Life in 1500s Marlow

The 1500s Town -

The very earliest reference to a named street in Marlow that I have found is the will of Robert Sands of Harleyford, proved 1509, in which the testator left his daughter Jane a house and plot in Oxford Lane, now called Oxford Road. West Street is mentioned in 1574 and a little later we hear of "Hawkins Lane" leading to Hawkins Farm. We know too that the High Street, Dean Street, Spittal Street, Chapel Street, St Peter Street (and what we now call Station Road leading to it), Old Pound Lane and the part of Pound Lane which connects old Pound Lane to the High Street all existed in the 1500s though not necessarily under those names in all cases. In the first few years of the 1600s Quoiting Square (as Quoiting Place) and Potlands are mentioned and it is safe to assume that they were also present in the 1500s. The Potlands (note not "Portlands" as today) area included a footpath down to the river and church. This is now known as Portland Alley. It has been speculated that this might have been an actual roadway in the even more distant past. Similarly the idea of an old roadway connecting Spittal Street at around the site of the Cross Keys to St Peter's Street has been floated. In the 1610s we find mention of the Medmenham Highway (now Henley Road), Dedmere Highway (Dedmere Road) and Gun Lane (now Trinity Road). All were likely also present in the late 1500s at least.

The Danger of Smoke Free Homes..

In the collaborative Hollinshed's Chronicle of England, Scotland and Ireland published in 1577 writer William Harrison wrote that there had been recently a huge increase in domestic building in England. "Never so much oke hath been spent in a hundred years before as in ten years of our time, for everie man almost is a builder, and he that hath bought any small parcel of ground, be it ever so little, will not be quiet till he have pulled downe the old house if anie were there standing, and set up a new after his own device" As well as the new cottages and houses springing up there was much expansion and alteration to the older style homes of the rich. 

The population of England had grown considerably, doubling since the 1510s, so the need for new properties was obvious. It is likely therefore that the footprint of Marlow grew during the Elizabethan era and that individual streets became more crowded with buildings.

The building boom led to a nationwide shortage of timber by the end of the 1500s. Brick and stone buildings were both now commonly used for homes for the better off but wood was still needed for them. According to architectural historian Nickolaus Pevesner the hall of the Old Parsonage in St Peter Street Marlow was constructed the previous century if not earlier, of chalk with stone windows which shows another option that 1500s housebuilders of Marlow may also have used. There was a chalk pit up at Harleyford by the 1550s. The origin of the Old Parsonage is not certainly known.

The raising of the oak frame of a timber framed house occured once the frame had been left to season for a while by the carpenter who crafted it. The raising must have been a significant job, and probably involved helpers other than the householder and carpenter's workmen as it was common to have a little feast, drink distribution and celebration on the day of the raising, which sounds like a community thankyou. 

If you think of a timber framed building of the 1500s you probably picture a black and white or black wood and brick structure but according to the authors of The Cottage Homes of England this blackening of the wood was often done artificially in the 1800s, and Tudor woodwork would have been left naturally greyish most of the time. I have seen elsewhere however reports of house frames being "burnt" before use which implies possible deliberate darkening of the wood. Perhaps it was down to individual choice.

Only a few people had glass windows, the rest had holes in the wall, covered by translucent cloth. Floors downstairs in humble cottages were often of compacted earth. These were skillfully laid and not quite the equivalent of kicking around in the mud as you might imagine. Don't worry though, with unpaved streets 1500s Marlovians had plenty of opportunity to squelch their way about the town following any rainfall.

Chimneys had become common by the mid Elizabethan era, and indeed fancy chimneys, were a status symbol. Poorer people still made do by and large with a hole in the roof to allow the escape of smoke. Some household smoke was thought to cure and strengthen the timber used in the construction, and even to make the inhabitants healthier! It also smoked any cheese or meat hung from the beams and rafters of the house. For this reason the clearing of the air in the home caused by new efficient chimneys was regretted by more than a few people, including William Harrison. He couldn't believe the amount of coughing, choking and rheumatism caused by living in a smoke free home!

Smoke would have deterred domestic flies but it doesn't seem that mice found it too off-putting. Though keeping cats as mousers was common, an attitude of resignation as to living with some mice had to prevail. There were as yet no daddy long legs spiders in English homes however. They cadged a lift on ships from warmer climbs a century later.

A surge in home furnishings also occurred in the homes of all but the poorest (but remember that they made up the majority of the English population). William Harrison wrote that inferior artisans and mean farmers (his description!) "have for the most part learned also to garnish their cupboards with plate, their beds with tapestries and silke hangings, and their tables with carpets and fine naperie".

All household items cost far more in real terms than they do today so that items that we would not consider special were seen as worth singling out as gifts for loved ones and friends in wills. Reynold Shirwood of Marlow who left his will in 1528 as well as his valuable pewter bequeathed tablecloths and napkins. His wife Margaret mentioned napkins too and even a towel alongside her more obviously valuable amber beads, ring, girdle and raw cash.

The poorest people lived in cottages with one or two room downstairs, often with sleeping compartments reached by ladder above them. A yeoman family usually had more rooms downstairs, and might have a fully floored upper storey for sleeping, though that was still reached by ladder not a staircase. It is presumed that any people who could not manage ladders would bed themselves down on the lower floors. Most beds were straw filled pallets. Homeowners could expect beds with frames on which hangings for warmth and privacy could be attached, but other family members in the same household were not always so lucky. Servants did not expect any covering on their beds beyond an over sheet, and maybe not even that.

William, Lord Paget had Great Marlow Manor by grant from Queen Mary in 1554. The manor had been in Crown hands since early in the reign of Henry 8th. Tucher Bold had Harleyford Manor Marlow from 1516. In 1542 he got a license to have a preacher there to officiate worship as his home was so far from the parish church in Marlow. William Lord Paget ended up holding both Harleyford and Great Marlow. The other Marlow manors of the day were Semers or Seymours and Widmere. John, Lord Russell occupied Widmere from 1571. Earlier it was held successively by the Widmere family, the Knight Templars and Knight Hospitallers. 

Little Marlow Manor was in the hands of the abbess of the priory there, until of course the Dissolution.

Commercial life

Marlow is known to have had multiple inns and the like during the 1500s. The Upper Crown existed by 1596 (where Boots is now). Shopkeepers usually served customers from their homes. Marlow for generations had had two fairs a year which provided additional retail opportunities, as did the weekly market. In later times this market focused on meat sales but there is no reason to think it was not a general market in the 1500s.

Self-sufficiency was key for most people rather than commercial consumption. A cottage's garden was the medicine chest, perfumery, and culinary flavouring resource for it's residents. Some would keep bees for honey. It is often said that honey was the only sweetener available in England before the arrival of sugar but that is not strictly true. Sweet birch sap, and pollen from various flowers were available. Sucking the sweet young flowers of white dead nettles was the 1500s version of sucking a lollypop for the kids. Linden tree blossom could also be sucked as a sweet and made into a floral-scented tea. The roots and leaves of angelica plants, cultivated in gardens, also sweetened dishes.

The Bridge 

There had been a bridge crossing the Thames at Marlow since at least the late 1200s. It is presumed that the bridge of 1500s Marlow and earlier stood at the bottom of St Peter Street, as the new bridge constructed in the 1780s certainly did. Davy Shirwood / Sherwood left money for the repair of Marlow Bridge in his 1524 will. Historically the people of Marlow seem to have been pretty poor at maintaining the structure despite our bridge trustees having multiple pieces of land in their hands to rent out and thus gain income for necessary repairs. 

The People

While most people were not too far ranging during their lifetime it shouldn't be presumed that all the residents of the town in the 1500s were from ancient Marlow families. Not many of the last names of 1500s Marlovians were names that had been present in the 1400s and vice versa, implying plenty of population movement, even if it was only to and from the wider local area. A 1524 tax list for the town shows us one resident had come much further away - Henry Conrade the Dutchman. He'd be subject as a foreigner to additional tax. His occupation isn't known though quite a few Dutch and Flemish iron workers came to England at this time. I have some in my own family, though they set up in the Sussex Weald, a known iron making area, rather than Buckinghamshire. 

The countryside

It is an open question as to how native the beech woods of South Buckinghamshire are. What we see today may be largely the result of human manipulation due to the needs of the later furniture trade. That's not to say that beech trees are not native to England, or that the woods around Marlow did not anciently contain beeches. It is thought however that the woods started out as a mix of beech and other native species, most of which were slowly removed by humans so that mixed woodland became beech dominant woodland.  Whatever woods there were would have been used as foraging spots for Marlow's free ranging domestic pigs by those residents who had pannage rights.

Work

Agricultural labouring would have occupied the majority of men, and women also worked on the land as a matter of routine. Marlow wills suggest that sheep were the predominant livestock kept in the town. Married couple Margaret and Reynold Shirwood who died within days of each other, probably from a contagious illness, in 1528 mention in their wills growing barley and wheat. They were clearly doing well as Margaret specified that her farm cart is a horse cart. Horses were expensive and the use of oxen was more usual. She also talked of the ploughs and harrows that she possessed in plural terms, so we know that she and Reynold could make use of at least two teams of workers at once when it came to ploughing and harrowing.

Farms known to have existed in the 1500s are: Blounts, Seymour Court Farm then just known as Seymours or Seymers and presumably part of the lost manor of Seymers, Hawkins Farm, and in Little Marlow Monkton Farm. Most of what we now consider Marlow would have been only farmland. Large swathes of land, were kept as common fields and divided into strips for individual holders. This system would continue for many years after the 1500s.

Field boundaries where they existed historically in England were mostly banks and ditches with a hedge of hawthorn atop the bank. Hawthorn known then as quickthorn or maythorn was chosen as it makes such a good animal barrier. Hedgerows were also strategically planted at intervals with those trees whose leaves provided extra fodder for livestock (cows love young lime leaves and other trees have foliage that can be dried and used for animals in the winter), or berries and hazelnuts for humans. 

Even those who had other trades frequently farmed some land as well. 

I published a reconstructed 1500s trade directory on the blog last year which can be read here. As you will see from that post I found multiple men in Marlow occupied as bargemen, butchers, carpenters, innkeepers (who were often brewers too or at least their wives were), shoemakers and weavers. We also found one off individuals who were bakers, blacksmiths, drapers, glove makers, millwrights, and wood merchants. Obviously we can recover traces of the occupations of only a fraction of Marlow people during this time. Commercial fisherman on the Thames at Marlow are known earlier and later so we can safely presume they existed in the 1500s. 

Servants in grand houses such as the manors were usually male with the exception of laundresses and dairy maids. Only less well off families employed female servants (who were cheaper but carried no distinction). The male and female employees of farming families were routinely referred to as servants despite spending much of or all of their day out working on the land rather than in tasks we would associate with "servants". The word servant also referred to trade apprentices and shop assistants.

Young boys were sent out to fulfill apprenticeships as far afield as London if the example of young Peter Russell of Marlow apprenticed in 1512 is anything to go by.

Religion

The All Saints of the 1500s (not the church we see today) seems to have had a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary and probably still had an altar sacred to Saint Anne as it had done back in 1495 when Radulph Carter wrote his will and mentioned it. When chantry chapels were shut down by Henry 8th the one at Marlow was worth £8 13 shillings and 4 pence. The chantry priest then was a Sir James Grai (Grey, Gray, one of the most common last names in 1500s Marlow, probably in fact the most common).

The church warden accounts of the late 1500s show that the church bells, the ringing apparatus and the clock (vital for the town as virtually no one had any timepiece at home) required constant expenditure. A visit by Elizabeth 1st to Bisham caused one of the bells to be hastily mended in order for her to be saluted. Well you didn't want to upset Queen Lizzie did you? The church bells in the late 1500s were routinely rung at the anniversary of her coronation and on St Hugh's Day. I know what you're thinking- Saint who? Hugh's not well known today but he was once Bishop of Lincoln and Lincoln was the mother church of Marlow. Wills of 1500s Marlovians often mention gifts to the mother church as well as to Marlow church itself. Hugh's feast day was in November. He was the patron saint of amongst other things sick children, and appropriately for Marlow, swans. His pet swan at Lincoln had guarded him while he slept and followed him everywhere he went. 

Above, medieval St Hugh. Public domain image.

In 1595 some players were paid by the church to "play" in the "church loft" the location of which isn't certainly known. Presumably these were performing a religious play for the townspeople. The payment was made in May, the traditional time for Mummers plays. As well as the Church Loft there was also an unplaced "church house" in Marlow. Church lofts are referenced elsewhere, including at West Wycombe, where it was a separate building (and still exists). The phrase could also refer to the musicians' gallery common to churches then and which was usually sited above the rood screen. Plays could be performed on such galleries.

The churchwardens had custody of a set of morris dancing costumes. They were willing to let other parishes borrow these. What morris dancing, rooted as it was in pagan pre-Christian rituals, was thought to have to do with the work of the church is anyone's guess. May Day or midsummer celebrations were the main times for Morris dancing in Tudor England. 

Talking of unusual articles kept in a church, in some earlier Tudor parishes a communal plough was stored there ready for anyone to borrow but there is no evidence of this occurring in Marlow church.

At Little Marlow stood a church dedicated to St John and a small, moated Benedictine priory dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The priory was home to five to six nuns at a time. Margaret Vernun, prioress at the time of the Dissolution, received a transfer to the famous abbey of Malling in Kent, which would have been a significant promotion- albeit a short lived one as that was also forced to close just a couple of years later. The priory site at Little Marlow was given briefly to Bisham Abbey then leased to Elizabeth Restwold and John Titley. Elizabeth was already leasing some of the Priory's other lands when the nuns first left.

Margaret Vernun's origin is unknown but she was clearly from a wealthy family, most prioresses were. Before being based at Little Marlow she had served at St Albans. Margaret was a friend of Thomas Cromwell, to whom she wrote many times. How they met is unknown but the friendship was genuine. She kept and educated his son Gregory at her priory, and it appears Thomas visited her socially at Little Marlow. She and her other nuns had also gone to dine with him and invited him to Little Marlow in return. Entertaining one of the King's senior ministers was perfectly acceptable for a cloistered woman. Nuns in this era don't generally seem to have been as closed off from the world of men as we might suppose, indeed it wasn't an option for any prioress or abbess to live that way. They were landlords and administrators of the finances of their institution, ladies of business. The priory held lands not only in Little Marlow, but at various times also at Great Marlow, Hambledon, High Wycombe, Penn, Taplow, Wendover, Colebrook, Weston Turville, Beaconsfield and Benfield in Berkshire. At one point Margaret borrowed money from Cromwell in order to buy some extra land for the priory which she knew she could quickly turn a profit on. 

The nuns of course had a live-in male chaplain for mass and confession. In 1835 Margaret paid him £5 6 shillings 8d a year. At least one priest engaged by Margaret for her nuns at Little Marlow brought with him his own pupil which he had previously been engaged to educate. It was the norm for parish priests to supplement their incomes by taking in pupils so it is likely that the priest at All Saints church in Marlow had his own little "school" too. No other known educational provision existed in 1500s Marlow.

The taking in of both male and female residential pupils was also very common for 1500s priories. Cromwell junior had left Margaret not long before the Dissolution but Margaret was hoping towards the end of the Priory's life to negotiate the arrival of new residential pupil, a little girl that she had heard of as staying in Bisham. Margaret hoped that if she came the girl would be a comfort to Margaret in her "old age". We know she had had multiple pupils at St Albans and pupils before Gregory Cromwell at Little Marlow too. Such children came from well off families and it is presumed those families paid well for the privilege. A male teacher was provided by his father for Gregory Cromwell at the Little Marlow Priory with Margaret supervising his work. Another little boy shared his lessons. The bringing in of outside teachers seems to have been the usual way of serving the pupils in priories.

As well as her income from pupils and land rentals Margaret raised money by selling wood. The priory owned 8 acres of woodland. Her priory was also entitled to offerings from a chapel at Colebrook, for unknown reasons.

Margaret's distress at the impending loss of her Little Marlow home was poured out in her letters. She pleaded with Cromwell to do what he could for her and her fellow nuns. He secured her the Malling post.When Malling too stood on the brink she again wrote asking to be allowed to sell one of the manors belonging to Malling to fund either a one off lump sum retirement payment or ongoing pensions for her nuns. There was only so much Cromwell could do. In the end the manor sell off was not allowed to take place but Margaret did manage to secure a £40 a year pension for herself.

The closure of Little Marlow happened over several months. First the king's men came to assess whether any nuns aged under 24 were present and if so to declare them no longer nuns. The state didn't want young people starting out in the cloistered life. Margaret had 3 such women and the day they were ordered out she lost most of her community. A few months later the priory was shut entirely and Margaret and her last remaining colleague left. Four servants and a priest lost their places along with the nuns.

Before the Dissolution Henry 8th happily allowed the persecution of the growing number of Protestants in the country who were challenging Catholic beliefs. Marlow did not escape these persecutions. At some point between 1518 and 1521 John Gardiner of Marlow reported his own sister Agnes, by marriage Agnes Ward, also of Marlow for blasphemous (as in Protestant) beliefs. He also pointed the finger at a slew of other Marlovians at the same time, including Reynold Shirwood we heard of earlier in this post. There were clearly other snitches and spies about- poor John "Simonnds" and his wife (probably the same woman as Mrs John "Simon" above) were on a separate occasion charged with having a book of the Gospels written in English. This was a great crime as it implied you were exploring your faith yourself rather than relying on the interpretation from Latin of your approved local priest. Another time John and Isabel Gardiner of Marlow -the same John?- had to be forced to swear to the fact that they had heard Thomas Rave (perhaps Reeve) of Marlow say that pilgrimages were worthless and chapels dedicated to the saints pointless. Rave was already in trouble having been ordered to go to the Bishop of Lincoln to do penance for an unknown religious offence. Whilst in Lincoln he disrupted mass and was clearly unrepentant. The Bishop got rid of him to finish his penance in High Wycombe, unsuccessfully. The fate of the other accused Marlovians is not known to me.

Both Margaret and Reynold Shirwood, and other 1500s residents asked to be buried in the churchyard of Marlow. Burial inside the church itself required deep pockets. The Shirwoods could have afforded it but some people thought expensive memorials an example of sinful pride so would not ask for them regardless. Outside graves were not typically permanently marked in this era. 

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

©Marlow Ancestors.

Selected Sources=

The Urban Experience: A Sourcebook : English, Scottish, and Welsh Towns, 1450-1700. Kiribati, Manchester University Press, 1983.

Copy of returns of vintners, innkeepers and alehousekeepers 1577 Bucks Archives ref=

D-X423/1 bucks archives

The Cottage Homes of England by Helen Allingham and Stewart D-ck 1909 published by Edward Arnold, London (population increase).

The Holinshed Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland Volume 1, compiled by Raphael Hollinshed for the Stationers Company, 1577, London.

History and Topography of Buckinghamshire by James Joseph Sheahan, published by Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, 1862.

Many wills including those of Thomas Bevington, Reynold Shirwood, Margaret Shirwood, David Shirwood, Robert Sands. All are at the National Archives.

The Acts and Monuments of John Foxe by John Foxe, revised edition published by Seeley's of London 1856.

Home Counties Magazine article by Miss E.M Walford  (quoting bridge land property records from 1617) https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Home_Counties_Magazine.html?id=_HIaAQAAIAAJ#v=onepage&q=Marlow%20%22high%20street%22&f=false 1899 published by F.E Robinson. Volume one.

Records of Buckinghamshire Volume 5 compiled by James Pickburn 1878 for Buckinghamshire Architectural and Archaeological Society, Aylesbury. Via Google Books. 

Peter Russell of Marlow apprenticeship https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5522927

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_of_Lincoln

Account of the Nunnery of Little Marlow by Walter De Gray Birch, published in Records Of Buckinghamshire Volume 4, 1871. Via the Archaeology Data Service https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3254649&recordType=Journal

Reading and Writing during the Dissolution: Monks, Friars and Nuns  1530-58 by Mary C. Earlier. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Memorials of the Danvers Family (of Dauntsey and Culworth) by Francis Nottidge Macnamara published by Hardy and Page 1895, London. Via Google Books.

Historic England record for Little Marlow Priory https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/record?titleId=1036080

Lovelace vs unknown Six Clerks Office National Archives ref=

C 1/1306/53

Hawkins Farm Occupiers and Timeline

 Mixed farm on the road to Frieth. 1833= 93 acres. There was a long history of gypsy families pitching their tents on a piece of rough grassland next to the farm and its environs were also a magnet for blackberry pickers coming up from Marlow in the 1800s. Hares were once abundant in this vicinity.

Occupiers of Hawkins Farm (who are not normally the owners) Gaps in dates are gaps in my knowledge. I will endeavour to fill them all in as I wade through my old research notes or do new research=

1574= Farm existed. The name seems to have come from a contemporary owner of part of the land. A Hawkins Lane was then close by, a now vanished address.

1833= RH Russell. Owned by Sir William Robert Clayton of Harleyford. 

1841= Richard Russell (census). His aunt Martha and sister Emma live with him. Note this is clearly the Henry Richard Russell mentioned below going just by "Richard".

1842= Henry Richard Russell. Henry seems to have owned the Coach and Horses pub in Marlow.

1851= Henry R Russell (census). Wife Susannah, aunt Martha Russell, sister Emma Russell and nephew Charles Russell also present and three live in servants.

1854= Henry Russell (Kelly's Directory).

1855-65= Richard Blackwell. Tenant. He may have given up Hawkins following a damaging fire in which two horses burned to death in his stables and buildings were damaged. [Reading Mercury 23rd September 1865, British Library Archives, via the BNA]. Does not appear to have resided in the farmhouse.

1865-77= Thomas Elliot who went bankrupt. Tenant. Wife Mary, who sold eggs from the premises. Thomas grew oats and wheat and raised cattle and pigs. In 1873 Giles Lawrence a long term employee on the farm, William Swadling who had been sacked from there the day before and 2 casual employees of Mr Elliott were accused of stealing oats from the farm. [Bucks Free Press 10th October 1873] In 1875 his 13 year old worker Stephen Higgs was killed by a runaway cart in his charge while gathering hay at the farm. The boy had apparently fallen off it and was then trampled. Strong comments were made at the inquest at the wisdom of leaving such a team under the control of such a young lad. He was tenant to owner Sir William Clayton.

1882-87 William Creswell / Cresswell tenant to owner Mr Crossman. William was a troublesome man himself and it seems that his workers weren't much better= William Swadling his carter was fined for being drunk in the Hand and Flowers (possibly the same man as the alleged oat thief above), Thomas Bird his carter was warned for prolonged blocking of the road with his cart in Marefield and John Jones his general agricultural labourer was fined for working a horse with an open pressure wound under its collar. Full biography of William Cresswell / Creswell here.

1901-02 (probably by 1897). Henry Brown, a cattle dealer. Wife Mabel. They moved to Harleyford Farm by 1911.

1924= Miss Potts?

1929= Mr S Keene.

1933= some of the land sold for building land.

1939= Sidney Keene. 

1944= Mr Keene. 

1954= Mr S Keene.

To find all mentions of any individual on this blog see the A-Z Person Index. Thousands are mentioned. Other Marlow and Little Marlow farm histories and occupier posts on this blog are indexed here.

Census information is my transcription or that of Jane Pullinger from microfilm. Census information remains Crown Copyright.

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

The Hackshaw Family Of West Street

 John and Thomas Hackshaw, trading as Hackshaw and Sons saddlers and harness maker dissolved their partnership in 1821, seemingly through financial difficulties though Thomas the father was 64 years old and may have wished to wind things down a bit work wise. John managed to carry on the business but he became insolvent in his own right in 1823. His financial matters were still unsettled in 1828. Once again however he recovered and continued trading. 

The premises he occupied are photographed below in the modern day. In 1832 they were assessed as being worth £11 a year and consisted of a house, garden, workshop and shed. Thomas Hackshaw operated as a collar maker (this meant of horse collars not human!) in Marlow by 1789 but I cannot say for certain that this was in the same premises. It is very likely that it was however. As well as making saddles and harnesses he had a sideline in making ropes and supplied some to the church in Marlow for the bellringers to use. Thomas is likely also be the same Thomas who was a volunteer (elected) parish constable from at least 1791-1799. John's mother was Mary (nee Burgin) who looks to have died in 1811. Thomas had previously been married to a Catherine Russell. 

Above: the black and white building is the Hackshaw family home and premises. The Lovegroves lived in the house on the right. The black and white woodwork of the Hackshaw building does not date from the time of their occupancy. It is a later addition.

John's first wife Harriet died aged only 40 in 1832 and in 1835 John Hackshaw married Harriet Lovegrove the widow from next door. Harriet had been running a boarding and day school for young ladies with her step daughter daughter Mary until Mary's death aged just 23 in 1832. 

Mary left most of what she had to Harriet. A summary of her will can be found on the blog here.

Thomas Hackshaw the father of the family died in 1838. A happier event that year for John and Harriet came with the baptism of their son John who would grow up to be a saddler and harness maker himself as well as a rope maker.

Four years later John senior was one of those called as a witness during an official investigation into widespread voter fraud in Marlow in 1842. Marlow was famous for it's dirty elections! John testified that another West Street resident had moved out of the town prior to the previous election, thus losing his right to vote in contests for a Marlow M.P. Despite this the man had cast a vote.

In 1856 John became bankrupt again. He and Harriet must have suffered greatly as a result of this because it meant the forced sale of not only his tools, equipment and stock but also the couples household furniture to pay their debts. Beds, tables, carpets and kitchen equipment all had to go. John's stock included brushes for horses and whips as well as the obvious horse bits and harnesses. From the full list of items that he had John was clearly catering for both agricultural, "sporting" (hunting) and general customers.

Some stock and tools were probably in the name of his son John junior who still lived at home and worked with his father. John junior continued in the trade but John senior became a tailor.

Harriet and John died within weeks of each other in 1869. At this point the administration of her stepdaughter Mary Lovegrove's will was apparently still not completed as it had to be passed on to someone else! John Hackshaw junior soon became bankrupt himself.

Note: there was a slightly older John Hackshaw who lived in nearby Oxford Lane and who was married to a Sophia. Don't confuse the two John seniors!

Our John and his first wife had children Charles, Christopher, Frederick, George, Harriet, Henry, and an earlier John.

Thomas Hackshaw was baptised 1757 Great Marlow to Geoffrey and Mary Hackshaw.

For every mention of a person on this blog see our A-Z index where you find over 6,000 people listed. More historic West Street residents and stories can be found indexed here. More biographies of historic Marlow families here

Written and researched by Charlotte Day. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Sources:

1841,51 censuses my transcription from microfilm. 1861 census Rootspoint.com. 1871 census -Jane Pullinger transcript from microfiche. All censuses remain Crown Copyright.

Great Marlow Parish records transcribed from the original register book by Alan Day.

1833 parochial assessment notebooks in my possession, transcribed by me.

Reading Mercury 16th Feb 1856 via the BNA and British Library Archives.

1839 Robson's Directory, University of Leicester Archives.

Dutton, Allen, & co.'s directory & gazetteer of the counties of Oxon, Berks & Bucks. United Kingdom, n.p, 1863.

Slater, Isaac. Slater's, late Pigot & co., Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography of the Counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire. United Kingdom, n.p, 1852.

The Lives Of Owen Sawyer and Joseph Russell

Sometimes we pick a random individual from Marlow's past and decide to flesh out the bones of their life. So now is the turn of Victorian West Street and Queens Rd resident Owen Sawyer. 

Owen was born in 1847 to West Street bakers James and Charlotte Sawyer. They and their business feature in a post here which includes a photo of their premises. Charlotte had the reputation of being an accomplished businesswoman and she continued the business after her husband's early death. In this she was assisted by Owen's brothers Henry and James. Subsequently James would take over the management of the bakers from his aged mother, and indeed continued to run it after her death. 

Owen however was apprenticed to High Street cabinet maker Daniel Walker, who also ran The Hope public house later. Daniel did not just make furniture, he also engaged in more general carpentry tasks. So Owen would later recall engaging in work such as making and even erecting fencing. It was good training if hard work and Owen would later strike out on his own as a skilled carpenter. He initially moved to Dean Street after marrying wife Mary Ann and that was the setting for the event below. Subsequently he spent several decades living in Queens Road. 

Murder! 

A dramatic incident in the life of Owen occured when he was 28 and found himself in court charged with assaulting Thomas John Pattison Junior. Thomas said Owen forced himself through his front door and attacked him although it isn't clear what the motive would have been. Fortunately for Owen, the witnesses supported a quite different version of events. Owen had heard Sarah, the wife of Thomas screaming "Murder! Murder!" as he was going pass their home. He, Sarah's sister and her neighbour rushed in and found that Thomas had Sarah by the neck and was threatening her with her knife, despite the fact she was holding one of their children. He had apparently been offended by the fact Sarah expressed the wish to stay in their current home rather than move to Strong Beer Acre as Thomas had announced they would shortly be doing. Thomas was bound over for a year to keep the peace for one year, and Owen was found not guilty of the assault. 

Diving superstar

Owen was a renowned swimmer and diver, and a member of the Amateur Rowing club. In 1875 he won a regatta competition which involved diving as far as possible off Marlow Bridge. The entry point into the water was marked and whoever got furthest from the bridge was the champion. Owen's winning distance was 40 yards. It was noted that he was a hard man to beat when in form! Other events included "diving for eggs" and water polo in canoes. The Rowing club also had monthly competitions running at this time, which Owen took part in. In the 1890s he operated the telegraph system at Bourne End Regatta that transmitted the official results from the umpire. They were then announced to the crowds who couldn't all see the finish clearly. He was also a member of other sporting institutions in the town - and one of the players who made up The Royal Victoria Working Mans FC, Marlow's "other" football team which subsequently amalgamated with Marlow FC. (Read more on them here)

Another institution in the town that Owen had great involvement in was the Clayton Arms Slate Club, a friendly society.  This provided invaluable support to working men in the event of accident or illness robbing them of the opportunity to earn their living. Owen was one of the founding members, and also served on its organisational commitee. You can read more about it here. He was also a member of the Marlow Volunteer fire brigade. Even after retirement from that he sometimes lent a hand at fires, such as one at the George & Dragon during the October street fair of 1898. Civilians were often utilised in such occasions, and someone of Owen's experience was obviously all the more welcome. Owen suffered a house fire of his own that nearly cost the life of two of his children - you can read more in this post about his father in law John Langley here

Lastly we should mention Owen's role as one of the collectors of contributions for the local Transvaal Relief Fund around 1900. This dealt with cases of need in families who had a member serving in the South African wars then ongoing. Furthermore he was elected to the committee of this group. 

Owen could also be found as a member of the Bucks Rifle Volunteers. He was the oldest Volunteer when he retired after 34 years diligent service in the autumn of 1902. Owen had by then attained the rank of Corporal. He said on his retirement that the hours spent with his fellow rifle volunteers were amongst the happiest of his life. As a member of the Volunteers Social and Shooting Club, he had spent many happy days with these comrades at the rifle range and in local pubs. You can read more about the volunteers here

Two sad events - the first

In 1890, Owen was working at a house in Mill Lane. He saw a young man who he knew slightly coming along the lane. This was Joseph Lionel "Joe" Russell* age 25, who had been crippled for life in a childhood accident.  He had been born into a military family in India, but shortly after their return to England, his father had died.  His mother had worked at Bray Court, and the lady of that house and subsequently Marlow Place (Mrs Haig) had tried to support Joseph with an allowance when his mother had in turn died. She had also paid off some of his debts. It had once seemed doubtful that Joseph's physical condition would allow him to fully support himself. But he had nevertheless started work as a commercial clerk to Thomas Butler the wine and spirit merchant. And so the allowance had finally been stopped, although Mrs Haig still provided his clothing. However, Joseph was subject to fits of depression and had taken to drinking. When he passed Owen, he asked to shake his hand, and told Owen they would not see any such other again. Joseph then proceeded along Mill Lane towards the Mill and river. Owen was naturally suspicious at such ominous words, and watched the other man carefully. When he saw his destination, he ran a short distance down the lane to the Mills and called for help. Mr Wright and Owen found a muddy and wet Joseph at the bank of the Thames attempting to wade in. He could not swim and had a suicide note in his pocket. He was bought back to the Mills to receive medical attention. Suicide was a criminal offence then, and so Joseph was bought before the court and Owen had to give evidence as to what he had seen. Joseph was let off as he promised not to attempt his life again. Sadly, he did not keep this promise, and three years later he drowned after throwing himself off Marlow Bridge. 

A tragedy close to home

In 1903 Owen appeared at another inquest. This was sadly that of his brother James Sawyer the baker. For reasons that are not always easy to grasp, the Sawyer family bakers was no longer doing well in the few previous years. A severe fire in 1897 can not have helped although both the building and contents were insured. By May 1902 it had closed, and James was out of work. (The business was sold to Charles H Carter who ran the Bridge Restaurant and bakers on the Causeway, where Burgers is now. As he already had a West Street branch, the business was moved there) I believe he may have worked for another baker in town at first but this did not last. When leaving the bakery he had of course also lost his home. (He went to lodge with Jane Thornton.) He was 67, and perhaps he could not face "starting again". One evening Owen met his brother in the Carpenters Arms and noted his downcast look. He gave him some money, as the baker was significantly in arrears with his rent.  The two parted and no one saw James alive again. His person was spotted in the river near Thames Bank by labourer Thomas Munday. Thomas retrieved the body with the assistance of equipment provided by the Marlow Lock keeper, and the aid of George Budd. It was taken to the Two Brewers, where a copy of his and Owens parents' marriage certificate was found in his pocket. Deliberate entering of the river could not be proved, nor a definite  accident as there were no witnesses so the verdict of the inquest jury was the open "Found Drowned".

A happier event of that year was the marriage of daughter Ada to Edwin Meadows Madeley. Ada was a former school teacher at the national school. 

Owen's own death was less dramatic and he passed away age 78 in 1926. 

*Joseph came to Marlow from Holyport near Maidenhead shortly before his first suicide attempt. He lodged for seven years with plumber George and Louisa Davis in Cambridge Rd. George and Louisa feature with their daughter Annie in a post here - but be warned it's another sad post! Joseph was said to have been in a fearful state when Mrs Haig took him under her wing, unable to go up stairs for example. He had spent much time in Maidenhead hospital. Louisa Davis believed that his first suicide attempt had been precipitated by her threat that if he continued such heavy drinking he must leave her home. She believed the second was due to a guilty conscience, as she considered it likely that he was stealing from his employer. He had too much money to spend on drink she said, given his other expenses and level of wages. Joseph had two brothers and two sisters, whom Mrs Haig had also helped get a start in life. The boys were in the Army at the time of his death. He was buried in a paupers grave at Cookham, with no family to attend the service. His body had been found by Spade Oak ferryman Jonathan Sparks. The jump from the bridge was witnessed by carpenter Mark Creswell.

 Mrs Haig remarried and went to live at Fox Court, Maidenhead with husband Captain Masey. 

. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

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

 Use the General History tab to find out more about everyday life in Joseph's and Owen's Great Marlow. 

©Marlow Ancestors.

Not You Again Reuben!

Today's subject is Reuben Anderson, a man who is fair to say kept the police constables and J.Ps more than a little busy! 

The age of Reuben differs by a few years here and there when he gives it in court, on censuses and the like. He generally decides on a birth year of 1845, although he may have been a couple of years older. He was the son of George and Emma Anderson of Dean Street (more commonly known as Well End, Great Marlow at the time Reuben was born, not be confused with Well End, near Little Marlow.) Another Reuben Anderson living in Marlow in the early Victorian era was our Reubens uncle, born in Maids Moreton, Bucks. 

Reuben's father spent several spells in prison throughout the boys childhood, usually lasting a month or two, mostly relating to petty thefts and trespass after game. His was not a wealthy family, and George's work principally as a general and agricultural labourer was not necessarily regular. Dean Street was a poor and populous neighbourhood, the haunt of many a poacher. Many lived on the edge of destitution in a way that's much underestimated now. Those that didn't tended to supplement their income in many  ways, not all of them quite legal. 

Starting Young 

Reuben therefore started his somewhat shady career rather young. In 1858 the boy found himself called to the petty sessions, suspected of stealing a quantity of iron from the premises of baker John Millward in West Street. (Formerly Gibbons the tallow chandlers - see the premises here) At this point the petty sessions were held in a small and often raucous room in the Crown at the Market Square. In court, his age was given as 11 but I think he was more likely 13-15 years. Generally speaking if a resident of Dean Street was bought to the sessions room, a crowd of friends and relatives from the area would attend to offer vocal support much to the magistrates annoyance. Perhaps the same thing happened to young Reuben. Regardless, he was found guilty and sentenced to be privately whipped. This was regarded as a lenient punishment compared to time in gaol. Two months before either Reuben or his uncle of the same name had been summoned and fined for stealing underwood at Little Marlow. I suspect it was the elder of the two. 

 Reuben is often recorded as either an agricultural labourer or general labourer, that catch all term for a variety of unskilled and semi skilled work. But the type of crimes he tends to get arrested for, indicates a slightly different story. By far the most common is wilful damage to a tree or stealing underwood. Reuben isn't gathering firewood, he is collecting the type of material he needs for his sideline as a "skewerter". That is he makes wooden skewers that are sold wholesale to butchers, usually in London. It was a very common and perfectly legitimate trade in Marlow, centred around Dean Street. However it was not legal to help yourself to the wood wherever you found it locally, as almost every tree belonged to someone specifically. Some landowners sold the right to collect the skewer materials to an individual, who naturally would be at a serious disadvantage if it all had vanished come harvest time. But skewer makers like Reuben could not afford to lease woodland and it's unlikely that buying the materials from a middle man would be profitable. Snarky comments were often made about how "wealthy" the skewer makers of Marlow were, given that it was pure profit to make goods from materials obtained free and illegally. But the reality was those we have identified as long time workers in the trade were in poor (sometimes shockingly so) houses and never escaped them. It was hardly a road to riches! Reuben is also identified later as a fruiterer - another classic Dean Street occupation. In this case it was the wholesale trade that involved Reuben along with his father - he did not have a shop. This was a seasonal source of employment for him, something to add to his other sources of income. 

Reuben's punishment for the wood rustling and tree damage tended to be a fine. (For example 2d plus costs in 1861 for damaging trees belonging to magistrate Benjamin Atkinson of the Rookery.) If he could not pay, he would be forced to spend time in gaol in lieu. Sometimes the fine was demanded immediately after the case was heard, on other occasions a week or two to gather the required finds was allowed. (Two weeks in the case mentioned above.) In 1862 he was imprisoned for 3 months for stealing the lunch of a farm labourer William Harris who was working in the fields. (His accomplice James Grace recieved 2 months)

A Familiar Defendant 

1863 was an especially busy year for young Reuben. He plead guilty to 3 offences in the same petty session in January. He was at this point described as a youth "well known to police", as was his co accused in two of the offences, James Grace. First up was two charges for stealing swedes and turnips, both offences committed on the same day. The quantity of swedes was large and they were likely intended for selling on as fruiterers had the connections to sell vegetables too. The second offence occured at Blunts Farm. In both cases the young men were bought to the intention of the authorities by an "informer" Thomas Tilbury. When Reuben heard this, he had gone after Thomas and threw stones at him several hitting their mark. Hence the 3rd case for which he was summoned. For each of the first two offences, Reuben was sentenced to 1 months imprisonment with hard labour. The same sentence was awarded to his co accused who had like Reuben plead guilty. For the stone throwing, Reuben was set a high fine of £1 plus costs. As he could not pay, he was taken to prison for an additional 2 months. As he was led away, our miscreant was heard to mutter threats of dire vengeance against the informant. Thankfully for both, nothing cane of these dark mutterings - as far as public records show at least! Come October Reuben was back in front of the magistrates again. This time he was accused of stealing a higher value item, and this along with his string of previous convictions meant Reuben was remanded for trial at the Assizes. The theft involved a large quantity of straw belonging to surgeon William Hickman. This time the sentence was for one years imprisonment. His age at sentencing is given as 18. 

Father George Creates A Scene

A little under a year after his release, Reuben's father was yet again in hot water. The cause this time was a very public act of rebellion. It was November, and he was out of work as many of those with partially seasonal occupations naturally were. He applied to the Relieving Officer Mr Russell for some parish aid. Mr Russell refused to sanction any "outdoor relief" - that is an allowance of bread or money paid to George while he continued to look for work and live in his existing lodgings. Instead he said he would issue an order that George should go to "the House". That is the parish workhouse. George was furious. No one wished to be admitted there, but the parish officers had decided to crack down on the giving of aid that would allow the poor an alternative to the house. It was considered the provision of out relief made things too easy for the poor and prevented the workhouse acting as proper deterrent to the merely idle. It was noted in the newspaper reports of the events that followed that George had a "good" summer income as a fruiterer and skewer maker, the inference being if he had no money now it was because he had not spent it wisely or saved enough. (This was of course usually an attitude espoused by those who had never had to manage on such wages or live in the condition of those that did.) But it's obvious from study of others in the Anderson families position that the debts and rent arrears speedily increased over a winter when little money came in. These then had to paid out of the next summer's income.  

The following evening, George was heard to declare publicly that he would "wreck" the relieving officers home. He took a bludgeon and smashed 15 panes of glass. He made no attempt to disguise himself and was arrested immediately. It may be that Reuben acted heedlessly out of bravado or anger or both. It may also be that his situation was dire and he did what many others in Marlow did and commited a public crime certain that he would be sent to prison and provided for. We have found many examples of people doing just that, often going to confess immediately at the police station. Was prison better than the work house? Unlikely, but it perhaps carried less stigma for men in Georges situation who had often been in prison before. Whatever the motivation, George's attack earned him two months behind bars, with hard labour. It just be said the conditions of providing parish aid were not set by poor Mr Russell and he could have been dismissed if it was considered he was too lenient. 

Happier Events

In 1879 Reuben married Martha Sparkes, daughter of Maria and William, the landlords of at various times the Barge Pole, Black Boy and Fisherman's Retreat inns in St Peter's Street/Church Passage. Martha was just over a decade younger than he. The couple made their home in Oxford Road, and then St Peter's Street. See links below for detailed information about Martha's family. 

It was not exactly the quietest start in life for the couple, as in 1880 Reuben was arrested for his supposed role in the wide scale election riots in Marlow. The case against him was dismissed over uncertainty about his identification although Reuben himself did admit to being present in the area - as an innocent bystander of course. The riot is covered in more detail in a post here

And now at last we have a report of Reuben in which he is the hero. A few months after the riot, he stepped in to rescue a women who was being threatened and harassed by her brother after the siblings had quarreled. It must have been quite the novelty to appear in court as a witness! But old habits die hard and less than two months later Reuben was back at the petty sessions in the role of defendant, along with John Price. The pair had stolen some wood and both recieved hefty fines based on previous convictions for both. 

Throughout the 1880s minor convictions continue to be earned by Reuben. Charges of drunk and disorderly behaviour, being asleep while in charge of a horse and cart, and tresspass in pursuit of game for example. All resulted in fines. 

Reuben died in 1890. He was only in his forties. Poor Martha was of course even younger when she entered her widowhood. She went to live with her brother George at first, then her elderly widowed mother and youngest  brother Thomas in West Street. At this point she took to working as a laundress or washerwoman.* 

*Tragedy struck in 1907 when Martha's brother Thomas went missing and was subsequently found drowned in the Thames. The circumstances were not known. He was working for Lovell's the builder as a labourer  and carter at the time. It was considered by some that he may have been worried about a summons he had recieved for drunk driving a horse and cart presumably because a conviction may have lead to the loss of his job. He had been sleeping rough at times over the few weeks before, although he had returned home by the time he was last seen alive. Verdict: Found Drowned. Age given as 49.  

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts

Sparkes family of the Barge Pole here

Index of posts about life in Dean Street when Reuben was growing up - here

The skewer trade in Marlow here

Posts linked to crime and disorder in old Marlow - here

To find every mention of an individual or family here use the A-Z Person Index in the top drop down menu. There's more than 4,000 people mentioned there! 

Sources:

Census 1841,1851,1861,1891 - transcript made by Jane Pullinger. 

Sparkes family and 1880 election rioters research by Charlotte. 

 Bucks Chronicle and Bucks Gazette 5 May 1858. From the British Library Archive and accessed via the BNA. 

Bucks Herald 27 March 1858, 25 May 1861, January 24th 1863, 10 December 1881 as above. 

Windsor and Eton Express 24 Jan 1863. As above. 

Buckinghamshire Advertiser and Free Press 24 October 1863,as above

Reading Mercury 3 December 1875, 

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer, 21 September 1907. Slough Reference Library. 

© MarlowAncestors 

Munday Dean Great Marlow History -UPDATED November 2025

 First some photos taken March 2021:

Denelands Farm, above

Munday Dean Farm, above

Munday Dean farm barn, above

Monday Dean Farm, above 

Munday Dean Lane, above, was widened in December 1905. 

Some History:

Richard Corby, yeoman had Munday Dean Farm in 1721. In his will proved the next year he left the farm house with pasture, arable and wooded lands to his son Robert. Possibly the lease only.

In a will written 1788 and proved the next year widow Elizabeth Plumridge widow of William left her messuage (house), cottages, garden, yard and land at Munday Dean, apparently the farm, to trustees for the benefit of Richard Corby of Red Pits near Marlow her "poor kinsman" until Richard's son Thomas was 21 then to Thomas himself. At that time the property was being rented by James Hollworthy. She also Richard and Thomas a cottage with barn, small meadow and garden at Hambledon which a Thomas Stallwood then occupied. Thomas Corby was to pay his brother Ambrose a guinea from the estate. Elizabeth's will was very long and detailed even specifying that the soil in the ground on her land belonged to Richard then Thomas! She didn't bequeath the worms in the earth to them but she probably just forgot about that... 

Elizabeth Corby had married William Plumridge at Hughenden 1757.

A Thomas Corby Senior, probably the same man as in Elizabeth Plumridge's will, still occupied some 67 acres of land at Munday Dean in 1833.

William Webb was a husbandmen also working part of Munday Dean Farm by 1773 until his death in the late 1790s.

Thomas Jonathan Oxlade left in his 1822 will his one third part of Munday Dean Farm with several cottages and woodland amounting to 20 acres. It was then in the tenure of Robert Oxlade and Richard Russell.

In 1829 the farm was in the occupation of Elizabeth Sawyer and Thomas Wyatt.

In 1861 Munday Dean Farm was in the tenure of John Simmonds and amounted to 87 acres. John lived there with his wife Catherine children and 2 young employees- 11 year old shepherd Matthew Bird and 15 year old George Wells who was working as a carter.

In 1883 labourer Henry Beaver was convicted of stealing 14 pieces of wool from the farm, which was then the property of General Owen Williams. The estimated value of the wool was £14 12 shillings 6 pence.

The farm bailiff in 1885 was James Langford.

In 1905 the farm was up for sale and consisted of a 5 bedroom farmhouse, cowhiuse, granary, carthouse, piggery, stable, orchard and 4 cottages. It was then reckoned to be 104 acres.

It was the home of Lady Joan Hartwell in 1930 when she was summoned for driving her motor car without a licence in High Wycombe.

*****

In 1895 further down Munday Dean Lane, nearer to Marlow, Frank Collins was found to be gambling in the highway with a game of chance and summoned to court to be fined. Slightly out of the way country lanes or little frequented town alleys were favourite places for young men to gather together to play illicit games of dice and marbles for money.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day. Photos and additional research by Kathryn Day.

Sources:

Will Richard Corby, PCC. Transcribed by Charlotte. Copies can be obtained from the National Archives.

Bucks Herald, Dec 1883. Copy held at the British Library Archives and accessed via the British Newspaper Archive.

South Bucks Standard July 1895, 2 March 1906. As above.

Will from the National Archives Kew transcribed by Charlotte: Elizabeth Meadows 1857, Elizabeth Plumridge 1789.

Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire 1883. Published by Kelly's Directories Limited.

Property records held by my family.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use these research or images for family or local history purposed with credit to this blog and a link here so that the sources listed above do not lose credit for the information which they provided.

 

Where Your Gardener Ancestor Worked

Those listed may be head or assistant gardeners. Domestic gardeners only in this post, more on the nursery gardeners of Marlow in future. There were a great many of those. Dates next to a name show when I have concrete evidence of a person being in the job. They may have been there earlier or later too. Many more names to add as time permits. Spelling as per original source which can lead to some interesting variations! *Updated by Charlotte May 2026*. To find out more about the houses themselves check the index here

Head Gardener Alan Day working on the New Kitchen Garden at Remnantz, 1991 (formerly part of the lawn tennis courts) . The old brewery chimney can be seen poking over the yew hedge - a hedge which was over a century old already at that point. Sorry the pic is not the best! © Marlow Ancestors

Beechwood, Henley Road 

1859 -  House then known as Beech Lodge - Thomas Gibson

1881- George Smith. Not the same as the George Smith at Suffolk Lodge.

1883 - Alfred Lambourne

1898 - E Keene

1901- E Keene (head), Thomas Brown and George Mealing 

1907 - E Keen qv and T Brown. 

1911-16 - George Henry Moores. Lived in a 4 room cottage on the estate. This was said to be part of the original older Beechwood house. With a stucco front, "rustic porch" and veranda it certainly sounds more impressive than the usual staff quarters. In 1916 his employer tried to get George totally exempted from military service but the local tribunal refused to grant this. From at least 1911-13 the assistant gardener was George Harris who lived in the Lodge at Beechwood. Though the rates for the lodge were paid for by his employer Thomas did not have the use of the cottage as part of his job and paid rent out of his wages to live there. 

1928 - G Austin. Arrives from the Manor House Stoke Poges. 

Bohemia

1899- 1917 Mr Thomas William Jordan. Was a domestic gardener living in Marlow High Street by 1891 probably working at Cromwell House.  Wife Louisa. Grave of their daughter and her husband here.

Borlase School (for head E W Clark)

1898/99- William Soley

Bisham Abbey

1846 - Mr Sutton

1866 - Mr Henderson. Wife Ann dies this year age 60 after falling down stairs while making a visit to a friend. 

1901,03 - G Martin. 

1927 - W McCaul (head) 

Unknown dates- Joseph Curtis who was later at Bridge House Marlow and who died in 1905.

Blounts, Bovingdon Green

1894 - Alan Axten 

1903-39 at least - J Platt (Head) - (to Walter Wethered then A R A Heath Esq) Blounts Cottage. Frequent winner of classes at the local Chrysanthemum show and a judge of classes at the Bovingdon Green Show.

Bridge House

To early 1905 from unknown date Joseph Curtis who had previously worked at Bisham Abbey. Ill health forced his retirement. Lived at time of his death 1905 at Platts Row Marlow. 

The Cottage, Oxford Road (a large size house not a little cottage and not the same as Oxford Cottage)

1861-1874 Dennis Wargent. Moved to Hurley by 1881 (probably 1878 ish) where he was also a gardener (mostly for Rev F T Wethered). He was a churchwarden there too. A detailed biography is available here.

1884 - Ernest Levy.

1898 &99 - E Harvey? 

Court Garden House

1827- John Stewart. Died that year. His will was subject to a fraud which caused a nationwide sensation. More on that here.

1861- 1864 William Neighbour and see Harleyford below. Lived in the lodge, Pound Lane. Wife Emma. For more see here and biography here.

1866-1872- Thomas Lockie. Probably moved on to Oakley Court, Windsor. Placed an ad in the Gardeners Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette May 1872 seeking a new position after 5 years at Court Garden. It said that he had been brought up to a garden from childhood. "First class testimonials" available. A champion cucumber grower! Friends with Mr Hancock gardener at Suffolk Lodge.

1873&4 - D S Gillett.

1871-1881 John Waitman. Not necessarily head gardener. Lived in the lodge with wife Eliza 1871. Later lived in rooms above the stables Court Garden (set of three rooms). Retired gardener living at Glade Road and widowed 1901.

1881 - Charles Swadling. 

1901 - 1911 at least Robert Gibson.

1915 - Charles Croxon. 

Cromwell House

1893 - Mr Jordan (later at Bohemia).

1895 -1900 Mr Weaving.

Danesfield.

1846 : Henry King.

1850-1859 Henry Wood. His family were Catholic converts. His sister Lucy Anne who lived with him briefly at Danesfield was a troubled young woman who struggled to hold down a job and was widely rumoured to, having become a nun, eloped from her nunnery with a baron. While the marriage to the Baron de Camin (or perhaps "baron") looks to have been true Henry insisted his sister had never been a nun. De Camin was generally regarded as an imposter himself. Henry was a grower of "extraordinarily fine fruit". In 1858 he won two silver medals at the Royal Botanic Society Show held in Regents Park, London. 

1860-1901 Head - Edward Croker who was also a Catholic. In 1867 Danesfield hosted the Marlow Horticultural show and rural fete, and Mr Croker carried off a number of prizes. Wife Arabella and he married in Marlow's Catholic church in 1861. Biography here

1861 - Garden apprentice is 14 year old Robert Columbine, whose family lived at Albion House, West Street. Dad Colour Sergeant James Columbine. More on this family here

1889 - Henry Bennett (assistant gardener). Joseph White (assistant gardener, see below)

1898 - William Murray Geddes (head), William Dalton (foreman), Joseph White (assistant gardener- early in the year but sacked on suspicion on stealing expensive flower seeds and sent to trial for the offence).

1899-1904 James Gibson. At first the Under Gardener, then Head Gardener from at least 1901. James was regarded as an authority on "vegetable culture" and lectured on this subject to regional horticultural institutions. He sent collections of vegetables for exhibition as far away as shows in Birmingham. Also won many prizes for carnations. When advertising his desire to seek a new position in 1904, James tells us that he has the "highest testimonials for "ability, sobriety and civility" as well as experience in estate re modelling - Danesfield was extensively altered during his time there. 

1905- Mr O Smith.

1906-07 Mr G.W Smith.

1910-1920 Webster Hillier. Wife Mabel. Moved eventually to Reigate, Surrey. Gardener to A H Lewis. Assistant gardener :Arthur Weller (1912) . Webster acts as a judge at local flower shows for categories he's not eligible for,  and wins many prizes himself. 

1910-William Buck assistant gardener (foreman of glasshouses). Died 1 week into post. Committed suicide on estate by jumping into the water tower. Had suffered a nervous breakdown a little before. 

1910 - Assistant gardeners: Arthur Cook, George Plumridge. 

1915 - Assistant gardener Anthony Martin Weller. Volunteered to fight in WW1 and died after contracting smallpox while serving in Mesopotamia in 1917. He was 21 years of age at the time of his death.

1926 -32 at least -Arthur E Friend. Received £500 from the will of Danesfield owner Mrs Helen Hornby Lewis, allegedly the richest woman in Britain. She left many generous bequests, to her staff and others. 

Field House, near Newtown Road.

1921 - William Grimsdale.

Gossmore House

1921 - Joseph Grove (lived Mill Road).

Gyldernscroft, Henley Road

1862 - Mr Adams. Assisted by Thomas Harris. 

1861 - Robert Thomas (probably assistant gardener) Lived Croft Lodge. 

1881-1883 Alfred Maxim. Lived Croft Cottage / Lodge nearby. Wife Amelia. Left Marlow by 1891.

1888 -1903 - Walter Lawrence - head. 

1901 - George Langley.

1910-1926 William Brigden, originally from Tooting. His employer in 1916 tried unsuccessfully to get him temporarily exempted from war service. William helps to judge the first Marlow Horticultural Society post war show in 1920 and many thereafter. 

Harleyford House

1822-43 Mr Kirby.  Not sure if head gardener (but likely).

1846,7 - John Cheetham. 

1861 - William Hunt, gardeners boy age 15. 

1861 -66 William Blackman.

1869 - Sir William Clayton has a telegraph system installed with 3 miles of underground cabling to allow him to communicate with the gardeners, lodge keepers and other staff. 

1866-1872- William Neighbour. See also Court Garden above. Biography here

1869 - 1879 - Stephen Goldswain, under gardener. Stephen's employment comes to an abrupt end when he is convicted of stealing potatoes from the gardens, along with 2 garden labourers. He received 1 month in prison for this with hard labour.

1875- Mr Harding.

1879- 1888 Charles Knowles. Lived in the Gardener's Lodge. Wife Elizabeth. In 1879 one of the assistant gardeners Stephen Goldswain who had worked on the estate for ten years was found guilty of stealing potatoes from the garden after Charles gave evidence against him.  Two casual labourers in the estate had also stolen some. Stephen was jailed for a month with hard labour. By the time he left Harleyford, Charles was the head gardener. 

1879 - Thomas Brewer and William Thatcher. Garden labourers. Unfortunately they are convicted along with Stephen Goldswain above for stealing potatoes from the gardens. William had a previous conviction so received a 6 week sentence with hard labour, while Thomas was sentenced to 4 weeks, also with hard labour. 

1881 - Walter Garner (under gardener) and Frederick Stratfield ditto. Frederick Cheetham / Cheethman is gardener's labourer. 

1886 - J Fletcher age 22, under gardener. Seeks position elsewhere this year as second gardener or "first journeyman in the houses". In other words he is looking to further his career by moving to another garden in a more senior role. The houses referred to are the glasshouses or greenhouses. Some large estates had gardeners whose main role was to tend to the vast amount of plants grown under glass. Experience in caring for these was valued and Fletcher says he has experience in this field. 

1888 - Alfred Myson, head. Possibly left 1890. 

1895- 1909 James Sharpe, head. Wife Millicent. Manages to grow bananas on the estate, harvesting 60lb of them in 1903. 

1915 - Walter Barklam. Assistant gardener then Edward Farmer. Edward died aged 29 in 1918. This was as a result of an accident during his WW1 military service. He was thrown from his horse and died of his injuries.

1926 - G Edworthy (head) 

Highfields

1881-1883 James Munday.

1903 - John Weaving. Lived in a four room cottage Highfield's Lodge.

1907 - T Weavin. Possibly a mistake for J Weaving.

1911 - John Weaving.

1924 -29 at least.  J E Jones. Came in 1924 from Major Argles in Westmorland. 

The Lawn, Mill Road.

NB not the same house as Thames Lawn.

1921 - Henry Smewing.

Little Marlow Manor.

1861 - Edwin Anstead? Might be at Westhorpe now. 

1863 - Edwin Anstead.

1897-98 - George Cooper.

1920 - George Latchford.

Little Dean / Littledean/ Littledene (New Town)

Probably the house formerly known as Rivermead(s)- if not they were very close together. 

1921 - Albert Brooks.

Marlow Place, Station Road

1739 - Robert Rudkin (to "Madam Wallop") [Alice/Alicia]

1907, 1915  - J B Trendall.

1921 - Benjamin Trendall (Head).

1930- Mr Trendall (Head).

*For 17 years prior to the first world war Henry William Reeves was under gardener. Unfortunately a leg wound sustained in 1917 at Ypres meant Henry could no longer work as a gardener as he could no longer bend his knee. Instead he eventually opened the longstanding Reeves tobacconists and confectioners in the High Street. 

Medmenham Abbey 

1911 - James Aird, head gardener for Col Douglas Frederick Dawson. 

1915 - Ernest Henry Wye Clark, under gardener. Ernest was killed in action at Passchendaele in 1917 aged 26. His parents, who lived in Queens Road Marlow, knew that he was missing but did not learn that he had definitely died for almost a year. A photo of Ernest's grave is on the blog here.

New Court, off High Street.

Uriah Piggott who died in 1906 was said to have worked there for over 30 years. Wife Ann. In 1881 he is listed as a coachman of Platts Row and in 1871 as a groom. 

1907/8- Mr Turnedge. Under gardeners- Mr Brinsden and Mr Silver.

1915 - A Brown .

1926 - C Absolom 

The Orchard(s), Bovingdon Green

Richard Evans by 1907 to Mr H Slattery. By 1913 to at least 1915 Richard was the gardener to Mrs Slattery, widow. Looks to have moved to Lady Findlay at Warfield by 1927. 

Remnantz, West Street

John Neighbour - 1850s. Read more here

1871-1889 Alfred Hitchcock. Lived 83 West Street next to Remnantz. He lodged with Charlotte Rose, a laundress employed by the family at Remnantz. Alfred died 1889. Wife Catherine (m 1878, née Orme). William was one of those who gave evidence as to the damage done during the election riots of 1880, of which more here 

1891 - assistant gardener, Walter Trim. Killed this year in an accident while climbing a tree (not at Remnantz) in pursuit of a magpies nest. 

1903 - Samuel Fisher. Lived at Remnantz Lodge/Cottage. 

1911- William Farthing. Lived at Remnantz Cottage (81-83 West Street, old numbering, 81 currently.)

1918- A Brown. Due to wartime labour shortages the 45 year old was managing all 12 or so acres alone AND acting as groom for Miss Wood, the tenant of the house.  He lived at Remnantz Cottage, which is now 81 West Street but was differently numbered in the past.

Rookery, off Chapel Street.

1863 - Richard Ward. He won first prize for his peaches at the Marlow Horticultural Show in this year.

1865- J Goldswain.

1872 - G Frith.

1888-1899 at least  - George Frith. Brings the fruit garden into a state of perfection, with renowned pear trees. 

1914 - T Allaway, arrives after  spending 7 years as second gardener at Englefield Lodge, Englefield Green.

1927 &8 - Mr Lewis. 

 

Seymour Court

1883-1890 William Andrews, lived Eton Place rather than on site. Left 1890. Is still censused as a gardener later in Marlow but I don't know where he worked.

1890- 1891 William R Williams (yes his name was William Williams). Head gardener. Lived Dean Street 1891 which would be about a mile walk to work for him each day, and home again. Born in Wales. You'd think William Williams would not be a common name but there was also another man of the same name in Dean Street 1891 in a different household! Moved to Seymour Court from position as garden foreman at The Cedars, Wells, Somerset, and prior to that was at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. 

1891 - Sidney Chalk. Also worked at Court Garden, date uncertain. See post here for more on Sidney's later career as ironmonger etc. 

1891 - Richard Heath.

1899- 1902 Walter Parsons.

1901 - George Giddings?

Spinfield Lodge / House (original largely demolished, but a 1930s house replaced it) 

History of the house and the occupants of it is available here

1841- Thomas Piggott? 

1847- H. King.

1853- Mr MacKeith.

1860- Mr Clews. Oversaw expansion and significant improvement of the gardens and grounds.

1863- William Neville. Or in second source G Neville. 

1873- H Heath. Seems to be under gardener or garden labourer rather than the head gardener.

1879 - Mr German.

1879 - Mr Excell (Second gardener. That is under gardener) 

1881 - William Thurman. Head  Leaves this year to take up position at Fairthorne Park, Botley. 

1881 - John Heath - garden labourer.

1882- W. J Clarke. Moved from Kilkerran, Ayrshire to take the job.

1883- Abraham Hubbard.

1887- John Kent. Lived in the lodge. Unsure of position within garden staff. 

1891-1899 William Shorter. Was in his 70s and shortly after this became the lodge keeper at Spinfield instead of gardener because of his ailing physical condition. He died at the lodge aged 81 in 1900. Wife was Rebecca who after his death became a ladies maid at Spinfield. She was some years younger than him. William had at his death worked for the wider Murray family 60 years plus and they thought the world of him. Assistant gardener Mr Finch (1898)

1892-93 Mr Cole. Moved 1893 to Swallowfield Park Berkshire. Effectively the head gardener on a day to day basis but the elderly William Shorter was officially still the head. 

1898- 1916 Thomas Blackmore. Rose specialist and florist who provided floral decorations for many public events in Marlow. Judge regularly at local horticultural shows. A native of Devon. He gave some talks to the local boy scouts on horticulture in 1914. He  provided the plants for some formal planting displays at Marlow Cemetery in the years after it opened. He lived in a 4 room cottage on the estate. The under gardener lived in the Lodge house in 1911. Thomas used a portion of Spinfield Gardens as an independent commercial enterprise (selling bedding plants etc)  from some point after 1916 until shortly before he set up as a nurseryman, seedsman and florist, at West Street 1921. 

Suffolk Lodge, off what is now Station Road. Later called Marlow Lodge (There was also a Marlow Lodge at Little Marlow) More on the house here

1840 - George Davidson.

1868- Edward Hancock. Died suddenly this year of a fit of apoplexy just outside the gates of Suffolk Lodge. Had suffered fits of apoplexy and occasional difficulty breathing for some months. Age 63.

1869 - Mr J Meakes. Won prizes at the "floral fete" held at Harleyford in this year. 

1871 - Bartholomew Dingle.

1874-1875 F Russell.

1881- George Smith. Wife Margaret a servant in the house. Both live in. Not same George Smith as at Beech Lodge above.

1882 - Mr Edwin, and a "boy". 

1907-1918 at least Herbert Elkington. Lived in the gardener's cottage with wife Florence.

1917 - A Frith also worked there, presumably under gardener.

The Sycamores, Mill Lane 

NB not the same as Sycamore House West Street. 

 1911 - 1921 - Sydney Charles Rye. 

Temple House, Temple.

A history of the house can be found here

1835-1852 - George Davison./Davidson. 

1853 - Charles Adams. Features in the press as the American Aloe plant at Temple is 30ft tall including its flower stem. 

1861,1862- Henry Payne.

1880, 1886- George Keates. Wife Charlotte. Plays a big role in assisting the other staff to remove valuables from the house during the devastating fire of 1886. An entire wing containing dozens of rooms is gutted. 

1888 - R Cooper (journeyman age 21)

1890-1920 at least George Grove(s) (head) moved there from the Rangemore Gardens in Burton on Trent where he was foreman. Meticulously monitored a weather station at Temple and so provided many meteorological reports to local newspapers as well as trade journals. In 1900 George's "magnificent melons" were used to illustrate the Sutton's autumn catalogue. He'd managed to produce 4 melons from one plant weighing in total just over 31lbs. Acts as a judge at local horticultural shows when not carrying off prizes himself. 

1891 - Arthur Williams (under) . Moves to be head gardener for Mr H. Willan at Albion Lodge, Maulleys Castle, Worcs. NB one source had him as Arthur Wilson.

C1892 - for one year, F J Toms. Came from 2 year stint in fruit department of Lord Sudeley, Toddington, Glos and left for Brakspear, Uxbridge where he would be one of the foreman gardeners. 

1890-1892 Albert Pearce (Foreman) Moved to Summer Hill House, Kidderminster.

1893-c1896 - Charles Horn (General Foreman). Previously at Spye Park, Wilts. Left Temple to seek position as head gardener. 

1892 - 6 gardeners kept. Has bothy and gardeners perks including pick of vegetables. 

1893-Thomas Watson. Under.

1908 - James Davis. We think he was an under gardener. From the garden saw the lock keeper's teenage daughter fall into the lock. By the time he reached the spot it was too late, she had drowned.

Thames Bank, Riverside.

1846-1870 Mr Robert Hobbs. Pear grower extaordinaire. (In 1862 one of his trees produced 320 pears, with some extraordinary specimens measuring 13" round. The tree was photographed by Marlow photographer Rebecca Blake.) When fellow gardener (not at Thames Bank) Ford of the nearby South Place committed suicide by hanging himself in 1867, Robert was the first one on the scene responding to the cries of the dead man's sister. He cut the deceased down and gave evidence at the inquest. More on the case in this post. Assistant Mr Hollis. 

1871 - John Rose

1872-c1892 -1894 Albert George Bridg(e)man of Wiltshire. His toddler son William drowned in a water cistern while "helping" dad water the garden with a toy watering can at Thames Bank in 1875. Albert won many prizes for his produce. Later became a seedsman. Wife Elizabeth died 1888, second marriage was to Susannah.  Biography here. In 1888 one of the garden labourers was George White. George had the unpleasant task of retrieving the dead body of a Marlow man from the river by the house.

1894 - Douglas Brown (head). Came from Boscombe Manor, Bournemouth.

1895- Mr Hobbs.

1901 - C Anderson. 

As LYMBROOK - 

1921 - . Albert G Earis (possibly the head), Thomas Blewitt & George Hester 

Thames Cottage

1916 -1921 - Robert Thomas Davis. Also caretaker. In 1916 Robert's employer Percy Hoar twice applies for Robert's enlistment to be delayed Robert himself may then have asked for a exemption on personal grounds as in April 1917 the exemption is still in place but it is made conditional on his also doing farm work. Previously it was given on the condition that he joined the local rifle volunteers. He is placed on a farm by the Substitution Officer (to free up someone else to serve).  NB at time of 1916 Local Tribunal hearings his address is 86 Dedmere Rd. 

1921 - George Thorne. 

Western House, West Street

1862- Mr Tait.

1874-1879 James Rimmell. Also spelt Rymel and Rimmel. Organised a horticultural show in the grounds of Western House in 1874.

1888 - H Everist. (Everest?)

Early 1900s- Mr Absalom who had a sideline in taking photographic portraits of children.

Westhorpe House, Little Marlow

1869 - G. Davis. 

1890- George Davis.

1911 - William? Davis

1915 - George Davis (to Major Herbert Spencer Gordon) 

Additional research by Charlotte Day.

To find other posts about general Marlow history, see the index here

People of Potlands post lists many gardeners: here.

©Marlow Ancestors.

Sources:

Journal of Horticulture,  Cottage Gardener, and Home Farmer, collected, 1882 and 1890.

Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener Article by George W Johnson FRHS and Robert Hogg LLD. Digitized by Google.

1883 Kellys Post Office Directory of Buckinghamshire, published by Kellys Directories Limited.

1911,1913 & 1915 Kelly's Directory as above

Reading Mercury 25th April 1868.

The Gardener: A Magazine of Horticulture and Floriculture, collected  - 1871.

South Bucks Standard September 9 1902, February 21st 1908, 11th August 1905, 14th March 1912.

Journal of Horticulture And Practical Gardening, Volume 26 1893. Digitized by Google.

History and Topography of Buckinghamshire by James Joseph Sheahan. Published by Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts 1861.

Bucks Herald 1862 22nd November, via the BNA / British Library Archives.

Reading Mercury 7 June 1867.

Bucks Free Press 21st October 1932, and Oct 11th 1918,  Bucks Free Press Archives.

Census, Jane Pullinger's transcription from microfilm.

Royal County Directory of Beds, Bucks, Berks etc 1876 by J.G Harrod and co.

Gardener's Chronicle, 1882, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1894, 1927, 1928 

Private letters.

Marriage cert Alfred Hitchcock.

A Letter To The Editor Of The Hampshire Chronicle Regarding The Winchester Nunnery by Ignatius Collingbrooke, published in book form by the Catholic Publishers and Booksellers Company 1858. Digitized by Google.

Clipping "Morning Leader" March 1905, provided by Percy Colter with thanks. 

Marlow Almanack and Directory 1891.

 

here