1833 Parochial Assessment Marefield Passage

 My family has the original working notebooks used to compile this assessment by the surveyors and I am gradually transcribing them. The point of the assessment was to set tax rates for the year 1834. The occupiers rather than the owners for each property were recorded. The notebooks contain pencilled in additions and correction up to circa 1839. Where these occur on this assessment I have added the relevant notes in square brackets. Any research notes about the people mentioned are also in square brackets.

Marefield Passage [This address no longer exists. It was behind Dean Street, running between what is now Queen's Road and Cambridge Road. This was a poor neighborhood on the edge of town in those days]

Each occupying a cottage and garden with an annual value of £5:

Richard Moores

Edward Smith

Thomas Garner

William Mead

William Frith

Thomas Frith

William Clark

Robert Roberts [in pencil added later name George next to Robert but Robert not crossed out]

James Lomax

*****

Each in house and garden with annual value of £6:

Edward Aveling

John Harris

Thomas Brookes

Charles Ford [he died 1837 aged 55. His widow Elizabeth Ford may be the woman of that name who ran a baby linen business in West Street in 1839]

Richard East [he also down as having a gravel pit with an annual value of £2 10 shillings]

*****

In a cottage and large garden with annual value of:

George Clark

*****

Each occupying a cottage and garden with annual value of £3:

Joseph Clark [19 year old labourer Joseph and his new wife Maria nee Harding]

Joseph Smith

Ann Carr

Richard Price

Charles Brown

William Blake [a labourer, wife Mary]

Thomas Johnson

John Goldswain

*******

Occupying cottage and large garden worth £8:

George Clark (second one of same name Marefield)

Annual value of property: £8

*****

Each occupying a cottage and garden with an annual value of £4 10 shillings:

William Heffard

Elizabeth Harding

Thomas Mitchell

*****

Each occupying a house worth £5 and an additional garden each with an annual value of 10 shillings:

William Heather

John Holloway

*****

Each in a cottage with an annual value of £3:

Ann Archer

Joseph Keep [who married his wife Mary nee Godfrey in 1827]

Thomas Easley

Robert Almond

*****

Occupying a house worth £8:

School of Industry [trained poor children].

*****

To find more posts about historic residents of Marefield Passage or other Marlow streets please see our streets index here.

Thousands of people are mentioned on this blog. Look on the A-Z index for every mention of any individual.

©Marlow Ancestors.

Marlow's Chair Makers - Buckinghamshire Chair Co. *UPDATED Nov 2024*

 High Wycombe near Marlow is justly famous for it's chair making. But Marlow also had a chair making factory for 40 years and the employment it offered provided the reason for many families move to Marlow so it deserves a post of its own. 

Marlow's business was called the Buckinghamshire Chair Co Ltd, and many Marlow people were involved in it in one way or another - as workers, managers, shareholders and directors. Initially based in the riverside building usually referred to as the Tithe Barn by the bridge, then in St. Peters Street, it finished up off Victoria Rd with an entrance in Dedmere Rd (after 1907).

But back to the beginning. The year 1872 was a difficult year in the chair industry in nearby Wycombe. There was a bitter dispute about wages and employment conditions ongoing with strikes and lockouts featuring. A trade union was formed and it negotiated the pay settlement. In this environment, a group of investors in Marlow decided to set up a chair making concern here. This was not an uncontentious decision to all. Many thought the Marlow company was exploiting the labour dispute to gain contracts and skilled workers "idle" in Wycombe. Others thought a rival employer would encourage competitive wages, although considering the number of furniture factories already existing in Wycombe, this seems optimistic. The Marlow manufactory was opened in 1872 and it specialised in Windsor backed and rush seated chairs, although it did make many others as well as other furniture. The advertisements for workers follows convention and asks at first for men to complete particular tasks such as turning the legs or finishing the seats. In the early years some of these men may have been outworkers, completing their work at home from materials supplied to them, but later it is clear the chairs were both made and assembled in the workshops of the Chair Co. The works were steam powered by then, which needed more room. The Victoria Rd site was also advertised as a steam saw mill, a role it would still fulfill under different owners after the demise of the Chair Co.

Chair seat caning is associated with a role that women workers often filled elsewhere, at least earlier on. However the frequent adverts for workers to complete this task in Marlow always say it is suitable for "steady" men.  Perhaps because the ads often also say that they wanted the workers to ideally perform other roles at the works. These "extra" duties may have been regarded as more suitable for male staff at the time. I do have reports of some women working in the workshop however. And in 1912 the chair co was fined under the Factory Act for employing youths under 18 for longer than permitted hours. They plead a misunderstanding of the rules. 

Troubled Beginnings

The start of the company was a little shaky. Many local people bought shares and many expressed hope the company would bring prosperity from a new direction into Marlow. But some also expressed doubts the company would thrive in such competitive conditions, and some also said Marlow did not "want" chair makers. Their reasons are not usually elaborated on but chair making men were sometimes blamed for all kinds of bad behaviour or disorder - perhaps because they were often politically active - for example the Marlow election riots of 1880 were said to be largely the work of Wycombe chair makers at the time. 

Rumours about the financial health of the company dogged it's first few months. After less than a year 4 of the directors resigned without warning or explanation - James Morgan, Reuben Nereus Smith, Lawrence Smith and James Roberts. Some sections of the press seem to take this personally and heap insults on the four for committing an act of cowardice, and endangering the companies future without good reason. ("Cave in at the slightest approach of danger...feint of heart...deserted their post...ill-considered in the extreme" etc etc.) They said such men were not wanted in business. However at the meeting objections to the resignations were only voiced by one shareholder who said that the directors had, by attaching their respectable names to the business, induced people to buy shares in a company they had no real confidence in. It was suggested the other shareholders were philosophical as they had had a chance to examine the books and were satisfied enough with the balance sheet. Later the directors would be elected and retire by rotation. It should also be said that the resigning directors did not sell their shares either and the Smiths continued to be closely involved, acting as managing directors again later.   

The first manager, Mr Hughes came from North's chair manufactory in West Wycombe where he had been 20 years. 

At the Tithe Barn

The very first workshop for the chair co was adapted in September 1872 from what was almost always referred to at the time as the Tithe Barn, on the bank of the Thames, immediately next to the suspension bridge. An ancient building, it was nevertheless considered ideal for conversion into a workshop, polishing shop and stove room. To admit light, the old bricked up windows were opened up. Fifteen men were reported to be working on fitting the equipment and benches there in that September. It was intended as a temporary solution, until more spacious facilities were adapted and fitted out in St Peters Street. (The former Gibbons Brewery site, purchased 1873, possibly also including the barn behind the Two Brewers.) However it looks as though the company continued to use the barn in some capacity until close to it's sad demolition in 1877.  

Chairs for the railways

But despite their inauspicious beginning, the company thrived. In 1874, they were described as making solid progress. In the previous 12 months they had sold £4000 worth of goods and were receiving orders exceeding their capacity to supply them. By 1875 they employed 60 men. In that year these workers, accompanied by their "wives and sweethearts" had a days summer holiday.* A number of horse drawn vehicles pulled up outside the St Peters Street workshops and conveyed the crowd to number of attractions including the ever popular Burnham Beeches and the town of Windsor. The shareholders received comfortable dividends. In 1879 the fact they could get a dividend despite a general commercial depression was credited to careful management and a desire not to over reach themselves ambition wise. The Chair Co was "helping to sustain in some way the prosperity of the town" said the Bucks Herald. 

The chairs were available to buy all over the South East for example at Perrin's in Hastings. The Bucks Chair Co employed travelling salesman to drum up trade orders, from furniture retailers and commercial organizations. Some of these salesman started out as chair makers themselves and were promoted during their employment at the company, for example William Tanner. One of their biggest contracts was to supply chairs for all stations and offices over the First Great Western network, from 1892. They were already supplying chairs to the London and North Western and London and South Western railways. The timber was local, and a number of Marlow landowners sold wood to the factory. 

The Chair Co maintained a cricket team that mostly played against other chair makers such as Glenister's of Wycombe and Cottons of Lane End, or other large works teams such as one from the Brewery in Marlow. But the first match of the season was always the married v single match involving employees all from the Buckinghamshire Chair Co. 

In the 1890s and early 1900s things still looked rosy at least from the outside. The South Bucks Standard tourist guide to Marlow of 1891 even recommended the factory as a worthy local sight if you had half hour to spare - although how welcoming the poor workers would have been had too many visitors taking up this suggestion remains to be seen! The company invested in new steam powered machinery for the Victoria Road site although not all of it was especially popular with the neighbours. In the summer of 1910 the residents of the Glade Road area complained about the loudness and frequency of the steam whistle. The company promised to try and use it a little less.

Filthy Conditions

 A large outlay on machinery did not leave the company perhaps with much funds  for routine maintenance. Even so, the factory was increasingly poorly looked after as time went on. In 1898 reports came to the attention of the local sanitary and building inspectors that the works buildings were in an extremely poor condition. The Inspector of Factories had visited and was shocked by the dilapidated state of some of them. A visit by the council team including the Medical Officer Dr Dickson confirmed this. They concluded that the men working in framing shop no 2 were working in a building that was in a very dangerous condition. Furthermore some of the other buildings were cobbled together and "rudely constructed" with windows that could not be opened for ventilation - although the large number of broken panes probably helped things! The privvy (toilet) was in a "ruinous" and filthy state. The premises as a whole were crowded with rubbish and all the workshops needed whitewashing inside to bring them up to a basically clean and sanitary condition. The factory had no water supply at all which has a serious effect on the ability to keep it clean. Orders were made for repairs, cleaning and whitewashing to be carried out. Perhaps most happily for the men, the toilets were to be rebuilt. 

Ominous signs

In February 1912 the company issued a circular informing their "friends in the trade" that the they were suffering from an increase in costs in every direction, and a higher price for materials in particular. So they would be compelled to increase all prices by 5% from March 1st. Some people praised this action, and hoped some consent would be reached with Wycombe chair makers to raise their prices by a similar amount. It was thought that undercutting each other was endangering commercial viability and preventing any rise in wages for the workers. 

But it was not to be. By September 1912 the company was in liquidation. The freehold of the site including the "modern machinery", all fittings and stock in trade was offered up for sale. There were no takers for the whole concern so in October the freehold was offered separately and in late November the stock including half finished chairs, tables and music stands were auctioned off on the premises. 

Fire! 

 The cleared out site suffered a significant fire a fortnight later. The fact the buildings suffered huge damage at a time they were still insured by the company aroused gossip but no cause for the blaze could be established. The fire started in the deserted site in the early hours of the morning. It began in a series of workshops, mostly made of wood, that ran in a block from the Victoria Road entrance to the engine and boiler house. It took hold quickly and the fire could be seen from a considerable distance. A crowd gathered despite the early hour. The Fire Brigade under Capt H J Smith arrived to find flames already leaping the gap between the the burning block and the next outbuilding. More worrying still, cottages in Duchess Place and Victoria Road were considered to be in danger and the householders began removing furniture from their homes. But the location of hydrants both in Victoria and Dedmere Roads meant a plentiful supply of water and thankfully the high wind of the night before dropped. So the significant damage was limited to the buildings in which the fire had started. Speculation that a spark from an engine at the nearby rail station was the source of ignition was  immediately ruled out because of the distance the spark had to travel. Fireman Sidney Chalk was the only man injured, by a fall of burning timber. It seems his injuries were thankfully not serious.  This was not the first fire at the factory - in 1883 a spark believed to be from a nearby pub chimney caused a fire in the St Peters Street site that endangered nearby homes as well but thanks to dedication of staff and fire crew the damage was mitigated and the factory was able to continue.

Notes. 

Some of the known shareholders in 1872 include Charles Carter, J H Bridges, Charles Miller Footitt, "Mr Sellman" and Alfred Ilsley. And in 1895 - George Meakes, A Davis and A Lawrence. It had two trustees when it formed - Col. Thomas Peers Williams and Thomas Owen Wethered MP. 

* Working at the factory was not always a happy time, even when sanitary repairs had been made. A fight broke out between two men in the  storehouse in 1875, and it seems cordial workplace relations could not always be counted upon in general! In above case Isaac Avery was given a reduced fine for what was considered an "aggravated" assault on fellow chair maker Charles Bird who had called him names during a petty row. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related posts:

Lane End chair makers here

Royal furniture makers the Mealings here

Biography of director Reuben Nereus Smith here

And of Marlow Bucks Chair Co foreman Joseph Benning - here

To find every mention of an individual on the blog use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu, and for other posts about Marlow crafts and trades see both the General History option here and the Specific Shops Streets etc menu. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 2022

NB Mike Dewey uses information from this article in the Bucks Free Press with permission. 

Sources include: 

Furniture Gazette 1892

Timber & Plywood Vol 6 1888 (Middlesex Publishing Co)

Kelly's Berks, Bucks and Oxon directory 1883, 1911 (Kellys Directories Ltd) 

Kelly's Directory of Merchants, Manufacturers, and Suppliers 1907 (Kellys Directories Ltd) 

The Directory of Marlow, and Tourist Guide to Marlow & the Thames 1891, South Bucks Standard.  

Berkshire Chronicle 07 Feb 1888

Newspapers from the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA: South Bucks Standard 4 November 1891,  Bucks Advertiser 30 November 1912, Bexhill on Sea Observer 18 May 1901, Maidenhead Advertiser September 4th 1872, Bucks Herald 1st Feb 1873 4 December 1912

Report by the Inspector of Factories 1898 (HMSO)

Article by Cyril Chalk,  unknown original publication, 1977. 

South Bucks Free Press 2nd February 1912, Wycombe Library. 

Spade Oak Farm Occupiers and History

Updated September 2023

Spade Oak Farm near Bourne End. Address usually given as Little Marlow in historic sources. Part of the Westhorpe estate.

Sources for my farm occupation listings: adverts, property documents, census, court cases, wills etc.

Description:

Near the site of an old and once important riverside wharf. Farm house built 1600s. It has been speculated that the farm house was originally part of the buildings of the wharf. Mixed farm.

1860= 265 acres. 1881=324 acres. 1917= 157 acres -then described as dairy or animal farm but most earlier descriptions show it to be a mixed farm. With 2 worker cottages and farm house 1917.

Known occupiers (who did not necessarily own it) and history timeline:

Dates next to a name are for when I can find reference to a person being there- that person may have occupied the farm earlier or later too.

1818 Edward Sawyer. Leaving that year and selling up- hay, clover, cows, cart houses, sheep all for sale as a result.

1829-32 Mr Horwood. In 1832 it is stated that Mr Norwood had lost 3 employees through accident in the last few years, the most recent Joseph Boddy who was run over and killed by the cart and team he was driving near Cores End. 

1835 John Bunce. Leaving that year

1841- probably Robert Morris brother of William Morris Junior below.

1851-71 Willam Morris [Junior born circa 1799, his father William Morris Senior who died in 1856 was also a farmer at Little Marlow in 1851 though apparently in his 90s!]. Wife Ann. In 1848 William Boddy and Edward Munro transported for stealing a ram from a William Morris but is that him or William Senior? The date is earlier than William Junior's known presence at the farm. 

William Junior's sons Stephen, Charles and William all worked for their parents at least at times but son Charles below seems main partner in the farm and by 1863 is the listed main occupier. In William 1851 employed 16 people on the farm. In 1860, two employees of Morris were due to be married after which it seems they had intended to leave his service. Unfortunately they helped themselves to a leaving gift of a great number of articles from the house and farm which were subsequently found on them. Edward Hodges and Elizabeth Stone plead guilty and were sentenced to 3 months each in solitary confinement at Aylesbury Gaol. 

1860-71 Charles Morris son of the above, working alongside his father at first but from at least 1863 it is his name that appears as the main occupier of the farm. Offered Summer pasture and rest for hunt or hacking horses. Possibly went bankrupt 1873. 

1876- 1881 Joseph Elliott. He was a churchwarden so his fields were used several times for picnics and fun events for Sunday School children. In 1881 sold off farm stock as his lease had expired. Wife Catherine. Note their son Edward Elliott also farmer at  Spade Oak Farm by 1878. 

1881- farm to let. Had been used for corn and sheep.

1882-95 Arthur Dyson. In 1886 his employee John Smith was convicted of stealing 6 eggs from him. Arthur was one of the Little Marlow parish councillors. Sadly he also organised hare coursing meetings.

1895 Mrs Dyson. Sold off her stock that year.

1896- William White worker there taken suddenly ill in field and died. Worked for Mr Roberts.

1899- 1907 Thomas Roberts. He died 1907 age 70. His meadow used for a ladies versus gents cricket match in 1900- with the men having to wear skirts too when they had to run. Sons John and G. Percy already involved in running the farm before his death.

1906-1921 at least John Roberts and G. Percy Roberts (tenants) operating as Roberts Brothers. Dairy farmers. Also let rooms to holiday makers in the Summer. Farm bought by Robert Burroughs 1917. A Richard Burrough qv is listed at the farm 1920. 

1939- Ralph Burroughs.

Post about Spade Oak ferryman William Round here.

To search for all mentions of any person on the blog use the Person Index option on the menu. Thousands of people are mentioned. Go to the Nearby Places option to see what else we have on the Spade Oak or Little Marlow area.

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

Fleeing Debtors and Man Midwives

 

I have been cross referencing wills, photos, property surveys, censuses, sale adverts and more in order to identify Victorian occupiers for many a property in West Street. In some cases occupancy further back in time can be ascertained too. It is an ongoing project of mine. I'll be uploading more as and when I have time. There are other posts already on the blog in this line. Search "West Street". 

This building was the home of Surgeon William Hickman from at least 1832 to his death in 1850 aged 93. William was originally from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire but was in Marlow by 1782 when he married Ann Wethered. It is possible he was already in these premises back then but I cannot yet be certain. 

In 1791 William was listed as a surgeon apothecary and "man midwife". In most later references he is styled simply "surgeon". 

Either he or his son of the same name was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Royal Military College further down West Street in 1810. This is now the house Remnantz. At least four of William and Ann's sons became surgeons! William the father had had a violent confrontation with some of the teenage cadets a few years earlier which makes the appointment something surprising. More on this confrontation here

The Hickmans sold a variety of patent medicines to their patients. For example, in 1831 they are listed as a supplier for Shepherds Camphor Lozenges. These were just the thing for "putrid throats"  and for refreshing flagging spirits after attending a fashionable assemblage or rout - or so they said. A few years later Hickman and Brinsden could supply Schweppes "celebrated soda water" for digestive purposes. (Thomas Evans Brinsden)

Ann died in 1809 so that was a very long time as a widower for him. 

In his will written 1848, he asked to be buried beside Ann and other members of his family in Marlow churchyard. He made an "earnest request" to be buried in the same [quiet] manner as his son Francis who had died in his parent's house in 1831. Both Francis and one of William's other sons died when only in their 30s, their mother was only 50 at her own death. 

Above, the grave of William and Ann Hickman, their son Francis mentioned above and others. At All Saints, Marlow. 

William's will left a silver quart tankard to his son George (a surgeon of the High Street)  and to Owen Wethered a pint silver drinking vessel that had belonged to an Ann Wethered.

This Owen also received a History Of England in 2 volumes. William certainly liked a good read. When his household effects were sold off at auction in 1851 the sales listing mentions 500 volumes including "valuable works on medicine, surgery, physiology, chemistry and miscellaneous literature". He also had mahogany furniture, "fine old china", mahogany four post beds, engravings and paintings. It was a plush life for him in West Street! But he deserved it as he was definitely still actively working as a surgeon in 1845 at the age of 88. He may well actually have worked until his death. No wonder an obituary called him "universally respected". The same obituary in the Medical Directory of Scotland called him a pupil of " the immortal Hunter". Presumably this was the famous Scottish surgeon John Hunter, one of the most eminent of his day. Hunter worked with Edward Jenner the smallpox vaccine pioneer among others. 

Williams's long life lead him to be considered an authority on the Marlow of days gone by. So when journalists and writers researching the life of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wished to know about the celebrity's short time in Marlow, it was often to Hickman they were directed. He told one that while he remembered Shelley, and indeed had treated him for an unspecified ailment, he found the poet unsociable as he did not keep company with the townspeople in general.  

I am not sure who was in these exact premises immediately after William died. From 1877 ( at the latest) until his bankruptcy and disappearance in 1888, Richard Coster the grocer, provision merchant, rent collector and land agent was based here however.

Richard ran away from his financial troubles, being seen once in Chester in a distressed state then apparently no more. His concerned near neighbour in West Street James Roberts the draper was one of those who tried unsuccessfully to find him again. Richard was a widower without children. Described as "timid" he seems to have been well liked. Some twelve years later a man was found lying unconscious in the road at Hungerford. He was taken to the workhouse there, and it was then established that he was the long missing Richard Coster of Marlow. Richard expressed a wish to go to Saunderton Workhouse which was the one responsible for the Marlow area. I suppose it was the closest he'd thought he'd make to going home. He was bought there but died a few days later. 

From at least 1891 Albert Fleet operated here as a grocer first then as Colonial Meat Stores with a grocery sideline (from circa 1892+). A Colonial Meat Stores was also in Spittal Street under different proprietors 1891-99. Both businesses specialised as the name suggests in foreign meat. Albert remained in these premises until at least 1919. A Mr Turnham was managing the West Street shop in 1912, whether this was for Albert or on his own account I am unsure.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day with additional research by Kathryn Day. Photographed 2020.

Sources:

1833 Parochial Assessment Great Marlow. Original handwritten copy held by my family and transcribed by me.

1791 & 1794  Universal British Directory.

Will of William Hickman. Copy obtained from the National Archives and transcribed by me.

London Gazette Part One, 1810. Digitized by Google. Accessed March 2021.

The Medical Directory of Scotland, 1852 by John Churchill. As above.

1841, 81 and 91 censuses transcribed from microfilm by Jane Pullinger.

Great Marlow church registers.

Bucks Herald 18th January 1851 and 28th April 1888, Bucks Gazette 9th April 1831, Banff Journal 23rd March 1847.  Copies held in the British Library Archives and accessed by me via the BNA March 2021.

A list of persons who have obtained certificates of their fitness and qualification to practice as apothecaries, from 1815 to 1840 ; Royal College of Physicians London (Gilbert and Rivington 1840)

Robson's Commercial Directory 1839. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Proverbial For It's Wickedness

Side of the chapel building. Photo taken October 2020.

POST UPDATED NOVEMBER 2024.

The Primitive Methodists were a group who aspired to follow a pure, close to the original form of Methodism. They arrived in Marlow before 1831, the date given by James Joseph Sheahan in his History and Topography of Buckinghamshire, for the erection of their first place of worship. Many of the early Primitive Methodist services were held outside, and they were not necessarily well received locally. The early preachers had to be brave men at times, undergoing both physical and verbal abuse. 

An example of this is the hair raising experience preacher George Griggs underwent while staying at Marlow in 1838. On his way here, he stopped to lead an open air Sunday afternoon service at Bisham, accompanied by a few friends. They began by singing hymns, their usual way of gaining attention. Unfortunately, they also gained the interest of a few inebriated men who made a raucous audience. The local clergyman came up and ordered Griggs out of the village, on the pretext they were causing a disturbance. A spirited exchange followed, and the clergyman departed, whether in defeat or to gather reinforcements isn't known. Griggs made a speech to anyone left sober enough to listen then retreated to Marlow. The following day he had in his sights a place apparently "proverbial for it's wickedness" - the village of Cookham Dean. Here he gathered a large audience, but again it was dominated by hecklers. Things got heated and poor George was thrown down to the ground twice, and attempts were made to tear off his coat. Two passing men apparently intervened at this point and George's coat was saved. One report even mentions the firing of guns, into the air we hope. Was he deterred? Not at all. The next week he was back in sinful Cookham Dean. Unfortunately so were the hecklers who this time formed a parade, lead by the unnamed daughter of a beer seller. They banged kettles and pans, sang "lewd songs" and generally tried to blot out George's words. One member of this raucous band is nevertheless said to have heard enough to inspire him to fall to his knees and weep for his sins. Or so it was later reported. However when George asked the audience to step forward and give their name and address if they wished to form a local group, no one moved. Not surprising given the reception George had recieved! But as he walked away, he was followed by a few individuals who did want to do just as he asked, now they were out of sight of their disapproving neighbours. The first meeting of this little group was said to have been made in a quarry, and was used later as an example of how unpromising beginnings could sometimes lead to success. Back in Marlow, George had a sleepless night, worried about the folk of Cookham. On waking he was filled with determination that they should have a meeting place at Cookham Dean, and so they did. Hiring a room at first, they got a chapel in 1842. 

 

Humble beginnings

I am not sure of the location of Marlow's 1831 Primitive Methodist Chapel but a new chapel was built near Dean street in 1841. It was located in Marefield Passage, which ran off Cambridge Road - the garages that stand between Creswell Row and Marefield Rd are it's approximate location today.  Later described as poor and small, the chapel was nevertheless big enough to accommodate a gallery extension in 1846 that increased capacity by 70 persons. In 1851, the average attendance was given as 200 persons for evening services, and 100 each at the morning and afternoon ones. There were then an average of 50 children attending the morning and afternoon Sunday Schools. 

Preacher James Hatch, born in Cookham Dean was a Primitive Methodist convert as a young man. He later moved to Marlow, working in his day job as a fisherman.  While he still attended the Cookham Dean Chapel at first, he later became one of the primary movers to build his fellow worshippers a more spacious place of worship in Marlow. So the building we now know as Liston Hall came into being. 

Handsome and commodious

It was not an easy undergoing for a relatively small congregation. It cost £1,920 pounds including the large Sunday school room, the purchase of land* (and the purchase of a neighbouring cottage according to some). Of this huge sum, only £700 had been raised before building began. It was completed and ready for use in 1875. James Hatch was then the treasurer and worked with "courage and self denying perseverance" to reduce the debt. He was able to make some dent in the amount, and prevented the high annual running costs from adding to what was owed. Known to carry his "collecting book" wherever he travelled, he is said never have lost the opportunity to solicit donations. But sadly he died suddenly aged 59 in 1882, by which time the building account was still not settled. (See notes below) A mention of a concerted drive to free the chapel of the hampering effect of lingering debt as late as 1907 suggests their funds were never very healthy. Unfortunately their membership had also declined at this point. 

Time capsules set in place

But back to the optimistic opening of the new chapel. Some of the funds for the Sunday school room in particular had been raised by the children attending it. In honour of their contribution, the boy and girl who raised the most were invited to take part in the ceremony to lay the foundation stones of the new schoolroom in 1874. Walter Lunnon and Lucy Smith were the lucky two youngsters allowed to lay bricks. Under the very first brick of this part, laid by Mr Simpson Carson, was a bottle come time capsule containing a newspaper and statistics, carefully placed in a cavity beneath by Mrs James Hatch. (A foundation stone bearing the name of J Hatch and family was also put in place.)

The laying of foundation stones for the main chapel part took place separately and attracted an audience of 250. The very first stone was laid by donor Mrs Davis and there is mention of a bottle time capsule placed under one of the corner stones on this occasion too. It contained newspapers and coins. Altogether 13 engraved cornerstones were placed around the building in honour of those who helped bring it about, although not all are easily visible now.

The Chapel in everyday life

The chapel may not have had an organ but it did have an harmonium and a small but enthusiastic choir so they must have livened up Chapel Street for passers by. They were blessed with a magic lantern bought especially for the pleasure of the Sunday School children and used on all kinds of treat days for them. They could also count on an annual school trip, with the beautiful Burnham Beeches a popular choice.  The children's library maintained by the Sunday School must have been invaluable to the poorer children in particular. In 1884 it had 133 volumes, paid for by voluntary contributions by the 10 teachers as well as the young pupils themselves. Those youngsters who attended Sunday School on a regular basis could also earn themselves a prize. 

Throughout the year the Chapel hosted various public teas, Band of Hope meetings, occasional moral lectures, and watch night celebrations on New Years Eve. The harvest festival was an especially beautiful time to visit, with every corner of the Chapel decorated. Fund raising bazaars were also a regular feature, usually offering produce, fancy goods made by the ladies of the congregation and in 1885 an intriguing sounding "curiosity show" of old artwork organised by Mrs Young. 

The Chapel was on the Maidenhead circuit of preachers and sometimes received visits from those based further away. Of course some Marlow men also went out to preach in the surrounding areas. Special mention must go to William Evans, affectionately known as Father Evans. He was born in Marlow, near the Swan Inn and later lived in Victoria Road. In 1888 he received a public tea and presentation in his honour thanks to his 50 years of service to Primitive Methodism. He continued to preach in the neighbourhood after this, walking 10 miles or more on a Sunday because he refused to travel by train on the Sabbath. Eventually he was forced to retire, not least because he became deaf, but he still attended services at the Marlow Chapel even so. He died age 84 in 1899, both of his wives having predeceased him. 

The Primitive Methodists joined the Wesleyan Methodists of Spittal Street in 1932, and the Chapel was put up for sale. It was bought for the town by Nesta Liston and then used for various purposes including a library.  It now hosts the Marlow Community Association. 

Mrs J Jones made a donation towards building the chapel hence this stone

Original front of building partially obscured by a later extension. There was a door below this window, with a small patch of grass and a gravel path in front. The date of 1874 indicates when the building work began - the foundation stones were laid in October of that year. It was ready for full use in 1875. 

Stone for the Rev'ds C Smith and C Spooner (of Windsor), ministers

 J Watson [Superintendent of  the Sunday School]

Mr R Wellicome [Richard] His design was used for the building according to contemporary reports. Although one also credits builder/architect Charles Carter with the design and builder Corby with the construction. Richard certainly designed the Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Spittal Street. 

? J S Carson [Capt. J Simpson Carson, who laid the first stone of the school room and received a silver trowel as a keepsake]

M.S Carson Esq [Marriott Simpson Carson, who laid the second stone of the Sunday school room, and received a bound copy of a history of Primitive Methodism as a memento. His wife also laid a stone but received no prize! ]

Mr H Roberts. Other stones commemorate Charles Carter, and supporters W Sellman and family, T Wheeler, W Neville, Miss J Jones and Miss Marks. 

* The land the chapel was built on included the former site of the boys day school run by Methodist George Cole. As Sergeant Cole he was formerly  employed the junior branch of the Royal Military Academy at Remnantz. He is credited with bringing the first organised Wesleyan Methodist meetings to the town, and driving the erection of their 1810 chapel.  See the grave of George in a post here

Researched and written by Kathryn Day with updates by Charlotte Day. Photos by Kathryn. 

NOTES

James Hatch was buried at the Cookham Dean Primitive Methodist Chapel, in a spot he had chosen years before when he was one of the people responsible for beautifying and properly enclosing the burial ground. The funeral was said to have been attended by many Marlow tradesman. There was no burial ground at the Marlow premises. Cookham chapel was rebuilt 1858. 

2. Within the larger Great Marlow  area, there was also a small Primitive Methodist Chapel at Lane End, erected 1861. 

Related posts: 

The Wesleyans at Marlow: 

here

Index of posts related to places of worship: here

Index of posts related to specific streets, business or buildings  see here

To find all mentions of an individual here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

SOURCES

The History of the Primitive Methodism Connection.  Petty, John. (R Davies, 1864)

Primitive Methodist Magazine, 1847 and 1884. (Thomas Holliday, 1847,1884) 

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1853, 1869, 1939, Kelly's Directories Ltd. 

History and Topography of Buckinghamshire. Sheahan, James Joseph. (Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1862)

1861 Census, transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte Day 

Maidenhead Advertiser, 7 November 1888 and 20 September 1889, from British Library Archive, and accessed via the BNA August 2020. 

Reading Observer, 17 October 1874, as above. 

South Bucks Standard 13 April 1894, 20 September 1907, as above. 

Buckinghamshire Returns of the census of religious worship 1851, Bucks Record Office. 

Slough, Windsor and Eton Observer October 17 1885 -Slough Library. 

©Marlow Ancestor

List Of Landlords Of The Hope, High Street

Updated by Charlotte June 2026

1859 - To let having undergone some renovations. Was probably less than a decade old. On the site of two much older, shabby shops that were pulled down. Previous occupants included the William Cock(s) shoemakers and grocers, and William Henry Brown, also a grocer (and baker / confectioner, later moved to other side of High Street). The stone casing around the windows in the image above was added later when it became the Capital and Counties Bank (1900) Fullers of Maidenhead the brewery.

1860 - Thomas Rackstraw. Fined 10 shillings for having his premises open after 11pm.

1861-66 Thomas Rackstraw (also cordwainer)  In 1866 he is fined 10s plus 9s costs for selling beer after 11pm on a Saturday. This was followed by a 40s fine for selling beer during prohibited hours on a Sunday later that year!

1869-70 William George Marks. Also a boot and shoe maker, fishmonger and tobacco dealer! William went bankrupt.

1870 - Daniel Walker. Also cabinet maker. He was the son of carpenter and parish constable Thomas Walker. See the role of Thomas in the 1847 riots here.

1875 - Daniel Walker has died at The Hope aged just 44. His widow Sarah takes over. 

1877- Sarah Walker

1881 - Sarah Walker (born Norfolk according to this year's census)

1884 - 1. Mrs Sarah Walker 2. William Cannon (holdover but subsequent permanent transfer to him refused by authorities due to a conviction for allowing drunkeness on the premises) 3. J.H Simpole / Simple. John was a former member of the police on the Great Western Railway but most recently had been working as an insurance agent in Shrewsbury.

1885 - John Horatio Simpole.

1886 - John Simpole. Sold business. 2. Alpheus Taylor. Alpheus had apparently been selling beer out of the premises illegally prior to gaining a licence. It seems the bench accepted an initial plea of confusion over paperwork but did not grant him more than a hold over in the end. Alpheus was also a carpenter. He had previously ran the Herne's Oak pub in Chinnor and later went to the White Hart in Money Row Green, Holyport, Berkshire.

1887 -1. A Taylor 2. James Tarrant

1888 - 1. James Tarrant. 2. Thomas Parker

1890 - Thomas Parker W. Harry Rockell?  3.Harry Roberts

1891 - Harry Roberts (born Kempsford, Glos)  "The Hope Beerhouse"

1892 - 1. John Roberts who  transfers to Henry Thomas. 2. Henry Thomas transfers premises on holdover to Thomas Richards. 3. Thomas  J  Richards transfers to Edward J Briggs. In August, the local press reported that puzzled drinkers had found the beer house was locked up and apparently unoccupied when they arrived on a Tuesday evening. This was when the holdover had been granted to Thomas Richards. A week later "no solution to the mystery is as yet forthcoming." It seems that there was trouble finding a permanent landlord acceptable to both the brewery and the magistrates who grant the premises licence. 

1896 - E J Briggs  2. George Hall

1897 George Hall transferred to George Howe/Howall/Howell. We know that the names of Hall and Howe / Howall but they are not the same person,this was a definite transfer. [George Hewett & William H Moore also tried unsuccessfully to get the licence] 2. Later in the year licence transferred as a holdover to Charles Lewis Gomm. A full transfer of the licence to Gomm was allowed the following year. 

1900 - Frederick Barber gave way to Charles Leopold Smith in January. It was noted at the annual licensing hearings in August that no application had been made to renew the licence of these premises. Instead the building was to be converted into the Capital and Counties Bank, after extensive remodelling. 

For similar posts see Pub Related on the menu.

SOURCES INCLUDED

Berkshire Chronicle - 01 December 1884, held at the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA 

South Bucks Standard August 9 1892, 18 December 1896 as above

Bucks Herald, 01 September 1888, as above

Maidenhead Advertiser - 24 December 1884. 

Marlow Guide & Directory 1891

Marlow Guide 1905

Marlow "Almanack" 1907

Census records 1861,1881,1891

Kellys Directory 1864, 1877,1883, 1911

©MarlowAncestors. You are welcome to use this research for family or local history purposes but please credit this blog and link back here to ensure our original sources remain credited for the information provided. Thank you. 

Marlow's Own Cape Town

The exotically named Cape Town, Great Marlow sprang up by 1856 in a site off Spinfield Lane. The location was first known as Forty Green Place but had the name Cape Town by 1882. In 1895  magistrate George Higginson expressed horror that families could be allowed by the landowner William Clayton to rent the mostly two room, single storey properties which were in a disgraceful state and "unfit for habitation". Other references to the homes there suggest that they were virtually shacks. 

The site stretched over 20 acres and contained at different times between 4 and 8 residences. Though the Marlow Water Works were said to be on the edge of or within Cape Town I find no evidence of anyone living there employed at those works. It's likely that some of the shacks were originally erected for or used by the 40 navvies employed in 1884 to sink the first well and lay piping at the Chalk Pits for the Marlow water company. A variety of occupations are given for Cape Town residents - workers in the brick kiln at Bovingdon Green a short walk away, labourers at Blounts Farm ditto. Hooks Farm would also have been near. Domestic servant Isabella Mitchell censused at Cape Town in 1891 might have been a daily servant at nearby Spinfield House. Her husband had once been the gardener there. Isabella, a widow, was one of Cape Town's longest residents, present 1871 as a charwoman with her children and still there 1901. By then she lived alone. For more on Isabella see her biographical post here.

Most Cape Town households consisted of no more than two people because of each property's tiny sizes but as said above some whole families squeezed themselves in like Isabella's had done.

Also potentially working at Spinfield House were 1871 census gardeners George Roberts and James Swadling.

The local chair making industry was represented by chair seat maker Owen Blewitt. Owen was guilty of a savage attack on his wife Sarah that left her unable to walk for weeks. Her "crime" was failing to stop eating her own supper when he decided she should make him a pancake. Cape Town neighbour Mary Ann Platt came to Sarah's aid and gave evidence against Owen in court. The judge called his behaviour "unmanly". He was sentenced to 6 months hard labour, increasing to 8 months if he could not find sureties for his good conduct. Given that his personal surety level was set at £10 (plus £5 from someone else) he was going to serve the 8 months*. 

His son Owen grew up to live at Cape Town too.

Other Cape Town residents to get in trouble were husband and wife Henry and Sarah Stroud. Sarah stood accused of stealing the key to the neighbouring Stacey family's home, letting herself in with a duplicate key and taking potatoes from a sack in their bedroom, no other storage being possible in a two room home. She received a 21 day jail sentence after pleading poverty. She was suspected of having stolen potatoes in similar circumstances. Henry was jailed for stealing a huge quantity of wood (from over 100 trees!) and tree saplings from William Clayton's nearby woodland. It was his third such conviction.

The last reference I found to Cape Town was 1903 when a William Gates of that address put out ads locally for a job as a groom. I think Cape Town was probably still inhabited 1904 or even later however .

To find all mentions of someone on the blog see the Person Index option on the top drop down menu.

*Update by Kathryn - Unfortunately Owen Blewitt was convicted at least  twice more for assaulting Sarah who said she was constantly in fear of her life. Despite this, the prejudices of the time meant Sarah's application for a separation order (so she could live legally apart from her husband) was refused after the third assault in 1891. And Sarah was given the advice by magistrate Sir George Higginson to try and "do her best" with her husband so they might live peacefully going forward. She said she'd rather live in the workhouse than with him. To be fair to Sir George, he often heavily dressed down domestic abusers in court, attacking their lack of manliness, and more than once pushed for maximum penalties for the accused. Why Sarah was not given a separation order when those with fewer convictions against their abuser were is hard to say. It may be the accusations made by Owen against his wife that she often came home drunk coloured the bench against her - although her son and daughter denied ever seeing their mother drunk. 

Sources:

Census my transcription from microfilm.

Newspaper copies held by the British Library and accessed by me via the BNA October 2020: Bucks Herald 5th May 1885. Bucks Herald 26 May 1883.

Newspapers held at British Library:

Berkshire Chronicle 25th October 1884. 

South Bucks Standard Jan 22nd 1891. 

Property records in my family.