1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow The Causeway (Part 7)

 My family has the original 

working notebooks used by the surveyors to compile this assessment. As they are fragile I am transcribing them gradually on the blog. I put them up in order as they chime in with research myself or others are doing.

The notebooks contain some scribbled notes added in the few years after the assessment too.

Transcription follows this pattern:

Name

Property occupied

Annual value of property

Any notes by me in square brackets

© Marlow Ancestors. Use this transcription for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog.

The Causeway

James Bird Brooks

House, shop, bakehouse, yard, carthouse, stable, granary, woodhouse, bacon house, loft etc

£21

*****

James Carter

Cottage in yard [This was accessed from what we would now call Station Road, which was then usually called Brook / Brooks Street because of Brooks' premises on the corner of it]

£3

*****

Late Widow Dobler [this name then  crossed out and no occupier name to replace it]

Cottage [crossed out and "new house " x2 put in instead]

£3 [crossed out and value of £6 each added for each one of the "new houses" added above]

*****

Late George Wilson

House and garden

£5 10 shillings

*****

Harriet Clark

House and garden

£6

*****

Bennell (no first name) [a Mrs Bennell lived on the Causeway in 1835 when an attempt was made to burgle her house]

House and garden

£6

*****

Widow Rockwell [Probably Rockell, spelling is various]

Cottage and garden 

£4

*****

John Langley

Cottage

£2

*****

William Smith [milliner]

House and garden

£6

*****

Robert White

Cottage and yard

£4

*****

Elizabeth Higgs

The Roebuck house [pub renamed the George and Dragon two years later], yard, stables, carthouse and garden

£9

*****

Thomas Sparks

House and garden

£12

*****

Widow White

The Swan house [pub], yard, stable and garden 

£9

*****

End of Causeway

Brooks Graves Great Marlow

 Amelia Rosina Brooks

D. November 22 1887 age 23

AND:

 Frances Ada Brooks d. Jan 13 1888 Age 20.

Note these are daughters of James Bird Brooks of Finnemoor Farm and the Causeway.  Frances died at the farmhouse. More on the family here

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this image with credit to this blog.

Will Summary Mary Dorell Of Great Marlow 1849

 I obtained a copy of this PCC will from the National Archives, Kew. This I transcribed and now summarize here.

MARY DORELL / DORREL WIDOW. WILL PROVED 1849.

Asks for burial at Great Marlow Church.

Executors to invest £130 in public stocks for the benefit of her grandson John Dorell Bowen son of Thomas Bowen of Great Marlow until John is 21 when he is to receive the £130. If he dies before 21 both the lump sum and the income from it's investment go equally to testator's children= Joseph Dorell, Elizabeth Brooks, Jane Harding and Eliza Moss.

Son Joseph £130.

Daughters as above equal share in testator's wardrobe contents.

Household furniture and effects to be equally divided between son and daughters.

Rest of personal estate after debts paid to her three daughters as above.

Son in law Thomas Bowen and friend Robert ... executors.

Witnesses W.L Ward of Great Marlow and Henry Anthony bookbinder of Great Marlow. [Ward was the solicitor]

NOTES:

Mary Dorell widow of Great Marlow [Aka Mary Dorrell] Written 1847. Proved 1849.

Asks to be buried Marlow Churchyard.

Executor to invest £130 and take the dividends, interest and produce of that until testator's grandson John Dorell Bowen son of Thomas Bowen publican of Great Marlow is 21 then John gets it himself. If John died before then it to be divided between testator's son Joseph Dorell and daughters Elizabeth Brooks, Jane Harding and Maria Moss.

£130 to son Joseph Dorell.

Her wardrobe to be divided equally between her daughters.

Household goods divided equally between her son and daughters.

Anything else remaining in her estate after funeral costs and debts paid to be divided between her daughters.

Executors: son in law Thomas Bowen and friend Robert Footitt.

Testator made mark rather than sign.

Witnessed by W.L Ward solicitor and Henry Anthony bookbinder, both of Great Marlow.

Notes:

Mary was the widow of John Dorell / Dorrell. The family came from Oxfordshire. Mary lived in a cottage in Quoiting Square Marlow, very close to the Red Lion, owned first by Thomas Bowen senior, father of Thomas Junior, and then passed by will to Mary Dorrell's daughter in law also called Mary Dorrell who had married George Dorrell. If you are scratching your head at that- Mary of the will's son George and daughter Priscilla both married Bowens, the children of Thomas Bowen senior. I hope that helps explain the family!

Mary's daughter Priscilla, wife of Thomas Bowen Junior, predeceased her. The Bowens, a father and son both called Thomas, ran the Red Lion in Marlow for many years. Sadly young Thomas Dorell Bowen did not live to see his legacy payable at age 21. He died aged 16 and shares a grave marker with Mary. See the image  here

Mary's son George, not mentioned in the will, was also a Marlow publican.

Will witness W.L Ward was William Lakin Ward, solicitor of the High Street. 

Executor Robert Footitt was a High Street chemist.

Transcribed and then summarised from a will held at the National Archives Kew by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors

To find all mentions of an individual here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu where you will also find a link to our other will posts and a grave marker image index.  

©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction permitted with credit.

Blounts / Blunts Farm Marlow

Historic occupier list. Occupiers are not necessarily the owner. Dates given are where I find firm evidence of someone being in occupation at the farm, they may have been present earlier or later too. 

Note= the name of the farm may spring from William Blount who was present in Marlow in the early 1400s. Perhaps he or his family owned or rented land that was or would become this farm.

Updated April 2026.

1587 Thomas Ponde sold it to Brinkhurst of Lane End, his relative. The later will of Thomas is on the blog here. 

1640 - John Langley.

1783 & 1788 William Brookes. Tenant to Nathaniel Micklem of Hurley. 

1815-18 Joseph and William Brooks. Probably brothers.

1833-1850 John Gibbons. Tenant to a Mr Micklem in 1833. Blounts then consisted of 173 acres. John also occupied Copy Farm in 1833. He retired from Blounts in 1850. Also at Widmere Farm. See here. At the time of John's retirement, there is a grand sale of stock. The animals on offer include "7 short legged powerful cart-horses", a 4 year old "well bred brown nag" who is a good roadster and hunter, and two handsome heifers. Also available to buy are 4 market waggons, 3 strong dung carts, a market cart, plough and cart harnesses for 8 horses, and the usual selection of ploughs, ladders, troughs, hurdles, turnip and chaff cutters etc. 

1854- Richard Blackwell, bailiff to the non residential owner who I think was still a Micklem.

1857-60 "Messrs Hewett", that is John and William. In 1857 sheep and corn stolen from them in different incidents. In 1859 their ploughman was charged with horse cruelty. William died aged 68 in 1860 on the farm. 

1860-67 John Hewett above. John died age 67 in 1867. Wife Sarah. Their daughter Sarah later married James Curtis of Wood Barn Farm, Little Marlow. Sarah senior died in 1893.

1869-76 William Thomas Bird. In 1871 summoned his carter John Edwards for allegedly stealing a pint of beer from him [Henley Advertiser 8th April 1871]. William moved to Abbey Farm Little Marlow but went bankrupt 1878. Note that earlier occupiers Joseph and William Brooks were related to the Bird family.

1883- Thomas Elliott? Kept sheep on the farm but was he the farmer?

1886- J and E Micklem owners but not living there. Bailiff Richard Sumner.

1888-89 Farm and the stock on it up for sale.

1889- 1899. Dr Francis Laking. Knighted 1893.  Resident only during the summer. Runs very exclusive West End doctors practice, with royal clients. In 1892 bailiff is John Warren. In that year a temporary worker on the farm George Cellam died from his burns after a fire there. George came from a Mr Mitchell of Burnham with a threshing machine hired to thresh barley at Blounts. He and other workers went drinking in the Royal Oak Bovingdon Green in the evening then returned to the farm to sleep the night up against the barley rick. Some of them had pipes and it was thought later that hot ash from one of those must have ignited the rick. That and the threshing machine were destroyed. George was taken to the Royal Oak and from there in a cart to Marlow Cottage hospital but died. [Some details from South Bucks Standard 26th February 1892]. There was no water sufficiently nearby to douse the rick and without that the Fire Brigade could not assist. In 1894 mains water was ran up to the farm for the first time. 

In 1893 Francis hosted a children's athletics sports event, with "useful" prizes such as cruet sets and teapots which perhaps does not strike us as the most exciting gifts for the youngsters. However each also recieved  a silver coin minted that year. Guy Laking is the starter. Over 200 children enter the races. A sumptuous tea is provided thanks to Mr Carter of Marlow and the Town's Drum & Fife band also attend. 

Dr Laking also raised pigs and heifers and grew oats and wheat on the farm. He purchased Clarefield, Maidenhead Thicket, on leaving Blounts. 

Gardener to Dr Laking  - Alan Axten 1894. (Lived Blounts Cottages.)

1899-1926. Walter Wethered. His farm manager and gardener was James Platt from at least 1903. James was still the farm manager in the late 1930s but I am unsure if this was for Walter or someone else.

1940- Mrs Heath. Lives with a butler, cook and other servants so property perhaps more of a home with land now.

Farm occupancies are compiled by me from advertisements, trade journals, censuses, court cases, property records and more. As I sort my research notes mountain I will probably add more information.

To search for other farm posts like this see the Specific Shops Streets Etc option on the top drop down menu. To look for a particular person use the Person Index.

© Marlow Ancestors. If using this research credit this blog and link here but you are welcome to do so. 

The Brooks of the Crown and Cushion, Dean Street.

 The Crown and Cushion was a small beer house.

Frederick Brooks / Brookes took over the licence in 1873. With him was wife Harriet. The couple had married in Bisham Berkshire back in 1855. By then Harriet was a widow in her forty forth year, and the couple do not appear to have had any children. Harriet was baptised in Rickmansworth Hertfordshire, Frederick in Bisham. Both worked as paper makers prior to their marriage.

After their marriage Frederick became an agricultural labourer. He and Harriet lived on the 1861 census in Bisham but were away in Ealing 1871.

Why they decided to move to Marlow and become publicans is unknown.

Like many of the other Dean Street beershops the Brooks' premises also functioned as a cheap lodging house. It had what what was described as a "tramp ward" or dormitory as part of the premises. This attracted the poorer and most desperate of Marlow's visitors. 

In 1881 George Allen, a man who had slept the night there, left in the morning with the sheet and blanket from his bed. He received a sentence of 1 month's hard labour for the theft. Four men in total were lodging with Frederick and Harriet at the time of the census that year.

Frederick himself faced court in 1876 for allegedly serving an already drunk man. This would be a potential breach of his license. He was given the benefit of the doubt but in 1883 he was found guilty and fined for the same offence, and again for serving beer outside of permitted hours when 3 women were found incapable from drink in the "tramp ward" part of the guest lodgings. Another lucky escape followed the same year when police called and found two men and a woman passed out drunk on the premises. Frederick said he couldn't help their state as they were his lodgers, and had come in already drunk. The police found jugs and mugs of half drunk beer along side the inebriates and so viewed this excuse with some scepticism. They said the premises was "often filled with persons who were in the habit of fighting, swearing and creating a great noise." The court however said it could not be proved that the alcohol hadn't been purchased elsewhere so didn't endorse the licence but slapped on another fine. It was agreed that the Crown & Cushion was better conducted after this, at least as far as the law was concerned! 

 Frederick died in 1886 and Harriet took over the license. She held it for five years before her own death. The 1891 census taken just before she died, shows Harriet had expanded her lodger numbers to eight. It must have been crowded! 

James Edwards was the next landlord of the Crown and Cushion.

The pub closed as such in 1909 after breweries were forced to cut the number of local premises they ran. It was still operating as a lodging house though at least two years after that.

Related Posts:

Posts about life in Dean Street and neighbouring streets here

More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here

Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here

To find all pub related content see the Pub option in the top drop down menu and the A-Z person listing for every mention of your ancestor no matter how small. 

See:

Censuses England and Wales 1851, 71, 81, 91 from Familysearch website ran by the LDS church. Accessed October 2020.

Bisham Parish Registers.

Great Marlow Parish Registers

Bucks Herald newspaper 12th November 1881 [theft by lodger] Copy held by the British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020. Also Bucks Herald 1st December 1883, accessed as previous.

Maidenhead Advertiser 20 June 1883, Slough Libraries. 

Hurley War Memorial

 

Crown and Cushion, Dean Street Landlord Listings

 CROWN AND CUSHION

Updated by Charlotte October 2023 and Kathryn in Jan 2024.

Note that this pub was located in Dean Street but it may be given the address of Well End in early sources, this being one of the early names for the street. This is not the same place as Well End, Little Marlow. Well End for Dean Street was a name in popular and official use mainly pre 1850's although it can be found in the 1860s. If you go up Dean Street in the direction of Lane End, that is moving away from the town centre, you would have found it on left hand side about half way between the tyre shop and the entrance to Cambridge Rd. The building itself was demolished many years ago. 

*All spelling is uncorrected from original sources, so you may find variations of your ancestors name that could prove useful when searching for them elsewhere*

Had yard and stables. Also operated as a lodging house.

Start date of 1835 given for this given in 1872.  Did not exist under this name in 1833 certainly.

1841 - Jeremiah Humphries. Also a grocer. Wife Mary Ann.  Jeremiah Humphreys is listed as a Dean Street resident in the 1833 Parish Assessment that we have but his house is not identified as a pub or beer house. He does however seem to be resident in the same building as would become the pub. He was however apparently in Spittal Street running a pub in 1839. See our post for more on Jeremiah and a bit of trouble his son also called Jeremiah got into with some relatives-  here

1844 - Jeremiah Humphries  (Humphreys) also tobacco pipe maker. Also a lodgings house.

1851- Jeremiah Humphreys. In this year lodger Samuel Lewis (alias William Craig) commits suicide by hanging himself on the premises. They say he was a "confirmed drunkard" and that his mind had become diseased because of it.  

1853 - Jeremiah Humphries also a shopkeeper. Fined £1 with 8 shillings costs for not whitewashing the sleeping apartments of his lodgings house as required by law for hygiene purposes. Fined.

1855 - "Mr Humphreys Lodging House"

1857 - Rag and bone man James Webb dies after falling and hitting his head during an incident there. Known for his "excitable nature" , several men delighted in teasing and provoking James. One decided to sneak up and pinch James while he was drinking, at which he jumped up and hit his head. He clearly suffered a serious head injury and his condition deteriorated. James was sent to the Union Workhouse to receive medical attention but died age 57. Those responsible were not charged for their role as the doctor involved in his post mortem said there was evidence of disease in the brain and he could not rule out this as the cause of death. 

1861 - Jeremiah Humphreys also shopkeeper and lodging house keeper. Age 45. This is the son of Jeremiah Humphreys above.

1864 - Jeremiah Humphries

1869- Jeremiah Humphreys attempts to upgrade his premises to an ale house. 

1870 - Jeremiah dies age 55. We have a photo of his grave and will upload it in future.

1871 - Maria Humphrey(s), also grocer and lodging house keeper. Widow of the above. Maria later remarried a Jones.

1872 - Charles Price, brother in law of Maria Humphreys above. He was also a general dealer.

1873- Charles Price lost license for letting his premises be the resort of thieves and drunkards. Later in the year that decision was overturned  on the condition that Price immediately made arrangements to gave his license up to new tenant George Langley. This presumably was because the charges for which Charles would have lost his licence if guilty had not yet been heard in court at the time of the first licensing hearing and therefore should not have been cited as a reason for him to lose his licence,  but that all concerned knew he was likely to be found guilty when the charges were heard. (He was fined for both and the licence endorsed). Later worked as a skewer maker. Charles was previously at The Anchor, Dean Street. The magistrates were in any case not keen to renew his licence in the grounds that accommodation for travellers was "filthy". A party of Hussars billeted there while passing through the town refused to sleep in the house and resorted to the stables instead. Another condition made for renewing the licence overall was that the lodging house should be separated entirely from the beer house (business wise). During the court case, it was said that the lodging house had been supervised (in theory) by Thomas Bradley, who was also a convicted thief. (21 days hard labour in 1872). 

1873 - George Langley then Frederick Brook(e)s.

1877- Frederick Brookes.

1878- Frederick Brookes charged with selling beer during prohibited hours.

1883 - Frederick Brook(e)s. More on the Brooks family of this pub here.

1885- man fined £1 for drinking on the premises during prohibited hours.

1886 - Harriet Brooks, takes over from husband Frederick upon his death. 

1891 - Harriet Brooks dies, and James Edwards takes on licence briefly before transfer goes to James Gibbs. 

1897- pub declared unsanitary (building condition not the fault of the tenants cleanliness). At this point it is licensed to house 14 lodgers. 

1901- James Gibbs landlord assaulted by a customer. A lot of lodgers with him on the census that year.

1902- Italian organ grinder Thomas Offo robbed while staying at Crown and Cushion.

1904 - Found to not be abiding by Public Health Act provisions for common lodging houses. There was not enough screening between the beds of married couples (they did not have their own rooms), there were insufficient basins and the yard and stables were in an "unsanitary" condition. Notices served for improvements to be made. The idea of a total rebuild is floated.

1907- still James Gibbs

1909 - Forcibly closed under measures to limit number of licensed premises in an area. However it lingered on as a common lodging house for a few more years. Building now demolished. Last landlord James Gibbs and his wife -  "a most respectable couple". The brewery argued for the premises to remain open on those grounds. Sadly this was not enough and they lost their business and home. 

Researched by Kathryn Day and Charlotte Day. 

Related Posts:

There are posts on this blog about individual families associated with certain pubs, as well as on individual pubs themselves so have a look at the Pub Related index here  & don't forget the Person Index for all mentions of someone on this blog. Find it on the top drop down menu. 

Posts about life in Dean Street and neighbouring streets here

More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here

Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here

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