George Cole, Great Marlow

Grave reads:

George Cole died Apr 18 1834 aged LXIV years (64!)

And wife Mary who died Feb 19th 1817 age ?? years

Grave mentions that George was late of Royal.....but Royal what can't be made out!

Research Notes:

The "Royal..." Was  referring either to his time in the Royal Artillery or his time at the Royal Military College at Remnantz West Street where he was a Sergeant instructor to the cadets. To find out more about life for the cadets there please read this post. After the College moved from Marlow in 1812 George set up a  private day school for boys where Liston Hall is today in Chapel Street. He was a fervent Wesleyan so perhaps would have been pleased to know that the site of his home and school became a Primitive Methodist chapel after his death (before becoming Liston Hall). In fact George was credited with actually starting Methodism in Marlow by persuading the preacher who visited Henley every week to make a stop at Marlow too. Early meetings were held in an unglamorous location- under a tree by the "Common Slough" which was at the junctions of Spittal, Chapel and Dean streets in Marlow. 

Related posts:

To read a detailed post about the life of the military cadets George taught see Charlotte's post here.

A history of the Wesleyans at Marlow here

Index to church and religion related history posts for Marlow here.

Grave photos and transcriptions index here.

More posts about historic residents of Chapel Street indexed here.

Researched and written jointly by Charlotte Day and Kathryn Day. Photo by Kathryn.

Sources Included: 

Charlotte's transcription of the original surveyor's notes for the 1833 Parochial Assessment of Great Marlow.

South Bucks Standard 2nd September 1898. British Library Archives, via the BNA.

The Methodist Times. January 1902.

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

Ringing In The New Year, Old Marlow Style

   

I've covered Christmas celebrations in Victorian Marlow. But I realised the town had many New Year traditions too, so this post is dedicated to them. 

In the late Victorian period a New Years Eve ball was a regular feature. The Crown Hotel/Upper Crown had hosted a Christmas ball for many years. The New Year one was usually arranged for others but still hosted by the Crown. For example in 1897, it was a ball for those attending the town hall dance classes. While it was a chance for the adult pupils to dazzle their friends and family with their new skills, anyone could apply for a ticket to attend. Did they stop to mark the transition from one year to the next? Original sources don't tell us! But the balls tended to start at 9 or 10pm and continued until dawn so those attending certainly were awake at the stroke of midnight. Marlow Football Club was another of many organisations that saw their annual ball hosted at the Crown in January. 100 people attended this in 1899. 

Thames Bank house hosted a servants ball for their staff,  friends and neighbours on New Year's Eve 1875. More than 100 guests were present. The evening was organised by housekeeper Mrs Taylor and butler Mr Wilson but everyone in the household was said to have contributed to the "very pretty" decoration efforts. After 2 hours of energetic dancing to the accompaniment of a quadrille band, the dining room was opened up for supper.  The company were said to be "deeply gratified at the richness, variety and profusion with which the tables were temptingly set out". After this rest, it was back to dancing until the early hours! 

Then there was many concerts advertised for the new year although not all took place on December 31st or January 1st. The Primitive Methodist Chapel (now known as Liston Hall) traditionally enjoyed a concert, usually performed by their enthusiastic choir (40 strong) and almost always followed by a public tea in the Sunday school room. The purpose of this was to fundraise for the never quite satisfied building debt fund. If anyone was an enthusiastic giver of teas, it was the Marlow Primitive Methodists. The Prince Of Wales offered frequent concerts for New Years Eve, such as a special smoking concert and supper in 1902. Unfortunately their licence required them to close at 11pm, so they sang Auld Langs Syne just before,  followed by God Save The King of course. 

One of the most touching traditions was the large dinner provided by John Langley at the Verney Arms in Dean Street. Those invited were all men aged over 50 from the Dean Street area, which was one of the poorest neighbourhoods in town. Langley really did invite everyone, with 70-100 men in attendance. This dinner ran for many years in the late Victorian and Edwardian era. "The dinner is looked upon as a sort of reunion and looked forward to by those that take part." The men sat down at 8pm to roast beef, mutton, steak and kidney and veal and ham pies, "xmas" pudding, mince pies, cheese and celery. (1908 menu) It may have occured after Christmas but the festive fare must have been welcomed. 

"Watch Nights" were popular on New Year's Eve in the chapels in town. These were late night religious services and prayer meetings. Although many had a very long heritage in one form or another, they were increasingly suggested as a more responsible and moral alternative to the alcohol based or secular celebrations.  The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists held a joint watch night in 1902, to pray "the old year out and the new one in." The Salvation Army's watch night was sold as a musical evening, with prayers. 

One thing that probably strikes us the most when looking at advertising material from Marlow retailers is how often New Year gifts and New Year greeting cards are specifically advertised in addition to Christmas offerings. Obviously those who could scarcely afford to celebrate Christmas were not going to celebrate in any way again a week later. But so many shops took the trouble to promote their New Year offerings in the late Victorian and Edwardian period that it must have been more common to exchange cards at the time. The gifts tend to be small, with one advert suggesting they were sort of little token gift you might bring when visiting friends or family you didn't have chance to see at Christmas time itself. "This is the month for new year's gifts - you are just in time for the small present you meant to give at Christmas." (Rowe the jewellers, High Street 1908).  The stationers Smith & Co advertised that they had a "large selection of New Year presents to choose from" in 1897, not to mention calenders and diaries of course. Other shops you could browse New Year cards include Charles Page Drye's Marlow Printing Works and W H Smith (stationer not the draper of same name). Smith's also sold every novelty in calenders according to their 1899 boast. Sadly it doesn't seem any have survived so we can't see just what counted as a novel calendar design! The Printing Works was also the place to go in January for your copy of the Marlow Almanac and Directory. This carried useful information such as details of church services and court sittings, and the name, address and occupations of all those involved in trade. A handy way to get the low down on all your neighbours. 

January sales are also nothing new. W H Smith advertised their "traditional annual sale" in January 1905 with bargains in every department. It would continue for most of January. If there was something more common than a January sale, it was one that was extended due to popular demand. 

The last tradition to mention is the bellringers new year eve supper, usually hosted by the Two Brewers. Members of the Bellfry (bellringers) met for the meal which sounds at times to be rather well lubricated. They sang songs and sometimes rang hand bells as well. The ringers would then make their way to All Saints to ring out the old year and ring in the new one. Usually they rang a peal just before midnight and then rang another just after. On other occasions they rang 12 strokes at midnight itself. How many must have waited to hear the sounds of the bells

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

© MarlowAncestors

Related Posts 

Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here and 2 here, Edwardian Christmas here

Skating on the Thames etc here

Bonfire night in Victorian Marlow here

A listing of other posts about every day life in old Marlow  here

Easter and May day here

Sources include:

South Bucks Standard 3 & 31 December 1897, 6 January & 22 December 1899, 3 January 1902, 6 January 1905, British Library Archive. 

Bucks Herald 9 January 1875, 3 January 1908. As above. 

Notes from Elsie Coster. 

©Marlow Ancestors 

 

Men Who Built Marlow Part Two

Thomas Corby Senior and Junior of Great Marlow.

The elder Thomas was born circa 1785 in Medmenham according to the census.

Thomas Senior in partnership with Theophilus Clifford the stonemason in 1829 won the contract for brickwork and masonry for the new suspension bridge at Marlow. More on the extremely fraught building process here.

That bridge is the bridge you see today in Marlow.

In 1833 Thomas and his son lived parts of the same building in the High Street, shown below as it is today. Their builders yard, workshops and offices were a little further along the High Street in buildings demolished in 1969. 

Thomas Senior's part in that year had an annual value of £14 and consisted of his part of the house, a storeroom, lofts, yard and garden. His son's property consisted of his part of the house, and a garden with a total value of £11. There was only one entrance doorway for the premises. This fact when revealed to investigators in the 1840s would lose Thomas Junior his vote in elections as a separate householder even though his part of the property was valuable enough to qualify him otherwise. Thomas did not marry and always lived in the family home.

Thomas the elder in 1833 also owned and occupied 67 acres of farm land at Munday Dean just outside Marlow worth just over £55 a year. The Corby family had occupied land there for some years. He also had a kiln, shed and other buildings up at Marlow Common where he made bricks. (The fraught history of the brick kiln there will follow separately). 

In 1846 he and his son built the Catholic Church in St Peter's Street. They also built a Catholic chapel at Danesfield.

In 1851 he appeared on the census as a builder employing 30 men.

Thomas Senior died in 1853. (See his grave here ) In his will he left two houses in Staines Middlesex in trust for the benefit of his grandchildren. These were the children of his daughters Mary Ann (by marriage Rogers) and Emily (by marriage Croxford). His then unmarried daughter Charlotte received the furniture he had already given her to use when she kept a school, his bed and bedroom furniture, 3 cottages at ...(Swelley?) Place Great Marlow, 3 cottages at Bovingdon Green and £1000 which was invested. There was also money invested for his grandchildren, the children of his dead daughter Catherine Reeves and his son Henry Corby. 

Thomas Junior was left 5 cottages in Hambledon and a cottage in West Street Marlow. After his father's death he took over the business full time. On the 1861 census he was a builder and brick maker employing 47 men and 3 boys. His brickmakers went on strike in 1860 to demand a pay increase of a shilling per one thousand bricks made. Other local workers struck or asked for wage increases at that time due to price inflation of everyday goods.

Thomas Junior built Holy Trinity Church, the vicarage, the Roman Catholic School, the brick arch and stabling at New Court (1874) shown below (which involved first demolishing the two houses right next to his own home), the Little Marlow village school (1862), the novel wooden church at Handy Cross (1864) and the Primitive Methodist Chapel (now Liston Hall).

Thomas Junior was forced to retire in 1877 due to his health. The man he employed as overseer of his building operations, Young Lovell bought the business. More on him in future.

Shortly after his retirement Thomas died and was buried with his sister Charlotte Gibbs in All Saints churchyard in Marlow. I have a post showing his grave here

The Bucks Herald paid tribute to Thomas after his death saying he had shown "indomitable industry" and "unswerving honour and integrity".

Above: the arch leading into New Court built by Thomas Junior.

By Charlotte Day. Photos by Kathryn Day.

Further Information:

The Men Who Built Marlow Part One: The Bonds has already been posted here

Part three - The Lovells - here

Part 4: Frederick Plumridge here

To find all mentions of a family of individual here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu.

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Sources:

Bucks Herald 7th April 1877 [Obituary]. Copy held in the British Library archive. Via the BNA.

Bridge wardens accounts and papers at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies.

Will Thomas Corby, held at the National Archives, Kew. Transcribed by me.

Original property records held by my family.

Census 1841-71 transcribed by me from microfilm.