put out to raise the remaining amounts needed in order to save the schools the ongoing cost of room hire. 

A few months after opening, the Boys British School had 71 pupils, a number that had exceeded initial expectations. This encouraged the supporters to move quickly ahead with the girls branch. They were confident it would meet with equal success. In April the list of potential female pupils was fast filling up. Then in August 1853, a fundraising "aquatic excursion" to Medmenham Abbey was organised in aid of the girls, with 500 supporters gathered in the grounds. I believe the girls branch opened shortly after. Jacob Bell addressed this meeting too. Miss Garrett is the first schoolmistress I have found record of as having charge of the young ladies. By 1857 she had been succeeded by Mrs Fincham, the wife of the master of the boys British school. At that point the girls school was located at Albion House of which see below. Mrs Fincham promised a well rounded education including vocal music, water colour painting, drawing, plain and fancy needlework plus all the usual academic subjects. In addition the Finchams offered short courses of lessons in a wide variety of subjects in the form of evening classes at Albion House. For example evening scholars could learn double entry book keeping in 16 lessons or do a short course in higher maths or chemistry. "Terms exceedingly moderate."

Sir William R Clayton gave some medals to the first scholars for good attendance in the first few months of the school's life as well as medals for making good progress in their studies. I wonder if any have survived? 

The mentions of the activities of the schools while they lasted, create an impression of a happy bunch of scholars kindly treated and taught with an enthusiasm that extended beyond teaching them the bare basics of the 3Rs and scripture. For example, the school started a choral society which provided free vocal and instrumental training to the children. This was quite extraordinary for a school catering for working class children and suggests that initial financial support was good. The children's Choral Society met every Thursday to pour forth "beautiful strains that are calculated to gladden and enliven the heart." The children gave a number of performances to the public. Other subjects the children were examined in include history and geography. Rev Thomas Styles of the Independent Chapel took care to test the youngsters religious knowledge. (The first examination took place in the Wesleyan Chapel and endearingly the musical pupils began with a song, and performed another between the tests for each subject. No doubt this provided a happier atmosphere for their equivalent of exam day! The readiness and accuracy with which the youngsters have their answers was regarded as "truly astonishing". The day ended with the choir singing the National Anthem followed by a public tea. The conductor was Mr Teale, organist at the Roman Catholic church who provided his services each week entirely free of charge.)

In September 1857, the boys enjoyed two treat days. On the first they gathered at the "large rooms" in Albion House (known as the Albion Rooms, used by the breakaway congregation of the Salem Chapel, a Catholic School and Borlase at different times, among others. As mentioned above it was in use by the girls British school at this time). Here they gathered for a "bountifully provided" tea accompanied by much laughter and singing. The boys are said to have enjoyed a large helping of cake in particular. They then gave cheers of appreciation for those providing the goodies. Later the boys gathered in Mr Middleton's meadow to play a cricket match. They marched there carrying a flag and a school banner. This seems to be the favoured method for the children arriving anywhere, ideally accompanied by song. It is nice to see how happy many of the occasions enjoyed by the little pupils were. They seem to have played a number of cricket matches, and also went, as a school, to watch others -  yes, marching all the way. 

The last mention I can find of the schools, as yet, dates from 1858. The children were giving their traditional summer recitation to an approving audience, with a prize giving afterwards. Then things go quiet. Thorough listings of existing schools in the 1860's do not mention either of the British Schools. I think a possible explanation is the fairly recent opening of the Oxford Lane infants school, which expanded general schooling provision in the town, although this was a National school and ran along side the British for several years.  There was also a possible indication of falling numbers amid a disagreement among families supporting the British Schools. In 1855, at a celebration tea at the Salem Chapel following the public examination of the pupils of both schools, one of the speakers told the audience to pay no heed to those who would find fault as they seldom contributed anything in their own right and so would not be missed if they left. The school had prided itself in considering applications from teachers of any denomination, including the Church of England. In January 1857, this lead to the appointment of Mr Fincham of London University as master of the boys school. There had been 15 applicants, and Fincham was regarded as the best. But he was a member of the Church of England. This may have upset some parents. Perhaps they thought their children may as well attend the National schools, although Fincham was bound to respect the broad base required for the religious teaching at the school. Nine months later, a different master is recorded, a Mr Baxter*. Another indication of turmoil? Perhaps there were not enough families to support the schools long term in any case. In 1857, when Mr Milne of the Borough Road Institution came to examine the boys, he spoke of the credit that should reflect on the master "for the care taken in providing under great disadvantages a liberal and unsectarian (qv) education" to the youth of the town. The disadvantages spoke of might be lack of sufficient support or perhaps no permanent classroom. The schools clearly had their struggles. 

As a footnote, newspaper reports from 1865 reported a rumour that a British School would again be brought to Marlow.  It was said that land suitable for the erection of a school house and masters residence had already been purchased. Unfortunately there does not seem to have been any truth in this. However a night school was established by the Congregational church in the same year, with 40 pupils enrolling on the first day. Another newspaper in 1868 mentions the want of a British school in Marlow and says it's long been talked of.  There's also a passing reference or two to a day school at the Wesleyan Methodists chapel, separate to the Sunday schools, started about 1858 and still running in 1870. This then might have started around the time the British School was fading, but mentions of it are slim and again it appears in no local guides or directories I've yet encountered. The Primitive Methodists also started a night school for boys and men in 1867, running 3 days of the week in winter only. 

Notes - 

A meeting to set up a Bucks Association of Teachers in British Schools in 1839 listed a teacher from Marlow amongst the attendees, a Mr Greenwood. He was presumably working outside of Marlow, unless there was another short lived British School at this earlier decade? Food for thought. 

The Commitee appointed to organise the foundation and erection of the school were as follows: 

W P Gaskell, J Wright, F Wright, J Meakes, W H Mane, Richard Gibbons, Thomas Fullicks, W Wigginton, Thomas Butler, W Almond,Thomas Wellicome, H C Curtis, Ralph Spicer, George Brangwin, Henry Stallwood, T Ware, W Humphreys jun, G Kidd, J Morgan

* I have traced three further teachers, Mr George Verney, Mr J N Nash and Mr Ringsell. Mr Verney may well be the same man who opens a boys day school in 1856. The Mr Verney of the British school resigned at the same time.  For more see here

To find other education related posts, see our listing here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

 Sources include:

The Education Magazine - Vol 2, 1839, digitised by Google. 

Report of The British Schools Society 1856. 

Berkshire Chronicle 26 February 1853. From the British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA. 

Reading Mercury, 26 February 1853, 6 August 1853, 18 August 1855, 10 January, 25 July & 12 September 1857, 26 June 1858, as above. 

South Bucks Free Press - 30th January & 30th March 1857, November  1865, 20th March 1868 

Mussons & Craven's commercial directory 1863. 

©Marlow Ancestors