The Fountains of Dukes Place / Burroughs Grove

 The Fountain family lived in Dukes Place Great Marlow from (at least) 1908 to (at least) 1913. Peter Fountain was born 1868 in Wendover Bucks to Emmanuel, a gamekeeper for Alfred De Rothschild Esq, and Charlotte. Mary Ann his wife was née Clarke and married him in 1895. 

Peter appears on the 1881 census as a 12 year old plough boy. The following year his family suffered the loss of his baby brother Henry. The 16 month old died from convulsions brought on by severe whooping cough.

By 1891 Peter lived at "Dirty Bottom" Marlow Bottom and was an agricultural labourer lodging with a 62 year old widower James Clarke who was presumably a relative of his future wife. In the years prior to his marriage however he was working as a gamekeeper for Lord Carrington. As such he appeared in several court cases as a witness for the prosecution when poachers were bought to justice. That didn't seem to stop Peter taking an interest in poaching himself - he was fined in 1901 for stealing a nest of pheasant eggs from another man's land. At the time this was classed as poaching because pheasants were game birds. This didn't seem to stop Peter being employed in later years as a gamekeeper.

Mary Ann was born around 1869 just outside Marlow at Burroughs Grove. I saw an online tree that gave her parents as William and Mary however on the 1881 and 1891 censuses she was living at Burroughs Grove as the daughter of David and Mary Clarke. David was a farm labourer. 

In 1908 Peter was fined for being drunk in Little Marlow. This was (at least) his second conviction for public drunkenness. (Fine 10s including costs.) By then the family had moved from Burroughs Grove to Dukes Place. Greater trouble came to the family through Mary Ann a few years later. In July 1912 she was fined £1 for stealing a pair of scissors and a hairbrush from Mrs Debbin at Prospect House. Mary Ann was not a very careful thief as after the act she went for a drink at the Horns public house just down the street from Prospect House. Multiple people in the tap room saw the stolen scissors on the floor at Mary Ann's feet and the hairbrush sticking out of her pocket. In December that year she and James Clarke (perhaps her brother) were found guilty of stealing a ferret from the garden of her Dukes Place neighbour Archibald Grainger. Again careful planning was not foremost in Mary Ann's mind. The theft occurred while another neighbour Mrs Ann Tilbury from no 2* Dukes Place was visiting Mary Ann and was thus a witness to her and James disappearing into the garden and coming back with the ferret. When suspicion began to be thrown at Mary Ann and James, Mary Ann told Mrs Tilbury not to admit to having seen them with the ferret, while James tried to get rid of the incriminating animal by offering it for free to a fellow drinker in the bar of the Railway Hotel. The original intent was to sell it. James tried to say he had found the ferret in the garden of the Carpenter's Arms around the corner from Dukes Place but the court dismissed this explanation.

In May 1913 Mary Ann was jailed for two months hard labour for stealing the hand bag of another woman on the train between Cookham and Maidenhead. Her accomplice was another Marlow woman Gladys Edwards. Inside the bag was 2 sovereigns which the women split between themselves and a gold watch and chain. Gladys kept the gold items. She sold the chain to High Street jeweller Frederick Rowe. The bag was thrown down a drain to hide the evidence. When arrested Mary Ann claimed that the bag was found by Gladys on the Maidenhead platform and having asked anyone around if it was their bag, decided to keep it when it was otherwise unclaimed.

Context for this is provided by a newspaper report that later the same year Peter was brought to court for abandoning his wife and family and thus rendering them as paupers dependent on the Parish. Poor Mary Ann may have been desperate when she stole the ferret. Her youngest child Annie was then only two years old. How much of her previous stealing had been acts of desperation caused by an uncommitted breadwinner? Peter said he left his home because it was used for "improper purposes". The Bench said there was no doubt his house was "badly conducted" but that was no excuse to leave. He was sent to prison for a month. 

Four years later Peter, during WW1, was arrested in Marlow as a deserter from the army. More humiliation for Mary Ann. 

Mary Ann knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of theft. When she was six her sixteen year old neighbour Sarah Green and Green's father John were jailed for breaking into the Clarke's home via a window and stealing from a box some shoes, 2 pairs stockings, a bonnet and 2 petticoats. The loot was discovered by a constable under the Green family's kitchen floorboards. Mary Ann was out with her mother at the time. Her brother William discovered the theft.

Above, Dukes Place in 2022 including the row known as Sunlight Villas/Cottages. 

*numbering in Duke's Place seems to have altered since.

Related Posts:

All mentions of a person on this blog can be found on the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu - 4,000 plus individuals are mentioned here. 

A short biography of another, earlier Dukes Place resident Elizabeth Keen is here.

Everyday life in old Marlow post index here

Index of posts relating to specific streets, properties etc here 

Other Borroughs Grove related posts here

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

Sourced included:

Census transcriptions from microfilm. my own.

South Bucks Standard editions 18th July 1912, 11th December 1913. British Library Archives.

Bucks Herald 16th October 1875. As above.

Patients Treated At The First Marlow Cottage Hospital

  We have completed several posts about the original Marlow Cottage Hospital in Cambridge Road (1889 -1915), which you can find linked to below.  This one focuses on some of the patients treated there. The hospital was intended to serve Great Marlow, Little Marlow and Bisham but on average a third of patients came from places such as Lane End and Wooburn. Over half were children. The number of inpatients is hugely dwarfed by the outpatients who attended the hospital for more minor care, and also those in ill health that the nurses visited in their homes. 

Operations were performed at the hospital which had it's own operating theatre. The visiting surgeons (Dr John Dunbar Dickson and Dr Robert Culhane) were responsible for these but the day to day care was down to the Matrons - Nurse Mary Ann Cassidy in the first year, and Mary Anne Cole thereafter, sometimes assisted by a second paid nurse, probationer or servant. The most common operations were relatively simple - the removal of tonsils and adenoids in children for example. But some were more complicated. I've chosen to feature the unsuccessful 1894 operation on William Soley because the inquest gave really interesting details of the attempts made to revive him. Most operations did not end so badly however! 

William was a journeyman baker working for Mrs Spindlo in Chapel Street. He had a tumour in his groin and it was decided it must be removed quickly. He was reluctant to be operated on but was persuaded by the doctors that it was really necessary. As a working man he naturally had to consider carefully before committing to anything that would result in an unpaid period of time off work. Mrs Spindlo provided her cart to carry him to the hospital. He had previously undergone several examinations and it was determined that his heart and lungs were healthy enough to endure the operation. This was due to take place the following day. It would be performed by Dr Culhane, assisted by Dr Dickson, and attended by Matron Mary Cole. Chloroform was the anaesthetic available to them. Unfortunately within two minutes of it being administered and before any cuts were made, William stopped breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest. To revive him they tried not only artificial respiration, but also hitting William with wet towels, putting mustard on his chest, applying ammonia to his nostrils and cold water to his face. Sadly nothing worked. William died on the operating table. It was decided he had suffered an unpredictable reaction to the chloroform, which caused or accelerated a heart problem. The coroner's jury donated their fees to poor widow Eliza. 

Most of the adult male patients seem to have suffered work based injuries.  I will give two examples. 

Ellis Harvey, aged 56, was working on Dial Cottage in 1890. He was a bricklayer and was engaged on doing some exterior repairs. He fell from 18-20ft high scaffolding and suffered serious spinal injuries. A cart was requisitioned to take him straight to the Cottage Hospital. His injuries were beyond the repair of the doctors, and Nurse Cole could only do her best to make him more comfortable in the last days of his life. He died less than two weeks later. As before, the jury at the inquest into his death gave up their fees, this time donating them to the Hospital itself. It was believed he had suffered from a giddy spell, as the scaffolding was examined and was considered safe. (He was working for Mr Pierce of High Wycombe)

The second case is that of Amos Newell age 25. In 1893 he was working for his uncle Emmanuel Plumridge, who leased part of Star Meadow (off Wycombe Rd) from Mrs Atkinson of The Rookery. What Emmanuel was interested in was the large walnut trees there. They were the sort of crop that has bought a surprisingly large number of Marlow men and women to grief. More valuable relatively than now, a large number of people had convictions for stealing walnuts from Marlow trees, and those in Star Meadow were a hot target. (Trees at Little Marlow were also plagued by nut rustlers!) Emmanuel had been given the right to also collect the nuts when he hired the field. So his nephew Amos and another man were sent to harvest the crop. Amos did not work exclusively for his uncle whose main job was as a  highways and cartage contractor.  Amos is described as a farm labourer at his death. In the effort to reach more nuts, Amos clambered up the tree as he always did. He would stand on a bough and shake the branches with the other man remaining below. Unfortunately Amos misjudged his foothold and the bough he stood on broke off, and he plummeted to the ground. He was taken immediately to the hospital but died shortly afterwards. Another case involving a walnut tree was that of William Beaver, hawker, of Primrose Lea. If it was hazardous to knock the nuts down sober it was much worse to attempt it while "in drink" and unfortunately that's what William did in 1899. He fell 40ft from the tree, at Frieth. At first it seemed a miraculous escape from serious injury. His fall had been broken by lower branches to some degree and he had no broken bones but he did have 2 cuts on his head. He was taken by cart back to Marlow to have his wounds seen to at the Cottage Hospital. On the way there his wife Martha*, from who he was seperated, was informed of the accident and saw him briefly. She said she remarked it was not wise to pick walnuts when the worse for drink and sent the cart on it's way, not thinking him seriously injured. Dr John Dunbar Dickson saw to his head and sent William home. But the "friends" that he lived with would not recieve him and so he was returned to the hospital and admitted. He complained of a headache after 2 days, but his condition took a sudden dramatic turn for the worse on the forth day. He had became agitated and violent towards the nurse the night before, and the doctor said he was forced to put William in a straightjacket to protect the staff. Dr Dickson said William had begun to suffer from severe delirum tremens which had been aggrivated by his fall, and sadly William died "raving mad" a few hours later. 

 

Alcohol also played a part in the horrifying accident suffered by Lower Assendon bricklayer Phillip Joseph Joiner, who was working at Bourne End. Phillip was "worse for wear" and waiting to cross at the level crossing near Bourne End station. But a goods train was pulled up there and rather than wait for it pass, Phillip decided to crawl under the train through to the other side. Another man waiting at the crossing warned him to wait, but Phillip was determined. Sadly the train moved while he was on his way underneath and his legs were severely injured. He was taken to the Cottage Hospital quickly and both legs were amputated. He did not survive. He was 29.  

These cases might be depressing, so I'll end with an example of one that seemed very serious but had a happy ending. A "Master White" aged between 10-12 years old, fell out of a moving train between Bourne End and Marlow in 1892. He was travelling back to Marlow alone. It seems he had been leaning out of the window, when his cap fell off. In trying to make a snatch for it, he over reached and fell from the train. This is partial guess work from those at the the time as no one travelling on the train saw exactly what happened. Very luckily for the boy, someone in the fields adjacent to the rail line did see him fall. They ran to the spot and initially feared the worst as the boy was unresponsive and covered in blood due to some nasty head wounds. But he came round, and was carried to the Hospital. He was found to have a lot of cuts, and was naturally badly shaken. But under Nurse Cole's expert care, he was expected to make a full recovery. 

The times the staff could not save their patients always makes more of a ripple than those occasions where the sick make a quick recovery. The staff there saved hundreds of lives and lots of Marlow people would not be alive today if their ancestors had not spent time at the Marlow Cottage Hospital. 

*Martha Beaver had successfully applied for a seperation order from her husband in 1898 after he had assaulted her with a penknife while drunk. He was sentenced to 2 months in prison with hard labour and on release was made to pay a weekly sum for the maintenance of his wife and the three youngest of their six children then living at home. 

For more about the hospital see the following posts:

Matron Mary Ann Cole here

Matron Mary Ann Cassidy and the setting up of the forerunners to the Hospital here

Apothecaries and patent medicine sellers here

List of medical related posts here

The Romantic troubles of Dr Culhane here

Death by fire here

More on the Spindlo's here

Others are on the General History option in the top drop down menu. 

To find every mention of your ancestor here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. 

See:

South Bucks Standard 16 September 1892, 03 August 1894. 

©Marlow Ancestors

 

Clifton Villa, Glade Road and the Wells Family

The Wells family were one of the first to settle in Glade Road Marlow, arriving in Clifton Villa by 1881.

Mark the father was a corn merchant and baker, retiring shortly after the family went into residence there. He seems to have maintained ownership of his old premises and the house that went with them though he did not run the business there. He would not have had a lot of rest in retirement. Mark was one of the Overseers of the poor and a director of both the Marlow Gas Company and the Buckinghamshire Chair Company. He was also a shareholder in the Great Marlow Railway Company and an active fundraiser for Marlow Hospital. Mark died in 1909 in his 79th year.

The mother in the family Sarah Elizabeth also raised money for the hospital and gifted the patients books in 1911 (Bucks Herald 29th April 1911, British Library Archive accessed November 2020). As a widow she attended meetings of the National Service League in Marlow an organization campaigning for the introduction for men of compulsory National Service in the army so Britain would not be left vulnerable to attack. This organisation was more than usually popular in Marlow (See for instance South Bucks Standard 15th April 1911, British Library Archives). The Wikipedia article on it says that it was largely supported by right wingers. This is interesting as Mark Wells was a Liberal. Perhaps there were a few heated conversations over the breakfast table while Mark was still alive! Sarah died in 1918.

The couples three daughters Marion and Emily, who did not marry, and Harriet (who married James Luck of Leighton Buzzard) all lived at Clifton Villa as adults with their parents for at least a while.

Marion died in 1924.

More families of Glade Road can be found under the "Specific Shops, Streets ...etc" option on the menu. All mentions of someone on the blog can be found on the Person Index.

In my research I also used census data transcribed by me from microfilm. Also of use to me was the GRO death registration index on the GRO website, accessed November 2020.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to reuse this post for family and local history purposes if you credit this blog and link here. 

Skating And Snowballs - Winter In Marlow

The winters of 1891/2, 1892/3 and 1893/4 and the early spring of 1895 saw the Thames at Marlow frozen to some degree for 4 years in a row. By the end of  January 1891 there had been 9 weeks of frost. It was hoped that the Thames or one of the flooded meadows adjacent would freeze sufficiently to host a cricket match on the ice, along with torch lit skating races at Cookham but all of a sudden the thaw set in and the ice disappeared quickly. The river had frozen most completely nearer Maidenhead and so many Marlow residents were noted as having made the journey to a "splendid piece of ice" extending from Boulters Lock to "beyond Mr. Woodhouse's boathouse at Cliveden Reach." Reports suggest "fully a thousand persons" were disporting themselves on this stretch. Some Marlow people were among those who found a way to make a profit out of the excited visitors. They laid planks to help skaters access the river from the bank and charged people for help getting onto the ice and also for fixing and unfixing skates onto boots. At Cookham Lock several people were seen to ride or drive horses onto the ice and cyclists also put in an appearance. 1891 also saw several hundred people gather on the flooded and frozen meadows at Bisham and Temple. A large number of skaters also gathered at Mr George Jackson's pond at Westhorpe and one man was seen skating on the weir pool at Marlow on Christmas day 1891. The committee of the National Skating Association's negotiations to bring some races off in the neighborhood came too late to beat the thaw but some locally arranged handicap races did occur at Marlow. These male-only races were organised by Alfred Davis and John Langley, who also acted as a starter.  The main event was won by Edward Shaw, which was they say "a very popular win". The number of spectators was enormous, despite the cold. (See below for a partial list of those men and boys competing.) A correspondent for the Fishing Gazette in early January 1891 says that one afternoon he had witnessed fully 200 persons on the river ice opposite Shaw's boathouse including a great number of "skatists and hockeyists". Such a sight he said was not within memory of "the middle aged generation" with the ice 6 inches deep in some places along the upper Thames. The thaw was still ongoing into February, the hard ground causing most of the water from the riverside to run into the river itself. The water level rose by 2ft within a few days of the thaw beginning. 

Unfortunately timed as that thaw may have been, it was not as dramatic as the so called "silver thaw" of 1867 when the sudden break up of a frost lead to showers of minute ice crystals that destroyed many umbrellas wielded against them. 

Thin ice proves a peril

Heavy snow in 1893 saw drifts of 12ft depth in places reported between Cressex and Marlow. The roads from Wycombe were understandably blocked. Those skating and sliding on frozen ditches and ponds were said to be of both sexes and all ages. The stretch of frozen Thames was much more limited than in 1891, but the ice formed near the Berks and Bucks shores was regarded as "moderately safe" which was enough to get large numbers of skaters out near Bisham Church. Under Marlow Bridge the ice seemed to stretch across the whole width of the river, and so naturally some of the curious tried to edge their way across from one bank to another, despite warnings the ice was very thin in the centre of the span. A few made it across safely to cheers but then a young man tried to make the return journey and fell through the ice. The water beneath him was said to be 22ft deep. A very difficult rescue was accomplished after the youngster had spent 10 mins in the frozen water, very largely thanks to Mr J G Meakes who had laid a very long ladder across the breach and so allowed rescuers to approach. The young man was very lucky to be alive, if very cold. 

In February 1895 a little girl from the Grace family fell through the ice after trying to skate on it just beyond the end of the St Peter Street slipway. The screams of her young companions bought Mr Jones, the coachman of Thames Bank to the scene and he was able to mount a successful rescue. 

Incidentally, anyone curious to know the temperature in the 1890's could wander  - or slide along -  the High Street pavements to Messrs Smith & Co who had a very large thermometer on the outside of the building.  

Beware of snowballs! 

One way of keeping warm might be to engage in an energetic snowball fight. But as always reports of some over enthusiastic throwing resulting in broken windows come to the surface. In the heavy snowfall of 1904, Supt Summers received so many complaints of bad behaviour that they did their best to catch groups of boys lurking suspiciously with snowballs at hand. Three naughty boys who went too far in pelting a little girl walking up Institute Rd saw themselves hauled before the magistrates. William Boddy, Jack Hall and Charles Collins received a fine of 1s each for their efforts. 

Edwardian scenes

Although the Victorian era frozen river scenes are probably the most famous, January 1908 saw the Thames frozen from bank to bank beneath Marlow Bridge. And vast scattered sheets of ice stretched between Meakes Boat House and Bisham Church. However the ice was not thick enough to bear a persons weight so the crowds that came to see the sight were restricted to the towpath. But they still went skating. The reason is the Thames was in flood and so the riverside meadows were used as improvised skating rinks as they had been used for generations, private property or no. For decades the premier skating spot was however Cockmarsh, and so Marlow crowds made the journey there. They were not the only ones. It is said that even Londoners made the trip to Bourne End to enjoy the neighbourhood skating. Reporters from the Daily Graphic also made their way to Marlow and took images of an ice hockey match proceeding on the iced over floodwater. This freeze made the conditions difficult for the swans and a decision was made to remove them from the river and hold them inland for a couple of months. Catching them seems quite a task however, as most had moved inland themselves, some by "several miles". 

Not all fun and games

Snow and ice maybe gives romantic image of Marlow in the the winter. But there's another side. Cold and wet conditions made life a misery for those needing to work outside especially if they had poor quality clothes and boots and came from a poorly heated home. In 1872 the torrential December rain made the working conditions of those employed on laying the Marlow railway dangerous. So the work had to be temporarily abandoned to a sea of mud. 

Others working outside whose labour did not stop were obviously very vulnerable if poorly clothed in freezing temperatures. Rag and bone man Charles Slade of Gun Lane was believed to have died of exposure while doing a round at Hambledon in early 1895. He was found insensible in the road alongside his donkey cart near the Dog & Badger at Medmenham. He could not be revived.  In fact he was dead by the time he was returned to Marlow by Thomas Stroud of Dean Street who had been drinking at the Dog and Badger. The conclusion was the extreme cold had bought on heart failure which had in turn caused the fall from the cart. Wife Sarah tells the inquest that her husband had been suffering much from the low temperatures and that they had sometimes had a lack of food over the winter. 

Fog was sometimes bad enough to be described as a serious interference for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic and the trains did not escape disruption. Frozen pipes deprived many households of water, so water sellers were back on the streets after they had ceased to be a common feature throughout the town. (Eg several enterprising souls were seen selling water in February 1895. The Marlow Water Company endeavoured to supply those homes normally connected to their supply with water from the standpipes too.) 

 Regular collections were made to help the poor afford coals for the winter. But for those without a home, the situation was worst of all. The last word will go to the case of "tramp" James Healey. In January 1908, James came into the town and tried to find somewhere to stay. He did not succeed.  Described as "quite an old man" he was frightened at the prospect of spending the night outside during an extremely cold spell. So he picked up a stick and deliberately broke the glass of one of the council owned street lamps in Trinity Road where the Police Station was located. He then went to them and confessed to his act of desperate vandalism. He knew they would have no choice but to arrest him and keep him in the - relatively- warm cells overnight. He got a longer stay than he hoped for, as he was subsequently sentenced to 7 days gaol with hard labour. In the same week beggars were caught in West Street, Institute Rd, and Station Rd and also received 7 day sentences.  

List of competitors in 1891 Marlow ice skating handicap races:

Boys:

C P Lovell (winner 500 yards junior race), Frederick Plumridge, Frank Langley, A Smith. 

Adults:

E Shaw, A Shaw, Reggie Shaw, C Shaw,  J Payne, Taplin, Bowles, Hooker, Smith, Grove, Tom White, Rowe, Cox, H Harman, W Davis, Lees?, Collier, Bailey, Lovell, Ashtead, Nicholls. 

Veterans: 

W Lunnon, ? Langley, E Flint, W Shaw, A J East, W Toovey, 

Researched and written by Kathryn Day

Related Posts:

Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here and 2 here

Edwardian Christmas in Marlow 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

Selected Sources

The Fishing Gazette: Devoted to Angling, River, Lake, and Sea Fishing, and Fish Culture, Volume 3. ( Charles William Bradley & Co 1895) & The Fishing Gazette 10 January 1891, ditto.

Reading Mercury 21 December 1872. From British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020. 

South Bucks Standard 23 January 1891, 24 November 1893, 2 December 1904, 10 January 1908, as above. 

Notebook of Miss E Morton. 

©Marlow Ancestors

Traveller's Friend AKA Traveller's Rest Dean Street

 Updated by Charlotte November 2024

The Traveller's Friend [sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Traveller's Rest which was actually a different pub in nearby Chapel Street. This was itself sometimes mistakenly called the Traveller's Friend], was a small beer house and low lodging house in Dean Street Marlow, an area dense with other sellers of alcohol, and other low lodging houses. The establishment wasn't the absolute roughest of the Dean Street places but it wasn't far off. Repeatedly the men lodging there were described as tramps or vagrants. They often got in trouble for being drunk and disorderly. It should be understood however that the poorer and shabbier dressed you were the more quickly you would be targeted by police if thought to be tipsy. Drunken rich people generally were advised just to go home and sleep it off, it being considered not fair to embarrass them by making them appear in court to answer charges. The sort of destitute people who used this pub would usually receive no such kindness and were often drinking on a empty stomach which meant a rapid absorption of alcohol. 

The pub was fairly close to the corner of Spittal Street and Dean Street, just a few feet from the Cherry Tree, the Jolly Maltsters and later the Chairmaker's Arms too. That was 12 ft from the Cherry Tree and 9ft from The Mint across the road to be precise.

There was only three bedrooms in the property so if you stayed there you weren't getting a bed let alone a room to yourself.

Out back the pub had stabling for three horses though visitors were most likely travellers on foot. Many Dean Street pubs hired out sheds and stables to other residents of the street who had donkeys or ponies for use in their veg hawking, cherry selling or skewer making businesses.

There was a back alley entrance to the Travellers from an alley that also ran behind and could be accessed from the nearby Cherry Tree. This alley was eventually forcibly stopped up as it was seen as a place for bad behaviour such as the exchange of stolen goods or as a means of a quick getaway from the police.

Charles Hoare ran the business from at least 1861 to at least 1864. At other times he ran the Three Horseshoes in Gun Lane and the Bear in Chapel Street both very near the Traveller's. (See this post on his wife Charlotte here). The pub had probably existed as an unlicenced lodging house for some twenty years before Charles took over.

 William Price was the landlord for some time. (Possibly from 1864) He said in an 1871 licencing hearing that he had had a licence to sell beer by retail for some 20 years, although it would appear he was not at the Traveller's premises all of that time- he was at the Cherry Tree in 1861 ( See here ). He was also a fruiterer, a very Dean Street occupation - in the late 1840s there had been an orchard out back of the Cherry Tree and there may still have been one later. At one point he and his wife Lydia had trouble with one of their guests whom William suspected of stealing wood from the yard at the Traveller's. William offered to fight him, Lydia politely asked him to leave but he would not. Police had to be called.

William died at the pub in 1874 . Lydia took over the licence. This was a technical detail as she was already described long before that as the landlady but previously only William's name was on the licence. She ran the premises for only a short time before her tragic and horrific death at Bourne End Station later that year, aged 65. On the way to visit her daughter in Goring, she was dragged under the wheels of a departing train after risking a dart back to it, apparently to retrieve something forgotten in the carriage. Her injuries were such that the elderly lady stood no chance of survival. Her son Thomas took over the beer house. Then by 1877 came a William Price followed by a Henry Price (also a dealer in fish, poultry and veg) landlord until 1894 when a Charles Price took over temporarily. He was considered to have conducted the premises badly, allowing things to get close to riotous inside so that his attempts to take over the pub permanently got short thrift from the magistrates. The revelation by the police that Charles had once been convicted of poaching (albeit 8 years ago) and had recently been seen walking into town with two notorious poachers and an unexplained three dozen dead rabbits didn't exactly help matters. Henry Price had to take back the licence. There then followed an unsuccessful attempt to transfer the premises from Henry to Richard Wilson, a coffee shop proprietor from London. It seems the magistrates did not want someone inexperienced in charge of a house that was described as a haunt of poachers and the favourite drinking hole of all the "lowest" people in Marlow. When it emerged that Richard had not yet managed to sell the coffee business when he applied to take over the Friend, that was it. The only thing worse than an inexperienced host on the premises, was an inexperienced host who wasn't even going to be able to be on the premises  because he had other business to attend to at the same time in a different town. After Richard informed the Bench he hadn't secured a buyer, a hold over was given to George Stroud. 

In 1897 it was licensed as a common lodging house for a maximum of 6 lodgers but anecdotal evidence suggests this limit was often exceeded.

The poor state of the building meant significant repairs were needed in 1901 if authorities were to permit it to continue to operate. During the works the then proprietors Annie and George Stroud (from 1894) had to move out. They were forced to stay in a Dean Street house left empty after it too had been condemned as being unfit for human habitation. In the end, the Travellers Friend was practically rebuilt at a cost of £400 in order to satisfy the authorities. 

Above, now a cycle shop, the former Travellers Friend, largely rebuilt 1901. There was 2 doors on the front and one at the side after the rebuild.

Maybe the Strouds enjoyed their enforced hiatus from their beer house business as some of the Dean Street customers were a lot of trouble. In 1901 Annie was threatened with being hit with a beer cup by an itinerant woman. This woman along with her husband was allowed to purchase beer on the premises but refused lodgings there as they had caused trouble during a previous stay. The complaining woman when turfed off the premises retaliated by smashing the window of the Traveller's Friend.

The next year the spruced up pub ceased to be used as a lodging house. Officially that is. I found a lodger referenced in 1908! The original dedicated lodging house portion attached to the main part of the premises was removed in the renovations. The works also gave the pub a separate jug and bottle entrance for takeaway alcohol. At this point the pub had three bedrooms and a stable that could take 3 horses.

A James Humphrey, who took over from George Stroud in 1902*, was there until 1904. Humphrey passed the premises onto Frederick Clifton after a brief hold over of the licence was granted to William Henry Noble. Fred Clifton passed it on again the following year to William Henry Blair. In 1906 Frederick Elmy took over briefly.  John Henry Westman had it in 1907-1909 and was the final landlord. 

The pub was forcibly closed in 1909 under local measures intended to reduce the concentration of beer retailers in any area. As mentioned above, it was described as 9 yards from the Mint and 12 yards from the Cherry Tree, 73 yards from the Cross Keys in Spittal Square plus 33 from The Verney Arms. It was selling 59 barrels a beer a year at this point.

One of the reasons counted against its remaining open was the high turnover of landlords in the proceeding 5 years of its life.

When the Travellers was closed down in 1909 it became Alfred Lee's grocers (later Chapple's general store) with his dairy behind. David Webb the corn merchant occupied the adjacent building to the left, now demolished, (later Hoars cycle shop.)

*George Stroud and his wife moved to Cambridge Road by 1907 when George was fined for using "disgusting" and "indecent" language in front of several witnesses. He said then in his defence that he had run The Traveller's Friend for 8 years without any complaint against him or his conduct.

Related Posts: 

Travellers REST here

 Pub Related post index here 

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

 Many many Marlow publicans and beer sellers etc had connections as a family or as an individual to several different premises. There was a high turnover in licence holders at many locations! To find all mentions of your ancestors here, see the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. This lists more than 4000 individuals from Marlow's past and new content is added daily. 

Sources:

Censuses from my transcriptions of microfilm images of census pages supplied by the LDS at a Familysearch family history centre.

Bucks Herald 11April, 29th August and 11 July 1874, South Bucks Free Press 22nd September 1865, South Bucks Standard 4th January 1901, 16th February, 13 April and 8th June 1894, 8 October 1897, 4th January 1901, 1st and 22nd August 1902, 27 May and 13th April 1904,26 May 1905 13th March 1908, 05 March 1909 at the British Library via the BNA. Accessed July 2020.

Property deed/sale research and licence hearing reports. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Note: There was also a similarly named Traveller's Rest at Wheeler End, and also at Wooburn.

Previously published pub related posts can be found under the Pub Related option on the top drop down menu. Many many Marlow publicans and beer sellers etc had connections as a family or as an individual to several different premises. There was a high turnover in licence holders at many locations! To find all mentions of your ancestors here, see the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. This lists more than 4000 individuals from Marlow's past and new content is added daily. 

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

Jubilee Celebrations Marlow 1887

Jubilee Cottages, New Town Road. 

Most towns and villages in England celebrated Queen Victoria's Jubilee in June 1887. Marlow was no different. Here as everywhere numerous committees were set up to decide on a suitable programme. Here as everywhere no one could at first decide what to do!

The most enthusiastically supported early idea was to build a proper Literary and Scientific Institute in the Queen's honour. Enthusiasm in principle failed to translate into enthusiasm for emptying one's purse for the purpose. Too little money had been raised for the town to think of starting proper building work before the Jubilee. Disappointment was expressed that Marlow hadn't been more forthcoming. The town did get a new institute but not until 1890 (see here for more)  Of the money that was raised before the Jubilee £100 was reserved to pay for the festivities. And £79 was spent on a gift of coal for the poor the proceeding winter when it was most needed. 

Less ambitious plans to mark the Jubilee were eventually put in place instead.

The Jubilee day itself, a Tuesday, was a national holiday a certain degree of celebration was to take place in some towns all that week however.

Marlow had a special trading connection to Victoria as it was from Marlow that all the beech logs she used for fires in Windsor Castle came.

Local residents could take advantage of special trains laid on from Marlow and Bourne End during Jubilee Week to take them to Windsor for a look at the decorations and to participate in the celebratory atmosphere there.

Marlow itself packed most of it's celebrations into one single day, the Tuesday. But on Monday a public dinner was held in Queens Road, opposite the Duke of Cambridge. We are told that a "loyal and jovial" bunch of tradesmen and others sat down to enjoy the meal. The pub was decorated with flags and Japanese lanterns and bunting stretched across the road. The Marlow band also attended. 

On the morning of Tuesday the bells of All Saints church rang out before a thanksgiving service was held.

At lunch time a hot meal was provided for residents aged over 60 in tents erected for the purpose in the High Street. The men came away with pipes and tobacco as a gift, generously donated by Mrs Lovell*. (The ladies received a parcel of tea) These tents were then used in the afternoon to give all 6 to 14 year olds a tea. As a souvenir these children received a Jubilee "medal" each. These were donated by Miss Somers Cocks and Miss Wethered. (The Wethereds were also among several local breweries that donated ale for the dinners)

Miss Caird of Sunny Bank house [see my first "Where in Marlow was...?" post if you are not sure where that was] gave all widows of the Almshouses 1 shilling each. Those in the Almshouses also received a bottle of wine, some cake, a Jubilee handkerchief and a necktie thanks to Mr Charles Walker of Hampstead. He extended the gift to a number of the poor outside the Almshouses too.  

Sports were organised in a meadow adjoining the site of the proposed institute, for the evening. (Donkey races, greasy pole, skipping, tug of war..) There had also been a few races and games within the High Street itself. The races were for both adults and children and were free to enter. They competed for "useful" prizes and those commemorating the Jubilee. 

The day ended with a fireworks display and a torchlight procession of more than 100 people. The "monster" bonfire was created at the junction of the "new roads on Mr Williams land". (Institute Road & Beaumont Rise - the latter sometimes going by the name of Junction Rd in its early years, although this name was given to other "new" roads in Marlow too including Claremont Gardens and Station Rise before their current names stuck.)

During the day bunting and flags flew from houses, while in the evening Chinese lanterns were used. Marlow Bridge, the bridge across to Marlow Lock, the parish church and Thames Bank house were amongst the structures lit up with special coloured lamps as an additional decoration.

Bunting could be homemade but it could also be bought, along with flags and royal standards, from London suppliers by mail order as well as local fancy good shops.

The Black Lion pub in Well End, Little Marlow promptly applied to stay open an hour later than normal on account of the celebrations. In the end all licenced premises were granted an hours extension. 

Every Jubilee year in England there was a rash of little girls given the first or middle name Jubilee, as well as newly built houses dubbed Jubilee Cottages or Jubilee Villas or the like.  Marlow parents Caroline and Joseph Harris were a little unusual in using Jubilee for their male child Sydney Harold Jubilee Harris who appears on the 1891 census. Jubilee Cottages in Newtown Road dated 1887 still stand although Jubilee Terrace Dean Street, finished in 1887 does not. 

The 1897 Jubilee of Queen Victoria was also much celebrated - see more here. A post on the coronation of her successor King Edward appeared on the blog a short while ago here

*Others donating in kind or loaning items to the celebrations include Mr William Fisher (meat, he was a butcher of Market Square), Charles Miller Foottit (various foods) Mr George Maskell (of the George and Dragon - cutlery and plates). The over 60s dinner menu was cold roast and boiled meat, hot vegetables, plum pudding (part of any celebration back then, not confined to Christmas!), bread, cheese, tea and ale. 

Other posts connected to Royalty in Marlow can be found listed under Royalty on the General Marlow History post index here

All mentions of an individual on this blog can be found on the A-Z  Person Index in the top drop down menu. There's 4,000 + names there! 

See:

Bucks Herald 18th and 25th June 1887. Reading Mercury 18th June 1887. Copies British Library. Also available from the BNA.

1891 census Familysearch International by the LDS. Accessed July 2020.

Nash's Pall Mall Magazine Volume 18 published 1899.

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer June 25th 1887 - Slough Library

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Many Female Ironmongers

 There was an ironmongers in Marlow High Street [Great Marlow] when I was a very small child. Little did I realise then that the building had been used for that trade for well over 150 years by that time.

First known occupier of the premises was James Maclean in 1824. In 1833 his premises consisted of a house, shop, and garden with an annual value of £13. He married twice, the second time to Elizabeth who according to her obituary was born at Munday Dean Farm.

James was a brazier and tin plate worker as well as an ironmonger. He died in 1860 as an old (nearly or a little over 80) and "much respected inhabitant" of the town the Reading Mercury newspaper said.

His wife Elizabeth took over the shop full time. She was one of the first Marlow inhabitants to buy shares in the Great Marlow Railway Company which brought trains to the town.

In 1884 13 year old George Cook alias Payne was sentenced to 10 days hard labour for obtaining a knife from her by false pretences. The next year William Harrison got a month's hard labour for stealing eight pairs of gloves from her premises worth a shilling each. Presumably these were work gloves of some kind. 

Elizabeth was by then advanced in age and by 1888 her niece Susanna Goldswain was shop manager for her. Susanna had lived with her aunt and uncle for some years, probably always assisting in the business.

Elizabeth died in 1890 age 92. She, her husband James and niece Susanna are all memorialised on the same gravestone in the churchyard of All Saints, Marlow. 

Another female ironmonger was soon in the premises - widow Eliza Newman. What experience she had in ironmongery is uncertain, her husband Charles* had been a brewer's clerk at Wethered's Brewery further down the High Street before his premature death at the age of 48. Whether she was a fast learner or did have some kind of previous experience Eliza made a success of the shop in the few years she ran it before retiring to live in Glade Road with her son Charles Junior. It is noted that Eliza herself was behind the counter the majority of the time - she had not merely put her name to the business. While she retired from actively running the shop by the 1901 census the business continued as "Newman and Chalk". Eliza's daughter Mary had married gardener Sidney Chalk and he was now behind the counter. Sidney's and Mary's son Cyril was a prominent local history enthusiast .

Above, Eliza Newman's former premises. 

And in an ad from 1905. 

Sidney Chalk successfully sued the railway company in 1902 after he had a nasty fall at Bourne End Station on his way onto the Marlow train. The £95 damages were substantial for a trip fall at that time. The station was poorly lit and the carriage had pulled in, unusually, more than a foot from the platform without there being any warning to be careful given to passengers. It's surprising that no one else had an accident on the same gloomy evening! Sidney was on his way home from a Unionist political meeting in Slough at the time.

Eliza Newman died in 1906. The shop continued as an ironmongers for long afterwards.

*The mother of Charles was née Goldswain so that it is likely that the Maclean and Newman families were relatives at least of sorts.

Eliza Newman was née Haines. She was daughter of Elizabeth and James Haines of High Street Marlow. Her dad was a boat builder and engineer, who has a dedicated post here

Post written and researched by Charlotte Day.

To find all mentions of a person on this blog see the Person Index.

To see another historic ironmongers premises, see here.

You can find the historic occupiers of other shops and houses in Marlow by looking on the "Specific Shops, Streets Etc" option on the menu or under Pub Related for hotels, pubs, beer sellers and inns.

Some Sources:

Reading Mercury 28th Jan 1860. Bucks Herald 21st June 1890 and 1st February 1900.Buckingham Examiner 12th April 1884. Copies held at the British Library and accessed by me via the BNA April 2021.

Original property records held by my family and transcribed by me.

Census 1841-91. Transcribed by me from microfilm.

Marriage certificates.

GRO Death Registration Index. 

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to reuse this content for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and a link here so that my sources and I remain credited. Thanks!