Fun In Gossmore With The Rifle Volunteers

  If you had been strolling around Gossmore between Marlow and Little Marlow in the summer of 1861 you may have seen what looked like some kind of fete going on. Donkey racing, a brass band, refreshment tent, crowds of visitors, and novelty boat races were all in evidence. The day ended with a tremendous bonfire and a fireworks display. What you were actually witnessing was the open day of the Bucks Volunteer Rifles encampment at Marlow. The Volunteer camps were a big social event in town so they featured a lot in the life of those who both did and did not actually serve in the Marlow branch of the Volunteers. So in today's post we will describe what it was like to be go to camp, as either a Volunteer or a visitor, in the first couple of decades of their existence. 

A meeting was held in the boys schoolroom in the Causeway in June 1859 to "consider the propriety of forming a Volunteer Rifle Corps in the town and neighborhood". The response was positive and so the Volunteers began shortly afterwards. This provided military training to those not joining the regular army, so they would be ready to come to the countries aid if needed. So the Volunteers had a serious purpose, and being a member involved regular committment to drill and shooting practice. A large number of Marlow families had a member in the volunteers at some point - some of whom would go onto serve in the South African wars and First World War. The annual camps were supposed to create an immersive intense training period to create "good and efficient soldiers, ready for any emergency." But they also involved a certain amount of fun and frolics as we shall see! 

The first camp at Marlow

The Marlow company were joined by various other groups within the Bucks Volunteer Rifles at different times. The camp was first held at Marlow itself in 1861. It would use what would become a favourite site - the riverside Gossmore meadows. This had long been in use as a recreation ground and it was formalised as such when Marlow received her Enclosure Act in the early 1850s.  Permission for the Volunteers to use this space was granted by the inhabitants at a parish vestry meeting. The weather was terrible - something that does seem to be a regular feature of the encampments. For all the merriment, the actual living conditions in canvas tents can not have been especially pleasant after "very heavy" rain. It was felt that the gravel beneath the surface at Gossmore and sandy soil would help to ensure the ground quickly dried out relatively speaking although it was also noted that should there be a summer flood, the spot was subject to going underwater! The point was to replicate a "real" military encampment so a bit of mud probably added to the experience. To the same end there was only one lavatory provided. 

For this first camp, the men were housed in tents which had been borrowed from the army stores "at the Tower" (of London). There were 9 rows of 8 big sleeping tents which were put up on the Saturday before the camp officially began. By 1865, the camp at Marlow boasted 79 tents in all, including one dedicated to storing ammunition. Generally though the Volunteers were not required to attend until the Monday.  The privates naturally shared their tents. (Each tent was issued with a lantern, leather bucket, camp kettle and two basins.) I'm not sure what bedding was provided in this first year but later each man would receive a straw mattress and two blankets. 

On the east side of the camp stood more spacious tents for the officers to sleep in as well as the officers mess, officers stores and a hospital tent. Although there was no enemy facing the Volunteers, there were still occasional accidents related to the shooting practice and competitions. Surrounding the site were sentry boxes which were constructed from "hurdles inlaid with straw". A nice rustic touch! The sentry duty was taken seriously as if an enemy was really nigh. There was also the point of guarding the camp equipment and guns against opportunistic thieves. A detachment of police from Aylesbury also attended during the open days at the end of the week. 

Catering arrangements

Catering arrangements varied a little year on year. In 1861, on the north side of the camp was a canteen managed on the Volunteers behalf by Jesse Ward of the King's Head in Aylesbury. (A Mr Dunkin of High Wycombe actually provided the rations) This was equipped with stoves. There was some debate as to whether it was the right thing to do to involve outside caterers. It was a less authentic experience it was argued. In later times, the camp kitchen was managed by the Volunteers themselves. They were actually charged for their rations at first, at a set rate of 2s a day, regardless of what was on the menu. This was generally it seems considered a good deal as Mr Ward's catering was highly praised. The fee covered  breakfast, dinner and supper as well as 1 pint of beer a day.  The meals were served in a large tent used as a dining room, next to the canteen. Each man was supposed to bring along his own tin plate, and pint mug plus a knife, fork and spoon. Water came from a specially dug well on the north side, which aroused some interest on the camp open days. 

Jesse was still doing the cooking at the 1864 camp also held at Gossmore, but now we are told there are no cooking facilities in the camp itself. Instead ready roast beef and mutton was supplied on alternate days "smoking hot" for the dinners. Jesse presumably borrowed a kitchen somewhere close by. However he managed it, he did a good job as the men spoke of the meals "in the highest terms" according to a reporter from the Reading Mercury who attended. 

Visitors could also enjoy an exhibition tent in which there were displays of  the trophies and other prizes already won by the Volunteers in shooting competitions. Marlow's Sergeant Alfred Stradling (otherwise a clock and watch maker of the High Street) had earned many of these in 1861. There you could also see equipment for cleaning and repairing the rifles. 

On Sunday, day 2, the camp was not quite finished but that didn't stop scores of visitors from Marlow, Little Marlow and Bourne End heading along the tow path to gaze at the scene. They were allowed in during the day more or less officially as the main group of men had not yet set up home. Whether their presence really helped putting the finishing touches in place must be debatable! A group of  local gentry usually chose the Sunday evening for their inspection of the camp too. 

Daily life in camp in the 1860's

The camp routine didn't change much each year in the 1860's so the below outline of the 1861 camp is a typical routine for the whole decade. 

On Monday, the Volunteers arrived en masse and things were put on a more military footing. Marlow were of course the nearest company to the camp and so they marched in first under Lieutenant Owen Peel Wethered. They did not as yet have use of The Armoury building in Institute Road*. The Marlow men also formed the first guard of the site. The other local companies joining in travelled by train to what was then known as the Marlow Road Station (soon to become Bourne End) and walked the rest of the way. They were joined by members of the Royal Bucks Yeomanry as some of the shooting prizes were open to them. All of the men were entitled to send one small bag of luggage in advance if they wished. They were strongly encouraged to do so to avoid carting a bag on their march into camp. Too much pack carrying was thought created a less splendid appearance to the company so it was said. Those coming via Bourne End had been told to send on their coats for the same reason. The result was the poor fellows got thoroughly drenched on their incoming march and not all had a full change of clothes with them. (The men were recommended to bring a coat, flannel shirt, waistcoat, trousers, a pair of socks - and only one - and their brush and comb.) The same thing happened on at least two other occasions in the 1860s. The weather likes to rain on our Volunteers! 

And so camp life began, with reveille at 5am, breakfast at 7.30am, morning parade at 9.30am and another at 7.30 in the evening, plus drill sessions throughout the day. Roll call was at 9pm. If you did not know the Volunteer camp was taking place (unlikely given the excitement felt in Marlow in the weeks before!), you would probably have heard them before too long. A bugler announced the parades 30 minutes before they were due to take place, as well as the time to get up, lights out (10pm) and roll call etc. (Marlow Volunteers were presented with a silver bugle by "the ladies of Marlow" in 1860) What took up most of the time was shooting practice and competitions of which more below. This also attracted criticism as it was considered not enough time was spent on general drill compared to the more glamorous rifle work. 

As time went on camps got lengthier but in 1861 the minimum stay was just 2 days out of 5. It was expected you would stay longer and indeed the whole time if you could. You could not just go home if you had had enough. Permission to leave the camp, whether for good or just a few hours, had to be obtained from an officer. Failure to turn up on parade or role call could result in your dismissal from the Volunteers. As the men all had day jobs, co operation was sought from their employers to release the men long enough. 

Another feature of the day was a short religious service each morning at 8.30am. This was one of the few aspects of camp life that wasn't compulsory. The services were conducted by the vicar of Marlow - the Rev Robert Millman in this period. He was the Brigades Honorary Chaplain. The service was always choral and so the choir in their surplices tramped along the river every morning to attend camp. 

One of the reasons that Marlow scored the camp was because they possessed "one of the most magnificent firing ranges ever seen" at the base of Bisham Woods - later moved further away when Quarry Wood Road was laid down. This had been originally provided by Mr Vansittart of Bisham Abbey. (George Henry Vansittart was promoted to Captain of the 1st Bucks Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1863, with Owen Peel Wethered promoted to Lieutenant in his place) A ferry was set up to allow easy communication between the Berks and Bucks shores. To the usual Marlow range was added 4 additional targets on a temporary basis.  Each member of the Volunteers was required to fire so many rounds at the butts. The competition shooting was held on "ranges at 200, 300, 500, 600 yards, 5 rounds at each range" Those that did best won a prize. Doing this took up most of Monday and Tuesday, with the finals held on the Thursday. Those who had attended camp for less than two days couldn't compete and those who hadn't attended a minimum number of drill sessions were barred from some events. Consistently the camps come with rules and guidelines to deal with not showing up at parade or drill, which suggests the early threats of dismissal if you missed any were not enough! 

The shooting prizes were for either cash or a cup or a medal. Marlow's men tended to do well and in 1864 Sergeant Stradling mentioned above scored the 2nd prize overall. Another cup for him to display. In the same year Corporal Newman came 4th winning £4 in cash, and Private Lunnon 6th overall. (£2 prize)

Wednesday is party day

Tuesday evening saw the party spirit begin. A brass band attended the camp to lead the men to drill. On Wednesday a large bonfire was constructed. Considering the awful weather which seems to accompany 90% of the 1860s camps, someone must have had the foresight to keep a large quantity of wood in the dry.  That would be lit in the evening, where it could be seen for miles around. The public was now formally allowed to enter the camp in the afternoon, rather than gather outside. Someone made a "large copper of punch" which was apparently available along with other alcohol indiscriminately to all. The officers also had some champagne which they raised in toast to the camps success. The brass band may have gone but someone bought along a harmonium in 1861. The Volunteers were fortunate to have Private Ringrose amongst their number. He was then the organist and choir master at All Saints. So he took charge of the harmonium and the singing and dancing began. In 1864 it was "Lord Orkneys band" that provided the Wednesday music. The Volunteers were still subject to lights out so eventually the camp was cleared and the men went back to their tents and a well deserved rest.  

Thursday was reserved for sports although some had also taken place on the Wednesday. It was said that these events were encouraging stamina and fitness, two qualities needed by their ideal soldier. The public were invited and a good number came along to watch. There were straightforward running races as well as donkey races and swimming ones at the first Marlow camp. Succeeding camps saw the sports programme get longer and more novelty races creep in such as "jumping in sacks" and pushing Volunteers in barrows. After all this the only thing left to do was more parade and a Thursday evening prize giving before the camp officially broke up on the Friday. The prize giving ended with a communal singing of the National Anthem that could be heard 2 miles away. 

At Danesfield 

Danesfield was another venue used by the Volunteers for their camp. For example in 1873 they set up on the banks of the river, with the officers mess tent in front of the entrance to the old Medmenham Abbey. This time the camp ran from Saturday to Wednesday. Dinner was provided at 1s a day, charged separately from the other meals. It was noted that many had chosen to bring their own food. Presumably the excellent chef Jesse Ward was no longer providing the catering.

The entertainment element was still there - as was Ringrose and his harmonium and the Marlow Choir. The choir were not thankfully walking all the way to Danesfield each day but did join in an outdoor service on one occasion. Entertainment day was Monday this time around. A band played for two hours in the officers mess for the officers and their invited guests. The following day all the men were invited in turn into the mess after the sports for a "punch party". The camp ended with the officers ball hosted by Robert Scott Murray of Danesfield, with the band of the First Life Guards in attendance. By this time the other men were well on their way home..and for once it didn't rain on them!

NB. 

The 1st Marlow corps were joined by those from High Wycombe (the 2nd), Buckingham and Winslow (the 3rd), Aylesbury (the 4th) and Slough (the 5th). 

Some of those attending the 1861 camp as members of the 1st Marlow include:

Private R Blackwell 

Private H Smith

Private W Lunnon

Private William Ringrose

Private J Curtis 

Private J Cox 

Private Wyatt

Private Hobbs

Private McMillan 

Private Fletcher.

Private Endall

Quartermaster Sergeant T? Lunnon qv

Corporal Brown

Corporal Newman

Corporal Hackshaw

Bugler Batting

Sergeant Alfred Stradling 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts

*The joy and tragedy of the Armoury's first year - here

South African Wars memorial includes many Volunteer names - here

General index of posts related to Marlow and  military history: here

Other posts related to Danesfield: here

Sources include:

Berkshire Chronicle 18 June 1859 - British Library Archive. 

Reading Mercury 11 July 1860, as above. 

Reading Mercury  1865, thanks to Jane Pullinger for her copy. 

Beckett, Ian. Call To Arms - Buckinghamshire's Citizen Soldiers. (Barracuda Books 1985)

The London Gazette, 1 September 1863 - digitised by Google. 

Orders for Volunteer Encampments - 1865, Wilson & Son. 

© MarlowAncestors 

    

  

Landlords of The Cross Keys, Spittal Square/Spittal Street

The pubs location is Spittal Square /  Spittal Street previously known as the Common Slough. Now known as The Oarsman. (Sometimes listed as located in Chapel Street, which is a continuation of Spittal Street) This is a replacement for the earlier building that jutted out more into the Street. 

These earliest two mentions refer to an earlier incarnation, not on the same site. It is uncertain where this first pub was located.

1757 - Sylvester Law (had moved from the Upper Crown)

1766 - Sylvester Law (Will of Sylvester Law 1766  here )

*****

Spittal Square site - note this pub was almost certainly originally one of two pubs in Marlow called the White Hart. See our post on that for landlord listings for that pub and the other White Hart which was nearby in Chapel Street. It is available here

1839 - Henry Thomas Meakes. A blacksmith also on the same premises. Previously worked for his father Thomas Meakes as a journeyman blacksmith. Thomas went bankrupt in 1830 despite a loan of over £200 from Henry. This loan was secured on all of Thomas's stock in trade, book debts and furniture, something which caused serious censure at the bankruptcy hearings as it illegally deprived other creditors of a chance to have Thomas's goods seized and sold to settle the debts owed to them. There is no suggestion Henry meant to do anything illegal. In fact the judge in the case called him an an excellent and hard working young man. [Bucks Gazette. 17th January 1830. British Newspaper Archive]. Henry was born 1805. His brother later ran an ironmongers further up Spittal Street. See here

1841- Henry Meakes. Also blacksmith as above.

1844 - Henry Meakes as above.

1846 - Henry Thomas Meakes. Fined 40 shillings for allowing card games on his premises. Also executor that year of the will of stationer William Collins of Flackwell Health.

1847 - H.T Meakes (Mr Ridgely also listed as landlord this year.)

1852 - J Meakes

1853 - Mary Ann Meakes (also  listed as a whitesmith)

1854 - Mary Ann Meakes  (listed also as blacksmith). Likely widow of Henry Thomas Meakes who was definitely a Mary Ann.

1859 - John Wellicome. Hannah his wife had died in 1844.

1861 - John Wellicome (also plumber and smith, employing 9 men). Though not given on census as such John was also a painter, decorator and glazier!

1863 - John Wellicome. Cautioned to conduct his premises better or his licence will not be renewed..

1864 - John Wellicome (also listed as blacksmith). Died February that year. 

1869 - Henry Creswell.

1877 - Henry Creswell.

1879   Henry Cresswell transferred premises to Robert Lunnon  "The Cross Keys Inn"

1881 - Robert Lunnon.

1883 - Robert Lunnon.

1888 - 1. R.Lunnon 2. Alfred Williams.

1891 - Alfred Williams (also a joiner).

1892 - Alfred Williams transfers premises to William Redsdale /Ridsdale.

1893 - Thomas Ridsdale  (qv)  transfers premises to Edwin Richards who passes it on to John Wilson. (NB in 1894 a Mrs Richards, described as formerly keeping the Cross Keys in Marlow, is a coffee shop proprietor in London.)

1894 - John Wilson transfers to H F T Hitchins/ H F Thomas Hitchens.

1895 - Thomas Hitchens qv 2. Joseph Dyer/Dwyer.

1898 -1 Joseph Dyer. 2 Thomas Pym (incorrectly given as Joseph Pym in the Bucks Free Press of that year) .

1899 - Thomas Pym - he is called up as a member of reserve forces to "go to the Cape" - that is war in South Africa. He is reported injured for the second time in March 1900. (2nd Devon's)  Mr Barksfield takes over. 

1903 - Joseph Barksfield.

1920- Joseph Barksfield.

1924 - Mrs Annie Barksfield.

1925 - Annie Barksfield gives up licence and Spencer Charles Fisher takes over.

1939 - Robert William Spencer.  Robert moved in this year to Seymour Court Road where he opened a grocery shop known simply as The Stores. This was at the very top of the road opposite the park and no longer exists. Robert died in 1943. He was a special constable during the war.

1948 - G Cawdon Wooster. Cross Keys Inn. Offers accommodation, luncheons and a snack bar.

        Spittal Square, above. 

This post is updated as new information emerges. 

More Spittal Street related posts indexed here

Use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu, rather than the tag search, to check all other posts for mentions of your ancestors. Many Marlow landlords changed premises and there can be other family members running other establishments. Some places changed how they described themselves - or how they were viewed- and so licensed premises listings here take in not just beer houses, pubs and inns but common lodging houses and hotels too. We mainly focus on pre WW1 listings but sometimes list later names if it ties in with research we are helping with. For other posts about pubs, see the Pub Related index here 

Additional research by Charlotte Day.

SOURCES 

1833 Parish Assessment. Original handwritten notebooks held in my family. Transcribed by Charlotte Day.

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1859, 1864,1869,1877,1889,1903, 1907

1853 Mussons and Cravens Commercial directory. From the University of Leicester Archive.

Many licence hearings reports including :

Bucks Herald 27 December 1879, copy held at British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA January 2021.

South Bucks Standard September 14 1894, as above.

Robson's Directory 1839,1844.

Census 1861,1871,1881,1891 transcribed from microfilm by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Historic Ironmongers Great Marlow

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 Updated June 2022

This West Street building is the one from which Mrs Ann Hobbs was for "many years" trading as an ironmonger before her death in 1787. Things weren't always easy in the business evidently as Ann was in Aylesbury gaol as a debtor in 1774. She was however still trading as an ironmonger at the time of her death.

After her burial at Marlow her stock in trade was auctioned off. The buyer was John Lane who took over the premises too. He was already working as an ironmonger before that. In 1800 the Lane family had as lodger a Mr George Siegmund, professor of drawing, who offered ladies private drawing lessons. He had previously been an enamel painter and was family to the Lanes as he mentions various Lane relatives in his will proved 1819. (See his grave below)

John Lane's daughter Lydia Lane (who was left £5 in George Siegmund's will), born in 1761 took over after his death running the shop until her own demise at an advanced age in the mid 1840s. Richard Way, a carpenter and his wife lived on the premises with Lydia for some years towards the end of her life.

William Almond, who had moved from Beaconsfield, then traded here as an ironmonger (and at times leather seller and furniture broker too) for many years. He was present to at least 1881. Ten years earlier he was charged with having his display of stock extending into the public highway! [Reading Mercury 9th December 1871]. As West Street is the main road in to town from Henley and Reading that was definitely an inconvenience to passing traffic! William and his wife Ann (nee Plumridge of Lane End) moved to Leeds where they both died in 1888.

After William Almond came George Lunnon who managed to be both ironmonger, sewing machine agent and boot maker. 

Above, grave of George Siegmund who died November 10th 1818 age 64 years, "He lived and died an honest man".. And also of Henry Lane who died January 1821 age 51 years. 

To see more posts on historic occupiers of West Street businesses see here.

To see another historic Marlow ironmongers see here.

Historic occupation of properties identified by me from property record, census records, wills, advertisements, court cases and photographs cross referencing.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to reuse this photo, research and identification of the premises with credit to this blog. 

Proverbial For It's Wickedness

Side of the chapel building. Photo taken October 2020.

POST UPDATED NOVEMBER 2024.

The Primitive Methodists were a group who aspired to follow a pure, close to the original form of Methodism. They arrived in Marlow before 1831, the date given by James Joseph Sheahan in his History and Topography of Buckinghamshire, for the erection of their first place of worship. Many of the early Primitive Methodist services were held outside, and they were not necessarily well received locally. The early preachers had to be brave men at times, undergoing both physical and verbal abuse. 

An example of this is the hair raising experience preacher George Griggs underwent while staying at Marlow in 1838. On his way here, he stopped to lead an open air Sunday afternoon service at Bisham, accompanied by a few friends. They began by singing hymns, their usual way of gaining attention. Unfortunately, they also gained the interest of a few inebriated men who made a raucous audience. The local clergyman came up and ordered Griggs out of the village, on the pretext they were causing a disturbance. A spirited exchange followed, and the clergyman departed, whether in defeat or to gather reinforcements isn't known. Griggs made a speech to anyone left sober enough to listen then retreated to Marlow. The following day he had in his sights a place apparently "proverbial for it's wickedness" - the village of Cookham Dean. Here he gathered a large audience, but again it was dominated by hecklers. Things got heated and poor George was thrown down to the ground twice, and attempts were made to tear off his coat. Two passing men apparently intervened at this point and George's coat was saved. One report even mentions the firing of guns, into the air we hope. Was he deterred? Not at all. The next week he was back in sinful Cookham Dean. Unfortunately so were the hecklers who this time formed a parade, lead by the unnamed daughter of a beer seller. They banged kettles and pans, sang "lewd songs" and generally tried to blot out George's words. One member of this raucous band is nevertheless said to have heard enough to inspire him to fall to his knees and weep for his sins. Or so it was later reported. However when George asked the audience to step forward and give their name and address if they wished to form a local group, no one moved. Not surprising given the reception George had recieved! But as he walked away, he was followed by a few individuals who did want to do just as he asked, now they were out of sight of their disapproving neighbours. The first meeting of this little group was said to have been made in a quarry, and was used later as an example of how unpromising beginnings could sometimes lead to success. Back in Marlow, George had a sleepless night, worried about the folk of Cookham. On waking he was filled with determination that they should have a meeting place at Cookham Dean, and so they did. Hiring a room at first, they got a chapel in 1842. 

 

Humble beginnings

I am not sure of the location of Marlow's 1831 Primitive Methodist Chapel but a new chapel was built near Dean street in 1841. It was located in Marefield Passage, which ran off Cambridge Road - the garages that stand between Creswell Row and Marefield Rd are it's approximate location today.  Later described as poor and small, the chapel was nevertheless big enough to accommodate a gallery extension in 1846 that increased capacity by 70 persons. In 1851, the average attendance was given as 200 persons for evening services, and 100 each at the morning and afternoon ones. There were then an average of 50 children attending the morning and afternoon Sunday Schools. 

Preacher James Hatch, born in Cookham Dean was a Primitive Methodist convert as a young man. He later moved to Marlow, working in his day job as a fisherman.  While he still attended the Cookham Dean Chapel at first, he later became one of the primary movers to build his fellow worshippers a more spacious place of worship in Marlow. So the building we now know as Liston Hall came into being. 

Handsome and commodious

It was not an easy undergoing for a relatively small congregation. It cost £1,920 pounds including the large Sunday school room, the purchase of land* (and the purchase of a neighbouring cottage according to some). Of this huge sum, only £700 had been raised before building began. It was completed and ready for use in 1875. James Hatch was then the treasurer and worked with "courage and self denying perseverance" to reduce the debt. He was able to make some dent in the amount, and prevented the high annual running costs from adding to what was owed. Known to carry his "collecting book" wherever he travelled, he is said never have lost the opportunity to solicit donations. But sadly he died suddenly aged 59 in 1882, by which time the building account was still not settled. (See notes below) A mention of a concerted drive to free the chapel of the hampering effect of lingering debt as late as 1907 suggests their funds were never very healthy. Unfortunately their membership had also declined at this point. 

Time capsules set in place

But back to the optimistic opening of the new chapel. Some of the funds for the Sunday school room in particular had been raised by the children attending it. In honour of their contribution, the boy and girl who raised the most were invited to take part in the ceremony to lay the foundation stones of the new schoolroom in 1874. Walter Lunnon and Lucy Smith were the lucky two youngsters allowed to lay bricks. Under the very first brick of this part, laid by Mr Simpson Carson, was a bottle come time capsule containing a newspaper and statistics, carefully placed in a cavity beneath by Mrs James Hatch. (A foundation stone bearing the name of J Hatch and family was also put in place.)

The laying of foundation stones for the main chapel part took place separately and attracted an audience of 250. The very first stone was laid by donor Mrs Davis and there is mention of a bottle time capsule placed under one of the corner stones on this occasion too. It contained newspapers and coins. Altogether 13 engraved cornerstones were placed around the building in honour of those who helped bring it about, although not all are easily visible now.

The Chapel in everyday life

The chapel may not have had an organ but it did have an harmonium and a small but enthusiastic choir so they must have livened up Chapel Street for passers by. They were blessed with a magic lantern bought especially for the pleasure of the Sunday School children and used on all kinds of treat days for them. They could also count on an annual school trip, with the beautiful Burnham Beeches a popular choice.  The children's library maintained by the Sunday School must have been invaluable to the poorer children in particular. In 1884 it had 133 volumes, paid for by voluntary contributions by the 10 teachers as well as the young pupils themselves. Those youngsters who attended Sunday School on a regular basis could also earn themselves a prize. 

Throughout the year the Chapel hosted various public teas, Band of Hope meetings, occasional moral lectures, and watch night celebrations on New Years Eve. The harvest festival was an especially beautiful time to visit, with every corner of the Chapel decorated. Fund raising bazaars were also a regular feature, usually offering produce, fancy goods made by the ladies of the congregation and in 1885 an intriguing sounding "curiosity show" of old artwork organised by Mrs Young. 

The Chapel was on the Maidenhead circuit of preachers and sometimes received visits from those based further away. Of course some Marlow men also went out to preach in the surrounding areas. Special mention must go to William Evans, affectionately known as Father Evans. He was born in Marlow, near the Swan Inn and later lived in Victoria Road. In 1888 he received a public tea and presentation in his honour thanks to his 50 years of service in Primitive Methodism. He continued to preach in the neighbourhood after this, walking 10 miles or more on a Sunday because he refused to travel by train on the Sabbath. Eventually he was forced to retire, not least because he became deaf, but he still attended services at the Marlow Chapel even so. He died age 84 in 1899, both of his wives having predeceased him. 

The Primitive Methodists joined the Wesleyan Methodists of Spittal Street in 1932, and the Chapel was put up for sale. It was bought for the town by Nesta Liston and then used for various purposes including a library.  It now hosts the Marlow Community Association. 

Mrs J Jones made a donation towards building the chapel hence this stone

Original front of building partially obscured by a later extension. There was a door below this window, with a small patch of grass and a gravel path in front. The date of 1874 indicates when the building work began - the foundation stones were laid in October of that year. It was ready for full use in 1875. 

Stone for the Rev'ds C Smith and C Spooner (of Windsor), ministers

 J Watson [Superintendent of  the Sunday School]

Mr R Wellicome [Richard] His design was used for the building according to contemporary reports. Although one also credits builder/architect Charles Carter with the design and builder Corby with the construction. Richard certainly designed the Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Spittal Street. 

? J S Carson [Capt. J Simpson Carson, who laid the first stone of the school room and received a silver trowel as a keepsake]

M.S Carson Esq [Marriott Simpson Carson, who laid the second stone of the Sunday school room, and received a bound copy of a history of Primitive Methodism as a memento. His wife also laid a stone but received no prize! ]

Mr H Roberts. Other stones commemorate Charles Carter, and supporters W Sellman and family, T Wheeler, W Neville, Miss J Jones and Miss Marks. 

* The land the chapel was built on included the former site of the boys day school run by Methodist George Cole. As Sergeant Cole he was formerly  employed the junior branch of the Royal Military Academy at Remnantz. He is credited with bringing the first organised Wesleyan Methodist meetings to the town, and driving the erection of their 1810 chapel.  See the grave of George in a post here

Researched and written by Kathryn Day with updates by Charlotte Day. Photos by Kathryn. 

NOTES

James Hatch was buried at the Cookham Dean Primitive Methodist Chapel, in a spot he had chosen years before when he was one of the people responsible for beautifying and properly enclosing the burial ground. The funeral was said to have been attended by many Marlow tradesman. There was no burial ground at the Marlow premises. Cookham chapel was rebuilt 1858. 

2. Within the larger Great Marlow  area, there was also a small Primitive Methodist Chapel at Lane End, erected 1861. 

Related posts: 

The Wesleyans at Marlow: 

here

Index of posts related to places of worship: here

Index of posts related to specific streets, business or buildings  see here

To find all mentions of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

SOURCES

The History of the Primitive Methodism Connection.  Petty, John. (R Davies, 1864)

Primitive Methodist Magazine, 1847 and 1884. (Thomas Holliday, 1847,1884) 

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1853, 1869, 1939, Kelly's Directories Ltd. 

History and Topography of Buckinghamshire. Sheahan, James Joseph. (Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1862)

1861 Census, transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte Day 

Maidenhead Advertiser, 7 November 1888 and 20 September 1889, from British Library Archive, and accessed via the BNA August 2020. 

Reading Observer, 17 October 1874, as above. 

South Bucks Standard 13 April 1894, 20 September 1907, as above. 

Buckinghamshire Returns of the census of religious worship 1851, Bucks Record Office. 

Slough, Windsor and Eton Observer October 17 1885 -Slough Library. 

©Marlow Ancestor

Food in Victorian Marlow.

The food eaten by different sorts of Victorian Marlovians can be reconstructed from court cases where food is stolen from larders, gardens and fields as well as businesses; reports of local celebration meals and wedding feasts; adverts put out by shops, hotels and restaurants; coroner's inquests  and crime reports that describe the meals eaten by those mentioned if it is relevant; postcards; Poor law records and many more sources.

 

Fish / Seafood:

Of course the river offered some opportunities to catch your lunch. Eels were amongst the possible wildlife that could be ensnared but they became increasingly rare during the Victorian era. The landlady of the Complete Angler Hotel, Mrs Parslow, always kept some in reserve when she could, strictly for her favourite customers.

For up to about a dozen men at any one time catching fish was not a hobby but a trade. Very few did so to sell the fish commercially, most hired themselves and their boat out to visiting "sportsmen" who wanted to fish for pleasure and benefited from the fisherman's expert local knowledge.

Changes to the river flow caused by the new bridge as well as growing pollution and over fishing meant salmon were rare by the mid century. Other fish were still present however and a few professional fisherman were still working at the end of the Victorian era. It is not usually possible to know whether those late examples were ever selling catches or only selling their expertise to allow tourists to catch their own. Another question is were other Marlovians eating any commercially caught fish from Marlow? The first fishmonger shop I've so far definitely located was in 1831 and ran then by George Draper in Chapel Street. Elsewhere in the country the majority of local fish caught tended to be rushed up to London or other major centres rather than be sold to locals. In the same way some country people complained that if they lived within transport distance of London they found it hard at times to buy the fruit and vegetables grown with abundance in their home patch because the London market consumed everything. Even access to fresh milk could be an issue.

So we can't say for certain that any commercially caught Marlow fish was available to buy here. Possibly a certain percentage could be bought from a fisherman at the riverside. Apart from the Marlow eels at the Complete Angler no reference to local fish being available at any local pub or hotel has been found by me. That doesn't mean that it wasn't served only that the proprietors didn't consider it desirable or unusual enough to bother advertising its availability.

Someone was selling herrings out of barrels in town mid century, probably a grocer. These certainly sold fish sauce and salted fish.

Oyster stalls were a popular feature of the Regatta. At the time oysters were not as expensive as now.

Fruit:

Commercial fruiterers resided very much on Dean Street in the Victorian age. All seemed to have been involved in the wholesale trade, some also retailed to the public. The Benning family in the late Victorian High Street were grocers, ironmongers and fruiterers. As well as fresh fruit they sold canned fruit such as pineapple. More about them here. At Christmas time fresh oranges and grapes were also sold in Marlow grocers for those that could afford them. It was also to grocers you went for dried fruits for your Christmas pudding or general baking. You would need to stone and stalk your own raisins at home then.

Apple pies and cherry pies are mentioned multiple times as being stolen from Marlow and Little Marlow homes. Cherries were grown commercially at a small scale around Marlow and on a large scale at Flackwell Heath. You might have bought your cherries from visiting gipsy sellers too, who were common in the area and set up at most summer fairs and events that they could. Cherries not strawberries were the archetypal summer fruit of the Victorian era.

The fruit grown by the gardeners of the wealthy residents of Marlow can be seen from the local horticultural show results. These were already in full swing by the time Victoria ascended the throne. It took until the early 1870s for ordinary people to feature in these competitions if they were not professional gardeners. Fruits grown by rich Marlovians were: apples, plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, greengages, melons, strawberries, rhubarb and grapes. Melons were grown in special pits heated by decomposing horse manure. Lovely!

Ordinary Marlovians according to the show results were more likely to be growing: apples, pears, redcurrants, whitecurrants, blackcurrants, plums, gooseberries and raspberries. Note the greater amount of bush fruit grown by ordinary people.

From the hedgerows poorer residents gathered blackberries, mirelles, sloes and crab apples (and young hawthorn leaves to snack on, until at least the 1940s!)

Vegetables:

Greengrocery hawkers were also centred on Dean Street in early times. They sold predominantly vegetables and salad leaves with fruit more likely to be sold at fruiterers. Many of those I find mentioned as involved in the green grocery trade turn out upon examination to have no shop but to be itinerant sellers going door to door or selling in the street. These were catering to the poorer residents of Marlow and nearby areas.

The poorest of all could afford to buy very little. Women and children routinely stole into farmers' fields to pull off turnip and swede tops to cook as vegetables. The court reports of the 1800s are littered with prosecutions for this. Marlow Bottom because it was lonelier was a hotspot for this kind of activity. Some of the court cases are truly heartbreaking as the families prosecuted were absolutely destitute.

Swedes themselves by the way were usually grown in the South as animal feed and not for human consumption. A World War 2 propaganda campaign by the government convinced us to give them a try as they were cheap and easy to produce en masse at a time of food shortages. The few cases of Marlow folks stealing swedes not just their tops would have been cases of the most dire desperation. Public prosecution for this would have been utterly humiliating. It was the social equivalent of being caught stealing grass to eat. 

Nettles were certainly eaten as a nutritious soup and stew ingredient, especially by gypsy families but others too, not necessarily out of poverty. Giant puffball mushrooms were once common in fields near the river and provided a large feast for those who found them. Mushrooms as a whole were much loved by Victorians, with mushroom ketchup a popular homemade condiment.

Watercress was grown by early Victorian times between Marlow and Medmenham as well as at Little Marlow. It was a very popular vegetable throughout the era both cooked and raw. 

The vegetables and salads grown by the gardeners of the wealthy residents of Marlow are described in reports of local horticultural shows are described throughout the era: cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, celery and cauliflower feature most highly. Not often entered into shows but highly fashionable throughout the era was sea kale.

More ordinary citizens entered such shows from around the early 1870s. Women as well as men were then growing prize winning crops. Vegetables grown by these more humble householders were: lettuce, marrows, peas, turnips, onions and carrots. Probably, judging by seed stock advertised by Marlow seedsmen (stand alone businesses or a sideline for ironmongers) we can add beetroot as well as brussel sprouts and broccoli to that list.

Allotments arrived in Marlow in the 1880s.

Herbs, Spices etc:

Wild garlic could be picked (sneakily) in Marlow churchyard as well as in the countryside around town.

Exotic spices were easily available at the grocery shops in the town centre, if you had cash to spare. Preserved ginger was a favourite in Victorian England eaten as both a sweet and used in baking, especially around Christmas.

Meat:

The most popular foodstuff to steal from Marlow household pantries was bacon, followed by cheese and pies*. These pies might be sweet or savoury. What meat was in the "meat pies" is almost never specified.

The most common meat stolen from shops after bacon was pork.

Any local, personal or national event celebrated by a dinner in the Victorian age tended to be centred around feasting on roast beef. Marlow records show here was no different than elsewhere. By far the most usual Victorian Christmas dinner given in ordinary family homes, workhouses and in places hosting workplace, charity or Sunday school festive dinners was roast beef and plum pudding not the turkey or goose of popular imagination. Actually this was the standard year round celebration meal for Victorians. The "plum pudding" became "Christmas pudding" for a few weeks every year when it was served at Christmas time aflame with some holly on top. So Marlow celebration dinners throughout the year featured plum pudding.

The "Excelsior pork pie" was a speciality of Death and Son bakers of Marlow. They operated in both West Street and the High Street at different times. 

Butcher's shops were in the High Street, West Street, Spittal Street and Chapel Street. A biographical portrait of Rachel Hall a butcher of West Street has previously been published on this blog here See also my posts on butcher Jason Povey, who got involved in political bribery here and Emily Carter a Victorian butcher of Spittal Street here.

Some of the Marlow butchers had stalls at Marlow Market in Market Square once a week. This had become solely or mostly for meat by the 1870s.

By the 1880s some meat could also be bought from grocer's shops. They had long sold bacon which they might cure on their own premises but to sell other meat was something of a stepping on the toes of the butchers.

Poaching rabbits kept many a Dean Street area family from going hungry but it also cost them heavily in terms of fines and lost income from jail time.

Bakery:

Marlow had no shortage of bakers. These all sold flour for home baking as well as their own baked products. Some also functioned as corn dealers. Most were also pastry cooks selling sweet baked goods ranging from little penny cakes for one person to large celebration cakes. Only the wealthy could afford to buy the latter. Marlow bakers advertised ready made birthday and iced Christmas cakes by the 1880s. Early Victorian Christmas cakes were non alcoholic and usually not iced or served with marzipan. They were intended as a plain, easily digestible dessert alternative to rich plum puddings for the children of the family. If Marlow bakers or confectioners supplied the Twelfth cakes that were popular in the early and middle 1800s for Twelfth Night parties I cannot discover it. 

Confectioners mainly sold sweets but sometimes functioned as pastry cooks as well and so also offered cakes and pastries, especially in the pre Victorian era. They might be grocers too!

In Victorian times home cooks could pay to bake their own pies and breads in the bakers' ovens after the bakers themselves were finished for the day. You have to remember that many early Victorian, and some later Victorian families had no oven at home or only a tiny one. 

Gingerbread stalls featured every year at Marlow Fair and the Regatta. They were a magnet for children.

Death and Sons bakers produced their own biscuits called the Marlow Pioneer Biscuits [South Bucks Standard 22nd February 1895, advertising accessed via the BNA March 2021]. Our grocery shops also sold ready made biscuits and cakes by the 1880s.

A biographical post on the Sawyer family bakers of Marlow is on the blog here.

Dairy Products:

Most Marlow grocers were also cheesemongers. Stand alone cheesemongers seem to have no presence though they did in earlier times. Advertised cheeses in Marlow were all hard cheeses and none were said to be locally produced. Stealing cheese from householders was quite common.

Bread and cheese was THE working class packed lunch of the 1800s. Poor little Thomas Lunnon aged 7 had just such a lunch stolen from him right from off his school premises in Little Marlow in 1892 [South Bucks Standard 7th October 1892]. He had carried it there in a basket.

Ice cream was usually made at home but those not able to do so could enjoy a portion from one of the several ice cream sellers who pushed their special barrows around the streets in the summer. Most of these were not local men. Many regarded the ice cream men a nuisance because they tended to attract a street-blocking crowd of children and adults. One such seller from Reading found himself in court after he was accused of causing traffic chaos on Marlow bridge with his barrow. The police observed 40 people gathered about him. Let's hope supplies held out! 

If you wanted to make your own you could buy ice for your churn from the fishmonger. Homemade iced desserts because they were difficult to produce were very much a status symbol. Vanilla ice cream was the most common but brown bread ice-cream made with toasted sweetened brown breadcrumbs was also a huge favourite in this era. I made some myself and I can only say it left me cold!

Milk was available from several town dairies or directly from some farms. 

Poultry and Game:

Both were typically bought from poulterer's and in poultry's case sometimes directly from local farmers. The farmer's wife typically had charge of this side of the business. For more on the early Victorian poulterer John Way of the High Street see here.

Stealing fowls from farms and homes was very common in Victorian Marlow. Reports of thefts which are not also accompanied by reports of the successful arrest of the guilty parties are unusual so perhaps the Marlovians responsible weren't very good at it.

Poaching for pheasants was a Dean Street speciality!

Nuts:

Walnuts were grown as a crop on almost every Marlow farm. They were much loved by Victorians who pickled them while still green and made walnut ketchup as well as utilising them in ways we would be more familiar with today. As they were valuable they were targeted by thieves.

From the countryside filbert nuts could be gathered in places. While beech nuts are edible cooked and plentiful around the town I have not found any reference to their use by Victorian Marlovians.

Almonds were very popular in Victorian cooking and found at the grocers, who also sold chestnuts in the winter. I have yet to find any reference to hot chestnut street sellers in Victorian Marlow.

For visitors:

The Compleat Angler, the Greyhound Hotel in Spittal Street, the Two Brewers in St Peter's Street, and the George and Dragon on the Causeway all specialised in catering for the picnic and boating parties that came to visit Marlow.

By the 1870s the mess left behind by picnickers on the banks of the river was already considered a nuisance [Bucks Herald 18th August, page via BNA February 2021].

Great Western Railway offered special picnic party fares to Marlow from London and elsewhere. Favourite nearby spots were the fields near Gossmore in Marlow, Quarry Woods at Bisham, Winter Hill and Bisham Woods.

Picnics in the Victorian era were very substantial affairs. A tea kettle was usually brought along and a spirit stove (coffee was not the done thing). A typical picnic contained multiple joints of meat, savoury pies, cold desserts (including the beloved plum or "Christmas" pudding), salads, fruit fresh or stewed or both perhaps with biscuits to dunk in the latter, fruitcake and gingerbread. Yes all of that. There might be sandwiches, though not always. Picnickers might just take bread rolls as an accompaniment to the other dishes. If they did take sandwiches it wasn't the cucumber ones we often associate with the era. They were for afternoon tea and considered too insubstantial for a picnic. A cucumber to be chunked and offered as a snack usually went along however. They weren't insubstantial in calories though. Their cucumber sandwiches were often spread with both butter and cream. 

*****

* my calculation. Thieves must have felt it was their lucky day when they broke into William Suthery's Little Marlow home in the 1850s and found all three ripe for the taking!

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Related Posts=

Food in 1700s Marlow here

Historic cost of living in Marlow, including the cost of many food items from different specific Marlow shops in the Victorian era here

The Poaching Perrys here

The temperance movement in Marlow here

A Victorian Christmas in Marlow here

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

Thank you to Jane Pullinger for her family's information.  

Also of use= 

Royal County Directory for Beds, Bucks and Berks, 1876. [Marlow market information]

South Bucks Standard 23 September 1898. 

A Strange Death and Ancient Ruins- Abbey Farm Little Marlow

Occupiers and history timeline (1800s+)

Built on the site of a Medieval nunnery. Farm house thought to have been partially made from reclaimed materials from the abbey ruins.

Description: 1879= Mostly pasture but some arable, included a trout stream. 1892= Dairy farm of 25 acres.

Occupiers=

1826- Mr R Lunnon. Gave up farming that year. Maybe the owner no longer looking to farm himself , it was certainly owned by the Lunnons later- see below. 

1829-32 Mr Richard Bye. Left 1832/33 and went to run, briefly, the Two Brewers pub in Great Marlow. He had a deeply troubled marriage which is discussed in this post.

1836- E Collins?

1844- John Harris.

1851-67 James Salter. He died 1867. His meadow was used for a cricket match between Little Marlow and Well End 1855.  One of the parish Overseers for Little Marlow 1860 with fellow farmer Harry Calcutt.

1868-73 David Andrews. Wives Jane first then Elizabeth who survived him. David had several run ins with subsequently sacked employee Frederick Oldsworth. He accused Frederick of not attending to his dairy work. Frederick disagreed, an altercation ensued and Frederick found himself summoned for assaulting his master. The charge was dropped on condition Fred apologised and left his farm cottage the same day as the magistrates hearing.  Dairy and beef farm. David was also a butcher with a shop in Bisham in 1852 and then later in West Street Great Marlow where he took over from Rachel Hall. (He was formerly her assistant there) He lived at the West Street premises in 1861. Later lived at the Ferns Little Marlow. Died there 1900 age 83. He was described as a hale and hearty fellow to the end and one who had been walking and driving about "like a young athlete" at a furious pace around the lanes of Little Marlow.  

1877-78 Philip Henry Jones of Hurley. Also a coal merchant. Wife Emma. Fowls stolen from her at the farm that year 1877.

1878- 81 William Thomas Bird. Bankrupt 1878 but managed to continue at the farm somehow. Had moved from Blounts Farm Marlow.

1879 - Robert Lunnon recently deceased was the owner although he did not occupy it. The freehold farm is therefore put up for sale. It then consists of just over 24 acres, the farm house and outbuildings and a trout stream. It is purchased by a "Mr Bowell" for £2480.  Also for sale from Robert's estate are parcels of land around Wooburn and Little Marlow plus a few cottages, a watercress bed and an orchard. 

1883- 91 John Okey (Oakey) Simmonds. Possibly there 1882. He died 1891 at the farm after falling from his bedroom window. He had been largely confined to his room for months due to a weak heart and perhaps it seems some mental illness but would open the window to give instructions to his workers in the yard and to view his cattle in the fields. A fit of "giddiness" saw him topple out. He died the following day. Formerly of Munday Dean Farm. 

1891- Catherine Simmonds, widow of the above. Both she and her daughter, also called Catherine, gave evidence at the inquest into her husband's death. Due to an accident in communication poor Catherine did not know the inquest was going to take place until the Coroner and jury arrived on her doorstep and said they were going to hold it at her house.

1894- Had orchard as part of the property but it was separately let. Remains of the lost abbey of the village were discovered in that orchard in the early 1900s.

1901-11 at least Vaughan Williams. 

Farm listings compiled from cross referencing adverts, wills, censuses, property records, court cases, letters, trade journals etc.

Other farm related content on the blog can be found listed under the Specific Shops, Streets Etc option on the menu. 

To find people on this blog use the Person Index option- hundreds of people have been mentioned

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

All Hail Nurse Cassidy - Marlow Hero No 4

 Before Marlow had it's current Cottage Hospital in Glade Road, it had one at Cambridge House, Cambridge Road. This post is about how this first hospital came about.    

The former Cottage Hospital, Cambridge Road. Now a house again. 

What we had before the first Cottage Hospital. 

In the years before the hospital arrived in Cambridge Road, if you required admission to a hospital, it was to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading you would be sent. This was clearly a significant journey for someone in Marlow to make when seriously unwell. The authorities in Marlow bought a certain number of "tickets of admission" to the Berks hospital each year. These would be issued to the sick if it was considered they would benefit from a stay there. In 1877 £21 worth of tickets were bought, paid for partly by donations made at a collection after the Harvest Thanksgiving service in the parish church, and at the end of service the Sunday after.  The idea of Marlow gaining its own hospital was raised at regular intervals. In 1877 it was said an unnamed gentleman was willing to start a subscription fund with a 100 guinea donation if Great Marlow would combine with Henley, Bisham, Little Marlow, Fingest and Turville to support a hospital between them. Nothing came of this, possibly because Maidenhead had just began fund raising for their Cottage Hospital in earnest, with the foundation stone laid in April 1879. Some of those in the above places supported that instead. 

In 1888, the medical provision in Marlow improved significantly thanks to a group of determined ladies. A number of subscribers to the St Johns Ambulance association decided to set up a "Sick Aid Depot" here. They quickly bought this into existence, using a small room in Mrs Lunnon's home in Chapel Street. It opened May 1888. Mrs Lunnon also acted as caretaker. This was a significant help to a vast number of poor families who could not afford professional nursing care or equipment. The depot lent items such as crutches or nursing supplies to those who had suffered accident or illness. There was once a sort of precursor to this which loaned "child bed linens" to expectant mothers a generation before, but to qualify for that you had to be married and respectable, and able to apply personally to one of those who subscribed to the child bed fund. Unmarried mothers, and non church goers were turned away. The Sick Aid Depot was less strict and looked instead at how to extend their services rather than restrict them. They also offered bed linen, so sheets could be washed in homes without spare sets. 

Enter Nurse Cassidy

In 1888 the Sick Aid depot distributed a circular declaring that the want of a "parish nurse" for the depot was keenly felt. "The urgent want of such a nurse has been bought home to us very emphatically within the last few months by the many cases of serious sickness in our town". 

A nursing fund was started, and within 6 months, Nurse Mary Ann Cassidy (sometimes given as Cassaidy) arrived in Marlow. She began work in January 1889. This energetic and dedicated lady is largely forgotten now but it was her who would later be the first Matron at the Cambridge Road Cottage Hospital. Nurse Cassidy lodged with Mrs Lunnon, and made home visits to the ill. She dressed wounds, changed bandages and provided practical help and advice amongst other things. Cassidy was officially on long term loan from the Reading Hospital, the Sick Aid Depot paying a sum for the privilege, on top of the wage paid directly to the Nurse. She took over running the depot too. Although the contract Cassidy worked under did not require night work, she stayed up with the sick on countless occasions, which must have been a priceless comfort to the worried families. This started the pattern of Cassidy constantly going above and beyond in her work. 

The ladies aren't satisfied 

The Sick Aid Depot and Nursing fund was amalgamated. At the very first AGM, held 9 months after the Depot had started, it was decided to be even more ambitious. What Marlow needed was a Cottage Hospital, and a committee of ladies was formed to get the process started. The Sick Aid Depot and Nursing fund committee was amalgamated with this goal in mind. The speed they organised this third extension to their health care provision is extraordinary. The meeting that set a resolution to have a Cottage Hospital was in June 1889, at the end of July the committee's were amalgamated and on the 1st August 1889 the new Cottage Hospital opened in a house secured by Colonel Wethered. This was initially rented, with the aim of buying the building when funds allowed. Nurse Cassidy moved in several months before the official hospital opening to save on the cost of renting separate accommodation for her. Cambridge House had been built as a pub, and had spent a few years as a boys school under the Misses Curtis but was used as a house for some time prior to it's conversion to a hospital. The work of lending equipment and home visits continued too. In the first 9 months the cottage hospital helped 5 accident victims and 20 others. 

Much of the physical work in getting the house clean and ready was done by Nurse Cassidy herself. She paid for, out of her own wages, various items to make the wards "bear a cheerful aspect." These included bed tables and pictures.  The subscribers declared that she deserved the highest praise for working day and night to make the hospital a success. 

When Edward Riley complained that there were too many women on the committee for building the second cottage hospital many years later, it's not hard to see why the complaint was dismissed! (Membership of the general organising committee of the hospital was restricted to men, of who there were 9. Six from Marlow and one each from Bisham, Medmenham and Little Marlow.) 

Cassidy left Marlow in 1890, when she was succeeded in her role at the Cottage Hospital by another Marlow hero, Mary Anne Cole also supplied by the Reading Hospital. A post about Mary Anne Cole is already on the blog here I believe Nurse Cassaidy might have been suffering from ill health as she had spent some time absent from duty in 1889, her position covered by Miss Ford of Loudwater. 

More posts on life at the Cottage Hospital or the medical history of Marlow are available:

The first Cottage Hospital and Provident Nursing Club here

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

Biography of hospital doctor Dr John Dunbar Dickson here

Matron Mary Ann Cole here

Apothecaries and patent medicine sellers here

List of medical related posts here

The Romantic troubles of Dr Culhane here

Death by fire here

Marlow's early district nurses here

©Marlow Ancestors .

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

John Lunnon Taylor Grave Great Marlow

 Grave at Holy Trinity Church (no longer a place of worship). 

Grave is for John Lunnon Taylor who died 1906 aged just 38. Husband of Martha Jane.

Stone photographed September 2020.

Research:

Martha was née Fenner, the couple marrying in 1891. John's middle name came from his mother's maiden name.

John is on the 1881 census with his parents in Queen's Road, on the 1891 with his parents at nearby Marefield Place (now Prospect Road) working as a Prudential insurance agent, and on the 1901 census at Oxford Road with Martha and their children Mabel* and Arthur. John was then a furniture dealer.

Mabel junior was later in service at Caxton Villa, Mill Rd. You can read about the house and families occupying it here

For more Marlow, Little Marlow and Hurley grave pics see this index.

All mentions of someone on this blog can be hunted down on the A-Z Person Index.

Sources:

Marriage certificate GRO.

GRO birth and marriage indexes online from the GRO accessed January 2020.

Census info my transcription from microfilm except 1901 census which was from 1901 Census Online (now defunct).

©Marlow ancestors. Reproduction of photo freely permitted with credit. Reproduction of text also welcome if with a link here so sources cited remain credited for the info they provided.

Historic Landlords of The Plough, Marlow

 Updated by Charlotte December 2025

Location : Address may be given variously as Little Marlow Road, Wycombe Road, "the Bourne End Road", Town End, Marlow Fields, or Chapel End. Wycombe Road is the most common in historic use but Little Marlow Road was the "proper" address in more modern times. 

The Plough has been demolished, and replaced by this housing. Image ©Colin Groves. 

1854 - James Johnson. Pub "newly erected" in 1853.  James was however a carrier long before, running to London. In 1843 he suffered a severe setback when a valuable horse of his stumbled and fell in harness while crossing the bridge at "Bone End, Wooburn".  [Bone End is now known as Bourne End] The bridge sides were only 2ft high and horse fell head first over them, to be left dangling with its head in the water. James was only slightly injured and frantically tried to cut the horse free with the help of others who ran to his aid but it was too late. The horse was valued at £14. The Bucks Advertiser complained the bridges in the neighborhood were poorly constructed and dangerous as a whole. 

Property description 1853 from Reading Mercury 17th December edition= 8 rooms, with double coach house, stabling and yard.

1861 - James Johnson (born St.Albans)

1864 - James Johnson (address  given as Chapel Street) Also runs carrier service. 

1869 - James Johnson

1870 - James Meakes. Previously of Little Marlow. Cousin of George Joseph AKA Joseph Meakes pub landlord of a Lane End pub. See here.

1874 - "Plough Inn". That year Joseph father of James died at the pub.

1877- also "Plough Inn" James Meakes. He married that year Eliza Mann (originally of Norwich). Has his licence endorsed for allowing gambling on the premises and opening later than allowed. James says everyone there out of hours were his private guests in a back room there to celebrate his forthcoming marriage and no money changed hands. He had forgot to lock the door he said but had called time by 11pm. However the magistrates considered the charge of gambling definitely proved, which was not allowed in a pub under any circumstances. So he's fined but a mitigated amount in consideration of his previous good conduct despite a previous warning for a similar offence. Eliza features as an unmarried woman in this post.

"The Plough Commercial Inn" . 

1881 - James Meakes

1883 - James Tompkins "Marlow Fields"

1884 - J. Meakes. 

1885 - John Meakes (Possibly James, sources differ) 2. John Gale

1886 - John Gale

1892 - John Gale, GB Hughes

1893 - G.B Hughes (See also The Carrier's Arms here) (also carrier running to Reading two days a week and to Wycombe on Fridays) Later at the Black Lion, Well End. 

1895 - Mr and Mrs Smith. Provided dinners and teas for group outings coming to Marlow in order to enjoy the river.

1896 - Samuel Smith

1898  - Sam Smith transfers to Fred. Carter

1901 - Carter dies aged just 36. Widow Elizabeth takes on licence in immediate aftermath. 

1902 - George Frederick Cox

1903 - George Frederick Cox

1905 - Charles F Cox 2. Mr A? Wheeler. Most likely Henry Wheeler as below. 

1907 - Henry George Wheeler. That year his pub was the site of raucous celebrations after Henry East of Dean Street was acquitted at the Old Bailey of serious theft charges. The celebrations saw Wheeler charged with allowing drunkenness on his premises but the magistrate recognised that his small pub had been overwhelmed by 150-200 revellers and he had done all he could to keep order. One of the guests, teenager Kate Lunnon of Hatches Row, Dean Street had previously worked for East was however fined for getting insensibly drunk and passing out on a dung heap in the Plough Yard after drinking a whisky and ginger beer. She could have been more unfortunate and fallen in the pig stye that we know was also in the yard in that year (keeping the pigs of Harry Bowles). To be fair to her the pub was very small, full of people smoking and by all accounts stiflingly hot. Her arguement that she actually fainted after being helped outside to get some air sounds very credible. Henry East had bought her one drink but as far as I can see that was the extent of her alcohol consumption that evening. I demand a retrial! More on the Henry East court case here.

In 1908 Henry Wheeler suffered from a bad head injury after an accident involving his cart and another in collision on the Wycombe Road, past Burroughs Grove. He was dragged along the ground all the way back to the Inn. The other cart was undamaged, Henry's destroyed. Wife "Lizzie"/Elizabeth was nee Brown and was born in The Mint pub in Dean Street where her parents were in charge.  See here. He born London. Hosts the Plough Sick and Dividend Club slate club. 

1913 - "Plough Inn"

1919 - 32 Henry George Wheeler

1932 - after 27 hears at the helm, Henry George Wheeler passes the licence to Edward Ernest Wheeler. Henry later became the librarian at the library set up in part of what is now Liston Hall, and the caretaker of the whole hall. He died at the Riley Nursing Home, Chapel Street in 1940. Edward Wheeler was a retired Metropolitan police officer.

1932-44- Edward Ernest Wheeler. Edward died this year, leaving a widow and a married daughter.

C 1950-early 1957 Harry C Windmill. Harry and Mrs Windmill moved to Middleton-on-Sea, near Bognor Regis.

1957 - 60 Victor Easthaugh

1958 or 1959  depending on reports- the inaugural Boxing Day barrell rolling contest down Glade Road contested by the regulars of the Plough and those of the Marlow Donkey, one pub versus the other. This tradition continued until at least 1966. The winning team received a trophy of a silver barrell though not at the first event.

1964 -67 (at least) Jim Tubb landlord.

Related Posts:

There are posts on this blog about individual families associated with certain pubs, as well as on individual pubs themselves so have a look at the Pub Related index here  & don't forget the Person Index for all mentions of someone on this blog. Find it on the top drop down menu. 

Posts about life in the neighbouring streets here

More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here

Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here

SOURCES

 Kelly's Post Office Directory 1864,1883, 1899, 1903, 1907, 1915,1920,1939

Marlow Town Guide 1905

Marlow Directory and Almanack, various years. 

Bucks Free Press 19th August 1932, Wycombe Library 

Contemporary newspaper reports of licencing hearings, court cases and other related news, some accessed via the BNA - a selected few: 

Bucks Herald June 24th 1874 and 11th March 1877 as above. 

South Bucks Standard - January 6 1893, December 24,1913, as above. 

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 14 October 1843, as above

Bucks Free Press - 7th May 1943, High Wycombe Library. 

Census 1861,1871,1881,1891

©MarlowAncestors. 

Landlords and History Black Lion Well End

Landlords found from court cases, wills, adverts, census etc.

This pub was routinely used to hold coroner's inquest and auctions of  both goods and real estate. The earliest mention I have of it is in 1839 but this doesn't give a landlord name. The pub is a much older building so I hope eventually to find some names for earlier landlords.

1841-43 William Suthery /Suthury

1843 -63 George Tyler "late of Box, in the county of Oxford.". In 1844 Robert Lunnon of Well End was fined and bound over to keep the peace for a year for breaking a window of the pub and damaging the pub sign by shooting at them not to mention threatening to shoot Mrs Tyler, George's wife. Presumably this was Sarah who is on 1851 census. Perpetrator was apparently known for his drunken antics which left him "very violent"*. George was also one of the parish poor rate collectors for Little Marlow and Well End which could have led to tensions with some. Robert however was said in court to be comfortably off, in receipt of an income paid by the executors of an unnamed individual  who had desired the money to be dished out gradually so he wouldn't spend it too easily! George Tyler had been assaulted by another customer in 1843. You had to be tough to be a Victorian landlord!

1863 William Nutt, must have been briefly.

1863- 80 Stephen Nutt

Above, the grave of Stephen and Sophia Nutt in Little Marlow Church yard. Stephen died Sept 16 1880 age 65, Sophia "his beloved wife" died January 15 1887 age 62. 

1880-87 Sophia Nutt taking over from her dead husband Stephen Nutt. Pet canary stolen from her premises 1882.

1887 Edwin Alma Bruce for few weeks only, caretaker publican following the death of Sophia Nutt.

1887-89 Robert Way. 

1889-96 Thomas Henry Jeffreys. 1891 census publican and gardener. Thomas suffered a serious assault in 1896 and is on the 1901 census as a gardener only. In 1895 customer Arthur Hughes was fined for assaulting another customer after a hypothetical argument as to whether it was acceptable to shoot a dog that strayed into your garden got out of hand. Arthur said he would do it, fellow drinker William Green said if any man turned a gun on his dog he would shoot that man. I'm with you, William.

1899-11 George Benjamin Hughes. Wife Sarah.

1914 Edward Walker, J Gilby at different times (holdovers) 

1915 George Benjamin Hughes (see also the Carrier's Arms)

1920 George Benjamin Hughes.

1927- Charles James Gregory 

1927-29 Mr and Mrs Sidney James Benning or Bennell who had come from Southsea. Took over from Mr Gregory. Mrs Benning /Bennell 's father retired naval lieutenant Alfred Edward Parnall lived with them. He died at the pub aged 71 in 1929.

1932 Edward Henry Lloyd transferred licence to Albert Ernest Holder**. Albert is perhaps the same man who was earlier at the Bricklayers Arms, Marlow.

1933 Louisa Holder (could be a widow of Albert above perhaps) transferred license to Charles Hawkes Todd.

1936 A.W Brinkman.

1941 Arthur Thomas Granville.

GAPS IN DATES REPRESENT GAPS IN MY KNOWLEDGE. SOME OF THE ABOVE LANDLORDS WILL HAVE BEEN IN THE PREMISES LONGER THAN STATED.

*Windsor and Eton Express 27th April 1844, via the BNA/ British Library Archives.

** Bucks Free Press October 21st 1932 via the Bucks Free Press Archives.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

Use the Person Index option on the top drop down menu to search for a particular person. There is also a Pub Related option on that menu. For more Well End and Little Marlow content in general see Nearby Places on the menu. New content uploaded weekly.

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