The Battings of Marlow

 Today's post is an overdue one on one of the families that would without question have been known by any Victorian resident of Marlow. Indeed those living here in much more recent times have shared their fond memories of the Battings hardware store in West Street with us. It was replaced by Waitrose and then Sainsbury's supermarkets. 

We will start with Alfred and Ann (d 1892) Batting. Alfred records on his census entries that he was born in Oxford in 1812 but we believe he came to Marlow when quite young. He was a tin man and brazier working and living in West Street.  The Batting's shop and advertising used to bear the legend that the business was established in 1820 and that certainly seems to fit with the records. I can not say that he was definitely in his early life working at one of the premises later associated with his family but he does appear to have rented a yard at least at The Hayes. This is currently known as Hayes Place, adjacent to what is now Platts (petrol pump and car sales part)  in Quoiting Square. And this Platts building was of course later used by one of Alfred's sons as a pawnbrokers and furniture depot, more of which below. He also rented some garden ground further up West Street at West End, where he was a victim of one of the prolific cabbage rustlers that plagued the area in the 1850s (70 were lifted in one night on one occasion). Alfred was also the victim of a theft by long standing Marlow criminal Sarah Bowles, of whom more in Charlotte's post here

By the time of his death, Alfred owned a number of properties in Marlow. This included several shops and cottages as well as cottages at Bovingdon Green and Cookham. Alfred clearly worked himself up to run a very successful business which was inherited by his sons William (b.1846) and Charles (b.1850) who ran it as an "ironmongers etc". The etcetera is very appropriate as ironmongery barely touches the surface of the very many strands of the business the brothers would eventually manage. 

Above the grave marker of Alfred and Ann as well as other members of the Batting family. 

For example, they had an early interest in producing agricultural machinery. It looks like Charles and William were acting as agents and possibly manufacturers of this at least at the time of their inheriting the business from their father upon his death in 1873. I'm trying to trace an early business partnership they had in this area around that time. What is certain is that in 1883, Charles and William bought the Maidenhead agricultural implements business of William Bulstrode. Separately they also bought out Bulstrode's share of Bulstrode and Rogers brass and iron founders business also of Maidenhead. Henceforth the foundry was known as Rogers and Batting (or more generally the Maidenhead Ironworks) until Edwin Rogers retired 2 years later. They now ran a large concern between Maidenhead and Marlow, incorporating the foundry, ironmongers and agricultural engineering business. 

Unsurprisingly the pair decided to split the business up between them in 1893. No doubt this would make it easier to manage. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent. Charles would manage the Maidenhead Ironworks while William remained in Marlow to superintend the ironmongery. They continued in a co operative relationship however. 

Charles Batting 

Charles, like his brothers, had attended Marlow Place school - a day and boarding school for "young gentleman", offering both a technical and classical education. The fees of this school were not cheap, and another indication that their father the tin man Alfred had flourished in his business. He then served an apprenticeship in London with Messrs Beenham, engineers and founders. He had returned home on his father's death to manage the business, as mentioned above, before  moving to Maidenhead to be close to the works that were his focus. He remained there until his death in his late 50s in 1910, less than a year after the death of his wife. During his life Charles won the contracts to put gas in large establishments all over the south east, such a large coastal hotels. He was known for investing in machinery and technology that enabled him to advertise his works as one of the most modern in the country.  The original premises leased by Charles was described as occupying a site on West Street/ High Street Maidenhead but apparently he had to give it up due to a road widening scheme. So he took on a nearby plot and built the extensive premises there. In 1911 it was described as comprising a foundry, motor works, and electrical and ironmongery department store and show room.  

William Batting 

William in Marlow could describe his business in the 1890s (still known as Batting and Sons) as ironmongers, engineers, plumbers, millwrights, smiths, machinists, tin workers, coppersmiths, gas and hit water fitters fitters, agricultural and horticultural implement agents, sanitary engineers, electric and crank bell hangers, and cycle sellers/hirers. They sold everything from nails, varnish, kitchen ranges, "lawn mowing machines" and cattle troughs to ploughs, fishing rods and shot guns. William had helped his father manage the Marlow concern before the latters death so it made sense for him to take on this side of the partnership. He employed quite a number of workers, including mechanics that could travel to local farms to carry out spot repairs and servicing should a fault develop on your threshing machine or hay baler. William also offered repairs to smaller tools and machinery as well as tool sharpening on the premises. 

He supplied the gates and fencing for the new Marlow Cemetery in 1910 and those for Cookham cemetery in 1906. (The chapel of the latter was designed by Marlow's James H Deacon.) In fact you would have been able to see all kinds of Batting supplied articles all over Victorian Marlow. Among these were gas lamp posts and lanterns, and the Baker's Sanitary Cart purchased by the local council for sewage disposal! 

William had another significant role in Marlow's history. He was present at the meeting in 1874 which resulted in a subscription formed to establish a volunteer fire brigade. He was immediately elected to the committee to organise this essential endeavour. Later he'd serve as their engineer, deputy captain and shortly before his retirement in 1890, as their captain. He unsurprisingly earned long service medals and clasps for his hard work. Even after retirement, William sat on the fire brigade commitee  and Batting and Sons were responsible for several repairs to the engine itself. (The engine was stored in the arches under the Crown hotel nearby. AE actually owned the approach to this and so the fire brigade had to pay him a small "rent" for this part for many years.)

Space prevents me from listing all the many committees and organisations William had a role in but I'll mention two evocative ones - the dinner and tea committees of the 1897 Coronation celebrations, and for the parade at the end of South African wars in 1902 - they also supplied vehicles to run in the latter. 

The ironmongers was later taken on by William's nephew Reginald Batting who had lived with him for some time (Son of Walter Batting, see below.)

A E Batting : pawnbroker and furniture dealer

Now to a third son of Alfred and Ann Batting, Alfred Edward, generally known as A E Batting. I'll call him AE to avoid confusion. He also ran a shop but a quite different kind. AE started out in the building we know as Platts in Quoiting Square, as a pawnbroker with a side line in furniture dealing and as a clothier. This had been a pawnbrokers for some time before.  He was at first in partnership with Joseph Evans*, until 1864. In 1880 he moved to West Street / Market Square, the premises until recently occupied by M&Co. The furniture dealing (generally second hand items) became more of the business focus. To read more about Ann Barney, one of the desperate customers who used his pawnbroking business see Charlotte's post here. AE declined to renew his pawnbroking licence in 1898, much to the surprise of everyone it seems. It was the first time anyone could remember a time that Marlow had not had such a business. However, this line of trade did arrive back at this Battings a few years down the line. 

 AE died in 1915 at the age of 77, still continuing in his work. Among the interesting facts about AE given on his death was the information that he had been a member of the church choir for some 61 years! Generally though the Battings were associated with the Congregational Church in Quoiting Square. His son Rupert took over the furniture shop and ran it for decades. 

Walter, Christian and James Batting 

I'd just like to gives quick mention to a some other sons of Alfred and Ann Batting, brothers to William and Charles. Firstly, James was a successful solicitor in Marlow. He served his articles under another familiar Marlow name, William Lakin Ward. James then acted as solicitor for many local organisations. This includes the Marlow Railway Co responsible for bringing  the rail into Marlow itself (resigned 1878), Marlow Gas Company and for the Marlow based Buckinghamshire Chair Co**. He was also an insurance agent. Shortly after the establishment of Marlow's volunteer fire brigade in the 1870s, he secured a large donation to them from one of the fire insurance companies he represented. Married to the daughter of an Italian count, James is in interesting subject in his own right and I'm sorry space means he doesn't get a longer entry. We will try to do more on him in a separate post in the future.

 Another son Christan b 1840 became a draper while Walter pursued a career as a architect and surveyor, working mainly in London. Walter had been articled to Marlow surveyor Charles Carter. Walter died at the sadly young age of 47. Described then as a man of "fine physique and genial manners", there would have been many in Marlow with find memories of Walter rowing at the regatta and other events as a young man. (He is buried in Wandsworth cemetery alongside married sister Emma Hallett. The youngest daughter of Alfred and Ann, she died in Balham 2 years after Walter.) 

Above, Christian Batting on the Batting grave marker at All Saints. 

Written by Kathryn Day, researched by Kathryn and Charlotte. 

More Information:

*More info on the Evans /Batting pawnbrokers shop in Charlotte's post here

** More info on the Bucks Chair co here

Index of posts about other shops/business etc here

To find all references to a family or individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

Sources:

Bradshaw's Railway Almanac and Directory (Bradshaw's 1843) 

Hastings, Charles William - Gas and Water Companies Directory, 1884. 

Kelly's directories for Buckinghamshire and Berkshire 1847, 1883, 1896, 1911, 1915, 1920, 1939. 

Kelly's Directory of Merchants, Manufacturers and Shippers. (Kelly's 1907)

Marlow Guide 1903 & 1905

Robson's Directory 1839

Royal County Directory Buckinghamshire, (J G Harrod & Co, 1876)

Census entries ; transcripts from the originals by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day

1833 Parish Assessment as owned by my family, and related letters and workings. 

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 29 August,  14 November 1874, 16 August 1879. British Library. 

Bucks Herald May 15 1875 & 12 Jan 1878, these from British Library Archive, via the BNA

South Bucks Standard 16 April 1897, 3 June 1898,  22 June 1906,  4th March 1910, 13 June 1912. As above. 

© MarlowAncestors

Hayes Place, Great Marlow

Earliest name "The Hayes". 

This is a very short street off West Street. None of the cottages wherein your Marlow Ancestors may have lived survive. Picture above shows the street in 2020, looking out towards West Street. Residents there would have had foot access round to Quoiting Square the other way and can also be given the address Quoiting Place as Quoiting Square was then known. Though in the heart of town in terms of being near to the river, High Street and main shopping areas Hayes Place was less than 10 minutes walk from open countryside going up Oxford Road or West Street. Though the homes there were crowded together there was just enough space for most to have small  gardens.

The first mention I have of homes on the site is 1832. In 1833 there were 15 households in "The Hayes". This was generally a poor address, though not grindingly poor or rough in the way areas like Dean Street were considered to be at the time.

Most of those who lived in the street had always been amongst the less well off but Hayes Place also provided refuge for some who had known better things- Robert Smith who had had a successful hairdressing business in Spittal Street became insolvent and went to live at number 13 for a few months in 1845 for instance.

On the 1833 assessment the properties in the street range from probably a one room very tiny cottage - that  occupied by "late Jane Moore" with an assessed annual value of only £1 10 shillings up to three houses valued at £6 10 shillings a year each, in the occupations of " late George Ward" [a butler whose wife Patience was a dressmaker. They left the town for Taplow in late 1832*], "Robert Reid" and "late Hunt". Note that these three houses appear to have been set off back from Hayes Place proper, and could be accessed just as easily from Quoiting Square. Jane Moore may have moved away from her tiny cottage recently at the time of the assessment but she was back later. She was a middle aged unmarried woman who worked as an laundress and a lace maker at different times.

Involvement in the lace making, satin stitch, laundry and paper making trades (as rag sorters in the latter case) plus domestic service were the most common traceable occupations for Victorian and Edwardian female residents of the street while involvement in agriculture, paper making, wood related crafts and brewing (most of the brewery workers will have worked at Wethered's brewery only about 5 minutes or so walk away) was common amongst male residents.

Someone not keen to gain employment or look after his responsibilities was 1833 resident Richard Lodge. Repeatedly in the 1840s he was fined or jailed for having abandoned his two sons John and William in Marlow.  There is no mention of their mother. John and William were together in the Marlow parish workhouse at the time of the 1841 census. They were both said to be 8. Could be twins but ages on censuses can be hazy and were rounded up and down. After the boys were beyond the age of being his legal responsibility Richard still found himself regularly before the courts for absconding from the Wycombe Union Workhouse. 

Talking of not taking responsibilities seriously - as the years went by properties in Hayes Place were not kept up to standard by their owner. In 1901 their sanitary condition was considered by Marlow Urban Council's medical officer as being likely to injure the health of the tenants with poor quality drains and cess pits too close to the homes.

Not enough had been done to remedy the situation by 1910 when drain water had seeped through the floor of the scullery of one cottage. Five other cottages [from other sources numbers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6] shared two improperly built cess pits. The yard soil at the back of the cottages there was badly contaminated by waste water. It was decided that some of the outhouses had to be rebuilt and all the drains replaced plus the yard properly surfaced. It seems that this work took several years to actually happen.

In 1913 the council again inspected the area and found that five of the eight cottages were not in a fit state for human inhabitation.  At last action was properly taken. All 8 had their sculleries rebuilt on the order of the council because they were damp and unsanitary. The same year the residents had three wash houses built for them to share. This was for the common use of all 8 households. The yard was paved, cesspits removed, and new drains put in. 

It needs to be pointed out that the owner of these cottages was the very wealthy Sir William Clayton who had more than enough means to remedy the situation for his tenants but it took years of asking him and his agents for him to do so.

The road itself, originally a private road, was taken over by the council in 1906 / 07 and paved for the first time.

Given the conditions it is not surprising that some residents of the Place dreamed of moving far away. Robert and Edward White Shaw [Aka just Shaw or just White] who lived in Hayes Place with their widowed 45 year old mother Marion [AKA Mary Ann] in 1901 did just that, emigrating to Canada. Marion worked as a chair caner in 1901. She died at Hayes Place the next year. 

*In 1830 the their two year old daughter Patience junior died. The Reading Mercury of 26th July that year described how the child's father was away on an excursion in the country when little Patience became ill. She died swiftly leaving her mother "inconsolable with grief" and unable to tell her husband about their loss because she had no address for him. Married butler's usually lived in with their employers while their family lived in a nearby cottage. There is a reasonable probability given that George Ward worked for the Claytons in nearby Oxford Lane.

 

*****

*To read about Victorian Hayes Place residents Charles and Charlotte Flint (he an embroider) and Charles' family see this post here. I don't want to repeat myself by dealing with them here when I have already done a post featuring them.

To find posts about other historic Marlow addresses see the "Specific Shops, Streets...Etc" index here.

All mentions of a person on this blog can be found on the Person Index on the top drop down menu. 

Researched by both Charlotte Day and Kathryn Day. Pic by Kathryn, words by Charlotte.

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

Sources: 

1833 parochial assessment working notebooks, in custody of our family, transcribed by Charlotte.

Census transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte. Census information always remains Crown copyright.

London Gazette, Volume 3, 1845. Published by T Neuman and digitized by Google.

Buckinghamshire Council Report for 1913. 

South Bucks Standard 7th June 1901, April 8th 1910 and 8th May 1913 British Library Archives via the BNA.

Death certifications, GRO.

Even More Where In Marlow Was..? PART 3

A list of difficult or vanished addresses for modern researchers, updated often. 

Part One here, Two here. Four here. Five here

 To find out more about a particular house, street, shop etc see the Specific shops, streets etc option on the top drop down menu. 

Acorns, The house, Institute Rd. Still bears name. 

Ashley View - Newtown Rd

Avonmore - (See also this post on the 1890s flu pandemic  Here )

Avondale - house, Beaumont Rise. 

Bothy, The - the name for gardeners accomodation on large estate, and gardens. Can be found at Highfields and Danesfield.  Not used for accomodation at Remnantz despite name in Wethered Park - that building was a potting shed, and prior to that a vinery! 

Bromleigh - Station Rise

Bungalow, The - Wethered Rd 2. Station Rd 3. New Town 

Caxton, Caxton Villa - now Mill Rd, in Platts Cottages/Row

Cintra - Claremont Gardens

Clwyd - Portlands (adjacent Portland Villas)

Cornerways - Gossmore/Mill Rd. There was also a Crossways, Station Rise

Corshel - Newtown 

Crossways, The - Station Rise. See also Cornerways. 

Derriford  - Queens Rd

Dolls House, The - Claremont Rd

Elmwood - Glade Rd

Fairlight - Claremont Gardens

Fairford - Appartments in Station Rd. 

Glendower - Portlands

Glenoma - New Town eg Holland Rd, Newtown Rd area

Glenrosa or Glen Rosa - Claremont Rd. 

Glenthorne - house, Beaumont Rise

Godstone - Little Marlow Rd

Greyroofs - qv Portlands, may be meant for Greywalls. 

Harris's Gardens- West End as they called it. We would now render this place as being in Henley Road. Borlase side of road.

Hermitage, The - Pound Lane.  (occasional alternative name for the Deanery, St Peters Street too) 

Homelea - Red Pits, off Henley Rd. 

Homeleigh - Beaumont Rise

Homerton Cottage - Eton Place

Invergarry Dedmere Rd

Inverglyde - Beaumont Rise

Jordans- house apparently in Marlow Bottom 1700s.

Klemler - New Town - New Town rd area

Kewfields - Beaumont Rise

Larches, The - Oxford Rd

Leacroft - Little Marlow Rd

Lilyville - Dedmere Rd

Lindum - Little Marlow Rd

Lowermead - Dedmere Rd

Lulworth/Lulworth Villa - contemporary address given as Claremont Estate or Glade Rd, now in Claremont Gardens. Also name given more recently to a house in Munday Dean. 

Modena - Claremont Gardens

Montague House- house St Peter's Street.

Myne holm - Glade Rd, Myneholme - Institute Rd. Would not surprise me if the two properties were in fact one as Glade Rd was adopted as a nearest address for homes in the new development around Institute Rd before the name was established. 

Palmers - High Str, modern no 65.  Named after previous owners. Also historic surgeons premises, one of several in High Street, hence aka  Doctors House but this name may also refer to other properties depending on period. 

Reddersberg - West Street. One of a rash of South African inspired house names adopted in Marlow  around the time of the relief of Mafeking and later. 

Rosemead - Mill Road.

Rosemary AKA Rosemary Villa - Berwick Road.

Rosemont, Rosemount - New Town

Rosare - New Town Rd

Royton - Newtown. 

Ryepeck, Rye Peck - house then private residential hotel, riverside. For a post featuring the Cuppy family, one of whom briefly ran this place see post here. Originally built as a private residence. 

Spowkes - Hayes Place

Three Gables - the name taken on by the replacement for the original Thames Lawn by Marlow Lock. (Note Thames Lawn is also the name taken on by Lymbrook/Thames Bank after approx 1925)

Wedmore - Station Approach

White Cottage, The - Little Marlow Rd

Whitehead Place - address given for James Beckett, carpenter in Pigots Directory 1844. He is later described as being in the High Street. Other Beckett property is in Quoiting Place. 

Win-Tor - Little Marlow Rd

Post researched by Kathryn Day with with additional research by Charlotte Day.

For more Where In Marlow Was, see several previous posts linked at top. 

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

The Flints- Embroiderers of Marlow

Updated November 2024.

John Tarrand Flint, originally of Derbyshire was an embroiderer of cambric and muslin specialising in childbed linen. He and his wife Harriet had some of their children in London but by 1829 they had moved to a cottage in Marlow High Street. A few years later they had relocated to a house in Oxford Road /Quoiting Square as it was listed in the 1833 parish assessment but quite possibly actually in Hayes Place. At that time the area of Hayes Place and Quoiting Square behind West Street was a real jumble with some properties hiding behind others and accessible by multiple winding paths from different streets. Their addresses were fairly randomly rendered. Flint's property was valued at £15 a year in 1833 and came with a walled garden, coach house, stable, woodhouse and yard. All the while John was maintaining premises in London too, initially in Monkwell Street and later in Basinghall Street. In the late 1830s he and Harriet returned to London first to Shoreditch and then to Crown Street Finsbury. John suffered bankruptcy in 1840 and was thrown into a debtor's prison in London. 

Once John was freed it was back to Marlow for the couple. They took up residence in West Street before apparently relocating yet again to Quoiting Square. 

One of their children Charles [baptised St Luke's Finsbury in 1818] and his wife Charlotte Ann Flint [AKA just "Ann"] set up home in Marlow about 1840. Like his father Charles was an embroiderer. He himself specialised in the manufacture of fine caps for the heads of babies and toddlers. These were made for Charles by women he employed of course rather than by Charles himself. The manufacture of these caps was one of the more prominent industries in Marlow at the time but fashion could be fickle and competition fierce. The trade was beginning to falter not long after Charles began in it. He had started to suffer financial difficulties by 1856 and in 1859 he filed for bankruptcy. He specified the falling off of the infant cap wearing fashion as the primary reason for his difficulty. At one point he had employed some 200 women and girls but now every day was a struggle with the only loans he could obtain to get him by at eye watering rates if interest. His affairs took some time to sort out- all still wasn't done in 1863. Matters were not helped by a great lack of sympathy from the initial judge that granted him bankruptcy with a third class bankruptcy certificate. The judge said he disapproved of babies wearing caps. He himself appeared in court without the customary wig so it seems that he was very prejudiced against head coverings! The issue of whether they adversely affected the brain was periodically debated in Victorian England.

Charles and Ann managed to keep several domestic servants in their employ at the time of the 1861 census but in later years the household had to be smaller. In 1861 they lived in Chapel Street. Before that they had lived in Hayes Place (perhaps in the same building on the corner with West Street that the Samuel Flint mentioned below used as a business premises) as well as away in Wooburn for a time.

In 1859 the debts of Charles stood at £1700. Amongst the creditors was the French company, Boniface and Co, which supplied him with cambric fabric for his caps. He owed them £147. As part of the bankruptcy procedure Charles was asked why he had got into such debt. He blamed a prominent doctor for advising that babies ought not to wear caps. It is interesting to note too that according to the bankruptcy proceedings his father John was at that point financially dependent on him. In his defence he said that he had been in business for 20 years before his bankruptcy and never drank his profits away in pubs unlike most of those in similar trades! He was laughed at several times in court for statements like this. It must have been a humiliating experience for him but all credit to him (and Charlotte)- he pulled himself up from the bankruptcy eventually. There were occasional blips such as when he was summoned for not paying his poor rate taxes in 1865 but things were getting better all the time.

The family eventually moved into the comfortable Albion House in West Street by 1881. This had formerly been the home of writer Mary Shelley and her husband poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

Charles died in the house in 1889. He was survived by second wife Elizabeth.

Of his large family with Charlotte their son Samuel became an embroiderer too and also lived at Albion House. He usually referred to it as Shelley House in honour of the previous famous occupants there. Samuel's embroidery warehouse was a little further down the road on the corner with Hayes Place.

Samuel and his wife Emily (née Patrick, married Whitechapel 1860) were renowned for their charity. Rattle a collecting tin in their direction and they would give you something. During the extreme winter of 1895 they gave out every day a basin of "good hot soup" to each of the women they employed. Three years earlier Samuel organised a concert in the Town Hall to raise money for a Christmas gift of coals to women employed in the embroidery and sewing trades across the town. Obviously a Christmassy sort of man Samuel also organised festive carol singers to perform around Marlow. They collected money for charity as they went.

In 1903 the South Bucks Standard said that "a more popular man than Sam Flint it would be very difficult to find". It noted too the "high esteem" felt in Marlow towards Emily [South Bucks Standard 23rd January 1903, British Library Archives]. The couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary with a party at their home.

One day just afterwards when out for a Sunday horse ride Samuel's horse took fright and threw him off. He was badly bruised. That wasn't his only unlucky incident with a horse. In 1899 when driving a wagonette of friends home from a trip to Amersham races his horse panicked at the sight of a train and the wagonette crashed. This time nobody was much hurt [South Bucks Standard 7th April 1899, Via the BNA].

Samuel died in Shelley House in 1912 after a week long illness. He was buried in All Saints churchyard. 

To read about a feud between the Flints and rival embroiders the Bartons here

Other users of Albion House (in whole or in part):

Royal Military College junior branch here

Breakaway worshippers from Congregational Church after Rev Thomas Styles marriage - here

Royal Standard public house house

Mrs Tylecote's school here

Many more to follow!

For all mentions of someone on this blog see the A-Z  Person Index in the top drop down menu. See also Biographies of Families on the same menu for similar posts to this.

More West Street content can be found on the menu under "Specific Shops, Streets...Etc".

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

Other Sources:

Census my transcription from microfilm, parish registers London Metropolitan Archives, 1911 Post Office Directory by Kellys Directories Limited, property records held by my family, High Wycombe Directory and Advertiser 1885 -University of Oxford Library and digitized by Google, parish registers from the originals.

Saving lives in every kind of way -Marlow Heroes no 5&6 the Dunbar- Dicksons

 

This post is dedicated to Marlow heroes John and Emily Dunbar Dickson. 

 John work as the medical officer for both Marlow and the Wycombe rural district council areas saw him hold to account landlords for the frankly inexcusable conditions they were requiring their poorest tenants to live in. He dealt with infectious disease outbreaks, and was one of the doctors of the original Cottage Hospital at Cambridge House. Emily did a lot to help the less fortunate Marlow citizens and lead the fundraising for the new hospital at Glade Rd, clashing with Edward Riley the recreation ground donor in doing so - more of which below.  

John was born in Belfast in 1853 while Emily was Scottish. John arrived here first. He had studied at Queens College and then held various medical positions including that of house surgeon at Royal Bucks Hospital in Aylesbury. He came to Marlow in approximately 1880 to take up a partnership with surgeon John Rawden Hobson. At first John lodged with Sarah Mealing in her lodging house in the High Street. The partnership with Hobson was dissolved in 1885 and John struck out alone. 

John and Emily married at St. Oswalds, Kilmarnock, Renfrewshire on June 2nd 1885. They returned to Marlow and initially settled in West Street before taking up residence in The Gables, Institute Road, in 1893. This would be their home for some 30 years. It was built for them, by builders Loosely of Wycombe, one of the first houses in the new road. 

John meets the German Emperor

Not content with saving lives in a medical setting, John joined the Marlow Volunteer Fire Brigade, initially as a honourary medical officer but he still involved himself in drills and wore a full uniform. This gave him the experience to eventually act as the superintendent of the Marlow brigade for several years. He took on the role in 1890 on a temporary basis originally, with Foreman Batting, after the previous Superintendent Charles Footitt took 6 months leave from active duty due to ill health. Charles was unable to resume his position although he remained a member of the brigade for a while, and so John took the role. (Foreman Batting retired in October 1890) If you are wondering how John could possibly find time to fight fires alongside his work as a doctor, it may help to know that the brigade was not called out very often! He had been in charge for 2 years before his men got called upon to actually fight a fire. (The fire at Captain Marshall's menagerie and home, The Eyrie, 1892) It was not an uneventful period in charge however. In 1891 the Marlow Fire Brigade were amongst a number of crews that were invited to the Crystal Palace in London to put on a "Grand Review" before the German emperor. They were put through their drills and the Marlow gentlemen must have impressed the dignitaries present as John was the the brigade superintendent picked out to meet the Emperor and exchange a few polite words. He stepped down from command but remained as honourary surgeon to the brigade for the first few years of the new century under captains Smith and Page Dye. 

He also had a hands-on life saving role in a different way in 1891 when he leapt into the River Thames and saved the life of a young lad in danger of drowning. The youngster's boat had capsized near Shaw's boathouse and the boy could barely swim. So John threw off coat and hat and plunged in to the rescue in "the most plucky manner possible."

The Dickson's War Effort

During the First World War, the Dickson's eldest son Ian, also a doctor, recieved the Military Cross in the New Years Honours of 1918. He survived the war, and even managed to marry while on a short home leave from fighting near Salonika. (To Nell Parry Price January 1917) Ian had left for the Transvaal in 1912, for a projected stay of 3 years, before war intervened and he joined the RAMC. The Dickson's younger son John was not however so lucky and was killed while serving on HMS Hawke as a midshipman in 1917.  He was aged just 17. 

Emily was a leading member of the First World War War Relief Committee and she was in charge of their Victoria Road depot. This site did two important things. If a woman who had lost her employment because of the war, and could not get any of the limited relief otherwise on offer, she could apply to Emily to be given paid employment at the depot. This was needlework and produced items needed by the Red Cross such as clothing as well as items for hospitals and institutions. 

John meanwhile had retired from his own practice in 1914 (not from his other roles)  but this lasted little time as his successor was absent on war service so he resumed his role for a few more years. 

Shoddy housing and dodgy sanitation

John probably made the biggest difference in his work as the councils Medical Officer and Medical Officer for Schools. These were roles which he filled for a quarter of a century, only giving up a few months before his death. He work with people such as the Sanitary Inspector to hold landlords and householders to account when they had allowed their buildings to degenerate into an unhealthy state. Some of the housing in the region of Dean Street and Marefield, as well as Hayes Place were in a poor condition.  John did inspections and frequently found that the landlords had provided inadequate drainage, poor sanitary arrangements and badly built and leaking cess pits and wells. He recommended what measures needed to be taken to remedy the situation, such as stopping the well and ordering the property owner to supply a decent water supply. In 1910 he discovered how bad the situation had became at Hayes Place. He said the two inadequately sized privvie pitts shared by 5 of the homes there were ancient, and wrongly constructed. He considered them to be a danger to the inhabitants that needed immediate replacement. The cesspool had fallen in and leaked under the scullery floor of one house heavily polluting the soil. The privvies needed to be pulled down and the entire drainage system reconstructed. 

In this role he also inspected Marlow's common lodging houses (aka doss houses) to see if they were abiding by the requirements of various Public Health Acts. The frequent answer was no. One of his most alarming reports was probably relating to the Crown and Cushion in Dean Street. He said there was no screening between the beds of married couples, too few basins, inadequate toilets and that the yard and stables were not cleaned often enough to be in a sanitary condition. 

He was also the school medical officer for the Marlow district and as such sometimes had to order the closure of schools to contain outbreaks of infectious disease. He would visit the homes of those infected and in some cases see that they were disinfected properly. 

Hospital trouble

John was one of the doctors attending the original Cottage Hospital in Cambridge House. He performed operations in the small operating theatre there and treated dozens of people who would otherwise been unable to afford medical care. Emily Dickson was one of the "Lady Visitors" to the hospital who arrived to comfort the patients and do little things for them that did not require nursing practice. She also gave practical gifts of food and bedding to the institution. Emily was heavily involved in raising funds to maintain the hospital and so was a natural chair for the committee dedicated to raising funds for the new cottage hospital which would arrive in Glade Rd. In this role she clashed with former hospital subscriber and current committee member Edward Riley, the man who bought Riley Recreation park for the town. Edward did not want a new hospital to be built in case it would end up "put on the rates" rather than paid for by public donations as before. He also considered the Glade Road site "unsuited for a hospital." While his concerns about funding were shared by some others, and were not without foundation, Edward does not come across as the most easy to deal with individual when others disagreed with him! Emily was present when he complained "too many women" were on the building committee. He wrote letters to the press in response to private letters that Emily wrote to ask for his support in her work. These letters from Edward come across as condescending even if read in the most generous spirit!  John and the other medical staff were moved to write their own public letter threatening a wholesale resignation if progress was not made on providing a better hospital than the inconvenience of Cambridge House could provide. They were they said fully confident that the community would show enough support and "public spirit" to see the building of the new hospital through, despite "unreasonable objections" from those not currently subscribing to the hospital themselves. To read more about this, see the posts here and here. 

A post about Edward Riley is here

The Institute

John was a firm supporter of womens suffrage. He spoke in support of  women getting the vote during a public debate on the issue at the Institute - a motion he had advanced but one that was decisively defeated. He did however secure the rights of woman to join the Institute in their own right and to attend classes there, both the general ones and those intended for ladies in the first place. He himself taught ladies classes on first aid and home nursing at the Institute as well as offering lectures on subjects such as the blood circulation and the workings of the ear and eye to all.

It was John who was credited as the driving force behind securing Technical Education (adult education) classes for Marlow. They would also be held at the Institute for much of their history and John was the treasurer and hon sec for the TE group at various times. You can read more about the Institutes early life here

The Institute building is now the Library. It sits next to the Dickson's former house, which was built for him in the then new Institute Rd in 1893. 

Goodbye John

John resigned from his Council work 2 months before his death in 1923, as he had became suddenly unwell. The Wycombe rural district council deferred accepting his resignation in the hope he would recover. But his condition worsened and he passed away at The Gables in January 1923 age 69. 

The Dunbar Dicksons name crops up constantly in late Victorian and Edwardian Marlow history. It's hard to do justice to all the roles they filled in one post but here is a summary of some (and only some!) roles we have not already mentioned..

John was also:

 a JP sitting at the Marlow petty sessions court adjoining the police station in Trinity Road. 

Member of committee to organise the introduction of old age pensions locally.

Chair of meetings of the Pleasant Sunday Afternoons held at the Congregational Church as it was then known. (Others also took this role on by rotation) 

Committee member and subscriber to Marlow Institute (elected to board of trustees 1895) & Marlow Rowing Club. He was also a judge at the regatta at times. 

Helped to organise 1902 & 1911 Coronation celebrations

President of Reading and Upper Thames Branch of the BMA 1890

Supporter and main lecturer for the St John's Ambulance in Marlow. Insisted that classes should be free for those who could not pay.  Working women could attend free too. 

Treasurer of the Marlow branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 

Keen cricketer, who played in many charity matches and for the Institute Cricket team. 

Trustee of Oxford Rd Almshouses (from 1898) 

And Emily:

Was a committee member of the South Bucks School of Domestic Cookery. This held free cookery lessons at the Girls School in St Peters Street in the early 1890's. 

Fundraiser for the St Johns Ambulance, Diamond Jubilee and 1902  Coronation celebrations.

On the ladies commitee of Marlow Cottage Hospital 

Passed an examination in domestic hygiene in 1888, taken in London. I'm uncertain of the awarding body. Her certificate was present by the Duchess of Albany. 

Member of the South Bucks Woman's Liberal Association. 

Post written and researched by Kathryn Day

Other medical related posts

Patients treated at first Cottage Hospital under Dickson and Culhane here

Call the Apothecary here

Marlow Hero Nurse Cassidy here

Matron Mary Cole here

Benjamin Atkinson, surgeon here

Midwife Sarah Price here

The first Cottage Hospital and Provident Nursing Club here

More about the Cottage Hospital and the move to Glade Rd site  here 

Romantic troubles of Dr Culhane here

A full list can be found under the General History option of the top drop down menu. 

 To find all mentions of your ancestors here, see the A-Z person index in the same menu. 

Some sources: 

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1911. (Kelly's Directories Ltd)

London Gazette Part 3, vol 1, 1885, digitized by Google. 

Lancet, Vol 2. 1891, digitized by Google

South Bucks Standard 30 May 1890, 1 January 1892, 12 Jan 1894, 10 June 1904, 8 April 1910, 24 April & 3 July 1913 British Library Archives. 

Bucks Herald 18 July 1891, 20 January &  21 April 1923 as above. 

Henley and South Oxfordshire Standard 18 July 1891. 

Census 1881, 1891, 1901 - transcriptions from microfilm by Charlotte Day and Jane Pullinger. 

War Weekly January 1917

Slough Eton and Windsor Observer May 19 & December 1st 1888,  Slough library. 

Building News collected volumes, 1893. 

©Marlow Ancestors