Bovingdon Green and Marlow Common Parochial Assessment 1833

 Updated August 2023, with additional research notes.

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

Transcribed by Charlotte Day.

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

Bovingdon Green

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

Thomas Frith [still in Bovingdon Green 1838]

Richard Fletcher

Thomas Jones

*****

Ephraim House

House and yard 

£5

*****

William Davies

House, yard, garden and woodhouse 

£10

*****

Marlow Common

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

John Swadling

Thomas Mead [Described as in Bovingdon Green 1838]

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

James Winkworth

*****

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

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

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

John Rose

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

*****

Joseph Keep

Cottage and garden

£3

*****

John Blackwell [he was a blacksmith]

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

£9

Piece of ground on the Common

10 shillings

*****

William Howard

House and garden

£6

*****

Edward Collins [more on him including will notes here]

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

£9

*****

James Martin

Cottage and garden

£5

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

For more posts on either place see here

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

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

1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow Part 42

 The next part of my gradual transcription of the original handwritten working notebooks used by the assessors to compile this assessment. These faded notebooks have long been in the possession of my family, and also contain some pencilled in corrections from the later 1830s, though not in these parts.

I am uploading the parts out of order that they appear in the assessment. Instead I transcribe and add them as they chime in with research I am doing for myself or others.

©Marlow Ancestors. Use this transcription with credit to this blog.

Name

Property occupied

Annual worth of that property

Any notes by me in square brackets

Hooks Cottages

Woodrow [no first name]

House and garden

£6

*****

William Stevens

House, garden and shop

£6

*****

Edward Pratt

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Oakengrove

William Smith

Cottage and garden

£4

*****

Jordan [no first name]

Cottage and garden

£5

*****

William House

House, garden and stable £6

Part of a garden at Lane End 

10 shillings

*****

Thomas ?Fulton

House and garden

£5

*****

Burrough's Grove

John Green

Horse Shoes House [pub], garden, stable, woodhouse and garden

£8

*****

Wymers

Henry Webb

House, lawn, flower garden, stable, chaise house, garden, a cottage and small garden

£21

*****

Handy Cross

William Earies (Earis/Eyres/Ayris)

The Blue Flag house [Pub] shop, shoeing house, cottages, stable and garden

£9

*****

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

Jeffrey Sears

John Plumridge

George Wye

*****

Ragman's Castle

William Dance

Cottage and garden

£4

©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction very welcome for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog.

Gravestones in Holy Trinity Church Great Marlow

William Shorter d 1900 and Rebecca Shorter

William Higgins d May 1896 aged 77. Above. Formerly ran barges up to London but had become incompacitated 7 years before his death. He lived at death in Chapel Street with his wife and daughter. 

Mary Jane Langdon, d Sept 6 1906 aged 55,  wife of John Richard Langdon. Also their son Albert, died 23 Feb 1919 age 32, after serving with the Royal Engineers in Gallipoli and France. 

 

Sarah Everest d Aug 12th 1907, age 70. Above. 

James Gibson, d July 3, 1892 at Chapel Str aged ? years,  also Thomas Gibson his brother d Feb 14th 192? Above

Hannah Blizard d June 2nd 1896, age 70. And Mary Ann Blizard, wife of William, d Sept 14th 1910, age 82.  

Both ladies were from Hampshire originally. Hannah was not married, though as a businessman was sometimes referred to with the respectful title "Mrs". She ran a "fancy goods repository" selling largely toys and sweets in West Street. She suffered a horrific death after her clothes caught fire at her West Street home*. After this tragedy her niece Ruth (nee Blizzard but by marriage North) and Ruth's husband James North took over the business. They brought Mary Ann Blizzard, Ruth's widowed mother with them to Marlow. The William referred to on the grave had been dead a long time by then and is buried Hampshire. 

A post focusing on Ruth North née Blizzard is here and see also this post

 

Anthony Hood, d November 26th 1899 age 63 Above

William Mathews Oct 6, 1916 age 84. Also his wife Maria, d. Jan 7th 1911 age 85. Also his only daughter Annie died age 11, Sept 16th 1875. Above

William Maslin July 19 1896 age 38, Above

? Barksfield. D ? May 1909 age 37 Above

Eliza House d 20 April 1900 age 70, Above

Rebecca Salmon July 1st 1897, Above

Eliza Ann Birdseye, d November 20 1904 aged 79?

And husband John Birdseye d Dec 26 1917 age 87, Above

 As above

Above two photos, Aubrey Montague, not dated.  

Edward, dearly beloved husband of Mary Jane Swadling died 15 Oct 19?? Age 38. Above. 

A selection of gravestones, many from this graveyard have been lost in recent years, with some other graves in poor condition as happens with the passage of time. Photographs from September 2020.

* South Bucks Standard 5th June 1896. Copy held at the British Library and accessed online by me October 2020 via the BNA.

©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction of images permitted with credit and link here.

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.

Lane End Historic Pub Landlords #4 *updated*

 

New Inns *New information added August 2022 thanks to information kindly supplied by Andrew Mullis (see comments below). Andrew tells us there were two New Inns in Lane End. The earliest later became the Old Arm Chair leaving the name New Inn free for a second, different premises in the village* We simply record here all mentions of a pub at Lane End called "The New Inn".

1852-61 Richard Oxlade. Came from the Earl Grey (see a previous post here). Also operated as carrier from High Wycombe 1852. Accused 1858 of opening illegal hours. Wife Elizabeth later at the Earl Grey again.

1861 -Edmund Hawes who paid £14 a year rent on a short term lease. Following the death of building owner James Lee meant that the the premises were put up for auction. 

1865 - James Ellis. 

1869-70 William Bird. Pub closed in June 1870. Later that year Thomas H Lovelocke tried to get the pub reopened but the magistrates at Marlow did not think there was any need for any reopening as there was enough calls for the New Inn. A little later that year hower Frederick House has the licence to "the New Inn" Lane End so there appears to have been a change of heart.

1870- 71 Frederick House. Seems to have continued to live on the premises for a period after Henry Hawes took over.

1871-72 . Henry Hawes. Also a carrier. Probably of Bull and Butcher, Turville 1865. Wife Fanny.

1872- Elizabeth Cutler. Later at the Old Arm Chair, but this appears to be a new name for the same premises) Historic landlord listings for the Old Arm Chair here. Nee Carr. 

***

1890- Frederick House again [new information August 2022 from Andrew Mullis suggests that this is a different physical premises from the earlier one using the name New Inn] He and wife Ann define themselves as chair makers on the census 1891 but it is common for known beer sellers to miss their beer selling information off the census. Many had to have other occupations to survive financially and it seems a good few saw the beer trade as a top up to their income only. It is possible therefore that the Houses were actually selling beer 1891.

1901- Frederick House senior. Now defining himself on census as publican.

1911- Thomas Trinder. Previously at Old Arm Chair pub, Lane End. See list of landlords for that pub here. Later in 1911 at Chairmaker's Arms, Lane End. More about that pub soon.

1915- Thomas Reid

1939- Emma Dean. 1939 Kelly's Directory puts Mrs Emma Dean at the Chairmaker's Arms, Lane End instead. 

Crown Inn.

1833- Charles Fletcher. He also occupied a shoemaker's workshop which indicates he had this other trade too, like many beer sellers. His inn consisted of the house and garden worth £9 10 shillings annually in 1833.

Beer shop without a name:

1833- Thomas Marks. Had yard, stable and garden out back.

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

Compiled from adverts, censuses, property records, court cases etc

House Grave, Hurley

 

This gravestone is at St Mary's Church Hurley. 

Martha House, wife of Charles House. Died 21 February 1899 age 77.

For more Hurley graves as well as Little Marlow, Marlow and a few from Bush see under the Graves option on the menu. All mentions of a person on this blog can be found under the Person Index.

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

List of landlords & timeline for The Hare and Hounds, Red Pits, Henley Road

*Updated by Charlotte December 2025*

1766 - A pub of this name existed in Marlow

1833 - Richard Ruddle/Riddle (Address given as Red Pits). A biographical post on the Ruddle family of the Hare and Hounds is available here. Richard was already a Marlow publican in 1829. Most likely this was at the Hare and Hounds but we cannot be entirely certain as publicans did sometimes move around.

1841 - Richard Ruddle dies aged 50, on 13th November. Martha Ruddle takes over. She is his widow.

1844 - Martha Ruddle.

1847 - Mrs M Ruddle.

1851- Elizabeth Ruddle. Daughter of Richard and Martha above. Martha has just died at the inn.

1854 - Augustus Cook.

1857 - Mr Leach.

1859 - George Leach.

1869 - George Leach.

1883 - George Leach.

1884 - Ben. Leach (Son of George Leach who died in April this year age 73).

1884 - Wethered's Brewery labourer Joseph Finch dies as a result of injuries sustained while delivering beer to the Hare & Hounds. Made delivery on Saturday morning, something he had done for several years. The cellar did not allow for two men to work in there stacking barrels so Joseph was working alone, and using a pulley to lift them. One slipped and fell on his ankle causing a severe injury. It weighed 4cwt.  Benjamin bought Joseph back to Marlow, and he was then taken to Reading Borough Hospital. (Marlow was as yet without it's Cottage Hospital.) He died suddenly 6 days later of Delirum Tremens bought on by accident. Verdict: Accidental death. Widow Susannah. (Benjamin said he had known Joseph for 4 years and he was always sober and steady.)

1886 - Benjamin Leach - gets in trouble for selling adulterated gin (watered down) in a sting by plain clothes policeman. Had displayed a sign to say gin was watered down, in passage and on cellar door behind bar but policeman had asked for it pure and said the signs not obvious enough. Benjamin said he had no intention to defraud hence signage and it had been a simple mistake. Fined £1 plus costs. 

1889 - Benjamin Leach.

1891 - Benjamin Leach "Henley  Rd" .

1899 - Benjamin and Emma Leach have 15s stolen from their till located in the cellar, which is accessed from the bar. The thief also stole takings from the Royal Oak, Bovingdon Green on the same day. He is caught and sentenced to 3 months with hard labour. Daughter Nellie was serving in the bar at the time.  See the grave of Benjamin and Emma here

1901 - 20 at least Emma Leach  (Widow of Benjamin Leach).

1929 - J Henderson. Hires cars and sells petrol too!

1939  - Bernard M Thorn.

1953 - George Joslin.

(From at least) 1958 - (at least) 1965 Rupert Gordon Joslin and Mrs Joslin. In 1958 Julie Andrews visits the pub for a party held there by the family of her fiancée. Afterwards she sings numbers from My Fair Lady for the Joslins and guests.

This post will be updated as new information emerges. All listings are as noted in original sources, including inconsistent spellings. 

Related posts:

 To find all mentions of a person on this blog use the A-Z Person Index option in the top drop down menu. 

Marlow's 100+ beer retailers A-Z here

For more pub content choose the Pub Related option on the menu.

SOURCES

1852-3 Mussons and Cravens Commercial directory.

Kelly's Post Office Directory-

1859, 1864,1883,1903,1907,1911, 1915,1920

1833 Parish Assessment working notebooks held by my family and transcribed by Charlotte.

Census 1841,1851,1861,1871,1881, 1891

Pigots Directory 1844

Numerous historic newspaper reports of events and licence hearings, accessed via the BNA: including:  Berkshire Chronicle 29 May 1884, Reading Mercury 20 November 1841, South Bucks Standard 12 May 1899. 

Bucks Free Press August 15th 1958, Bucks Free Press Archives.

©MarlowAncestors. You are welcome to quote from or use this research for family or local history purposes if you want to but please credit this blog and link back here so both we and the original sources remain credited for the information provided.