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 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
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
