The Other Royal Celebrations In Marlow

We have posts due on events such as the Golden and Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Queen Victoria's reign, but this entry is about how the town celebrated (or not) some of the other events in Queen Victoria's life. 

If your ancestor lived in Marlow in June 1838, then it is very likely they at least heard celebrations of the Queen's coronation because it appears to have been a very noisy event. Victoria had succeeded to the throne in June 1837 so the residents of Marlow had plenty of time to consider how to mark the occasion. The reports vary widely with rival political groups accusing the other of doing little, which is reflected in the accounts published in local newspapers. The Windsor and Eton Express said that the church bells were rung on Coronation day and that the shops were closed. Others said this was a lie, and only the Tory supporters in town would be content to do so little. The Bucks Gazette said liberal tradespeople took on the task with enthusiasm as did the Clayton family at Harleyford. The Clayton's Conservative political rivals, the Williams of Temple House, who included the Marlow M.P, were accused of not organising anything grand. So the reports have to be filtered with the understanding of the political bias of the reporter. One thing all can agree on is that many fireworks were let off, some guns, and a few cannons. The last were courtesy of Harleyford where the din of artillery was said to have been kept up all day. After 41 discharges of cannon, even the most devoted royalist in the neighbourhood must have been happy a new Queen was not crowned everyday!

 Amongst the criticism levelled at MP Thomas Peers Williams and his supporters such as the Wethered family of the Brewery, was that they had not as wealthier citizens put their hand in their pockets to subsidise any celebrations for the poorer classes. It seems they had been expected to pay the bell ringers for their services, but had not offered to do so so the money had to come out of the Church rates fund. It was also hoped a subscription would have been raised to provide some relief to the poor.  The Bucks Gazette went further and said those who put on events publicly had "resisted the will of the domineering tyrant in the town." (Williams) This may be a little unfair, as while Williams was a controversial politician who was accused of evicting those of his tenants who did not vote for him, his family did entertain members of the Royal Family at Temple House in latter years and so was not exactly anti royal. It seems the feeling was that big occasions meant those who acted in power in the town should play their part and help those with little money to celebrate. Failure to do so was regarded as "selfish". 

Those who did include the less well off were Joseph Tyler of the Clayton Arms in Oxford Lane/Quoiting Place. Joseph entertained more than 100 to dinner - an "elegant repast". And Messrs Wright of Marlow Mills gave a hot beef dinner with ale and punch to 100 or so staff and their family members. This dinner included plum pudding which might seem unseasonal to our eyes but it's a regular feature of many Victorian celebration dinners in Marlow and elsewhere whatever the time of year. 

Moving on to 1840, when Queen Victoria was married to Albert. On this occasion the liberal papers again accused the conservative interests of failure to mark the occasion properly. The celebrations were described as "very limited". But Harleyford House bought out their "artillery" again. (41 discharges of cannon). The bells were of course rang and guns fired. The reliably generous and kind Benjamin Atkinson of The Rookery entertained all his staff to a meal along as did a few unnamed tradesmen working on a smaller scale. But the "most influential  inhabitants of the town who owe all this wealth and influence to the lower ranks of society did very little."

In 1858, the Queen's eldest daughter, Victoria the Princess Royal was married in turn to Prince Frederick of Prussia. Mr Borgnis and Mr William Ward decided to treat the boys of the Blue Coat school (now Borlase) to something to mark the event. Their choice would probably not get distributed today, given that it consisted of cake - and wine! Those attending the National schools recieved some tasty buns while the pupils of the British Schools were given a full tea, presumably without alcoholic beverages. 

The Queen's birthday was usually marked in a small way. Prayers for her continued health were a standard in the local churches. The church bells were rang, and some shops and homes were decorated with bunting. This is more often recorded in the later part of the reign. The local Oddfellows lodge (friendly society) held a church parade (that is a parade to the parish church in full regalia for a  special service) on several occasions in the 1880s in honour of Her Majesty's birthday. In 1887, they were lead by the town band and they followed this with a public dinner for 100 people at The Greyhound.

Various members of the Royals visited the big houses in the area such as Temple, Gyldernscroft and Harleyford. Some of these visits were "under the radar" but others very much the opposite. When the prince and princess of Wales passed through Marlow in a steam launch, on their way to visit the Williams at Temple House, they were expected. Their arrival was somewhat inconveniently timed to occur during the Regatta. They were late, but they did indeed arrive in the end and were greeted with a royal salute. 

The last event other than the Jubilees to mark was of course the death of the Queen. The first notification of any significant news usually came courtesy of a telegram to the post office which would then be displayed either inside or out for all to see. (Less seriously the match reports of Marlow Football Club when playing away also arrived this way.) A week before the Queen's death, a telegram bought news the Queen was seriously ill. Special prayers were said in the various churches and chapels the following day, in the hope of a recovery. Public events due to take place in the next few days were cancelled as a gesture of respect - dramatic performances in the Music Room and a football match. But on 22 January 1901, the news was recieved by telegram late in the day that the Queen had died at Osbourne House, surrounded by her family. It was immediately ordered that the bells should toll in the church. This sound was said to be what made many Marlow residents realise that the rumour about the Queen's death were true. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related posts:

Coronation Celebrations 1902 here

Jubilee 1887 Here

Storm disruption during 1897 jubilee Little Marlow here

Royal furniture makers the Mealings here

Other posts about everyday life in old Marlow here

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

Sources:

Goodrich, Samuel Griswold. Peter Parley's visit to London during the Coronation (Library of Alexandria, 1838)

McCarthy, John - A History Of Our Own Times, 1871. 

Wilson, Robert. Life and Times of Queen Victoria (Cassell and Company, 1891) 

Bucks Gazette 14 July 1838, 22 February 1840 - British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA. 

Reading Mercury 30 January 1858, 31 May 1890, 26 January 1901 - As above

Bucks Herald 13 July 1878, as above. 

Windsor and Eton Express 30 June 1838. As above. 

Slough Eton and Windsor Observer May 28 1887, Slough Library. 

©Marlow Ancestors

Marlow Floods A Plenty

  

Marlow is a town with a history of getting it's feet wet. The floods didn't just inconvenience those with riverside homes either. They stopped the mills, church services, river traffic and transport and bought some traders into severe financial difficulties.

When the floods were at their worst, navigation on the Thames was stopped altogether, for example in the early part of 1840. In this year, towing boats was impossible with the tow paths several feet underwater. This meant barges had to stay where they could, and await the water levels dropping sufficiently. High water made the already dangerous flash locks even more perilous to travel through. The flood channels such as the one finishing near the back of the Compleat Angler, were sometimes overwhelmed.  Floating debris was another hazard. Many Marlow people ran barges or worked on them, and a stopping of river traffic meant some were stranded away from home. Other businesses were stopped because they were dependent on river bourne deliveries of raw materials. 

The 1894 flood

Even after the age of horse drawn barges was over, flooding still caused havoc in the life of the town. In November 1894, a particularly bad inundation caused church services at the riverside All Saints Church to be abandoned, while the railway was "engulfed in a sea of water". This water was said to have put out the engines and it was subsequently decided to raise the rails to stop this happening again. Mill Lane, Mill Alley (Seven Corner Alley), St. Peter's Street and South Place all suffered substantial flooding. 

Captain Edward Wilfred Marshall of The Eyrie (off Gossmore) was seriously ill at home when the flood water rose. He had suffered from flu, and it was now believed he had pneumonia. His anxious wife and doctors had to weigh up the risk of remaining put and what they considered as the risk of removing a severely ill man from his home. Captain Marshall's infant son and nurse were sent to the safety of Remnantz. Before long The Eyrie was surrounded by a "tremendous flood" and with the water level rising, they had no choice but to take Marshall away. The water was 4ft deep outside when help was summoned. The horses bearing his carriage away were chest deep in the flood  as they made their departure. Marshall and his wife Penrose were taken to the Crown Hotel, but sadly he died there shortly afterwards age 28. Many blamed his final illness on the unhealthy situation caused by the flood water. (Captain Marshall and his menagerie is subject of a separate post here)

Flood mark at Marlow Lock, above. 

Summer floods stop play

While autumn and winter floods made living and working conditions miserable for many, Marlow did not always escape flooding in the summer either. Floods then extended the prospect of financial loss to a different range of people. It's sometimes easy to underestimate how dependent many Victorian and Edwardian Marlow businesses were on tourism or how many summer visitors the town received. 

The summer flood of 1903 was said to have been the worst for 50 years. People visited the town to "mess about on the river" but boating and fishing came to a halt. The hotels and private lodging houses were empty. The pubs and hotels that catered for boating and fishing parties by serving lunches, and hiring out punts and fisherman (fishing guides) did no trade. Salters Steamers could not run their river trips. The boathouses found no demand for hired steam launches or canoes. The mills had to stop. It was in short "disastrous" for the trade in Marlow. The Reading Mercury reported that all roads south of the town were cut off and that many hundreds of acres of Thames side meadows were flooded. This included all those in the vicinity of Pound Lane, with the cricket field included. Residents reported flooded cellars (barrels are said to have floated out of one unnamed pub cellar) and overwhelmed cess pits. Worse for some was the stench of decaying vegetation left behind as the waters receded, along with thick foul smelling mud that had to shovelled off the streets. At least the train managed to continue, thanks to the work done after 1894. The water got to within 1-2" of the rails, and lay all around the line, as far as the Bourne End road at it's worst. The storm that accompanied the initial deluge was marked by large hailstones and a horse was struck by lightning and killed at Seymour Court. At Danesfield house, the lightning hit the roof, causing significant damage. The rain coming through the ceiling caused substantial damage to some tapestries hanging on the walls, worth together several thousand pounds. 

In December of 1903 there were yet more floods, with water levels rising to just under a foot below the summer flood mark of that year. 

Station Road is submerged..again

The residents of Station Rd had more cause to complain than most. The summer flood just mentioned affected them badly in June-August. Then in September of the same year a heavy rain storm saw the road and houses flooded again. Questions were raised about the affect on visitor numbers if those arriving at Marlow train station had to step through several inches of water (at best) on their way into town. But what of the poor people actually living there? They resorted to blocking up their doorways "with 6-7" of wood backed up with a heap of mud and stone" but to no avail.  The water entered  the houses and was "spoiling the furniture". At a Council meeting, councilor Mr J H Deacon tried to get something done. Drainage work was planned to be completed at the same time new paving was due to be laid but that was 6 months away. Mr Deacon said autumn floods were likely and following on from the two already that year, could the Station Rd residents afford to wait? The other councillors (who did not live in Station Rd) thought they could. They said the homeowners should just raise their steps 6-7" to protect their homes. Mr Deacon pointed out that this had already been tried at the Wheatsheaf and the two cottages adjoining but they still flooded. It's also worth noting that most of these cottages were rented and some landlords were not willing to spend on these potential improvements. Mr Deacon failed to get any further money voted to help Station Rd as the others did not want the rates pushed up as a result. So when a "memorable" flood occured in February the following year, the cottages were again flooded. Things improved for the road gradually but it was still suffering in home floods long after the time our blog deals with. 

There have been many more bad flood years eg 1908, but the worst in recent times was 1947. Again this is out of our blog time frame but if you Google the date, you'll find plenty of images online. 

Always look on the bright side?

More minor seasonal floods were regarded as useful for irrigation purposes by farmers with land near the river, and some thought it added to the value of their holdings.  

A more ambitious plan to make use of excess Thames water was proposed by civil engineer Mr McClean in 1869. His idea was based on a plan previously advanced by him in 1849 and 1850, in conjunction with Mr Blackwell. This was to "embank and canalize" the Thames between Marlow and Henley, with the object of creating in the present channel of the river, a series of "impounding reservoirs". The lowest of these would be connected to London via a 36 mile canal, and so would provide the capital with more drinking water. Gravity would allow the provision of water for low lying parts of London, and a pump would be needed to serve the rest. Mr McClean thought this would solve both the inadequate provision of water in populous London, and flooding around the Thames. But the scheme was not to be! 

The other people who gained when the floods came were illegal fishermen. Those who did not have the right to take fish from certain areas of the Thames "netted" the ditches and flooded areas around the river, confident perhaps no one much would be on the water to notice. In the early 1870's the "netting  on the meadows adjacent to the river during flood time was carried on wholesale" with large quantities of fish captured and sold. The Thames Conservancy and the Angling Clubs put a stop to this by gathering the fish left stranded in the ditches or pools of water and returning them to the river themselves.

One last person to benefit from the flood was a Mr Couch of Quarry Wood House who in the 1870's is said to won a bet that he could drive his boat over the weir while a flood was on, as a feet of daring. It seemed to get stuck a little on the edge but finally slipped over and down again safely "to the cheers from the crown on the bridge". Don't try that at home!

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. Above picture shows Marlow floods in the modern day.

Related content:

Related posts about the river can be found in the General History post listing here including this about Victorian and Edwardian children drowned in the river

More about Way family of Wheatsheaf here

The angry, roaring hissing mist of 1897 here

To find all mentions of your ancestor here, click on the A-Z person index in the same menu. This currently contains over 3,000 individuals. 

SOURCES INCLUDE:

Royal Commission on River Pollution: Third report of the commission appointed to inquire into the best means of preventing the pollution of rivers - 1866, (C E Eyre & Spottiswoode) 

Great Britain Parliament, House of Commons - Reports from committees vol 17, 1877

Great Britain House of Commons - Reports from Commissions - Vol 33 1869

Wheedon, J P, Angling Clubs and Preservation societies of London and the provinces 1883. (Clowes 1884)

Leslie, John Dunlop - Our River (Bradbury, Agnew, and Co 1881)

Bucks Gazette 3 November, 11 January 1840. Copy held at the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA.

Derby and Newcastle  Mercury, 1 November 1747, as above

Wolverton Express, June 1903 - thanks to Roger Woodman. 

©Marlow Ancestors.

Marlow in the Swing Riots 1830

 In the November of 1830, a number of anxious farmers, and prosperous Marlow citizens gathered for a public meeting in the Upper Crown. The reason for their concern was repeated reports of the "incendiaries" as they called them, who had been targeting the hay ricks in the wider neighbourhood. Farm workers unhappy with their low pay and working conditions, had been making their points by commiting acts of arson, destroying property worth large sums. This was not a meeting to discuss how legitimate any of the grievances were, and the papers stressed it was the principal citizens that were in attendance. The purpose was to decide the best way to protect property. Two courses of action were decided on, to swear in extra special constables, and to mount a foot and horse patrol of the neighbourhood hay ricks. Handbills were also circulated in Hambledon and Medmenham encouraging men to come forward to be sworn as constables to "assist in the preservation of peace."

 

Those Marlow men who kept a close eye on national news would have been aware that trouble was likely to strike close to home. Throughout the South East there had been so called Swing Riots since the summer. These were named after the fictional "Captain Swing" whose name was used to sign warning letters to local farmers and employers, threatening them with acts of arson and property destruction if they did not give in to paticular demands. One act of rebellion seems to have inspired others, and the focus locally began to be on "machine breaking" or putting out of action threshing machines and other mechanical devices that were reducing employment opportunities. Some of these contentious threshers were made locally, by Marlow ironmonger, engineer and agricultural implement maker John Moss. Reports of the excellent amount of work one of his machines was able to achieve in a short time at a farm in Rickmansworth, may have inspired some farmers locally to invest in one themselves. They could also be hired. 

A LETTER IS RECEIVED

Farm labourers looking for threshing work were only too aware of which farms had the threshing machines on hand to partially replace their labour. In November 1830 Mr Wright at the Marlow Paper Mills, Richard Webb at Marlow Bottom Farm, Joseph Biddle of Town Farm/High Wycombe and James Phelps of Temple Farm were amongst a group of local farmers and paper mill owners who received a dreaded Swing letter. Their property was threatened unless they did away with the machines that were taking away jobs. 

Joseph Biddle had read enough reports of the violence occasioned by a refusal to cooperate with the rioters, and was in no mood to take chances. He immediately had his new threshing machine taken down. He had a large number of ricks in close proximity and said it would be impossible to save the whole should one be ignited. Mr Phelps of Temple followed his lead. Richard Webb was said to have burnt his own threshing machine to pre-empt any action. And then they waited. 

A week or two later these letters were followed up by some targeting smaller landowners and gentleman farmers including William Atkinson (Marlow Bottom, Town End and the Rookery farms), Mr Wethered and  Mr Lovegrove.  

THE NEWS FROM WYCOMBE

Most reports of a Swing Riot starting begin with some mention of suspicious strangers being seen in the town and those at High Wycombe were no exception. Some of the rioters gathered at Flackwell Heath, first in the beerhouse of John Sarney (the Leathern Bottle) and then on the Heath itself before proceeding to attack a number of the paper mills in the vicinity of Loudwater. Some of the mill owners tried to reassure the men that the machines had been taken out of use, but it was usually to no avail and the mills were broken into and equipment destroyed. An 'express message" was sent to the Town Clerk at Marlow, to warn him to prepare for a similar attack on the Marlow Paper Mills. What happened next is subject to wildly different eye witness accounts published within the next few days. 

Some accused the town clerk of panic. But this is with hindsight. He had no way of knowing which direction the rioters would come next. He first had to spread word, without the aid of telephone, around the town. So he ordered the alarm bell at the Town Hall to be rung, usually reserved for announcing a fire. We might expect the church bells to be rung, but there is no mention of this. This summoned the town criers to the Crown, who then went to their appointed places to make a public announcement. This was apparently to alert householders to a looming risk to their home and persons, and to request they gather to decide the best course of action. This was considered to be to dispatch a message to Colonel Clayton, the magistrate, at Harleyford. Unfortunately, Clayton had already decided on his own best course of action. That was to go shooting, and leave things to the special constables he had seen sworn in. The differing reports of the rest of the days action can partly be explained by those who seem to support Clayton and were therefore keen to dismiss the riots as over hyped and nothing that justified Clayton staying at home in case he was needed. Clayton said he thought the constables could have dealt with things, and he would not want to burden the parish with any added costs that other protective measures might entail. 

But our town clerk needed someone to take charge and so he sent a message to our two MPs, Mr Williams senior and Junior at Temple. They were thankfully at home and immediately came to Marlow and set up at the Crown. They then began to swear in a number of additional Special Constables, and were joined by other magistrates.

Some eyewitness accounts declare there was panic in the streets with woman rushing home with children in their arms, and householders arming themselves with whatever was to hand. Shops were barricaded and shutters closed. Other eyewitnesses, said that while a few "old women" and "gentlemen commonly denominated as dandies" were alarmed, the only panic was seen in the actions of the Clerk and MP (who was a political rival to Clayton). The streets were perfectly quiet they say. On the other hand others stated that it was decided to send a horse and cart to fetch a "depot of muskets kept in the neighbourhood" and they also considered sending for Colonel Clayton's small cannons that were kept at Harleyford and used on ceremonial occasions. These might be taken to the Mills as a deterrent they thought. It isn't clear if this messenger was sent. But an unnamed man was despatched to Reading to fetch the military. Unfortunately he was told he should have gone to Windsor barracks instead so it was after midnight that help arrived in the form of 30 Grenadier Guards and their officer, travelling in a coach, post chaise and cart. 

In the end, the rioters never made it on to Marlow. We may never know how many Marlow men travelled to Flackwell Heath or Wycombe to join in. But 21 year old Little Marlow ploughman and agricultural labourer William Knibbs (Nibbs) (born Flackwell Heath) was one of several Buckinghamshire men sentenced to 7 years transportation for role he played in the "riotous assembly" at Loudwater and resisting arrest at the scene. This was an immediate commutation of a death sentence. He left the UK on the ship Proteus with 111 other prisoners on 12 April 1831 and arrived in Van Diemens Land, Australia on 3rd August. He died there age 75 in 1884. 

Flackwell Heath's John Sarney (Sawney) received a pardon after spending several years on the prison hulks. He was buried at Marlow in 1840 so presumably had moved there. Aged 53/4 when convicted. John had originally been sentenced to death before it was reduced to transportation for life, and he was moved to the prison hulks for something like 5 years before a decision to pardon him was made. His offence related to machine breaking at the paper making mill of William Robert Davis.  A large petition from local residents was presented to the authorities shortly after the conviction appealing for mercy for John and this was followed by a similar letter from many of the mill owners and others who had been attacked or threatened including William Davis and Marlow's Mr Wright. They no doubt felt that calm would better be preserved if mercy was shown to those not considered to be the most strident ringleaders. Farmer Edmund Collins, overseer of Wycombe continued to write campaigning for John's release from his extended stay in the hulks. Edmund said the delay in making a decision in the case had prolonged the torture for wife Sarah who was "almost out of her mind" with stress and worry.  Indeed Edmund offered to employ John should he be released.  

Other local connections:

(All of the below spent time on the hulk York at Portsmouth before being transported on the Proteus as above, unless stated)

 Aylesbury's John Blizzard, whose wife Mary was living "on the parish" at Little Marlow at the time of her husband's trial. He was sentenced to death but this was commuted to transportation for life. He had been involved in the destruction of Zachary Allnutt's paper making machine at High Wycombe. 

William Butler was a native of Little Marlow then living in Woburn. A farm labourer, he was sentenced to death commuted to 7 years transportation for his involvement in the machine breaking at Allnutt's paper mill as above. 

John Moody - 26 year old ploughman and Little Marlow native. Offence again relates to Allnutt's mill. Death sentence commuted to 7 years transportation. 

William Moody age 22, of Little Marlow. Probably brother to above. Death sentence commuted to 1 years imprisonment. 

Related Posts

1847 election riots Here

Chartist Edmund Stallwood here

Every mention of an individual here can be found listed in the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

SOURCES - a selection

A Guide to Early Modern History, 1830- 1835, Cory, William Johnson. C Paul &Co 1882. 

The Life & Times of Swing, the Kent Rick Burner. "Swing, Francis".  R Carlisle, 1830.  

Berkshire Chronicle - 27 November 1830. Copy from the British Library and accessed via the BNA March 2021

The News (London)  21 November 1830, as above

Reading Mercury 20 September & 29 November 1830, as above

Windsor and Eton Express 28 August,  27 November, 4 & 11 December 1830, as above

Oxford Journal 27 November 1830, as above

Albion and The Star 26 November 1830, as above

Sun (London) 25 November 1830, as above

History Of England from the year 1830- 1874, Volume 1. Molesworth, William M. Chapman & Hall, 1886. 

https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/proteus. Accessed April 2021. 

Hampshire Machine Breakers, Jill Chambers. (J Chambers 1990)

©MarlowAncestors

Child Paper Makers Of Marlow

In 1842 a commission was set up by parliament to enquire into child labour in mine and manufacturing settings. As part of their evidence gathering they visited Wrights paper mill in Marlow and interviewed some of the young workers there. The way the process was conducted was not up to standards we would have today- the children were asked if their health was affected by their work as if they would be qualified to answer that question. Nevertheless these and similar enquiries gradually lead to limits on the working hours of children and the numbers of them which could be employed. The Marlow mills did not significantly employ children compared to other industries.

Edwin Anstead

Had worked as a rag cutter since the age of 12 and was then 17. His working hours were 8am to 5pm, with later hours overtime. One hour was granted to him for lunch which he brought from home. He was expected to cut 120 pounds in weight of rags a day for which he was paid 14 pence a day. Of all the young people interviewed at Marlow he was the only one able to both read and write. He signed his evidence.

Edwin can be found on the 1841 census living at Burroughs Grove just outside Marlow so he had a fair walk to work each day. Family relationships are not recorded on the 1841 census, and ages of adults are rounded. The Nathaniel and Sarah Anstead he lived with might have been his grandparents rather than parents  their recorded ages of 70 and 65. 

Hannah Coleshill

Started at 16 and was then 18. She smoothed paper. She said that her job sometimes made her tired but she preferred it to her previous job of sewing in a Marlow baby linen factory. In fact she liked her job very much. She worked from 9 to either 5pm or 6pm and earned 6 shillings a week.

Hannah was born in 1824 to William and Martha.

John Hawes

The 13 year old had just started at the mills but said his health was already being affected. He had developed chilblains on his legs which he put down to having to stand nearly all day. He also felt tired by his job which was to watch the reams of paper being produced to see none was torn and to try to fix the problem causing the tear or call someone else to do it if he could not fix it. No wonder John felt tired- he worked 5am to 6pm with frequent overtime all the way up to 9pm. He received an hour lunch break and a further 30 minute break in addition. John's father George was an engineer at the mill and also gave (somewhat defensive) evidence to the enquiry. He said the boy's work was not physically demanding (standing for most of a potential 16 hour working day?!?!?) and he would not let a child of his work there if he thought it unsuitable for his age.

John lived with George and his mother Miriam in Oxford Road in 1841. By 1851 the family had moved to Wooburn. Dad George was still a paper maker there but John was just described just as a "labourer"

Henry Tavage (perhaps should be Savage)

Henry had started at the mill when he was just 9 and was then 14. He worked 5am to 6pm with some hours overtime also worked. Despite his long hours he was not allowed any lunch break and had to eat as and when he could whilst working. He told the commissioners he might get some bacon with his bread lunch but generally he did not often eat meat as they were too poor.

He may be the Henry Savage who lives in St Peter Street with his parents on the 1841 census.

Eliza White

Aged 13. She worked smoothing paper at the mill from 8.30 am to either 5 or 6pm. In the last week before the interview with her she had earned 3 shillings 3 and a half pence. This was much less than Hannah Coleshill above who did the same task for similar hours which probably reflects her younger age and less experience. It was common in the Victorian world of work for lower wages to be paid to the youngest workers even if they were successfully doing the same job as older workers. Eliza was fortunate in that she, like Hannah, was able to sit down during her work. She had 30 minutes as a lunch break and ate on the premises. She told the commissioners that she liked her job.

I found her baptism in 1828 to John and Eliza. She was one of 8 children living with her parents in St Peter's Street Marlow at the time of the 1841 census. Her father was a clerk.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day

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