Will of Henry Saint John Bell

Henry Saint John Bell surgeon of Great Marlow [ his name was often rendered Henry St John Bell and sometimes simply Henry Bell  or Harry Bell or Harry St John Bell]. Will written 1777 proved 1778.

Henry says that he wishes to ratify and confirm the settlement made at the time of his marriage to his present wife in which it was agreed that the property he now dwells in will be delivered up to her and her assigns for her lifetime. He now also gives her the house he "recently" bought [probably in 1771] next door to his dwelling house in which William Eardley lives. Also to her a piece of meadow ground he occupies [uses] in Marlow Common Meadow [the Common Field]. Subject to the payment of a legacy of £300 to his daughter Celia Bell, her heirs, executors and assigns. Think says after her death to his son Joseph Bell and his heirs, executors and assigns.

All his plate, linen, china, household goods, utensils and furniture to be privately taken in upon his death. His wife has use of them except a silver tankard engraved with his arms (which is to go to his grandson) in her lifetime if she stays unmarried to anyone else and must be answerable for any loss or damage to these articles caused by accident or wilful neglect or by the reasonable household use of these goods. If she dies or remarries it all except his dimmity covered bed in the best chamber and the bedding and quilt belonging to it to go to his son and daughter. That bed is to go to his daughter, her executors or administrators upon the death or remarriage of his wife.

Also to his son and daughter equally all his share of the stock in trade, moneys, debts, dues and demands belonging to his co partnership with William Eardley. They to pay first his funeral expenses and all his just debts.

Executors to pay 5 guineas for a ring for Mr Thomas Ellison as a token of testator's friendship and regard towards him. Also one guinea to be spent on a ring for his wife's niece Miss Mary Hammond.

All other monies, bonds, securities, stock and ... in funds held in his own name, the name of John H...e or in the name of any other person whatsoever to his daughter ?Celia her executors administrators or assigns.

His wife Elizabeth, son and daughter made joint executors of the will.

Signs H.St John Bell. Witnesses= Thomas Ellison, George Ellison, Sarah Porter.

Administration granted to his widow Elizabeth with the right also to administer reserved to the two other named executors if they should apply for that power.

Note: Bell and Eardley operated from the High Street after going into partnership in 1771. They were also apothecaries. Bell had been operating long before this in Marlow however. He was the son (bapt 1716) of Joseph and Celia Bell of Aylesbury.

Elizabeth's own will is already on the blog here. She was not his first wife nor the mother of Celia or Joseph as they were baptised well before she married Henry in 1770. She was nee Hammond.

This summary produced by me Charlotte Day from my transcription of an original at the National Archives Kew.

Over 100 Marlow wills are on this blog- see the Will Transcription Index on the side menu. You might also like to look at the Graves Index and the A-Z Person Index.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use and share my transcription summary with credit to this blog.

The Flemings Of Marlow Place

Edmond and Isabella Fleming kept Marlow Place as their country home from at least 1829 to the spring or summer of 1833. It is possible that they leased the property as early as 1823. They certainly had connection to Marlow that far back as we shall see below.

Edmond was a silversmith, jeweller, money lender and pawnbroker who operated from multiple London premises with the help of his family and numerous hired staff. He was an extremely wealthy man clearly in love with his job as he continued to work right up until his death aged 88 in 1836. As well as the usual pawnbroker fare of silver spoons, secondhand clothes, and rolls of fabric, Edmond's shops glittered with a grand display of jewellery items set with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, garnets, and jacinths, with heavy gold chains, silver and gold spectacles, top quality watches and clocks not to mention paintings, snuff boxes and music boxes. Though it stretched his ready cash supplies a little he once lent a combined total of £2,500 to a single customer over the course of a few days. If he found himself in possession of too much unredeemed stock he would sell some at auction, often at auctions organised with other pawnbrokers. 

So where did our multi-hatted business man come from? Not from Marlow sadly, but from Cumberland, according to contemporary report, though the names in his family suggest a probable ultimate origin in Scotland. His wife Isabella, lived into her 90s and thus to the age of the census. In 1841 she is stated as having been born in Scotland. The couple married in London in 1782.  She was nee Purse. It isn't known how she came to make the journey to London, but we do know that she was not alone there as her brothers Alexander and William Purse both lived in the city. They too were silversmiths and in Alexander's case also a pawnbroker.

Edmund came to London with two of his own brothers, William who settled in Holborn and Joseph who based himself in Drury Lane. Joseph was certainly a pawnbroker too. William was probably the William Fleming goldsmith, silversmith and pawnbroker of Whitechapel High Street who had died or left his premises around 1829. Joseph was perhaps first to arrive in the big smoke as he appears as a London pawnbroker from 1774.  William married in London  the next year. Edmund was not definitely there before his 1782 marriage and does not definitely have his own London premises until 1802. It is possible that he and William initially worked for their brother Joseph. That said sources for the late 1700s business of London are scant.

Joseph lived in Gloucester Place, Camden Town though his shop in Drury Lane was also a dwelling house.

He did marry but mentions no children in his will. 

William is interesting as his bride is Mary Margaret Hammond at their London marriage. For reasons that you will see below it is possible that she was a relative of the Hammonds of Western House Marlow.

William and Mary had a son Henry who became a pawnbroker and silversmith too with his own premises but this doesn't seem to have lasted long. In 1827 Henry walked into another silversmith's shop, picked up a watch and just walked out with it. He was arrested. At an initial hearing it was suggested to the court that he must have been insane as no rational person openly steals a watch in broad daylight with no attempt to conceal the act. They guessed he was a teacher as he had pockets full of pens. There is no reason to think that was the explanation for the pens. It does make you wonder if he was not unwell in some way and suffering from mental confusion. Nevertheless he plead guilty and was transported to Australia.

Edmund's business concerns eventually significantly eclipsed that of his brothers. The scale of his pawnbroking/ silversmithing empire (one of his premises, in Farringdon Street, was so big it was actually a warehouse) meant he had to put a lot of trust into his staff to do without him for at least part of the time on a day to day basis. In 1828 Edmund realized that the trust placed in one of them was a mistake. Thomas Kerby, a seven year employee of Edmund's had committed multiple frauds against him. Stretching himself too thin may also be the reason that Edmund was twice fined for not displaying a both visible and legible list of his fees in one of his shops. I doubt a 40 shilling fine hurt his pocket that much!

We can't make any excuses over Edmund's conviction and fine for charging a customer who had pawned a cloak half a pence too much interest. Tsk,tsk Edmund.

Like most pawnbrokers all the Flemings suffered from thieves attempting to sell them stolen goods and as a result Fleming employees made frequent trips to the courts to give evidence for the prosecution. The risk of getting a bad reputation if stolen or fake goods were not identified quickly hung over all such enterprises. In 1787 an apparently unrelated London pawnbroker Francis  Fleming was exposed as a long term fence for goods taken in burglaries. Word that a pawnbroker called Fleming was to appear at the Old Bailey reached the people of Cumberland and some jumped to the conclusion that one of our Flemings was responsible, or as the Cumberland paper thought had deliberately spread this false information in a spirit of maliciousness. The paper was quick to stress that Edmund, William and Joseph were all honest traders with good characters (this was before the half pence overcharge on the cloak, mind you).

Edmund and Isabella's son David was also a wealthy pawnbroker and silversmith, with premises in Whitechapel. These David had perhaps taken over from from his uncle William, Edmund's brother. As David had no wife or children his principal heirs were his siblings but also two of his employees, John Vaughan and a man whose full name I could not quite read who received legacies of £200 and £50 respectively.

David's will was witnessed by a Henry Hammond of Great Marlow. It was written in 1823, six years before David's death and the first known date of the Flemings living at Marlow Place. The will was likely witnessed in London as the other men putting their names to it were London traders. Henry Hammond was the brother of Robert Hammond of Western House, Marlow. Were these Hammonds relatives of David's aunt Mary Fleming, nee Hammond? If the Flemings were not already maintaining a country home in Marlow why does one of them already know the Flemings well enough to be asked to witness so important a document as David's will in 1823, probably making a journey in order to do so?

There are other intriguing Fleming connections to Marlow. The family of late Victorian High Street grocer Edmund Coster believed that his mother was of the Marlow Place Flemings. My research suggests it is not likely she was a direct descendant of Edmund and Isabella but she might have been a slightly more distant relative. She was born in London. Another Flemming connection is the presence of a Mrs Flemming as the occupier in a cottage next to the Hammond's in Western House in 1833. We will endeavour to see if any of these links can be explained. 

Another son of Edmund and Isabella Fleming, William Thomas served an apprenticeship to a stationer but ended up becoming - yes, you guessed it -a silversmith and pawnbroker. At first he was with his father then traded as an independent in Fleet Market. There he was accused of not displaying his fees, at the same hearing his dad appeared for the same offence but William got off on a legal technicality as this address on the summons was slightly wrong. At some point between 1832 and 1834 around the time his parents decided to give up their country home of Marlow Place, William bought his own pile out in the sticks- Cookham Grove not too far from Marlow. His parents, siblings and other relatives all used it too, this was a close family and this likely reflects their approach at Marlow Place too. It was there that Edmond died aged 88 after a short illness in 1836, and Isabella in 1847. 

Like his father and brother David William Thomas was one of the governors of the Pawnbrokers Society.

A further son Joseph of Edmund and Isabella was initially a solicitor at Old Jewry but looks to have succumbed and become a pawnbroker as well as a solicitor before the end of his life. Joseph like his brothers had neither a wife nor children. This meant that two of their sisters Isabella, the eldest, and Louisa inherited much of the combined family estate as well as the lease of Cookham Grove. The women were the main legatees and executors of their mother. 

After the deaths in middle age of both her brothers, Isabella formally took over the family business for her mother. Given the scale of the operation involved it is hard to see her managing to do this if she hadn't already had some involvement prior to that. Like her dad Isabella would continue to operate as a silversmith and pawnbroker until she was in her 80s, splitting her time between London and Cookham. For inexplicable reasons her brothers had been granted probate but had failed to administer their father's will during their respective life times or appoint anyone else to do so despite years passing by so after her mother also died, Isabella sought permission to administer the whole lot, which was granted. 

In his will Edmund had suggested that his elderly wife could consider running the business after his death. If she didn't wish to do that the premises and stock were supposed to be sold off for her benefit. He obviously didn't guess that his daughter Isabella would consider taking over. As it happened the business was neither sold nor taken over by the mother. It appears Isabella's  brother Joseph took to pawnbroking alongside practicing law until his death and Isabella's subsequent takeover.

Isabella and Louisa had numerous servants to make them comfortable at Cookham and in London. The women obviously enjoyed the riverside location of Cookham Grove as they were both subscribers to a monograph on kingfishers in 1868 and one of them also donated to another bird book. While Isabella may have approved of kingfishers dipping into the Thames she was far less keen on the human equivalent. In fact Isabella and her legal representatives waged unceasing war not only on anglers but boatmen, Thames Conservancy workers, bathers, lock keepers and anyone else she considered to be annoying her or infringing on her rights to the river bank. Isabella was accused of "locking up" and blocking off everything she could to impede access to fishing ponds, backwaters and the bridges over them. She seems to have been the terror of Cookham waterfront!

Isabella subscribed to the very Victorian sounding Asylum For Idiots. The Queen herself was a patron of this Redhill institution. If you are imagining straight jackets and cruelty you will be pleased to know that the mission of the asylum was to provide kindness, protection, and education for those usually considered impossible to educate in any way. Isabella and Louisa's donations entitled them to vote for which candidate "idiots" should be admitted into the asylum when a place became vacant!

Education was perhaps a cause they particularly felt close to as they also donated to Diocesan church building funds over many years.

Louisa and Isabella both lived to a ripe old age. 

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

For more posts similar to this see the Biographies Of Families Index

A history of all the different occupiers of Marlow Place can be read here.

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

Selected Sources=

Wills of David Alexander Fleming 1829, Joseph Fleming 1803, William Purse 1805, Alexander Purse 1825, Edmond Fleming 1836 and Isabella Fleming 1847 all transcribed by me from copies of the originals held at the National Archives, Kew.

First Annual Report of the Committee to the Governors & Subscribers of the Pawnbroker's Society, 1824. Google Books.

1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow 

Johnstone's London Commercial Guide and Street Directory, published by Barnard and Farley, London, 1817.

The Gentleman's Magazine volume 183. By E Cave 1848. And volume 176 in 1844.

The Westminster Poll Book 1774. Google books.

Prospectus For The Asylum For Idiots. United Kingdom, n.p, 1859.

Kelly's Post Office Directory of Berkshire etc, By Kelly's Directorie Limited 1869.

M Billing's Directory and Gazetteer Of The Counties of Berks and Oxon by Martin Billings 1854.

Robson's London Commercial Directory 1822 and 1839.

Post Office Annual Directory 1808, University of Leicester Archives.

Newspapers from the British Library's archives and accessed by me via the BNA=

Cumberland Paquet 9th April 1788, Cheltenham Chronicle 3rd April 1828, Morning Advertiser 10th December 1831.

Thames River Preservation Reports, Parliamentary Papers of Great Britain Published by the Stationary Office.

Cookham Census 1841, Rootspoint https://www.rootspoint.com/record/1841-UK-Census/Joseph-Fleming-1791-Out-Of-County/4ac30f05-13cb-4ce5-bd4e-94f43b47f0de/

Other Cookham census transcribed from microfilm, National Archives by Jane Pullinger, With thanks. 

Will of Edmund Stone 1709

 Will of Edmund Stone, mercer of Great Marlow. Written 1705 with a codicil 1706. Proved 1709.

A very long and complex will with plentiful crossings out.

Commits soul to God.

Asks to be buried at Cookham with his family.

Appoints for the period of 12 years two of his friends as trustees for property that is to go afterwards to his grandson. Edmund Stone Austin. Friends are Jonathan Hammond of Great Marlow and John Lee of Cookham. If Edmund Stone Austin has no sons then property to his brother Valentine Stone Austin. If Valentine has no sons then property to his brother John Austin. If John has no sons then property to testator's daughter Elizabeth Austin and her heirs male.

Property involved is:

9 acres of meadow in Bray Meade and Wickets Meade in Bray Berkshire.

Close nearest ....Pond called Long Leys.

Messuage or tenement with appurtenances and 2 acres arable Braywick, side nearest Long Lane.

6 messages or tenements and appurtenances in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Messuage or tenement with appurtenances at North Towne with 2 and a half acres lying dispersed in Cookham Field.

My message or farm with all its closes, land, meadow, pasture and woods in Wooburn Buckinghamshire.

All other messuages he may have.

Son Nathaniel Austin owes testator £200 in bonds for which little interest has been paid. In turn testator owes Nathaniel a £500 mortgage on the above property with 2.5 acres in North Towne. This property was bought in the name of the testators daughter because at the time it was a "troublesome" period for Protestant Dissenters. Though in her name the family understood that it was really the testator's property. Nathaniel has various goods at his house which belong to testator. These are to be sold and the money put towards paying off the £500 mortgage. Nathaniel is the preferred chapman to handle the sale. If he wants to buy the goods himself at full value he can. The rent for that property is to be paid to the trustees. They can ask for it to be given over for sale by them at any time.

Out of all the property wife Dorothy gets an annuity of £20 paid in quarterly installments for the 12 years the properties are under the trustees. Rest of income is to be put out in such way as to get interest. Once Dorothy has her annuity, and enough is raised to pay off the £500 mortgage, £100 is to raised from the property so it can be given as a lump sum to Edmund Stone Austin at 21. If he dies before that money descends to Valentine Austin, or if not to John Austin or to the daughters of testator's daughter or to other heirs of daughter Elizabeth herself in that order of precedence. 

Trustees 1 guinea each. They to reimburse themselves the expense of keeping the properties in good repair.

Household goods in my dwelling house to wife Dorothy for life.

All residual property to wife Dorothy who is made executor.

Witnesses John Welles, Mary Welles and Robert Peck.

Codicil 1706:

Jonathon Hammond and John Lee removed as trustees and testator's friend Nathaniel Micklem the elder and his brother in law Richard Gray also of Hurley made trustees instead.

The profits of his property now to go to his wife Dorothy for the first 6 years of the trusteeship.

Grandson Valentine now gets £100 at 21 too. If he dies before that it to go to his brother Edmund or if not to his brother John .

Transcribed and then summarized  from a PCC will held at the National Archives Kew.

All mentions of any individual on this blog can be found on the Person Index. This included over 4,000 people.

Index to other Great and Little Marlow wills here: here

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this transcription summary for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog.

Will Amey White Of Great Marlow 1795

Widow. Will proved 1796. Written 1795.

Says she is sick and weak.

All just debts and funeral expenses to be paid.

Son William 2 messuages with all the yard, garden, stable, barn, buildings and outhouses in the occupations of Thomas Davis and Robert Howard, and a close adjoining these properties in the occupation of Robert Moore the younger.

Daughter Ann Moss the wife of John Moss gets a cottage and garden in Gun Lane Marlow [now Trinity Road] in the occupation of Edward King Colines. From that property Ann and John are to pay the £15 John Moss owes to surgeon George Trash. If they refuse to pay it then they don't get the property. Instead it goes to testator's other daughters: Elizabeth Edmunds, Jane White, Sarah Hammond and Martha Camden and they to pay the £15 to Trash.

Daughter Sarah Hammond gets 2 cottages in Gun Lane in the occupation of William Stevens and Jasper Howard.

To daughter Jane White a messuage with a yard, garden and outhouses in Chapel End, Marlow [Chapel Street] in which testator now lives. She to pay out from it's value £10 to daughter Elizabeth Edmunds.

Executors son in law John Moss and Mr Joseph Plumridge both of Great Marlow. [Probably Joseph the brewer]

Witnessed by .... ?Laws shoemaker of Great Marlow, William Ba...r maltster of Great Marlow and Robert Goldsmith attorney of Great Marlow.

This PCC will is held by the National Archives, Kew. From them you can obtain a copy.

Transcription and summary of it by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. If quoting from or reusing my transcription (which you are welcome to do) please credit this blog.

Copy Farm Marlow Historic Occupiers

Copy Farm at Copy Green. Not to be confused with Charity Copy Farm which was much smaller (though I suppose they were originally one) which was left to charity by Benjamin and William Loftin in 1759. (Or rather money was left for the purchase of land to provide an income for the charity). The latter also called Loftin's Charity Farm at times.

Description: 1844= 106 arable. 1854= 112 acres with 2 workers cottages, stable and 3 barns 1861= 112 acres. 1910= 110 acres. 1919= arable and pasture 112 acres. 1927= Under 100 acres.

1798- Mr Johnson.

1833- John Gibbons occupier, owned by Mr Hammond. 107 acres. At that time Copy Charity Farm amounting to 60 acres was occupied by William Goldswain.

Owned by Robert Hammond certainly between 1845-55. Likely remains in that family ownership long after.  Unknown occupier - believe to be John Gibbons still in 1847 but uncertain.  Robert in his will proved 1855 asked for it to be sold after his death. 

1861- William Greenwood. Wife Alice. 1861 census says employs 3 men and 2 boys. Sold up his stock and left town 1865.

1871-91 Thomas King. He also occupied Widmere Farm. He was a churchwarden of Marlow. Wife Mary. See previous post here on Widmere Farm for much more on his farming life.

1891-95 Emmanuel William Plumridge. Leased from Mrs Hammond whose agent Mr Lawrence allegedy  would not let him leave lease early after Emmanuel suffered the expensive death of all 9 of his farm horses during an agricultural depression when things were already tough. Emmanuel was ruined as a result of being unable to get out of his loss making farm. He seems to have been illiterate and thus unable to understand what rental agreement he was signing (with just an X). (He does seem to have been very confused about the circumstances in general, and at first said he'd signed no rental agreement, then he stated that he hadn't recognised the document for what it was.) According to Emmanuel he'd transferred his stock from Field Farm in Marlow to Copy Farm to make way for the expansion of Captain Marshalls Menagerie. He thought he'd taken Copy Farm on for three years but at the end of this period he was told he must give two years notice to quit! You can read more about Emmanuel and especially his wife here

1900- J Wheeler. May be mistake for Leonard J Wheeler.

1901- Leonard John Wheeler. Had been publican at Royal Oak Bovingdon Green, 1893-95. Prior to coming to Marlow had been a farmer at Wargrave Berkshire like his dad. Left Marlow by 1911.

1910. For sale.

1910-16. Arthur Hawes. In 1901 he lived with his parents Thomas and Mary at nearby Charity Copy Farm [not same as Copy Farm] though he seems to have been the farmer there rather than them. He and his dad worked at Charity Copy as labourers and the whole family lived there long before that.

1927-28. Fred Lee.

Occupation compiled from property records, adverts, wills, court cases, agricultural journals etc.

Ongoing research, more will be added if possible.

To find all mention of your ancestors here, use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. For other farm related posts, see the Specific Streets, farms, schools etc option on the same menu. Happy hunting! 

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this content for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and a link here.

Will Summary Richard Hammond Great Marlow

Richard Hammond, gentleman. Will written 1820. Proved 1824.

Everything he has [no specifics] to sister Mary Hammond. She sole executor.

Witnessed by William Hickman Senior, Katherine Sneath, Eliza Sarah Katherine English [third witness one person with a long name!]

Transcribed and summarised by me from a will at the National Archives, Kew.

Notes: Richard died the same year as his mother Mary. She had appointed Richard and his sister Mary joint executors of her estate but Mary junior was the only one of them still alive to act in that capacity. I have transcribed Mary senior's will and will upload it in future.

Katherine Sneath, known as Kitty, also witnessed the will of Mary Senior.

William Hickman was a surgeon.

You can find more transcriptions on the menu under Will Transcriptions. See the Person Index for every mention of anyone on this blog. There is currently over 1200 people listed [November 2021] with more being uploaded daily.

© Marlow Ancestors. You may reproduce my transcription summary for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and link here.

1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow Part Six West Street / Potlands

 I have in my family the original working notebooks used to compile the official assessment along with some related correspondence but they are old and very fragile so I thought I would transcribe some of them on my blog.

©Marlow Ancestors. Please give credit to this blog and link here if using my transcription but you are very welcome to do so. 

Other parts of the transcription can be found listed on the "Specific Shops, Streets etc" option on the menu, under the street name concerned.

Formula of transcription is:

Name

Property

Annual value of property.

Any notes of mine coming from other research are in square brackets. Also, the notebooks were annotated with additional information by their custodians up to about 1839. If any such annotations appear for these properties they will be included and flagged as such.

West Street Continued

Robert Hammond [This is The Heathers]

Dwelling house, yard, stables, barn and large garden

£30

*****

Late William Walding [property no longer exists]

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Charles Darvill [property no longer exists]

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Mary Hammond [this is Western House]

Large house, farm yard, barns, stables, sheds, paddock, garden, etc

£35

Garden adjoining Mrs Flemming's

£2

*****

Widow Flemming

House and garden

£6

*****

Benjamin Marcham

Cottage and garden 

£4

*****

Robert Piggott

Cottage and garden 

£4

*****

Potts Lands [Portlands today, most commonly Potlands in the past]

John Croxen [Croxon]

Cottage

£3 10 shillings

*****

William Cross [labourer]

Cottage

£4

*****

Thomas Stockbridge

Cottage

£5

A large garden

£7

*****

Joseph May [gardener]

House, wood house, piggery, large garden

£7

*****

James Atkins  [Labourer. Still Potlands 1841 and 1849. This cottage was owned by the Wethered family]

Cottage and garden

£5

*****

John Neighbour [still in Potlands 1841 and 1849. This property was owned by the Wethered family of Remnantz. John was their head gardener. His son William was eventually head gardener of nearby Court Garden and has a biographical post on the blog here]

Cottage, yard and garden

£6

*****

William Thomas

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Charles Carter [his house usually given as out on West Street]

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

More West Street [other side of road from Potlands, Ship Inn etc]

Late James Allum

House

£5

Garden

10 shillings

*****

William Johnson [also appears as Johnston. Basket Maker. There by 1830. Still there 1841]

House, workshop, offices and garden

£7

******

Richard White [There by 1830. Cordwainer / shoemaker].

House shop and garden

£4 10 shillings

*****

Henry John Franklin [also Franklyn. Worked as iron founder too]

Fox beer house, stable and garden

£7

*****

John Brown

House

£5

*****

William Walker [broker 1841. Died 1845 aged 75] See his grave here

House and yard

£5

*****

John Jones

House

£10

To be continued

Man The Barricades- It's Sarah Bliss Hammond

 

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sarah remained at the Heathers. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

Dutton, Allen and Co's Directory 1863.

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

Post Office Directory 1869 by Kelly's Directories Limited.

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

Moulton baptism from Jane Pullinger. Thanks Jane.

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

Western House- Some Victorian Residents

This list is of residents not owners of the property (though some people will be both).

1862-66 Edmund Sexton Perry Calvert. In late 1865 the property is advertised as for sale leasehold with a 15 years term remaining. It then comprised of a 17ft 6" x 14ft entrance hall, 20ft 9" X 15ft 4" dining room, 21ft X 15ft 9"  drawing room, 14ft 10 X 14ft 10" library, 15ft 9" X 15ft boudoir,  10 bedrooms, 2 dressing rooms, kitchen and domestic offices. Outside the would be occupier could enjoy the garden, a private walk to the Thames,  an orchard, coach house, gardeners cottage and the farm buildings. In all 13 acres including some pasture. We are also told that the house is properly enclosed in a ring fence and that it is sheltered from northerly winds. If that's not enough, the house can also boast of a good supply of water, and twice daily postal deliveries. 

1866- 1867 Charles Fowler. Architect. Fellow of the Royal Institute Of British Architects 1834. Also farmed land by Western House. Wife Maria. He died 1867.

1867- 1876 Maria Fowler born circa 1798, widow of Charles Senior. Also resident her son Charles junior born circa 1823 who was also an architect (Fellow of the Royal Institute Of British Architects 1862). Charles junior was  additionally Deputy Chairman of the Llanelly Railway Company in Wales. He (and his mum though he took the lead) got into a row over rights of way with his neighbour Sarah Bliss Hammond. It was a big row- barricades were erected and lawyers called. For more on this see my biographical post on Sarah here.

Other children of Charles Senior and Maria= Sophia born 1829, Jane 1833 and Emma 1835. 

1879- The Misses Fowler. Must be two of the Fowler daughters above.

1881- Austin MacKenzie and Mrs MacKenzie. Their housemaid Annie Field was found guilty of stealing £5 worth of items from her employer that year and jailed for four months. The items included 10lb of candles, a pot of jam, dusters, soap, napkins and tablecloths. The butler at the house at that time was Robert Wright and the footman was Thomas Sutton. Both were witnesses against Annie in court.

1888- Major A Griffith.

1898- Mr and Mrs A Dunn who had lately been in residence left.

1898-1899 Mrs Henrietta Isabella  Ranken. Died on a visit to London. Widow of W B Ranken. She seems to have had farming interests. 

1900-1914 Francis Crawford Caffin AKA Frank. He leased it 1900 after Mrs Ranken's death. Civil engineer and Director of the Djebel Charra Mining Company. His son Haden served in WW1 and was twice mentioned in dispatches. More on Haden to come. Francis had first leased Palmer's in the High Street, while he was in the area supervising work on the Bourne End railway bridge. 

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

For other West Street related posts, see the specific shops, streets etc option on the top drop down menu. The A-Z person index there is where to go to find every mention of your ancestor here on the blog. Thousands of people get a mention. Happy hunting! 

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

Sources:

Dutton, Allen and Co's Directory 1863.

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

Post Office Directory 1869 by Kelly's Directories Limited.

Census my transcription from microfilm.

List of Members of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1914.

Bucks Herald 27th August 1881. British Library Archives.

Bucks Free Press 26th August 1881. Bucks Free Press Archives.

The Mining Yearbook 1905.

The Joint Stock Companies Directory 1867. Oxford University Library. Digitized by Google.

Catalogue of the London Library 1888. Digitized by Google.

GRO death registrations from GRO online. 

Windsor and Eton Express 14 October 1865, Slough Libraries. 

Will Sarah Sneath 1814

 Sarah Sneath of Great Marlow, spinster. Will written 1803, proved 1814. 

Sister Katherine Sneath executor. After her debts have been paid:

Sister Elizabeth Sneath, £30 out of dividends from her stock out of her bank "long annuities".

Nephew Thomas English £20.

Niece Eliza English £20.

To the three children of George Trash (also a surgeon): Caroline Trash, Louis Trash, and Ann Trash £5 each.

Rest of estate to sister Katherine Sneath.

Witnessed by Richard Hammond, Timothy English and William Hickman (a surgeon).

You can obtain copies of this PCC will from the National Archives, Kew.

Notes: 

Sarah was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Sneath née Webb. Her father was a surgeon.

Her mother Elizabeth's will was published on this blog here. Elizabeth nee Webb - more about her family here

The English children mentioned above were the children of Sarah's dead sister Mary English nee Sneath, wife of Rev Thomas English. The will witness Timothy English was the son of Rev English by his first wife Susannah nee Evans of Hampshire. They were non conformists. A post about Mary is available here (sad).

A short post about Timothy English will come to the blog later.

*New content is currently added to the blog daily* 

©Marlow Ancestors. You may use my transcription summary for family or local history purposes provide you credit this blog and provide a link here.

Will Summary for Elizabeth Bell Great Marlow 1799

Will written 1789, proved 1799.

After all debts paid:

10 guineas each to brother John Hammond, sister in law Mary Hammond, son in law Mr Joseph Bell, daughter in law Elizabeth Ogle wife of William Ogle.

Mr George Ellison, attorney at law 5 guineas.

Niece Mary Hammond my watch, rings, clothes and my woodland and premises with the appurtenances in Great Marlow called "Shillings ?Edge?".

Nephews Jonathan and Richard Hammond to be tenants in common [stresses tenants in common not joint tenants] of woodlands in Great Marlow called "High Hevins" and "Halings".

Residue of estate to the niece and nephews already mentioned- Mary, Jonathan and Richard Hammond who were the will's executors.

Witnessed by Sarah Smith, Henry Smith and Robert H..vist.

Will was proved by Richard with power to execute also reserved to Jonathan and Mary.

This summary produced to the best of my ability from a will at the National Archives Kew, transcribed by me.

Note that the term son or daughter in law was used in a wider sense than today.  It could also be a step child which must be what is meant in reference to Joseph Bell here. Elizabeth was the widow of Marlow surgeon and apothecary Henry St John Bell (m 1770, she nee Hammond). Joseph Bell was his son by a prior marriage to another Elizabeth. The "daughter in law" Elizabeth Ogle could be Henry 's married daughter Celia Elizabeth (sometimes referred to by her middle name only). Henry St John Bells will can be read on the blog here.

©Marlow Ancestors. Use this summary as you will for family and local history purposes, with credit to this blog.

Old West Street Shops And Schools- not Borlase!

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

 The building on the left with the blue door was the site of Ann Washbourn(e)'s school for girls, giving both general education and specialist embroidery lessons from circa 1853. Ann was a real expert having been one of only two Marlow people in any profession to exhibit at the 1851 Great Exhibition. She showed children clothes which she had embroidered. In the school she was assisted by her sister Elizabeth. For a short time previously to this Elizabeth had been helping another sister of hers, Mary, to run a day school in the same premises. 

You can find out about other historic Marlow schools including other West Street ones in my special schools post here.

In 1860 a 12 year old girl, perhaps herself a pupil, stole capes and hats from the pupils in the school.

As well as for a school the premises were used by Ann Washbourn(e) as a Christian Knowledge book repository and reading room.

Ann died in 1879, Elizabeth in 1889. Their sister Margaret had a relationship with and later married John Morris of the Morris drapers family of Marlow. A post showing the location of their premises and giving information about them and Margaret is available here.

After the death of Elizabeth Washbourn the premises were run briefly as a school for girls by Mary Pinson.

Occupying the other half of that building as it appears today was a butcher's shop which later expanded to fill the whole. 

The brick building operating as Mandarin Stone at the time of this picture (November 2020), was the site of John Sadler's butcher's shop in the 1830s and 1840s before it became a stationery shop ran by young widow Caroline Anthony from circa 1851 until her death following a lingering illness aged just 38 in 1862. This property was owned by the Hammond family. From 1852 she too was running a school for girls. She also sold books and decorative wallpaper.

The premises were put up for sale in 1859, with the fact that it had an "occasional room" fitted up as a school one of the property's selling points  - along with a view over Quoiting Square. The rent was then £18 a year. The sale didn't effect Caroline's occupancy of the premises and she continued there until her death.

After that the contents of her house and business were sold including a pianoforte, mahogany and rosewood furniture and her school desks.*

Noah Bartlett had a grocery shop there by the late 1870s until after 1904 when two little boys stole a can of corned beef from out of his shop*. Noah was a member of the nearby Congregational church and supervisor of their Sunday School. His wife Ellen (née Coster) died in 1876 a little over a year into their marriage. However he seems to have remarried and had a family. Ellen is buried and has a visible gravestone in the graveyard of the church in Quoiting Square. See here for more posts related to the people of this church. Ellen was the sister of future Marlow High Street grocer Edmund Coster who almost certainly worked as an assistant to Noah as a young man.

Later in Edwardian times Noah's premises became a cycle shop, one of at least two in West Street at the time. 

The white building further right was a shoe and boot makers and will also have it's own post in future.

©Image and text Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to reuse either if you wish provided you credit this blog.

I identify occupancy by cross referencing property papers and surveys, wills, censuses (though properties are sadly not usually visited in them in strict order), photographs, adverts, letters, court cases and anything else I can.

*Report of sale South Bucks Free Press over several issues August 1862. Copy held at the British Library. Accessed by me via the BNA November 2020.

*South Bucks Standard 30th September 1904. Accessed as above.

Also consulted: GRO death Index online, Great Marlow Parish registers my old transcription from the originals, 1851 Great Exhibition Catalogue.

Image provided by Kathryn.