Edwardian / WW1 Trinity Road and Trinity Place Part Two

Part One dealt with the odd numbers in this street and is available here. This part contains the even numbered homes and their residents as well as those people whose exact address, odd or even, is not known.

Trinity Road was previously Gun Lane and at times during the Edwardian era was also referred to as "Trinity Lane". Trinity Place was a small cul de sac which lead off Trinity Road and was previously known as Gun Place. It was at times numbered as if it was part of Trinity Road, and sometimes as a separate entity*

This was poor area with most homes consisting of just three rooms (kitchen come family room downstairs and two bedrooms above). Piped water arrived here at the close of the 1800s but not before the only well for the residents had already run dry. Life here was tough and there is some distressing content below which may involve your own particular family.

All the homes listed below were demolished long ago.

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

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

2.) Charlotte (bn circa 1845) and Joseph Budd (bn circa 1848). He worked at the gasworks in nearby Cambridge Road as did sons John and Walter who lived at home. Charlotte's 62 year old maternal cousin, Alfred White who also lived in Trinity Road at an unknown address but likely with Charlotte sadly took his own life by hanging in 1907. His body was found by a telegraph boy in the yard of Mr Lovell the builder (off the High Street). Charlotte gave evidence in the resulting inquest. She said that she thought Alfred intellectually impaired. He was deaf and had trouble speaking. As a result of this he had been known as "Dummy White". Earlier in his life Alfred had spent time in jail for stabbing George Grace in the arm following a quarrel. By coincidence George had also died by his own hand in Marlow Fire Station. Alfred had become depressed due to unemployment. Instead of help in his worries he had been prosecuted at Maidenhead for threatening to do away with himself on a previous occasion.

Joseph and Charlotte Tubb's daughter Jane features in the Edwardian Trinity Road post Part One.

4.) This brick and tile house formed a pair with no.6. Thomas and Eliza Barnes and their children then Clara and Amos Moody with their children, followed by a Mr Beaver. 

Thomas Barnes was a bricklayer born circa 1860/61. Eliza was born circa 1863, and was nee Cook.  Thomas was earlier in his life attacked in Trinity Road by two men from other Marlow streets. Amongst the projects that he worked on as a bricklayer was the building of the Salvation Army chapel in Crown Road. This was later rebuilt and is now a daycare nursery. The family moved to Chapel Street by 1911. 

Clara and Amos Moody were both born around 1866. Both spent at least some of their childhoods in nearby Dean Street. Amos was the son of John and Elizabeth Moody, Clara the daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Boot. Clara and her living-at-home daughter Ada were both laundresses when they lived in Edwardian Trinity Road. Amos worked at the paper mills in the Edwardian era but had been a farm worker as a young man. Amos's sister Jane had a very troubled and sad life. She may have lived in Trinity Road for a while early in the Edwardian era with her husband. A full biographical post about her is already on the blog (distressing) here.

6.)Frederick and Charlotte Bailey and their children, then H Tubb, then labourer William Henry Tubb with his wife Mary and their children.

Frederick Bailey was born circa 1866 and Charlotte in circa 1865. Frederick was a drayman at the brewery. Charlotte died in 1909 following a strange incident where a varicose vein in her leg ruptured when she was out at night near the Plough in Wycombe Road. Instead of getting help from the pub or nearby houses Charlotte made her way home, bleeding. Her daughter Annie fetched the doctor. Police from the police station in Trinity Road as they had first aid training but nothing could save Charlotte and she quickly passed away. How her leg came to be injured was investigated. She had just parted company from her husband at that time (he perhaps intending to visit the Plough?). To one person she said someone had kicked her in the leg. To others she said she had just knocked it herself. A trail of blood lead to a horse trough by the Plough but no further conclusions could be arrived at. 

Charlotte was born Charlotte Bowles, the daughter of George and Ann Bowles of Dean Street.

After Charlotte's death Frederick moved with his children away from Trinity Road and became a gardener. They lodged at the Black Horse, Chapel Street. As a teenager Frederick had had to pay a one shilling fine for gambling at cards with his friends in the "recreation ground" (Gossmore). A less controversial teenage hobby of his was playing football for the Marlow Star football team who played in Star Meadow, off Wycombe Road, very close to Trinity Road. He was their captain in 1886.

Mary Tubb was born circa 1888 and William Henry around 1884. 

This house was a brick and tile building which formed a pair with number 4.

8.) In 1907 Samuel Macklow /Mucklow a bricklayer and probable former soldier who was born around 1854 in Worcester and his wife Ann aka "Annie". This Annie was one of the neighbors who rushed to help the dying Charlotte Bailey of no 6 above in 1909. Samuel and Annie lived in Dean Street in 1902 when they were fined with other of the street's residents for abusing and violently assaulting a Bristol man who had come into the town to do a job at the brewery and was lodging in Dean Street. Other outsiders were also employed on the same job and staying in the lodging houses along there. This caused huge resentment amongst the Marlow men who felt work which was rightfully theirs was being stolen from them by strangers. One of the accused Marlow women stabbed the Bristol man with a knife during the fracas but it wasn't clear to the court exactly which woman was responsible. This incident wasn't the first time that Samuel had been convicted of disorderly conduct.

Niece Gladys Sewell was also in household of the Mucklows. She was the daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Sewell of Dean Street and granddaughter of Edwin Sewell who lived at no 12 Trinity Road. See below.

10.) In 1907 Mr G Armstrong, then agricultural labourer John Lovegrove born circa 1861, his widowed sister in law Jane Rockell and Jane's widowed daughter Henrietta Bidmead, a laundress. In 1909 Jane died from heart disease and an ulcerated leg after refusing medical treatment. John found her dead in bed when he came home from work. At some time between 1911 and 1915 both John and Henrietta left this house. Henrietta moved to number 13 on the other side of the street. She was born a Rockell in around 1871 and married William Henry Bidmead.

12.) This property was condemned and demolished in 1932 Edwin Sewell born circa 1846-49 who had come to Marlow from Rickmansworth Hertfordshire as a child with his parents. He moved from Dean Street Marlow to Trinity Road between 1901 and 1905. Wife Ada. Daughter Alice when married lived at no 22, see below. Granddaughter was Gladys Sewell who lived at no 8 Trinity Road.

14.) This property was condemned and demolished in 1932 Hannah Burt an unmarried laundress born around 1871. Her agricultural labourer brother Joseph lived with her as did, early in the era, her elderly mother Harriett. The latter was the widow of Thomas Burt and had raised her children in the Hamlet of Monday Dean near Marlow, at Ragman's Castle on the outskirts of the town, at Boulter End, Flackwell Heath and in Dean Street Marlow. She and her husband were evicted from their Dean Street home in 1897 and may have moved to Trinity Road as a result. She was deaf by the late 1880s. Thomas died early in 1901, before the census. He had been a labourer. Harriett died in 1903. She was at marriage Harriett Boddy. Emma, daughter of Thomas and Harriett appears amongst the inhabitants of Trinity Road without an assigned house number. See at the end of the house listings below.

16.) Also known as 1 Trinity Place Thomas and Ann "Annie" Rockell  and their children. Thomas was born circa 1849 and Ann in around 1850-2. Probable maiden name Frith. Long term Trinity Road residents as a couple and it looks like Ann spent part of her childhood there too.

18.) Also known as 2 Trinity Place Mrs Ann Goodchild, widow born circa 1846. Came from West Wycombe. Her labouring son William James lived with her. Earlier in her widowhood Ann had worked as a chair caner in Marlow.

20.) Also Known as 3 Trinity Place George and Louisa "Lewey" Budd and their children. Early on in the era James Bowles who was described as George Budd's brother in law (born circa 1848) also resided here. George Budd was an agricultural labourer and born circa 1874. Louisa was born circa 1878, the daughter of William and Ann Bowles. James Bowles was marked on the 1901 census as deaf from birth.

22.) Also Known as 4 Trinity Place Thomas Turner and his wife Elizabeth and their children, then in 1907 the newly married couple Robert and Alice Armstrong who had several children in this house, then R Stroud. 

Thomas Turner was a labourer born circa 1866 and Elizabeth in circa 1873. They moved to Chapel Street before 1911.

Robert and Alice Armstrong were both born around 1882. He was a house painter. Alice was nee Sewell, the daughter of Edwin Sewell who lived at no 12. The family later moved to Oxford Road. 

24.) Also known as 5 Trinity Place James and Louisa Cook and their children. James was a bricklayer's labourer born circa 1866. Louisa was born 1870. One of the children was Edith who was found along with other young laundry hands to have been working longer hours than legally permitted at Quarry Laundry in 1908. They started at 8am and should have finished at 4pm but instead ended their working day at 5.30pm. Her employer was fined. It is unknown whether this extra work was actually welcomed as an opportunity by Edith or whether she was being exploited.

26.) Also Known as 6 Trinity Place. Thomas and Mary Langley then Arthur and Beatrice Bowles, then Beatrice Bowles as a widow.

Thomas Langley was born around 1867 and Mary in around 1868. He was a labourer. She was nee Mary Louisa Edwards. She spent her childhood in Trinity Road. Her parents were Caroline and James Edwards.

Arthur Frederick Bowles was a gardener born circa 1884. He was a casualty of the first world war, dying in hospital at Bedford of pneumonia in 1918. He had served in the Labour Corps according to the newspaper reports as to his death and the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry according to his grave. As a teenager Arthur was found to have stolen some partridge eggs from private property. One of his co-accused was Thomas Rockell son of Thomas and Ann Rockell of no 16 above.

Beatrice Bowles was at her 1907 marriage to Arthur Beatrice Usher.

Residents whose house numbers are unknown or questionable=

Florence Collier and her children resident 1912. She was fined for swearing at them.

Charles and Mary Edwards. Residents 1901. He born circa 1870 and she in 1871. They had with them "adopted child" Dorothy Bright born circa 1897.

Sophia Edwards resident 1901 Trinity Road. Born circa 1834. Widow of William Edwards. Had lived in Trinity Place in 1895 and Trinity Road earlier. Kept pigeons in her back yard.

Mrs Harriett Elizabeth Groves who slit her throat with a razor in what was ruled as a fit of "temporary insanity" in 1911. She was taken to the Cottage Hospital but could not be saved. Wife of Alfred Groves, a labourer. Harriett was Harriett Ford at marriage. She was in her 27th year when she died.

Henry and Emma "Emily" Harris who lived Trinity Road on the 1901 Census with Mary Ann Burt age 20, Henry's stepdaughter and their other children. Henry Harris is not to be confused with the close-in-age Henry Harris, saddler and harness maker of Spittal Street. Henry of Trinity Road (bn circa 1857-59) was a worker at the brewery while his wife Emma (bn circa 1857) was a furrier. The family including Mary Ann Burt left Marlow for Langley Marish in Bucks where Henry worked as a farm carter by 1911. Emma was nee Burt and though born in Flackwell Heath had spent some of her childhood in Marlow. Her sister and widowed mother both lived at no 14 Trinity Road, see above. Emma was a servant as a teenager.

Sarah Ann and Joseph Hiscock. Trinity Road residents in 1909 but in Dean Street by 1911. Some of their children were born in Winchester Hampshire. Joseph was that classic Dean Street occupation - a vegetable hawker. Sarah worked at Quarry Laundry. When the owner went bankrupt in 1910 he owed money to many of his employees including Sarah. The court ordered him to pay them.

Alfred and Elizabeth Hopgood both originally of Reading lived in this street in 1911 but had left the town by 1915. Alfred was born around 1863 and was a building labourer. 

Mary Loftin born circa 1835 resident of Trinity Road 1901. Mary was a widow who worked as a charwoman. On the census she says that she was born at Bledlow Ridge. She died in 1907. Widow of William Loftin a gas / engine fitter. The couple were also living in Trinity Road at the time of his death in 1896 and previously. They had married late in life in 1890 when both were already widowed and so had no children together. Mary Ann was at the time of her second marriage the widow of farm worker Joseph Martin. William Loftin had been the lodger in their Trinity Road home.

William Moody who was a resident in 1916 when he was fined 10 shillings for having no light on his cart.

Sarah Slade resident 1901 age 62 with her 24 year old son. Widow of Charles Slade. She had lived in Trinity Road for many years. Charles was fined for being drunk and disorderly in Trinity Road in 1895.

Ada and Eli Smith with their children who moved to Marlow circa 1911 from Wooburn. She worked in a paper mill at Wooburn even after she moved to Marlow  and he was by trade a builder's labourer. This family suffered severe hardship due to Eli's continued unemployment. He was imprisoned for child cruelty at the behest of the NSPCC because of the deprivation the children experienced. The court seemed sceptical about his attempts to provide for them while recognizing that Ada worked very hard. It isn't clear if she actually lived at home during the working week. She told the court that her working hours meant she could not see to things at home anyway. She had sold her clothes and bedding so that the children could eat. Nevertheless the children suffered from vermin, sores, uncleanliness and a lack of education because they had no clothes in which to attend school. The Inspector from Marlow Police Station in Trinity Road collected donations of clothes for the children from other Marlovians. There was virtually no furniture in their "filthy" home, and no fire in winter. The court ordered Ada against her wishes to place the children in the Union Workhouse until their home situation improved and so they could be intensely treated. If she did not take them to the workhouse she too would be jailed, despite the NSPCC saying they did not think any charges against her should be pressed.

Wages were low in this period giving families little chance to save money for emergencies. Children being unable to attend school because they didn't have a full set of clothes still, shockingly, occurred in Marlow in the 1940s. The court's apparently sceptical attitude towards Eli should be taken with some reservations. The privileged men who sat in judgement generally subscribed to the view that you could always find work if you wanted to and that all poverty must be the victim's fault. That those working could be paid so little they could neither fulfill their family's wants nor save for when they weren't in work wasn't within their understanding. Eli, while not in paid employment, made rag rugs which the children hawked in the town, so he was hardly idle. See above under house number 2 for a case of the suicide of an unemployed man. The Smiths moved to Dean Street by February 1912. Ada was at marriage Ada Priest. 

Private Thomas Stroud son of Henry and Sarah Stroud of Trinity Place was killed in action in December 1914 while serving with the Royal Berkshires. He died instantly after being shot in the heart. The news of his death broke locally early the next year. He was also said to be a resident of Trinity Place then.

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

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

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

Similar Posts 

Victorian residents of Trinity Cottages Jeremiah and Emma Harding here

General earlier history of Trinity Road here

Edwardian St Peter Street here.

Edwardian Cambridge Place here

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

Edwardian wedding gifts in Marlow here

Some Sources=

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

Bucks Herald February 16th 1916. Reading Mercury Nov 26th 1884 both British Library Archives, via the BNA.

South Bucks Standard and 22nd Feb 1907 , 13th August 1909 and July 8th 1910.

Reading Mercury 16th Nov 1918. Copy at the British Library.

Bucks Free Press Feb 16th 1912, Bucks Free Press Archives.

All 1901 census from the microfilm transcriptions of Jane Pullinger, with thanks.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-JRQ : Thu Feb 13 06:47:46 UTC 2025), Entry for Eli Smith and Ada Smith, 1911.

https://buckinghamshireremembers.org.uk/php_scripts/bksidget.php?id=5578

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VL-H36 : Thu Feb 13 16:47:53 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry James Harris and Emma Harris, 1911.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-JRS : Thu Feb 13 06:35:45 UTC 2025), Entry for Alfred Hopgood and Elizabeth Hopgood, 1911.

"England and Wales, Census, 1871", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZ2-ZW5S : Tue Oct 08 17:32:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Thomas Burt and Harriett Burt, 1871.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-NLV : 22 July 2019), Frederick Henry Edward Bailey in household of Thomas Blewitt, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

1905 Williams estate sale papers, copy kindly provided by Adam Baxter of the Marlow Society.

GRO Birth, marriage and death registration indexes, GRO online. Except Marriage of Henry Harris and Emma Burt which was Find My Past https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=BMD%2FM%2F1883%2F3%2FAZ%2F000128%2F092

Personal interview, rent receipt.

Early History of Wethered Road Marlow

Wethered Road first existed as an unnamed foot way and cart track that led from Dean Street round to the back of the cottage and pub at the top of Trinity Road and the nearby fields. Access on foot could continue via paths all the way to Marlow Bottom eventually, the sand and a gravel pits of Sandygates (Sandegate) and Hillside, down Trinity Road (apparently blocked to vehicle traffic in some way, the rights or otherwise of carts to use it were much disputed! ) or around to Chapel Street so although nobody lived in the road itself it would not have lacked a certain busy feeling.

A pound is mentioned as being beside the road there in 1896. There were various pounds in the town during the 1800s for the purpose of containing stray animals. 

The first few homes pop up in Wethered Road in the early 1900s. The road was then called Church Road after nearby Holy Trinity church. Because Marlow people loved nothing more than being confusing when it came to street addresses, Trinity Road was also at that time often referred to as Church Road (not to mention Trinity Lane). To make things even more confusing early properties in the future Wethered Road were numbered as if they were part of Dean Street rather than a separate address. Marlow postmen of the past, we salute you. You must one and all have had the patience of saints.

Some of the earlier residents were the Austin family, headed by Thomas and Anne  ("Annie"). Thomas was a domestic gardener at an unknown house in Marlow. He was originally from Upton cum Chalvey near Slough, she from Windsor according to the census. As a young man in Chalvey Thomas found himself unwittingly involved in a murder case that was the talk of the county at the time. A Chalvey coal dealer had been robbed and brutally murdered on his premises. Drops of blood were found outside the chief suspect's lodgings and his landlady observed blood on his feet. Thomas Austin gave evidence that he had seen the suspect near the coal premises on the night in question, wearing a coat matching the description of the one later believed by police to have been worn by the killer. He also testified that the suspect had been out of money on the night of the murder but had predicted that he was about to have some. The accused was acquitted and went off to sea to escape the scandal. Thomas was not the only prosecution witness to appear against him but as he had been on friendly terms with the suspect his having given evidence was deeply resented by him. When some months later the acquitted man returned home again he attacked and threatened to kill Thomas whilst under the influence  of alcohol. For this he was fined 21 shillings. You can see why Thomas might have wanted to leave Chalvey, which he swiftly did. First he went to Eton as a gardener and then came to Marlow. By then he had lost his first wife Elizabeth and married Annie Cannon. When they first arrived in Marlow the couple lived in a cottage behind the Verney Arms pub in Dean Street. Thomas was soon winning prizes for the vegetables, fruit and flowers he grew at home just as he had done when he lived elsewhere.

Another resident family in the 1910s and 20s were the Moodys headed by Kate and William. He worked as a builder's labourer and a fruit gatherer at different times. Because of the latter important occupation application was made for him to be exempt from the draft in 1916 but the application was unsuccessful. Earlier in his life he had been convicted like so many working class Marlow men of poaching. William's mother Jane features in this post. The post celebrates her resilience throughout what was a very hard life - please be aware that the post contains content that may distress you, particularly if you are related to her. Jane and her husband lived in Wethered Road themselves in 1916.

In 1913 a new Church of England Boys' School was opened in Wethered Road following some time of fundraising by local people including Lucy Winters. The buildings alone cost £4000 and were built by Marlow builders Thomas and William Sellman. It is now Holy Trinity, a middle school for both boys and girls. Princess Christian who was staying at Medmenham Abbey performed the opening ceremony after which she took tea in one of the classrooms. Some 900 local schoolchildren lined up outside the school to welcome her. A portrait of the then king and queen was presented to Princess Christian who then presented it back to be put up in the school premises. 

The new school was quick to harness the technology of the day for the purposes of education. The head invested in a gramophone in 1923 to help music teaching and a radio in 1924 so educational programmes could be listened in to. It also enjoyed a garden for the pupils to gain practical experience at growing vegetables. 

The school was not the only important facility to arrive in Wethered Road in the Edwardian era- the town cemetery opened in 1910. A post about the first person to be buried in the new cemetery and their link to Peter Pan is a available here. Originally different denominations were to have different parts of the burial ground to use but that idea soon gave way to a mingling of one and all.

                   

In 1916 Mr Owen Wethered of Seymour Court donated some land in celebration of his 60th wedding anniversary to enable the road to be widened. Who needs diamonds or flowers for their anniversary when they can have a road widening scheme? (We hope you got something else too Mrs O). After this donation the road was officially renamed Wethered Road.

Further reading:

Landlords of the pub that formerly existed near the top of Trinity Road here.

Bird Brooks Research And Graves Great Marlow

 

Above two, James Bird Brooks d. Aug 1896 Age 70

And Rosina - details obscured but see research below.

Above, a different James Bird Brooks grave d. Dec 1st 1852 age 62 years

AND:

Mary, wife of the above Dec 28th 1860 age 74. 

In All Saints Parish Church. 

Research by Charlotte:

The bottom grave is for James Bird Brooks who was baptised at Marlow in 1790 (to William and Mary who was nee Bird) and his wife Mary. The Berkshire Chronicle announcing her death said that she was "much respected" and had died after a lingering illness. 

The top grave is for their son James Bird Brooks (baptised 1825) and his wife Rosina nee Barnes (married Hoxton New Church 1847, both parties of Great Marlow).

James Bird Brooks Senior was a baker and corn dealer, a combination of occupations which was very common at the time. By 1833 if not earlier the bakery was in the Causeway, Marlow. See here for a description of the premises in 1833. It is still a bakery today.

Young George Moody was sentenced to one week's hard labour in 1847 for cheating James Senior out of 10 shillings.

In 1848 James Senior was the executor of the will of Martha Cleobury a gentlewoman of Chapel Street (see here).

When James died he requested that his wife take over his business with their youngest son William to assist her. He was to receive a third of the net profits when he turned 30 provided he continued to assist her and then take over fully once she died.

James Junior was a farmer at Finnemoor Farm at Ackhampstead chapelry just outside Marlow by 1847. The will of James Senior suggests that James Junior was at first running the farm for his father  as the furniture in the farmhouse and the crops growing in the fields belonged to James Senior who was perhaps growing wheat and corn for his business there. James Senior was renting the property back in 1833.

James Junior was one of the overseers of Ackhampstead. Both James Junior and Rosina died at Finnemoor Farm House. Rosina's death was in 1861 when she was 71. Being a little isolated the farm was sometimes targeted by poachers and thieves after hen eggs or the turkeys raised there. Two daughters of James and Rosina died as young adults. Their graves are photographed on the blog here.

Siblings for James Junior were: Amelia (mentioned in the will of Martha Cleobury above), Jane, Sarah (married Marlow stonemason William Clifford, son also William who became a baker too. More on him here), and William who took over the family bakery business. Jane married William Hall the Marlow butcher of whom more here. She and her surviving siblings and their children all received legacies from James Senior in his will proved 1853. James Senior at the time of the will's writing in 1851 had 4 cottages in Woburn Buckinghamshire plus at Marlow his premises, 3 other cottages on the Causeway, 2 other nearby cottages, and cottages on Strong Beer Acre, Marlow (off what we now call Station Road).

The brother of James Senior, Joseph, was a farmer at Blounts with a William who was probably another brother.

More posts related to people of the Causeway, Marlow indexed here

Photos and headstone transcription by Kathryn, research by Charlotte.

References:

Will of James Bird Brooks. P.C.C. Copy held at the National Archives, Kew and transcribed by Charlotte Day.

Post office directory of Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, with Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Huntingdonshire [afterw.] The Post office directory of Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire. (1847). United Kingdom: (n.p.).

Reading Mercury 4th December 1852 and 18th April 1874. British Library Archives, via the BNA.

Bucks Chronicle 5th January 1861. As above.

Windsor and Eton Express. 16th January 1847. As above.

Robson's Commercial Directory 1839.

1833 Parochial Assessment for Great Marlow transcribed from originals in my possession by Charlotte Day.

Great Marlow Parish Registers, transcribed by Jane Pullinger from the originals.

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

The Resilience Of Jane Moody / Anson

*Please be aware that the contents of this post includes historic information that may be distressing to read related to the Anson, Moody, Bowles, Anderson and Neighbour families.* 

Jane Ann Moody was born to agricultural labourer William and wife Jane of St Peter's Street, Great Marlow in 1856. We have chosen to feature her as she represents a tale of survival. Life for the men and women of the working class Victorian Marlow was often extremely tough and the reality of the existence of those on the lowest income bracket can be shocking to read to modern Marlow residents long separated from this period. We will tell Jane's story honestly but also fairly. She did not conform to the moral standards of the day and as such was always going to be looked down upon by some in authority. We want to flesh out some the official details of her life so her struggles can be put into context. 

By the time she was 15 years old Jane had moved to Dean Street with her parents and siblings, a densely populated working class area of town. It was about this time that the young girl met the teenage William "Billy" Bowles, grandson of the then landlady of the Cherry Tree pub also in Dean Street. He worked as a hawker. William's grandfather  Thomas Bowles had died under tragic circumstances when still young - you can read more about it and the Cherry Tree here. He was therefore from a family that knew hardship. But it was also one that had came back from disaster, thanks to the strength and determination of his grandmother Emma. William and Jane began to court each other openly - their young age and relative lack of supervision was commented on later but they remained together for something like 7 years. Their relationship was by all accounts tempestuous at times, driven by mutual jealousy. They began to fight both verbally and physically. When Jane was 18 she took out a summons on William for assaulting her but the case was settled out of court. 

A Poor Diet Leads To Tragedy

If Jane and William had to deal with gossip about their relationship before, it was going to get a lot harder after 1876 when Jane fell pregnant. At the time of the baby's birth, the couple had not married which was another black mark against them in the eyes of society. This infant would sadly not live beyond a few months. An inquest was held at the Duke Of Cambridge, and the doctor described the child's emaciated condition. But the coroner's jury was quick and specific to state that they cleared Jane of any charge of neglect. She had made a mistake it was said, and had weaned the child when it was just a few days old, feeding the little one on cornflour and sugar paste with milk. Surgeon Shone who completed the post mortem said such a diet was nutritionally insufficient and the child had never thrived and therefore died of natural causes hastened by malnourishment. It should be noted that very early weaning of children was not at all uncommon in this period. Some of the papers made much of the fact that the bereaved mother was called into the court room and given a "severe reprimand" as to regards her future conduct. (Moral that is, not as regards to infant care). But let's also look at what the more sympathetic sources had to say. They stated that Jane was at this point living in lodgings with one of her sisters, and both girls had gone to work all day every day. As an unmarried women Jane could not simply become a stay at home mother and still support her child, nor could she take the baby to work with her. She needed to have the baby fed while she was away, and while the cornflour and sugar mix seems to us a strange feed, it was in fact a standard feeding mixture of the time for babies old enough to be truly weaned. The surgeon stated that the diet should have been primarily milk based and Jane's error was in the thinking the balance should be different. What's more the initial decision to "dry nurse" or wean the child was made because of Jane's poor physical state of health immediately after the birth. 

Two years later, Jane was pregnant again and William Bowles was the acknowledged father of this boy, known as William Moody. He paid a weekly sum for maintenance, as ordered by a court. The couple still did not marry however, which further blackened her reputation.  

Body Found In The River

In 1878, the relationship of Jane and William was going through a particularly difficult time. She had begun to see other men, at least according to rumour, but William declared he still loved her. Sadly, a young woman, Matilda Neighbour*, decided to cause a little trouble, although she may have been motivated to protect William too. In any case she went to the Cherry Tree where William was to be found and told him that Jane was with another man (a relative of hers) and that if he didn't believe her perhaps he should come and see. William left, and his grandmother told Matilda off, asking her not to come to her premises with such gossip. It seems William did see Jane walking with another man, as well as others, and according to some, a fight broke out although who was involved exactly is hard to pick out from confused accounts given later. Jane said William had threatened to kill her, struck her, and dragged her by the hair. John Neighbour, of whom William had been jealous, intervened. She said they had actually agreed to separate a few days before, but William did not want to be replaced as a sweetheart so soon. (Jane denied there was a successor to her affections and said John Neighbour was actually the sweetheart of another.) Ultimately Jane was said to be aggrieved at William acting in an possessive way as she saw it, and told him to go home as she did not want him. These words were alleged to weigh heavily on the young man. A few days later, William was found floating face down in the river near the bottom of St Peter's Street. His lifeless body was retrieved by John Clark Truss of the adjacent Two Brewers pub, where the inquest into his death was also held. Much was naturally made of the events of the days leading up to his death and the reports tend to hold Jane to blame for it, although a verdict of "found drowned" was recorded rather than suicide. One declared that Jane was a young woman of "considerable notoriety" in the neighborhood of Marlow, and that the case shone a dark light into the immoral "going ons" in the Dean Street area. 

But there is another fact the newspapers skip over. Jane was living with her sister in a cottage in Dean Street that had been previously declared as unfit for human habitation. Numerous orders were made to force the owners to clean it up and provide proper sanitation, most of which were ignored. Finally some work (but not all that was required) had been done and Jane had found a home there. Would those who criticized Jane for being always out, have happily stayed in in such a premises? The neighbouring cottage was let to another woman tarred with the same brush as Jane, the "notorious" Eliza Anderson.**

What's That In Your Apron?

By 1881, Jane and her little boy were back living with her parents and numerous younger siblings elsewhere in Dean's Street - sometimes they were also living in Hatches Row, off Dean Street. The next few years were eventful for her. It started with a 10 shilling fine for stealing some rape greens (used like spring greens, a common edible of the past and only recently "rediscovered" here as a gourmet vegetable) growing in a farm field. A number of other woman were caught in the same sweep - this kind of harvest or turnip greens were a common subject of crop rustling as they were easy to gather quickly. The woman had collected them in their aprons and when challenged they claimed to be gathering primroses. This claim unfortunately fell apart when the ladies were ordered to empty their aprons! Some time after this, Jane was also amongst a group of woman caught taking mushrooms from some fields belonging to the Wethered family. In this instance she escaped a fine despite pleading guilty as the Wethereds declined to press the charges further. They had suffered a plague of mushroom thefts and so wanted to make a point without making a particular example of the women. They hoped the summons to court would act as a deterrent for others. 

A little later Jane fell out with a lady, Sarah West*** of Marefield Passage, also located off Dean Street. What the two bickered over the records don't really make clear but Sarah went to court asking that Jane be bound over to keep the peace against her. Sarah said Jane would follow her up the street and swear at her and call her names, to the point Sarah was in fear of her life. However once Jane had spoke in her own defence, the case was dismissed.

 

In 1884 Jane was pregnant with another illegitimate child, young Nellie. It was her fifth child according to statements reported as uttered by Jane during a maintenance order hearing. This does not quite tally with the numbers of her then children given elsewhere. Regardless, she said the current babies father was William Price but she was denied a maintenance order for "lack of corroborating evidence". 

Jane would go on to marry William Anson. He was usually described as a general labourer at this time. 

Happily Ever After?

Jane, her husband, and her two illegitimate children moved eventually to Primrose Lea, another fairly crowded group of houses adjacent to Dean Street (the place name remains but none of the housing). Was this the start of happier times for the troubled woman? Sadly for her children in particular, the answer is no. We have written many posts about the number of drinking establishments to be found in Marlow, and in the Dean Street/Marefield area of Marlow in particular at this time. If you had sorrows to drown, there was plenty of opportunity to do so on your doorstep. Tragically, William appears to have been an alcoholic, or at least a heavy drinker unable to hold his drink. Numerous convictions for drunk and disorderly behaviour and/or using obscene language while under the influence came his way. But William was not a happy drunk winding his way home singing merrily with a few swear words thrown in. In the words of Inspector Pearce of Marlow police, Anson became "nearly mad" when in drink. On one day in 1908 the officers were called because Anson was rolling drunk and carrying an axe. He chopped up every single piece of furniture in the couple's home. (In Church Road. In this period both of what's now part of Trinity Road and Wethered Road were called Church Road but in this case Wethered Road was meant).The next day he was drunk and armed with an axe again, this time he was apparently attempting to chop up some wooden clothes pegs and the washing. Without much success naturally. It's a miracle he didn't loose a limb! He bravely plead not guilty to behaving in a disorderly fashion on this occasion but given the witness and obvious state of his belongings, he was found guilty and fined. This was not his last conviction for something similar. A few weeks later, Jane had finally had enough. She said he had deserted her and so begged for a separation order to be made. This entitled Jane to live apart from him without legal harassment to re join the marital home. She was granted it along with a maintenance order for a weekly sum to be paid by her husband for the care of her youngest daughter Maude. Jane explained that her husband had even before this time frequently stayed away from work. She had found him at the Cherry Tree or slumped drunk on their doorstep on such occasions. He in his defence accused her of being a heavy drinker herself but I have found no convictions for any public misdemeanours on her part of this kind.  At the separation order hearing, a weary policeman stated that really Anson's problems were all alcohol related and if only he could stay sober, he'd get on well. (In 1891 William Anson was described as a labourer at the Gas Works which were off Dean Street very close to the couple's home. He may have still been working there at this point.)

Afterword

Anson did not learn his lesson straight away as at least one more drunkenness related conviction followed in 1909. But let us hope he did so eventually, because as is so often the case, Jane would return to live with her husband. In 1911 both he and the couple's son Charles who lived with them were described as wood cutters. A tragically comic occupation for Anson given his form with an axe. In the 1910s the couple lived in what is now called Wethered Road. This blog deals with the pre First World War period primarily but we must finish by saying that Jane lived to the age of 83, dying in 1939. 

* Matilda Neighbour age 17 was the daughter of Dean Street general dealer William Neighbour and wife Jane a needlewoman. 

** The owner of the two cottages (James Meakes) wrote a defensive letter to the South Bucks Free Press after the Moody/Bowles case. He does not mention the fact his properties were in a poor state or that they had been condemned. Instead he wishes to defend himself from the charge of renting to two girls of poor repute. He says they were not in fact his tenants but their respective fathers were. He said Jane Moody's father had declared he wanted the property for a daughter of his who was soon to get married. Mr Anderson had rented the other because he declared he had a small home and large family so wanted a second cottage to put some of the children in! The landlord added that both girls had now moved out and so "all difficulty in the matter as far as I'm concerned is removed". Except of course terrible living conditions for the next tenant! 

*** Sarah West's son William John Stacey features in a post here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Other related posts:

All mentions of a person can be found in the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu where you will find more than 4,000 people mentioned. The same menu has options for post listings of  more detailed entries relating to specific individuals and families. 

More beer sellers than bakers : temperance in Marlow here

Crime and disorder in old Marlow -  here and images of the police court at which Jane made her several appearances here

History of the gas works where William Anson worked: here

More on the history of some of the streets/addresses mentioned above can be found here

Every day life in old Great Marlow when Jane lived here here

SOURCES INCLUDE:

Census 1841,1851,1861,1871,1881,1891 - Transcribed from the original microfilm by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day

Judicial case notes for Great Marlow Petty Sessions compiled by Jane Pullinger in 1975, and used with thanks. 

Maidenhead Advertiser 5 April 1876, copy from the British Library archive. 

Reading Mercury 1 April 1876

Berkshire Chronicle 28 April 1883

Bucks Herald 8 November 1884.

South Bucks Standard 7 August 1908. 

England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVHP-QKBB  Jane A Anson, 1939. 

South Bucks Free Press 23rd August 1878. 

© MarlowAncestors

 

Marlow's 21 OTHER Football Teams *Updated April 2023*

Updated JULY 2024

Marlow Football Club has a long history but this post is about Marlow's more minor teams that your ancestor stands a better chance of having played for. It includes youth and junior sides as after all even Sporting Life would sometimes mention a fixture or match report for these. It doesn't include schools teams, the old Borlasian or Marlow Choir teams or those organised by employers on a more or less occasional basis eg the Brewery. 

A few things to bear in mind: a lot of surnames are shared across teams. You may find a family member spent time on more than one. Brothers and cousins often played on the same side. Most match reports (especially early ones) fail to name players at all or just give the surname. Most of these teams did not have a set place to play home matches. Almost all can be found using the Crown Ground (Crown Meadow, now Riley Recreation Ground) on occasion, if Marlow F.C or the Reserves did not need it. The other main sites used were Star Meadow (one end of which would later be partially used to form Marlow F.C's new home, the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground), the "recreation ground" (Gossmore) and less often "the Station Ground" aka Porter's Meadow. The Porters owned or occupied more than one meadow in this period but the one usually referred to was roughly where Riverpark Drive is now.  The Victoria's also used Colonels Meadow, behind Borlase school. 

Regular football came to a halt during the First World War, so naturally there will be gaps for these years. The Crown Ground saw plenty of activity during that time thanks to locally stationed soldiers playing in the military leagues or just casually. I have not included them here as they are not often made up of local men. This blog deals with the pre First World War period primarily, with occasionally forays into the 1920's and beyond. Some of these team names were recycled later but unless mentioned otherwise, the more modern incarnations are not a continuation of what went before. Dates are for the first and last dates I have found of a team definitely being active. I have not researched all of the leagues or competitions entered, sorry!  This page will be updated as new info emerges - and as we work through through my notes.. There are many more names to be added!

Marlow Rangers

1885 - 1906 (also used for an unrelated team in 1960's/70's)

Sought matches with "good minor teams" and seem to have enjoyed some success. Did not play exclusively against very local teams as most of the other minor ones did. Maintained both an A and B team. Average age 18/19. In 1894 had won 12 of their 17 games, and drawn another. 

AGM held: Three Compasses, Dean Street. 

Colours: Light and dark blue halves

Practice days: Wednesdays, on recreation ground (Gossmore)

Usual home pitch - Recreation Ground (Gossmore), but also used Station Ground, and Crown Ground on occasion. In 1895 are described as having a new ground in the meadow next to the Saw Mill in Station Rd lent by Mr H Clark , but still use other sites. 

Some player/member names names:

1893 - Ayres, Langley. 

1894 - A J Carr (captain), J Shipton (deputy captain), J Frith (also treasurer) , A Ayres, J Spindlo (R J?), G Almond, H Clark, Maskell, W East, W J Fenner, J A Paine (goalkeeper), F Rockell. G Sawyer, C Harris, A Frith. W Toovey,  D Gibbons

  Secretary : 1894 - W E  Toovey, 10 Queens Rd. 

1895 - J Spindlo (captain) Shipton (vice captain), W Toovey (hon. Sec), East, J or G Sawyer (treasurer), C Harris, J Paine, J Carr, 

1896 - Secretary is W J Fenner, (moved from Chapel Str to "York Rd, Marefield" this year. Fenner is also secretary of The Swifts. ) Players: C Harris, J Simmons, A Carr, E Keep, G Sawyer, A & W Toovey, F Langley, J Shipton, W Halton, C Dye. 

1905: Harris, Toovey, Howard. 

Marlow Star 

1885-1921 Originally started as a football team for the Dean Street boys club ran by All Saints Church. The curate Rev C Potts was the man largely behind the start of the club. 

A youth team, average age 15 in 1898. Often came up against reserve sides of bigger teams including Marlow FC. Had A and B sides. All listings below are A team members. Secretary (1898) - W Scott, High Street. 

Usual home ground: Star Meadow

Players: 

1885- E Clark, G Ayres, A Bowles, Payne, Didcott , T or J White, Young, A Boot, C Ilsley (capt), F Grace. 

1886 - J Bowles (goal) F Bailey (Captain) A Paine, J White, F Bowles, A Brook(e)s, E Clark(e), G Stone, C Brooks, I Ayres, C Price 

1887 - E Clark(e) is goal keeper. 

1903 - Cox, Grace 

Players of unknown date: W Payne, G Langley. 

Marlow Blue Star

Not same as above. This is a boys team.  There was a Little Marlow Blue Star too by 1898 for under 11's or under 15s at different times. I don't think they were the same. 

1910. 

Players: T Moody, Stacey. 

Little Marlow Blue Star

Boys, 1890/91. Not researched yet. 

Marlow Red Star

Boys, 1893 - 1902. Usually play Gossmore. 

Played in Berks and Bucks minors cup 1901, 1902.

(Lane End also had a boys side called Red Star) 

A match report from 1893 says the game was characterized by rough play and "some fighting"! The Star team lost. 

Marlow Victoria

Marlow's main "other" club,  with a good following of their own. Aka "The Vics". Full name The Royal Victoria Working Mans FC. (Another Marlow Working Mans FC was active c1909 -1914) Also have reserve side. Mostly 17-23 years old (although from 15 year olds at start)

1873 - 1898 - but see below. 

The club was set up for the "junior tradesman and mechanics" of Marlow. "Mr Wethered" was one of those who drove the idea forward and he acted as their first president. [Thomas O Wethered] They were lucky enough to secure the support of a number of well off patrons such as Sir William Robert Clayton, Bart, F O Wethered, and Thomas Somers Cocks as well as the Rev Cree and Alfred Davis Junior. Seeking "strong minor teams" to play against, they did well. So well in fact that in 1897 it was decided to amalgamate them with the Marlow FC reserves, in order to strengthen the latter. In 1898, 9 players in the Reserve team had played for Victoria the previous season. The B team(s) of the Vics still played under the Victoria name until approx 1899 though. They host Athletic Sports competitions for their members 1870's (at Gossmore) as part of  their aim to encourage healthy exercise overall.  

HQ - First AGM held Duke of Cambridge, Queens Rd. The Duke was also where the initial meeting to set up the team was held.  Later used the White Lion, West Street. 

Practice: when first established held on Tues and Sats on Colonel's Meadow, Borlase. Later at Gossmore Recreation Ground. 

Home ground: For first year or so, Colonel's Meadow. Then usually the recreation ground Gossmore. Sometimes borrow Crown Ground too. 

Secretary:  1872- R Carter. 1873 / 1874 - A Gardener. 1894 - Joint secretaries S J Barlow of Eton Cottage and H Sawyer of Spittal Street.  1896 - W Fenner  (this man's name will pop up often in this role!). 1899 - C Howard of West End 1899. 

Chairman - 1895 L J Sellman

Players: 

1873/4 - Captain William J Stockbridge. Others: C & T Fletcher, Owen Sawyer, J Biggs, R Wye, G Frith, G&J Edwards, A Keep. 

1875 John Langley jun, A Keep, T Plumridge, F Plumridge, M Mason, C Fletcher, W Plumridge jun, Owen Sawyer, J Beckett, R Wellicome, J Biggs, J Harvey, T Wyatt, G Edwards. 

1895: S J Barlow, George & A E Edmunds (George is Captain), F Tucker, H Sawyer, ? Davis, L Sellman, G Barber, F Hawkes (vice Captain)

1897 - H Sawyer (goalkeeper),  ? Edmunds (Capt), A Edmunds, W Probert, Unknown Probert, L Sellman (also hon treasurer), S Shaw, G Davis, Smith, F Haw(k)es, K Bonny, W White (deputy captain), J Davis. 

Marlow Excelsior

Play Crown Ground, and Star Meadow. 

A youth team with a reserve side too. Played in the Berks &Bucks Minor League in 1901. 

1893 - 1911 (definite finish date) 

Usual place of play:  Recreation ground

Secretary 1896 - W Fenner again! 

Marlow Ramblers

1890 - 1895. Also had B team. Play in Berks & Bucks Junior Cup.  

HQ - Clubroom of Three Tuns, West Str. AGM and annual dinner held there, fundraising smoking concerts ditto. 

Play: On all the Marlow grounds (see top)

Secretary: 1890/91 - H Price, 7 Queens Rd.  1892 - W Carter. 

Players:  Emmett (undated)

1890: Judge, East, Rose, P (probably Phillip)  & F Looker, F Harvey (captain), E Cook, A Cooper, H Illsley (goal), Tucker. 

1891: H Illsley, J White, F Harvey, J Rose, F. & P Looker, J F Price, W East, G Judge, George Moody, G Ayres, E Clark, E Heatley, F Bayley, E Cook, A Cooper

1892 - W Rose (in goal), E Emmett (also goalkeeper) Backs J Howe?, J White, H Frith. Half backs - W Carter, J East?, W J East, T. P Rose. Right Wing - George Moody, F Looker. Left Wing: - A Boot, P Looker. Centre - R C Sawyer. Captain - William East. /W J East. 

President: Viscount Curzon, MP. Hon Treasurer: A Carter. 

Marlow Wednesday Ramblers - may be successor of Marlow Ramblers. 

1903. 

Players: Stacey, Sears, Dormer. 

Marlow Wednesday

May be referring to Wednesday Ramblers or Wednesday Athletic or may be another team again!! Still active at dawn of First World War. Another Marlow Wednesday was formed c1931 and played on the Marlow F C ground - on Wednesdays naturally. 

1909 - Secretary: A Smith, 7 Sunlight Cottages.

Marlow Antelopes

Youth team. (Under 16)

1874 - 1896. In 1894 mentioned as "badly in need of funds". 

Secretary: F Plumridge, Oxford Rd. 

Players - just a few known

1878 - Harding, Rockell, Lovegrove, Higgins. 

 Undated: - Nicholls, H White (Captain), R J Spindlo (this is Richard John, known as John, the baker b 1878, and later very successful player for Marlow F C )

1893 - H White (goal), J Spindle (Spindlo?), G Morton, C Drye, F Nicholls, G Hatton, C Harris, W Mangah ?, W Plumridge, F Nicholls, F Paine, 

1894 - Goalkeeper - W. East. Others: C F Waterman, R Wellicome, H Clark, F Walker, F Langley, F Harman, J Boot, C J Drye. 

Marefield Rovers

Boys team. Had reserve side too. Play in Maidenhead Boys League. C1910-1913. 

Players 1910: T Golding (Captain), G Stone, S Clark, H Hilsdon, A & A H Peddle, R Flint, C Lee, R Clark, F Burton, W Lloyd

Marlow Rovers

1891- 1912 then 1920-1930. 

Youth team, average age 17 in 1920.  

Plays: Recreation Ground, occasionally Crown Ground. 

Practice: Wednesdays, Recreation Ground. 

Secretary: 1920 - G  Sparks, West Str. 

Players: 1900  T Ward, Bennett, Coles, Robinson

Marlow Red Rovers

1893 - 1898. Under 15's side. 

Hon Sec 1893 : George Edmunds

White Rovers

Boys, 1893 - 1899

Marlow Albion

1887- 1907 Has an A  & B team. Youths. 

Hon. Secretary 1888 is A Carter. 

Wednesday Athletic

Boys. 1912. 

Marlow Athletic

 1911-1920

Marlow Abstainers

1886

Marlow Corinthians

Youths 1892. 

1893 - W Wellicome, J Beckett, H Collins, J Shipton, T Rance, G H Clark, S Green. 

Marlow Harriers

1886-1888

Marlow Nelson

"Rising minor team" in 1896 but records thin on ground! 

Marlow Wanderers

Youths under 14, 1897. 

Players: Rockwell (possibly meant to be Rockell/Rockall or Rosewell), Corby. 

Marlow United

Active at least 1909-14. Juniors. Not the same as the more modern team to bear this name. 

Players 1909 - Culhane, Cresswell, Dickson, Arber, Moody, Rolston, Morris. 

And a bonus: 

Players for Lane End FC (still going today!)

Aka "the blue and whites"

1893 (first year) : J Gray, Rixon, F Fletcher, J Britnell, A Bristow, Davis, Sears, Priest, J Carr. 

Researched by Kathryn Day with some additional research by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors 

Picnics And Punts - Victorian Summer time in Marlow

  

This post is about summer in late Victorian and pre First World War Marlow. The season obviously meant different things to different people. For some it was a period of hot intense labour in the fields. For others it was time to leave Marlow altogether and holiday elsewhere. A surprising large number of Marlow houses were let out for the "river season", and then there were the houseboats that arrived, some staying for weeks. In good weather, the hotels and lodging houses were full, and visitors could find themselves staying in more unconventional places such as above shops (Or more pleasantly perhaps, they could cadge a room at Hambledon Lock). The arrival of tourists affected even those not in position to enjoy much leisure time themselves. It meant busier streets at the very least. And there may be an annual Sunday School treat or Slate Club or works outing to look forward to. 

Enthralling Beauty

The beauty of nearby Quarry Woods was known far and wide.

It was a popular spot for campers, if sometimes a crowded one. The fact that some set up camp wherever they decided to stop for the night caused tension with riverside home owners who complained of opening their shutters to find campers on their lawns! Most kept to more secluded spots - though some were still technically trespassing on the larger estates when they did so. The stretch of river between Marlow and Henley was also celebrated, and there was a standing joke that you could always find at least a couple of artists set up opposite Bisham church trying to capture the scene. This part of the river was described by John Greville Fennell in his 1867 Thames guide as one that brought a "constant succession of scenes of sylvan beauty" that struck the gazer and left him or her marvelling with "enthralled imagination" at the loveliness of the scene. And that was not the most fulsome of descriptions by any means! 

Official picnic parties apply here

Day trippers from London at least didn't need to find somewhere to stay. These '"Harrys" as they were often dismissively known, were usually the ones blamed for any sort of misbehaviour. Cheap day excursion tickets were available to Marlow from London stations  - valid for travel on certain trains only from 1st May - 31st October. In 1880, one of these excursion tickets, third class, from Paddington to Marlow would cost you 3s 6d.  If you could demonstrate you were a "genuine" picnic or other pleasure party, of at least 10 persons, (6 if all travelling first class) you could also get lower train fares. Perhaps you had to let the station master examine your picnic hamper! These lower fares were no good for a spontaneous large family outing as you needed to apply for them in advance and in writing. 

For most the river was the focus of their trip so luckily Great Western Railways would transport your boat for you should you be fortunate enough to own one. This was at an added cost of course. If your craft was small enough to fit in the guards van or if it could be strapped to the top of an ordinary passenger carriage, it would cost you 2d a mile with a minimum charge of 5s and reductions were possible if at least 4 crew were traveling on the same train. Larger boats had to travel in expensive coaches of their own. For most, hiring a boat was much more practical. The boat houses such as Haynes, Shaws, and Meakes and Redknapp offered all kinds of river craft from punts and canoes to steam launches. Alternatively many inns and hotels could provide you with the smaller vessels (sometimes by partnering with one of the same boathouses).

 Advertising the fact that you could provide facilities for boating parties and fisherman was a way for hotels and inns to cash in on these tourists who may have just wanted somewhere to eat or someone to provide them with a picnic. If you were on a big group outing or a "beanfeast" , perhaps organised by a workplace, then some establishments turned their nose up at serving you. They did not want the reputation of somewhere where guests looking for a little genteel rest would be disturbed by a large noisy group. So at times the Fishermen's Retreat and the Crown Hotel advertised they did not accept "beanfeasts" but on the other hand, the Railway Hotel (later the Marlow Donkey) welcomed them. For longer stays, Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames (1889 edition) said the numerous hotels and accomodation providers in town catered for "tourists of all classes". 

Some of our visitors came some way to enjoy the riverside. In 1899 Great Western formed an alliance with Great Central Train company to bring visitors in from the Midlands area. The first train was an excursion one from Leicester which arrived in early July, bringing a large party for a day on the river. Or whatever part of the day was left after the time taken to travel here.

The boating parties were described as frequently "noisy and half drunken" and their habit of landing at the parish churchyard and "tramping over the graves" lead to many complaints. 

Fishing with Mr Shaw

Marlow was known as a paradise for anglers, and the premier place to stay was the Compleat Angler, more commonly known as "The Anglers" or Anglers Inn. It started life as a couple of cottages knocked together and then rebuilt, and gradually extended and improved. But even in it's more humble looking state it was far from an obscure little inn. It recieved visitors from London, including well off ones, and it was consistently mentioned and recommended in national guidebooks. The 1832 fire there made the London papers because it was already a celebrated destination - "the great resort of fishing parties". When the Angler was improved, some visitors felt nostalgic for the old days but even they admitted it was now easier to actually get to stay there in the first place as there were more beds on offer. Guidebooks of 1877 and 1889 still warned would be visitors that they would need to give "considerable notice" if they entertained any hope of securing a bed at The Anglers. Members of recognised angling clubs could also get reduced price third class train fairs from Paddington, if they had a member's card to flash. (Full history of the Angler in the 1900's can be found here)

A number of Marlow men made their living as fishermen, that is fishing guides who would supply bait and take you in a punt to the best spots to catch whatever your quarry was. The Rockell and Shaw families were two that performed this role over a long period. (White, Rose, Creswell and Rosewell are other associated surnames.) Robert Shaw should get special mention as he features in very many books about the Thames written for contemporary visitors. He was clearly someone that many people felt a lot of affection and respect for. In his role as Water Bailiff for the local Anglers Preservation society, he had a role to play in seeing off illegal fisherman and poachers and so no doubt he had his enemies. But to others he was the good looking Bob Shaw, always polite, "intelligent and reliable" and a highly skilled boatsmen. 

Tumbling for tourists

Marlow Lock naturally saw many visitors, not all of them passing through in a boat or watching those that were. The boaters waiting to pass in or put of the Lock were something of a captive audience for the Victorian equivalent of the "chugger" and chancer. Some of the activity sounds mostly charming in our eyes. Children sometimes performed tricks and tumbles on the towpath, hoping to get a few coins for entertaining the passers by. The authorities regarded this as begging, and children caught in the act could find themselves up before the magistrates. In June 1906  four "small boys" were charged with begging on the tow path around Marlow Mills and Lock. The boys had stood on their heads to amuse the passers by. They were Amos Moody, Henry Turner, Leonard Carter and Henry Allen. Those travelling on steam launches and larger vessels were nevertheless in the habit of responding to the children's gambols by throwing coins onto the bank. This lead to tragedy in 1914 when a little girl aged about 4 is believed to have drowned trying to retrieve coins tossed from a passing launch ("The child of  Carter", of South Place).

Marlow Lock as it is now  - the Lock keepers house is not the Victorian one. 

Charity collections at the Lock were also a regular feature. But when the more persistent adult beggars and sellers of knick knacks began to congregate there in greater numbers, some causes such as the Marlow Cottage Hospital decided not to collect funds at the Lock in case they became associated with a common nuisance. Touts are also mentioned as a regular annoyance, offering to help with boats, or with finding accomodation or punts for hire.

The more widespread issue of begging from visitors to the town, whether they arrived by boat or train, was discussed several times at Marlow council meetings in the early Edwardian period in paticular. They requested the police keep a close eye on things, with varying degrees of success it seems!

As those passing through the Lock had to pay a fee, unless they had a sort of season ticket or annual pass, the numbers using it were recorded. The fee depended on the size of the boat, with steam launches up to 35ft long paying 9d for example, or  house boat's 2s6d. Over the August Bank Holiday of 1893, which was regarded as a little less busy than usual, 1,200 small boats passed through over Saturday to Monday and 120 steam launches. This won't be the absolute number of boats about Marlow as it was possible to bypass the Lock. Some of those using the small boats pulled their craft out of the water just before the Marlow Mills and either enjoyed Gossmore or carried their canoes etc past the Lock on land. They could also land at the Compleat Angler by approaching via the backwater behind the weir and using steps to get up on land, according to contemporary guidebooks. For comparison, over the same 3 day period in 1893, 1,500 visitors arrived by train, mostly from London, with 1,300 returning home on the evening of the Monday. 

The pound lock itself was regarded as both attractive and dangerous by some. George Dunlop Leslie -  mentioned above - definitely thought it was the latter as it was an "old" lock with "many jagged piles and broken woodwork about it's sides". 

Marlow Toast rack sir?

Visitors could return home laden with souvenirs, thanks to the likes of energetic advertiser Rowes the jewellers. They made all kinds of Marlow keepsakes such as brooches and swan shaped toast racks. There were no shortage of places offering postcards but perhaps stationer and book seller William Aviss in the High Street with his "photographic depot of neighbourhood views" offered the most. Those wanting to take their own photographs could get tailored local advice from photographic journals on where and how to take the most attractive and becoming pictures, as so many had made the Marlow journey before. Those at the Lock should wait for a steam launch to arrive in the foreground of their shot, for example. This "greatly improves the composition" providing it was not too near, advised a 1901 photographers guide. 

Regatta time

Those visiting during the annual regatta could also buy a memento from the "card men" or roving postcard sellers, although they actually offered views of previous events of course. Some of these sellers had the reputation for being "sharps" or not entirely honest in their dealings. Better check your change!

Marlow has had more than one Regatta and they've gone by various names  - the Marlow and Maidenhead Regatta, Town Regatta, Rag Regatta, Marlow Rowing Club Regatta, Amateur Regatta etc. The event most relevant to those who worked professionally on the water was the Waterman and Fishermens Regatta which attracted fewer crowds but plenty of entries. For the other events, even those not watching or competing in the rowing, found the town transformed. The bridge was crowded with spectators, sitting or leaning on every available surface including the chains and railings. Complaints were sometimes made that the parked carriages completely blocked the way across the bridge. Those who got through to Marlow then had to dodge the rides, stalls and visitors of the fair that set up on the Causeway. Many of these were the same proprietors who visited Marlow during Marlow Fair although there was fewer of them. They did manage to spread down Station Rd and Institute Rd at times though, and others set up in Crown Meadow. 

The evening of the regatta usually saw a procession of boats decorated with lanterns, or a "Venetian fete" or "Water carnival". The best decorated boat won a prize. They must have made a beautiful sight to behold, especially as many riverside properties were also decorated with lights for the occasion. 

Sunday School fun

Sunday school outings were part of the summer for many youngsters. Burnham Beeches seems to have been the number one destination, but sometimes the little ones just enjoyed a high day closer to home. In 1877 for example, "legions" of them enjoy a tea in Remnantz meadow as part of a summer festival. 

Watercress gathering

Watercress was a summer harvest that would have occupied a fair number of locals at times. The majority of the beds were at Little Marlow as tended by Timotheus Brown early on. George Dunlop Leslie, describing a trip to the "charming village" around 1881, said the watercress beds were "very picturesque with their islands, footbridges and summer houses". He added that the beds were fed from a spring with slightly warm water which meant they never froze in the winter. This made them especially productive. Watercress was also grown in the meadows around Red Pits hill running towards the river and near to Medmenham. 

End of the summer

Swimming in the river (clothes optional) and the harvest home and harvest festivals that marked the transition to autumn feature in posts of their own. 

Marlow must have seemed a little quieter when all the visitors had departed, although some better off Marlow residents also found their way home after enjoying the season elsewhere. Some people might be pleased the "Harry's" had left but as the South Bucks Standard said in 1901 "the trade and prosperity of our town of our town depend for the most part on visitors who came for pleasure and recreation". 

The train service was reduced outside of the summer period, but Marlow was not quite ready to hibernate. There was Marlow Fair to stir the town up in October, and winter was the season of lectures and entertainments at the Town Hall, Music Room and the Institute. 

1905. 

Meakes and Redknapp Boathouse, Berkshire side. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

To read other posts about everyday life in old Marlow, see a list here

SOURCES

Fennell, John Grenville - The Rail and The Road or Tourist Anglers Guide to Waters and Quarters - (H. Cox 1867)

Hall, Samuel and Mrs - The Book Of The Thames From It's Rise To It's Fall (Virtue, 1877 2nd Edition)

Leslie, George Dunlop - Our River (Bradbury, Agnew & Co 1881)

Taunt, Henry - A New Map of the River Thames From Oxford to London, (Taunt, 1872).

Parliamentary Papers vol 16, Great Britain House of Commons, (1884 HMSO) 

Dickens Dictionary of The Thames from Oxford to the Nore 1880 Issue 2 (Dickens, 1880) and 1889 edition issue 1. 

 

A yearbook of Photography and Amateurs Guide - 1901. Author unknown. 

The Royal River - The Thames from Source to Sea (Cassell, 1885)

The Art Journal Vol 45 (Virtue and Company 1883)

The Marlow Guide, 1905. 

Diss Examiner, 28 August 1899. Copy from British Library, accessed via the BNA, August 2020. 

Bucks Herald, September 27 

1873, July 18 1914 as above

South Bucks Standard - 25th September 1891, 14 October 1892, 11th August 1893, 13 April 1894, 14th July 1899, 22 June 1900, 5 July 1901, 10 June 1904, 6 July 1906 as above

Bucks Gazette - 3 November 1832, as above

 London Courier and Evening Gazette 8 November 1832, as above

©Marlow Ancestors

Election Rioters 1880 *Updated January 2024*

On 2nd April 1880 the electors of the Borough of Great Marlow went to the polls to elect an MP. When the Liberal candidate was revealed to have lost out to Conservative Owen Williams tempers frayed amidst the deep disappointment of many working class people. Men, women, boys and girls threw stones at William's election base at the Crown and at other town centre properties known to be occupied by his supporters. They then took to using umbrellas, walking sticks and clubs to do damage. As the evening drew on the women and children melted away and Marlow men were joined by those who had come from Bisham, Little Marlow and High Wycombe to protest. Some estimates give the number of rioters then at over 2000, some even 3,000. Violence escalated when ladders that had been left leaning up against the Crown by those putting up new lights were used to break windows and as an attempted battering ram to try to get into the building. (The men using the ladders may have been working on the framework intended to hold illuminations to mark Williams victory.)  Police were outnumbered and summoned soldiers to quell the riot. This they did but not until some £1000 worth of damage had occurred in the town. 

45 people were arrested as a result, of which 42 were charged. Of the 42 most were Marlow men, said to have been at a disadvantage as the local constables knew their faces and names and so could easily find them later if not seized at the time. Wycombe men could flee with less risk of being called to account. I could not find evidence of an outcome for all of those charged, or even all their names, at least not yet. It may be not all charges were pursued.

The following were those I have found charged with being part of the riot, with outcomes to their cases if any are known. I have confined myself to Marlow men. None of the ladies were arrested. To read about an earlier mainly female lead riot in Marlow see this post

Reuben Anderson

Bill against him thrown out by Jury at early stage in legal process. A labourer aged 36 in Oxford Road at time of 1881 census. But he lived St Peter's Street 1880, a few months after the riot, when he intervened to stop a woman neighbour of his being harassed and threatened by a man who had fallen out with her brother. A few weeks later fined for gathering wood that didn't belong to him. He died in 1890. Read a biography of Reuben here

Alfred Edward Allum

Age "25" or "26", court reports differed [probably actually a few years older] labourer when sentenced. 2 months hard labour. Probably aka Brassey - see here

Edward Anson

Aged 18. Sentenced to just one day in prison because of his youth and low involvement in events. Had been recommended for mercy by the jury. 

William Borden or Burden or Barden

Only rioter denied bail. 2 months hard labour.

Henry Bowles

Age 27. Labourer. 2 months hard labour. Grew up Dean Street. Also known as Harry.

John Bowles

2 months hard labour. Age 24, labourer. 

Robert Bowles

Age 22 and a labourer when tried. 2 months hard labour. 1881 census - skewer maker. For more on this trade in Marlow see this post. Son of Robert, a fruiterer, and Eliza. Grew up Hatches Row, Dean Street and still there 1881 census. This row is now demolished. He was an agricultural labourer age 13 on 1871 census. Robert was allegedly one of those who wrested a ladder from workers at the Crown, in order to use ladder to batter their way inside. He struck the man in charge of the ladder - bricklayer John White - causing John to loose vision in his eye for three days. Described by one policeman as "very violent" on the day. 

Joseph Cox

Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Presumably the 49 year old labourer who appears in Marlow on the 1881 census in South Place although it sounds in some accounts he was younger. Was seen with a bludgeon by one witness. 

Joseph Dormer

Sentenced to 2 months hard labour. Bricklayer's labourer around 40 years old. Lived Marefield at time, later York Road (the same area). Grew up Gun Lane [now Trinity Road] and Dean Street.

Henry East

Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify in other records.

James East

Six weeks hard labour. Without a stated age impossible to identify for certain in other records.

James Folly / Folley  alias Steptoe

Aged 32/34 and a bricklayer. Seen using a ladder to break windows. 2 months hard labour.

Joseph Hicks

 A tinker who lived Dean Street 1881. In his late 40s, exact age varies on censuses. Fined the year before the riots along with another man for stopping their cart in the road for too long. Case not proceeded with for riot. 

John Langley junior 

Ringleader of the initial protest but tried hard to calm things down when shops started getting damaged. Given 6 weeks hard labour only after jury recommended mercy. Could afford his own representation at the Quarter Sessions. Aged 25. On the 1881 census a salesman, earlier was a fruiterer, a long time Langley association. His conviction caused outrage in some quarters as it was believed he was targeted because of recent active promotion of the Liberal cause in Marlow. His father, also John had campaigned for the Liberal candidate Griffith too. A subscription fund was set up and the money raised was used to present to John a tea and coffee set from an expensive London maker as a token of esteem. The presentation was made at the Verney Arms, Dean Street, long connected with the Langley family. Read more about the pub here. John himself wrote a public letter of complaint against his conviction, after he had completed his sentence. He said he had been denied the opportunity to call witnesses that could have proved his innocence. A full biography of John is available here

Charles Mullett

Labourer aged 41. Lived in Dean Street 1881 census and a "pensioner". Originally from High Wycombe. Bill against him is "ignored" eg not proceeded with. 

William Moody. 

Threw stone at a policeman early on. Sentenced 2 months hard labour. Nearly 40 years old. Lived Oxford Road 1881 and a chair polisher. 

Albert Rockell

Age "18" [actually nearly 22]. Labourer when convicted. 6 weeks jail. (Or 8 weeks according to second source)  He was the son of James, a bargee / labourer and Sarah an embroiderer. Grew up in Gun Place and Gun Lane Marlow. The former no longer exists, the latter is called Trinity Road today. Albert had been fined £1 in 1876 for playing the illegal game of pitch and toss (coin throwing game which involved betting and was very popular with young men) at Bovingdon Green. He was listed as a hawker on the 1881 census when he lived with his older brother George and his family. Two years later was fined 10 shillings for assaulting a William Fletcher.

Henry Rockell

2 months hard labour. There are a couple of different potential Henry Rockells in other records which this one could be. Was said to be very active at Remnantz, throwing stones and attempting to break in, unsuccessfully. 

William Henry Silvey

A 33 year old shoemaker. Had a witness, grocer Joseph Dorsett of Market Square to show he went shopping with his wife [Fanny] early in the evening after leaving the Crown crowd. However witness admitted William's pockets looked bulging and prosecution said yes that was with stones he later returned and threw at the Crown. 6 weeks jail. On 1881 census he and Fanny lived Cambridge Road. Later lived Queen's Road. Later convictions for drunkenness.

James Benjamin Smith

Aged 22. Bricklayers labourer. 6 weeks in jail. Probably of Lane End. Limited evidence of his direct involvement in any serious damage but considered to be just as guilty as those taking a more active part simply by his presence there!

George Sparkes

Jury threw out bill against him. A 28 year old general labourer. Lived Oxford Road 1881 census.

Henry Stone

Six weeks hard labour. 

Thomas Stone

Six weeks hard labour. Was seen to be one of those wielding ladder that broke the Crown windows. 

William Tubb

Fined £5 plus costs by Magistrates for malicious damage, relating to breaking a pane of glass at The Horns, Chapel Street.  (One of 17 broken there that day.)  He went to the pub the following day, denied breaking the glass and asked the landlord John Coleshill not to press charges for the sake of his wife and 5 children. Coleshill's daughter Sarah had said there were about 40 persons in the mob outside their premises but she only recognised Tubb. He did not have to go to Quarter Sessions after evidence behind further charges for riotous assembly was not considered sufficient. Shoemaker aged 33 on 1881 census. Lived Dean Street.   

Cases not proceeded with against Wycombe men Owen and John Watkins, both chairmakers and labourer Charles Mullett also of Wycombe. 

*Additional info by Kathryn -  Riot Act was read by magistrate Somers Cocks at about 9pm, 3 hours after the election result was announced. (Some reports say at 8pm) All the lights had been put out. An 1882 account says that hot water and a hose from the brewery was used to dispell the group. Later accounts list other dispersal tactics, not necessarily mutually exclusive, of which the one that's survived longest in the popular imagination is the idea that guns were loaded with red jam and blanks to make the rioters think they had been both shot and hurt. I have not found a contemporary reference to this yet though! (The same story was related about the commotion after the 1868 election, complete with raspberry jam.)  Contemporary reports say that although a call for help was made for military assistance to the Grenadier Guards at Windsor, some confusion meant it was not actually delivered. Those describing the riot first hand immediately afterwards do not mention any Guards present while the riot was ongoing. The Bucks Herald says a repeat order for military assistance was countermanded as quiet had been restored by about midnight. The Buckinghamshire Advertiser credited the end of the riot to the gathering together of about 60 special constables, under command of a police superintendent from High Wycombe, who formed a barrier across West Street and used their truncheons "freely". (This superintendent thought there was 3,000 men gathered by 7pm!) The following morning 70 police and an untold number of special constables were on duty in Marlow while the operation of bringing the alleged ringleaders to court was ongoing, and that of rounding up other participants. The police were to patrol in groups, according to the order of  the Chief Constable of Bucks. He had arrived on the morning after the riot to assume control of the police force in Marlow temporarily. 

Violence had actually broken out before the voting even began, outside the Crown as Conservative headquarters. Blows were exchanged with liberal supporters but they dispersed before law and order arrived. The Greyhound was regarded as the centre of Liberal supporters before voting day. It hosted a "working man's meeting" the week before, which ended in a vote to support Liberal candidate Mr J Griffiths. Among the other damaged properties were the Prince Of Wales pub, the Three Tuns (every window broken and the bar damaged), the brewery offices, the shops of Charles Miller Foottit (chemist, High Street and Conservative supporter, lamp and flag pole trashed, upper windows broken, lower ones protected by iron shutters) and William Hankin (tobacconist, High Street. Shop totally sacked. Pipes from here were allegedly bring flogged cheaply in the beer houses that evening), the home of Charles Carter (parish surveyor),  the home of George Ward (High Street, all windows and any sashes broken), the home of Dr Shone, and in a minor way, the Railway Hotel (the Marlow Donkey as it's now known. The widowed Mrs Porter in charge had apparently been seen sporting Conservative colours on her carriage the week before). At the home of Robert Hammond Chambers, the avalanche of stones was severe enough to break plate glass windows a quarter inch thick and smash the substantial closed wooden shutters inside them. The stones damaged a wall across the other side of the room. A man was seen to be in the attempt of using a large stone to smash the entrance door but he was knocked down by a constable before he could break in.  Foottit said he'd found a quarter of a hundredweight of large stones on one of the beds in his home. Some paving slabs had been torn up for use too!

Interestingly Superintendent William Sargent of Wycombe said that the defeated Liberal candidate Griffiths had warned him long before the result was known that he suspected the potential for trouble if the Liberals lost. He added that Griffiths had suggested that policeman should be stationed outside the Conservative Wethered's home but he declined to do so in case it "tantalized" the crowd and he was blamed personally for this. Reports that the contents of Bisham's ballot box were going to be seized by a group of "roughs" as they were bought across the bridge to be counted in Marlow were taken more seriously. It was closely guarded. 

Griffith's himself appears to have left in his carriage quite soon after his loss was announced. Some reports say he passed the Crown just as the victor Colonel Williams appeared at an upper window to address the crowd, and that Williams called for three cheers for his opponent, but had trouble being heard. 

Even children (of both sexes) were apparently seen throwing stones at the various windows. The Bucks Herald (very pro conservative) said the first blow was struck by a liberal supporter on a conservative one, who was taken into the Crown with the aid of 4 men fighting their way through. They also claim that there was a cry to torch the Crown. The next day (Saturday)  there were here and there "significant stains of blood" to be seen in the streets. Even then a flare up of violence was feared and 70 police were on duty. Colonel Wethered decided that most of the arms of the Volunteers should be removed from their Armoury which was then at the Crown. He bought them back to his home and placed them under the care of 16 armed men. Two consignments of the Berkshire police were put on guard outside Bisham Abbey and Temple House but they had nothing to do. The biggest interest on Sunday was in viewing the damage, and people are said to have travelled from Wycombe to do just that. Some later reports suggest a guard made up of members of the Volunteers had been kept up outside the brewery for the next week. 

It's interesting that Colonel Williams held an open session at the Crown in the following April to hear complaints from his tenants about their treatment. He said during the election campaign he'd often been told his tenants were against him but he didn't believe it as no one had said so to his face. On reflection he thought "2 or 3" of these complaints justified further investigations and so so the aggrieved could present their case to him at The Crown on the day mentioned. If any did so, I don't know. 

Rioters info researched and written by Charlotte Day. Additional research Kathryn. 

Related Posts:

Marlow people loved a good riot. So far we have posts up on three previous riots, the 1800 Women's Riots here, 1847 Election riot here and the Swing Riots here.

Voters bribery case of Jason Povey here

For other crime related posts look see the list here

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

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Sources:

Census, my transcription from microfilm. 

Great Marlow Parish Registers, my transcription

Newspapers from the British Library / BNA collaboration: Buckingham Advertiser 3rd July 1880, Bucks Herald 3rd& 10th April, 26th June and 7th August and 30th August 1880, Maidenhead Advertiser 14th April 1880, Reading Mercury 17th April 1880. Buckingham Advertiser and Aylesbury News April 10th 1880. 

Judicial records research of Jane Pullinger.

Padk, Arthur Thomas From Lock to Lock, a playful guide, "Judy Office" 1882. 

Information from Anthony Wethered. 

Bucks Free Press 8th June 1934, High Wycombe library