Life in 1950s Marlow Part Two Employment and Homes

Employment 

Major employer Wethered Brewery off the High Street, celebrated a bicentenary in 1958 with two garden parties for employees. Other larger employers in the town were the local council, Poppets Beads and the building trade in general. 

Poppets beads were plastic costume jewelry items. The company moved into the former cinema in Spittal Square in 1953. The old projectionist's room was used as the manager's office and the old seating area for production. Many of those employed by the company actually worked from home, only visiting the factory to collect the beads which they then strung into necklaces and other pieces. Both men and women were involved in the bead making. The same company also made aircraft parts as a sideline! In 1955 this division moved into its own Chapel Street premises with only a tiny bit of work still taking place amongst the bead making in the old cinema. Soon the cinema was deemed too small also and Poppets left to take over a nearby disused lamp shade factory. The former cinema was eventually acquired by the local council who intended to demolish it and use the site for housing, though this did not end up happening.

On a smaller scale in terms of employment there was Sunnydene and Quarry laundries, the newer cinema in Station Road, Toy Works Limited a toys, games and sporting goods factory in Court Garden (established 1943), the Victoria Engineering Company in Victoria Road, the Greenwich Saw Mill, the Marlow Coach Building Works in Newtown Road (which mainly built caravans such as the Marlow Tudor), C.C.K Limited at 53 High Street which produced women's scarves etc, Dairymaid Ice Cream Supplies in Crown Lane (commercial supplier, run by S.A Hawken), Mines and Putnam high class furniture makers in Station Road, Arnold's factory in Marlow Bottom which made wooden needlework boxes and automatic bottle wash machines plus possibly furniture, the Westhorpe sand /gravel pits and the various local schools, shops, pubs, cafes / tearooms, hauliers, and farms.

Toy Works as mentioned above proudly stated that though a few parts had to be imported from France or Germany most of their products were made with local labour only. Many of their toys were traditional wooden ones like bagatelle boards. The packers were usually female.

C.C.K Limited had moved to Mill Road Marlow from London because of the Blitz and chose never to return to the city after the war ended. Their products were made of plain or printed silk, rayon and wool. As well as fashion scarves they manufactured practical aprons in plastic or woven materials. I haven't been able to find out if their products were actually stocked by any shop in Marlow itself or whether they were all sent elsewhere.

I am aware that a Louisa Dereford and George Dereford ran "Marlow Mosaics" in this era but whether this was their own artistic enterprise solely or whether it was a business that employed additional mosaic artists I am unable to say at this point.

Employment opportunities in the 1950s could still be much constrained by the gender of the job seeker. It worked both ways of course- no one would employ a male nanny or maid but women had especial difficulties. The local press routinely carried job adverts that specified the gender that the successful candidate would have to be, and for the majority males were what was being sought. Some roles you might not predict did go to women more than men however. The traditional assigning of poultry on farms to the care of women for instance is reflected in the desire expressed by the owners of Bencombe Farm at Marlow Bottom in an advert for a female employee to run the poultry and turkey deep litter system there.

It was not uncommon for it to be specified that a prospective female employee who directly engaged with the public would need to be good looking as well as professionally competent. For example when Mac Fisheries in Marlow High Street wanted a female shop assistant in 1955 their advert in the Bucks Advertiser said that she must have a "good appearance and attractive personality". They do however get marks for specifying that the delivery van driver that they also found wanted at the same time could be male or female. That would have been quite unusual.

Marlow's first female police officer, W.P.C Ellington, arrived in 1954 after she transferred from High Wycombe.

Female workers doing exactly the same job as men were paid less than them. It was reasoned men had families to support so needed more money however this reasoning was of course nonsensical as thanks to the recent war the number of households with a female breadwinner had probably never been higher. Pay rates for those doing the same job also varied by age in many industries. Younger workers on farms, in most shops or in certain Post Office roles for instance whether male of female were paid less than those of the same gender over 21 or over 32 depending on the job. 

Get the right position and you never knew where it might take you. The Reading Mercury of 16th August 1958 reported that  Angela Chalk of Marlow and another former stable girl at Pinches stables in Field House Farm had the previous year won jobs working in the stables of a wealthy countess in France.

Those seeking a new situation either locally or further afield could make use of the I.H.B employment agency at 92 High Street Marlow or the government labour exchange. Under the Notification of Vacancies Order 1952 employers in most categories had to recruit only through scheduled employment agencies or the labour exchange. This was intended to mean the government could prioritize filling jobs in critical industries ahead of any others. Understandably, it was not popular with those employers who were de-prioritized. They could advertise a position in the newspaper but applicants had to go through official channels to make any application and stood a chance of being refused permission to contact the advertiser if it was thought they could be of better use to an essential industry or service. Men over 64 and women over 59 could apply for jobs without restriction as presumably they were considered too "old" for the essential industries. The order was rescinded in 1956.

Though the farming industry was less of an employer than it had been previously, it was still an important part of the national economy. A Young Farmer's Club had been formed in Marlow by 1954. Farm hands worked from 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and half days on Saturdays. Increasingly other workers were getting their Saturdays off and a couple of weeks of paid holidays a year too. This coupled with the low agricultural industry pay and the long daily hours involved meant the abandoning of land based jobs by country people. Between 1948 and 1954 the number of female farm workers in the Marlow District fell by three quarters and that of males by over half. Mechanisation could only make up for these losses to a certain degree.

General labour shortages generally meant employers had to think of other ways to attract staff. Fines and Putnam the furniture makers of Station Road advertised that their employees could enjoy music while they worked as well as a canteen. Those wanting domestic staff in Marlow often reassured prospective candidates that they would be included in fun outings as part of their job.

Homes

The 1950s was still a notable era for the building of social housing. The council put out tenders for the building of 14 new council houses at Westhorpe Road for instance in 1954. In 1959 the last 38 older houses remaining in Dean Street were ordered to be demolished as the long standing Marlow slum clearance schemes first stage finally drew to a close. Multiple homes in Queens Road were similarly declared unfit for human habitation and compulsorily purchased for future demolition at around the same time. By the end of the decade the council was the biggest landlord in the town. 

The former Carriers Arms in Wycombe Road (now demolished) was used by the council as a hostel for those who had nowhere else to go in the early and mid 1950s. They took over the premises from the Ministry Of Housing. It is possible that originally evacuees or refugees had been put in the building. There was a critical shortage of even this temporary type of accommodation. There were still families living in metal shacks early in the decade at Beechwoods and in converted wooden sheds at Marlow Bottom (as owners and as tenants). The Marlow Bottom situation incensed Wycombe Rural District Councillor Mrs McKelvie who lambasted her colleagues for dragging their feet on providing new homes, rental or to buy, for those living in such structures. The situation was more complicated than it seems. Planning restrictions from on high meant people who had bought land in the village and had put up a temporary home on it while they raised funds for a more substantial structure were prevented from completing their dream despite having sufficient money to do so. In other words it wasn't only poverty (though it certainly could be) that forced people into living in such structures. Home owners could be ready, willing and able to make their shack a comfortable home but were told such work would contravene new planning regulations curtailing fringe developments. In a hope of exceptions or a governmental change of heart people clung on in their shacks or tried to sneakily extend or improve them without being noticed.

For private buyers in Marlow two estate agencies come auctioneers were available in the shared premises of no 37 High Street, Simmons with Gray and co, at no 84 there was George Kendall estate agent, valuer and auctioneer and at no 3 auctioneer and estate agents Lawrence and Laird. New homes were being thrown up everywhere possible in the Marlow urban area during the 1950s once materials and labour shortages caused by the war had eased, including the Wycombe Road and Oak Tree Road area, at Highfields, Lock Road, Chiltern Road, Riverside Drive, Gypsy Lane and Spinfield Park. While shortages of materials did remain private homes could only be built with a (hard to come by) licence from the council, Under rules set down by the Ministry of Housing priority was to be given to social housing on all potential urban development land.  

Bungalows remained highly desirable homes. A small 4 room bungalow in Wethered Road with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room could be bought in 1954 for £1750. Most homes were in the £2,000 - £4,500 bracket however.

Not every home yet had electricity in the 50s. Some of the older pre-war council houses for instance received electric lights and sockets in 1957 but others remained without it. Certain Chapel Street homes would not install electricity until the 1970s. The Electrics Company (Marlow) Limited in Market Square despite its name sold many calor gas appliances. These were not only stoves but lighting apparatus, gas powered fridges and gas fueled irons too. Many people kept oil lamps in case of winter power failures. Where electricity was present it was not necessarily installed in every room of a house. In any case in the early 1950s winter electricity demand often outstripped supply and Marlow users could expect one, even two, scheduled days a week when their supply would be turned off. These were notified of in advance as colder days drew near. The southern Electricity Board had an office and showroom in the High Street.

Coal and coke for fires were supplied by amongst others G.E Stevens of West Street and George Deane and Co (who had taken over the business and name of old Marlow company W.T Porter). Deanes were also one of the town's removal companies so very useful to have around! Early in the decade coke and coal supplies were not sufficient for the town needs due to nationwide problems. This left families having to severely ration their use of hot water at times.

By no means all Marlow homes had a bathroom in the 1950s, or even an indoor loo. Indeed there were houses without bathrooms in Wycombe Road in the mid 1960s, and in South Place even later, in the 1970s.

Antique furnishings were clearly popular amongst 1950s Marlovians. Bishop Limited in West Street specialised in antique silver, Sheffield plate and fine porcelain and there were at least two further antique shops on the town. There was also Walker's Antiques in the High Street. Secondhand but not antique furniture was sold by Taplins in Oxford Road. Buying secondhand furniture was seen by many as preferable as pre-war items were regarded as better quality. 

New furniture, carpets and other home furnishings could be bought from Norman Heals at 44 High Street as did Alan Hunt's Market Square shop. Mr Hunt's wares could be bought by way of a hire purchase scheme with payments spread over a period of up to two years. He also sold bedding from his second premises in Spittal Street. Hines and Putnam of Station Road were high quality upholsterers early in the decade who proudly made and marketed the "Marlow Suite" of sofa and armchairs. They moved from Marlow later in the decade but seem to have continued to make the Marlow suite. 

Washing machines could be purchased from Platts radio and television shop but there was still laundry services in the town -Quarry Laundry offered a free sock darning service to their customers - and hand washing in tubs wasn't yet quite redundant. Older people thought it superior! 

Pretty much every little usual item for DIY or home maintenance could be bought from the packed Chalk's ironmongers in the High Street, which under different but related families had a long heritage in Marlow. See my post here for the history of this building.

Not every home had a telephone by any means in the 1950s but the public call box provision in the town was expanding. The hamlet of Munday Dean got its first box during the 1950s.

For sources for this series of posts see Part One.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

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

Edwardian /WW1 Trinity Road Part One

 This was previously Gun Lane and at times during the Edwardian era was also referred to as "Trinity Lane".

A poor area with many homes consisting of just three rooms (two bedrooms and a kitchen come family room) and at least one having only two rooms. Piped water arrived here at the close of the 1800s but not before the only well for the residents had run dry. The road surface was not properly made up until near the end of the era. Most houses here were demolished long ago.

It is likely some residents have been missed due to the rapid tenant turnover in poorer streets. We will endeavour to add in anyone found to be missing as research opportunities permit. 

Odd numbered* properties were on the left as you came in from Dean Street. Numbers given as they were then=

1.) Richard Cook, born circa 1861, unmarried farm labourer. Richard seems to have lived in Trinity Road or in Trinity Place just off it all of his life. He was the son of Richard and Keziah Cook.

3.) In 1907 Mrs Price. Then carter Robert Bowles and his lodgers the Hall family headed by laundress Mrs Hall. After that Bertie (agricultural labourer bn circa 1885) and Jane (bn circa 1883) Bryant and their children. 

Mrs Price was PERHAPS Clara Price who lived at an unknown number in Trinity Road in 1901 with her husband Francis, a vegetable hawker, and their children. However she wasn't a widow at this point so the 1907 Town Guide wouldn't usually list her as the head of household, and the guide says Francis is in Dean Street. You would expect Clara to be with him there but this couple did go on to separate in later years so PERHAPS this is evidence of an earlier separation that didn't last. They were together in Dean Street in 1911. The couple's son Nathan died at Trinity Road aged 7 months in 1895. They had a daughter called Freedom!

A Wesley Hall, presumably of the above Hall family was in 1912 fined for swearing in his home in Trinity Road for two whole hours! It was a risky business raising your voice in Trinity Road, or swearing with the window open given the fact that the Police Station was in the same street. Prosecutions for swearing so that it could be heard outside were very common in Edwardian and Victorian Marlow. Trinity Road was a major hotspot for such offences. You definitely needed to stop up your ears if you went by.

The Bryant's two month old baby daughter Rosamond suffocated while sharing her parents bed in 1913. The potential dangers of co-sleeping were understood at this time but the benefits in most people's eyes outweighed them and it was a very common practice. A verdict of death by misadventure was recorded.

Jane Bryant was the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Budd who will feature in the second part of my Edwardian residents of Trinity Road post as they lived on the other side of the street. Her baby daughter Rosamond was named after her sister.

5.) W Aldridge. Then uncertain others. Then Rose and George Jones and their children. This couple came to Marlow from Wooburn between 1912 and 1914. At Wooburn George (bn circa 1879) had been working at the board mills as well as assisting at times in a coal business. He admitted stealing a small piece of coal from that business and was bound over as a result. It is possible that this precipitated the family's move to Marlow. He was a private in the Royal Berkshires when he was injured in 1914 and was evacuated to an English hospital. Still resident 1915 however in the next few years the couple separated and only Rose (nee Harmsworth) and the children remained at no 5.

 7.) A Winkworth then labourer James Bowles. The latter was born circa 1855 and continued to live here for many years.

9.)William Beaver a domestic gardener /labourer, born circa 1852-54 but has a variable birthdate. Moved in to number 9 late 1901 or very early 1902. Continued to live in this tiny cottage for many years. He lived alone as he had separated from his wife Rachel (nee Stacey). In 1902 he took out an ad in the paper warning traders in the town he would no longer be responsible for any bills she ran up. They were already living apart at the time of the census the previous year. Rachel had taken the children and gone to live in High Wycombe. William was the uncle of Richard Cook, above. That is, he was the brother of Richard's mother Keziah who was born a Cook. 

11.)Rapid turnover of tenants. Charles Higgins and his wife Esther, Miss Hunt, then laundress Selina Austin (who gives her address on the 1911 census as no 6 but she can't live there as it was certainly the home of someone else at that time and her censused neighbors show her to be in fact in no 11. See the note far below about Marlow's atrocious street numbering record).

Charles Higgins was born in the early 1840s Bucks and grew up in Skirmett. He was a labourer. Esther's birthdate wanders on censuses. They moved to Trinity Road from Hayes Place Marlow between 1901 and 1907. They also lived up at Marlow Common and out at Burroughs Grove for a time. While at the latter Esther was called to give evidence at the inquest into the death of a newborn baby. The mother of the child could not afford even the cheapest midwife. These typically attended not only the birth but visited washed and dressed the newborn child for the next day or few days. When Esther heard about the mother's situation she offered to help in any way she could and said to send word to her when she was needed to attend. Unfortunately Esther fell ill at the crucial time and the mother decided she could not fairly call on her. Instead she gave birth without assistance and passed out towards the end. The child died within minutes of being born for want of attention. Another woman fetched by one of the mother's children, saw that the mother was unwell immediately after the birth but did not check on the child or stay with them because she had supper to prepare. She did return 45 minutes later but found the child dead. The coroner's jury were not impressed by her actions.

As a young man Charles Higgins spent a short time in jail for failing to pay the fine levied on in for assaulting a man helping to clear a Skirmett pub of some disorderly customers.

Selina Austin moved to Marlow some time between 1908 and 1909. She lived in Trinity Road with her children / step children. Selina was born circa 1868, the daughter of Richard and Ruth Jewell of Turville. As a young woman she worked as a servant in Henley and got into trouble for obtaining a silk blouse under false pretences. As a first time offender she was bound over rather than jailed. She married her recently widowed husband Thomas Austin in 1901. Within a matter of weeks he had deserted her and his children so Selina had to ask for poor relief. Though he returned to her he deserted again in 1908. At this point he was a rag and bone man. She wished for a separation order but he promised to return. Shortly afterwards she moved to Marlow, seemingly without him but taking her children and step children.

In 1909 her stepson Henry Austin age 15, of "weak intellect" was convicted of stealing 6d from her. She had sent him to pay for certain goods she had requested but he instead spent it on toffee and having fun in Cookham. This offence saw him ordered to a reformatory school. Soon after his return he was arrested for begging for food and jailed for 14 days. The local police inspector had found him a job but said the young man was "idle" and ended up in the workhouse, from which he stole clothes. In 1914 he was jailed again for stealing sacks from a barn.

Selina moved to Dean Street, probably by 1915, and then later went to Berwick Road.

13.) William Collins or Colyer, a council employed road scavenger and his wife Florence for most of the era followed by Henry and Emily Nash and their children. The Nash family moved here from Chapel Street. Henry was a carpenter born circa 1864. Emily was born circa 1860. Towards the end of the era Henry as a widower became the lodger here rather than the tenant and the household head was Henrietta Bidmead (nee Rockell, widow of William Henry Bidmead). Henrietta was the niece of John Lovegrove and she had previously lived with him on the opposite side of the street and therefore both these residents feature mostly in Part Two of this Edwardian Trinity Road post. Later Henry Nash moved to number 22 Trinity Road to live with his then adult and married son Reginald. 

15.) A brick and timber semi detached house with some stucco. Two bedrooms. Initially the home of John Boot (bn circa 1855), beater at the paper mills and his wife Harriett (born circa 1859), their son also called John plus Harriett's widowed sister Mary Ann Francis. The Boots were very long standing residents of Trinity Road. They paid 3 shillings 6d a week rent in 1905. Their son John became a postman.

After the Boots left Mr and Mrs Harry Bowles made it their home. Harry was already a soldier in the Royal Berkshires before the First World War and then saw active war service before his capture and retention in a German POW camp in 1917. He was held in Westphalia.

Police Station and Court (17-19) - the Sergeant and his family typically lived in. Police officers will form separate posts on the blog so are not included here. Buildings stand but in different use.

Holy Trinity Church

21.) Trinity Cottages Brick, Flint and tile two up, two down home attached to number 23. Alice Player, then Mr Smith (not the Eli Smith who appears in Part Two of this post) who was followed sometime between 1905 and 1907 by Samuel Todd, a carter born circa 1880, his wife Mary born circa 1878 and their children.

This cottage still stands.

23.) Trinity Cottages . A two up two down brick, flint, and tile cottage. James (bn circa 1859) and Annie Mitchell (bn circa 1868) with their children occupied the cottage at the start of the era along with the teenage Florence Cheetham who was cousin to James. The Mitchells, who paid 3 shillings a week rent in 1905, Were followed by  A Hickman, then Eliza Atkins and her husband James Atkins a brewer's labourer. Both the Atkins were originally of Stokenchurch. They moved into this particular house between 1905 and 1907. In 1901 they lived in Chapel Street, Marlow. Eliza was born circa 1853 and James circa 1846. 

This cottage still stands.

Even numbered properties will be in Part Two along with some Edwardian Trinity Road Residents that can't be certainly placed in any particular house number.

*Note= Marlow was beyond terrible at organizing street numbering, displaying house numbers, or making sure everyone knew what number they lived at. Some people refused to acknowledge the fact that their home had been officially renumbered and carried on using the old number. Others don't ever seem to have understood what their house's number was even after it was officially given one. Some people without moving house would give a different number for their home each different time they were asked, based presumably on guesswork. We often have to use multiple sources to repopulate an Edwardian street in this town reliably.

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

Similar Posts 

Victorian residents of Trinity Cottages Jeremiah and Emma Harding here

General earlier history of Trinity Road here

Edwardian St Peter Street here.

Edwardian Cambridge Place here

Edwardian Spittal Street and Spittal Square Part One here and Part Two here

Edwardian wedding gifts in Marlow here

Some Sources=

Marlow Town Guide and Almanack 1907 and 1915 editions. Marlow Printing Company.

South Bucks Standard 24th July 1913, South Bucks Standard 18th April 1912, . Reading Mercury 24th November 1914. South Bucks Standard 12th November 1909. All British Library Archives via the BNA.

South Bucks Standard February 7th 1902. Directly from the British Library.

Maidenhead Advertiser 17th October 1888. Baylis Media Archives.

Williams estate sale papers, copy kindly given by Adam Baxter of the Marlow Society.

Rent receipt from Jane Pullinger.

Excerpt Henley advertiser 26th June 1897.

GRO marriage Index, GRO online.

https://www.rootspoint.com/record/1881-UK-Census/Slian-Jewell-1869-Turville-Buckinghamshire-Turville/45eac361-6400-40dd-968a-5910b9edb3fd/l

https://www.rootspoint.com/record/1901-UK-Census/James-Atkins-1846-Stokenchurch-Buckinghamshire-Marlow-Urban/50235109-fac7-40e6-ae41-0874082aee1d/

https://www.rootspoint.com/record/1901-UK-Census/John-W-Boot-1859-High-Wycombe-Buckinghamshire-Marlow-Urban/d4b375a0-a0ad-44f9-842a-51474bcabaea/

Other 1901 census information from the transcription from microfilm by Jane Pullinger.

"England and Wales, Census, 1891", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4GGX-Z3Z : Thu Jan 16 07:18:41 UTC 2025), Entry for William Beaver and Rachel Beaver, 1891.

"England and Wales, Census, 1901", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9YY-186 : Thu Feb 13 03:33:37 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry Lunnon, Robert Lunnon, Rachel Beaver 31 Mar 1901.

Edwardian St Peter Street / St Peter's Street

 Marlow St Peter /St Peter's Street residents in the Edwardian era (taking the popular definition for the era as extending 1901-1914). Some earlier and later incidents in the lives of those mentioned are also given to give a rounder picture.

EDWARDIAN PROPERTY NUMBERS (used here) ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME AS THOSE OF TODAY. Some of these properties no longer exist. A few people may be missing here, we will work to get them added. 

Odd numbered properties=

The Old Parsonage - Mrs Fanny Havell  Morgan, a widow with her unmarried adult children Alice and William James. William was the manager of the Morgan family draper's shop in the High Street / Market Square. More on this long standing business and William here . By 1915 Mr H L Slocock was the resident.

The Deanery - Heneage Legge, a retired unmarried army colonel from 1907 to 1911. Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds 1906+ and former Conservative M.P for St George's Hanover Square constituency in London. One of the many Vice-Presidents of Marlow Regatta. He gave a speech to the local schoolchildren as part of the Empire Day celebrations in 1909 in which he told them that within the British Empire there lived a total population 90 thousand times greater than that of Marlow. All of the children present should work for the Empire and pray for the King he said. He then warned the little boy's amongst them that they might have to fight to defend the Empire one day and they should be prepared to die as a result. Way to go top of the list of people not to invite to a children's party, Heneage. You can see a photo of him on the National Portrait Gallery website here. Heneage died November 1911. The Deanery seems to have been empty for a little while afterwards.

Catholic Church. Exterior restored in 1904. Interior redecorated 1910.

Catholic Mixed School (infants) This was considered upon official inspection in 1910 to be poorly lit and with too few toilets. Grace Crowther of the Convent School (see below) also supervised this school which had around 90 pupils. Unlike the Convent  School this was not a private school.

No 7 Catholic Rectory  Canon Bernard Smith until his death in 1903 (full biography of him on the blog here ) then Father Squirrell, then from 1909 Father Arthur Tillet (bn c 1875-76). Arthur was the priest at Marlow for many years. He had been a student at St Mary's Roman Catholic College, Erdington, Warwickshire though he was of Norfolk origin. In 1912 he held a mass for those who died in the Titanic disaster.

Convent School (the Catholic Upper School) - supervised by Miss Grace Crowther who also lived on the premises. This school on this site was formerly ran by nuns hence the popular name but they left in the early 1880s. Back then it has been a mixed school for children of all classes but in Edwardian times it had been transformed into a school for girls. Grace had been the head since at least 1886. In 1889 money was stolen from her desk in a robbery by a hungry and homeless Henry Lacey, a boy whose father routinely locked him and his siblings out of their home and refused to let them back in. He wanted to buy himself some food. He was jailed for 2 weeks for the offence but no one seemed to do anything to punish the father, the real cause of the problem. The Convent upper school of the Edwardian era was described as a prestigious if small school for the children of rich Catholics. Four of her pupils aged between 12 and 18 boarded with Grace at the time of the 1901 census and she had two live in domestic servants. She later described herself as working for Buckinghamshire County Council as a teacher, at the Catholic mixed school above. Grace originated from Todmorden. Her date of birth wanders all about in the census but it would appear that it was correctly 1856 and that her parents Crossley and Mary and her siblings emigrated to the USA in 1873 on the Royal Mail Steamship the SS Algeria. Grace was already living away from home in 1871. Nevertheless to be willingly left behind in Britain without her parents or siblings at the age of just 17 must have been quite something. It certainly suggests a spirit of independence. 

Unplaced property somewhere around this point in the street later Victorian times to early 1900s - The boarding house of William and Mary Ann Betts (nee Hawks). Mary was the main head of the business and was assisted by her niece Sarah Godfrey who lived in. The Betts had previously operated the Queen public house in Quoiting Square. Following the death of her husband Mary took her niece and moved away from this street. Her "boarding house" seems to have consisted of two rooms rented out as one piece of accommodation. For many years  Charles Gibbons a commercial traveller for the wine and spirits trade had taken the rooms. He had once had a brewery in St Peter Street but the business collapsed. Though he moved to Maidenhead in around 1876/77 he kept up his friendship with Mary Ann and visited her whenever his business brought him to Marlow. Sadly in 1880 Charles was found dead with horrific injuries on the train line between Marlow and Maidenhead. It was supposed four different trains had gone over him while he lay on the track. Earlier in the day he had been visiting the Betts. Mary Ann Betts gave evidence at the inquest into his death, saying that both she and her niece had spoken to Charles and though he had some new money troubles he did not seem to be in low spirits. An open verdict was recorded.

The Nook - W Gibson then Charles Berry who remained into the 1920s. Not to be confused with Glade Nook in Glade Road.

River Cottage  mysterious. Seems to have been empty or non existent for most of the era but just afterwards in 1915 the home of Mrs Zuccani.

No. 13 William John Hutchins / Hutchings, sometimes known simply by his middle name and his wife Florence. Their ancient cottage consisted of just two rooms. William had worked as a boilersmith for Great Western Railways as well as formerly being the lock keeper at Temple Lock. Florence informally provided food for some of those who camped at the lock or passed through it in a boat. The campers, most of whom were from privileged backgrounds, often rented a spot on the lock island for the whole season and left their tents up whether they were there or not. Back in 1896 a teenage boy presented himself to Florence at the Lock Keeper's cottage and said he had been sent by one of the absent campers to keep an eye on his tent and he was to be kept and fed by her, bills to be sent to the camper at home in London. The boy disappeared after 3 days. Investigations revealed the camper had never seen him before in his life!

No. 15 Mary Butler born circa 1871, a self-employed needlewoman. Her niece Ethel Butler a teacher lived with her. She was appointed to the Infant School in St Peter Street in 1902. Their home was a very old cottage.  Ethel has retired and was still living at no 15 in the late 1930s.

No 17 a very old cottage of just three rooms at this point. Mrs Kezia(h) Corby, a widow, and her sister Caroline Smith. Earlier in the Edwardian era Kezia's children Charlie (bn circa 1873 a hotel barman) and Kate (bn circa 1886 an embroiderer) lived at home too. When Keziah died Caroline continued to live there alone. Both of these women were embroiderers too. Keziah had lived in St Peter's Street for some years with her husband Henry before his death.

No 19 Mrs Sparks early in the era. 

Fishermens Retreat former pub now small hotel ran by Mrs Elizabeth Hoddinott assisted by her daughter also called Elizabeth. Catered for boating and fishing parties. Was seen as a "high class" place of accommodation. More info here

Buckinghamshire Chair Company (behind)- detailed history of this business here.

Weir House let out as apartments 1903 by John Clark(e) Truss (see below). Had been split into apartments for at least 12 years at this point. Members of the Truss family were still hiring out apartments there in the late 1930s. In 1911 Eliza and Hugh Sutcliffe (a bookmaker) seem to have let the whole premises and sublet one or more rooms to a man described as their lodger, Stanley Smith. Jack Langley who was later a very successful bookmaker on his own account worked for him and became a St Peter Street resident himself when he bought Bridge House in 1913. See below. A Miss Lupton by the end of the Edwardian era was also a tenant of Weir House.

The Two Brewers pub Emily Sophia Truss then John Clarke Truss and his wife Henrietta. Like many pubs of the Edwardian era this one had a Slate Club. Pub was popular with early motoring visitors as it had a lock up garage.

Even numbered properties=

The Public Hall / Cinema combined. Both under the management of Horace Lacey of Station Road. A detailed post about the silent era film shows in the building is already on the blog here.

6-8 National School, Girls (built 1871) and Infants School (built 1868) front part of the site had  two houses for the head teachers. National School (Girls) =Miss Elizabeth Hunt head in 1907, previously head of the Infant's school on the same premises. She retired due to ill health in 1909 after 40 years of service to education at the school. In a presentation upon her leaving Elizabeth was given a gift of £35 collected by well wishers. A little more about Elizabeth can be found in this post. The girls' school had been expanded with two new classrooms and additional cloakrooms during the Edwardian era but was still considered cramped. After Elizabeth left she was replaced as head teacher by Mrs Mary Collins. As Mary lived with her husband Henry /Harry in Chapel Street the live in accommodation due to her within the school premises (numbered no 6 St Peter Street) was  instead let out to William and Annie (nee Jesty) Alloway. William was a house painter. / Infants School (built 1868) whose head was Victor Kibblewhite in 1907. In 1905 he became the Secretary of the Marlow Literary and Scientific Institute. He was also a member of the Rifle and Cricket clubs in the town. Victor was later a town councillor. The school heads usually resided on the premises in St Peter Street and Victor, his wife Ella and their children were no different (their living portion was officially no 8 St Peter Street).  When the new Boys' C of E school opened in Trinity Road he transferred there and the family made a new home at St Ronans Claremont Gardens. During the First World War Victor served on the town Food Control Committee. 

Dial House- Mrs Winter and Selina White, at end of era Mrs Ward. I have a post on the blog already about the Winter family of Dial House see here.

Dial Cottage - ?

The Old Malt House Mrs Emma Hoare of next door Bridge House bought this property in 1897 for £1600 from the executors of Mrs Greenwood. It was used as a summer home by some of her children. Rear Admiral Sir Sydney Marow Eardley Wilmot (bn 1847) made the property his home from circa 1909 and remained there till at least the early 1920s with his wife Grace nee Hoare daughter of Emma Hoare above. The property may have in fact been Grace's inheritance from her mother. Sydney was a twice published novelist and the author of two naval history books. One of his novels The Battle Of The North Sea was written during the time he was officially a resident of Marlow however he and Grace often travelled abroad so I can't guarantee that he actually sat down and wrote any pages in Marlow. He was knighted in 1909 for his Naval services. In an accidental explosion during a training exercise he had lost one of his hands.

Bridge House - Mrs Emma Hoare, widow of Thomas Rolls Hoare who had died in 1892. House put up for sale by auction in 1909 following her death aged 86 at her London house. Bridge House was described then as a Jacobean style home with 15 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, a boat house, summer house and tennis court. Emma had apparently lived in Hastings and London jointly prior to moving to Marlow but she had visited the town as a regular summer guest before the move. She bought Bridge House in 1898 and if she was away on her summer holidays let out it out to tourists for the river season. She found the garden prone to flooding and her home to have drainage issues so soon after moving in asked the council to improve the drainage and provide a curbed pavement for St Peter Street down both sides. She offered to demolish the part of her stables that jutted 8 feet into the road to enable this. The council accepted her offer but did not end up kerbing the whole street as she had asked. The was the cause of an inordinate amount of discussion and trouble. 

After Mrs Hoare, Mrs Stephenson Smith briefly kept Bridge House as her summer holiday home. She was robbed while the house was shut up. The teenage thief got away with her fur lined coat, a pearl cross, an ornamental dagger and various other items. Not all those pieces of property were successfully recovered.

In 1913 Bridge House was bought by John "Jack" Langley, the chairman of Marlow Urban District Council. See here for a biography of John and Jack Langley. See above also. 

Sources=

Regatta Programme 1911.

Marlow Directory and Almanack 1891,  1907 and 1915 editions by Marlow Printing Company.

Kelly's Post Office Directory of Bucks etc 1895, 1911, 1915 editions.

1901 census of England and Wales, transcribed from microfilm, National Archives by Charlotte Day or Jane Pullinger except 1901 Erdington Warwickshire which was https://www.rootspoint.com/search/?CollectionKey=UK1901&FirstName=Arthur&MiddleName=&LastName=&BirthPlace=&LivedIn=Warwickshire+erdington+court&BirthYear=&MatchType=defaultex&submit=Search

South Bucks Standard June 1909 and 11th March 1898 from the British Library Archives, accessed via the BNA.

Maidenhead Advertiser clipping March 18th 1914.

Maidenhead Advertiser 12th June 1889, via Baylis Media Archives online.

Wikipedia article on Eardley-Wilmot https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Eardley-Wilmot

Advertising literature, personal letters.

 G.R.O death registrations from the G.R.O online except m of William Alloway which was 

"England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2D6G-DLL : 13 December 2014), William Thomas Alloway, 1909; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1909, quarter 4, vol. 3A, p. 1554, Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England. 

Two Dedicated Victorian School Mistresses

This post is dedicated to two Victorian ladies who devoted themselves to the children of Marlow, working in sometimes difficult conditions, only stopping when their health failed. Both were the head mistresses of the National schools in St Peter Street in the late Victorian period. 

First we have Harriet Thimblethorp(e). Harriet was in charge of the girls school. She arrived in 1881 to a school building less than 20 years old. It was not however in good condition, and regular reports were made of a  leaking roof and smelling toilets. The school was also crowded by modern standards, with about 50-60 girls per class. Average attendance for the school was about 143 pupils a day, which was actually as few less than the buildings were designed to deal with however. 

Image courtesy of ©Colin Groves

 Harriet also suffered the closure of her school on a number of occasions because of outbreaks of disease. Scarlet fever and measles reared their ugly heads sometimes, and a nasty outbreak of small pox in 1893 caused a break in lessons of several weeks. As a result when the school inspector came round that year, he was willing to make some allowances for a lack of progress in the young girls education. The inspector concluded however that the main reason for unimpressive attainment in the children was that the particular intake of children it had lacked natural intelligence! He did mention their nice sewing and singing at least. 

Singing was an favourite activity of Harriet's. It is nice to think of those walking down St Peters Street in the Victorian period catching the happy sound of the girls' singing through the open windows of the school. She may have been described as naturally reserved but she was able to show affection and kindness to her girls and it seems to have been reciprocated. She was also described as absolutely devoted to her charges and always just in dealing with them.

By 1898, Harriet was not well. She refused to give up her work, though that was the advice she received. Sadly her condition deteriorated and it was clear she was suffering badly. She received news that her condition was now deemed incurable but it seems she wished to carry on at work as long as possible. In June 1898 however she was so ill that she had to give in and resign. She left Marlow for the sort of places people went in the hope of improving their health, or delaying it's decline. But a little over 2 months later, she died at Brighton. During the time of her funeral, the children sang her favourite hymn at the school. It's hard to imagine she would have preferred any other farewell. 

Our second devoted teacher is Elizabeth Harriet Hunt (AKA Lizzie) who was born in London in 1847. She was the head teacher at St Peter's Street School infant's department by 1876. She had accommodation provided for her in St Peter's Street, along with Harriet and the mistresses of both schools. 

The South Bucks Standard in 1893 said she deserved "the highest praise" for her work at the school. Her assistants then were Miss Evans and Miss [Florence] Nicholls. Between them they educated an average of 131 children each day. There would have been pupil monitors too.

Ill health forced Elizabeth to teach her last lesson on Tuesday 27th July 1909. That evening in the schoolroom local dignitaries and school teachers gathered to thank her for her years of service. She was praised for the "love she displayed for her work and for her children". A purse of £35 was presented to her by way of thanks.

Elizabeth went to live with her brother in London where she died in 1917. Thankfully she got to enjoy something of the retirement that Harriet never did. 

To find all mentions of an individual here, use the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. For other posts about St Peters Street use the Specific shops, streets etc option there. For a list of 75+ historic schools in Marlow see the post here. A fuller list of Victorian/Edwardian teachers for the national schools will follow. 

Sources

GRO Birth and Death Registration Indexes by the General Registry Office.

National Union of Teachers report 1888, 1893. 

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1883 (Kelly's Post Office Directories Ltd)

South Bucks Standard 3rd March & 12 December 1893,1 September 1899, and 30th July 1909. Copies held in the British Library archives. Accessed via the BNA March 2021.

Harris Royal Country Directory 1876.

"England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9YB-P1F : 20 May 2019), Elizabeth H Hunt, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

Researched jointly by Charlotte (Elizabeth) and Kathryn Day (Harriet)

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Susanna Oxlade 1763 Will

 Susanna Oxlade widow of Great Marlow. Will proved 1763 but written back in January 1751 / 52 (the year then did not start in January).

Says she weak in body but of sound mind. She is making her will as she is mindful of her mortality.

Body to be buried at the discretion of her executor.

Son Jonathan Oxlade £5.

Daughter Susanna Hunt, wife of Hugh Hunt of Radnage £5.

Executor son Robert Oxlade of Bisham in Berks. He is to receive all the rest of her money, goods and chattels after her debts are paid.

Witnessed by Mary Cooke, Hannah Flight and William Hawes.

Transcribed and then summarised from a PCC will held at the National Archives, Kew by Charlotte Day.

For more wills see the Will Transcriptions index. All mentions of someone on this blog can be found on the Person Index. Several thousand people are mentioned.

Index for posts about every day life in old Great Marlow and Little Marlow see here

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

Hayes Place, Great Marlow

Earliest name "The Hayes". 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

*****

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

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

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

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

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

Sources: 

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

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

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

Buckinghamshire Council Report for 1913. 

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

Death certifications, GRO.

Slavery And Its Abolition

Updated June 2024- more to come

Involved With The Trade

Daniel Moore (born circa 1701)- was an American with British ancestry. He emigrated to his ancestral homeland of England about 1747 when he bought Widmere Manor in Marlow. He was M.P, though apparently a largely inactive one, for Marlow 1754 to 1761. He shortly after that moved back to the Caribbean. He is usually given as a merchant however I believe he was also the Daniel Moore who owned a plantation in Jamaica and had on it over 100 enslaved people.

Charles John Bloxam- lawyer of the High Street was one of those who did the paperwork for some slave owners when they were granted financial compensation for the abolition of the slave trade. The two people he acted for were not locals.

John Ashley - buried aged 73 in Little Marlow churchyard. Grave says he of Ashley Hall in the parish of Vere, Jamaica. This was a sugar plantation with slaves. His ownership of this property seems to have become complicated and disputed. He certainly however owned slaves, at least 10 of them. He died while on a visit to Little Marlow, hence his burial there. The Ashley family were from Gloucestershire and Jamaica, not locals. Transporting bodies at that time was difficult so many people had to be buried wherever they died, not where they would have wanted. John lived York Crescent, Clifton, Gloucestershire having moved there from Jamaica.

Above: John Ashley's grave in Little Marlow churchyard.

Involved With Abolition Of Slavery

Pascoe Grenfell (born 1761)- M.P for Marlow 1802-20 was "on every ground of  humanity, justice and policy" a vocal supporter of the abolition of slavery and Wilberforce's efforts to get that done. Pascoe's son appears to have grown up to have financial investments partly dependent on the slave trade, something which must have disappointed him. The son also possibly owned a slave personally.

In 1792 residents of Marlow met in the Vestry at the behest of the Reverend Richard Hunt to discuss slavery. It was unanimously agreed to send a petition to parliament from the town calling for the "abolition or reform of the slave trade". This was part of a nationwide push by abolitionists to get local people from around the country to come together and petition parliament on the issue. Similar meetings took place in Wallingford and Newbury for example. The "abolition or reform" wording was a template for the petition. Those at Marlow unanimously passed an additional vote of support for Wilberforce who wanted full abolition.

The Wesleyan congregation of Marlow sent a petition to Parliament again calling for full Abolition in 1831.

A local emancipation committee to promote anti-slavery sentiment was being set up in Marlow in 1861. James Carson of Spinfield House was instrumental in this. In October 1861 he presided over a lecture meeting in Marlow where African American Reverend J Sella Martin and Canadian Reverend T.M Kinnaird who had himself been a slave spoke of the Civil War in America and the anti - slavery movement in general. The speakers, praised Simpson for his efforts to remove slavery from plantations he had any business connection to in Jamaica. His family had never had any slaves themselves he later said. A lot more on James Carson in this post 

Other

Field Marshal Sir George Nugent and his wife Maria lived for a while at Westhorpe House, Little Marlow. George had been a commander in the American Revolutionary War and for five years governor of Jamaica. They left Jamaica for England in 1806. American-born Maria kept a journal of her time in Jamaica which was published posthumously. This is considered a key text in Jamaican history and is an interesting read. Her attitude to the slaves she encountered was bafflingly contradictory. She was willing to dance with a slave and continually asserted that slaves had souls just like anyone else and so were worth saving in the religious sense. She criticized the enslaved population for laziness and immorality but thought that the fault for that lay not with them but with the bad example of their lazy and immoral masters. Overall she thought most slaves well treated, being willfully oblivious to the fact someone declared a slave [e.g a non person] is by definition being appallingly treated even if no additional suffering is heaped upon them by violence etc. It also stretches credibility when Maria tells us that a boatload of newly arrived slaves which she examined to see if they looked sad and in need of spiritual succour surprised her by looking happy and being more interested in her carriage than taking in their new surroundings or circumstances.

For more about this family and the general history of Westhorpe too see a dedicated post here

Enslaved People

George Alexander Gratton, born into slavery in St Vincents, stage name the "Spotted Boy" is buried in Marlow and has a dedicated post of his own here

In 1861 "fugitive slave" John Jackson was on a local speaking tour describing how he escaped from slavery and bringing to the people a first hand account of life under its grip. I do not believe John came to Marlow but interested Marlovians may have travelled to sites like Chesham Town Hall, or had friends and family who told them about his testimony. His appearances were widely advertised in advance. The following year, fellow escaped slave Washington Duff did reach Marlow on his lecture tour. He spoke in the Lecture Room (aka The Music Room, now the Masonic Centre, St Peters Str.) Washington spoke about the cruelty he and others had recieved at the hands of their "masters", including sadistic punishments which left the audience shocked and revolted. Washington bore the scars of one such assault on his legs. He was from Kentucky and had escaped to Canada. 

***

June 2022 for more Marlow slavery links see here

All mentions of someone on this blog can be found on the Person Index.

To find other content about every day life in old Marlow see the post listing here

***

Sources:

Bucks Herald, 27th April 1861. Copy held British Library Archives and accessed via the BNA March 2021.

Reading Mercury 17th March 1792. As above.

South Bucks Free Press 28 November 1862

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/moore-daniel-1701. Accessed March 2021.

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/grenfell-pascoe-1761-1838 Accessed March 2021.

'Charles John Bloxam' Legacies of British Slave Ownership database , http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk./lbs/person/view/46245 Accessed March 26th 2021.

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

Homers Farm Marlow *updated Feb 2026*

Updated April 2025

Although historically within Great Marlow Parish Homers Farm /Holmers Farm  was about 3 miles from it, closest in fact to Booker. It was about half a mile from the turnpike road between Marlow and High Wycombe.

Description 1834= 123 acres 1910= arable and pasture farm.

Historic occupiers (these are not normally the same as the owners) and history timeline:

1742 Samuel Wellesley. 

1781-1784 at least - Barabbee Fastnedge (a man with a name destined to be spelled a 100 different ways!) Mr Fastnedge was at Triphooks farm 1786 (possibly in addition to this) Also farmed at Finnemoor. Possibly Homers was owned by James Batting of High Wycombe at this time. 

1823= up for sale. It's proximity to the turnpike road between Marlow and Hug Wycombe is considered a distinct advantage. 122 acres of enclosed arable and meadow land and orchard, plus farm house, barns, etc. It's in "the highest state of cultivation, lying extremely compact, divided by quick hedges, in well proportioned fields in a ring fence completely surrounding the homestead." Has been occupied by the same (unnamed) family for 40 years who also have the freehold. (Windsor & Eton Express, 10 May 1823)

1833= Edmund Collins. Owned by Mrs Rose.

1840- George Hunt occupier leaving and selling off his farm stock including a crop of oats, 28 "meaty ewes", 8 horses or colts, some pigs, a barren cow, 70 fowl and bits of household furniture [Auction notice Bucks Advertiser 24th July 1840] .

1841- 1862 Thomas Greenslade. One of the parish Guardians of Great Marlow. In 1851 he has 120 acres employing 5 labourers. In 1861 92 acres being farmed (so some of farm may be let to others or sub let) and Thomas is employing 3 men 2 boys. Two geese stolen from him 1859. The actual owner of the farm in 1862 was still Mrs Rose.

1867 Mrs Greenslade, presumably a widow of Thomas above, left the farm selling up all her stock and household furniture. She mainly seems to have been operating as an arable and sheep farm though she also had a few pigs.

1869- Richard Child. 

1870 - Freehold up for sale, tenant Richard Smith to quit at Michaelmas. The owner William Rose had recently died and his executors are to sell up. Includes residence, barns etc plus a "well sheltered farm yard" and a pair of workers cottages. 123 acres. Shooting in the estate was let separately to Lord Carrington whose land also adjoined the farm. 

1876-83 John Campbell. Wife Elizabeth. Both originally from Scotland. He was farming 123 acres 1881 and employing 2 men and 2 boys. 

1888- duck and drake stolen from the farm.

1891-1901 John Campbell. Son of John and Elizabeth above. Sister Marion lived with him. Raised pigs and crops. Worker James Goodall who lives at the farmed fined 1893 for not sending 3 children to school. They may have been helping on the farm.

1903-1916 Miss Marian Campbell, leasee. Daughter of John and Elizabeth above. Born 1851. Her premises were very close to the Booker isolation hospital and Marian herself took in some residential patients for "open air treatment" as well as supplying produce to the hospital. In 1904 Marian gave evidence in the trial of a nurse at the hospital accused of burning it down out of anger for not being promoted to matron there. Marian had been told by the accused that she felt like setting fire to the bushes outside it but replied that it was a foolish idea and would set the whole place on fire. As it was two blocks went up in flames simultaneously which immediately made police suspect arson rather than accident. However nurse Isabel Livingston who was so hysterical in the dock the trial proceeded only with great difficulty was found not guilty of arson. See the South Bucks Standard 10th June 1904 for much more on this case.

In 1910 the farm was bought by Lord Carrington from an unknown previous owner but Marian continued as tenant.

Marian died at the farm 1916. Buried High Wycombe. Worshipper at Handy Cross church which no longer exists.

1920 Mr A Stacey.

1939 William Wiltshire, dairy farmer assisted by his son also called William.

For more farm occupier posts Great Marlow see the Specific Shops, Streets Etc option on the menu here. For Little Marlow use the Nearby Places option here. You will also see a Person Index option on the menu to help you find every mention of a person on this blog. The General Marlow History option here contains other posts which may be of interest to you such as information on local harvest home celebrations or historic agricultural wages in Marlow. 

Farm occupancies identified 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.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

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