Ellis Grave and Research Bisham

 This grave is at All Saints, Bisham. 

In loving memory of Mary the beloved wife of Arthur John Ellis. Entered into rest September 17 1913 aged 37 years.

Also to Ethel Alice Ellis. I couldn't read the line that followed her name. But see notes below:

Notes by Charlotte:

Mary was nee Currell.

Ethel Alice was the daughter of Mary and Arthur. She was aged 1 on the 1901 census and was a schoolgirl in 1911.

Arthur John Ellis of Bisham nephew of the above Arthur John Ellis died in France in 1930 after falling into a waterfall at the Gorges de Loup. He was one of a party of sailors from the Royal Navy ship Revenge having a day out together. He was 21 at the time and climbed onto some railings so that his friends could get a dramatic picture of him to send to his sweetheart in London. Unfortunately he overbalanced and fell in.

Arthur John Ellis senior, husband of the Mary on the grave was a Bisham special constable, a carpenter and a wheelwright. The 1911 census states he worked in the capacity of carpenter at a paper mill. This may have been at Marlow.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to reuse this image and research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog. Census information remains Crown Copyright.

The Brooks of the Crown and Cushion, Dean Street.

 The Crown and Cushion was a small beer house.

Frederick Brooks / Brookes took over the licence in 1873. With him was wife Harriet. The couple had married in Bisham Berkshire back in 1855. By then Harriet was a widow in her forty forth year, and the couple do not appear to have had any children. Harriet was baptised in Rickmansworth Hertfordshire, Frederick in Bisham. Both worked as paper makers prior to their marriage.

After their marriage Frederick became an agricultural labourer. He and Harriet lived on the 1861 census in Bisham but were away in Ealing 1871.

Why they decided to move to Marlow and become publicans is unknown.

Like many of the other Dean Street beershops the Brooks' premises also functioned as a cheap lodging house. It had what what was described as a "tramp ward" or dormitory as part of the premises. This attracted the poorer and most desperate of Marlow's visitors. 

In 1881 George Allen, a man who had slept the night there, left in the morning with the sheet and blanket from his bed. He received a sentence of 1 month's hard labour for the theft. Four men in total were lodging with Frederick and Harriet at the time of the census that year.

Frederick himself faced court in 1876 for allegedly serving an already drunk man. This would be a potential breach of his license. He was given the benefit of the doubt but in 1883 he was found guilty and fined for the same offence, and again for serving beer outside of permitted hours when 3 women were found incapable from drink in the "tramp ward" part of the guest lodgings. Another lucky escape followed the same year when police called and found two men and a woman passed out drunk on the premises. Frederick said he couldn't help their state as they were his lodgers, and had come in already drunk. The police found jugs and mugs of half drunk beer along side the inebriates and so viewed this excuse with some scepticism. They said the premises was "often filled with persons who were in the habit of fighting, swearing and creating a great noise." The court however said it could not be proved that the alcohol hadn't been purchased elsewhere so didn't endorse the licence but slapped on another fine. It was agreed that the Crown & Cushion was better conducted after this, at least as far as the law was concerned! 

 Frederick died in 1886 and Harriet took over the license. She held it for five years before her own death. The 1891 census taken just before she died, shows Harriet had expanded her lodger numbers to eight. It must have been crowded! 

James Edwards was the next landlord of the Crown and Cushion.

The pub closed as such in 1909 after breweries were forced to cut the number of local premises they ran. It was still operating as a lodging house though at least two years after that.

Related Posts:

Posts about life in Dean Street and neighbouring streets here

More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here

Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here

To find all pub related content see the Pub option in the top drop down menu and the A-Z person listing for every mention of your ancestor no matter how small. 

See:

Censuses England and Wales 1851, 71, 81, 91 from Familysearch website ran by the LDS church. Accessed October 2020.

Bisham Parish Registers.

Great Marlow Parish Registers

Bucks Herald newspaper 12th November 1881 [theft by lodger] Copy held by the British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020. Also Bucks Herald 1st December 1883, accessed as previous.

Maidenhead Advertiser 20 June 1883, Slough Libraries. 

Child Paper Makers Of Marlow

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

Edwin Anstead

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

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

Hannah Coleshill

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

Hannah was born in 1824 to William and Martha.

John Hawes

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

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

Henry Tavage (perhaps should be Savage)

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

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

Eliza White

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

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

Researched and written by Charlotte Day

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