Wood Barn Farm Little Marlow /Woodbarn Farm

Compiled and written by Charlotte Day.

Spelling of farm is haphazard.

Historic occupiers (who are not usually the landowners).

Note: this was part of the Westhorpe estate. A mixed farm historically. 1.5 miles from Great Marlow.

Gaps in dates represent gaps in our knowledge. We have a lot of old notes to wade through. No doubt more gaps will be filled in the future!

HISTORY TIME LINE

1825 - Mr Cozens left the farm selling off all stock and the contents of his house. Grain and sheep were raised there.

1835 - 47 John Stone Miller was the occupier, possibly earlier. In 1835 two men who had had words with him set fire to a clover rick on the farm in revenge. The rick was entirely destroyed.

In 1841 Mrs Clark, wife of one of the farm workers resident at the farm left her toddler child in the care of another worker's wife who lived nearby. The latter got distracted and the child wandered out of the cottage. Searches could not find the child anywhere that day or night. The next morning the little thing was found curled up under a hay rick where it had crawled for warmth. Despite this effort the child had died of exposure during the night. The discovery caused devastation in Little Marlow. Mrs Clark was probably the wife of John "Clarke" mentioned below.

Also in 1841 John was given notice to quit by landlord George Nugent in order to pressure him into voting for Nugent's preferred candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election. All Nugent's tenants were so treated. Marlow elections were very dirty- we were famous for the fact. If the tenant voted the right way the eviction would be rescinded. John simply didn't vote at all, a brave decision but not one that would necessarily have guaranteed he could stay on his land. On the day of the election he was shot at by his farm door by drunken supporters of Nugent's preferred candidate. John refused to alter his decision not to vote for anyone if he couldn't vote freely. He was unhurt in the shooting but perhaps only because the gunmen were too drunk to shoot straight. The frame of the doorway he was standing in was hit. John's eviction was not proceeded with, probably because the shooting incident had already been too embarrassing for the Nugent camp and they needed the matter swept under the carpet as quickly as possible. There is no suggestion anyone from on high ordered or encouraged the attack but they had set a tone of intimidation in the election campaign and the consequences of that were probably more than they had bargained for.

John was assaulted by two men in 1844 resulting in a dislocated arm and also that year suffered six break ins in the space of as many weeks. It cannot be ruled out that these were further acts of political intimidation. Such things happened in Marlow. This decade was a time of violence and tension in both the Marlows, for many reasons however, not only political ones. Little Marlow and the nearby Handy Cross area suffered from a lot of theft. No wonder John probably got sick of the place. He left the farm in 1847 and his remaining crops were sold off at once - oats, wheat, hay and "spring tares". He had also been sheep farming there. John still retained some land in Marlow as two years later the Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News reported that beech fagots from "Monk Wood" in Marlow property of John had been stolen. John caught the men red handed and they were traced thanks to their identification by John Clarke, Miller's long term farm assistant. Attempts to have the men arrested caused civil disturbance in the town but eventually succeeded. 

1847-52 Thomas Parrott occupied the farm. After suffering from repeated thefts of barley from one of his barns he hid his ink stand deep in the barley. When police searched for further stolen barley he told them they'd know the thief because embedded in their booty would be his inkstand. Thanks to this ingenuity the thief, a farm worker for Thomas, was caught.  Thomas died in 1852 but in 1854 a Mr Parrott was still the occupier, obviously a relative.

1859-63 William Banwell has the farm. It was mostly a poultry and arable farm under him. He paid £400 a year rent. In 1859 he was robbed of turnip greens. The theft of these from fields occurred multiple times over the years from the farm as well as others around Little Marlow. Most thieves were impoverished women trying to feed their families, or children sent out by them to gather greens. Farmers often tolerated this to a certain degree with prosecutions coming because of the observations from police officers on patrol rather than complaints from the farmers. Turnips and swedes were largely grown for animal feed not human food at this period but some of the growing tops would be picked off and cooked like spinach and were available at local greengrocers. William Banwell left in 1863.

1860 - Westhorpe estate sale includes Wood Barn Farm consisting of 335 acres of farmland plus 20 acres wood. John P Ellames became the owner until his death. He later swapped his  Westhorpe estate for Little Marlow manor but retained Wood Barn. 

1863-72 occupied by William Curtis. He also had Seymour Court Farm though lived at Wood Barn. In 1868 extreme heat caused Thomas Clark working at Wood Barn Farm reaping wheat for William Curtis to die of heat stroke in a scorching July. He was one of two farm workers to die in similar circumstances across the two Marlows, and two more became seriously ill. 

The next year a 12 year old boy Edmund Clark who worked at the farm, presumably a relative of Clark above, set fire to a hayrick at the farm "for mischief".

William Curtis himself died suddenly of a fit of apoplexy while out in his fields in 1872. His son James Curtis took over.

1872-78 James Curtis (the son). He decided to give up in 1878 when his lease expired and all the farm stock was sold off. The Ellames then kept the farm for their own use with the bailiff James Brock in day to day charge of things. The Ellames main function of the farm became the supply of dairy produce to the Manor House and grain for feeding the game birds used for "sport" by Manor guests. Sheep, turkeys and other poultry were also raised commercially at the farm.

1878 + James Brock as above in charge of the farm. He lives on it too.

1899 - John P Ellames had died so farm stock and implements sold off.

1900 Mr W Wooldridge had taken over the farm but had already decided to leave and was selling up stock= 19 dairy cows, cattle, poultry, a few pigs. Farm had been let to someone else.

1901- Benjamin Hornby was now the farmer.

1904 - Benjamin Hornby prosecuted for cruelty by shooting a stray dog in the eyes and leaving it to die in agony. The full details caused widespread revulsion and are too distressing to repeat here.

1907 Benjamin's widow sold up her stock and left including a herd of  29 dairy cows and 9 cart horses. An Ernest Hornsby was mentioned at the farm also in this year.

1912 - 25 George Field kept the farm as well as Cressex Farm where he actually lived. In 1915 George was fined for the stomach churning condition of the room he placed uncovered pails of milk in prior to them being put into churns. This room was a sheep slaughtering room too and the pails were placed on the bloody floor. Animal matter was found by an inspector on the pails and animal hairs in the milk. Hungry anyone? It must be said George was not personally on the premises supervising at the time of the observed hygiene offences.

George died aged 71 in 1925.

1917 Farm for sale again. Now said to be of 314 acres and with four worker cottages not mentioned in previous sales.

1939 - Field Bros ran the farm. Henry Field lived in the farm house. A Mr C Field was also a farmer here.  Only one worker's cottage now obviously connected to the farm but 3 are in the sake a year later so 2 were probably just being rented out to non employees for a while. 

1940 for sale again 214 acres and 3 cottages plus farm house. Arable and pasture.

1943 -53  (at least) Mr Robert Barnes and Mrs Barnes. Robert had bought the farm and at least one  farm cottage. In 1944 in the Bucks Free Press Mrs Barnes advertised for a lady companion for an elderly lady at the farm (perhaps a live in relative unless Mrs Barnes herself was not young) and home help. She assured the applicants that she had a modern farm house with an aga.

1956 R Barnes and Son.

FURTHER INFORMATION 

For other posts on Little Marlow & nearby see the index here

Information on other specific farms can be found in the index here

To look for an individual on the blog (there's now info on 7,200 individuals here) use the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. 

Compiled by Charlotte Day.

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

Selected References=

Oxford Herald and University Press 17th November 1835. Reading Mercury 25th July 1868. British Library Archives via the British Newspaper Archive.

Maidenhead Advertiser 3rd Oct 1900, Baylis Media Archive.

Kelly's Post Office Directory of Buckinghamshire etc, Kelly's Directories Limited.

Census of England and Wales 1841-1901, transcribed by me National Archives. 

Solicitors Journal and Reporter, July 1860, Law Newspaper Co, 1860.

Private letters.

That Furious Mob - 1847 Great Marlow Riots

there The destruction caused by the 1880 election rioters in Marlow is well known, not least because some excellent photos have survived of the damage to property. (See this post here for more) But Marlow has a history of election related violence going back a lot longer. This post focuses on one of the most lively contests, which was the 1847 General Election. We are not going to detail the political arguements, instead we are going to describe the effect on the everyday life of our Marlow ancestors. 

The Background 

Two candidates represented the Conservatives - Colonel Thomas Peers Williams of Temple House, and Colonel Brownlow Knox. The third was the Liberal or Whig candidate, Sir William Robert Clayton of Harleyford. A few years before they had been involved in a lengthy battle relating to the ownership of the brick kiln at Marlow Common. The Clayton family had sold the Marlow manor lands to Williams ancestors but there were later disputes about what exactly had been included in the sale. Clayton said the kiln was not included, the Williams that it most certainly was. It's fair to say no love was lost between the two and they were very frequently at each others throats in a legal sense. They were both substantial land owners with many tenants in Marlow. Both Williams and Clayton had sat in parliament for Marlow before. And yes, both had been accused of pressurising their tenants to vote for them, or of bribing voters. Clayton had his victory in the 1841 election overturned when some of the votes for him were thrown out for being invalid. He had had a majority of just one. Williams had evicted tenants for failing to vote for him  before and he was accused of regarding the borough as his own. 

The "Blues" or blue and whites were the liberals and the Conservative colours were the red or red and white although they were popularly known as the Coppers here. 

Marlow was already well known for troubled elections therefore. In March 1847, the Windsor and Eton Express voiced the hope that at last "party feeling" had subsided in Marlow and there was an "improved tone and better feeling now prevailing".  The previous bad atmosphere in town interfered with the friendly society they said. This hope was to prove very wrong. In the same month, William Robert Clayton declared that he would be a candidate in the coming election, and Williams had already indicated he would run. As Marlow returned two members at this time, it was hoped that there would be effectively no contest. But a little later, a second Conservative candidate was declared - Colonel Brownlow Knox. His wife was of the Williams family. 

Polling Day Panic

The polling was held in the summer.  Voting then was not by secret ballot. It was very public. A wooden stage was erected in front of the Town Hall, large enough to accommodate 100 persons. On these hustings were the candidates and some of their prominent supporters. Some of their less prominent but vocal supporters also found their way up at times, and lined the two sets of  steps leading upwards. Onto this stage, voters would go and vote. Before they could do this, they had to give some personal details to the returning officer such as by what right they were a voter (only those men leasing, owning or occupying a property of a certain value were entitled to vote) and their occupation. They were also required to answer out loud who they wished their two votes to go to. The supporters of the side you picked would let up a cheer so even those not close to the clerk recording the votes would know who you voted for. It was described as an intimidating experience to vote the "wrong" way according to the crowd gathered around the stage. Many men were jostled and had their hats knocked off or were on the recieving end of mocking chants but there was as yet no serious outbreak of violence. The polling started at 8am and continued until 4pm with periodic updates given to the crowd below. 

Before the voting started, the atmosphere was already tense. Most of the pubs and beer houses in town were associated with one side or another and did a roaring trade. It was said that the pubs of each side hung banners from their upper windows to indicate their support for either the Blues or Coppers.  The candidates grand arrival at the hustings had seen some scuffles. Williams and Knox were met by their supporters at Marlow Bridge. According to the (extremely) pro Conservative Berkshire Chronicle, their carriages were stopped by an adoring crowd of working class people who unhitched the horses and insisted on pulling the carriages themselves up the High Street. The same source says Clayton arrived shortly after and was amazed at the support given to his rival by the more humble citizens who were said to generally support the Clayton cause. This information has to be taken with some salt as the paper really was very partisan! All agree that a band had lead the Williams procession.  After the riot their instruments were left in pieces. 

 The Well Enders On The Rise

Williams and Knox took the two seats for Marlow. When this was announced, even the pro Conservative papers admitted that there was a loud groan from the crowd. What happened next is something I've had to pick out from many different accounts, trying to balance the differing versions of the opposing supporters. What is undoubted is there was an outbreak of fury, from a largely working class crowd, who were vocally supportive of the defeated Clayton. They were not it seems especially surprised by yet another Williams victory but did not like Knox taking the second seat. The Conservative supporters claimed that the Clayton's had in their pay a set of "blood thirsty ruffians" during the week before the election.  What's more they said the Claytons had "placed in their hands" cudgels and staves with which to cause trouble if the vote did not go Clayton's way. Clayton could not have expected to have any result overturned just because some armed men caused trouble in the town, however unpleasant that may be for those around. It would hardly help their cause with the more respectable householders for Clayton to be associated with riots. But another writer, William Mitchell, recalling his time as a polling clerk at this election, gives a similar story and another potential motive for the rioters. He said that a core group of Well End [what we know as Dean Street, not Well End, Little Marlow] residents lead by the three brothers East, had feared a Clayton loss. They had apparently sent to London for some staffs and policeman's batons.  He says the Easts and their friends gathered at an appointed meeting place at 6am on election day - the one mile stone, presumably the one near Seymour Court. They had organised for a Clayton supporter on the stage to keep them informed of the running total of votes and if near the end of polling, Clayton was behind, they were going to protest in the town, assuming Williams had used undue influence to succeed. In particular they were going to rush the stage and destroy the polling books and with them all records of the voting. This would cause the polling to be conducted again, presumably with less opportunity for bribery beforehand. However the apparent Clayton supporter on stage was not reliable. William Mitchell does not name him but did say this man was stood close by and he continually heard him shouting out "We are all right" to the Clayton supporters. He continued this until the poll stopped, but as this was not the correct result the men were even angrier when the truth of the victory was known. What this unnamed supporters motives can have been is hard to say, if indeed he was a Clayton supporter at all. The updates given earlier in the day had not generally shown Clayton to be loosing and the result often came down to a handful of votes. But the Conservatives had a late afternoon surge. 

  William Mitchell may have had time to personally attend the 6am Well End meeting before his official duties started but it seems unlikely it would have continued in his presence. He does not give the source of his account of events there so it may  have come from a partisan source. (However he seems generally fair, in that he reports unfavourable behaviour from both sides.) He says that about 31 men came forward as their names were read from a list and they were then given a half crown and either a baton or staff from a stack. The Well End residents were generally quite poor and if this is true, someone else must indeed have subsidised the violence. It is certainly true that tumult was feared much earlier in the day, as several businesses pulled shutters while voting was ongoing and did what they could to protect their windows. And in the afternoon, most of the Copper supporting beer houses are said to have closed. It was said those carrying the batons and staffs of the Well End gang could get free drinks at the Clayton supporting pubs all day on showing them. 

To be seen emerging from the headquarters of a particular group on the way to vote was also problematic. The supporters of Brownlow Knox, which had used the premises of lawyer William Ward in the High Street up to polling Day, switched base that morning. They used the house of Ward's clerk Mr Seagrave instead. This was supposedly placed so those inside could take advantage of a back entrance through a garden to get near the poll without attracting much attention. 

A Chairing Is Attempted 

Reports agree the tumult started as soon as the result was announced by Returning Officer Mr Stallwood outside the town hall.  No mention is made in the newspaper reports of an to attempt to rush the stage or steal the polling books which is not to say that was not the original intention, just perhaps it was considered now too late. The focus of their work was Brownlow Knox, and in particular the tradition of "chairing" him. This meant the carrying of the successful candidates through the town carried aloft in a (usually specially constructed) chair. The rioters, generally reported to be in varying states of drunkenness, thought that the chair for Knox was housed in the Market Square property of Rolls the auctioneer and wine merchant. They broke in and - according to the Knox supporters- threatened to murder everyone within if the chair was not produced. It does not seem to have been there, as the crowd went on to a second property which they attempted to search but found was already barred against them. Mitchell thought could not remember exactly what had happened to the chair but thought it had been at the Rolls after all and was thrown into the street through the windows and demolished.  Wisely, it was decided Knox would not be chaired on this occasion. It doesn't seem Williams was either. 

The Fleeing Constables

"Respectable citizens" who had turned out to hear the election result risked being "knocked down like beasts" (Berkshire Chronicle) if they were not considered to support Clayton. A number apparently sort shelter in whichever house would let them in. The two Misses Cocks, of Thames Bank, hid in Mrs (Eliza) Brighton's bakers shop in the High Street when confronted by the mob. The Conservative banners were reduced to ribbons and stones broke windows and thudded against shutters. A number of people were hurt and one man seriously. (Some reports gave his name as Mr Nugent, presumably one of the Nugent's of Westhorpe. He was pulled into the safety of the Rolls house, although the crowd followed initially.) William Mitchell the poll clerk, watching from the hustings, personally saw many men knocked down by a blow to the head with a staff, farmer John Gibbons among them. (Of Seymour Court farm, Blounts and Copy farms)

 The 26 Special constables were accused of fleeing as soon as they saw what was afoot and so parish Constable Thomas Walker was bravely left virtually single handed to deal with the situation. He was of course completely outnumbered. This probably explains a lack of prosecutions arising from the destruction. In the end, the magistrates, fearing that the "peace and property of the inhabitants in a serious state of jeopardy" were apparently able to appeal to the more respectable amongst the unhappy crowd to encourage all to disperse. All agree this happened quite quickly. 

Clerk William Mitchell was not hurt on the day but did experience a volley of stones and sticks thrown at his head as he was driving back from Maidenhead a little later! He escaped injury then too, thanks to a fast pony. 

Poor Henry Hyatt

Henry Hyatt (Hiatt) was the longstanding proprietor of the Greyhound Inn in Spittal Street. His landlord was a Wethered and it was therefore assumed he would vote Conservative in the election. William Mitchell recalls that Hyatt had "against all the efforts and threats of his landlord" publicly declared his intention of voting Liberal. What's more he was steadfast in this resolution. William Mitchell's eye witness account here is sad to read. He noticed that as Henry declared his vote for Clayton, his lips quivered. William heard a voice which he believed to be Wethereds, say "Hyatt, you are ruined man". Hyatt replied "I have voted conscientiously".  Henry must have known life was going to become very difficult indeed for him. Mitchell recalled that the inn keeper was given notice to quit, but refused to leave, and so Henry found various legal attempts was made to eject him. These failed. 

Mitchell personally witnessed the vindictiveness poor Henry was subject to. If they could not force him out, they would make it as difficult as possible for him to do business. His landlord had the windows removed, then the doors, floorboards and roofing materials. But Henry stuck on and William Mitchell saw him sitting in the roofless building at night, with a few loyal Blue customers perched on casks around him. The situation was not sustainable though, and in 1848, Henry left the Greyhound. Mitchell's says he had heard that Clayton had given him £150 so he could start again somewhere else. Let's hope that is true. 

The End? Not Quite

Sir William Robert Clayton thought he had been robbed of his seat. In October 1847, the unfortunate Henry Hyatt  invited Clayton to a dinner in his honour at the Greyhound. Among those present were long-standing liberal supporters who praised Clayton for his efforts. The Windsor and Eton Express described the company as some gentleman of the neighborhood and "a highly respectable assemblage of influential yeoman." Clayton was described as moved almost to tears and replied in fulsome terms. Samuel Barnes (parish clerk of St Peters Street), Ralph Spicer (the lawyer) George Cannon (bookseller and chemist), John Morris, Mr Morgan, Samuel Horrod, William Tyler, Mr Blackwell and Charles Susan are some of the people familiar to readers of this blog who were present. Some of these contributed some songs to liven up proceedings! A bench put together a bit hastily perhaps by a local carpenter collapsed during the proceedings, depositing several gentleman onto the floor, to much laughter.  Interestingly, a Wethered, no first name given, was also there and gave a speech in support of the Claytons. As his family were strongly associated with the Conservative cause, this was a probably awkward attendance! Interestingly, the large feast was said to have been prepared partly at the Crown, which was a Williams owned property. The Franklyns of the Crown had put their kitchen at Henry's disposal. A somewhat brave decision given Henry's treatment. 

 

Aftermath

In December, a petition was presented to Parliament to investigate the return of Brownlow Knox. This was partially because a number of people had promised to vote for Williams with one of their votes but not Knox with the other. (About 31 voters in all) These individuals had apparently decided at the last to in fact cast their ballot for both of the Conservatives. The suspicion was that the supporters of Knox had offered bribes to these voters. The petition itself went further and accused Knox himself of directly offering money for votes while out canvassing. The Berkshire Chronicle naturally rubbished this suggestion and thought it amusing that a gentleman such as Knox would be seen asking for votes after dark, knocking at shutters like a"timid lover." They mention a supposed £20 payment to a Well End resident (Dean Street)who after accepting the money had gone to Harleyford to report the action of Knox to Clayton. At the investigation into these events, it does not seem that Clayton's supporters were very well prepared with their evidence. They had failed to provide a list of suspected bribed voters when the committee first sat. Later they did bring forth witnesses from Well End/Dean Street who admitted taking money to vote for the Conservatives. Beer house keeper  Thomas Frith was the principle one. (He was of the Nags Head, Dean Street) He said that in coming across Mr Wethered on the road a little before the election, he had asked Mr Wethered out right for money. He said Wethered had said that if he promised to vote for both Williams and Knox, he could go to the counting house of the Brewery and claim his reward, which he had duly done. However Frith was discounted as a witness after he admitted on cross examination that he had spent time in both Oxford and Aylesbury gaols (for taking wood from private property, not taking bribes but it was enough to create an impression of dishonesty) He had also spent some time living at Sir William Clayton's estate in Goldstone and had received an allowance from him. Farmer John Miller also testified that an elector who had promised to vote for Clayton had not done so on the day, and when quizzed had admitted selling his vote to the other side. John was listed as of Little Marlow at the investigating committee but I believe he was at Marlow Bottom Farm. More on him here.

However what they could not find was an acceptable witness who would say he had received money from Knox himself, as stated in the petition. The Committee admitted that Knox had aroused suspicion by his habit of canvassing inhabitants in the evening - it was assumed he must have ulterior motives to be visiting under the cover of nightfall. His supporters did admit this had proved unpopular with many voters who had dismissed him with some forceful language! 

For a post on a voter said to have been bribed by Clayton in 1842 see here!

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts:

To find other posts about general history of Marlow and life here for our ancestors, see our index here

1880 Election riots here

Swing riots 1830 here

Women's riots 1800 here

Posts related to some of the people mentioned above include:

Charles Susan, Radical and Emigrant here

George Cannon - Consumption cures and ball tickets here and here

Henry Hyatt - Greyhound Inn/hotel timeline and landlord listing here

Ralph Spicer - here

To find all mention of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. There's over 3250 people listed there, and new posts are added daily. 

©Marlow Ancestors 

Sources Include:

Dod, Charles Roger Electoral Facts from 1832-1852 (1852)

Great Britain Houses of Parliament, Accounts and Papers Vol 11, 1880.

Martin, Frederick. Handbook of Contemporary Biography (Macmillan 1870)

Walford, Edward - The County Families Of The United Kingdom (Robert Hardwicke, 1871)

Bucks Gazette 13 March 1847  

Berkshire Chronicle 7 August, 25 December 1847 

Bucks Herald  4 December 1847

Dublin Evening Mail - 03 December 1847

Bedford Mercury -  7 August 1847. 

Windsor and Eton Express 6 August, 2 Oct 1847, 19 Feb 1848. 

Memories of the Past, volume LIV , 10 August 1897, digitised by Christchurch City Libraries. 

Landlord research for licenced premises by Kathryn Day.

 

Wadham And Anne Wyndham Of Beech Lodge

Beech Lodge was at Red Pitts off Henley Road with views over the Quarry Woods, a major attraction for tourists and day trippers. This view was always one of the main selling points when the house was up for sale or let. 

The lodge came with 30-37 acres of land. 

Wadham and and his Irish born wife Anne Wyndham lived in "Beech Lodge Great Marlow" by 1819, however they could not have actually owned it before 1824 when the previous owner died and asked in his will for his executors to dispose of it. Together Wadham and Anne had 20 children, 16 sons and 4 daughters, many of them born at Beech Lodge. Like most later residents of the house they also maintained a London home. Theirs was 24 Dorset Place.

In 1833 the property consisted of the house plus a lawn, flower garden, a large kitchen garden, a small yard, coach houses, stables, harness rooms and "other offices". Plus the other fields and land adjoining.

Wadham and Anne were close to the Marquis of Chandos, Wyndham's cousin, who visited them at Beech Lodge at least twice. At the time of his 1829 visit the Marquis went with Wadham to view Marlow's new suspension bridge and caused a lot of red faces when he expressed surprise that after months of supposed work on the project progress was minimal. To read about the painfully protracted business of building this bridge see my post here.

In 1827 Wadham chaired a meeting in the town in which voters met to decide whether to petition parliament against granting further civil rights to Catholics. Lieutenant-Colonel William Clayton gave an impassioned, hysterical speech in which he equated Catholicism with tyranny, evil and stupidity. Wadham's own opinion is not made clear at this meeting as he did not as far I can see speak himself. Lord George Nugent M.P spoke against the petition but the townspeople overwhelmingly voted to send it to parliament.

Wadham worked with George Nugent as a trustee of the Marlow to Reading turnpike road. He was also a local magistrate and the Lord Lieutenant of Bucks.

Wadham's leisure hours were spent in part following horse racing. His father had been devoted to the sport and Wadham owned several race horses himself. He and Anne at least once attended the annual horse racing meeting at Marlow, bringing I think his brother to watch as well. More about Marlow Races (and the cheating that went on there!) in this post.

In 1828 Anne and Wadham and their 8 living children woke up in the night to discover their dining room was on fire. Wadham and his brave servants fought the fire themselves and succeeded in saving the rest of the house from damage though everything in the dining room was destroyed. Anne and the children found shelter in a nearby cottage while the flames were being quenched.

In 1835 Wadham put the house up for let or sale. As he was leaving he decided to sell off his furniture and library of books including volumes on the subject of travel, famous lives, novels and plays by the "most approved authors" [British Library Archives, Bucks Herald December 19th 1835]. If he and Anne did leave it wasn't for long and the house was not in fact sold as the couple were definitely still resident there (at least) 1841-1845. In the latter year Anne passed away after a severe illness. By then only 7 of her 20 children were still living. Their 17 year old daughter Anne had died at Beech Lodge in 1835. This event may have precipitated the couples wish to leave the house for a while that year. Son Wadham junior along with his friend drowned in a boating accident on the Thames near Temple in 1839. He was 22.

I am not sure when Wadham moved away from the house but it was Frederick Parker who lived at Beech Lodge by 1846. Wadham lived at The Deanery, St Peter Street Marlow at the time of his death in 1849. He asked to be buried in the same grave as his wife and deceased children in Kensal Green Cemetery in London. However he was actually buried at Marlow. I'll post a pic of his grave in future. He left his personal estate in the hands of trustees for the benefit of four surviving sons. These included Chandos and Penruddocke who as children were pupils at the boarding school for boys Prospect House Academy at the junction of Little Marlow Road and Wycombe Road in Marlow (now demolished). More about the school in this post here. 

To read about one of the Wyndham's servants Sarah Hawkins see here

Beech Lodge was demolished and then rebuilt in 1877/8.

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

Other Sources:

Will Wadham Wyndham 1849, my transcription.

Censuses my transcription from microfilm. Census information always remains Crown Copyright. 

Windsor and Eton Express May 1827. British Newspaper Archives.

Property records in my family, transcribed by me.

Centre of Buckinghamshire Studies, property conveyance. 

The Family Topographer Or The Ancient And Present State Of The Counties Of England by Samuel Tymms, 1832.

The People Of Westhorpe House, Little Marlow

Westhorpe House is a Georgian mansion by Little Marlow. It previously sat in around 100 acres of parkland and was often sold and occupied in conjunction with nearby Westhorpe Farm and Little Marlow Manor. In this post I aim to shine a light on some of the people who made the house their home above or below stairs.

The house was built in the late 1600s by the Chase family.

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

Maria and George left Jamaica in 1806 and were at Westhorpe by 1819. Four years later they threw a party at the house to celebrate the 21st birthday of their son George junior.

Maria was the driving force behind the couple gifting 100 blankets as well as items of warm clothing to the poor of Little Marlow every year. England had seemed particularly cold to her she said after her time abroad in Jamaica, India and the USA.  

Maria became suddenly ill while taking the air in her carriage in 1834 and died shortly afterwards.

At the time of the 1841 census the widowed George lived at Westhorpe with his married daughter Maria [sometimes given as Mary] and her husband Rice Richard Clayton AKA Richard Clayton for company, not to mention a whole pack of servants.

George died in 1849 aged 91 and was buried at Little Marlow. Following his death the contents of the house were sold including a large library of quality books and a cellar full of expensive wines. 

Maria's sudden demise was not the only unexpected death at Westhorpe. In 1859 occupier Sir Arthur Buller's butler William Forward committed suicide by shooting himself in the face in the cellar of the house. He had been complaining of ill health and acting in a subdued manner. The jury at the inquest [which took place at the house!] thought that his long time separation from his wife Sarah was a key factor in his low spirits. It seems that this marriage was not known of by his fellow workers. Only when going through his personal papers did they discover evidence of it. 

Arthur Buller was born in India in 1808 and worked for the British state there, in Sri Lanka and in Canada before moving back to England, his family's ancestral home.

It is not certain how long Arthur had been at Westhorpe when his butler died. Certainly not quite as far back as the time of the 1851 census when Lt Edward and Eliza Simeon lived there, but probably soon afterwards. Edward and Eliza had moved in in 1849 after George Nugent's death. With them in 1851 were 10 servants including two footmen MJ Rogers and Phillip Eaton. One of the female servants F Hinzel had come all the way from Switzerland. 

Both Edward and Eliza were the  survivor's of their previous marriages. Her parents resided at Leeds Castle, Kent. His was a Berkshire and Oxfordshire family.

A few months after the census Edward died and was buried in Reading. It is likely that Arthur Buller moved into Westhorpe soon afterwards.

He moved to London eventually and the house was sold in 1859 to George Jackson Esquire. George put the house up to let in 1862 for a minimum period of 7 years but perhaps there were no takers as he apparently continued to live at Westhorpe until his death in 1896. He had previously resided at Little Marlow Manor. 

The 1863 property to let adverts say that the house and gardens had both recently been overhauled. The house interior, prospective tenants were reassured, was decorated with "taste and simple elegance". Outside were the luxuries of hot houses, melon pits and  an expanse of ornamental water not to mention a trendy rock garden [The gardener from at least 1869 to at least 1890 was George Davis].

During George Jackson's time at Westhorpe there was another sudden death in the house- an unnamed nursery maid aged just 22 whose heart gave out as she changed her clothes after coming back from a walk with her charges.

The 1861 census shows George a widower with 11 children from just a year old up to 19 years old. 

One of those children Felix, away working at a brewery in Burton Upon Trent when in his 20s, fell into some machinery and was killed instantly.

Keeping the Jackson family going in 1861 was a group of 10 live in servants. 

By 1871 with the number of children at home reduced, only 7 servants were kept.

The 1871 cook Ann Chaplin had had an impressive rise from being the 16 year old sole servant in a London household on the 1861 census, to the cook in the large household at Westhorpe in 1871. She was the daughter of James and Elizabeth Chaplin and was born circa 1840 in Easthampstead Berkshire. I was not able to find her in 1881. The cook at Westhorpe then was Fanny Gilbert, and Eliza Humphrey in 1891.

1871 footman Enoch Watts, born circa 1827 had risen to butler by 1881. Enoch was a married man whose wife Theresa and family did not live with him at Westhorpe though, they were staying in the village of Little Marlow.  This was quite an unusual situation for a butler who tended to be unmarried or married to the cook/ housekeeper of the same household. He continued to live in Little Marlow after his retirement with his married daughter Sarah Piggott. Theresa died 1881. She worked as a laundress, as did Sarah before marriage. (To see the grave of Enoch and Theresa see here)

Westhorpe House was sold in 1896 following George Jackson's death. He left an estate worth over £100,000.  A Mr Gordon was the resident in 1899.

The estate was again sold in 1917.

The 1917 sale guide said that the house had 19 bed and dressing rooms, 2 bathrooms, a billiards room and library amongst other things. In a sign of changing times some of the stabling had given way to motor garages.

Our blog primarily deals with Marlow people pre 1920s so with that I will bid farewell to this handsome house.

For more on Marlow's links to both slavery and its abolition see here . More Little Marlow content can be found listed under Other Places on the menu. All mentions of an individual on the blog can be found on the Person Index.

To find posts about everyday life in old Marlow, see the listing here

Sources:

Reading Mercury 31st December 1849 [suicide], 18th April 1863 [nursery maid death] and 19th August 1882 [Felix Jackson death]. Bucks Herald 17th May 1862 [property description] Copies at the British Library accessed via the BNA October 2020.

Little Marlow Parish Registers.

1841, 61, 71 and 91 censuses transcribed from microfilm by Jane Pullinger. 1851 and 1881 census my own transcription from microfilm.

Wikipedia articles on Sir George Nugent, Sir Arthur Buller and Sir John Simeon [father of Edward] all accessed October 13th-15th 2020.

Lady Nugent's Journal, reprinted 1907 by the Institute of Jamaica. Can be purchased on Amazon if you want to read it.

Auction sale guide, 1917. Loose. Poor condition. Partial.

GRO Death Index online. Accessed February 2021.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors. If reusing this research (which you are very welcome to do for family or local history purposes) please give credit to this blog and link here.