General Sir George Higginson - the man and the myth

 General Sir George Higginson was one of Marlow's most famous residents of his day, with a long and distinguished military career with the Guards. Many in Victorian and Edwardian Marlow were obviously very proud of him and of course he lent his name to Higginson Park* as presented to the town on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 1926. However this post isn't about the man as a soldier. As such his career obviously took him far away from his childhood home. I was interested in the General as a Marlow resident, how he fitted into the life of the town. There are many stories and images conjured up that name and I wanted to separate something of the man and the myth. I've been told he was seen as: a venerated hero, an unpopular and cruel J.P who sent poor men to jail for minor offences, an eccentric who personally dug a canal, a distant figure who "did nothing for the town", "the man who sent Marlow boys to their death in the First world War"  and the generous stalwart of every institution going. I'm pleased to say I can clear George absolutely of those most negative charges! 

A local..or not?

As I mentioned above, Sir George's long military career meant he saw service in many foreign theatres of war. His various postings meant his time in Marlow was necessarily limited when he was on active service. His family home for decades was "Gyldernscroft" in Henley Rd, now sub divided. Previously it was known as The Croft, The Hall, and Townsend Cottage - Gyldernscroft was a revival of the older name for the place. Like many people of a similar comfortable background, Sir George's family long maintained a London home too, for example in Wilton Crescent. So even when in England, his residence in Marlow was not usually year round. Marlow thought of him as absolutely theirs but in reality those in his area of London probably would have claimed him too. And would have expected his trade and custom just as much as the Marlow ones - it was said later that he didn't support Marlow shops which caused resentment but without the family account books this is impossible to verify! The fact that local tradesmen were invited to celebrations of the wedding of his daughter Maud in 1889 suggests relations were reasonably cordial or that the General wished them to be. 

Gyldernscroft was sometimes let out for example for the river season and Sir George also spent time abroad for health and leisure reasons. For example the General and wife Florence spent several months in Italy in 1887 and in the south of France in early 1914.

 But the important thing is, while he was in town he threw himself into the life of the place. He was a J.P,  a member of every club and committee going and was one of those heading the list of just about all charity appeals. While it was a given that any owner of big house in town would get voted into positions such as vice president of social and sporting committees and events, some politely sent apologies for non attendance at meetings more often than not. Not Sir George, and not even when he was in his 90s did he slow down much. He wasn't just a member of the Literary Institute but gave lectures there when they struggled financially to find speakers. (Subject 1889 - heroism. It went down well). 

A friend to the little ones 

One aspect of Sir George which is not often recalled was his affinity with children. While the adults may have treated him with something like awe at times, Sir George recounted his pleasure when the youngsters came up to him in the street, took his hand and told him their news. Not quite the image we have of the stern war hero is it? He was especially devoted to the children of Bovingdon Green school, an area where he owned a lot of land. He provided a sorely needed extra room for the overcrowded village school in 1892 in memory of his mother. But he was also hands on there, serving the children personally at some of the special teas he provided them with. Others recalled that the General actively joined in with the children's games at parties - even in his 90s. 

Peril to poachers? 

Sir George was a J.P for decades. As such he saw a poaching related case at almost every session he attended. It was, like the theft of prickwood** one of the most popular Marlow activities. But after reading reports of quite literally hundreds of these kind of cases heard by Sir George at Marlow, I can say with confidence that a very small number of those accused of either went to prison on a first offence. Those that did had an been guilty in the eyes of the bench of an aggravating factor such as the use of particular violence against the game keeper or police when apprehended. What is more surprising is how those whose convictions ran comfortably into double figures managed to keep "getting away" with fines. That doesn't mean the game preservation laws were not heavily weighted towards the wants of landowners - of which the J.P's were to a man. Or that it was any less reprehensible to put  sporting pleasure above the physical needs for free food for the wretched. On the other hand some of those engaged in the "midnight art" were without questions doing so as a profitable business, rather than through abject necessity and they were capable of great brutality against those who got in their way. The issue of poaching in Marlow is a multi layered one with many shades of gray.  The J.Ps did not adjudicate on cases occuring on their own holdings although they inevitably sometimes did sit judgement on cases involving land occupied by their friends and neighbors. I think some of the confusion has been because Sir George's namesake father and other relatives were J.P's in an era when the punishments were harsher still. I believe the magistrates avoided setting jail sentences because while the convicted persons families could not claim parish relief while they were behind bars, if the convicted person lost a job or fell behind on rent later as a result then the family could potentially qualify for support. And there there was the expense of keeping them in prison and transporting them there and back. And for felonies, the Marlow bench including Sir George didn't get to decide the sentence anyway - the case went to the Quarter Sessions. If they had sent every poacher to jail on first arrest, it feels like half of Marlow's less well off population would have been behind bars at any one time! 

There was one way you could get sent immediately to jail on a first poaching conviction, and that was to fail to pay the inevitable fine. Poorer people could ask for time to pay and nearly always got it, unless they had an extra long list of convictions or had cheeked the police. This was usually 7 or 14 days. Almost all cases I looked at saw those convicted pay immediately or within the allowed time. We can only guess at the struggles they had to raise those sums. 

 Once he (semi) retired to Marlow, Sir George was one of the most present J.Ps at the Marlow sessions.  

As for other types of case, Sir George was often generous by the standards of the time in his decisions especially during the First World War years. For example in 1914 he adjourned a case of using indecent language against Emily Carter of Trinity Rd indefinitely so that she may have every chance to "reform her character". It wasn't her first offence and she had unpaid court fines. As such she could have been sent to jail and certainly could have got a hefty fine. He accepted that she became - in others words - a "terror" when in drink but also that she had three serving sons, and a hardworking husband. 

Canals and gondoliers

The "General's Canal" from Gyldernscroft to the Thames opposite Bisham church was said to be dug by the man himself, with just one helper. It would have been hard work for whoever did it,  especially where the willow trees roots spread. Was he hands on with the shovels? I have no evidence to the contrary! 

The motivation was to provide easy access to the river. Sir George in 1899 had just purchased a genuine Venetian gondola for use on Thames. It was said at the time that "Sir George and Lady Higginson are frequently to be seen on it in the Marlow district, propelled by a gondolier from Vienna". 

Above, floral art in Higginson Park to mark the park centennial. 

War recruiter

Sir George was as the most well known military man in the district the obvious person to address the first public recruitment meetings for soldiers in the First World War. No doubt his stirring words helped to persuade many to join up. But everyone was singing the same tune. If Sir George had not addressed this and other meetings, others would have done so. In 1915 he expressed the feeling that many of those who had gone overseas "were far too young". Accepting the need for as many as possible to enlist did not mean he was immune from sorrow at the results. Later the retired military officer would recall the gradual "thinning out" of the Marlow youth and the haunting sight of window blind after window blind drawn down as you walked around the town. (To indicate a house in mourning.)

Sir George disliked the term "Tommy" for a British soldier as he considered it lacking in respect and dignity for those doing the donkey work of war. 

He obviously believed in the capacity of military service to straighten out those before him as a J.P. In 1915 he recognised a prolific ex offender invalided back from the front as a spectator at the back of court, in uniform. He called the soldier forward to praise the man's smart appearance and the "new leaf" he'd turned over. Sir George went as far as to now call the soldier "a credit to his country" and to say he had every confidence he'd remain so. At the time the view that the petty criminal was born and effectively irredeemable was still expressed not infrequently.

In conclusion, if I met Sir George Higginson walking the streets of Marlow, would I have wanted to stop and shake his hand like the little Marlovians of the past? Actually I would, not least to ask if he'd like to come and dig my garden..

Above, the memorial marking at All Saints Church, the burial of various Higginson family members including our subject, his father and mother, his brother Charles and sister Frances, plus his relative by marriage the historian Rev Thomas Langley. 

NB - I've deliberately kept mention of wife Lady Higginson  to a minimum in this post because she will have eventually a post of her own. We do not like to treat the old time female Marlovians only in terms of whose wife they were  - as happened far too often in the past! 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

*Story of the foundation of Higginson Park here

George's interesting relative and Jewish convert Martha Higginson nee Isaacs, artist here

**More about the prickwood "thefts" to support the early Victorian skewer making industry here

To find all mentions on the blog of the Higginson family or any other use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

The general Marlow history index includes links to more detailed posts about World War One in Marlow and to other military subjects here

Sources include: 

Vanity Fair, vol 22, 1879.

Hart's Annual Army List vol 9,  Henry George Hart (1884)

Journal of the Household Brigade, Ed. I E A Dolby, (W Clowes & Sons, 1877)

Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica (Hamilton, Adams and Courtenay 1892) 

Country Life, 26th June 1926

Bucks Herald - July 9th 1926

Bucks Free Press - 13th Feb &  25th September 1914, 26th Feb & 6th August 1915, 30th July 1920

Slough, Windsor and Eton Observer 2nd June 1906

Bucks Standard 9th September 1899

South Bucks Standard 28th October 1892. 

Seventy one years of a  Guardsmen's life, General Sir George Higginson 1916. 

© MarlowAncestors 

Bowers and bandstands - Higginson Park as it might have been

This post is going to be a guide to Higginson park as it might have been and once was. The projects that were planned and proposed but never happened - from romantic bowers to lidos and bandstands.  I will mention a few things that the beautiful park has lost such as the small ornamental lake and the children's sandpit. And I will cover some of the less expected history of the park - such as the desire by some not to buy it at all! I'm going to focus on the 1920s -1940s - the first 20 years of the public park's existence. So first some background..

General Higginson gives his name - and some cash 

Higginson park is about to celebrate its 100th birthday as a public park. It was formerly part of the garden and  grounds attached to Court Garden house.  Perhaps it's age is why many people have forgotten why it bears the General's name. I've often been told it was because Higginson lived at Court Garden or bought it and  donated it to the town directly. Neither is true. Higginson did come to own part of the Court Garden estate (purchased in a previous estate sale) but he never lived at the house. His home was Gyldernscroft, on the Henley Road. When it was the General's 100th birthday in 1926, it was decided to mark the occasion by raising a subscription fund to purchase at least part of the Court Garden Estate which was for sale. This would be named Higginson park. If the General had not celebrated a significant birthday that year, the park may still have been purchased as there had been agitation to provide a facility like this for years.  The idea of purchasing part of the grounds for the town and that of doing something to mark the Generals centenary were not immediately linked. Boys school headmaster and town councillor Victor Kibblewhite appears to have been the first person to publicly voice the idea of joining up the two schemes - he did not suggest naming the park after Higginson but thought some kind of memorial to him could be placed there. 

The disused lodge. 

The Higginson link certainly gave an impetus for non local people in particular to make donations in honour of the General. Given the public call for subscriptions this obviously wasn't a surprise "gift" for Sir George, who himself donated money to the park purchase fund. This included £300 gathered by well-wishers and presented to him at one of his hundredth birthday celebrations, this one hosted on the lawns of Harleyford Manor. More birthday money came to the fund from Higginson later. 

Credit should also be given to the family of the last private owners of the estate - the family of Robert Griffin who died in 1921. He lived at the house for a long time. The estate was first offered for sale in 1923 but the reserve price was not reached. While the estate remained open to purchase by private treaty, the surviving Griffin family allowed the use of the gardens for various charity and public events. My favourite of these was the 1925 August bank holiday extravaganza complete with a "motor rodeo" involving both motor cycles and cars in somewhat odd gymkhana like competitions. Motor cycle football match anyone? 

In 1926 Court Garden was again offered for sale. By this time the General Higginson Centenary Birthday fund had decided to go for the estate purchase for use as a public park. Griffin's children offered to accept  what was regarded by some as a low price for the whole in addition to making substantial donations to the purchase fund but agreement could not be made due to wide divergence in the respective parties valuations. The Griffin children still paid a four figured sum into the fund! The park purchase committee managed to buy some of the estate at the sale in May 1926 and to reach agreement to buy further lots including the house itself, by private treaty afterwards.  What they didn't actually have was the funds to pay for most of it - the overdraft used to pay was guaranteed by generous locals including Frederick Cathcart of Three Gables* and ex Borlase head the Rev Canon Michael Graves.  A minor part of the estate office Pound Lane was sold to others at the original auction. Some strips of land were offloaded by the park purchasers later - including a piece adjacent to the riverside Sunnybank to Margaret Walton (who had recently renamed it Dunstable House after her previous residence in Quarry Woods). She would prove a troublesome neighbour - more of which in another post. 

 

Do we even want it? 

It's fair to say selling the idea of buying the park and garden was an easier sell to many than the idea of buying Court Garden House itself. Just what will we do with it was the cry. The fear was always that the cost of the maintenance would "fall on the rates" - that is it would be paid for out of local taxation. The house was a separate lot and so in theory they could have left it or possibly sold it on. Canon Graves - who headed purchase efforts - said in 1933 the committee formed to buy the park didn't really want the house but they did want a piece that went with it and so found that to have one they had to have the other. However at the time of purchase General Higginson had expressed the wish the estate should remain whole and it would have been difficult perhaps to ignore that. 

 Cllr George Sawyer said he couldn't see the house was either wanted or needed by the town and that it didn't seem the purchasers had any plan for it. But cllr Rev G H Jones disagreed - he said to lose Court Garden would be to "rip the heart" out of the estate. One idea was that Court Garden could be developed by a private company with a club below and flats above. Others thought the house should just be off loaded as the proceeds could pay off the debt on the remainder of the estate. But at a meeting of park purchase subscribers, townsman W J Morgan pointed out that they would probably not be able to sell the house unless they included some of the park with it - probably the part of the estate he thought was finest, the lawns sweeping down to the river. Garage proprietor Cyril Drye of the High Street was another who thought that keeping Court Garden house would be a mistake. He called it a "white elephant". He supported the idea of selling it and using the funds to improve the drainage in Marlow. What was the point of having a park that would in theory attract visitors to the town if they found the streets "reeking of sewage" from overflowing cesspools Cyril said. To put this in context, Marlow council had to raise an additional rate in 1928 because before six months had passed they had spent double their budgeted expenditure for the entire year. Primarily this was due to costs involved with dealing with outbreaks of infectious disease especially diphtheria. This was linked to the lack of mains drainage in the town. So it's not surprising the most popular alternative suggestion for spending any spare cash the council could put their hands on was a drainage scheme. 

An anonymous letter to a newspaper in April 1927  felt the purchase of the park as a whole was simply unnecessary. The writer said the town was surrounded by lovely countryside and already had a little used facility in the Riley Recreation Ground. The council also received complaints from people who believed their rents would go up  - as the town with a fine park would be viewed as a more desirable place to live I presume. They admitted that there was a view that the town didn't really want to take on the whole park and the house. The letters were coming to the council because although the park was entirely in the hands of the trustees at this point, their representative Canon Graves said that they were "anxious" to hand the lot to the Council to manage as soon as possible. Mr Cathcart generously  offered to eliminate the remaining debt on the estate if the council agreed to take it on sooner rather than later.  Even so, some councillors were adamant the MUDC should not so. The terms under which they would receive the park had not been thrashed out absolutely so it's understandable there would be reluctance to take a leap in the dark financially speaking. Although some thought Court Garden would be a weight around the council's neck, other members of the council thought that they should only take on the park if they were also given the house. This is because they considered that they would need to let it out on a repairing lease in order to make the park sustainable financially. If the house was retained by the trustees or too many conditions were placed on its use, the park could not pay for itself. As the council did not agree to take on the house promptly, Cathcart withdrew his offer of funds and resigned from the park purchase committee. 

The issue of accepting some or all of the estate for the town became a feature in the Marlow Urban District Council elections of spring  1927 which saw a record turn out. The two candidates who had most publicly supported the purchase of the park - Frederic Rowe and L J Smith (hon sec to the purchase committee) suffered a decline in support although they were re-elected. In a letter to the local press Smith said "It is plain that Mr Rowe and I got very little support from the working man and women of Marlow for whom and for whose children the efforts to obtain the Park were mainly made.." The paper itself agreed - "From the final figures it would seem that either the supporters of Higginson Park did not trouble to record their votes or the park question is not a popular one with the majority of voters." 

In the end a Higginson Park Society was formed to manage the house, and the portion immediately in front of the verandah. It was a "limited liability company without capital" holding the land in trust for the town. In 1928 they also took on the former kitchen garden to develop into sporting facilities. The Marlow Urban District Council would look after the rest. I'm not going to detail all the reasons for the division and and the ins and outs of who would do what. The main point is that the society was created because it was decided the park could only be made to pay for itself if part of it could be closed off and hired out on occasion. It was believed that they could not legally charge admission to or regularly shut off  a public park ran by the council. So in order to have an area sometimes closed off to the public and one to which those organising fetes etc could charge an entrance fee, it was necessary for some of the park to legally remain in the hands of someone else - the Society. 

Princess Mary's Bower 

 

When the park was officially handed over to the town in a ceremony at Court Garden, the purchase price had not been raised but no one let that small detail get in the way of an all out celebration. Special busses ran to Marlow from High Wycombe and cheap fares were offered to the town from as far away as London. The title deeds were ceremonially handed to General Sir George who accepted them on behalf of the town. Entrance to the park wasn't free on the day - it was 1s 6d to get into the grounds, with 5s extra for a coveted seat in the enclosure with a view of the Princess. The park hadn't been laid out properly as there simply wasn't time. In his speech the General light heartedly offered his ideas as to what features the finished park could have. He thought one part should be called Princess Mary's Bower and another nook should be set aside and named the "old generals retreat". That didn't happen.  When a large scale chopping down of trees happened in the park in 1929, Mr Cathcart recalled that some were those that General Higginson had specifically wanted to form his retreat and bower. The house was at this juncture empty so local house furnishers and auctioneers donated items of furniture so the royal party would at least have something to sit on! 

At this point the public were not actually free to roam about but "special arrangements" were made to let them in for a few hours on a Sunday until whatever works the authorities eventually decided to do were completed. Canon Graves explained that until the park has been paid off, it could not be handed over to the council for full public use and therefore it was until that point arrived a private park still. This statement of facts was not as you can imagine universally welcomed. If the purchase committee had more money, Canon Graves said they could afford a park attendant to supervise the public but until then, their access had to be limited to avoid "damage". (If Canon Graves seems a little untrusting, it has to be remembered that the Frohman memorial had been subject to almost constant vandalism since the moment it was installed on the nearby Causeway and the council's benches along the towpath had been repeatedly smashed to pieces!) A collection box would be put at the park entrance during the limited open hours as a gentle reminder about the financial position. 

In August 1926 the park hosted its first big event since the hand-over. A fundraising fete to help the park purchase fund attracted an incredible 5000 visitors. Some thought that never such a large crowd had been seen at a Marlow event. The fete included a carnival parade, baby show, maypole dancing, a horticultural show, boxing, Morris dancing, "rustic sports"  and the usual sideshows. Something for everyone! But in November that year, the purchase price had still not been paid off. Some land had been sold off from the estate for financial reasons but General Higginson expressed the wish that no more would be. He did not like the idea of developing Court Garden partially into flats either. 

The park debt was finally wiped out in the summer of 1927 when various outbuildings in the stable yard and a strip of land fronting Pound Lane (which had originally been reserved for a car park to be developed by the Marlow Urban District Council) were sold to garage proprietor George Currall. Although the land concerned is part of the modern Pound Lane car park, it's use as a parking place was not continuous. George Currall generously undertook to provide free of charge  parking facilities for cars and charabancs on part of the site but this would be later the subject of a long dispute and permission was withdrawn in 1939. After many permutations, it was purchased by the council for parking at a later period. 

The park in a sorry state

Those responsible for the heroic effort of raising a lot of money in a short time had to act fast with the purchase. Once it was secured, they needed more money to actually develop the park, and this was not as easily obtained. It seems the council did not have much money to care for their portion in the difficult 1920s. In 1928 a reporter visiting on a pleasant sunny Whitsun Sunday was surprised to find the park virtually empty of visitors and in a "sadly neglected" condition.  Even the entrance gates to the tow path hung broken.  The estate had also suffered repeated vandalism. The first prosecutions related to this came in 1928 when three Marlow youths were found to have stolen some croquet mallets and used them to damage the iron verandah of Court Garden. Their excuse? They were using the mallets to smash conkers and the ironwork just got in the way! 

The horses still used by the council in their work were allowed to graze in the locked park at night to help keep the grass in trim. 

The house itself was also neglected. The council had first agreed to use part of it as their offices in 1931 but they did not act on this resolution straight away. It was hoped to develop the rest into a "public room" and a museum - both of which did materialise although not immediately. But a reporter touring the house in 1933 was absolutely shocked at its condition. He could not believe it's interior could have deteriorated so much in just the 7 years since it was sold to the trustees. He said it had been left virtually derelict the whole time. One of the ceilings upstairs had fallen in, the wall paper was hanging from the walls, and one of the fireplaces was cracked. The Higginson Park Society said they just didn't have the money to look after it. They'd managed to hire it out for some events such as whist drives but a lack of modern heating and lighting limited this income. The national newspapers were apparently bemoaning the lost opportunity to provide a fitting legacy to General Higginson - it was pointed out the councils portion of the park didn't even have any benches. 

Canon Graves offered a solution - he would advance the money for the renovation and redecorating of the house if the council agreed to take the whole building over. They would only have to pay interest on this during his life, and any remaining debt would be cancelled on his death. (Canon Graves died in 1934, apparently before even the first payment back to him had been made.) This was agreed and the Higginson Park Society decided to grant the council a 99 year lease for the house. The council took financial responsibility for the whole estate in 1937 when the Society was in financial straights, and then full control of all parts in 1955 for the same reason. 

Additions that never materialised

In 1928 Bucks County Council were considering one of a myriad of schemes to potentially replace or improve Marlow bridge. They proposed buying a portion of the park near the drive to the river side Dunstable House to make a wider and more impressive entrance to the town and the potential new bridge.  Canon Graves, who was a town councillor, suggested if the county council was going to poach some land, why not make them also set back the existing wall of the park bordering the causeway by 12ft and make a wonderful spacious approach to the river. The new boundary wall could have seats set in it and one of the arches from the demolished suspension bridge could be saved and put up in the park. A highly fashionable rock garden could sit below.  The new bridge was not of course built and so the park was not cut up. The council favoured lowering the high solid brick wall anyway because it was regarded as blocking views both into and out of the park. But lack of funds meant this was a non starter until 1933/4 when the current lay out of mixed brickwork and iron railings was adopted. At this time unemployment was high in Marlow and a subscription funded Unemployment Relief Committee had been formed. Money raised was used for direct aid to the needy but also to subsidise works that would provide employment but which might not get off the ground without some financial incentives. The Marlow unemployed did the wall reconstruction under this scheme, made the bank up against it and also raised the level of the regatta enclosure. This area of the park  bordering the Causeway was then forming the appearance it now has - although the railings are no longer painted green and black. 

Lidos were a popular feature in the 1930s and numerous plans and schemes were afoot to provide one in Marlow. It was felt Marlow was no longer attracting as many tourist as it formerly did, partly because it did not have enough alternative attractions to the river compared to other towns. A lido would draw people in they thought. Serious plans were prepared for two possible sites in 1932 - one in Higginson park near the old boat house (near the first little bridge you pass over on the towpath on the way towards Henley) and another spot in a meadow close by. A tea garden would accompany that.  The council hoped to take advantage of grants from schemes to ease high unemployment but they were told lidos did not qualify. The idea surfaced repeatedly in the future but Marlow never got a lido. (We did have an existing bathing place though. See link below.) 

A bandstand was a popular requested feature, not least by Marlow Town Band. The council always met these requests with the same answer - no money but if the band wanted to raise the money themselves they would let them put one up. As the band often struggled to raise funds for new uniforms or instruments, this scale of fundraising just wasn't possible for them. The council did allow them to play in the park on a Sunday afternoon on a regular basis.  

Other non starting projects include a proposed bronze second world war memorial, and some kind of ornament to mark the 1935 royal silver jubilee. 

Perhaps the most forgotten would be used of the park land was as a home for Marlow Football Club. In 1925 the committee of the Alfred Davis Memorial Fund, looking for a site for a football ground and general sports facility, had viewed Court Garden with a view to purchase a portion, with or without the house. They unanimously decided that it was "not suitable for a sports club" and chose instead the current site at Star Meadow as it was then known. 

The Guards Memorial Gates 

There was once a plan to have an elaborate set of gates at the entrance from Pound Lane facing Station Rd, which would act as a memorial to General Higginson - other than the rest of the entire park obviously! That entrance did get iron gates but whether they bore a commemorative inscription is uncertain. These have a somewhat confused history overall. It seems the Grenadier Guards had expressed a wish to provide a memento of their esteem for their General. They had presented him with £120 on the occasion of his 100th birthday, a sum which was included in the money handed by the General to the park purchase fund. This £120 had strings attached though - it was to be used for the specific purpose of some kind of commemoration of the gift.  In 1927 it was fixed that the main entrance to the park would be that in the corner mentioned above. At the same time it was stated by the Marlow Urban District Council that the "Guards Memorial Gate" would be positioned there so that is presumably the form of the gift commemoration decided upon.  They would be fashioned in either wood or ironwork said the Bucks Free Press. Reports of Marlow Urban District Council meetings in December 1928 mention that the proposed gates would bear the inscription "These gates were presented to General Sir George W A Higginson, G C B, GG.C.V.O by members of the First Guards Club on his attaining the age of 100". It seems as mentioned above that a sum to purchase the gates (or some other monument) was actually what was presented on that occasion so it's possible the potential inscription is misreported. If a set of gates were actually given to the General then in expectation of being erected in Higginson Park, they had not been erected yet. The uncertainty of the future of the wall to which they would be partially attached because of the bridge rebuild scheme mentioned above was cited as a reason for delay. Later that month the Bucks Free Press reported that Mr Cathcart was submitting to the council a design for entrance gates which were to form a Guards Memorial at the park, along with ornamental  shields and a proposed inscription. In January 1929 no ornamental  gates were yet present but a tender from Marlow builders Lovells was accepted for putting them up.  The newspapers were referring to it  as the "Guards Memorial Gate", and noted that "the Guards" would fit most of the bill for erection. They also said that it was intended as a memorial to Higginson (and no mention of it also commemorating the Guards gift of money.) Canon Graves hoped a member of the Life Guards could be invited to formerly unveil them. I have not been able to find any positive evidence that any official opening ceremony occured.  

In May 1929 Lovells was asking for their money, so presumably the gates were in place - the council replied they would pay them once they had received promised cash from the "Guards Memorial Fund". Rev G H Jones was disappointed with the gates as he expected them to be "much more impressive". If the gates were up, they were apparently minus an inscription which seems odd.  Mr Cathcart had again forwarded plans to the council for the design of the dedication  but I don't know what he wished this latest version to say. The council seems to have got fed up with the issue. They thought that Cathcart had previously agreed to foot the cost of the inscription plates - is this in addition to one from the Guards? Now Cathcart had apparently said the council could have the designs as he had "no use" for them. To which one councillor retorted "neither do we" and the matter was made to "lie on the table". So did they hold any inscription at all in the end? I think part of the problem may have been a dispute Cathcart had with the council and the Higginson Park Society relating to their lopping down of what he regarded as "magnificent" trees. It seems their relations were too low at this point to co-operate on the gates scheme. It's a shame as Cathcart was generous in his gifts to the park. These included 12 seats and various trees. He'd also offered to pay for the smaller pedestrian gate leading from the Causeway. This was to be a lych gate  - but I have now confirmed that it was definitely not constructed. (The lych gate was itself a replacement for a different project Cathcart had offered to fund but which was rejected by the council - a pair of pavilions for the use of bathers in the Thames. The lych gate may also have been intended to bear some kind of plaque. When the council were slow to approve the lych gate, Cathcart offered to pay for some benches instead and this was ag last a project that happened.) In 1932 the council surveyor was asked to prepare a plan for positioning a wrought iron archway over the main entrance gates with no mention being made of a Guards Memorial, but this was another project shelved on cost grounds. 

Features that have disappeared 

The small disused ornamental lake that was part of the Court Garden pleasure grounds when it was private hands was filled in 1930, partly to save the cost of maintenance. It appears to have been in the north east corner. 

Another feature of the early park was a lot more trees than now. The council and the Higginson Park Society "wrought devastation" by cutting numerous ones down in the first few years of the parks life. They said it was necessary on maintenance or safety grounds. Many disagreed, lawyers were instructed on both sides, but nothing could bring back the trees. Marlow Museum's first curator Francis Colmer in 1934 described this loss as "a wanton act of destruction of public property" and "little less than sheer vandalism". Those lost included an avenue of elms leading to the house from the river according to Francis. In the furore that ensued, cllr W Harvey, who shouldered most of the blame, said he wished Court Garden was consigned to a bottomless pit. A letter in the local press said many locals agreed with him! A number of towns people donated trees as well as flowering shrubs to the park, many of which have in turn been removed. 

Here's a list of a few other vanished features of the 20s and 30s - 

- the original Boat House of Court Garden (gone by 1945)

- the second putting green (yes, they had two. Putting tournaments were monthly and a big thing locally)

- shell fish sellers on regatta day (banned 1934 due to the stench of the vast no of discarded shells by regatta goers!) 

- the park attendant. 

- the sandpit (provided 1933)

Above, 1931 advert for the sporting facilities offered by the Higginson Park Association - minimum subscription 5s a year. 

Everyone welcome ...or are they? 

In 1929 the council had still not settled on the final draft of bye laws that would apply to their part of the park. The Rev G H Jones said this was urgently needed because at the moment it was being used as "some kind of playground" by children. And to our Rev this was would be just the start - "excesses of various sorts were likely to occur there unless some sort of control was in place". At the moment he says the public has full access to the property and he hoped this would be "remedied" by the summer. A month later he was asking for the gates to be locked an hour after sunset as the park was becoming like Hyde Park with "all sorts of undesirable things going on" after dusk! 

 

Later that year it was decided to lop lower branches from various trees in order to stop children climbing them. On the plus side consideration was given to providing some "amusements" for children in 1932. Shortly after a children's playground appeared with swings and a roundabout. These were sited slightly nearer to Pound Lane than now but were moved as residents there complained about noise. It's hard to think the distance involved in the move would have made much difference noise abatement wise. In 1939 a grant was made by the National Playing Fields Association to provide further play equipment. The park attendant was asked to keep over 14s from using the play park.  He was also asked to keep an eye out for children playing with cricket balls (banned 1934), cyclists (40s fine also in 1934), or horse riders. He complained in 1944 that the removal of the fencing around the park as part of a war metal collecting drive meant his life was getting very difficult. He just could not stop cyclists getting in because the temporary replacements were not tall or substantial enough. 

One final undesirable group of park users. The council agreed in 1929 not to allow political meetings in the park partly because as as Rev Jones said "we could get communists" meeting there. 

A pleasant retreat 

General Higginson expressed the hope that those using the park could rest and forget all "the troubles and annoyances of every day life." He may not have got a part of the park named as the generals retreat but I think most of us will agree that this part of his dream was fulfilled. 

A last word of credit to Mr Vivian A Simmon of Stoneyware, Bisham. He purchased the water meadows that formed lot 12 and half of lot 11 from the park purchase fund committee in 1926 when they were in financial need. However he immediately dedicated to public use the river frontage of those lots as well as a strip of land already within his ownership. This secured public access to the riverside walk from Higginson park to the General's Canal (opposite Bisham church). He also pledged not to build on his purchased land or allow his successors to do so. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related posts: 

* Three Gables in Mill Rd was previously known as Thames Lawn - and is not the Thames Lawn that currently bears that name. For more on this house see here

Biography of Frederick Cathcart here

Other posts relating to Court Garden in its pre park days can be found in the index here

The many lives of Riley Recreation Ground - here

The bathing place - here

Index of general posts about Marlow history here

To find info about a specific person use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu 

© Kathryn Day 

Sources include:

Bucks Herald 31st December 1921, 16th April & 22 May 1926, 18th Jan 1929, 28th April 1933 

Supplement to Country life May 19th 1923

Slough Eton and Windsor Observer - June 25th & 24th September 1926

Advert and programme for the opening ceremony, 1926. 

Bucks Free Press 24th July 1925,  16th April, 15th May, 19th July, 6th August  1926, 28th January, 4th March, 8th April  & 7th October 1927, 10th February 1928, 11th January & 8th November 1929, 9th October 1930, 6th December 1932, 17th March & 12th May 1933, 6th July & 17th August 1934 

Bucks Examiner 26th July 1926 

Bucks Advertiser & Aylesbury News 10th July 1926 

Marlow Urban District council reports  August & October 1927, Feb 1928, May 1929, October 1930 

Marlow official town guide 1931 & 1969 editions. 

Saffron Warden Weekly News 21st May 1926.

Advertising poster, Bucks County Motor Club  motor rodeo, 1925 

Martha Higginson - Portrait Painter

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Martha Higginson was an artist and one of the matriarchs of the Higginson family of Marlow prior to her death and burial in the town in 1840 at what must have been a very advanced age. Martha was the grandmother of the George after whom Higginson Park in Marlow is named. She lived most of her life away from the town but we're still going to claim her as a Marlovian as she was an interesting woman indeed!

Martha was born Martha Isaacs (on occasion given as Isaacson) into a Jewish family of London. The date usually given for this - 1755 -  is an impossibility given that her first known commission as an artist was only ten years later than that and she was exhibiting consistently from 1771. If she was born in 1755 she would be only 16 at the time of such an exhibition. 

It is usually presumed she was the daughter of the embroiderer Levi Isaacs of the Drury Lane area of London but contemporary sources only stated that she could be found by potential clients at the house of a "Mr Isaacs" off Drury Lane, no first name given, and Martha's relationship to him is not specified. It could be that he was her grandfather, cousin, brother or uncle. 

Lawyer and diarist William Hickey knew her family well and it may be that the "Miss Isaacs" who was part of his party attending the coronation of George 3rd in 1761 was a young Martha.  Perhaps more likely is that it was a relative of hers as the lady referred to in Hickey's journal was said to be from Ireland.

Martha is known to have been a pupil at the Covent Garden Academy drawing school operated by Thomas Burgess. In 1765 Martha was commissioned to paint a portrait of the Chief Rabbi which was an enormous honour and for a woman an unprecedented one.

Between 1771 and 1774 she exhibited works in London with the Free Society Of Artists. The next few years are a bit of a mystery in Martha's life but in 1778 she arrived in Calcutta and began working as a portrait painter and miniaturist. To go abroad alone as a woman would have been very unusual so it is likely she went to stay with friends or family. William Hickey noted her arrival in his journal but does not appear to have been acting as any kind of protector or guide for her. Good job really as William was a bit of a ne'er do well who had embezzled a great deal of money from his father's company and been sent abroad in disgrace. Martha painted a portrait of William to send home to his sister who was missing him.

Martha soon met her husband Alexander Higginson who was in British colonial service and they married the next year. To do so Martha converted to Christianity a few days before her wedding. The couple remained in Bengal for just a few years, returning to England in 1782 when Alexander was about 45 and Martha likely in her later 30s.

Alexander died aged just 49 leaving Martha to a very long widowhood. Alexander's great wealth are said to have been much diminished by then thanks to unlucky investments but Martha died a very wealthy woman so perhaps things weren't so bad or she was a better investor than her husband had been! What she was not doing however was working as an artist as, following convention, she ceased employment upon marriage. That is not to say that she stopped practising art for pleasure however. 

 By 1798 and till at least 1807 she was resident in the family home at 35 Harley Street London. From 1809 to 1817 Martha lived at 42 Weymouth Street London. Then at some point before 1819 the Higginson home in London switched to 46 Wimpole Street and Martha lived there.

All the Higginsons were active in charity matters and Martha was a particular supporter of the Children's Friends Society.

Family interest in the Indian subcontinent remained as can be witnessed by her son Charles, who lived with his mother, subscribing to a history of Hindustan for instance.

Martha died at the Higginson family's Marlow home Townsend Cottage [Gyldernscroft] on 9th August 1840. Don't be mislaid by the word 'cottage' - this was no small house. In her will she left one of sons a ring with a lock of her husband's hair inside and Alexander's initials spelt out upon it in "brilliants", amongst other jewelry.

Related posts:

General Sir George Higginson the man and the myth - here

More Biographies of Marlow Individuals here. 

A post on historic Marlow artists here

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Sources:

http://www.pastellists.com/Articles/ISAACS.pdf

Bengal, Past & Present: Journal of the Calcutta Historical Society. (1933). India: The Society.

Will of Martha Higginson. P. C. C. At National Archives, Kew. Transcribed by me.

The Gentleman's Magazine. (1840). United Kingdom: E. Cave.

Jewish Art and Civilization Geoffrey Wigoder . Chartwell books 1972.

Dictionary of British Miniature Painters by Daphne Foskett. Praeger Publishers New York 1972.

Boyles Court and Country Guide. 1817. Via Google Books.

Sun Fire Office insurance records, London Metropolitan Archives.

The Wretched - Poverty in Victorian & Edwardian Marlow

 When we walk around the older streets in Marlow, with their comfortable Victorian villas, pretty Edwardian terraces and spacious Georgian homes, we might feel that Marlow was a pleasant and comfortable place to live for our Marlow predecessors. And for many, that's exactly what it was. But there has always been two sides to the story, and it is sometimes hard to appreciate just how grindingly poor and badly housed some of Marlow's workers actually were. The scenes of the worst of this, from the "abominable slum" St Peters Court, off St. Peters Street, the old homes of the miserably unsanitary Hayes Place, and the densely crowded areas around Dean Street have been demolished and removed almost as thoroughly from the collective memory. In our posts we hope to make sure that the lives of the poorer members of our town also get remembered. The story of St. Peters Court, the cholera outbreaks there, and Hayes Place have been covered by us before and the posts are linked to below. This entry covers a few aspects of life for the less well off in the Victorian and Edwardian era in Great Marlow. 

Wretched homes in wretched streets

In an 1847 guide to the Thames and the town's and villages nearby, the author said that Marlow still had a "very poor reputation". The homes about the "meaner streets" had a "wretched, poverty stricken aspect" where there were more evident signs "of vice forcing themselves on the attention than is at all common in country times of the same size and class." The streets he meant were almost certainly Dean Street and those around such as Gun Lane, Providence Place and the like. These were centres of the poaching and wood stealing industries, and had a good share of beer sellers. (Spittal/Chapel Street, West Street, Church Passage/lower St Peters Street and Quoiting Square could boast more beer sellers in concentration however at this point.)  Although the beer houses were criticized for harbouring criminals and driving poverty through the purchase of alcohol, they also had a role in relieving it. Apart from often providing affordable accomodation, they also organised the slate clubs. (See below). 

So just how bad were these less than appealing homes of the poor? As an example of just how terrible conditions could be, we will look at 5 houses in Dean Street condemned as unfit for human habitation in 1875. These 5 one bedroom cottages were adjoining one another, and all belonged to James Meakes. It was discovered that 4-7 people were living in each of these tiny residences. The roof of one has partially fallen in, and that of the others was not watertight. And neither were the exterior walls which all had holes in. They shared a tumbled down privy which had an incredibly offensive odour. Further more, water came in under the doors both front and back when it rained. James Meakes eventually made the cottages in a livable condition, but only after ignoring two notices to improve them and subsequently recieving an order that they must be closed up and no longer let to anyone. 

A glimmer of hope

A poorly maintained house with questionable sanitation and iffy drinking water wells may be bad enough, but a short period of illness and unemployment could make even these unaffordable. One way of providing a buffer against these type of events was to join either one of these slate clubs, or a friendly or benefit society. These varied slightly in terms, but generally the point was to pay in a regular weekly or monthly sum in exchange for claiming a payout in the event of a accident etc. Any unclaimed money paid in was usually shared out by the slate clubs at the end of the year amongst the fully paid up members. In 1839, the Royal Standard Benefit Society was started at the Clayton Arms in Quoiting Square. The monthly subscription was 2s6d. It was a large national organisation. If a member was sick, and unable to work a weekly sum was given to them to meet expenses. If they died, the bereaved family recieved £20 or £10 if the deceased was the spouse of the member. The lying in of a members wife (that is the period around her giving birth) resulted in a £2 payment. A loss of household property from fire, imprisonment for debt, and an order to go to the workhouse were also covered. The conditions of joining this society with its superior benefits were unsurprisingly stiff. You could only join for the first time if you were under 35 years old (although you could remain a member until 45) and you needed a minimum income of 24 shillings a week. In addition, your character must bear the strictest investigation! 

The Clayton Arms still had a slate club at the end of the Victorian period but it was now run independently. (The last version was re-started in 1892) Unlike many clubs, this later club had no upper age limit for its members. It also had secured the huge benefit of offering subsidised medical attention to it's members for an additional payment of 1s a quarter. (Courtesy of Dr Culhane). By the late 1890s membership cost 6d a week, payable monthly. This entitled the member to up to six weeks sick pay at 10s a week. In 1893 it had 49 members. By 1898 it had 100. This club took an additional payment of a shilling from all members should one of their number die, to help pay for the funeral. (Or 6d from every member if one of their spouses died to the same end.) They would allow late payment of dues within reason, but you were fined for doing so. Committee members not turning up to meetings also recieved a soft fine, all profits to club funds. 

The slate clubs were most prolific in the Victorian era, with just about every pub hosting one at one point or another. But several continued into the Edwardian era and beyond for example at The Ship in West Street, Two Brewers of St. Peters Str,  The Plough in Little Marlow Rd, Prince Of Wales, Mill Rd, and the Royal Oak in Bovingdon Green. 

Death preferred to the Workhouse

Poor relief was available for some, but there were exceptions - including those with illegitimate children who were barred from recieving outdoor relief at some points (that is help recieved outside of being admitted to the workhouse directly). Relief had to be applied for, and may not be granted. Some would quite literally die rather than be admitted to the "poor house". An extreme example of this was elderly ex agricultural labourer Mr Gardner who lived near Wymers Farm. He had become "somewhat incapacitated" and as such had been able to procure little work to support himself and his wife. Labouring was physically demanding even for the relatively young and agile. They had little if anything in the way of savings. Gardner had applied for parochial aid and duly received it it seems on a couple of occasions. In 1876, he was forced to ask for help again. It was the middle of winter and a difficult time to procure work at the best of times. The order this time was made that he must be admitted to the workhouse. This he could not bear, and the poor man slit his throat with a razor. He was found by his devastated wife on her return from running an errand.

Coal and Clothing Clubs

On a more positive note, efforts were made by the better off to ease some of the burden of poverty. Sometimes this was framed as educating the poor to budget, well intentioned if sometimes patronising and/or unrealistic. A Penny Savings bank was established, usually operating from the boys schoolroom in the Causeway. Regular saving was sometimes rewarded by the addition of a little top up to funds by the supporters of the Bank. It was wound up in 1888 after a period of at least 10 years. 

In the late 1880s and 1890s the Parish Church came up with a few helpful schemes. Children attending the Sunday school could pay in a minimum of 1d at a time to join a clothing club which gave them access to reduced price items to wear. There was also a clothing club for adults. Those interested in that would ask for a "club card" from one of the supporters of the initiative. Then each Monday, the member needed to go the Vicarage and pay in a minimum of a penny to club funds. At the end of the year (November in club terms) those who had made a minimum number of payments would have their "card" topped up with a bonus for the purchase of clothing later. A coal club ran in a similar way, between May to November and also attracted an end of season bonus. I'm not sure whether the coal group purchased fuel during the summer months when it was a little cheaper, to sell at a subsidised rate as was the case in some other Coal Clubs. 

A very difficult couple of years

The terrifically cold winters of 1894/5 caused much misery. Many men were reliant on outdoor manual labour to earn their living. This was especially true of those without a steady year round job who took work when and where they could.  But prolonged frost, and flooding made much of the planned works impractical. No jobs meant no pay. A large number was described as in "real straits" by February 1895. A committee was set up to see what could be done to help them. Local people were implored to offer work. Mrs Allam rose to the challenge and found employment for 138 men over two days working at stone breaking at her gravel pitts. One of these occasions was captured by local photographers Scott & Smith of the High Street in Marlow. Others worked on projects for the local council, widening roads near Marlow Bottom and Seymour Court, under orders from the Parish surveyors. I believe subscribers to this work fund subsidised the wages of those so employed, to encourage their employment in sufficient numbers. Initial work was given as a priority to married men, on the presumption they would have at least a spouse if not children also dependent on them. Work was however also offered to single men which must have been an especial relief to those with other kinds of dependents. 

The vicar started a fund to pay for the breakfasts of the poor children who could not concentrate on their schoolwork on empty stomachs. Lady Higginson, a devoted patron of Bovingdon Green school, organised the same free breakfasts there, free and at her own expense. Altogether about 75 children were said to be reliant on these free meals in early February. 100 of the worst off of the families also received a gift of coal, some of it also paid for by Lady Higginson. 

Although the weather in 1894/5 was extreme, there were several other times that similar schemes were both needed and offered. For example in 1904 within hours of a register of unemployed men being opened, 35 men had put their names down to ask for work in any capacity that could be found. Although it could not be guaranteed that employment would be forthcoming for all, local businesses were implored to do their best, mostly "unskilled" labouring by the day. 

Begging in the streets

It is not difficult to find evidence of regular beggars appearing in Marlow throughout this period. Some were moved on, several arrested. Sometimes promising to leave town and not return would allow them to escape punishment, especially later on. That is if they did not live here permanently. Some begged house to house, others in the streets. But there were also home grown examples, especially children. Sometimes the children were performing a little trick, tumble or dance for a few coins and perhaps we would call the enterprising youngsters buskers or street performers now! But in 1903, persistent complaints to the council of child begging in the streets, resulted in a police crackdown. However 5 years later, two youngsters of the Bowles family had been seen repeatedly begging for food or coins in Glade Rd. They had became a regular at the home of kind Mrs Thomas. She succinctly shut down the questions of those who asked why she had been "encouraging"  them, by stating the children looked thin and had told her they were hungry and their father out of work. The following year, a group of Hunger Marchers passed through Marlow. They were met by police in West Street and allowed to proceed under escort up the High Street and over the Bridge. Trouble had been feared but none seems to have occured. 

Quarry Woods, incredibly popular as a tourist destination, was said to be plagued by an "enormous number of beggar children" asking for food because they were "very hungry." The Bucks Herald called the children a "squalid and miserable hoard" who put the visitors off their food. No hint of empathy for the children whose longing looks at food were apparently so disturbing. 

Common Lodging Houses

You will notice that in our listings of pubs, beer sellers etc, that many were described at times as also (or sometimes mainly) as Common Lodging Houses. These were cheap lodgings, usually used by unmarried men but not always. They tended to be crowded and with sometimes very poor reputations when it came to cleanliness, crime and over crowding. They were subject to more regulation and inspection as time went on, and as a result many closed (at least for accomodation). But we still had them in Marlow into the Edwardian era. A glimpse into what it was like to live in one can be seen from the report of the Crown and Cushion in Dean Street when it failed a Public Health Act inspection in 1904. Among the problems was a lack of screening between married couples beds, a lack of wash basins sufficient for the number of people inside, a dirty yard and an insufficiently cleaned stable. 

A Last Image

In 1883 a reporter for the Maidenhead Advertiser attended the weekly petty sessions at the Magistrates court in Trinity Road. He described a distressing scene where a number of children from poor families were bought up on charges of theft. The sobbing from the youngsters was so loud that the witnesses could scarcely be heard. He was moved to pity and thought the children stood no chance of living anything but a life of degradation unless they were removed from their "evil" situation. But both he and the magistrate did not think the evil the children faced was poverty despite acknowledging that they looked "half starved" and were dressed in scanty clothing. For them the problem was a lack of civilization and Christianity from the "wretched" looking parents. The reporter wondered if missionaries shouldn't be employed in Marlow to help with this. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day.

Related Posts:

St Peter's court "slum" - here

Life at Marlow Workhouse 1775-1843 here

Life at the Wycombe Union workhouse at Saunderton for Marlow residents - here

Hayes Place here

Marlow poverty campaigner the Rev Tavender and of the Congregational Church - here

Posts related to history of Dean Street area and around:here

General posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow: here

More about Slate Clubs here

Wymers farm here

Poverty campaigner Rev Andrew Mearns here

© MarlowAncestors. 

SOURCES INCLUDE:

Thorne, James -  Rambles by Rivers : The Thames Volumes 1-2 (C. Cox 1847) Digitised by Google from New York City Library. 

Penny Savings Banks - Penny Saving Society Journal (incomplete, 1881)

Windsor & Eton Journal - 15 January 1876

Bucks Herald March 24 1888, June 30 1883. 

Maidenhead Advertiser July 8 1889, 06 August 1883. 

South Bucks Standard 28 July 1891, 22 December 1893, 22 February 1895, 22 Jan 1904, 21 Feb 1908. 

Votes For Women?

UPDATED BY CHARLOTTE OCTOBER 2023

We have mentioned the "no tax without presentation" protests of Mary Sargant Florence of Lord's Wood, Marlow Common and Edith Hayes of Bovingdon Green and Bourne End in our previous Groundbreaking Women of Marlow History post which you can read here. This entry gives a background to some of their work in Marlow - and that of their opponents. 

While campaigning for election as M.P for Great Marlow in 1852 (ultimately unsuccessful) candidate Mr Bell pledged to act to give women the vote and got loud cheers from women and men as a result at the hustings. So support for universal suffrage is older in Marlow and the country as a whole than you might think. Bell of course was campaigning on many other points too.

The first specific public meeting in Marlow dedicated solely to supporting women's suffrage that we have so far found record of was held in 1872. The National League of Woman's Suffrage* was behind this meeting, as well as others in neighbouring towns such as High Wycombe and Maidenhead the year before. This group does not seem to have had as much success with regular meetings in Marlow compared to their activities in these neighbouring places. The meetings took the form of lectures and/or debates, with guest speakers, often from London. Attendance is usually said to be modest, or growing. In 1873 a Miss Beedy gave a lecture in Marlow in support of a proposed bill to remove the "electoral disabilities of women". 

Bring your bells and whistles! 

Things were rather quiet as regards public acts in support of women's suffrage in the next two decades within Marlow. But in the Edwardian era, the cause was invigorated by the determined Sargant Florence mentioned above. In 1908 the Public Hall (now the Masonic centre) in St Peter's Street saw a meeting of the Women's Freedom League to debate the issue of women paying tax when they had no say at the ballot box about how that tax should be spent. The meeting was presided over by a London member, Mrs Holmes. This meeting had been well advertised in advance and so those opposed to votes for women, or general troublemakers came armed for action. As soon as the meeting open, a crowd of young men came in and stood at the back of the room. From there, they did their utmost to disrupt proceedings and drown out all speakers. They blasted tin whistles, rang hand bells and sang a raucous  version of the National Anthem whenever one of the women on the stage attempted to speak. In the end the meeting was abandoned before most of the women had been on the stage. Some went to an ante room to attempt some kind of plan on their tax protests, but the youths followed and forced their way into the room. No one was thankfully hurt.  If the mob thought they'd silence the women for good, they were however wrong. Perhaps it is not surprising that several subsequent meetings of the Freedom League were held in the quieter surroundings of Lord's Wood. The ladies would however soon be back in the town centre. 

The following year the group met there to discuss what to do about the forthcoming Kings Speech. Some hoped it would include a mention of voting rights for women, but should it not, the League was going to protest on the spot. Meredith MacDonald volunteered to be the Marlow groups representative in London. There would first be a deputation to ask for the voting issue to be included in the  Speech, where Meredith would also represent our group.  During their debate, a visiting woman from Australia expressed the view that politics had become more responsible and political debates more calm since the vote had been extended there.

 How many less well off Marlow women attended the meeting we do not know. It was held in the afternoon when many were at work. Reports about meetings tend to focus on those in organisational roles or giving speeches, who tended to be better off. But the issues of course affected all. 

Suffragists in Market Square

The ladies (and their male supporters) decided to have a large scale open air meeting in the Market Square in 1910. The crowd was said to be considerable although the caveat was added that many were curious children. Although some mention is made of cat calls and the like, the event seems to have been more more peaceful than previous ones. Mrs Sargant Florence presided over many of the meetings around this time. It may have been hard to hire some premises due to the fear by the owners that damaging trouble would follow. Another venue used by the women was the now demolished "Duchess Studio" in Victoria Road, which housed a girls club supported by many of the women attending. 

Hands off my property

In 1911 & 1912, Mary Sargant Florence and Edith Hayes had both decided to stop paying their taxes in protest at their lack of voting rights. Their jewellery was seized in lieu, and auctioned off in the High Street by Mr Kendall. The women were prepared to let everyone know their sacrifice so marched through the town, banners aloft, and alerting all as to the turn of events. The secretary of the Tax Resistance League, Mrs Stanley Edwards, joined the ladies - Sargant Florence was a founder member of this movement. Also in attendance were many supporters from far and wide - including London. One member of the Tax Resistance League gave a speech in which she stated that it was "the duty of women taxpayers in this country to refuse payment of all imperial taxes until such times as they are allowed through their elected representatives in parliament to express their opinions as to the way in which these large sums should be spent." During the sale, Mr Kendall might well have felt a little intimidated. He was at pains to stress he was just doing his job. Most if not all of the seized items were bought by supporters of one of the Leagues or the other and proudly and publicly returned to their owners. Auction over, the women took the chance to hold a protest meeting against the seizure and sale. In 1914 the two again had property seized in lieu of unpaid tax, and the unfortunate George Kendall was again responsible for selling it off. A dog cart, silver kissing cup and candlesticks were the purloined articles this time around. 

National League For Opposing Women's Suffrage

This group lived up to its name and was also active in Marlow, if for a shorter period. They were for various reasons against any extension of the vote to women. The first Marlow based meeting of the group seems to be that that occured in January 1913, in the town hall.  Marlow set up their own branch in March 1913. It was held in the home of Mr W C Lyndell (The Cedars as it is now known) and his wife was the honorary secretary. Alfred Davis was the honorary treasurer - a figure better known for giving his name to the Marlow Football club ground in honour of his work in the sporting sphere. Other committee members included "Miss Wethered", Lady Frances Higginson, Mrs Bath, Mrs Hawton, Mrs Fell, Mrs Thomas, and Miss Hewett. The group first meeting ended with the successfully passed resolution to ask their local MPs to vote against women's suffrage. (Some of whom were at the meeting.) It seems our local groups activities were curtailed by the First World War and I can't find much evidence that the initial enthusiasm saw many more meetings. 

We know which side won, although if you were not over 30 or a homeowner, the vote was still denied to you in 1918 while it was granted to other women. It wasn't until 1928 that all woman over 21 could vote. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day, additional research Charlotte Day. 

© MarlowAncestors

* This group was founded in 1867 and later was part of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. A meeting of the latter, non political and non militant, were held at Danesfield in 1912. (Mr & Mrs Hornby Lewis then in residence) 

Related posts:

Women's riots of 1800 - here

General listing of posts related to women's history in Marlow and also general everyday life - here

To find every mention of an individual here see the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. 

Sources include:

The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions Volume 13 edited by Jessie Bourchet (1882) and Volume 4 1873. 

Annual Report of the National Society for Women's Suffrage 1872, digitized by Google. Accessed August 2020.

First Report of the Executive Committee, National Society for Women's Suffrage.  July 1872. 

 South Bucks Standard May 1908, February 1909. January & November 1910, January & April 1912, March 1913. 

Maidenhead Advertiser January 1913. 

Woman's Franchise Journal 11 February 1909. 

The Vote, November 1912. 

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer, 28 February 1914 , Slough Library. 

Oaken Grove / Oakengrove Great Marlow Occupiers

 Note: there was a small farmstead at Oakengrove and also other homes. I try in this post to cover both and to distinguish between  them but that is sometimes difficult. Address normally given as off Harleyford Lane, occasionally as Red Pits or Upper Red Pits. Close to Temple. The farmstead doesn't seem to usually have a farmer actually living on site and perhaps in fact had no farm house anyway.

This post focuses on the occupiers of land or property at Oakengrove. These are rarely the actual owners.

Circa 1793 to his death 1853- William Smith. Age 96 or 97 when he died. Wife Mary. Not at the farm. In 1833 occupied a cottage worth £4 a year so a medium sized one. In 1851 this address is given as Pound House, Temple. William then was an agricultural labourer. His son also called William was a gentleman's servant. William Junior later moved to Maidenhead but is buried in Marlow near his parents.

               

Above, grave of William Smith "who lived at Oakengrove in this parish for upwards of 60 years".  Mar 20 1853. Also Mary his wife, died May 27th 18(55?) age 85. At All Saints, Marlow. Note other sources give age at death for William as 97.

1831-1846 William House, under gamekeeper to Sir William Clayton. Wife Ann. In 1833 his home consisted of a house, garden and stable worth £6 a year.

1833- Other residents Oaken Grove= "Jordan" in a cottage worth £5 a year and Thomas Fulton in a £5 house and garden. 

1834-1841 Thomas Holdgate at the farmstead. Owner Alexander Higginson in whose family the land had been for some time. In his will proved 1855 Alexander left Oakengrove to his brother George Stowell Higginson or if George died before him to Alexander's nephew George Wentworth Alexander Higginson.

1860- William Bowles, fruiterer used land at Oakengrove. Went bankrupt that year but survived it. His shop was in Quoiting Square. Bankrupt again 1886 after more than 40 years as fruiterer and farmer. 

1881- residents 1.) Alfred, a carter, and Mary Fidler. They had a lodger William Young, a 17 year old plough boy. 2.) Charlotte and Jacob Mendy and their little daughter Ellen. Jacob and family moved so that  he could be the head carter at Brandy Bottom Farm, Little Marlow and was probably later at Barmoor Farm too.

1901-Households= 1.) Hannah and Joseph Betts and their young son George. The couple had married in 1893. Hannah was nee Pratt. Joseph was a farm carter. The family moved in the next few years to Munday Dean. 2.) Emma and George Simmons. George was a domestic gardener. Perhaps at Harleyford or Temple House.

For more farm occupier posts for Little Marlow and Great Marlow see the Specific Shops, Streets Etc option on the menu. You will also see a Person Index option on the menu to help you find every mention of a person on this blog. For more Little Marlow content in general see Other Places on the menu.

Farm occupancies calculated from wills, adverts, trade journals, censuses, property records, court cases etc. I hope to fill in the gaps in dates as I wade through my Everest sized mountain of research notes.

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

Holy Trinity Church, Great Marlow

  

Holy Trinity in what was then Gun Lane but is now Trinity Road was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Oxford on 20th August 1852. It had been built because the main parish church was not big enough. It was also the case that, like lots of other churches of the time, All Saints had some of the seating reserved only for certain rich families who had bought themselves seats. Even if they didn't occupy them during a service no other worshipper could sit in them as they were private. Holy Trinity was to be entirely free seated. (Only 32 seats were freely available out of 1200 in All Saints, not including 238 reserved for children attending the National schools.)

The foundation stone of the church was laid in May 1851 by Col. Alexander Higginson, one of the biggest contributors to the funds for building the church. Another prominent donor was Charlotte Cocks of the Glade in Glade Road Marlow (later known as the Cedars) and other members of her family. Many of her family were buried in the church and two of the original plain glass windows were replaced with stained glass ones in memory of members of the Cocks family. More about Charlotte can be read in a post published earlier this year.

The consecration was celebrated by the giving of a joint of meat to 2000 poor people of the parish. Some also recieved bread. 

Other donors also paid for stained glass windows in the church- Messrs Burisons and Grylls were paid to put in 2 lights in stained glass in the West window in 1876 for instance, the rest of the window to be done when funds allowed.

The church had generally a peaceful history but there was one unhappy instance in 1908 when 13 year old Eliza Anderson was prosecuted by the vicar for taking primroses from the churchyard. He admitted he did not see precisely which grave she took them from but was sure he saw her stooping several times to pick something up. As she had primroses gathered in her apron he presumed that is what she had been stooping down for. Picking of these flowers which were growing abundantly in the churchyard was a big problem he insisted. Eliza said she picked up some flowers discarded in a heap rather than living ones. She was found guilty and admonished but not fined. The vicar had given a statement that he wanted to make a public example of Eliza to stop others taking primroses from graves but not punish her any more than that.

Primroses still grow in the churchyard now. What a pity a child's innocent pleasure in them was dealt with by giving her a criminal conviction (which would have compromised her employment chances) rather than a talking to at the time. Perhaps as the vicar admitted that he was not close enough to see which graves Eliza was bending over or exactly what she picked up, more weight should have been given to the girl's denial that she had disturbed any graves. 

Lower congregation numbers meant that the church closed in 1977 but had not been used for regular services for a few years and the building is now in commercial use.

We have photographed most of the (relatively few) remaining gravestones in the churchyard. The majority of these pictures have already been uploaded onto the blog. See under Graves on the menu. For similar content to this post see under Church Related on the menu.

Researched by Charlotte and Kathryn Day.

Sources:

The Church Of The People [journal] 1864.

Mussons and Craven Commercial Directory, 1853. University of Leicester Library.

Reading Mercury 28th August 1852. Copy held at the British Library via BNA. 

South Bucks Standard May 15th 1908. As above.

Bucks Herald 8th May 1920. As above.

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

Marlow's Lesser Known War Memorial

Below is a plaque of recognition for soldiers who fought and died in the 1899-1902 South African War, also known as the second Boer war. It was unveiled on the then headquarters of the Bucks Battalion of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, next to what is now the library in Institute Rd, in August 1909. Made of black Aberdeen granite, a few details on the "war tablet" are a little hard to read now but we've done our best ..

"This tablet was erected by public subscription to record the names of members of the Auxillary forces connected with Great Marlow who served in the 1899 war in South Africa 1902

Imperial Yeomanry: 

Trooper BF Burton

Trooper W G Drinkwater 

Trooper A J Gale

Trooper G. R Greaves, 

Trooper F Langley, (Frank, brother to Jack, see below)

Trooper J Langley, (Jack, sadly died in WW1. Read more about his family here )

Trooper H B Rowe,  

Trooper C Webb, 

Trooper W White, 

First Bucks VRC :

Sergeant G Hide (Geoffrey)

Private C Green,  

Private G H Green, 

Private CT Martin, 

Private A Silvey, 

Private G Simmonds 

Private J Wheatley

Bugler L Shaw, 

Private W Batley,

Sergt. H J Smith

And : Trooper G A Rogers, killed at Bolshop May 19 1902)" 

 The unveiling was left to General Higginson. Raising funds for the plaque had taken time and it's reveal was regarded as a big occasion in the town. A guard of honour was formed in Institute Rd for the General, consisting of members of the Marlow company of the Territorials and other groups such as Marlow Fire Brigade and the Church Lads Brigade. Once the ceremony was complete, those gathered marched to the Enclosure - the no longer enclosed patch of grass on the Causeway. The purpose was to perform the inaugural hoisting of flags on the flagpole. The Overseas League provided the flagpole, and invited Marlow council to give a home to it. They agreed, and funds had also been raised to buy the flags. Various groups in town provided national or territorial flags, and that of Cape Colony in South Africa was among them, purchased with funds raised by the pupils of Borlase school. A flagpole is still to be seen on the Causeway and few probably know why one was first erected there. The Overseas League aimed to encourage a sense of brotherhood amongst individuals living within the Empire and so it displayed not only the Union Jack but the flags of Western Australia and New Zealand for example. This was the first such flagpole erected by the League and that fact was reported across the Empire. 

More information about Marlow and the Boer wars will follow shortly. 

See  here for the Brewery First World War memorial tablet

And the tragic early history of The Armoury (Bucks Volunteer HQ) - some distressing content - is covered here

For all mentions of your ancestors here, use the A-Z person to index in the top drop down menu. There are more than 3,000 individuals listed there. 

SOURCES

National Library of Australia Trove Collection:

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/53186750/5137435, accessed September 2020

South Bucks Standard August 27th 1909, held at the British Library and accessed via the BNA November 2020

©MarlowAncestors. Post written by Kathryn Day.