Hall Grave, Little Marlow

 These graves are at St. John the Baptist Church, Little Marlow.

Above, Amelia Hall. Died November (8?) 1894 age 62.

"Heaven is my home and fortune fair/My treasure and my heart are there/And my abiding home/For me, my elder brethren stay/and Angels beckon me away/And Jesus bids we come"

William Thomas Hall. Died March 8 1891 age 73. 

"Behold he taketh away, Who can hinder him/Who will say unto him what doest thou?"

These two graves are adjacent to each other. 

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this photo and transcription for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

Great Marlow Strays

Marriages of Great Marlow people I have discovered by sheer coincidence while trawling through the parish registers of other places. Spellings are as they appear to me. I have done my best with old writing.

Anthony, John married 27th November 1802 at Medmenham Bucks Elizabeth Hoare of Medmenham. This could be John Anthony the carpenter.

Breach, Ann married 2nd June 1730 All Saints church Maidstone, Kent John Chambers of Sonning Berkshire.

Carter, Mary and William Phelps both of Great Marlow married March 1st 1741 Stoke Poges Bucks by licence.

Fletcher, Henry married May 11th 1676 at St Helen's Bishopsgate London Anne Seale of Bledlow Ridge, Bucks..

Hall, Robert a widower married 20th October 1814 Medmenham Bucks Rachel Thatcher of Medmenham. More on Rachel here

Harman, James married 1st January 1717 by Licence at St Paul's Cathedral London Elizabeth Rowley of St Dunstan's In The West parish, London.

Heather, Mary a widow married August 24th 1791 at St Stephen's Walbrook church in London John Benson of St Stephen's Walbrook parish.

Ingram, Margaret married 26th April 1703 Bisham Berkshire Ralph Spicer of Chipping Wycombe. The latter place is now called High Wycombe. One of their descendants also called Ralph Spicer was a lawyer in Great Marlow - read about him here

Law, Mary married Bisham Berkshire 9th November 1699 Christopher Welder "a Dutchman".

Norton, Benjamin married February 3rd 1754 at St George's Hanover Square, London Sarah Jones of Cookham, Berkshire.

Tafield? Tofield? Athaliah married at Hughenden Bucks 30th March 1814 William Cock of Bisham Berkshire. By licence. Athaliah was not uncommon as a name at this period especially in this area.

Use the Person Index to find all mentions of a person on this blog. New people are added there daily and there are currently over 3,250 individuals listed there. 

I have more of these strays, mostly from London, Kent and Sussex where my own family history research has focused. I will add to this list as I sift my notes. 

Platts Row / Cannon's Row Marlow

Buildings dated 1846.

Known as Cannon's Row as it was built for and owned by chemist and bookseller George Cannon. (To go virtual shopping in his Victorian premises see this post here)  His initials appear along with the 1846 date on the decorative plaque under the eaves. The properties were sold after his death and then became known as Platts Row, sometimes Platts Road. (Referencing the now gone Platts Farm)  This is within Mill Road Marlow.

Above, part of a fragile plan of Platt's Farm estate when up for sale in 1839. Lot 34 adjacent to "Duck Lane" (St Peter's Street) would soon become St Peter's Catholic Church. NB the St. Peters street on this map is what we would now call Station Rd. 

Open ground opposite the cottages and next to the Prince Of Wales pub in South Place was used by a travelling theatre in 1883, Belmores. One of the actresses performing there, Ada Hall, died of fits considered to have been brought on by a mammoth drinking session in the Prince of Wales. Ada had been in acute distress after hearing that her son was lost at sea. She was also suffering from money troubles and in mourning for the recent death of her aunt. At the inquest Platts Row resident Harriet Warren gave evidence. She had shown kindness to Ada, putting a blanket under her head when she found her sleeping in the taproom and visiting the theatre tent the next day to check on her wellbeing. Harriet was née Smith and married her husband Joseph at the Wesleyan Chapel in 1877.

Resident William Augustus Gill died in Platts Row in 1894 aged 61, having lived there with his wife Elizabeth for some years. His obituary in the South Bucks Standard [3rd August 1894, Via the BNA / British Library Archives] tells us that though a tailor by trade William was mainly interested in being out playing sports. He was a fast long distance runner who challenged others in matches, a cricket player for Marlow and an umpire until his sight failed.

I found evidence of him running a race for money 130 yards down Oxford Road Marlow against Maidenhead man Edward Shalor. William won by 4 yards. As a runner he went by the name of The Shrimp. Not sure why!

The obituary says William had a sharp but witty tongue. It glossed over evidence that he may have been a little short tempered having multiple court summonses for assault. Those who summoned him included hairdresser George Hitchcock and two local constables. William was twice fined for being in a pub drinking during prohibited hours. One of these offences was in the Prince of Wales.

Elizabeth survived William and died in Platts Row in 1900. She was née White and married her husband in 1852.

Another one time resident of Platts Row was Uriah Piggot who for 30 years worked as a gardener at New Court off the High Street.

Photo by Kathryn Day. Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

For other posts about specific roads in Marlow see under "Specific Shops, Streets...etc" on the menu. All mentions of an individual on the blog can be found on the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu - now containing 2,900 names. 

Related posts: 

Travelling theatres such as Ada's were a big part of Marlow Fair - read about this event in the Victorian era here and Edwardian times here. 

The death of a showman in Riley recreation ground in its previous life as Crown Meadow is covered here

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

George Cannon's initials and 1846 date. 

Skating And Snowballs - Winter In Marlow

The winters of 1891/2, 1892/3 and 1893/4 and the early spring of 1895 saw the Thames at Marlow frozen to some degree for 4 years in a row. By the end of  January 1891 there had been 9 weeks of frost. It was hoped that the Thames or one of the flooded meadows adjacent would freeze sufficiently to host a cricket match on the ice, along with torch lit skating races at Cookham but all of a sudden the thaw set in and the ice disappeared quickly. The river had frozen most completely nearer Maidenhead and so many Marlow residents were noted as having made the journey to a "splendid piece of ice" extending from Boulters Lock to "beyond Mr. Woodhouse's boathouse at Cliveden Reach." Reports suggest "fully a thousand persons" were disporting themselves on this stretch. Some Marlow people were among those who found a way to make a profit out of the excited visitors. They laid planks to help skaters access the river from the bank and charged people for help getting onto the ice and also for fixing and unfixing skates onto boots. At Cookham Lock several people were seen to ride or drive horses onto the ice and cyclists also put in an appearance. 1891 also saw several hundred people gather on the flooded and frozen meadows at Bisham and Temple. A large number of skaters also gathered at Mr George Jackson's pond at Westhorpe and one man was seen skating on the weir pool at Marlow on Christmas day 1891. The committee of the National Skating Association's negotiations to bring some races off in the neighborhood came too late to beat the thaw but some locally arranged handicap races did occur at Marlow. These male-only races were organised by Alfred Davis and John Langley, who also acted as a starter.  The main event was won by Edward Shaw, which was they say "a very popular win". The number of spectators was enormous, despite the cold. (See below for a partial list of those men and boys competing.) A correspondent for the Fishing Gazette in early January 1891 says that one afternoon he had witnessed fully 200 persons on the river ice opposite Shaw's boathouse including a great number of "skatists and hockeyists". Such a sight he said was not within memory of "the middle aged generation" with the ice 6 inches deep in some places along the upper Thames. The thaw was still ongoing into February, the hard ground causing most of the water from the riverside to run into the river itself. The water level rose by 2ft within a few days of the thaw beginning. 

Unfortunately timed as that thaw may have been, it was not as dramatic as the so called "silver thaw" of 1867 when the sudden break up of a frost lead to showers of minute ice crystals that destroyed many umbrellas wielded against them. 

Thin ice proves a peril

Heavy snow in 1893 saw drifts of 12ft depth in places reported between Cressex and Marlow. The roads from Wycombe were understandably blocked. Those skating and sliding on frozen ditches and ponds were said to be of both sexes and all ages. The stretch of frozen Thames was much more limited than in 1891, but the ice formed near the Berks and Bucks shores was regarded as "moderately safe" which was enough to get large numbers of skaters out near Bisham Church. Under Marlow Bridge the ice seemed to stretch across the whole width of the river, and so naturally some of the curious tried to edge their way across from one bank to another, despite warnings the ice was very thin in the centre of the span. A few made it across safely to cheers but then a young man tried to make the return journey and fell through the ice. The water beneath him was said to be 22ft deep. A very difficult rescue was accomplished after the youngster had spent 10 mins in the frozen water, very largely thanks to Mr J G Meakes who had laid a very long ladder across the breach and so allowed rescuers to approach. The young man was very lucky to be alive, if very cold. 

In February 1895 a little girl from the Grace family fell through the ice after trying to skate on it just beyond the end of the St Peter Street slipway. The screams of her young companions bought Mr Jones, the coachman of Thames Bank to the scene and he was able to mount a successful rescue. 

Incidentally, anyone curious to know the temperature in the 1890's could wander  - or slide along -  the High Street pavements to Messrs Smith & Co who had a very large thermometer on the outside of the building.  

Beware of snowballs! 

One way of keeping warm might be to engage in an energetic snowball fight. But as always reports of some over enthusiastic throwing resulting in broken windows come to the surface. In the heavy snowfall of 1904, Supt Summers received so many complaints of bad behaviour that they did their best to catch groups of boys lurking suspiciously with snowballs at hand. Three naughty boys who went too far in pelting a little girl walking up Institute Rd saw themselves hauled before the magistrates. William Boddy, Jack Hall and Charles Collins received a fine of 1s each for their efforts. 

Edwardian scenes

Although the Victorian era frozen river scenes are probably the most famous, January 1908 saw the Thames frozen from bank to bank beneath Marlow Bridge. And vast scattered sheets of ice stretched between Meakes Boat House and Bisham Church. However the ice was not thick enough to bear a persons weight so the crowds that came to see the sight were restricted to the towpath. But they still went skating. The reason is the Thames was in flood and so the riverside meadows were used as improvised skating rinks as they had been used for generations, private property or no. For decades the premier skating spot was however Cockmarsh, and so Marlow crowds made the journey there. They were not the only ones. It is said that even Londoners made the trip to Bourne End to enjoy the neighbourhood skating. Reporters from the Daily Graphic also made their way to Marlow and took images of an ice hockey match proceeding on the iced over floodwater. This freeze made the conditions difficult for the swans and a decision was made to remove them from the river and hold them inland for a couple of months. Catching them seems quite a task however, as most had moved inland themselves, some by "several miles". 

Not all fun and games

Snow and ice maybe gives romantic image of Marlow in the the winter. But there's another side. Cold and wet conditions made life a misery for those needing to work outside especially if they had poor quality clothes and boots and came from a poorly heated home. In 1872 the torrential December rain made the working conditions of those employed on laying the Marlow railway dangerous. So the work had to be temporarily abandoned to a sea of mud. 

Others working outside whose labour did not stop were obviously very vulnerable if poorly clothed in freezing temperatures. Rag and bone man Charles Slade of Gun Lane was believed to have died of exposure while doing a round at Hambledon in early 1895. He was found insensible in the road alongside his donkey cart near the Dog & Badger at Medmenham. He could not be revived.  In fact he was dead by the time he was returned to Marlow by Thomas Stroud of Dean Street who had been drinking at the Dog and Badger. The conclusion was the extreme cold had bought on heart failure which had in turn caused the fall from the cart. Wife Sarah tells the inquest that her husband had been suffering much from the low temperatures and that they had sometimes had a lack of food over the winter. 

Fog was sometimes bad enough to be described as a serious interference for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic and the trains did not escape disruption. Frozen pipes deprived many households of water, so water sellers were back on the streets after they had ceased to be a common feature throughout the town. (Eg several enterprising souls were seen selling water in February 1895. The Marlow Water Company endeavoured to supply those homes normally connected to their supply with water from the standpipes too.) 

 Regular collections were made to help the poor afford coals for the winter. But for those without a home, the situation was worst of all. The last word will go to the case of "tramp" James Healey. In January 1908, James came into the town and tried to find somewhere to stay. He did not succeed.  Described as "quite an old man" he was frightened at the prospect of spending the night outside during an extremely cold spell. So he picked up a stick and deliberately broke the glass of one of the council owned street lamps in Trinity Road where the Police Station was located. He then went to them and confessed to his act of desperate vandalism. He knew they would have no choice but to arrest him and keep him in the - relatively- warm cells overnight. He got a longer stay than he hoped for, as he was subsequently sentenced to 7 days gaol with hard labour. In the same week beggars were caught in West Street, Institute Rd, and Station Rd and also received 7 day sentences.  

List of competitors in 1891 Marlow ice skating handicap races:

Boys:

C P Lovell (winner 500 yards junior race), Frederick Plumridge, Frank Langley, A Smith. 

Adults:

E Shaw, A Shaw, Reggie Shaw, C Shaw,  J Payne, Taplin, Bowles, Hooker, Smith, Grove, Tom White, Rowe, Cox, H Harman, W Davis, Lees?, Collier, Bailey, Lovell, Ashtead, Nicholls. 

Veterans: 

W Lunnon, ? Langley, E Flint, W Shaw, A J East, W Toovey, 

Researched and written by Kathryn Day

Related Posts:

Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here and 2 here

Edwardian Christmas in Marlow here

Bonfire night in Victorian Marlow here

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

Easter and May day here

Selected Sources

The Fishing Gazette: Devoted to Angling, River, Lake, and Sea Fishing, and Fish Culture, Volume 3. ( Charles William Bradley & Co 1895) & The Fishing Gazette 10 January 1891, ditto.

Reading Mercury 21 December 1872. From British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020. 

South Bucks Standard 23 January 1891, 24 November 1893, 2 December 1904, 10 January 1908, as above. 

Notebook of Miss E Morton. 

©Marlow Ancestors

Great Marlow Stagecoach Services

  This is a follow up post to our entry on the Wyatt family who did so much to make coach travel faster for late 18th and early 19thc Marlow residents.  Their service to London, run with a series of partners and finally alone, was known as The Original and then The Wyatts coach. You can read more here.

But there were others services and this is an overview of the main other ones. 

The coaching trade boosted income for the innkeepers who provided a starting or finishing point for a journey. Coach building and maintenance for those owning their own private coach or carriage also provided work. We will mention Marlow resident Mr Lovegrove who advertised his coach painting services in 1770.  He had he said, been "regularly bred to the profession in London" and would do the job in the best and most professional manner. 

At first Marlow did not have a daily stagecoach service. In 1773 there were journeys made three times a week to London in the summer and twice weekly in winter. 

In May 1788 a new daily post coach run by Saunders, Smith and Co started running from Mr Dixon's the Lower Crown. Sundays were of course excepted. It left at 7am and returned to Marlow on the same day at 2pm. It arrived at the bustling coach interchange known as  The New White Horse Cellar Piccadilly. It's route went via Little Marlow, Wooburn and Taplow. The newspapers at this time carried advertisements for a coachman to serve this new route.  So what qualities would a coach driver need? Mr Dixon was mindful of the reputation some drivers had for being drunk in charge and reckless with both coach and horses. So his ideal candidate should be steady and sober, and must have held a similar role for some time. Experience with driving in both London and country areas was essential as was a good temper. What especially dates the ad is a requirement for the successful candidate to be free of smallpox.  

In 1790, the Lower Crown's London coach was leaving an hour earlier. It took an hour to get to Maidenhead, and 4 hours to reach London itself. Three years later, a "neat, new, elegant" London coach was run from the same Lower Crown by Minchener's [also occurs as Miltchener, this was Elizabeth of Colnbrook], later a partner of Wyatts. The first service set forth on the 8th April 1793, promising lower fares. The charge for travelling in the more expensive interior seats was 8s from Marlow to London in 1797, one shilling less if travelling from Maidenhead. There was also a special rate for small parcels at 4d. This coach went via Maidenhead (Swan Inn) to Piccadilly as before, but it also now advertised that it stopped at the New Inn, Old Bailey. It took longer to arrive in London than the previous coach, at 5 hours. But it was "safe, easy, and expeditious", at least if no highwayman were about. Sadly Minchener went bankrupt in 1806. A daily service departing from the King's Head, Old Change at 10am is also mentioned in 1793. 

Moving on to 1798 a new Marlow coach to the capital was started from Mrs Chapman's Upper Crown. This went through Maidenhead and arrived at the Bolt and Ton, Fleet Street via the inevitable New White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly. If the thought of getting up early to catch this coach was off putting and you wanted the luxury of selecting your own departure time, then the proprietors would allow you to hire out the entire coach and it would then set out when you chose. That however was an expensive option.  Around this time or a little later William Williams was running a post coach from the Lower Crown. William moved his post business to the Corporation Arms in High Wycombe in 1808, still promising to make travel as comfortable as possible for all those "pleased to honour him with their favours". 

It was not just the two Crown Inns that were coach stops. In 1819 Robert Mossington (Mossenton) had recently taken over the Greyhound Inn in Spittal Street. He was keen for everyone to know he had spent a great deal of time and effort on fitting up the premises in the most modern manner. He would also be running a new service to London, known as The Accomodation coach -  "All possible attention will be paid to safety, convenience and comfort of passengers". This took 5 hours so no real improvement had been made on earlier running times. Robert seems to have done very well at the parcel carrying part of his business, and so he also recruited the Two Brewers in St Peters Street to act as a parcel booking office. He offered a slightly later start from Marlow than his rivals at first - 8am with a return from the city at noon (later 2.30 pm) the following day. He did eventually bring his start time from Marlow back more in line with that of his rivals. The route was via Little Marlow, Maidenhead (the White Hart), Burnham and Slough to the Bull Inn, Holborn, the Belle Savage, Ludgate Hill and The Gloucester Coffee House.  Fares were 12s for a hopefully more comfortable interior seat, and 7s for an outside one, to London. He obviously was doing something right as a little over a month after starting his coach, he decided to make it a daily rather than thrice weekly service. (Sundays excepted)

WS Williams and Co obviously thought there was demand for another London service and so they launched a new post coach from The Greyhound in 1820. I believe they may have already run to London via Little Marlow, Wooburn and Taplow as they tell us in the adverts launching the new service that the coach serving these places will run unchanged bar an earlier start time.  They followed this by The Favourite in 1823  - more or less following the route and timings of Wyatt's the Original which was still going.  The Favourite went via Bisham (the Bull), Pinkneys Green (the Golden Ball), Maidenhead (White Hart), and Taplow (The Dumb Bell Inn) to Gloucester Coffee House, Piccadilly, and the Belle Sauvage, Lydgate Hill  London, daily, except Sundays. And why should you use Mr Williams service? He carried only 4 inside passengers in The Favourite, so was offering more leg room! He said his service had been timed not to interfere with existing services but this was only true on the return leg, which also took in Aldgate. Both the Favourite and The Original left Marlow at 9am (The first Williams coach left much earlier). The Favourite departed from the Greyhound, and also used The Two Brewers and The Bull Bisham as booking offices. Relations between the old and new service were naturally strained. When the two coaches met at the famous coaching stop the White Horse Cellar in London in September 1823, (before the timings had been moved further apart)  Wyatt and his rival Marlow coachman, a Mr Bonus came to blows. Wyatt accused Bonus of assaulting him, by punching and kicking but Bonus said he was provoked and warned Wyatt he would do just so if he did not leave off annoying him. Witnesses agreed with Bonus who was therefore unpunished. The trigger for the squabble was the sight by Wyatt of a lady who had formerly been a regular passenger of his was now a customer of Bonus. Wyatt said he had merely approached her calmly and asked for her to consider using his coach again. At this, he claimed Bonus had approached him and attacked. Bonus said the lady was actually already inside his coach at the time and Wyatt had been standing on the coach step conversing with her and offering to undercut Bonus. A very competitive market! The Favourite deposited it's passengers, purloined or otherwise at Marlow at 7.30pm.

Then there's the services that ran from Wycombe to Henley or Reading via Marlow. The coach and especially the numerous carrier services changed over time so this is just a summary. The Industry also known as Hone's Coach after it's operator, is probably the best known post coach. It started in 1828 and initially ran every day except Sundays. But within a few months, the service was reduced to running 3 times a week. (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, with Wednesday replacing Tuesday by 1830, left Reading at 4.45pm, later 3pm) However some services tweaked their timetable to reduce services over the winter when travel was less appealing, so the service was naturally changeable. The Industry is interesting because operator Hones & Co was a big concern in Reading and they timed their departures for Marlow and Wycombe for after the coaches from other major destinations had arrived, such as Bath, Brighton, Portsmouth and Bristol. So if your ancestor came to Marlow from further afield, this may well have been the route they took to arrive in town. In 1830 the mile stones between Marlow, Henley, and Reading were "newly painted and fitted up" so a traveller "has now a chance of knowing how far he is progressing". Those showing Marlow 1 mile must have elicited a silent cheer for the weary passengers. On the return from Henley, the coach pulled up at The Upper Crown at 7pm, but in the reverse direction passengers boarded at the Red Lion in West Street. Another service running from The Falcon, Wycombe to the White Hart Henley via the Three Tuns, Marlow was The Sociable by Thomas Hall, later known as "The Van", on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Van was afterwards ran by Lofting then Farley, from The Greyhound and the Tuns with the Halls operating a service from the Clayton Arms. Other carriers in this pre Victorian period include Thomas Wyatt's "Wagon" which went daily to London from The Horns, Chapel Street via Maidenhead and Salt Hill, Slough, and James Druce who ran to Wycombe on Fridays.

The Wonder omnibus with its beloved charismatic driver Charlie Burns went from the Crown (upper) to Maidenhead to meet the trains before the line came to Marlow. He will be the subject of his own post in the future.

Notes : In 1670 the carriers to London from Marlow came there every Tuesday, stopping at the Swanne in the Strand.  

1842 - carriers to London - Johnson, goes to the Bell, Warwick Lane, returning to Marlow on Thursday at noon. Robinson, to the The Rose, Smithfield, returning from there Tues and Fri mornings, and Wyatt's to the King's Arms, Holborn and White Bear, Piccadilly, returning Tues and Sats. (In 1807 the stop is called the Black Bear)

 Other later Victorian carriers include:

James Johnson of The Plough (to London once a week returning two days later), Charles and Tracey Wyatt (a man, Tracey was a male name then!)  from the Horns Inn Yard to The New Inn, Old Bailey and Piccadilly twice weekly, returning the next day each time, Wyatts from the Horns to Maidenhead and Slough, Richard Robinson from the Greyhound to Wycombe twice weekly. And there was a coach service from The George and Dragon once a day each to Henley and Windsor in the 1880s. And an omnibus to Windsor from the Greyhound to meet the South Western trains once a day.

Related Posts

More transport related posts can be found in the listing here

 All posts relating to an individual can be found under the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. 

Marlow highwayman Peter Rivers here

Marlow's toll gates here

For posts related to the inns mentioned, use the Pub Related option, yes also on the top drop down menu! 

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

SOURCES

Extract of the annual returns of the Great Marlow and Stokenchurch Turnpike Trust. Great Britain House of Commons. 1851, Vol 18

Kent's Directory for the year 1793 (Richard & Henry Causton, 1793)

Taylor, John. The Carriers’ Cosmography. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/CARR1.htm.

Reading Mercury 19 March 1770, 9 March 1773,  17 May 1780, 17 & 24  April 1788, 1 August 1789, 4 March 1793, 27 June 1796, 17 April 1797, 14 May 1798, 16 September 1811, all copies from The British Library. 

Oxford Journal 28 July 1787, 4 August 1804, 30 April 1808. As above. 

Windsor and Eton Express 05 September 1819, August 6 1820, 9 August 1823. As above. 

Berks Chronicle 6 September & 15 November 1828, 21 August 1830. As above. 

Bucks Gazette 19 February 1831, 31 March 1832, 24 October 1835 As above. 

Pigots Directory 1830, 1831,1842, 1844

Bucks Herald 3rd October 1840, As above

Bucks Chronicle and Bucks Gazette  24 November 1849

Statesman, 4 Oct 1823. 

Enrolment books, deposited with Clerk of the Peace, ref Q/RX 1835, Bucks Archives. 

Robson's London Directory 1842. 

Slaters Commercial Directory 1851

High Wycombe Directory and Handbook 1885

Crosby's Complete Pocket Gazette (B Crosby & Co, 1807, 1815)

Dutton, Allen and Co Directory and Gazetteer 1869

Kent's Directory for the Year 1793 (Richard and Henry Causton 1793)

©Marlow Ancestors

The Many Lives Of Riley Recreation Ground, Marlow

Riley Recreation ground has had a very colourful life. Now a park, it has spent much of its life under the ownership of the (Upper) Crown Inn/Hotel hence it's old name of Crown Meadow, or further back, Crown Close or the Crown Enclosure. Two of it's old uses are well known - a place for the horses to graze that pulled the fire engine (although other fields were also used) and as the first home for the Victorian Marlow FC. This post is mainly about some of the other events that have taken place there. It was bigger originally, and had more of a pronounced slope up to the Cambridge Road end, hence why football match reports refer to one team as having the disadvantage of having to kick uphill towards their goal, or the "Marefield Goal". 

It was sometimes the venue for early cricket matches, including one in the 1840's between teams rustled up by two rival gentleman to settle a wager. Another similar event on "Alms House Close" may be referring to the Crown Close too, but may also be related to a meadow elsewhere off Oxford Road, or Cambridge Road. A close in those days refers to an enclosed piece of land. It is no wonder the flatter Alder Meadow became the venue of choice in general. 

The meadow had it's most colourful appearance during the October Marlow Fair. It housed the horse drawn caravans and wagons belonging to the menageries hosting performances in Quoiting Square, and overspilling into Oxford Road and West Street (See note below). Lions, bears and elephants were all bought to perform in this cramped venue so it's no wonder that the menageries latter moved their marquees into the Crown Meadow itself. During the first day of the fair, the meadow saw the sale of cattle, pigs and sheep, before going over entirely to pleasure use on day two. You could find all kinds of steam organs, steam powered roundabouts and side shows there, as well as throughout the town centre. When the Fair as a street based concern was cancelled after 1903, the rides and sideshows continued to come to the meadow for what was left of the Fair, with others going to Star Meadow, off Wycombe Road. They continued here until the eve of the first world war. But the site was the home to roundabouts, menageries and travelling theatres outside of fair time for well over 100 years. Some of the attractions were of the "one night only" kind, others stayed quite literally months, slotted in outside of the football clubs playing area - mostly. Beaches Roundabouts were for example a frequent visitor around the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. 

Sadly, one showman died on Crown Meadow in 1893. Henry John Hall of Uxbridge was a circus and swing boat proprietor who had attended Marlow Fair for many years. On the year of his death, he was exhibiting in the meadow a month before the Fair. Normally regarded as being in good health, he was found unconscious on the floor of his caravan soon after returning from a short visit to the Red Lion. He was dead before Dr Dunbar Dickson arrived. Just 55 years old, he left a wife and a stunned fair community. 

The travelling theatres - mostly putting on shows of the comedic or sensationalist kind - were a feature of early fairs in particular but continued to visit well into the Edwardian period. Unfortunately for the theatre proprietors, the powers that be became stricter on the sort of wood and canvas structures thrown up as a venue, and some got slapped with fines for failing to erect a sufficiently safe, sanitary and sturdy structure. Mr Kings "People's Empire" was one such allegedly irregular construction in 1906. Those that passed muster sometimes stayed for an entire season, such as the Electric theatre that set up in Crown Meadow in July 1909. 

In 1893 the meadow saw a Grand Olympian Fete. The Olympics had yet to be resurrected so this was an event loosely inspired by the ancient games. There were athletic races, which cost a small fee to enter but gave the chance of winning a cash prize in turn. And side attractions included a brass band and a circus with trapeze artists, high wire acts and acrobats. After the sports came dancing, with refreshments provided by Mr Cole of the Crown. The day ended with a "grand illumination of coloured fires"  and a few fireworks at dusk. However those paying their entry fee to the privately organised event were allegedly left very disappointed as some of the advertised entertainers did not turn up. And the high wire artist had to cut short their act when the improperly constructed wire began to sag! The improvised stage was also rough and its security was doubted. One artiste who did attend was a man who kept his balance while running on top of a giant revolving globe, juggling various knives and balls. 

Lord Sangers Circus and Hippodrome was one outfit to set up here for a one night show on several occasions. It paraded through the town at mid day - complete with elephants -  before setting up a large marquee and canvas stabling in the meadow. Sangers were never one to modestly announce their arrival. The 1895 Marlow show was described by them as something to "eclipse anything of its kind that has ever been submitted to any nation in the world."  The display was of a "brilliant character" according to the local press and fully attended. There were two performances, one afternoon, one evening. There had been a minor scare when a circus caravan lost a wheel near the bridge but no one was hurt. Let's hope they didn't bring those poor hefty elephants over the delicate bridge itself! Other circuses to use the future Riley Park as their home include Fossett and Sons in 1901. 

A "Water Carnival" hosted in the meadow as part of a circus in 1894 resulted in a court summons for Oxford Lane resident Mr Bowles. He had been in the habit for some years past of allowing the circus and roundabout proprietors to take water from his house in order to tend to their horses and operate the rides. They came to his door with a water cart and filled up. But the number of gallons needed for a water carnival on the land locked site (exact details of what this involved are sadly sketchy) caught the attention of the Marlow Water Company Engineer John Soley. He saw the circus taking a water cart to Mr Bowles' home. While it seems they may have turned something of a blind eye usually, they could not on this occasion. The matter ended up in court as the Marlow Water Company said it was not permitted to re-sell or give to others the companies water piped to a domestic address. The supply was not on a meter then. However the company could not prove Mr Bowles had accepted any money for the water and what's more the magistrates said they did not think it was generally known it was against the rules to share your water supply. It seems the magistrates were certainly unaware of the restriction so could not expect an average householder to know so Mr Bowles was let off without any fine. Mrs Bowles was the one who came to court.

The shows and attractions sometimes caused an annoyance to the staff and patients at the Cottage Hospital in it's original position at Cambridge House, Cambridge Road. At the time, medical advice was often that patients should avoid any kind of over stimulation or noise, to the point of removing pictures from the sick room walls, and laying material on the road outside an afflicted persons home to deaden the sound of horses hooves. So the sound of a circus or fairground organ in the neighbourhood was genuinely regarded as potentially dangerous if too frequent. It's interesting to note that when the hospital moved to the Glade Road / Victoria Road site, it's relative quietness was considered a strong advantage. Cambridge Road saw more and more traffic all the time it was said. Those who were in favour of the hospital staying there, argued that although match days could be noisy, the loud organs and show booths no longer attended the meadow with such regularity as before. Mr Wethered thought this was because the children were now mad on visiting moving picture shows and traditional fairground type attractions were no longer so exciting to them. 

Such rides and booths were unlikely to get permission to set up when Edward Riley bought the meadow and the accompanying Crown Hotel in 1914. He donated it to the town, vesting it in some trustees which included himself. He intended the Hotel to continue and that it would provide an income to provide for the maintenance of the new recreation ground, in addition to other money left for that purpose. Unfortunately Edward died in September 1914 before the park opened, and it was decided to sell the Crown itself. (You can read more about Edward Riley here) The war, and the difficulty of selling the hotel meant the opening of the Meadow as Riley Recreation Ground was delayed until 1921. Marlow Urban District Council chairman Mr H Buckingham did the honours in front of a large crowd. It was not laid out as intended, but at last it was available for public use. The losers were Marlow FC who were told when Riley bought the meadow that they would not be allowed to continue playing there much longer. They eventually moved to Star Meadow of course, after playing some games in Porter's meadow by the train station. The loss of the "Crown Ground" made things harder still for Marlow's other more minor footie teams who had also played on the site, as well as on Star Meadow. The likes of Marlow Star, the Ramblers and Rangers now all had to compete for space on one main site along with hockey teams. The clubs large iron and wood grandstand, purchased from Hampshire Cricket Club/St Mary's FC, remained on the Crown ground after the meadows sale. It was presumably their intention to move it to a new permanent home when that was found, as it had after all already been dismantled to come long distance to Marlow in the first place. But as the regular football came to a halt in the First World War, and the new park was not yet ready to open, the stand stayed put until 1918, when it was sold for three times what the supporters syndicate had paid for it, as iron was now relatively scarce. The sale happened because the club could not at that time see when football would be restarted again on any sort of scale. It was purchased by a local builder and some of the profits invested in National War Bonds. During the First World War the Crown Ground was used by teams from the locally stationed armed forces playing in the military leagues. 

The residents of Cambridge and Crown Roads may not have been sorry to see the football go. It was a frequent cause of complaint that when Marlow played at home, men would obstruct the two roads by parking their vehicles in the highway there and standing on the carts etc hoping to get a free view of the action. Mr Hillsden was one Marlow man caught by PC Atkinson in 1899 doing just that, along with a number of out of town football fans. Others had departed too quickly for the constable to collar. In 1896 a creative group of men were summoned for blocking Cambridge Rd with ladders leant against the perimeter of the ground, to provide them with a birdseye view of the match. They were let off as they all said they didn't know that they were doing anything wrong and had immediately departed once spoken to. ( James Dormer, Daniel Clark, Frederick and William Price, James Edwards, William and James Tubb, Albert Toovey, and for standing on a parked cart, Nicholas White.) When Marlow moved to Star Meadow, such action would be unnecessary as the site was barely enclosed and anyone could get a good view of the match from the surrounding area! It was said that if Marlow hoped to gain any profits from match attendance in the future they would have to erect a canvas wall around the meadow to screen the match play from curious eyes. Visibility of a different kind was sometimes a problem at the Crown Ground. It's amazing how many matches are said to have been played in conditions of thick fog. "Good play was almost impossible" as one match report from 1890 had it, relating to a match played by the Marlow Ramblers on the ground Aka the Wednesday Ramblers. Matches could also be shortened for other reasons - such as the visiting team needing to catch an early train home in December 1888. On that occasion they just stopped playing after an hour. 

This post has only covered a few of the many many events held at the now Riley Recreation Ground. It had a role to play in Coronation and Jubilee Celebrations too which feature in their own posts. And it was a gathering place to start parades and marches, a venue for amateur athletic meets and Borlase school sports, it hosted agricultural shows...the list goes on. And all this before it became a public park. Marlow should say thank you not just to Riley for his gift, but the various proprietors of the Crown Inn and Hotel for allowing the use of the meadow for so many events, sometimes free of charge. 

Notes:

Some of the menageries known to have visited Crown Meadow specifically both in and out of fair time include: Edmonds Menagerie in the 1880's, Anderton and Haslam's show and menagerie in the 1890's, Wombwells/Bostock & Wombwells under various owners from the 1840's into the 20thc and so on. 

For information on a raid on circus workers performing on Crown Meadow during the First World War see this post here

And info on Captain Marshall's Marlow Menagerie here

SOURCES

Copies of the South Bucks Standard, Maidenhead Advertiser, Reading Mercury, Bucks Herald, Middlesex and Surrey Express, Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press, and Henley Advertiser held at the British Library, and newspaper cuttings supplied by Jane Pullinger. 

Evening Dispatch 08 January 1918, accessed via the BNA. 

Looking towards Cambridge Road

 Looking towards Oxford Rd

For more on Marlow Fair see the post here

And for a general history of The Crown - here

Higginson park early history - here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

© Marlow Ancestors

Food in Victorian Marlow.

The food eaten by different sorts of Victorian Marlovians can be reconstructed from court cases where food is stolen from larders, gardens and fields as well as businesses; reports of local celebration meals and wedding feasts; adverts put out by shops, hotels and restaurants; coroner's inquests  and crime reports that describe the meals eaten by those mentioned if it is relevant; postcards; Poor law records and many more sources.

 

Fish / Seafood:

Of course the river offered some opportunities to catch your lunch. Eels were amongst the possible wildlife that could be ensnared but they became increasingly rare during the Victorian era. The landlady of the Complete Angler Hotel, Mrs Parslow, always kept some in reserve when she could, strictly for her favourite customers.

For up to about a dozen men at any one time catching fish was not a hobby but a trade. Very few did so to sell the fish commercially, most via a boatbuilder or pub go between, hired themselves and a boat out to visiting "sportsmen" who wanted to fish for 'sport' and benefited from a Marlow fisherman's expert local knowledge. The Two Brewers and Compleat Angler both retained their own fishermen for guests in season.

Changes to the river flow caused by the new bridge as well as growing pollution and over fishing meant salmon were rare by the mid century. Other fish were still present however and few professional fisherman were still working at the end of the Victorian era. It is not usually possible to know whether those late examples were ever selling catches or only selling their expertise to allow tourists to catch their own. Another question is were other Marlovians eating any commercially caught fish from Marlow? The first fishmonger shop I've so far definitely located was in 1831 ran by George Draper in Chapel Street. Elsewhere in the country the majority of local fish caught tended to be rushed up to London or other major centres rather than be sold to locals. In the same way some country people complained that if they lived within transport distance of London they struggled to buy the fruit and vegetables grown in their home area because the London market consumed everything. Even access to fresh milk could be an issue. 

So we can't say for certain that any commercially caught Marlow fish was available to buy here. Possibly a certain percentage could be bought from a fisherman at the riverside. Apart from the Marlow eels at the Complete Angler no reference to local fish being available at any local pub or hotel has been found by me. That doesn't mean that it wasn't served only that the proprietors didn't consider it desirable or unusual enough to bother advertising its availability.

Someone was selling herrings out of barrels in town mid century, probably a grocer. These certainly sold fish sauce and salted fish.

Oyster stalls were a popular feature of the Regatta. At the time oysters were not as expensive as now. On an everyday basis fish could be eaten at any meal. What surprises a modern person today who reads cookbooks and menu planners from the Victorian age is just how frequently fish was eaten for breakfast- fried or in pies especially. One well off Marlow man in 1885 celebrated the start of perch fishing season with a breakfast of just caught fried perch dressed with parsley.

Fruit:

Commercial fruiterers resided very much on Dean Street in the Victorian age. All seemed to have been involved in the wholesale trade, some also retailed to the public. The Benning family in the late Victorian High Street were grocers, ironmongers and fruiterers. As well as fresh fruit they sold canned fruit such as pineapple. More about them here. At Christmas time fresh oranges and grapes were also sold in Marlow grocers for those that could afford them. It was also to grocers you went for dried fruits for your Christmas pudding or general baking. You would need to stone and stalk your own raisins at home then which renderd cake making very laborious.

Apple pies and cherry pies are mentioned multiple times as being stolen from Marlow and Little Marlow homes. Cherries were grown commercially at a small scale around Marlow and on a large scale at Flackwell Heath. You might have bought your cherries from visiting gipsy sellers too, who were common in the area and set up at most summer fairs and events that they could. Cherries not strawberries were the archetypal summer fruit of the Victorian era.

The fruit grown by the gardeners of the wealthy residents of Marlow can be seen from the local horticultural show results. These were already in full swing by the time Victoria ascended the throne. It took until the early 1870s for ordinary people to feature in these competitions if they were not professional gardeners. Fruits grown by rich Marlovians were: apples, plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, greengages, melons, strawberries, rhubarb and grapes. Melons were grown in special pits heated by decomposing horse manure. Lovely! So popular were these that the fact that a house had a melon pit could be featured in the sale particulars for that property (such as was the case for Spinfield House).

Ordinary Marlovians according to the show results were more likely to be growing: apples, pears, redcurrants, whitecurrants, blackcurrants, plums, gooseberries and raspberries. Note the greater amount of bush fruit grown by ordinary people.

From the hedgerows poorer residents gathered blackberries, mirelles, haws, sloes and crab apples (and young hawthorn leaves to snack on, until at least the 1940s!)

Vegetables:

Greengrocery hawkers were also centred on Dean Street in early times. They sold predominantly vegetables and salad leaves with fruit more likely to be sold at fruiterers. Many of those I find mentioned as involved in the green grocery trade turn out upon examination to have no shop but to be itinerant sellers going door to door or selling in the street. These were catering by and large to the poorer residents of Marlow and nearby areas.

The poorest of all could afford to buy very little. Women and children routinely stole into farmers' fields to pull off turnip and swede tops to cook as vegetables. The court reports of the 1800s are littered with prosecutions for this. Marlow Bottom because it was lonelier was a hotspot for this kind of activity. Some of the court cases are truly heartbreaking as the families prosecuted were absolutely destitute.

Swedes themselves by the way were usually grown in southern England as animal feed and not for human consumption. A World War 2 propaganda campaign by the government convinced us to give them a try as they were cheap and easy to produce en masse at a time of food shortages. The few cases of Marlow folks stealing swedes not just their tops would have been cases of the most dire desperation. Public prosecution for this would have been utterly humiliating. It was the social equivalent of being caught stealing grass or dog food to eat. 

Nettles were certainly eaten as a nutritious soup and stew ingredient, especially by gypsy families but others too, not necessarily out of poverty. Cookbooks of the era which were aimed at middle class families sing their praises as a blood strengthening food. Giant puffball mushrooms were once common in fields near the river and provided a large feast for those who found them. Mushrooms as a whole were much loved by Victorians, with mushroom ketchup a popular homemade condiment.

Watercress was grown by early Victorian times between Marlow and Medmenham as well as at Little Marlow. It was a very popular vegetable throughout the era both cooked and raw. So much so in fact a plate of it might be included on the breakfast table in season as a dish in its own right alongside the toast, pies and other dishes.

The vegetables and salads grown by the gardeners of the wealthy residents of Marlow are described in reports of local horticultural shows throughout the era: cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, celery and cauliflower feature most highly. Not often entered into shows but highly fashionable throughout the era was sea kale.

More ordinary citizens entered such shows from around the early 1870s. Women as well as men were then growing prize winning crops. Vegetables grown by these more humble householders were: lettuce, marrows, peas, turnips, onions and carrots. Probably, judging by seed stock advertised by Marlow seedsmen (stand alone businesses or a sideline for ironmongers) we can add beetroot as well as brussel sprouts and broccoli to that list.

Allotments arrived in Marlow in the 1880s.

Herbs, Spices etc:

Wild garlic leaves could be picked (sneakily) in Marlow churchyard as well as in the countryside around town.

Exotic spices were easily available at the grocery shops in the town centre, if you had the cash to spare. Preserved ginger was a favourite in Victorian England eaten as both a sweet and used in baking, especially around Christmas.

Seed Cake made with caraway seeds was almost an obsession throughout the country and was sold ready made by Marlow bakers.

Meat=

The most popular foodstuff to steal from Marlow household pantries was bacon, followed by cheese and pies*. These pies might be sweet or savoury. What meat was in the "meat pies" is almost never specified.

The most common meat stolen from shops after bacon was pork.

Any local, personal or national event celebrated by a dinner in the Victorian age tended to be centred around feasting on roast beef. Marlow records show here was no different than elsewhere. By far the most usual Victorian Christmas dinner given in ordinary family homes, workhouses and in places hosting workplace, charity or Sunday school festive dinners was roast beef and plum pudding not the turkey or goose of popular imagination. Actually beef and plum pudding was the standard year-round celebration meal for Victorians. The "plum pudding" became "Christmas pudding" for a few weeks every year when it was served at Christmas time aflame with some holly on top. So Marlow celebration dinners throughout the year featured plum pudding.

In 1884 a poor Marlow man was mentioned as having had a supper of "hog pudding and chitlets". Most sources say that hog pudding was a very peppery sausage made in Southwestern England rather than Buckinghamshire but perhaps it had a local variant. I did find a contemporary recipe that gave a sweet dessert made with hog fat the name "hog pudding" too so there's room to doubt. The "chitlets" that Marlow man ate was perhaps a dialectal way of saying chitterlings, sausages made of hog entrails a sign of poverty.

On the other end of the price spectrum the "Excelsior pork pie" was a speciality of Death and Son bakers of Marlow. They operated in both West Street and the High Street in later Victorian Marlow. What made the pie so superlative is sadly not specified.

It is likely that some Marlow people are "Buckinghamshire Badger", a speciality of nearby Stokenchurch which was a savoury suet pudding of bacon. Bedfordshire clangers, the local equivalent of Cornish pasties, were certainly eaten in rural Buckinghamshire as well as Bedfordshire but I have not seen as yet any Marlow specific references to that.

Butcher's shops were in the High Street, West Street, Spittal Street and Chapel Street. A biographical portrait of Rachel Hall a butcher of West Street has previously been published on this blog here See also my posts on butcher Jason Povey, who got involved in political bribery here and Emily Carter a Victorian butcher of Spittal Street here.

Some of the Marlow butchers had stalls at Marlow Market in Market Square once a week. This had become solely or mostly for meat by the 1870s. The meat sold on these stalls was the poorer quality, cheaper options.

By the 1880s some meat could also be bought from grocer's shops. They had long sold bacon which they might cure on their own premises but to sell other meat was something of a stepping on the toes of the butchers.

Baked Goods and Desserts:

Marlow had no shortage of bakers. These all sold flour for home baking as well as their own baked products. Some also functioned as corn dealers. Most were also pastry cooks selling sweet baked goods ranging from little penny sponge cakes for one person to large celebration cakes. Only the wealthy could afford to buy the latter. Marlow bakers advertised ready made birthday and iced Christmas cakes by the 1880s. Early Victorian Christmas cakes were not alcoholic and  usually not iced or served with marzipan either. They were intended as a plain, easily digestible dessert alternative to rich plum puddings for children. If Marlow bakers or confectioners supplied the Twelfth cakes that were popular in the early and middle 1800s for Twelfth Night parties and balls I cannot discover it, though it would have been unusual if they did not, at least to order.

Confectioners mainly sold sweets but sometimes functioned as pastry cooks as well and so also offered cakes and pastries, especially in the pre Victorian era. They might be grocers too!

In Victorian times home cooks could pay to bake their own pies and breads in the bakers' ovens after the bakers themselves were finished for the day. You have to remember that many early Victorian, and some later Victorian families had no oven at home or only a tiny one. 

Gingerbread stalls featured every year at Marlow Fair and the Regatta. They were a magnet for children.

Death and Sons bakers produced their own biscuits called the Marlow Pioneer Biscuits [South Bucks Standard 22nd February 1895, advertising accessed via the BNA March 2021]. Our grocery shops also sold ready made biscuits and cakes by the 1880s.

A biographical post on the Sawyer family bakers of Marlow is on the blog here.

Desserts in general in Victorian England were eaten daily by those that could afford the ingredients. You could buy ice from fishmongers such as Allams in Market Square in order to make your own icecream or sorbets, the standard centrepiece desserts of Victorian dinner parties. Otherwise trifles, steamed puddings, fruit tarts, syllabubs featured highly. Give a Victorian cook some bread or cake crumbs, cream and jam and she could whip you up about a hundred different desserts each with a slightly different name and method. Though I have found no reference to one being served in Marlow at least two Victorian cook books contain recipes for desserts called Marlow Pies. One of these books has two quite different recipes within its pages for Marlow Pie. These two recipes are also quite different again from the recipe in the other book. I have tried the latter and it is like a very sweet puff pastry treacle tart. I intend to investigate these Marlow Pies and their origin more fully.

Dairy Products:

Most Marlow grocers were also cheesemongers. Stand alone cheesemongers seem to have no presence though they did in earlier times. Advertised cheeses in Marlow were all hard cheeses and none were said to be locally produced. Stealing cheese from householders was quite common.

Bread and cheese was THE working class packed lunch of the 1800s. Poor little Thomas Lunnon aged 7 had just such a lunch stolen from him right from off his school premises in Little Marlow in 1892 [South Bucks Standard 7th October 1892]. He had carried it there in a basket.

Ice cream was usually made at home but those not able to do so could enjoy a portion from one of the several ice cream sellers who pushed their special barrows around the streets in the summer. Most of these were not local men. Many regarded the ice cream men a nuisance because they tended to attract a street-blocking crowd of children and adults. One such seller from Reading found himself in court after he was accused of causing traffic chaos on Marlow bridge with his barrow. The police observed 40 people gathered about him. Let's hope supplies held out! 

If you wanted to make your own you could buy ice for your churn from the fishmonger. Homemade iced desserts because they were difficult to produce were very much a status symbol. Vanilla ice cream was the most common but brown bread ice-cream made with toasted sweetened brown breadcrumbs was also a huge favourite in this era. I made some myself and I can only say it left me cold!

Milk was available from several town dairies or directly from some farms. 

Poultry and Game:

Both were typically bought from poulterer's and in poultry's case sometimes directly from local farmers. The farmer's wife typically had charge of this side of the business. For more on the early Victorian poulterer John Way of the High Street see here.

Stealing fowls from farms and homes was very common in Victorian Marlow. Reports of thefts which are not also accompanied by reports of the successful arrest of the guilty parties are unusual so perhaps the Marlovians responsible weren't very good at it.

Poaching for pheasants was a Dean Street speciality! These however were usually sold rather than consumed by the poachers. The illicit catching of rabbits or hares however kept many a Dean Street area family from going hungry. It also cost them heavily in terms of fines and lost income from jail time when the poachers were caught.

Nuts:

Walnuts were grown as a crop on almost every Marlow farm. They were much loved by Victorians who pickled them while still green and made walnut ketchup as well as utilising them in ways we would be more familiar with today. As they were valuable they were targeted by thieves.

From the countryside filbert nuts could be gathered in places. While beech nuts are edible if  cooked and plentiful around the town I have not found any reference to their use by Victorian Marlovians.

Almonds were very popular in Victorian cooking and found at the grocers, who also sold chestnuts in the winter. I have yet to find any reference to hot chestnut street sellers in Victorian Marlow.

For visitors:

The Compleat Angler, the Greyhound Hotel in Spittal Street, the Two Brewers in St Peter's Street, The Fishermen's Retreat and the George and Dragon on the Causeway all specialised in catering for the picnic and boating parties that came to visit Marlow.

By the 1870s the mess left behind by picnickers on the banks of the river was already considered a nuisance [Bucks Herald 18th August, page via BNA February 2021].

Great Western Railway offered special picnic party fares to Marlow from London and elsewhere. Favourite nearby spots were the fields near Gossmore in Marlow, Quarry Woods at Bisham, Winter Hill and Bisham Woods. All those places were at times haunted by begging children pleading for food.

Picnics in the Victorian era were very substantial affairs. A tea kettle was usually brought along and a spirit stove (coffee was not the done thing). A typical picnic contained multiple joints of meat, savoury pies, cold desserts (including the beloved plum or "Christmas" pudding), salads, fruit fresh or stewed or both perhaps with biscuits to dunk in the latter, fruitcake and gingerbread. Yes all of that. There might be sandwiches, though not always. Picnickers might just take bread rolls as an accompaniment to the other dishes. If they did take sandwiches it wasn't the cucumber ones we often associate with the era. They were for afternoon tea and considered too insubstantial for a picnic. A cucumber to be cut into cool chunks and offered as a snack usually went along however. Cucumber sandwiches weren't insubstantial in calories though  as they were often spread with both butter and cream!

*****

* my calculation. Thieves must have felt it was their lucky day when they broke into William Suthery's Little Marlow home in the 1850s and found all three ripe for the taking!

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Related Posts=

Food in 1700s Marlow here

Historic cost of living in Marlow, including the cost of many food items from different specific Marlow shops in the Victorian era here

The Poaching Perrys here

The temperance movement in Marlow here

A Victorian Christmas in Marlow here

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

Thank you to Jane Pullinger for her family's information.  

Also of use= 

Royal County Directory for Beds, Bucks and Berks, 1876. [Marlow market information]

South Bucks Standard 23 September 1898. 

Rachel Hall The Butcher

Born according to the census in Hurley as Rachel Thatcher somewhere between 1782 and 1791, Rachel married her butcher husband Robert, a widower by license in Medmenham. They then moved to his native Marlow. After his death in 1823 Rachel ran the butcher's shop herself. It was located in West Street on the same side as the Ship Inn, about half away along the road. Rachel would go on to run the shop for some 30 years.

On the 1833 parish assessment her premises consisted of a house, shop as part of that, stables, slaughterhouse, yard, sheds, a garden and offices (as in the old meaning of the word - places for the fulfillment of those domestic chores or business functions requiring their own space).

Both her step sons William and Robert became butchers. William assisted Rachel for at least a while, as did Rachel's niece in law Alice Hall. Robert operated his own business in Hambledon. Relations between him and his step mother were not cordial it seems. He was engaged in lengthy litigation against her for unknown reasons according to a report in the Windsor and Eton Express 1842. Dissatisfied with the speed at which the case was progressing Robert junior walked into Marlow, dragged his legal representative into the street and gave him a good shaking. For this he was arrested and bound over to keep the peace. The lawyer is not named in reports. There were several in Marlow at the time. If the injured party was Ralph Spicer who lived and worked in premises close to Rachel's shop in West Street Rachel likely witnessed the event.

Relations with his step mother may have deteriorated following Robert being kicked off the list of Marlow men eligible to vote. At the time you needed to occupy a certain amount of proper in order to register as a voter. Robert had claimed to be in partnership with Rachel, who owned her shop. This wasn't deemed sufficient property qualification and his voting rights were removed. Rachel may have been blamed for this if she denied to investigators he had any part of the Marlow business. This was nothing but the truth, but still.

Her husband's will was unequivocal, the business went to Rachel for life as long as she didn't remarry. After her life or if she remarried the property, and others he owned, was to be divided equally between his children. If Rachel decided she wanted to give up the business before her death or remarriage then son Robert got it. He was not made a partner in the business otherwise.

Robert senior also gave Rachel for life two houses in St Thomas's Street Marlow (now called Spittal Street).

In 1832 Rachel's shop was broken into and a saddle of mutton, 4 ribs of beef and a shoulder of veal were stolen. She offered a reward for the apprehension of the guilty party but I find no evidence that he or she was found.

Twelve years later Rachel had a leg of mutton stolen from her shop and six years after that 31bs beef disappeared. In the latter case the thief was caught. Keziah Godding  received a sentence of 14 days. She was apprehended immediately on leaving the shop by parish constable Thomas Walker, with the meat hidden under her apron. The shopman Thomas Webb Anthony said he had only sold her a shillings worth of mutton, which was also beneath her apron. 

Rachel was suffering no particular targeting of her premises- thefts from shops were common in Marlow and elsewhere.

Whatever difficulties Robert junior and Rachel had they were forgiven at least on Rachel's side by the time of the writing of her will in 1852.

She herself had three properties to leave: a cottage in Lane End left to Robert junior, a cottage in Spittal Street with all it's encumbrances (debts secured upon it or mortgages or annuities drawn upon their rents) to son William and a further cottage in West Street. This latter, in the occupation of Ann Plumridge, was to go to the will's executors Robert Maddox (who lived in the High Street) and James Thomas Lovegrove (a plumber in West Street who lived a few doors from Rachel ) to sell. The money raised was to be used to pay her debts and funeral expenses and to help pay off some of the encumbrances on the property she was leaving. Any money left after that was to be equally divided between Robert junior and William. In 1853 William advertised the butchery business for sale, along with immediate possession of the premises it was carried out in. 

Josiah Smith and Robert Howard later ran their own butchery businesses on the same premises. Robert Howard was also a dairyman.

More posts like this can be found on the menu under Biographies Of Individuals menu option here.

More West Street shopkeepers and other residents are listed on the menu under "Specific Shops, Streets...Etc" option here

Looking for more Hurley related people? See Other Places on the menu, which has a Hurley section here

For all mentions of an individual on this blog search the Person Index.

Sources:

Wills of Rachel Hall and Robert Hall senior. Obtained from the National Archives, Kew and transcribed by me.

Reading Mercury 16th April 1832 [theft from Rachel].

Windsor and Eton Express 20th August 1842 [Robert junior duffs up his legal representative] and 10th October 1840 [Robert's voting problems].

All newspapers accessed October 2020 via the BNA online. Copies held at the British Library archives.

Judicial records research of Jane Pullinger. Thanks Jane!

1841 and 1851 censuses my transcription from microfilm.

Medmenham parish records 

Post ©Marlow Ancestors. You may reuse it for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog and link here so that my sources remain credited for information they provided.

 

Historic Cost Of Living In Marlow *expanded May 2026*

Updated May 2026

Historic cost of living in Marlow (up to 1939) Part One. Part Two concerns the historic cost of fun, leisure and transport in Marlow and is available here. We have gathered these from many period sources- adverts, court cases, letters, auction information etc all specific to Marlow. To put these costs into context see Charlotte's post on wages in Marlow history here. A post about the Marlow cost of living for the 1940s -60s is now available here.

Homes:

(All unfurnished unless stated) 

Rent of Widmere Manor, per year 1518 = £12.

Rent of a 2 bedroom cottage with garret, wash house, wood house and garden in St Peters Street 1785 = £6 per annum. 

Rent of Albion House West Street 1817, per year = £63.

Annual rent of a 2 bed cottage and garden Dean Street 1829 = £3 10 shillings.

Annual rent of a 4 bed, 2 reception cottage near Holy Trinity 1861 = £14.

Weekly rent of a small cottage West Street, 1862 = 2 shillings 6d.

Annual rent for The Parsonage, St Peter's Street, 1865 = £50.

Annual rent for a 2 bed, 2 reception cottage with a small garden in Quoiting Square, 1866 = £11.

Weekly rent of a 5 room cottage with a garden in West Street 1872 = 2 shillings 6d.

Max rent a lady and gent were prepared to pay for 4 unfurnished rooms in a "genteel house" in or near Marlow, 1879, per year = £16.

Annual rent of a six bed house with walled garden in the High Street, 1879 =£45.

Combined sale price for two 2 bed houses in Station Road 1891 = £250 for the two.

Annual rent of Court Garden estate, (17 room house, and 33 and a half acre grounds including lodge entrance, stabling, kitchen gardens, vineries, peach houses, boat house and creek to river) 1891 = £225. By 1898 this had risen to £300.

Danesfield Estate 1896 [mansion, gardens, park, farm etc] sale price = £36,000

Freehold house Weir Cottage sale price 1896 = £1,930.

Building plots in the newly laid out Seymour Park Road suitable for bungalows or small villas 1899 = £40-50 (mostly not sold though!)

Yearly rent of a 4 bed, 3 reception room house in the High Street with an interior w c but no bathroom 1899 = £45

Yearly rent of a 2 bed bungalow in Newtown Road early 1900s = £25. 

Down payment required to secure one of several building plots on Newtown Road 1904 (cash only, no credit) = £25

Weekly rent of semi detached cottage Wycombe Road 1905 = 6 shillings 2 pence.

Rent for a semi detached 3 bed villa in Little Marlow Road 1905 = 9 shillings a week.

Rent of Quarry Wood House 1908 (7 bedrooms, 4 reception rooms, cellarage, conservatory, large garden, coach house, stabling) = £55 a year.

Rent of a 2 up 2 down cottage Dean Street with yard and outbuildings 1909 = £13 a year.

Rent of a "prettily furnished"  2 reception 3 bedroom house with bathroom, near to river, 1912 = 2 and a half guineas a week. Seems very expensive compared to Quarry Wood House above, which shows the sharp difference between furnished properties and those that were not. 

Rent of a brick cottage with two bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, store room and pantry (no living room), at Highfields on the outskirts of Marlow 1913 = £18 4 shillings a year.

Board and residence for a gentleman as paying guest in home Station Rd, inclusive of meals etc, 1913 = £1 a week. 

Rent of 3 bed, 2 downstairs rooms house Marlow 1914 =  5 shillings 6 pence a week.

7 room house to let, includes bathroom. Furnished, 1921 = 30s a week.

Rent of the one of the newly erected concrete pre fab 6 room cottages at West Str/Spinfield, 1924 per week - 10s. Only applicants with children need apply!  (These rents are deliberately set lower than local average)

A 4 room detached cottage with gas supply, for sale Marlow, 1925 = £525m

Single room to let to a lady, unfurnished, 1926 = 4s 6d a week.

To let in Wycombe Road, 3 bed detached house with three quarter acre garden and garage, 1932 = £80 per annum.

To let modern 3 bed, 2 reception room semi in Marlow with bathroom and electric lighting, 1933 = £1 per week.

3 room bungalow with 1/4 acre garden, Marlow, 1934, to rent = 11s a week. 

5 room bungalow known as The Rest, Oak Tree Road, with "splendid garden" and garage, 1935 = £700 freehold or would rent for £60 a year. 

And to furnish or maintain your home:

Print showing the cavalry of the Bucks Yeomanry, bought from an artist selling out of the Crown, Market Square, 1829 = 1 guinea.

Print of "North West View of Great Marlow Church" by Thomas Rumble, 1835 = 1 shilling 6 pence. 

Silver polish from Foottit's Chemist, High Street, 1859 per large bottle = 3s.

Cheapest clock available from Mr Stradling, "practical clock and watchmaker", High Street, 1862 = 7s 6d. 

A metal teapot, from the High Street shop of John Boroday, 1864 = 6s.

A Harper Twelvetrees washing machine (hand powered) ordered from agent  J Meakes ironmonger in Spittal Street and delivered free, 1864 = 50-60s.

Gas from the Great Marlow Gas Company per 1000ft consumed, 1866, = 7s 6d. This price is seen as extortionate! In 1897 the price was only 4s 6d for the same.

A ton of coal delivered from Walter Porter, whose wharf was at the Railway Station, 1873 = 37 shillings. In 1892 it was possible to obtain good coal for just 20s -21s a ton, delivered so the price fluctuated.

Tin of metal polish from Clifton's grocers in the High Street, 1885 = 1s.

Pair of solid silver salt cellars and spoons in a case from Rowes the jewellers in High Street, 1894 = 13 shillings 6 pence.

Oil-fueled table lamp, from Jasper Collins of Chapel Street, 1895 = From 9 and a half pence. 

Smokeless kerosene oil for lamps from Jasper above 1896 = 7d a gallon.

Expected cost of hiring a cart from the Marlow Urban District Council to empty your cesspit (you providing the horse to pull it and the labour to actually do the emptying) 1897 = 3 shillings 6d plus 5 shillings refundable deposit to ensure you returned cart in good condition.

Silver plated toast rack from Rowes, High Street 1897 =  from 3s 6d.

Bed quilt, from J Morgan & Sons, 1901 = from 2 to 30 shillings.

Cost of hiring the most basic small gas cooking stove from the Marlow Gas Co, per quarter 1901 = 2 shillings (includes repairs but not the cost of the gas itself or the rental of the gas meter)

Dust proof alarm clock from Rowes jewellers in the High Street 1904 = 4 shillings.

"Jewel" Anthracite stove (the latest tech with smokeless operation and little maintenance required they say) from Eddowes ironmongers 1909 = from £2 17 shillings.

1 pound in weight tin of paint for your walls, many colours to choose from, Barnard's Stores Chapel Street 1909 = 3 shillings.

Plate glass mirror with oak frame, from Barnard's as above, 1909 = 6 and 1/2 pence

Occasional table from Cudes furnishers in the High Street 1909 = from 5 shillings 6d.

Complete bedroom suite from G H Cude as above, 1909 = £2 17s 6d Note this didn't include a bed. It comprised dressing chest, wash stand, chair and towel stand, enamelled in any colour.

1 broom from Newman & Chalk, High Street, 1910 = 1s 9d.

Van load of firewood, mostly beech from G Dean & Son, 1920 = 10s .

Bunch of flowers, delivered free locally, from Coryton, Marlow Bottom, 1928 = from 1s. No telephone so send a postcard or call in to place an order. 

Second hand ice chest (to hold a block of ice for keeping food stored in the lower part cool. A no electricity "fridge"), 3ftx2ft, 1929 = 35s

A ton of coal, delivered by G E Stevens, Oxford Rd, 1934 = 38s for "London Brights" coal for general purpose use, 42s for Steven's "22 hards" blend "splendid for open grates" or the very best coal 54s. 

Second hand timber built garage, to fetch from Winchbottom Lane, 16x10ft, 1935 = £6 10s

Murphy brand radio set from R J Platt Radio Shop, 1937 = from £6 10s.

1 dozen daffodils, picked while you wait, from Millhouse Farm, Marlow Common, 1939 = 2d.

For the garden:

Gravel from Mr Allum / Allam Bovingdon Green 1874, per cart load = 5 pence.

A dozen tulip bulbs from Elliott's in the High Street, 1881 = 1 shilling.

Flower seeds from Elliott's in the High street 1882, per packet = 3d.

Cauliflower seeds from Elliott's in High Street 1882, per packet = 3d.

Broccoli seeds as above = 6d.

Lettuce seeds as above = 3d.

1lb of raffia grass for tying in garden plants, from Newman & Chalk, High Street 1898 = 6d.

Loam ideal for growing roses. From the brick works in Newtown Road (which also sold gravel for your garden paths) 1910 = 1s 6d a load.

A Ransome motor lawnmower from Batting & Sons, 1933 = from £22 17s 6d with 5% discount for cash payment.

Food and drink / preparing it: 

A half peck loaf of bread, price as fixed by MP William Burt Esq during severe winter of 1767/8 =  6d [a half peck loaf was the typical loaf size at this period, weighing 8lbs 11oz. Remember that poor ate bread for every meal, and sometimes only bread for a meal]

A pot of beer [equivalent to half a pint], regulation price in town 1846 = 4 pence. Went up to 5 pence in 1847.

"Large" loaf of bread Little Marlow 1847 = 4 pence.

3lb beef from Rachel Hall's butcher's shop West Street 1850 = 1 shilling.

2lb basic bread from Charlotte Sawyer baker of West Street 1851 = 2 pence. 

4lb loaf of finest white bread from baker Joseph Maskell of West Street, 1857 = 7d

2 ounce packet of coffee from George Cannon the bookseller (many booksellers and stationers sold tea and coffee too), 1858 = 2 shillings.

Cost of one pigs foot (yum!) in Marlow 1859 = 2 pence.

Pint milk from Westhorpe Farm Little Marlow 1860, delivered in Marlow = 1 and a half pence.

A pound of "nutritious" arrowroot, as prepared by native Christian converts at missionary stations in the South Sea Islands, from Fullicks, 1861 = 1s 6d 

A pound of pure unadulterated China tea from George Cannon, High Street 1861 = from 3s 6d.

1 quart of soup, from the town soup kitchen, cost subsidised by subscribers, 1862 = 1 penny. (Available only to any poor with a ticket, twice per week over winter.)

Tea (food and drink) served at the Temperance Societies rural fete at Harleyford 1865 = 9d. 

A pint bottle of Guinness Extra Stout from Fullicks and Coulton Grocers in the High Street, which was also an off licence, in 1867 = 4 sh 6d.

Supper of bread, bacon and potatoes served at The Carriers Arms, Wycombe Road, 1873 = 6d, plus a pint of beer for 2d.

A 4lb loaf from Mr Brooks on the Causeway, 1873 = 6d., a 2lb loaf from Henry Turner of West Street 1875 = 3 and a half pence.

Bottle of "Castle A" sparkling hock (white wine), from Edward Hewett, 1874 = 2s 9d . (Prices had recently increased due to demand created by "favourable recommendations from the medical profession" the makers said)

One orange from Walter Lovegrove the grocer in the High Street 1878 = 1 penny.

A rabbit from Coster's grocers in West Street, 1879 = 1s 7d.

Tin of biscuits from Joseph Dorsett's grocery shop 1881 = 4 shillings

A pound of "very fine" Black Hamburg grapes, sold by the gardener of Suffolk Lodge to the public, 1883 = 2s 6d.

A bottle of claret from the Greyhound Hotel, Spittal Street = 2s 6d.

Jar of marmalade or glass tumbler of blackberry jam from Robert and Sarah Ann Loosemoore's Spittal Street grocers 1885 = 4 and a half pence. 

Cost of hiring one of the new parish allotments Berwick Road 1886 = 6 pence [6d] a pole. Foxes Piece allotments 1908 = 10 pence per pole.

1 pint of gin, served in a jug with two glasses - Hare and Hounds, Red Pits, Henley Road, 1886 = 2 shillings.

A pound of pork sausages from Stillmans Spittal Street, 1888 = 9d. (Or go for cheaper beef ones at 6d a pound)

Pot of lemon curd, from confectioner William Kempster, High Street 1888 = 1 shilling (Confectioners didn't just sell sweets but all kinds of sweet treats e.g pastries too. Most were also or primarily bakers).

A bottle of rum from Clifton grocers and wine merchant High Street, 1888 = 2s 3d.

A cup of coffee from the Mission Rooms, Dean Street 1891 = 1 penny. This was subsidised in the hope it would divert the locals from alcohol!

Bread, butter and tea at Hurley Lock 1893 = 6d. This seen as a real bargain.

1lb tin of biscuits from Death & Sons 1894, "suitable for gifting" = 9d.

Home cured bacon from Joseph Dorsett, mild cure, 1894 = from 6d per pound. 

1 egg from Wymer's Farm 1895 = 1 penny.

Bottle of Spey Royal Whiskey, from Smith & Co, High Street, 1895 = 4d plus 1d deposit on the bottle. 

1lb "Special" Ginger Nuts from Death & Sons Bakers 1895 = 4d.

Bottle of whiskey from Smith and co, High Street 1896 = 4 shillings plus 1 shilling returnable deposit for the bottle.

Fancy box of dates, part of Christmas range, from Walter Lovegrove grocer of the High Street 1896 = 9d.

A dozen bottles of Jacob's Pilsner Beer from Walter Lovegrove grocer, 1896 = 5 shillings.

14 mince pies for Christmas from Death and Sons bakers 1897 = 1 shilling, a pound of mincemeat for Christmas from Browns in the High Street 1909 = 6 and a half pence, a pound of Christmas "New Marlovian Shortbread" from the same 1909 = 8 pence.

1lb lard from the Co-Op Market Square 1897 =  3 and a half pence.

Can of salmon from the Co-Op Market Square 1897 = 5d.

Wholemeal loaf from Death's Bakery 1899 = 1 and a half pence small, 3 pence large. (Weight not given)

Grapes from A E Howard, grocer High Street 1900 = 6d a pound.

York ham from A E Howard, High Street 1900 = 1s 2d  per pound.

Fresh butter from A.E Howard 1900 = 1 shilling 2 pence per lb. In 1902 it cost from 1s a lb from Howard's successor Frank Over.

Ripe stilton as above = 1s 4d per lb.  

1lb finest pork sausages from A.E Howard, High Street 1900 = 6d to 8 and a half d.

Half gallon of ale or stout from High Street grocer A E Howard 1901 = 8d.

A pint of beer at the bar of the Crown Hotel 1901 = 4d. A glass of beer cost 2d in the bar or 3d in the coffee room of the Crown. 

1lb of finest Ceylon tea, 1902, from Frank Overs Stores, High Street = 1s 6d (Frank took over A E Howard's premises in 1902). Alternatively 1lb of special blend tea from another High Street grocer Alfred Illsley would cost from 1s 4d per lb in the same year. 

Demerara sugar per lb, Frank Over's Stores, High Street 1903 = 2d.

Bag of self raising flour from Brown's Market Square 1905 = 3d.

3 pint tin teapot from Barnard's Stores Chapel Street 1909 = 6 and a half d.

4 pint iron gas kettle, from Barnard's as above, 1909 = 6 and half d.

1 cup and saucer, from Barnard's, 1909 = 1d.

Fancy pastry cutters from Barnard's as above, 1909 = 1 and half d.

7 lb (yes 7) jar mixed fruit jam, Barnard's as above, 1909 =  1s 4d plus 3d extra for the jar.

Large tin pineapple chunks, from Barnard's, 1909 = 4 and half d. (In 1929 a tin of pineapple from International Stores cost 5d).

Hindquarter of best Canterbury lamb, from E Hogg butcher of Market Square 1910 = 7 and a half d per lb. 

1 pint of soup served at the Communal Kitchen, High Street 1917 = 2d (Bring your own cutlery). 

1/2 pint portion of stew with dumplings, in Communal Kitchen as above = 2d

Treacle Tart, as above 1917 = 2 and a half pence.

Quartern loaf of bread (4lb, a traditional loaf size), from Co op Stores, Station Rd, 1917 = 10&1/2 d

A lb of damson from Neighbours in Market Square 1917, = 1 and a half pence. Delivered free.

Tin of haddock (no size given) from Barnard's Stores, 1921 = 4&1/2d (this is a special offer price as they have just taken in 1,000 of the tins apparently).

Mitre margarine "made like butter, looks like butter, tastes like butter, made with butter" , from International Stores, High Street 1923 = 10d per llb.

Large pork pie, available from The Queen pub Marlow, 1923 = 6d. Delivered fresh daily from Broomfield's bakery, High Wycombe. 

3lb bag of "Tastit" self raising flour from grocer Mrs Coventry in Chapel Street, 1923 = 8d "the cheapest and best money can buy". 

Lunch for hotel guests at the George and Dragon 1924 = 3 shillings 6d.

Large tin Ovaltine (weight not given) available from various Marlow shops, 1926 = 4s 6d. "Builds up brain, nerve and body"

Bottle return charge for bottled beer sold to be consumed off the premises at the George & Dragon, 1928 = 2d. (A label is stuck to the bottles by the barman when purchased to identify them. You pay the 2d charge then and get it refunded when the same bottle is bought back. If you don't, you loose the 2d which the landlord has then to pay the brewery for the loss of the bottle.)

1lb good cooking potatoes from Tomlinson the potato merchant, Dean Street. (He's also a corn and coal merchant and seedsman), 1929 - 1d (which seems cheap compared to other suppliers in South Bucks).

A 5lb cake from Dorsett's grocers 1930 = 5s.

Bottle of "toasting port", 1917 vintage, from Budgen's Stores - grocer/wine merchant, High Street, 1932 = 7s 6d.

2 pounds of oats from International Stores Marlow 1933 = 3 and a half d.

Tin of pilchards in tomato sauce from International Stores 1933 = 5 and a half d..

A pound of Empire Cheese from International Stores 1933 = 8d.

1lb pound of Burford Marvel tomatoes, picked while you wait, at Coryton, Marlow Bottom, 1933 = 6d.

Full course dinner at The Crown Hotel, c 1934 = 5 shillings. Cheaper dinners available on request! The most expensive breakfast available in the same year cost 3s 6d but sadly we do not know exactly what food was on offer for that. 

Can of grapefruit, from the Chesham & High Wycombe Co Operative Society Society shop, in Station Road, 1934 = 8 & 1/2 d.

1 quart milk from the Seymour Court Farm dairy, delivered, 1935 = 7d.

Large tin of red plums, sweetened, from Brown's, High Street "the Quality shop" 1935 = 7&1/2d

8lbs loaf sugar from Dorsett's grocers, 1937  = 2 shillings.

1lb tea from Dorsett's grocers, 1937 = £2 2 shillings.

 

Tin of assorted chocolates from Barksfield Brothers in the High Street, 1937 = 6 shillings 6 pence.

Medical and Health Costs:

Tincture for scurvy, per bottle from Mr Hubbard, 1768 = 1s 6d.

Cure for bladder / kidney stones from John Howe, patent medicine supplier (and stationer and bookseller) High Street 1784 = 2 shillings a bottle.

Box of "Pectoral Lozenges of Tolu", for hoarseness, asthma, coughs etc, from John Howe as above, 1785 = 1 shilling. 

Dr Waites Celebrated Worm Medicine in the form of gingerbread flavour "nuts", per 13, from Miss Hawes, 1792= 1 shilling 1&1/2d. 

Cure for itching and "skin eruptions" from the shop of Miss Hawes, per bottle 1815 = 2 shillings 9 pence.

A "cure" in a bottle for cholera from Little Marlow quack medicine supplier 1851 = 1 shilling.

Large bottle of Dr Torren's one minute toothache cure from Foottit's chemist in the High Street, 1857 = 1 shilling.

Trowbridge Pills Of Life And Beauty" (actually indigestion pills for women!) from Foottit's chemist, 1860 = 1 shilling 1 and a half pence per packet.

A pair of "patent pantheoscopic" glasses for all types of vision difficulties from Stradling's the jewellers /watchmakers in the High Street, 1862 = 5 shillings. More basic glasses could be got there for 1s 6d.

Woodcock's wind pills from Foottit's chemists in the High Street 1862 = from 1sh 6d a box.

A small bottle of Johnson's Sarsparilla And Bark Pills for skin eruptions (which also cures scurvy, liver complaints, bowel problems and dyspepsia while they're at it) from Foottit's chemist in the High Street, 1864 = 13 and a half pence. Especially recommended for anyone about to embark on a course of sea bathing or a trip to the tropics.

Bottle of Heald's Essence for "head ache, face ache, and ear ache" from George Cannon in the High Street, 1864 = 7 and a half pence.

Orchard's cure for deafness from Foottit's chemist in the High Street, 1873 =13 and a half pence per bottle.

Dr Wilkinson's midwifery fee, 1874 = 10 shillings 6d.

Herrington's Balsamic Cough Elixir from Banbury's chemist shop Marlow per bottle, 1874 = from 13 and a half pence. A bargain 11 shilling extra large bottle available. This elixir was fir all coughs including those by consumption.

Complete set of artificial teeth, upper and lower, as made by "legally qualified  surgical and mechanical dentist" William Gregory of Maidenhead. Sold through Banbury's Chemist Marlow, every other Tuesday.  1875 = £3 3 shillings. Liberal discounts for mechanics and servants. Consultation free. 

Bottle of Banbury's own label tasteless Digestive Pills for indigestion, from William Banbury, chemist, High Street, 1876 =7&1/2d. William says the population of Marlow suffer from digestive complaints to "an enormous extent" and in fact very few people don't need his pills. 

Course of first aid training by St John's ambulance at Marlow, 1883= 5 shillings or free to firemen or members of the Royal Bucks Volunteers.

A bottle of "invigorating" health saline from Charles Dye's Pharmacy in the High Street 1896= from 1 shilling.

Tube of Burnolia cooling cream for sunburnt skin, especially marketed at boaters, tennis players and cyclists, from W Baxters chemist High Street 1896 = 6 pennies.

Oleatum Japanese rheumatism remedy from Baxters chemist 1896 = from 1 shilling a bottle.

Bottle of the "best nerve and brain tonic" Sulphurized Quinine and Iron, from W Baxter as above, 1897  = 1 shilling 9 pence.

A box of Harris's anti-nit children's hair pomade from Harman's Chemist 1908 = 4 and a half pence.

Bottle of a cure for neuralgia from Snow's Chemist in the High Street 1909 = 1 shilling.

Snow's exclusive bronchial balsam from Snow's chemist High Street 1912 = from 1 shilling.

Nostrolene naval spray to guard against hay fever, flu, thrust infections and head colds from Snow's Chemist High Street 1919  = 1s 3d.

Extraction of a tooth and an artificial replacement, by the American Dental Co who attend Marlow weekly, 1920 = 2s 6d (reduced prices available to servants, soldiers and seamen and their dependents).

A pair of good plain nail scissors from Rowe the jeweller, High Street 1921 = 2 shillings.

Education:

Yearly fee for a pupil Mrs Trash's boarding school for young ladies 1799 = 30 guineas.

Cost of attending the Royal Military Academy, West Street if you did not have a father in the military 1802 = £100 a year (boarding). A discount of between 50 and 90 per cent was available to sons of army men. Orphans in these circumstances paid nothing. The pricing structure changed over the years.

Yearly fee for attending Prospect House Academy boarding school for boys 1849 = 22 to 25 guineas.

Annual fee for boarders aged 5-8 attending the Misses Westbrooks prep school for boys and girls in Chapel Street 1850 = 18 Guineas. Daily pupils 4 guineas. Laundry 2 guineas extra. 

Mail order school books written by Joseph Guy the former geography teacher at the Royal Military College Marlow, 1852, each = 1 shilling to 9 shillings.

Day pupil cost for boys attending George Verney's school - the place for farmers and tradesmen to give their sons a "sound business education" so he says.  1857 = £5 a quarter with extras "a mere trifle".

Day pupil cost for a quarter at the Misses Winter's Preparatory School For Young Gentleman, West Street Marlow (there was a separate school for girls), 1865 = 12 shillings 6d. This did not include optional music, singing or drawing classes.

Annual fee for boarding pupil (boys) at Marlow Place School for boys 1870 = 70 guineas. Some subjects cost extra.

Italian classes for the young ladies at Chapel House School, per quarter 1881 = 15 guineas.

Cost of 10 dance lessons at Downshire House School for girls (open to non-pupils) 1882, = 1 guinea .

Annual fee for scholars at Borlase who did not have a Foundation scholarship, 1882 = £1.

Cost of painting class for ladies, per term, as organised by the Marlow centre of the Technical Education Committee, held at the Institute, 1903 = 10s 6d. (A two hour class a week). General classes in French, shorthand, chemistry, woodcarving (popular with women) and maths cost 2s 6d per term with sessions lasting between 90 minutes and 2 hours a week at the Institute.

Annual boarding fee at Borlase 1906 = £54. 

Annual fee for girls at a school (boarding) in Glade Road 1909 = 18 guineas.

Clothing and Footwear etc:

Printed cotton for dress making, per yard, from Messrs Wilkinson and Burrough, 1789 = from 10d to 4s 6d (These gentleman were selling the items at a reduced price as they have bought up the discounted stock of a London draper who was giving up his business)

A petticoat, Marlow 1850 = 2 shillings.

Pair trousers from John Morgan's drapers and outfitters shop in the High Street 1859 = 7 shillings.

Value of a man's smock frock stolen from a Turville farm in 1858 = 4s 

Man's coat from John Collins Clark tailor 1861 = £2 12 shillings 6 pence

Cheapest silver watch available from Mr A Stradling, watch and clockmaker, High Street 1862 = 15 shillings. 

Pair of man's slippers from Mr East shoemaker of Marlow, 1863 = 2s 6d.

Pair of boots (probably top quality) from Charles Phillips bootmaker, 1864 = £1 1 shilling.

Gold wedding ring, from Stradlings, High Street, 1865 = from 7s 6d

Cost of hiring a Britannia sewing machine as hairdresser Robert Pearse of Marlow did in 1876, per week = 2 shillings. Ideal for making your own clothing. 

"Fancy dress material" for making your own fine dress, from draper etc Alfred Davis, High Street, 1880 = 1&3/4d - 4&3/4d per yard

Child's ready made jacket, from Alfred Davis as above, 1880 = 6&3/4d

Reward for finding and returning a fancy striped silk shawl lost near Marlow, 1880 = 5s

Good quality overcoat and trousers from Richard Barnes, tailor of Spittal Street 1885 = £3 10s

Ladies watch, solid silver, guaranteed 10 years from Rowe's the watchmaker / jewellers, High Street 1894 = £25 (the cheapest one advertised by Rowes  in 1897 was just 15s 6d- probably silver plated only).

Special all wool trousers from tailor Alfred Davis, High Street 1894 = 10s 9d

Beaver overcoat for a gentleman, with velvet collar and tweed lining from Morgan's 1895 = 21s

 "Suitings" (men's suits) from James Gray, tailor, High Street 1895. Made to suit any shape = from 45 shillings. 

"Special Quality" made to measure  flannel trousers James Morgan & Sons 1897 = 12 shillings 6 pence. Other qualities from 10 shillings 6 pence.

Special Quality made to measure tweed suit James Morgan & Sons 1897 = 35 shillings. Other qualities from 27 shillings 6 pence.

"Ironside" brand tweed and serge suits, to measure, from A E Sutton General Clothing and Boot Store, West Street. "Fit, style and wear guaranteed" 1897 = from 2 guineas.

Gold scarf pins from Rowes, High Street 1897 = from 2s 6d.

Cheapest gold necklace from Rowes, High Street 1897 = 10s 6d.

Shoes from West Street Post Office (which was also Suttons clothes and shoe shop at this point ) 1899 = from 2 shillings 6 pence a pair.

Men's overcoats from Sutton's as above, 1897= from 3 shillings 6d.

Flannelette for making underclothing, from Morgans as above, 1901  = from 2 and three quarter pence to 8 pence per yard. 

"Lotus" thick soled laced ladies shoes from Langston's Boot and Shoe Warehouse, High Street 1905= 12 shillings 9 pence a pair. 

Tin of black or brown shoe polish from Barnard's Stores Chapel Street 1909 = 1 shilling.

Ladies blouse in "cotton crepe", from James Morgan & Sons, 1920 = 9s 8d. 

Leather gauntlet motoring gloves but "suitable for anything" , from Walter Davis tailor/hosier, 1923 = 3s 6d (extra shilling if lined).

Ready to wear winter suit for men in Wearproof Tweed (a branded item for which Todd was sole local agent), from Frederick Todd, West Street, 1926 = 60s. Youth size 55s. 

Pair of men's flannel trousers in the latest shades of grey, from Morgan's, 1931 = from 6s 11d to 21s.

Delta ladies shoe suitable for "town wear" in "black satin mat kid" leather, also available in the shades "bulrush" and brown, Milward's, High Street, 1933 = 23s 9d (one of the more expensive shoes).

A pair of "topping summer shoes" for young gents, in black or brown suede, from Milward's in the High Street, 1934 = 12s 9d.

Dunlop Wellington's from Milward's, 1935 = from 14s 9d .

Ladies Sunshine Sandals in white green or blue, from Milward's, 1938 = 6s 11d.

Business and farming costs:

Annual rent of a butcher's shop in Lane End (then part of Great Marlow parish) 1757 = £6.

Annual rent of Wethered's brewery premises in the High Street which they had on a repairing lease 1795 = £15.

Annual Rent of Seymour Court Farm 1833 = £172 18 shillings.

1 lamb in Marlow or Little Marlow 1837 = 1 shilling

Annual rent of Fountain Head beer house in High Street with the carpentry workshop attached 1838 = £12 12 shillings.

Team of 3 farm horses sold by Mr Eeles of Lane End, 1843 = 16 guineas.

An ewe sheep, Little Marlow 1849 = 30 shillings.

Rent of land in Great Marlow Common Field per acre 1849  = between £2 15s and £3 .Note that this land was what would be soon known as Wycombe Road Farm, and was subject to some common rights still although this portion was privately rented. The following year the rent was doubled.

Forty pounds in weight of good meadow hay, from Little Marlow, 1852 = 3 shillings.

Rent of Jacques water powered corn mill with associated family residence 1858 = £105.

Rent Westhorpe Farm Little Marlow 1860 per annum = £500.

Annual rent of a combined house and baker's shop with a stable West Street, 1862 = £16.

Cost for a licensed victualler of getting a licence to sell alcohol at a one off event like a fete or cricket match 1862 (a new requirement this year) = 5 shillings. 

Annual rent Hope Beer House, High Street 1865 (a small but newish, purpose built premises) = £15.

A reaping hook from Battings, Marlow 1875 = 1s 10d. Workers who already had their own tools were much more likely to be hired by a farmer.

Rent Wymers Farm 1876, per annum = £68.

A bottle of Wrights Universal Embrocation for horses, cows and sheep (but could be used on chapped human hands too). This cured "joint evil" in lambs, swollen udders in cows, sore feet, lameness and wounds and acted as a fly deterrent. From Foottit's chemist, High Street, 1883 = 2sh 1 and a half pence.

Rent of Dog and Badger Medmenham 1895, per annum = £30 10s.

Rent paid by Spindlo's bakery 1897, per annum  = £30 (this included the house which incorporated the shop, plus a separate bakehouse, flour store and small stable).

Cheapest bullock at Marlow Cattle Market sales 1897, generally = £17.

One first class sheepdog, from Bockmer Farm, 1898 = £1. 

Annual rent of a small  tobacconist shop with living accommodation in the High Street, 1902 = £35.

Annual rent of a double fronted grocer's shop in Marlow High Street with living accommodation, 2 stall stable, two storey warehouse and coachouse 1908 = £80.

Ton of coke from Marlow Gas Company 1909 = £1. Delivery fee 3 pence per ton.

Stable lantern, from Barnard's stores 1909 = 6 and a half pence

Sale price of Holmers Farm (123 acres) Marlow 1910 = £2,150.

A pail of food supplement for stock animals (horses, cows, sheep, pigs), strengthening them, purifying their blood, and encouraging milk flow from J North corn dealer West Street, 1913 = 14 shillings.

Cost of buying Westhorpe Farm Little Marlow 1917 = £5,450.

Nanny goat juvenile from Field House Farm 1917 = £1.

A dozen Rhode Island Red day old chicks, from Seymour Hill Poultry Farm, 1934 = 12s

100 egg incubator secondhand from Woolmer Farm, Marlow Common, 1934 = 50s

A secondhand Chevrolet lorry from the Gibbons secondhand dealership in York Road, 1934 = £35

Personal Care

Exotic scented perfume from Little Marlow supplier W Brown 1844 = from 2 shillings sixpence.

Mail order tablet of high quality soap sent from London to Marlow 1855 = 6 pence [6d].

Hair colouring shampoo from George Cannon the chemist 1866 per packet = 10s 6d.

Butler's Rosemary Hair Cleaner from Footitt chemist High Street (invigorates hair and removes dandruff), per packet 1860= 6 pence [6d] This makes a pint of "hair wash" up.

Marlow Bouquet - a perfume from Baxters chemist in the High Street 1896 = from 1 shilling 6 pence [1s 6d].

Antiseptic tooth powder "cleansing and refreshing", from Walter Duplock chemist, High Street 1906 = from 1 shilling.

Vaseline from Barnard's Stores 1909 = 1 penny a tin.

Tin of tooth powder (for cleaning teeth) from Barnard's 1909 = 1 penny a tin.

Shaving stick from Barnard's Stores, 1921 = 6d

A permanent wave at Milady ladies hairdresser and beauty parlour, West Street 1937 = 15s. Edith Neighbour of Derriford, Newtown charged the same price in 1934. 

Other:

Cheapest gold wedding band available from Stradling the watchmaker, 1861 = 7s 6d

Dutton and Allen and Co Commercial Directory for Bucks with map 1863 = 21 shillings if you were not a subscriber.

13.2 hands high pony 8 years old, and "strong", sold from Oakengrove Farm, 1920 = £45

Second hand navy blue pram, with canopy and hood, 1920 = £7.

Pedigree Alsatian puppy, 1927 = £4.

1905, Smith & Co ad.  Generally a newsagents and bookseller etc, they were one of a number of non grocery stores in Marlow who were agents for one particular brand of tea or other.

Complied by Charlotte and Kathryn Day. 

To find out more about everyday life in old Marlow see the post listing here

For more on the shops etc mentioned above, see the index here

You may also like Food in Victorian Marlow

Sources too numerous to fully list but included:

South Bucks Standard 28 December & 27 March 1908, 15 January, 23 July, 26 November 1909 - Copies from the British Library and accessed via the BNA. August 2020.

Dickens Dictionary of the Thames (Dickens, 1889)

Dickens Dictionary of Thames from Oxford to the Nore (1880 edition, issue 2)

Marlow Guide 1903 &  1905

Information from Kathleen Day, Jane Pullinger and Jean Martin. 

Slough Eton and Windsor Observer October 24 & 31 October 1885; Slough Library

The Victoria County History of Buckinghamshire, 1908. Edited by William Page.

Maidenhead Advertiser 13th January 1875. 

Adverts, receipts, bills, account books, and letters etc. 

©Marlow Ancestors.