Frith Graves, Marlow

Grave of George Frith d.  1926 age 84

ALSO OF

Emma his wife

April 1930. Aged -6 yrs. 

Grave in Marlow Cemetery. Hard to read.

The above grave is for Charles William Frith died September 19 1936 age 68

Also:

Mary Jane 

Died July 19 1935 age 73

This is also in Marlow Cemetery. 

See the Grave Index for links to all gravestone photos and transcriptions on the blog. Graves are included for Marlow churches and cemetery plus some for Little Marlow and Bisham churchyards too.

NB: We try to group graves belonging to individuals of the same surname on the same post but it doesn't necessarily mean they are all related. 

©Marlow Ancestors.

Marlow's Victorian Fire Brigade

 Marlow's volunteer fire brigade was formed in 1874 but the town had a fire engine before that and therefore volunteer fireman to operate it. The very old fire tender, gifted to the town in 1731 by MP John Clavering still exists and will hopefully be out on public display in the future. Clavering was not a local man. He was elected in 1727, although an attempt was made to overturn that result. He ceased to be our M.P the year of the gift, when he was promoted to the role of Groom of the Chamber. Perhaps it was a parting present. At first, it was kept in the church porch, or just behind. A good central location but it probably got evicted when the new church was built in 1832. 

How long that engine was in use I don't know, but the engine generally referred to as the "old" one in Victorian times arrived here in early 1831 made by Tilley of London. Unfortunately the first time the volunteers came to fight a fire with it, they realised they did not actually know how to operate the thing. So they had to fetch the old one instead! This fire was in the High Street and it was caused by a candle setting light to the bed curtains in the house of Mr White. 

The 1830s was a busy time for the early fireman. It was a time for incendiaries, Swing riots and social unrest. You can read more about this in Marlow and nearby here And the fellows did not just fight fires in Marlow itself - they travelled to nearby villages and farms. I should also mention that the various fire insurance companies serving our local area maintained their own engines, for the use on properties covered by their policies. Whether any of these were actually based in Marlow itself, I'm not sure. For example the Sun Fire Office and Royal Exchange insurance companies both of which had Marlow agents, joined the Marlow brigade to fight an arson attack in Hutton's farm, Hambledon in 1839. Their combined efforts saved most of the farmhouse but all of the outbuildings such as the barns, granary and stabling were lost. The Hambledon Association for the Apprehension of Incendiaries offered a £20 reward for information as to the culprit. 

The engine was of course horse drawn, and a report in 1849 tells us it was drawn by 4 horses usually. These were hired.

It's possible that the breweries in the town and the Marlow mills had their own small engines at this point as they certainly did later. Most mills seem to have done at this period. There's no mention of specific apparatus used in reports of a severe fire, also believed to be arson, at the mill in 1826. The wealthy Williams family of Temple House** had their own "engine" in the late 1850s if not before. It was said that it was made readily available to anyone with a fire in the neighborhood - for example it was used to fight a rickyard fire at a farm in Hurley in 1862. The Wethered brewery had an engine by the 1870s, which was also used on fires elsewhere on occasion. 

In 1868 it was decided the Marlow engine would be put under control of the parish overseers and that it's maintenance would be paid for out of the poor rates. 

The 1874 Volunteer Brigade

The idea of setting up a formal organised volunteer brigade was said to originate with architect and surveyor Charles Carter, who would be on the committee co opted to set it up. He would also act as their first superintendent. The idea was enthusiastically received. Col Williams of Temple promised £50 and lord of the manor  Sir William Clayton of Harleyford offered £20 and to pay for the helmets. The vestry voted to gift the existing 1831 engine to the volunteer brigade. It was recognised as needing some repairs and so the volunteers were told they could if they wish sell it and put the money towards a newer machine. This would not be cheap so it was decided to make good the existing one. So off it went to Messrs Shand and Mason for an overhaul. It arrived back after a month "thoroughly repaired and possessing every modern improvement".  

The general costs would be met by subscribers with a donation from the parish. The local fire insurance agents were also able to secure donations from their companies in several instances. The last item to be paid for were some uniforms made of "suitable waterproof material." It took until 1881 for the Volunteer Brigade to get their finances in the black after all this expenditure - donations not withstanding. If the Volunteer brigade did not adequately maintain the engine, it would revert to the parish control. 

The first members of the brigade were: 

Superintendent: Charles Carter

Foreman: Charles Miller Foottit* 

Engineer: William Batting*

Hon Surgeon: W J Shone 

Sub Engineer: John Langley *

Firemen: George Greenwood, R Wellicome, W Haynes, Walter Elgie, George Frith, George Barney 

Hon Secretary: Thomas H Wright

Other committee members: Owen Peel Wethered, John Tudor. 

To this list we should add the 5-6 members of the reserve brigade who often don't get named individually, and very many members of the public who acted as "pumpers" during a fire. At some places there was an organised list of reliable men who would be given preference should extra help be needed. Wycombe gave their pumpers a badge to wear to save confusion. I don't think anything of this type existed in Marlow. Pumpers were paid for their help, as other assistants sometimes were. A specific fund was available for the superintendent to use for this. It was customary for fire insurance companies to make a donation to the volunteer brigade if it worked on one of  their properties and the money sometimes depended on the amount of additional help that had been necessary to engage. The possibility of extra (if very hard) work is one of the reasons that when the fire bell went, it wasn't just the fireman that hastened to the scene of a fire. No fee was charged for calling the brigade out at first although it was customary for the better off to make a donation afterwards. After 1900 the property owners were charged for the brigades attendance including the use of the engine, and hire of the horse plus refreshments for the fireman or repair of damaged uniform etc as required. Water used as part of the clean up was free. 

The engine was housed in an arch of the Market House AKA the Market hall, and later part of the Crown Hotel. (The 1731 engine was also there.) A small token rent was paid for this. They also needed to pay to hire the horses to pull the engine. These were usually supplied by the Crown which has a long history as a posting house and place to hire a "fly" so it had plenty of steady horses at their disposal. These were grazed in the meadow behind the Crown. Once or twice a fire coincided with a time when all the suitable horses from the Crown were otherwise engaged and so they were hired from other establishments. One of the first major fires in the town they dealt with was actually in the Crown itself, when a chimney caught a flame. Getting to the source of the fire involved dismantling the brickwork. It was only put out after hours of "unceasing labour". 

Oxford Road A Flame 

Many of the fires covered by our brave volunteers have been covered elsewhere in the blog. I'll mention just a few more. The fire at the premises of coach builder and wheelwright George Cox in Oxford Rd 1877 involved 80 helpers. This was considered a serious risk to neighbouring properties which included thatched wooden barns behind them. George naturally had many highly flammable materials in his workshops such as varnish, paint and wood. A long chain of those bringing buckets of water to the fire, managed by publican John Langley* and aided by the Marlow and brewery engines, performed what was considered a miracle to prevent the fire spreading up Oxford Rd. George lost two carriages, his workshop and woodhouse, and most of his tools and materials. He was luckily insured. It seems a spark from a stove left on to dry a newly varnished carriage was to blame. The Temple House engine also came to help, but the fire was mostly over by the time it arrived. This engine was the source of envy by the Marlow brigade as it was steam powered and could draw up water where others couldn't. It was given to the Temple Volunteer Brigade when they formed, at the suggestion of Marlow's Charles Miller Foottit who was also responsible for drilling the new brigade. 

 Within a week, George's insurance claim was settled and the money with him, thanks to insurance agent William Crake*. 

The engine was regarded as heavy and sometimes awkward to manage. So two small "engines" were purchased in the 1881 to assist the fireman (after several years of fundraising.) And a carriage to transport them on was also necessary. 

Fun for the fireman

It wasn't just all work and no play for our firemen. Almost immediately they started playing as a football and cricket team for casual matches organised throughout the year. They put a crew to compete in many of the the regattas too. Then there were friendly drill competitions (and tug of wars!) with other fire brigades, usually involving a "capital dinner" afterwards. In 1877 fireman George Frith won a silver fireman's axe for performing best at his one man drill in a competition sponsored by a Maidenhead man. 

They had an annual dinner (often at The Greyhound)  and outing and on a few occasions a ball. 

The men were invited several times to form part of Lord Mayor of London's civic parades with a number of other fire brigades. And on any occasion there was a parade in Marlow, the fireman were at the fore, in uniform. In 1882, when the Prince of Wales arrived at Marlow station on route to a visit at Temple House the brigade were chosen to line the bridge as he passed. Then in 1891 their destination was the Crystal Palace where they took part in a review before the German Emperor. Dr Dickson, currently their commanding officer, was introduced to the emperor himself. 

The fire bell rings ...sometimes

The fireman had day jobs. When the fire bell rang (the rope hanging outside the front of the fire station at the town hall with the bell in the clocktower above) they had to stop what they were doing and rush to the station. The time it took for them to assemble from the time the bell first rang was carefully recorded, along with their arrival at the scene of the blaze. The bell caused frequent trouble. There were complaints about it almost immediately. In 1882 it was declared that the bell was finally in "good and effective working order". It's odd it seems to have needed more maintenance than the fire engine!  The rope broke often which perhaps is not surprising as those ringing it were supposed to do so vigorously for several minutes. On another occasion the bell itself was found to have split. 

How many fires?

To keep their place in the brigade, the fireman had to attend a certain number of drills (and perform them well). These were generally held once a month. Some years there were 5-6 fires, others none at all but the men had to be ready regardless. 

And some of them were injured in their volunteer work. To help this, the fireman were covered by accident and death in service insurance from 1885. The members were allowed to attend the local St John's Ambulance first aid training classes for free too.

It was generally considered the brigade did stirling work that saved many lives and even more livelihoods. Where they failed it was usually due to a lack of water, for example at the farms far from a hydrant. 

Playing with fire

You didn't have to go to the science of a blaze to see a fire fighting demo. If you went to the Music Room in 1883 (the masonic centre now) you could enjoy a lecture on fire fighting by Charles Miller Foottit who bought the two mini engines on to the stage. Two dolls were set alight to demonstrate the technique of putting out flames on clothing - a sadly all too frequent cause of death especially among little children. Charles also extolled the virtue of using asbestos paint as a flame retardant. 

They also sometimes performed a public drill, usually as part of a fundraising effort eg on the lawns of the Complete Angler. 

That old engine

In the 1880s the fireman were still using the 1831 engine, in addition to their mini ones. It had been modified in that time, most significantly by the addition of a brake. As Charles Carter said, without one, there was a serious risk of a nasty accident occuring. Thomas Corby the Marlow builder offered a prize to anyone who'd come up with a good workable brake for the engine and John Langley offered a second prize. I don't know who won though! (Thomas was visiting the brigade to thank them for putting out a fire on his premises). Running repairs were usually done by Marlow's Battings the ironmongers. 

In 1891 it was decided only so many more repairs could be made to the 60 year old engine. Fundraising would start for its replacement soon they hoped. However they considered trade was too bad in the town to make the timing right for an appeal. So Charles Miller Foottit  made an exhaustingly detailed report on modifications the old engine could undergo to give it a few more years of life. These suggestions were adopted. They did splash out on a new longer hose though. A fire escape to allow rescue from the upper storeys of taller buildings arrived in 1893. They wished to practice using this on buildings within the town, but recieved nothing but complaints from the occupiers. So a wooden tower was erected in Crown meadow (Riley Park) to use instead. This tower would appear several times, sometimes for public demos, other times a pretend house front did the job.  In 1907 John Langley was recruited to dress in a nightshirt and play the part of a feinting fire victim to be rescued from the heights! Fireman Harry Sawyer saw him safely to the ground, nightshirt and all.  In 1905 a wooden "house" was also erected in Shaw's boatyard  and set well alight to demonstrate the use of a hand fire extinguisher. Successfully - thankfully for Robert Shaw. 

By 1888 the engine house was described as possessing every requisite for modern fire fighting. 

A new engine at last

By 1894 the old engine was really creaking. Brigade Hon Secretary Walter Wethered wrote to the new Parish Council to say it was in a dilapidated and possibly dangerous condition. The following year reports that the most senior members of the brigade would resign unless a better engine was provided were addressed at the AGM. The rumour was denied but they described how the axles and bearings were so worn that they could not go very far without having to stop and oil them, and wait for them to cool down before proceeding. It was only a matter of time before the engine broke down completely on the way to a fire they said. It is decided to ask the newly formed parish council, who technically owned the old machine, for money towards a new engine. Although a steam powered engine was the dream, they decided to settle on a cheaper manual one that was expected to cost about £130-40. They also believed they wouldn't be expected to pay the full cost up front but would be given 4-5 years to settle the bill. 

The parish council agreed to pay £100 of the cost and to let the brigade keep the engine under their control provided them met the cost of ongoing repairs and maintenance. They would allow them to sell the 1830s engine and put the £20-30 they expected to get from that towards the cost of the new. The old engine's pumps were regarded as in good condition and it seems they expected it to be usable as parts - bearings and axle aside! Thomas Wright, the brigade treasurer leads a small party to London to view the premises of the two premier manufacturers of fire engines. They settle on a £140 manual machine from Messrs Shand & Mason which can take 22 men. This is the company that had done repair work on the old engine previously. It is delivered to Marlow on the first of August 1895, and immediately put  through it's paces by the firemen in the market square and by the Compleat Angler. They are satisfied that "it throws a great quantity of water at great force. "

After 1900

In 1902 the district council took over the brigade again financially speaking. They would meet running costs but the brigade would use their donations to pay for uniform as needed. (These had been replaced when 15 years old so I don't think any one can accuse the men of carelessness with them. The old ones were kept for drill use. They were supplied by local drapers, and the epaulettes by Batting while jeweller Frederick  Rowe re nickelled the helmets.) 

From 1910 they gained use of the second arch under the town hall, previously used by Battings for storage but enlargements were still ongoing in 1912 when our history stops. 

The sadness of George 

I've not covered the lives of many of the individual fireman here for space sake as many if not all deserve their own post. Names marked with an asterisk above have their own entry already, linked below. Charles Miller Foottit had a huge role in the development of fire brigades in general. But I feel I should mention longstanding fireman George Grace here as the poor man hung himself in the fire station in 1909 age 64. He had been out of work, except for the small amount of money he earned for looking after the engine and cleaning it. At the time of his death he was one of the reserve team after 27 years in the main brigade. He had spent some time in hospital two years before and had never recovered physically or mentally it was said. 

Written by Kathryn Day.

More information:

*Charles Miller Foottit biography here

John Langley here

The Battings here

Brigade surgeon etc Dr Dunbar Dickson here

**Temple House history here

To search for mentions of any others see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's several thousand people mentioned there - updated weekly. 

Fires fought:

Buckinghamshire Chair Co, Duchess Place : here

Explosion at Gas Works, Dean Street - here

At the Crown here

Death by fire here

At Marshalls Menagerie here

Other posts about general Marlow history here

© MarlowAncestors 

From Work-House to Convict Ships - The Brothers Frith

Today's subjects are three young boys who caught my eye amongst the many young residents in the Great Marlow Workhouse in 1841. Charles, Alfred and Abraham Frith aged approximately 15, 13 and 9.  The two eldest are our focus here. There were a number of other Friths resident there then.  Young Charles and Abraham were the sons of John and Maria Frith, and most likely Alfred is their brother baptised 1827. It appears the boy's mother Maria was dead. Their father was not, but he was not with them in the parish house. It was not unusual for children left without a mother to end up in such a place, but sometimes this was only a short lived experience until perhaps the father remarried or another relative could help care for the children. At other times a child or two from a large poor family might be taken in temporarily to relieve the pressure on the household budgets if the breadwinner was out of work. In the end the same reason is behind every admission to the workhouse: poverty. At this time the work house managers were the Reeves, who you can read about in a dedicated post from Charlotte here. The buildings of the former still remain in Munday Dean Lane, just beyond Berwick Road.

Some of the workhouse residents would go on to better things and never return there but unfortunately they were the minority. And none of our three young men were amongst those fortunate few. Abraham reached adulthood but seems to have died young after numerous minor brushes with the law mainly for vagrancy, and just after finishing a 6 month sentence for robbing a cottage in Rotherfield Greys. And both Charles and Alfred would end up as convicts sentenced to transportation. 

Charles goes sheep stealing

Charles received his first conviction for sheep stealing when he was around 16. I'm unsure of his sentence then but it was likely several months in gaol. A youthful age was little defence in the eyes of the authorities. 

To be caught a second time was extremely serious. Charles would have known this as several Marlow men had already been sent to Tasmania as result of the two strike rule. 

Unfortunately in December 1846 Charles and his friend 17 year old Charles Lomax decided to pay a visit to Little Marlow of an evening. While they were there they caught and killed a sheep belonging to farmer William Simmonds of Monkton Farm, butchering it near the scene (more on Monkton Farm and the occupants of it in Charlotte's post here). This was a common practice as it was easier and more discreet to cart away cut up meat than to drive sheep away through the lanes. They did not remove all of their bounty straight away but took some back to Marlow and hid the rest in a bag amongst some bushes. They probably thought it safer not to be carrying too obvious a load all at once. I have read accounts of hundreds of local poaching incidents and this gradual extraction of stolen meat seems quite common, despite the obvious risks of constantly returning to the scene! Frith took some of his share back to John Badger's beer-house in Chapel Street, Marlow where he was probably lodging. He asked the daughter of the house, Jane, to cook him some of the mutton for his dinner. Most recovered stolen meat ends up sold to the likes of butchers and beer houses prepared not to ask too many questions. Eating some yourself, except some of the offal, was less common it seems. It doesn't mean those stealing it weren't hungry but may be because the sold meat could generate more food if  the profit was then invested in cheaper ingredients. 

The two men were seen near the farm but not immediately with any sheep so although their presence was noted as somewhat unexplained, they were not instantly challenged. Later the sheep were missed. A search for them found a skin marked with "S" for owner Simmonds in a copse adjacent to the farm. Aaron Simmonds, the nephew of farmer William, was the one to make this discovery. He said the animal had been badly - that is unprofessionally - butchered,  and the mark was partially obscured so he could not positively identify it but unfortunately for the Friths, the other witnesses could. The skins, always marked, were usually left behind as they were the most incriminating evidence to be found on your person. A more thorough search uncovered the Frith's bag of stolen meat. After some consideration about the best thing to do it was decided to return the bag to its hiding place and watch, with the aid of one of the parish constables, to see who would come back to claim it and in doing so proclaim their guilt. The brothers were therefore observed as they pulled the bag out of the hedge and were known by name to those watching so escape was unlikely. They were not however arrested immediately, perhaps it was the intention to follow them a little in case they lead the way to any other accomplice. If so this was ruined when Richard Clark, engaged in hedging near the copse, was seen by the Friths during their exit. They were clearly surprised, and now carrying a suspicious bag, they panicked and immediately began to run. Richard called out for them to stop, declaring that he knew them well so fleeing  was pointless although he said the latter to their fast disappearing backs. Of course they did not stop, but ran towards Great Marlow. It was now rapidly getting dark and perhaps they hoped any identification would be vague. Then about three quarters of a mile from Little Marlow and in Marlow Fields their flight ended in the arms so to speak of Marlow Parish Constable Richard Davis. He had been alerted about the thefts earlier. He saw Lomax first, who was searched with nothing untoward found upon him. Frith, slowed down by carrying the bag, had now caught up, but on hearing Davis had tried to drop the incriminating bag. As it was now dark he might have hoped this action would not be seen, but in the quiet, it was heard. A knife and cords (for tying animal legs) was found on Frith, and Davis soon found the dropped bag as Frith had had no real opportunity to hide it. With the help of Parish Constable Thomas Walker,* the two were taken into custody. 

They appeared before the magistrates which at that time met in a hired room in the Crown hotel. They were then sent to Aylesbury Gaol to await trial at the Quarter Sessions. The verdict was inevitably one of guilty for both men. The Berkshire Chronicle described Frith as a "notorious thief and sheep stealer" on his arrest although it appears he was suspected of being involved in more offences than he was ever convicted of. Lomax did not have a previous conviction for sheep stealing and so he received a 12 month prison sentence. But things were quite different for Charles Frith. A previous conviction meant an inevitable sentence of transportation, in this case for 10 years. Of course this was the same as a life sentence in many ways. I can find no evidence that Charles Frith ever came back to Marlow. He was transported on the convict ship Eden under Captain Murdoch, which left on the 30th September 1848 and arrived in Hobart, Van Diemens Land on the 21st January 1849.

Alfred Frith Follows 

Charles may have beaten Alfred to the convict ships, but it was Alfred who had actually troubled the courts for longer. 

In 1843 the Union Workhouse at Saunderton was opened to replace the local workhouses. Before long Alfred would be only too familiar with its interior. He was there in 1844 when he was accused of damaging the stove inside, alongside another youth. The boys defence was not recorded in the sources that I found. But their efforts were rewarded with 2 weeks in prison. It appears he flitted in and out of the workhouse, presumably between periods of employment. 

In 1846, Alfred was back in the Wycombe Union house. But not I suspect very willingly! For before long he was wanted on the charge of absconding from the place. Alfred was far from alone in making his escape without obtaining official permission. He was supposed to get clearance if he wished to leave for a range of specific purposes eg to look for work or attend a funeral. Or he could give notice of his intention to leave but the authorities would want assurance that he could support himself if doing so (and legally.) The other problem was that Alfred had left wearing a set of clothes belonging to the union. This was regarded as theft. He did not remain at large for long as he was picked up on suspicion of begging (he argued that he was in fact selling combs) and so arrived before the magistrates to receive a 2 month prison sentence. On his arrest he was described by one source as "notorious" but it seems that like his brother, he was suspected of involvement in more petty crime than he was actually convicted of. Those like Alfred who spent at least some time as an itinerant seller were often treated with much suspicion. 

Alfred saw the magistrates again early in 1847 for vaguely described "misbehaviour" in the Wycombe Union Workhouse. He had a co accused, and both were sentenced to 6 weeks imprisonment. It's fair to say Alfred was not going to settle quietly into life in such a place. 

Alfred's official job was as a tailor. But it does not seem he had much luck with maintaining this employment! 

In 1848, 20 year old Alfred would get into much more serious trouble. He had previously served a months sentence for a theft of turnips from a field in 1845. Now he was found guilty along with a 22 year old accomplice James West, of stealing three heifers from Benjamin Reeves of High Wycombe. Theft of livestock was not treated lightly, and although both plead not guilty, the case was regarded as an open and shut one. They were sentenced to 7 years transportation each. James West was quickly transferred to the Defence Hulk at Gosport to await a space in convict transport ship. Rebellious Alfred stayed initially in Aylesbury Gaol but his conduct there was regarded as "troublesome". It was considered that he was "unfit" to be put in solitary confinement so he was transferred to the larger and harsher Millbank prison in London in late 1849. The prison suffered a severe cholera outbreak shortly afterwards and a number of inmates were transferred to a "convict station" or temporary prison at Thorncliffe Barracks in Kent. He was still there at the time of the 1851 census. It could take some time for convicts to leave. I have not been able to trace which ship he left on (records are not complete) but I will update this post if I recover this info or any further information. 

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Other posts related to Great Marlow convicts, and law and (dis)order can be found in the index here

Life at Great Marlow Workhouse 1775-1843 - here and life at the Wycombe Union workhouse at  Saunderton for Marlow residents here

To find all posts mentioning a family or individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's over 6,000 people listed there. 

*More about parish constable Walker here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Sources include:

1841 census and parish register transcripts from the microfilm and originals by Jane Pullinger 1970. 

Bucks Advertiser &Aylesbury News, November 1846,  January & March 1847, February 1849 - British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA Partnership. 

Bucks Gazette February 1845 & 1847, as above

Bucks Herald September 1849 & January 1850 as above. 

Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette January & February 1850

Berkshire Chronicle December 1846, as above. 

The National Archives (TNA) : HO 11/15, pp.333-347

Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 333 (168)

© MarlowAncestors

Rough Music and Rag Sorting - the life of Emily Frith/Jones

 

The subject of today's post is one of those former Marlow residents whose name we pick at random to research and feature. We do this to tell the story of as many people as possible, rather than focusing just on the famous or wealthy.  It was all the interconnected lives of our past residents that made Marlow what it is today. As always, even someone picked at random proves to be interesting.

Emily Frith of Gun Lane

Emily was born in the early 1830s in the surprisingly populous Gun Lane, Great Marlow, to Henry and Susannah. Henry worked mainly as a sawyer and carpenter. (Properties mostly demolished, now known as Trinity Road.) The cottage the family occupied was on the side later occupied by the Victorian Police station and petty sessions court, and it is now under the Dean Street carpark. The family had at least three other Frith households in the lane. Their home was one of the smallest there, with a assessed value of £3 10s in 1833. It was a fairly crowded area, with a relatively poor population, and as such many newly married young working class people took the opportunity to rent a affordable if unglamorous property within it. There are not many long standing Marlow families that won't have a Gun Lane resident amongst their members if they stayed long enough! Henry was lucky though to have a small garden attached to his home. Later he moved to the Common Slough (aka Spittal Square, where Chapel, Spittal and Dean Streets meet). Emily however, stayed in Gun Lane and at the age of 19 was lodging with her sister and brother in law Fanny and William Stroud in Gun Place. Gun Place was a little court of houses, all now vanished, off Gun Lane, and now under the Dean Street car park on the side of Rookery park. This was even more compact than Gun Lane, and suffered not infrequent problems with poor sanitation. 

Rag Sorter

Around this time Emily was working as a rag sorter while two sisters she lived with were satin stitch workers. The girls were therefore employed in two classic Marlow occupations of the time for young Marlow women. Neither role was well paid but both were at least steady jobs. Emily was almost certainly working at the Marlow paper mills, as they employed a good number of rag sorters, as rags were required in vast numbers to make paper at the time. It was not the easiest job as rag sorting was regarded as a frequently dirty and smelly task but it was a very highly skilled one. They needed to sort rags by type, before they could be washed and pulped and were required to work at a furious pace. Emily's hand and eye co ordination must have been excellent as would be her ability to concentrate. Most of those employed with her were also young women as females were regarded as better suited to the skills involved! 

Working Mother

In 1852 she married agricultural labourer Job Jones (of Forty Green by birth, later Great Marlow and Bovingdon Green). Job was lodging  in West Street at the time of the 1851 census. Job had spent a month in prison with hard labour in 1850 for damaging a tree. This means Job was most likely supplementing his income as very many Marlow men did, by gathering wood for the purpose of skewer making. The skewers were used in the meat industry. Making them obviously wasn't illegal but cutting bits off suitable trees or bushes to use as raw materials was, if you did not have the right to do so from that specific tree. (You can read about the skewering / "skewerter" trade in Marlow here). Plenty of Emily's Frith relatives had similar convictions as did many others in Marlow. Her father Henry had found himself in court at least once charged with theft (of a duckling from a farm) but that case was dismissed when the prosecutor failed to turn up in court. And her teenage brother Henry was fined for a "gross assault" on a young woman on a country footpath near Marlow Bottom. 

In 1861 Emily and Job were lodging with three young children at the Jolly Maltsters in Dean Street. (AKA the Jolly Malsters). As is true of many of the properties that would have been familiar to Emily, The Jolly Maltsters has been demolished. It was one of the larger and older drinking places in Dean Street and took in longer term lodgers for much of its history. While it started life as one of the more respectable Dean Street pubs and beer houses, it's reputation declined in the 1860s and by 1872 was in trouble for harbouring "people of notorious character" including poachers and prostitutes. (You can read about the history of the Maltsters here) Most of the trouble related to those drinking there, rather than living in so let's hope Emily and Job got plenty of peace! Emily was now working as an embroiderer, a useful job that many mother's could do at home around their endless domestic and child rearing responsibilities.  I have noted that many Marlow women who were previously rag sorters go on to work as embroiders too. Job was still working as a farm labourer, usually for the Wethered family. This was possibly the reason the family moved a mile or so out of Marlow to Bovingdon Green a short while later. 

In 1865 Job spent a few days locked up in the police station on suspicion of stealing coal from the brick kiln at Bovingdon Green. He was caught crossing the Green with a lump of it under his arm. When accosted by a constable, he said he'd picked up the coal from the grass. This was enough for the arrest of Job, despite the fact that Mr Corby had not missed any coal. Corby said he certainly could not identify it as belonging to him and Job was released. The JPs were not impressed by the case having been bought before them especially as the coal had a value of 2d!

Rough Music

Rough music involves a group of people going outside someone's home and making a cacophony of noise and disturbance to register a protest at the conduct of someone inside. It's often associated with alerting cuckolds or those engaged in relationships when unmarried that the community knows what's going on. I've noticed that many protests were directed at those suspected of violence towards their wives or habitual drunkenness but some also to those who had dobbed in someone else for committing an offence. It was getting to be a little old fashioned in 1874 and associated more with rural communities but it was not abandoned in our area for some time - especially around Bovingdon Green, Marlow Common and Lane End. 

In 1874 Emily was involved in just such an incident as a "musicker". A member of the household of Joseph Meade(s) in Bovingdon Green had "turned approver" in a court case relating to stolen corn. This means the "approver" had confessed to his involvement in the crime, and gave full information as to others involved, in exchange for a full pardon himself. The community of Bovingdon Green was very upset at this, and decided to let the Meade / Meades family know (or rather some members of it as some Meades were actually performing the music themselves!) Emily, along with her sister in law Eliza and several others created a hubbub outside the Meades home over two nights. Two policeman from Marlow tried to disperse them but they just came back repeatedly in circumstances described as "almost amounting to a riot". In the end 4 women including Emily and 3 men were arrested and charged with "unlawfully, wilfully and maliciously damaging the house and property" of Joseph Meades. Emily had to appear before the magistrates at the Marlow police court. Luckily for her, the magistrates were baffled as to why the charges bought were relating to property damage for which they felt there was no evidence, rather than "tumultuously assembling of the disturbance of the public peace". So the case was dismissed! It was alleged that Eliza had kicked the boards of Mead's pigsty and that all the women threw buckets of water at and into the house and banged on the window shutters with stones.

Smallpox

In 1870, one of Emily's daughters returned from London where she had been in domestic service. The girl had felt ill before leaving and, because smallpox was feared, dismissed, and shortly after arriving back in Bovingdon Green she developed unmistakable  smallpox symptoms. Another case was reported around the same time, also in a young person who had recently returned from London. Job's employer Mr Wethered was saluted for continuing to pay him while he was unable to work due to staying in precautionary isolation and helping to care for his daughter. The victim appears to have made a recovery although it is not stated if she was disfigured in any way by this dreadful disease. 

Death at the Brewery

In 1884 tragedy would intervene in the life of Emily. Husband Job was still working for the Wethered as a farm labourer but he was sometimes also employed by them to do casual work at their brewery. On one such day, poor Job would suffer a fatal accident in the yard. There was  loaded dray there, awaiting a horse, along with a cart loaded with a couple of barrels. Reports on the event contain some contradictory information as to what exactly happened but it seems most likely that Job tripped over the shafts of the dray and in attempting to steady himself grabbed the tailgate of the adjacent cart. This then tipped up crushing him with two barrells falling down. His son John was present and along with another lifted the cart off Job. He was placed on a horse blanket until the yard clerk David Rush told someone to fetch the stretcher from the armoury along with Dr Culhane who worked from  the High Street close by. He was taken into the Brewery office before the decision was made to take him home to Emily, with Dr Culhane accompanying the injured man. Sadly his internal injuries were severe and Job died the following day. He had according to his wife remained conscious to the last and had prayed unceasingly. 

At the inquest the verdict was accidental death but recommendations were made to the brewery to improve their procedures for immobilising loaded drays and carts. Some of those present said the wheels of the cart had been properly "scotched" that is wooden blocks or stones had been put under them to prevent movement, but others could not remember if it had been done and also it was admitted the stones were often slippery and wet and could easily be dislodged. It was also said by some that a two barrels had been placed under each end of the cart to prevent tipping up, or that one had been placed under the centre of the cart, and that the shafts were also resting on an empty hogshead for the same purpose. This last point was strongly denied by other witnesses and it's obvious from the questions asked at the inquest that some felt sceptical that a barrel placed under the cart could have been dislodged when Job stumbled given the weight of both that and the cart. At other times it was said the shafts were held by men while the cart was loaded which does not sound very safe either. Job was just 52*. His son John who was present at the Brewery was only 17. 

Goodbye Emily

A death notice for Emily, wife of the late Job Jones, appeared in the South Bucks Standard in May 1895. It tells us she was then living in Cambridge Place in Marlow. This is yet another entirely demolished address, which was previously located between Eton Place and Oxford Road, off Queens Road. I hope the last year's of her life were peaceful. 

NOTES:

There was another Emily Jones in Marlow of a similar age to our featured Emily. She was married to William Jones, who also worked at the brewery and lived in Bovingdon Green at times. This "other" Emily is most likely the one who took to casual nursing in the 1890s, working as an uncertified midwife. Uncertified was not the same as illegal, it meant she had not received formal training or qualifications which she was not bound to do at the time. 

Related Posts:

To find every mention of a family or individual here, use the A-Z Person index in the top drop down menu. There are thousands of people listed there with more names added weekly. We do try and indicate which families will soon be featured in published content, but the order can change if requests are made. 

Another death of a brewery employee in 1884 features here

To find other posts relating to Bovingdon Green see here 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Sources include:

1833 Parish Assessment - our transcripts from the original notebooks in our possession. 

Census transcripts from the microfilm by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day. 

Bucks Herald, April 1850, January 1874 and November 1884 -  British Library Archive. 

South Bucks Standard November 1884, May 1895 and clippings related to the Job Jones inquest, courtesy of Miss Morton. 

Berkshire Chronicle November 1884, British Library Archive. 

Buckingham Express November 1884, as above 

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News April 1850. 

"England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2JGT-KGC : 31 December 2014)

 Emily Jones, 1895; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

© MarlowAncestors

 

Bovingdon Green and Marlow Common Parochial Assessment 1833

 Updated August 2023, with additional research notes.

The next part of my gradual transcription of the original handwritten working notebooks used to compile this assessment along with related correspondence. These faded notebooks are in the possession of my family, and also contain some pencilled in corrections from the later 1830s, though not in this section. The assessment was compiled Autumn 1833 and was to be used to calculate tax rates for Marlow for the following year.

Transcribed by Charlotte Day.

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

Bovingdon Green

Each occupying a cottage and garden with annual value of £4 10 shillings:

Thomas Frith [still in Bovingdon Green 1838]

Richard Fletcher

Thomas Jones

*****

Ephraim House

House and yard 

£5

*****

William Davies

House, yard, garden and woodhouse 

£10

*****

Marlow Common

Each in cottage and garden with annual worth of £4 10 shillings:

John Swadling

Thomas Mead [Described as in Bovingdon Green 1838]

William Howard [see below for another man of this name]

James Winkworth

*****

Henry Higgins [a Mr Higgins, poor man, was threatened and burgled by two men who forced themselves into his cottage home at Marlow Common in 1840. This may well be the same Higgins as here. If so his cottage was on the edge of Wolmer Heath "some three or four hundred yards from the other cottages on the Common"].

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Each in a cottage and garden with an annual value of £5:

John Rose

Jesse Collins [ Will coming up on the blog in the next few months]

*****

Joseph Keep

Cottage and garden

£3

*****

John Blackwell [he was a blacksmith]

House, shop [this would mean workshop], garden and orchard

£9

Piece of ground on the Common

10 shillings

*****

William Howard

House and garden

£6

*****

Edward Collins [more on him including will notes here]

The Royal Oak House [pub, actually in Bovingdon Green]

£9

*****

James Martin

Cottage and garden

£5

Note: a "Mrs Butler", probably Ann,  died at Marlow Common a few weeks before the assessment. She was perhaps the widow of the "Mr Butler" who died there in 1825. Mrs Butler may have lived in one of the households above, or it may have been that one of those households was one that has just moved in to Mrs Butler's property after her death.

For more posts on either place see here

To see more of the 1833 assessment for individual streets in Great Marlow see this index

All mentions of any individual on this blog can be found on the A-Z Person Index on the top menu. Thousands of people are mentioned.

1833 Parochial Assessment Marefield Passage

 My family has the original working notebooks used to compile this assessment by the surveyors and I am gradually transcribing them. The point of the assessment was to set tax rates for the year 1834. The occupiers rather than the owners for each property were recorded. The notebooks contain pencilled in additions and correction up to circa 1839. Where these occur on this assessment I have added the relevant notes in square brackets. Any research notes about the people mentioned are also in square brackets.

Marefield Passage [This address no longer exists. It was behind Dean Street, running between what is now Queen's Road and Cambridge Road. This was a poor neighborhood on the edge of town in those days]

Each occupying a cottage and garden with an annual value of £5:

Richard Moores

Edward Smith

Thomas Garner

William Mead

William Frith

Thomas Frith

William Clark

Robert Roberts [in pencil added later name George next to Robert but Robert not crossed out]

James Lomax

*****

Each in house and garden with annual value of £6:

Edward Aveling

John Harris

Thomas Brookes

Charles Ford [he died 1837 aged 55. His widow Elizabeth Ford may be the woman of that name who ran a baby linen business in West Street in 1839]

Richard East [he also down as having a gravel pit with an annual value of £2 10 shillings]

*****

In a cottage and large garden with annual value of:

George Clark

*****

Each occupying a cottage and garden with annual value of £3:

Joseph Clark [19 year old labourer Joseph and his new wife Maria nee Harding]

Joseph Smith

Ann Carr

Richard Price

Charles Brown

William Blake [a labourer, wife Mary]

Thomas Johnson

John Goldswain

*******

Occupying cottage and large garden worth £8:

George Clark (second one of same name Marefield)

Annual value of property: £8

*****

Each occupying a cottage and garden with an annual value of £4 10 shillings:

William Heffard

Elizabeth Harding

Thomas Mitchell

*****

Each occupying a house worth £5 and an additional garden each with an annual value of 10 shillings:

William Heather

John Holloway

*****

Each in a cottage with an annual value of £3:

Ann Archer

Joseph Keep [who married his wife Mary nee Godfrey in 1827]

Thomas Easley

Robert Almond

*****

Occupying a house worth £8:

School of Industry [trained poor children].

*****

To find more posts about historic residents of Marefield Passage or other Marlow streets please see our streets index here.

Thousands of people are mentioned on this blog. Look on the A-Z index for every mention of any individual.

©Marlow Ancestors.

Great Marlow Aliases and Nicknames

Updated by Charlotte March 2026

Here's a selection of the most distinctive aliases and nicknames used by some of our Marlow forebears. A number of these were revealed in reports of a crime. However anecdotal evidence suggests it was very common for men, including perfectly law abiding ones, in the working class Dean Street area of town in particular to bear a nickname that more or less replaced their real name in everyday life. A number of older residents remember this to be the case well within living memory. We have also gathered their recollections, although many nicknames can no longer be definitely attached to a remembered real first name. This lists gives only the older examples..

Blooming Billy - William Aldridge 1838. Broke his leg while working on the railway at Maidenhead that year.

Bon Ton - John Plumridge 1871. "Bon Ton" was usually the way the posh, urban elite mostly of London, were referred too. Often used mockingly for those whose manners and dress were very pretentious but could also be used for those who were the very much the opposite!

Born Drunk - Frederick Heath 1874. He was fined for being drunk and disorderly that year and described as an old offender in this respect.

Bosher East - William East 1868

Brassy - Alfred Edward Allum 1886 Probably the same man involved in the 1880 Election riots - see here

Bucks Poet, The - Nathaniel Gordon, vet, one time publican, and amateur poet. Used late 1860s-71.

Butcher Lloyd - George Lloyd name in use at least 1876-1884.  Frequent visitor to the magistrate courts on charges ranging from poaching and drunkenness to assault and wife beating (Wife Eliza.) 

Charlie Wonder = Charles Burns  (d 1873) stagecoach and later omnibus driver,one of whose vehicles was called "The Wonder". A biography of him will be published on the blog late in 2026.

Chickey - Thomas Meads of Bovingdon Green 1873.

Chinnum/Chin'em - Perry poaching associate Thomas Anderson, 1840's/50s. Dean Street. A "colourful" (and very violent) character - read more here and about the Perry poaching business here. Chin'em was later arrested for a savage attack on his mother Elizabeth while he was drunk. He nearly cut the nose off her face and left her with a lasting disfigurement. She begged the court on her knees to be merciful to her son, and in fact declined to give evidence against him. She said she could not now remember how the "accident" happened but she might have bumped her face on a door, a scenario the surgeon who saw her shortly after the incident said could in no way account for such an injury. This lead to the very reluctant dismissal of the case by the magistrates.  

Chit Edmunds - Charles Edmunds, childhood nickname which stuck for life due to his small stature. Died age 57 in 1903 in London. 

Cocky Billingshurst - George Billingshurst, 1898. 

Cuddle Bowles - John Bowles 1894.

Dolley Fad - James Ilsley, 1841.

Duke Sparkes - James Sparkes, who died 1898 age c 72. 

Dummy White - Alfred White. An unkind nickname, as Alfred was deaf and partially unable to speak or "dumb" as it would have been called. Died early 1900s.

Dutchman - Josiah Dean of Marlow and Wycombe. Transported for life 1824 - see here

Donkey Dean - 1824, unknown Dean wanted in connection with Webb's gang of marauders. Not the same as Dutchman above. 

The Marlow Cyclone - George Bryant, boxer 1910

Daisy Smith - Richard Smith of Bisham 1840. See the post here for more on this very wanted man!

Fatty Anderson - George Anderson 1841 "a notorious character".

Feckey - Henry Neighbour, 1868. Known for going around pubs cadging beer.

Gaib - Thomas Rose, 1840 born c 1821. A sawyer. Sentenced to 10 years transportation for stealing meat from the shop of Jason Povey. 

Ginger - William Anderson 1873.

Guinea Bean - Charles Bowles, Skewer maker 1839 Dean Street. 

Haphazard - John Edwards. Known for recklessly getting into carts that were already moving. Died in the attempt 1874.

Happy Grace - James James (yes, that was his name. There was also a William Williams in Marlow at one point!) used for him 1886-1909 (when he sent to workhouse) at least. He may also have been known as James Grace as in 1864 a "Happy Grace" alias James Grace  was charged with burglary in Marlow.

Jack Shepherd -(after the notorious 18thc thief and absconder from prison) - Joseph Muspratt who at the age of approximately 12 was sentenced to 3 months in Aylesbury gaol for stealing a loaf of bread from the cart of Patrick Fullicks in 1848.

Jigger- James Wingrove of Burroughs Grove 1907.

King of the City - John Langley senior, biography here.

Lady Stone - Henry Stone 1880.

Little Wonder - Edward Shaw, Marlow FC footballer and captain. 1890. From his youthful proficiency at football. 

Long Tom - Thomas Walker, Marlow F C player 1880s. 

Lord Paget /Mi'lord - Richard Perry. (Died age 63 in 1842 by "visitation of God" while walking in his garden. Druggist Robert Foottit pays for a "decent" burial as Richard had sometimes worked for him. Richard was very poor but had "integrity" and good humour and was "much respected". Many thought poverty precluded such qualities so Richard did very well to turn those prejudices on their head!)

Matilda Blake - Alice Willis, 1881.

Nobby Clark - James Clark. An amateur boxer locally early 1910s. Also a convicted poacher. 

Nutty Price - Frederick Price. 1919. 

Old Jockey - George Eaton. Farm labourer of Cross Roads Farm, Bisham. Died in his sleep 1888 aged "about 50"  - he routinely slept in the cart shed of the farm and so died there. He was found by farmer's son John Anderson. 

Polly Longstockings - Mary Wicks, 1860.

Poodle James - 1.) William James who froze to death on the road in 1882. 2.) Henry James presumably a relative of William, of Dean Street reprimanded for trespassing at Gyldernscroft as a youth in 1882 and involved in attempts to con someone into buying a useless dog for the purpose of rabbiting in 1913. Fined for using indecent language in the Horns pub 1917.

Potter Crewe / Primrose Crewe - William Crewe, 1884. The "Primose" bit added to his nickname after he ,when found poaching, said that he was actually in the woods innocently  gathering primroses .

Pretty Moon - William East 1862. 

Ramping Bob - Robert Taylor, 1837.

Ranji Baker - Herbert Baker who died of consumption age 24 in 1903. 

Royal Belmont - James Cooper, a gipsy 1873.

Sandy - William Anson (age 18), 1882.

Scotty - John Maxwell Banks, tailor who lodged at the Bear 1874

Shallop - George Perry 1837.

Shiner  / Shiner White - George Henry White, fisherman, 1874, 1878, 1882.

Shock East - Charles East, butcher 1839 (Transported for 14 years - see here)

Sackey East - 1867. 

Snuffy Martin  - William Hatton of Little Marlow. Sentenced to 7 years transportation in 1848 for the crime of sheep stealing as he had previous convictions. Age 41. 

Spouter Clark - Richard Clark 1839. Sentenced to 15 years transportation then for robbing a house in Dean Street. 

Stump Harris - Frederick Harris 1868. 

Tallyho - Master Croxon, 1834. A young man frequently in trouble!

Tear-Em-Up Slade - Charles Slade of Gun Lane, 1893. From his occupation as a rag and bone man. Read more here.

Tipney White - George Shaw White, fisherman 1884. 

Topper Frewin- George Frewin(g) killed in a fight at The Bear 1874. 

Tourno - Thomas Frith 1839.

Tricky Davis - William Davis 1860.

Trickey Trackey - William Davis 1835.

Truckman - Henry Creswell 1865.

William White - George Todd dealer 1903.

A few early-mid 20th century examples (all men) Halfpenny, Tonty, Hooker, Sniffer/Snifter, Polly (yes male), Tipper, Topper, Bracey. 

*To find all mentions of an individual here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu*

 List of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here 

Compiled by Kathryn Day, and Charlotte Day. Last updated by Charlotte Feb 2026.

© Marlow Ancestors

That Furious Mob - 1847 Great Marlow Riots

there The destruction caused by the 1880 election rioters in Marlow is well known, not least because some excellent photos have survived of the damage to property. (See this post here for more) But Marlow has a history of election related violence going back a lot longer. This post focuses on one of the most lively contests, which was the 1847 General Election. We are not going to detail the political arguements, instead we are going to describe the effect on the everyday life of our Marlow ancestors. 

The Background 

Two candidates represented the Conservatives - Colonel Thomas Peers Williams of Temple House, and Colonel Brownlow Knox. The third was the Liberal or Whig candidate, Sir William Robert Clayton of Harleyford. A few years before they had been involved in a lengthy battle relating to the ownership of the brick kiln at Marlow Common. The Clayton family had sold the Marlow manor lands to Williams ancestors but there were later disputes about what exactly had been included in the sale. Clayton said the kiln was not included, the Williams that it most certainly was. It's fair to say no love was lost between the two and they were very frequently at each others throats in a legal sense. They were both substantial land owners with many tenants in Marlow. Both Williams and Clayton had sat in parliament for Marlow before. And yes, both had been accused of pressurising their tenants to vote for them, or of bribing voters. Clayton had his victory in the 1841 election overturned when some of the votes for him were thrown out for being invalid. He had had a majority of just one. Williams had evicted tenants for failing to vote for him  before and he was accused of regarding the borough as his own. 

The "Blues" or blue and whites were the liberals and the Conservative colours were the red or red and white although they were popularly known as the Coppers here. 

Marlow was already well known for troubled elections therefore. In March 1847, the Windsor and Eton Express voiced the hope that at last "party feeling" had subsided in Marlow and there was an "improved tone and better feeling now prevailing".  The previous bad atmosphere in town interfered with the friendly society they said. This hope was to prove very wrong. In the same month, William Robert Clayton declared that he would be a candidate in the coming election, and Williams had already indicated he would run. As Marlow returned two members at this time, it was hoped that there would be effectively no contest. But a little later, a second Conservative candidate was declared - Colonel Brownlow Knox. His wife was of the Williams family. 

Polling Day Panic

The polling was held in the summer.  Voting then was not by secret ballot. It was very public. A wooden stage was erected in front of the Town Hall, large enough to accommodate 100 persons. On these hustings were the candidates and some of their prominent supporters. Some of their less prominent but vocal supporters also found their way up at times, and lined the two sets of  steps leading upwards. Onto this stage, voters would go and vote. Before they could do this, they had to give some personal details to the returning officer such as by what right they were a voter (only those men leasing, owning or occupying a property of a certain value were entitled to vote) and their occupation. They were also required to answer out loud who they wished their two votes to go to. The supporters of the side you picked would let up a cheer so even those not close to the clerk recording the votes would know who you voted for. It was described as an intimidating experience to vote the "wrong" way according to the crowd gathered around the stage. Many men were jostled and had their hats knocked off or were on the recieving end of mocking chants but there was as yet no serious outbreak of violence. The polling started at 8am and continued until 4pm with periodic updates given to the crowd below. 

Before the voting started, the atmosphere was already tense. Most of the pubs and beer houses in town were associated with one side or another and did a roaring trade. It was said that the pubs of each side hung banners from their upper windows to indicate their support for either the Blues or Coppers.  The candidates grand arrival at the hustings had seen some scuffles. Williams and Knox were met by their supporters at Marlow Bridge. According to the (extremely) pro Conservative Berkshire Chronicle, their carriages were stopped by an adoring crowd of working class people who unhitched the horses and insisted on pulling the carriages themselves up the High Street. The same source says Clayton arrived shortly after and was amazed at the support given to his rival by the more humble citizens who were said to generally support the Clayton cause. This information has to be taken with some salt as the paper really was very partisan! All agree that a band had lead the Williams procession.  After the riot their instruments were left in pieces. 

 The Well Enders On The Rise

Williams and Knox took the two seats for Marlow. When this was announced, even the pro Conservative papers admitted that there was a loud groan from the crowd. What happened next is something I've had to pick out from many different accounts, trying to balance the differing versions of the opposing supporters. What is undoubted is there was an outbreak of fury, from a largely working class crowd, who were vocally supportive of the defeated Clayton. They were not it seems especially surprised by yet another Williams victory but did not like Knox taking the second seat. The Conservative supporters claimed that the Clayton's had in their pay a set of "blood thirsty ruffians" during the week before the election.  What's more they said the Claytons had "placed in their hands" cudgels and staves with which to cause trouble if the vote did not go Clayton's way. Clayton could not have expected to have any result overturned just because some armed men caused trouble in the town, however unpleasant that may be for those around. It would hardly help their cause with the more respectable householders for Clayton to be associated with riots. But another writer, William Mitchell, recalling his time as a polling clerk at this election, gives a similar story and another potential motive for the rioters. He said that a core group of Well End [what we know as Dean Street, not Well End, Little Marlow] residents lead by the three brothers East, had feared a Clayton loss. They had apparently sent to London for some staffs and policeman's batons.  He says the Easts and their friends gathered at an appointed meeting place at 6am on election day - the one mile stone, presumably the one near Seymour Court. They had organised for a Clayton supporter on the stage to keep them informed of the running total of votes and if near the end of polling, Clayton was behind, they were going to protest in the town, assuming Williams had used undue influence to succeed. In particular they were going to rush the stage and destroy the polling books and with them all records of the voting. This would cause the polling to be conducted again, presumably with less opportunity for bribery beforehand. However the apparent Clayton supporter on stage was not reliable. William Mitchell does not name him but did say this man was stood close by and he continually heard him shouting out "We are all right" to the Clayton supporters. He continued this until the poll stopped, but as this was not the correct result the men were even angrier when the truth of the victory was known. What this unnamed supporters motives can have been is hard to say, if indeed he was a Clayton supporter at all. The updates given earlier in the day had not generally shown Clayton to be loosing and the result often came down to a handful of votes. But the Conservatives had a late afternoon surge. 

  William Mitchell may have had time to personally attend the 6am Well End meeting before his official duties started but it seems unlikely it would have continued in his presence. He does not give the source of his account of events there so it may  have come from a partisan source. (However he seems generally fair, in that he reports unfavourable behaviour from both sides.) He says that about 31 men came forward as their names were read from a list and they were then given a half crown and either a baton or staff from a stack. The Well End residents were generally quite poor and if this is true, someone else must indeed have subsidised the violence. It is certainly true that tumult was feared much earlier in the day, as several businesses pulled shutters while voting was ongoing and did what they could to protect their windows. And in the afternoon, most of the Copper supporting beer houses are said to have closed. It was said those carrying the batons and staffs of the Well End gang could get free drinks at the Clayton supporting pubs all day on showing them. 

To be seen emerging from the headquarters of a particular group on the way to vote was also problematic. The supporters of Brownlow Knox, which had used the premises of lawyer William Ward in the High Street up to polling Day, switched base that morning. They used the house of Ward's clerk Mr Seagrave instead. This was supposedly placed so those inside could take advantage of a back entrance through a garden to get near the poll without attracting much attention. 

A Chairing Is Attempted 

Reports agree the tumult started as soon as the result was announced by Returning Officer Mr Stallwood outside the town hall.  No mention is made in the newspaper reports of an to attempt to rush the stage or steal the polling books which is not to say that was not the original intention, just perhaps it was considered now too late. The focus of their work was Brownlow Knox, and in particular the tradition of "chairing" him. This meant the carrying of the successful candidates through the town carried aloft in a (usually specially constructed) chair. The rioters, generally reported to be in varying states of drunkenness, thought that the chair for Knox was housed in the Market Square property of Rolls the auctioneer and wine merchant. They broke in and - according to the Knox supporters- threatened to murder everyone within if the chair was not produced. It does not seem to have been there, as the crowd went on to a second property which they attempted to search but found was already barred against them. Mitchell thought could not remember exactly what had happened to the chair but thought it had been at the Rolls after all and was thrown into the street through the windows and demolished.  Wisely, it was decided Knox would not be chaired on this occasion. It doesn't seem Williams was either. 

The Fleeing Constables

"Respectable citizens" who had turned out to hear the election result risked being "knocked down like beasts" (Berkshire Chronicle) if they were not considered to support Clayton. A number apparently sort shelter in whichever house would let them in. The two Misses Cocks, of Thames Bank, hid in Mrs (Eliza) Brighton's bakers shop in the High Street when confronted by the mob. The Conservative banners were reduced to ribbons and stones broke windows and thudded against shutters. A number of people were hurt and one man seriously. (Some reports gave his name as Mr Nugent, presumably one of the Nugent's of Westhorpe. He was pulled into the safety of the Rolls house, although the crowd followed initially.) William Mitchell the poll clerk, watching from the hustings, personally saw many men knocked down by a blow to the head with a staff, farmer John Gibbons among them. (Of Seymour Court farm, Blounts and Copy farms)

 The 26 Special constables were accused of fleeing as soon as they saw what was afoot and so parish Constable Thomas Walker was bravely left virtually single handed to deal with the situation. He was of course completely outnumbered. This probably explains a lack of prosecutions arising from the destruction. In the end, the magistrates, fearing that the "peace and property of the inhabitants in a serious state of jeopardy" were apparently able to appeal to the more respectable amongst the unhappy crowd to encourage all to disperse. All agree this happened quite quickly. 

Clerk William Mitchell was not hurt on the day but did experience a volley of stones and sticks thrown at his head as he was driving back from Maidenhead a little later! He escaped injury then too, thanks to a fast pony. 

Poor Henry Hyatt

Henry Hyatt (Hiatt) was the longstanding proprietor of the Greyhound Inn in Spittal Street. His landlord was a Wethered and it was therefore assumed he would vote Conservative in the election. William Mitchell recalls that Hyatt had "against all the efforts and threats of his landlord" publicly declared his intention of voting Liberal. What's more he was steadfast in this resolution. William Mitchell's eye witness account here is sad to read. He noticed that as Henry declared his vote for Clayton, his lips quivered. William heard a voice which he believed to be Wethereds, say "Hyatt, you are ruined man". Hyatt replied "I have voted conscientiously".  Henry must have known life was going to become very difficult indeed for him. Mitchell recalled that the inn keeper was given notice to quit, but refused to leave, and so Henry found various legal attempts was made to eject him. These failed. 

Mitchell personally witnessed the vindictiveness poor Henry was subject to. If they could not force him out, they would make it as difficult as possible for him to do business. His landlord had the windows removed, then the doors, floorboards and roofing materials. But Henry stuck on and William Mitchell saw him sitting in the roofless building at night, with a few loyal Blue customers perched on casks around him. The situation was not sustainable though, and in 1848, Henry left the Greyhound. Mitchell's says he had heard that Clayton had given him £150 so he could start again somewhere else. Let's hope that is true. 

The End? Not Quite

Sir William Robert Clayton thought he had been robbed of his seat. In October 1847, the unfortunate Henry Hyatt  invited Clayton to a dinner in his honour at the Greyhound. Among those present were long-standing liberal supporters who praised Clayton for his efforts. The Windsor and Eton Express described the company as some gentleman of the neighborhood and "a highly respectable assemblage of influential yeoman." Clayton was described as moved almost to tears and replied in fulsome terms. Samuel Barnes (parish clerk of St Peters Street), Ralph Spicer (the lawyer) George Cannon (bookseller and chemist), John Morris, Mr Morgan, Samuel Horrod, William Tyler, Mr Blackwell and Charles Susan are some of the people familiar to readers of this blog who were present. Some of these contributed some songs to liven up proceedings! A bench put together a bit hastily perhaps by a local carpenter collapsed during the proceedings, depositing several gentleman onto the floor, to much laughter.  Interestingly, a Wethered, no first name given, was also there and gave a speech in support of the Claytons. As his family were strongly associated with the Conservative cause, this was a probably awkward attendance! Interestingly, the large feast was said to have been prepared partly at the Crown, which was a Williams owned property. The Franklyns of the Crown had put their kitchen at Henry's disposal. A somewhat brave decision given Henry's treatment. 

 

Aftermath

In December, a petition was presented to Parliament to investigate the return of Brownlow Knox. This was partially because a number of people had promised to vote for Williams with one of their votes but not Knox with the other. (About 31 voters in all) These individuals had apparently decided at the last to in fact cast their ballot for both of the Conservatives. The suspicion was that the supporters of Knox had offered bribes to these voters. The petition itself went further and accused Knox himself of directly offering money for votes while out canvassing. The Berkshire Chronicle naturally rubbished this suggestion and thought it amusing that a gentleman such as Knox would be seen asking for votes after dark, knocking at shutters like a"timid lover." They mention a supposed £20 payment to a Well End resident (Dean Street)who after accepting the money had gone to Harleyford to report the action of Knox to Clayton. At the investigation into these events, it does not seem that Clayton's supporters were very well prepared with their evidence. They had failed to provide a list of suspected bribed voters when the committee first sat. Later they did bring forth witnesses from Well End/Dean Street who admitted taking money to vote for the Conservatives. Beer house keeper  Thomas Frith was the principle one. (He was of the Nags Head, Dean Street) He said that in coming across Mr Wethered on the road a little before the election, he had asked Mr Wethered out right for money. He said Wethered had said that if he promised to vote for both Williams and Knox, he could go to the counting house of the Brewery and claim his reward, which he had duly done. However Frith was discounted as a witness after he admitted on cross examination that he had spent time in both Oxford and Aylesbury gaols (for taking wood from private property, not taking bribes but it was enough to create an impression of dishonesty) He had also spent some time living at Sir William Clayton's estate in Goldstone and had received an allowance from him. Farmer John Miller also testified that an elector who had promised to vote for Clayton had not done so on the day, and when quizzed had admitted selling his vote to the other side. John was listed as of Little Marlow at the investigating committee but I believe he was at Marlow Bottom Farm. More on him here.

However what they could not find was an acceptable witness who would say he had received money from Knox himself, as stated in the petition. The Committee admitted that Knox had aroused suspicion by his habit of canvassing inhabitants in the evening - it was assumed he must have ulterior motives to be visiting under the cover of nightfall. His supporters did admit this had proved unpopular with many voters who had dismissed him with some forceful language! 

For a post on a voter said to have been bribed by Clayton in 1842 see here!

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts:

To find other posts about general history of Marlow and life here for our ancestors, see our index here

1880 Election riots here

Swing riots 1830 here

Women's riots 1800 here

Posts related to some of the people mentioned above include:

Charles Susan, Radical and Emigrant here

George Cannon - Consumption cures and ball tickets here and here

Henry Hyatt - Greyhound Inn/hotel timeline and landlord listing here

Ralph Spicer - here

To find all mention of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's over 3250 people listed there, and new posts are added daily. 

©Marlow Ancestors 

Sources Include:

Dod, Charles Roger Electoral Facts from 1832-1852 (1852)

Great Britain Houses of Parliament, Accounts and Papers Vol 11, 1880.

Martin, Frederick. Handbook of Contemporary Biography (Macmillan 1870)

Walford, Edward - The County Families Of The United Kingdom (Robert Hardwicke, 1871)

Bucks Gazette 13 March 1847  

Berkshire Chronicle 7 August, 25 December 1847 

Bucks Herald  4 December 1847

Dublin Evening Mail - 03 December 1847

Bedford Mercury -  7 August 1847. 

Windsor and Eton Express 6 August, 2 Oct 1847, 19 Feb 1848. 

Memories of the Past, volume LIV , 10 August 1897, digitised by Christchurch City Libraries. 

Landlord research for licenced premises by Kathryn Day.

 

Marlow's 21 OTHER Football Teams *Updated April 2023*

Updated JULY 2024

Marlow Football Club has a long history but this post is about Marlow's more minor teams that your ancestor stands a better chance of having played for. It includes youth and junior sides as after all even Sporting Life would sometimes mention a fixture or match report for these. It doesn't include schools teams, the old Borlasian or Marlow Choir teams or those organised by employers on a more or less occasional basis eg the Brewery. 

A few things to bear in mind: a lot of surnames are shared across teams. You may find a family member spent time on more than one. Brothers and cousins often played on the same side. Most match reports (especially early ones) fail to name players at all or just give the surname. Most of these teams did not have a set place to play home matches. Almost all can be found using the Crown Ground (Crown Meadow, now Riley Recreation Ground) on occasion, if Marlow F.C or the Reserves did not need it. The other main sites used were Star Meadow (one end of which would later be partially used to form Marlow F.C's new home, the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground), the "recreation ground" (Gossmore) and less often "the Station Ground" aka Porter's Meadow. The Porters owned or occupied more than one meadow in this period but the one usually referred to was roughly where Riverpark Drive is now.  The Victoria's also used Colonels Meadow, behind Borlase school. 

Regular football came to a halt during the First World War, so naturally there will be gaps for these years. The Crown Ground saw plenty of activity during that time thanks to locally stationed soldiers playing in the military leagues or just casually. I have not included them here as they are not often made up of local men. This blog deals with the pre First World War period primarily, with occasionally forays into the 1920's and beyond. Some of these team names were recycled later but unless mentioned otherwise, the more modern incarnations are not a continuation of what went before. Dates are for the first and last dates I have found of a team definitely being active. I have not researched all of the leagues or competitions entered, sorry!  This page will be updated as new info emerges - and as we work through through my notes.. There are many more names to be added!

Marlow Rangers

1885 - 1906 (also used for an unrelated team in 1960's/70's)

Sought matches with "good minor teams" and seem to have enjoyed some success. Did not play exclusively against very local teams as most of the other minor ones did. Maintained both an A and B team. Average age 18/19. In 1894 had won 12 of their 17 games, and drawn another. 

AGM held: Three Compasses, Dean Street. 

Colours: Light and dark blue halves

Practice days: Wednesdays, on recreation ground (Gossmore)

Usual home pitch - Recreation Ground (Gossmore), but also used Station Ground, and Crown Ground on occasion. In 1895 are described as having a new ground in the meadow next to the Saw Mill in Station Rd lent by Mr H Clark , but still use other sites. 

Some player/member names names:

1893 - Ayres, Langley. 

1894 - A J Carr (captain), J Shipton (deputy captain), J Frith (also treasurer) , A Ayres, J Spindlo (R J?), G Almond, H Clark, Maskell, W East, W J Fenner, J A Paine (goalkeeper), F Rockell. G Sawyer, C Harris, A Frith. W Toovey,  D Gibbons

  Secretary : 1894 - W E  Toovey, 10 Queens Rd. 

1895 - J Spindlo (captain) Shipton (vice captain), W Toovey (hon. Sec), East, J or G Sawyer (treasurer), C Harris, J Paine, J Carr, 

1896 - Secretary is W J Fenner, (moved from Chapel Str to "York Rd, Marefield" this year. Fenner is also secretary of The Swifts. ) Players: C Harris, J Simmons, A Carr, E Keep, G Sawyer, A & W Toovey, F Langley, J Shipton, W Halton, C Dye. 

1905: Harris, Toovey, Howard. 

Marlow Star 

1885-1921 Originally started as a football team for the Dean Street boys club ran by All Saints Church. The curate Rev C Potts was the man largely behind the start of the club. 

A youth team, average age 15 in 1898. Often came up against reserve sides of bigger teams including Marlow FC. Had A and B sides. All listings below are A team members. Secretary (1898) - W Scott, High Street. 

Usual home ground: Star Meadow

Players: 

1885- E Clark, G Ayres, A Bowles, Payne, Didcott , T or J White, Young, A Boot, C Ilsley (capt), F Grace. 

1886 - J Bowles (goal) F Bailey (Captain) A Paine, J White, F Bowles, A Brook(e)s, E Clark(e), G Stone, C Brooks, I Ayres, C Price 

1887 - E Clark(e) is goal keeper. 

1903 - Cox, Grace 

Players of unknown date: W Payne, G Langley. 

Marlow Blue Star

Not same as above. This is a boys team.  There was a Little Marlow Blue Star too by 1898 for under 11's or under 15s at different times. I don't think they were the same. 

1910. 

Players: T Moody, Stacey. 

Little Marlow Blue Star

Boys, 1890/91. Not researched yet. 

Marlow Red Star

Boys, 1893 - 1902. Usually play Gossmore. 

Played in Berks and Bucks minors cup 1901, 1902.

(Lane End also had a boys side called Red Star) 

A match report from 1893 says the game was characterized by rough play and "some fighting"! The Star team lost. 

Marlow Victoria

Marlow's main "other" club,  with a good following of their own. Aka "The Vics". Full name The Royal Victoria Working Mans FC. (Another Marlow Working Mans FC was active c1909 -1914) Also have reserve side. Mostly 17-23 years old (although from 15 year olds at start)

1873 - 1898 - but see below. 

The club was set up for the "junior tradesman and mechanics" of Marlow. "Mr Wethered" was one of those who drove the idea forward and he acted as their first president. [Thomas O Wethered] They were lucky enough to secure the support of a number of well off patrons such as Sir William Robert Clayton, Bart, F O Wethered, and Thomas Somers Cocks as well as the Rev Cree and Alfred Davis Junior. Seeking "strong minor teams" to play against, they did well. So well in fact that in 1897 it was decided to amalgamate them with the Marlow FC reserves, in order to strengthen the latter. In 1898, 9 players in the Reserve team had played for Victoria the previous season. The B team(s) of the Vics still played under the Victoria name until approx 1899 though. They host Athletic Sports competitions for their members 1870's (at Gossmore) as part of  their aim to encourage healthy exercise overall.  

HQ - First AGM held Duke of Cambridge, Queens Rd. The Duke was also where the initial meeting to set up the team was held.  Later used the White Lion, West Street. 

Practice: when first established held on Tues and Sats on Colonel's Meadow, Borlase. Later at Gossmore Recreation Ground. 

Home ground: For first year or so, Colonel's Meadow. Then usually the recreation ground Gossmore. Sometimes borrow Crown Ground too. 

Secretary:  1872- R Carter. 1873 / 1874 - A Gardener. 1894 - Joint secretaries S J Barlow of Eton Cottage and H Sawyer of Spittal Street.  1896 - W Fenner  (this man's name will pop up often in this role!). 1899 - C Howard of West End 1899. 

Chairman - 1895 L J Sellman

Players: 

1873/4 - Captain William J Stockbridge. Others: C & T Fletcher, Owen Sawyer, J Biggs, R Wye, G Frith, G&J Edwards, A Keep. 

1875 John Langley jun, A Keep, T Plumridge, F Plumridge, M Mason, C Fletcher, W Plumridge jun, Owen Sawyer, J Beckett, R Wellicome, J Biggs, J Harvey, T Wyatt, G Edwards. 

1895: S J Barlow, George & A E Edmunds (George is Captain), F Tucker, H Sawyer, ? Davis, L Sellman, G Barber, F Hawkes (vice Captain)

1897 - H Sawyer (goalkeeper),  ? Edmunds (Capt), A Edmunds, W Probert, Unknown Probert, L Sellman (also hon treasurer), S Shaw, G Davis, Smith, F Haw(k)es, K Bonny, W White (deputy captain), J Davis. 

Marlow Excelsior

Play Crown Ground, and Star Meadow. 

A youth team with a reserve side too. Played in the Berks &Bucks Minor League in 1901. 

1893 - 1911 (definite finish date) 

Usual place of play:  Recreation ground

Secretary 1896 - W Fenner again! 

Marlow Ramblers

1890 - 1895. Also had B team. Play in Berks & Bucks Junior Cup.  

HQ - Clubroom of Three Tuns, West Str. AGM and annual dinner held there, fundraising smoking concerts ditto. 

Play: On all the Marlow grounds (see top)

Secretary: 1890/91 - H Price, 7 Queens Rd.  1892 - W Carter. 

Players:  Emmett (undated)

1890: Judge, East, Rose, P (probably Phillip)  & F Looker, F Harvey (captain), E Cook, A Cooper, H Illsley (goal), Tucker. 

1891: H Illsley, J White, F Harvey, J Rose, F. & P Looker, J F Price, W East, G Judge, George Moody, G Ayres, E Clark, E Heatley, F Bayley, E Cook, A Cooper

1892 - W Rose (in goal), E Emmett (also goalkeeper) Backs J Howe?, J White, H Frith. Half backs - W Carter, J East?, W J East, T. P Rose. Right Wing - George Moody, F Looker. Left Wing: - A Boot, P Looker. Centre - R C Sawyer. Captain - William East. /W J East. 

President: Viscount Curzon, MP. Hon Treasurer: A Carter. 

Marlow Wednesday Ramblers - may be successor of Marlow Ramblers. 

1903. 

Players: Stacey, Sears, Dormer. 

Marlow Wednesday

May be referring to Wednesday Ramblers or Wednesday Athletic or may be another team again!! Still active at dawn of First World War. Another Marlow Wednesday was formed c1931 and played on the Marlow F C ground - on Wednesdays naturally. 

1909 - Secretary: A Smith, 7 Sunlight Cottages.

Marlow Antelopes

Youth team. (Under 16)

1874 - 1896. In 1894 mentioned as "badly in need of funds". 

Secretary: F Plumridge, Oxford Rd. 

Players - just a few known

1878 - Harding, Rockell, Lovegrove, Higgins. 

 Undated: - Nicholls, H White (Captain), R J Spindlo (this is Richard John, known as John, the baker b 1878, and later very successful player for Marlow F C )

1893 - H White (goal), J Spindle (Spindlo?), G Morton, C Drye, F Nicholls, G Hatton, C Harris, W Mangah ?, W Plumridge, F Nicholls, F Paine, 

1894 - Goalkeeper - W. East. Others: C F Waterman, R Wellicome, H Clark, F Walker, F Langley, F Harman, J Boot, C J Drye. 

Marefield Rovers

Boys team. Had reserve side too. Play in Maidenhead Boys League. C1910-1913. 

Players 1910: T Golding (Captain), G Stone, S Clark, H Hilsdon, A & A H Peddle, R Flint, C Lee, R Clark, F Burton, W Lloyd

Marlow Rovers

1891- 1912 then 1920-1930. 

Youth team, average age 17 in 1920.  

Plays: Recreation Ground, occasionally Crown Ground. 

Practice: Wednesdays, Recreation Ground. 

Secretary: 1920 - G  Sparks, West Str. 

Players: 1900  T Ward, Bennett, Coles, Robinson

Marlow Red Rovers

1893 - 1898. Under 15's side. 

Hon Sec 1893 : George Edmunds

White Rovers

Boys, 1893 - 1899

Marlow Albion

1887- 1907 Has an A  & B team. Youths. 

Hon. Secretary 1888 is A Carter. 

Wednesday Athletic

Boys. 1912. 

Marlow Athletic

 1911-1920

Marlow Abstainers

1886

Marlow Corinthians

Youths 1892. 

1893 - W Wellicome, J Beckett, H Collins, J Shipton, T Rance, G H Clark, S Green. 

Marlow Harriers

1886-1888

Marlow Nelson

"Rising minor team" in 1896 but records thin on ground! 

Marlow Wanderers

Youths under 14, 1897. 

Players: Rockwell (possibly meant to be Rockell/Rockall or Rosewell), Corby. 

Marlow United

Active at least 1909-14. Juniors. Not the same as the more modern team to bear this name. 

Players 1909 - Culhane, Cresswell, Dickson, Arber, Moody, Rolston, Morris. 

And a bonus: 

Players for Lane End FC (still going today!)

Aka "the blue and whites"

1893 (first year) : J Gray, Rixon, F Fletcher, J Britnell, A Bristow, Davis, Sears, Priest, J Carr. 

Researched by Kathryn Day with some additional research by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors