A Manly And Scientific Pursuit - History of Cricket In Great Marlow

In 1829 the local papers included a charming description of a "manly game of cricket" in Marlow between the "Knights of the thimble" of Marlow and their fellow tailors of Maidenhead. The latter were seemingly brim full of confidence (or bravado) and marched into town complete with a band playing "See the conquering hero come". They lost and made a somewhat muted departure. This was the earliest match I could find between teams formed of those following a particular occupation, but it would be the first of many. And 1829 was usually given in the Victorian era as the start date for Marlow Cricket Club although it ebbed and flowed and was re-organised several times and finally so in 1854. (I've also seen a mention of a Marlow Cricket Club in 1828 so it may have a few false starts even before 1829.)

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Above programme for a fundraising dramatic and musical performance by the Marlow Popular Promenade Pierrot Party in November 1907. Profits were shared with the Institute. Expect banjo performances, comic songs and dramatic sketches and humourous "absurdity in one act". 

The Aldermary

Where did our early teams play?  It was said in the 1880s that the Cricket Club had used the Crown Meadow as their first cricket ground (Riley Recreation Ground), and I believe this is correct although many reports do not give a location for their matches and they may have used more than one field at times. However by the 1870s the vast majority of matches I can find location details for describe play at "the Aldermary" or Alder Meadow as it was later known. This is roughly where the Marlow Cricket Club is now but the ground was smaller.  Note you can find several examples of the club playing at the Aldermary on occasion from the 1840s and it also hosted casual matches so has a longer heritage as the cricket ground than may be realised. 

A Gents Wager

An early descriptions of cricket matches at Marlow refer to games organised by a couple of unnamed gentleman to settle a wager. They may or may not have actually played themselves. The location in 1776 was Alms House Close - probably Crown Meadow again or nearby, as this was adjacent to the original Brinkhurst almshouses. 

A popular type of cricket spectacle in the early Victorian era was a one wicket match between two teams  gentlemen aside. Sometimes these preceded a team match but a lot of people turned up to watch them anyway. Usually some kind of forfeit was at stake - not including any unofficial wagers. The loser often had to stump up a dinner for the victor and his friends for example, or at very least a round or two. No doubt some of those participating took these matches seriously but generally they seem to have been held in a spirit of fun with some questionable techniques and rule bending hinted at. My favourite one wicket match is one played in 1842 between Messrs Hyatt and Brooks. [Henry Hyatt was the keeper of The Greyhound Inn* and Brooks was the baker occupying the premises now known as Burgers.] Hyatt's puffing and blowing was said to have reminded the spectators of an "old steam engine nearly exhausted". Henry Hyatt's exertion was worth it as he secured victory in 30 minutes flat. 

Any Excuse For A Match Will Do 

If your ancestor wasn't playing for Marlow Cricket Club, they might well be playing often in one of the huge number of  casual games organised, and almost always still hosted at Alder Meadow and Crown Meadow before. Games were arranged between the residents of different streets, workers from one employer versus another, men in the same or different occupations eg waiters v waterman in 1898, the choir and clergy, pupils at rival academies..the list goes on. Sometimes an additional element was added such as players performing in fancy dress, or in old fashioned costumes, or one team may have to play left handed or with some unusual instrument replacing a proper bat. An 1897 match between ladies on one side and men on the other saw the men playing left handed (or right handed if they naturally played left normally) and with a piece of  rough hewn wood instead of a bat. (Result was declared a diplomatic draw.)

The bigger private boys schools in the town had their own teams throughout the Victorian era such as Prospect House Academy and Marlow Place School. I should also mention the popular team of the Marlow Institute* who usually used the Crown Meadow for practice and matches - or sometimes the Alder Meadow. Formed 1896, they later amalgamated with Marlow Cricket Club with the members allowed a reduced subscription in return for playing fewer matches as a sort of B team. And lastly the Brewery had a formally organised cricket club from 1895 (but had fielded many teams before that) whose home ground was regarded as Star Meadow. 

Cricketing Whites ...Or Purples Or Stripes..

James Cranbourne Strode of Court Garden (then a private house) was a definite cricketing enthusiast.  He hosted a match between two invited teams of  Marlow boys aged 12-14 at Court Garden in 1828. The sides were distinguished by wearing different colours - purple and orange. Probably these colours were represented by sashes, hat/armbands or belts. Purple were the victors, with a young Strode amongst their members. After much "scientific" play the youngsters retired to a large tea on the grounds. It was the highest praise to have your play described as scientific then..technically skilful and considered rather than successful through brute force or so they thought. 

In 1843 the boys of Prospect House Academy* played in nifty blue and white striped shirts with white trousers and a straw hat finished with a blue ribbon. 

The Clayton's of Harleyford were another family of gentry who patronised local cricket matches, especially in the mid Victorian  era. They were hosting matches within Harleyford Park with the home team usually formed out of Harleyford estate employees/tenants or Marlow tradesmen. 

Fear The Men Of Beaconsfield 

 After an enthusiastic start around 1829, things became a little more complicated for the early members of the Marlow Club. It seems our nemesis was the Beaconsfield club. I can find a few reports of consistent defeats at their hands in 1830 and a little later but at some point prior to 1843 we received such a thrashing by the team that apparently Marlow Cricket Club was entirely broken up in despair. Before then the Club was described as as "good a club as far as funds were concerned as any in the country".  I suppose the well off benefactors were not keen to subsidise a team that was getting publicly trounced. Afterwards, according to contemporaries, a few informal games were held a year until 1843 when the club was revived to meet a challenge from the fellows of Waltham. But before long the matches begin to fall off again (although not due to those skillful Beaconsfielders as far as I know)  and by 1853 the club was described as fallen into decline. In September 1853 someone decided to organise a match between the residents of Chapel Street and those of West Street. It was hoped this would generate enough popular enthusiasm to encourage the revival of the club. West Street were the happy victors. In April the following year a meeting by the "youthful supporters of athletic sports" saw a resolution to re start Marlow Cricket Club passed. The curate Rev George Taylor was subsequently credited as being one of the main driving forces for getting funds and practical support pledged. 

The Married v Single gentleman of the club match was one of the most long standing features of the Victorian club, and so ended the inaugural 1854 season. After a game played with "considerable spirit" the  married team were victorious. Dinner at the Crown usually  followed - also the location for most early AGMS. 

In 1859 a juvenile club was established by William Brooks. It looks as though their first match was against the boys of Marlow Place school who won. All then retired to the National boys schoolroom for ginger beer, as gifted by supporter Peter Borgnis. I can find a few mentions of the juvenile side after this throughout the 1860s. 

Who Were The Players? 

As regards the Cricket Club, the earliest members listed as playing are familiar names from amongst the better off traders, inn keepers, clergy, school masters and gentry. There was much less of a set regular team than later. Complaints were made in the 1850s and 60s that few of those selected for the team actually lived in the town. The Club replied that while they had many townsman members, few turned up often for practice and so this was why they were not regarded as amongst the best players  from which the team would be selected from. To be fair, most of the teams I traced were in fact then present or former Marlow men and most that weren't were not quite from a million miles away - Little Marlow, Bisham etc. The press frequently complained about the selected sides performance in those two decades - for example the "miserable exhibition" versus Maidenhead in the August of 1860. Hard to say if the criticism was fair, as they did notch up a fair few wins too! 

As regards other casual teams, the players are more mixed in terms of economic background. And the "Night School and Juvenile Cricket Club" set up in 1861 was mainly formed of lower income youths. (Set up by the vicar and curates of Marlow, the Night School catered for young men and youths mainly from the Dean Street area. Read more here) Later the Great Marlow Working Mans Cricket Club was set up after a meeting in the Crown in 1906. The then Crown landlord offered the use of the rear Crown Meadow (Riley Park) to them for both matches and practice free of charge, and the use of a room in the inn for committee purposes, also free. A local paper hoped this new club would encourage a spirit of friendliness between the "better class working men" in the town. They subsequently played at the Star Meadow, Porter's Meadow and Marlow Football Club before arriving at Higginson Park and changing their name to the Marlow Park Cricket Club. 

A Pavillion 

By 1873 the Cricket Club was doing well for itself and so of course they needed a pavillion. Local engineer Edwin Clark (see link below for more about him) had promised a £35 donation towards the costs, at least according to some reports. It was resolved to fundraise in order to build a "substantial pavillion"  - no mention of whether it needed to be bigger than any Beaconsfield might have! In 1879 it was referred to as "somewhat elaborate" in design. Marlow builder Thomas Corby* won the contract to construct. Costing just over £117, it was newly completed in August that year, topped with a traditional thatched roof. The cost had not been fully paid off the following year as many promised subscriptions were late, although an influx of donations had reduced the deficit to £30 by April 1875. At least they now had somewhere of their own to host an AGM - and to sell luncheons plus wine and beer from. Catering was available when the ground hosted a bigger match at least. The proprietors of the Greyhound and George and Dragon inns would take care of the sales there. 

By the mid 1890s the pavillion was described as in a poor state or even "dilapidated" as they put it in 1897. Repairs had been made almost every year but it was now considered beyond remedy. They had started sporadically fundraising for this purpose around 1895/6 but at the time of the 1897 AGM, the work had not started and the scheme doesn't seem to advanced to the stage of anyone drawing up plans for that matter. Hopes that the structure would be imminently ready nevertheless were not realised and in November 1898 the old roof had partially fallen in. It was decided to get the pavillion scheme properly started and an official subscription list was opened. Three members of the Wethered family immediately pledged £70 between them, including the then Club Captain F O Wethered.  A committee would decide where the new pavillion should be - as the ground had been enlarged in the years since the first was built it was felt the old position was no longer the best one. Moving it would make available a larger or better area for play. I don't know where the old was in relation to the new though. Initial plans were also to raise enough for the construction of a residence for the caretaker / groundsman but I don't believe this was achieved. By March it was reported work had begun on the new pavillion even though not enough funds had yet been raised to pay for it. (Due to cost about £300, the contractor was local man Thomas Lunnon.) It was ready for the start of the new season that year. 

Problems In Play

As mentioned above the Alder Meadow ground was smaller at first and dissected by footpaths, official and otherwise. It sometimes suffered substantial flooding. There were frequent late Victorian complaints about groups of children, mostly little boys, who congregated in a field or two next to the cricket ground and got up to mischief. They had been seen climbing the wooden fence of the Club and it looked as though attempts had been made to wrench out some iron railings adjacent. Obviously the youngsters were feeling strong on that occasion! Police patrols were requested to make extra passes through the area on the evenings. Of course some children hanging about during the daytime just wanted to watch the play, and could not necessarily do so legitimately. It was actually debated whether children should be allowed in the ground at all. In the early years youngsters had been allowed to play on part of the ground, except on match days. After some serious vandalism in 1873 of both the fencing and new pavillion, this permission was withdrawn. But in 1899 they formalised the rules to state that while no perambulators or very young children would ever be permitted entry, well behaved youngsters who had applied in advance for a ticket of admission from Mr Lovell* could pass through the gates on match days. However if any of these lucky youngsters should misbehave they would be banished from the ground for ever! They stood no chance of getting into the pavillion it seems, which was restricted on match days to players and members and their one adult guest each. All had to sign a visitors book. 

Money Woes

The Victorian Marlow Cricket Club had to fund all the expenses you'd expect, and a few you perhaps wouldn't such as that of thatching the first pavillion roof. Routine costs include payments to the umpire and boys to "scout" on match and practice days, to a professional bowler for practice purposes (on a regular basis from 1879) and to the groundsman of course. And there was the rent of the cricket field from first the Davenports and Higginsons, and then from the Wethered family too. (The latter remitted the rent during the First World War.) Although the earliest version of the club was said to have a high level of financial support from the local gentry, this was less to be relied upon as time went on. The Wethereds of Remnantz and the Brewery were consistent in their support though and one or other of the family fulfilled the role of club captain from the time of the club's re organisation in 1854 throughout very many years of the Victorian period. Most importantly the family purchased the cricket ground when it was offered for sale as part of the Court Garden estate in the 1890s. It was feared that as the Club could not afford to buy the ground themselves, they would be evicted from their home by a new purchaser perhaps hoping to put up a riverside villa. (Although the ground was described as water logged in winter, it was believed conversion to residential use was likely.)

Frequent appeals were made to pay subscriptions on time, whether you were a playing or general member.  Sources of income included selling the grass cut from the field, rights to graze sheep** there when not in use for play,  and charging the Lawn Tennis Club for use of part of their ground, at least until the two organisations merged in 1908. They offered a joint membership then for a guinea a year or less if you didn't want to support both sports. 

The Wethered brewery bought the cricket field in 1920 for the sum of £1200 as the Marlow Cricket Club had sadly not re started after the war. It was to be used rent free by the Brewery Employees' Recreation Club for leisure purposes. So while Marlow has one of the oldest established cricket clubs, it does not have a continuous history.  

This post would be too long to feature individual players, umpires, score keepers etc especially as many get a post of their own. Search cricket using the blog search to find all mentions, or use the A-Z person index to find a specific individual. 

** In 1868 Arthur Brown, Augustus, Sidney and an otherwise unnamed young East were fined 5s each for cruelty to the grazing sheep - they had been seen attempting to ride them like a horse! 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

©MarlowAncestors

Further information:

All the people and places marked * have more detailed posts of their own eg Henry Hyatt. Find them in the A-Z person index on the top drop down menu. 

Other posts related to sporting history :

Athletics meetings at Harleyford 1870s and in Marlow generally here

Biography of Charles Miller Foottit- one of the founders of the Football Club, Rowing Club and Regatta, cricket player etc here

Football Clubs - more than 20 you've probably never heard of dating from Victorian and Edwardian times (with many players mentioned) in a post here. Easter matches of Marlow FC here

Gymnastics in Edwardian and Victorian Marlow - here

Marlow Horse Races- comprehensive history, updated October 2023 here

Nellie Creswell amateur Victorian sportswoman here

Richard Smith, amateur cricketer who played in front of a French prince here

Regattas  - here

Skating on the Thames and meadows here

Sporting opportunities in 1700s Marlow here

Victorian Marlow Athletes here

See also the general Great Marlow history index here

Sources include:

Dolby, I E A (ed) - Journal of the Household Brigade - Household Brigade, privately printed,  1875. 

Lillywhite, Frederick - Cricket Scores and biographies from 1746 to 1826, Vol 11. (1878)

The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, Vol 43. (Longmans, Green & Co, 1915)

Kelly's Directory 1883, 1903, 1911 (Kelly's Directory Ltd)

Marlow town guides 1903 & 1905. 

Windsor and Eton Express - 2nd August 1828,  3rd October 1829, 4th April 1874 -  Slough Borough Libraries. 

Berkshire Chronicle, 24th September 1842, 9th September  1843, 15th June 1861 - Archive.org. 

South Bucks Standard - 31st Aug 1894, 5th July 1895, 23rd April & 27th August 1897, 27 May & 18 November 1898, 10 March & 2 June 1899, 2oth April 1906 British Library Archive, via the BNA. 

Bucks Gazette 26 July 1830, as above. 

Bucks Herald 26th April 1873, 16th & 30th August 1873, 3rd May 1879, 20th April 1889 as above

South Bucks Free Press 21st May 1859, 27th August 1859, 18th August 1860 as above. And South Bucks Free Press 6th August 1920, Wycombe library. 

Reading Mercury, 17th July 1776, 24th September 1853, 29th April 1854, 10 May 1873, 24th March 1917    - British Library. 

Edward Riley - The Man Behind The Recreation Ground

Marlow has been fortunate to attract many benefactors and philanthropists over time some of whom have been largely forgotten and who we hope to resurrect in this blog. But one man who is thankfully well remembered for his generosity is Edward Riley R.I.C, largely because his name is attached to Riley Recreation Ground. Edward was an analytical chemist and metallurgist who co founded and acted as director of two steel companies. He was born in London and much of his professional life was based there, as well as in Leeds and at the Dowlais iron works in South Wales. I am not going to focus on his work, as this was mostly carried on away from Marlow, but instead I want to flesh out the man who spent the last couple of decades of his life here, or more specifically at his home "Bohemia" on the riverbank in Bisham. But I will just mention that Edward pioneered new developments in steel manufacture and won awards for doing so. His chemical analysis work was quoted by researchers for decades after he completed it, and he travelled to America at one point to advise miners and manufacturers there. Mrs Riley was interested in music and a published collection of songs were dedicated to her. 

At his death in 1914, Edward was said to have lived at "Marlow" (really Bisham) for 26-27 years. Bohemia was built for him in 1886 at a cost of £2436, not including the land itself. The builder was Marlow's Young Lovell and his team. For the first few years, he and wife Mary were generally listed as summer visitors at Bohemia. Even later they spent regular time abroad, on the continent and in 1894 they passed the winter in Egypt. These travels would provide material for Edward's lectures at the Marlow Institute. 

Edward and Mary quickly became involved in all kinds of initiatives that involved a committee. Marlow Rowing Club and Regatta, the Institute, Cottage Hospital, Provident Nursing Association, Anglers Association and more all saw their attention. He was vice president at the Institute for a number of years. And it was Edward that donated the use of his land for the erection of a landing stage and large hired marquee for the young Marlow Rowing Club as yet without a boathouse of their own. 

Edward was a subscriber to Marlow's original cottage hospital in Cambridge House, Cambridge Road. Mary was among the "lady visitors" who took turns to adopt the hospital for a week and make visits to cheer and comfort the patients. Those inside were not forgotten on other weeks however as the couple sent donations of things such as cake, fruit and vegetables on a regular basis. As the hospital was entirely funded by donations and what payments the patients could afford, these kind of gifts were frequently asked for and earnestly welcomed. 

Given this involvement with the hospital, it is perhaps surprising that Edward did not support the development of a new more spacious and convenient cottage hospital in Marlow. As a frequent attendee at the subscribers meetings, he could not help but be aware that the staff of the original cottage hospital worked liked Trojans and found their work made more laborious by the inconvenience of a relatively cramped building with steep stairs and inadequate plumbing. The whole staff in 1913 had in fact threatened to sever all ties with the hospital if no advancement was made in oft voiced plans to build a better one. But Edward thought the town could not afford to build or support a bigger hospital funded by donations, even though the building site had been donated for free. He feared that if funding should fail the cost of maintaining the hospital would be put on the rates (local tax) and that the local tradespeople and businessmen could not afford this as trade in town had been "ruined" by the advent of the motor car. Instead he thought perhaps the town could invest in a motor ambulance that would take patients to the well equipped hospitals in Maidenhead or High Wycombe, if they could amalgamate with one of those institutions. He thought getting enough donations to keep things going would be a continual struggle. Edward's concerns were not without foundation. The cottage hospital had trouble attracting subscribers at times, and the Charity Commission would only give permission for plans for a slightly smaller hospital than the committee originally planned, on affordability grounds. Edward obviously felt strongly about this because when his name was wrongly included in a list of donors to the building fund of new hospital, he wrote to the newspaper to correct the entry publicly. When the Charity Commission said the revised plans were affordable, the hon. secretary of the Marlow Cottage Hospital Committee, Mrs Dickson, wrote to Edward asking for his support. Instead he published his replies to her letters in the local press and it's fair to say they have something of a patronising tone. He said anyone who had read the Commissioners report would agree with him that a new hospital was unaffordable and that friends of his involved in raising subscriptions at other hospitals also supported his view. He must have forgotten that in writing to Mrs Dickson he was communicating with someone who had been directly involved in raising such subscriptions for many years herself and who through her husband Dr Dunbar Dickson, was very well acquainted with the costs and practical considerations involved in running such a place. Edward had objected to the number of women on the organising committee - a complaint which was ignored, unsurprisingly given that it was the ladies who had suggested the need for a new hospital in the first place and it was a ladies committee that organised the fundraising that allowed the first cottage hospital to open. In one letter Edward suggests that the new hospital was advocated for mainly by the doctors and for their own interests regardless of the welfare of the town! It's hard to agree with him given the number of people that donated to a scheme that apparently no one wanted. The hospital was built anyway and it must be said that Edward was no slacker at parting with his own cash when it came to helping the sick in ways he did support - he funded a home for the district nurses, aka the Riley Nurses' Home and clinic which remained in use for decades after his death. He offered the finances to do this as an alternative to his supporting the new hospital but initially the money was not linked to a specific purpose. He said that if a hospital scheme that he personally approved of was bought forward the money could go to that instead. It should also be mentioned that Mrs Riley attended many meetings of the hospital subscribers with her husband, and was for a time on the Ladies Commitee. (Posts about the struggle for the hospital can be found here and here) 

Edward subscribed to the Institute and freely gave his time to lecture there. Subjects included the process of providing good drinking water, mineral extraction, and a pet subject, the wonders of electricity with practical demonstrations included. The Rileys had the use of electricity at Bohemia even though Bisham and Marlow were not yet connected to the supply network. They used this to illuminate the outside of their riverside home during the Regatta, and the display is frequently described as the most beautiful along the river side. They included "coloured fires" and lanterns with coloured glass panel surroundings to create the illusion of multi coloured lights. The Regatta traditionally ended with a Venetian fete which was chiefly a procession of decorated and illuminated boats along the river. Of course Edward used electric lights on his entry and he was not an infrequent winner of the most handsomely dressed boat award. At the time of the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, Edward set up lights in the form of a giant E.R and displayed them on the front of ivy clad Bohemia. 

The couple owned a house boat also called Bohemia. This they took to Henley Regatta when they were in residence. They also bought a new type of  electric launch which they christened "Champion". A trial run out with friends on the Thames was said to be a success but the boat is not often mentioned thereafter so perhaps it had some shortcomings not immediately apparent! Edward also had a couple of punts. One was also decorated and entered into competitions, with an arch of bullrushes and mountain ash berries and rows of sunflower heads mentioned as one medal winning design. The other had a more conventional existence as a fishing punt. Edward Riley was a keen angler and sometimes reports of a good catch reach the press, caught with the assistance of fisherman James Cox. He put up cash prizes for occasional fishing competitions too. With his love of all things a river side town could offer, it's easy understand why Bisham became his residence. Or Marlow, as he referred to as his address in every source I've seen that he wrote himself. Of course a river side address did have it's downsides, and Bohemia was flooded downstairs during the severe 1894 Thames flood. 

The gardens of Bohemia were enthusiastically maintained and famously lush and colourful. The Riley's gardener Mr J Jordan  grew a huge range of fruit, vegetables and flowers and won many prizes in local shows. He provided plants and flowers that were donated to decorate the stage of plays and concerts held at venues like the music room, with some palms used to create an "exotic" atmosphere to one amateur production. 

Edward funded three scholarships to Borlase along with his half sister Miss Mary Mitchell Wilson who is often uncredited for her contribution. Edward also announced a £1,000 gift towards the greater cost of setting up a new school chapel there but when he died it was announced by his executors that they would actually pay for the whole along with his sister. 

Edward spoke at a debate at the Institute in favour of Sunday opening of parks, public gardens, and museums. He took the issue of public access to recreation facilities seriously, in particular in regards that children should have somewhere safe to play off the streets. With this in mind, when in Edward Riley bought the Crown Hotel and the accompanying Crown Meadow when it came up for sale in 1914. He gave the field  for the use of the town as a recreation ground under the care of a group of trustees including himself. He gave a sum of money for it's maintenance and envisaged the hotel should continue with the profits invested in the Trust. Crucially he allowed the Trustees to make what changes to the hotel as they saw fit in pursuance of this goal. Proper funding provision was of course important to Edward as we know. The park had not opened when Edward died at Bohemia in September 1914 aged 83. It was decided to sell the Crown Hotel but delays in achieving this and the First World War meant the new Riley Recreation Ground was not formally opened until 1921. This long delay caused frustration locally. In 1919 a public meeting was called in Market Square to protest at the lack of a safe place for children to play  - Higginson park was not yet open of course. Those attending expressed frustration at the fact children were still actively barred from accessing the future Riley Park. The quickly elected chair Mr James proposed a resolution in favour of the provision of a proper recreation ground being provided somewhere. It seems they felt Riley Park would never fully open. The resolution was seconded by Mr E Harvey and passed by the crowd.

Their fears were of course unfounded. The grounds were not laid out as intended but remain charmingly open and surrounded by trees. I'm sure Edward and Mary, who died in 1923, would love to see them now. Both are buried at Bisham Church. 

Related Posts

To find out about the many former uses of Riley Recreation Ground/Crown Meadow see the post here

The Dunbar Dicksons here

History of Institute "Books, Billiards, and ..beer?" here

All mentions of someone on the blog can be found under the Person Index. To cut straight to a list of posts, each  dedicated to a particular Marlow individual see "Biographies Of Individuals" on the menu. There is also a "Biographies Of Families" option there. 

Sources:

Local newspapers held at the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA. 

The Engineer, 18 September 1914. 

The Engineer, collected edition. vol 76, 1893. (Morgan Grampian 1893) 

Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute Vol 47, (SPON  1895)

Engineering and Mining Journal Vol 49, American Institute of Mining and Engineering (McGraw Hill 1890)

©Marlow Ancestors

The Many Lives Of Riley Recreation Ground, Marlow

Riley Recreation ground has had a very colourful life. Now a park, it has spent much of its life under the ownership of the (Upper) Crown Inn/Hotel hence it's old name of Crown Meadow, or further back, Crown Close or the Crown Enclosure. Two of it's old uses are well known - a place for the horses to graze that pulled the fire engine (although other fields were also used) and as the first home for the Victorian Marlow FC. This post is mainly about some of the other events that have taken place there. It was bigger originally, and had more of a pronounced slope up to the Cambridge Road end, hence why football match reports refer to one team as having the disadvantage of having to kick uphill towards their goal, or the "Marefield Goal". 

It was sometimes the venue for early cricket matches, including one in the 1840's between teams rustled up by two rival gentleman to settle a wager. Another similar event on "Alms House Close" may be referring to the Crown Close too, but may also be related to a meadow elsewhere off Oxford Road, or Cambridge Road. A close in those days refers to an enclosed piece of land. It is no wonder the flatter Alder Meadow became the venue of choice in general. 

The meadow had it's most colourful appearance during the October Marlow Fair. It housed the horse drawn caravans and wagons belonging to the menageries hosting performances in Quoiting Square, and overspilling into Oxford Road and West Street (See note below). Lions, bears and elephants were all bought to perform in this cramped venue so it's no wonder that the menageries latter moved their marquees into the Crown Meadow itself. During the first day of the fair, the meadow saw the sale of cattle, pigs and sheep, before going over entirely to pleasure use on day two. You could find all kinds of steam organs, steam powered roundabouts and side shows there, as well as throughout the town centre. When the Fair as a street based concern was cancelled after 1903, the rides and sideshows continued to come to the meadow for what was left of the Fair, with others going to Star Meadow, off Wycombe Road. They continued here until the eve of the first world war. But the site was the home to roundabouts, menageries and travelling theatres outside of fair time for well over 100 years. Some of the attractions were of the "one night only" kind, others stayed quite literally months, slotted in outside of the football clubs playing area - mostly. Beaches Roundabouts were for example a frequent visitor around the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. 

Sadly, one showman died on Crown Meadow in 1893. Henry John Hall of Uxbridge was a circus and swing boat proprietor who had attended Marlow Fair for many years. On the year of his death, he was exhibiting in the meadow a month before the Fair. Normally regarded as being in good health, he was found unconscious on the floor of his caravan soon after returning from a short visit to the Red Lion. He was dead before Dr Dunbar Dickson arrived. Just 55 years old, he left a wife and a stunned fair community. 

The travelling theatres - mostly putting on shows of the comedic or sensationalist kind - were a feature of early fairs in particular but continued to visit well into the Edwardian period. Unfortunately for the theatre proprietors, the powers that be became stricter on the sort of wood and canvas structures thrown up as a venue, and some got slapped with fines for failing to erect a sufficiently safe, sanitary and sturdy structure. Mr Kings "People's Empire" was one such allegedly irregular construction in 1906. Those that passed muster sometimes stayed for an entire season, such as the Electric theatre that set up in Crown Meadow in July 1909. 

In 1893 the meadow saw a Grand Olympian Fete. The Olympics had yet to be resurrected so this was an event loosely inspired by the ancient games. There were athletic races, which cost a small fee to enter but gave the chance of winning a cash prize in turn. And side attractions included a brass band and a circus with trapeze artists, high wire acts and acrobats. After the sports came dancing, with refreshments provided by Mr Cole of the Crown. The day ended with a "grand illumination of coloured fires"  and a few fireworks at dusk. However those paying their entry fee to the privately organised event were allegedly left very disappointed as some of the advertised entertainers did not turn up. And the high wire artist had to cut short their act when the improperly constructed wire began to sag! The improvised stage was also rough and its security was doubted. One artiste who did attend was a man who kept his balance while running on top of a giant revolving globe, juggling various knives and balls. 

Lord Sangers Circus and Hippodrome was one outfit to set up here for a one night show on several occasions. It paraded through the town at mid day - complete with elephants -  before setting up a large marquee and canvas stabling in the meadow. Sangers were never one to modestly announce their arrival. The 1895 Marlow show was described by them as something to "eclipse anything of its kind that has ever been submitted to any nation in the world."  The display was of a "brilliant character" according to the local press and fully attended. There were two performances, one afternoon, one evening. There had been a minor scare when a circus caravan lost a wheel near the bridge but no one was hurt. Let's hope they didn't bring those poor hefty elephants over the delicate bridge itself! Other circuses to use the future Riley Park as their home include Fossett and Sons in 1901. 

A "Water Carnival" hosted in the meadow as part of a circus in 1894 resulted in a court summons for Oxford Lane resident Mr Bowles. He had been in the habit for some years past of allowing the circus and roundabout proprietors to take water from his house in order to tend to their horses and operate the rides. They came to his door with a water cart and filled up. But the number of gallons needed for a water carnival on the land locked site (exact details of what this involved are sadly sketchy) caught the attention of the Marlow Water Company Engineer John Soley. He saw the circus taking a water cart to Mr Bowles' home. While it seems they may have turned something of a blind eye usually, they could not on this occasion. The matter ended up in court as the Marlow Water Company said it was not permitted to re-sell or give to others the companies water piped to a domestic address. The supply was not on a meter then. However the company could not prove Mr Bowles had accepted any money for the water and what's more the magistrates said they did not think it was generally known it was against the rules to share your water supply. It seems the magistrates were certainly unaware of the restriction so could not expect an average householder to know so Mr Bowles was let off without any fine. Mrs Bowles was the one who came to court.

The shows and attractions sometimes caused an annoyance to the staff and patients at the Cottage Hospital in it's original position at Cambridge House, Cambridge Road. At the time, medical advice was often that patients should avoid any kind of over stimulation or noise, to the point of removing pictures from the sick room walls, and laying material on the road outside an afflicted persons home to deaden the sound of horses hooves. So the sound of a circus or fairground organ in the neighbourhood was genuinely regarded as potentially dangerous if too frequent. It's interesting to note that when the hospital moved to the Glade Road / Victoria Road site, it's relative quietness was considered a strong advantage. Cambridge Road saw more and more traffic all the time it was said. Those who were in favour of the hospital staying there, argued that although match days could be noisy, the loud organs and show booths no longer attended the meadow with such regularity as before. Mr Wethered thought this was because the children were now mad on visiting moving picture shows and traditional fairground type attractions were no longer so exciting to them. 

Such rides and booths were unlikely to get permission to set up when Edward Riley bought the meadow and the accompanying Crown Hotel in 1914. He donated it to the town, vesting it in some trustees which included himself. He intended the Hotel to continue and that it would provide an income to provide for the maintenance of the new recreation ground, in addition to other money left for that purpose. Unfortunately Edward died in September 1914 before the park opened, and it was decided to sell the Crown itself. (You can read more about Edward Riley here) The war, and the difficulty of selling the hotel meant the opening of the Meadow as Riley Recreation Ground was delayed until 1921. Marlow Urban District Council chairman Mr H Buckingham did the honours in front of a large crowd. It was not laid out as intended, but at last it was available for public use. The losers were Marlow FC who were told when Riley bought the meadow that they would not be allowed to continue playing there much longer. They eventually moved to Star Meadow of course, after playing some games in Porter's meadow by the train station. The loss of the "Crown Ground" made things harder still for Marlow's other more minor footie teams who had also played on the site, as well as on Star Meadow. The likes of Marlow Star, the Ramblers and Rangers now all had to compete for space on one main site along with hockey teams. The clubs large iron and wood grandstand, purchased from Hampshire Cricket Club/St Mary's FC, remained on the Crown ground after the meadows sale. It was presumably their intention to move it to a new permanent home when that was found, as it had after all already been dismantled to come long distance to Marlow in the first place. But as the regular football came to a halt in the First World War, and the new park was not yet ready to open, the stand stayed put until 1918, when it was sold for three times what the supporters syndicate had paid for it, as iron was now relatively scarce. The sale happened because the club could not at that time see when football would be restarted again on any sort of scale. It was purchased by a local builder and some of the profits invested in National War Bonds. During the First World War the Crown Ground was used by teams from the locally stationed armed forces playing in the military leagues. 

The residents of Cambridge and Crown Roads may not have been sorry to see the football go. It was a frequent cause of complaint that when Marlow played at home, men would obstruct the two roads by parking their vehicles in the highway there and standing on the carts etc hoping to get a free view of the action. Mr Hillsden was one Marlow man caught by PC Atkinson in 1899 doing just that, along with a number of out of town football fans. Others had departed too quickly for the constable to collar. In 1896 a creative group of men were summoned for blocking Cambridge Rd with ladders leant against the perimeter of the ground, to provide them with a birdseye view of the match. They were let off as they all said they didn't know that they were doing anything wrong and had immediately departed once spoken to. ( James Dormer, Daniel Clark, Frederick and William Price, James Edwards, William and James Tubb, Albert Toovey, and for standing on a parked cart, Nicholas White.) When Marlow moved to Star Meadow, such action would be unnecessary as the site was barely enclosed and anyone could get a good view of the match from the surrounding area! It was said that if Marlow hoped to gain any profits from match attendance in the future they would have to erect a canvas wall around the meadow to screen the match play from curious eyes. Visibility of a different kind was sometimes a problem at the Crown Ground. It's amazing how many matches are said to have been played in conditions of thick fog. "Good play was almost impossible" as one match report from 1890 had it, relating to a match played by the Marlow Ramblers on the ground Aka the Wednesday Ramblers. Matches could also be shortened for other reasons - such as the visiting team needing to catch an early train home in December 1888. On that occasion they just stopped playing after an hour. 

This post has only covered a few of the many many events held at the now Riley Recreation Ground. It had a role to play in Coronation and Jubilee Celebrations too which feature in their own posts. And it was a gathering place to start parades and marches, a venue for amateur athletic meets and Borlase school sports, it hosted agricultural shows...the list goes on. And all this before it became a public park. Marlow should say thank you not just to Riley for his gift, but the various proprietors of the Crown Inn and Hotel for allowing the use of the meadow for so many events, sometimes free of charge. 

Notes:

Some of the menageries known to have visited Crown Meadow specifically both in and out of fair time include: Edmonds Menagerie in the 1880's, Anderton and Haslam's show and menagerie in the 1890's, Wombwells/Bostock & Wombwells under various owners from the 1840's into the 20thc and so on. 

For information on a raid on circus workers performing on Crown Meadow during the First World War see this post here

And info on Captain Marshall's Marlow Menagerie here

SOURCES

Copies of the South Bucks Standard, Maidenhead Advertiser, Reading Mercury, Bucks Herald, Middlesex and Surrey Express, Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press, and Henley Advertiser held at the British Library, and newspaper cuttings supplied by Jane Pullinger. 

Evening Dispatch 08 January 1918, accessed via the BNA. 

Looking towards Cambridge Road

 Looking towards Oxford Rd

For more on Marlow Fair see the post here

And for a general history of The Crown - here

Higginson park early history - here

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

© Marlow Ancestors