The winters of 1891/2, 1892/3 and 1893/4 and the early spring of 1895 saw the Thames at Marlow frozen to some degree for 4 years in a row. By the end of January 1891 there had been 9 weeks of frost. It was hoped that the Thames or one of the flooded meadows adjacent would freeze sufficiently to host a cricket match on the ice, along with torch lit skating races at Cookham but all of a sudden the thaw set in and the ice disappeared quickly. The river had frozen most completely nearer Maidenhead and so many Marlow residents were noted as having made the journey to a "splendid piece of ice" extending from Boulters Lock to "beyond Mr. Woodhouse's boathouse at Cliveden Reach." Reports suggest "fully a thousand persons" were disporting themselves on this stretch. Some Marlow people were among those who found a way to make a profit out of the excited visitors. They laid planks to help skaters access the river from the bank and charged people for help getting onto the ice and also for fixing and unfixing skates onto boots. At Cookham Lock several people were seen to ride or drive horses onto the ice and cyclists also put in an appearance. 1891 also saw several hundred people gather on the flooded and frozen meadows at Bisham and Temple. A large number of skaters also gathered at Mr George Jackson's pond at Westhorpe and one man was seen skating on the weir pool at Marlow on Christmas day 1891. The committee of the National Skating Association's negotiations to bring some races off in the neighborhood came too late to beat the thaw but some locally arranged handicap races did occur at Marlow. These male-only races were organised by Alfred Davis and John Langley, who also acted as a starter. The main event was won by Edward Shaw, which was they say "a very popular win". The number of spectators was enormous, despite the cold. (See below for a partial list of those men and boys competing.) A correspondent for the Fishing Gazette in early January 1891 says that one afternoon he had witnessed fully 200 persons on the river ice opposite Shaw's boathouse including a great number of "skatists and hockeyists". Such a sight he said was not within memory of "the middle aged generation" with the ice 6 inches deep in some places along the upper Thames. The thaw was still ongoing into February, the hard ground causing most of the water from the riverside to run into the river itself. The water level rose by 2ft within a few days of the thaw beginning.
Unfortunately timed as that thaw may have been, it was not as dramatic as the so called "silver thaw" of 1867 when the sudden break up of a frost lead to showers of minute ice crystals that destroyed many umbrellas wielded against them.
Thin ice proves a peril
Heavy snow in 1893 saw drifts of 12ft depth in places reported between Cressex and Marlow. The roads from Wycombe were understandably blocked. Those skating and sliding on frozen ditches and ponds were said to be of both sexes and all ages. The stretch of frozen Thames was much more limited than in 1891, but the ice formed near the Berks and Bucks shores was regarded as "moderately safe" which was enough to get large numbers of skaters out near Bisham Church. Under Marlow Bridge the ice seemed to stretch across the whole width of the river, and so naturally some of the curious tried to edge their way across from one bank to another, despite warnings the ice was very thin in the centre of the span. A few made it across safely to cheers but then a young man tried to make the return journey and fell through the ice. The water beneath him was said to be 22ft deep. A very difficult rescue was accomplished after the youngster had spent 10 mins in the frozen water, very largely thanks to Mr J G Meakes who had laid a very long ladder across the breach and so allowed rescuers to approach. The young man was very lucky to be alive, if very cold.
In February 1895 a little girl from the Grace family fell through the ice after trying to skate on it just beyond the end of the St Peter Street slipway. The screams of her young companions bought Mr Jones, the coachman of Thames Bank to the scene and he was able to mount a successful rescue.
Incidentally, anyone curious to know the temperature in the 1890's could wander - or slide along - the High Street pavements to Messrs Smith & Co who had a very large thermometer on the outside of the building.
Beware of snowballs!
One way of keeping warm might be to engage in an energetic snowball fight. But as always reports of some over enthusiastic throwing resulting in broken windows come to the surface. In the heavy snowfall of 1904, Supt Summers received so many complaints of bad behaviour that they did their best to catch groups of boys lurking suspiciously with snowballs at hand. Three naughty boys who went too far in pelting a little girl walking up Institute Rd saw themselves hauled before the magistrates. William Boddy, Jack Hall and Charles Collins received a fine of 1s each for their efforts.
Edwardian scenes
Although the Victorian era frozen river scenes are probably the most famous, January 1908 saw the Thames frozen from bank to bank beneath Marlow Bridge. And vast scattered sheets of ice stretched between Meakes Boat House and Bisham Church. However the ice was not thick enough to bear a persons weight so the crowds that came to see the sight were restricted to the towpath. But they still went skating. The reason is the Thames was in flood and so the riverside meadows were used as improvised skating rinks as they had been used for generations, private property or no. For decades the premier skating spot was however Cockmarsh, and so Marlow crowds made the journey there. They were not the only ones. It is said that even Londoners made the trip to Bourne End to enjoy the neighbourhood skating. Reporters from the Daily Graphic also made their way to Marlow and took images of an ice hockey match proceeding on the iced over floodwater. This freeze made the conditions difficult for the swans and a decision was made to remove them from the river and hold them inland for a couple of months. Catching them seems quite a task however, as most had moved inland themselves, some by "several miles".
Not all fun and games
Snow and ice maybe gives romantic image of Marlow in the the winter. But there's another side. Cold and wet conditions made life a misery for those needing to work outside especially if they had poor quality clothes and boots and came from a poorly heated home. In 1872 the torrential December rain made the working conditions of those employed on laying the Marlow railway dangerous. So the work had to be temporarily abandoned to a sea of mud.
Others working outside whose labour did not stop were obviously very vulnerable if poorly clothed in freezing temperatures. Rag and bone man Charles Slade of Gun Lane was believed to have died of exposure while doing a round at Hambledon in early 1895. He was found insensible in the road alongside his donkey cart near the Dog & Badger at Medmenham. He could not be revived. In fact he was dead by the time he was returned to Marlow by Thomas Stroud of Dean Street who had been drinking at the Dog and Badger. The conclusion was the extreme cold had bought on heart failure which had in turn caused the fall from the cart. Wife Sarah tells the inquest that her husband had been suffering much from the low temperatures and that they had sometimes had a lack of food over the winter.
Fog was sometimes bad enough to be described as a serious interference for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic and the trains did not escape disruption. Frozen pipes deprived many households of water, so water sellers were back on the streets after they had ceased to be a common feature throughout the town. (Eg several enterprising souls were seen selling water in February 1895. The Marlow Water Company endeavoured to supply those homes normally connected to their supply with water from the standpipes too.)
Regular collections were made to help the poor afford coals for the winter. But for those without a home, the situation was worst of all. The last word will go to the case of "tramp" James Healey. In January 1908, James came into the town and tried to find somewhere to stay. He did not succeed. Described as "quite an old man" he was frightened at the prospect of spending the night outside during an extremely cold spell. So he picked up a stick and deliberately broke the glass of one of the council owned street lamps in Trinity Road where the Police Station was located. He then went to them and confessed to his act of desperate vandalism. He knew they would have no choice but to arrest him and keep him in the - relatively- warm cells overnight. He got a longer stay than he hoped for, as he was subsequently sentenced to 7 days gaol with hard labour. In the same week beggars were caught in West Street, Institute Rd, and Station Rd and also received 7 day sentences.
List of competitors in 1891 Marlow ice skating handicap races:
Boys:
C P Lovell (winner 500 yards junior race), Frederick Plumridge, Frank Langley, A Smith.
Adults:
E Shaw, A Shaw, Reggie Shaw, C Shaw, J Payne, Taplin, Bowles, Hooker, Smith, Grove, Tom White, Rowe, Cox, H Harman, W Davis, Lees?, Collier, Bailey, Lovell, Ashtead, Nicholls.
Veterans:
W Lunnon, ? Langley, E Flint, W Shaw, A J East, W Toovey,
Researched and written by Kathryn Day
Related Posts:
Victorian Christmas in Marlow part 1 here and 2 here
Edwardian Christmas in Marlow here
Bonfire night in Victorian Marlow here
A listing of other posts about every day life in old Marlow here
Easter and May day here
Selected Sources
The Fishing Gazette: Devoted to Angling, River, Lake, and Sea Fishing, and Fish Culture, Volume 3. ( Charles William Bradley & Co 1895) & The Fishing Gazette 10 January 1891, ditto.
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Reading Mercury 21 December 1872. From British Library, accessed via the BNA October 2020.
South Bucks Standard 23 January 1891, 24 November 1893, 2 December 1904, 10 January 1908, as above.
Notebook of Miss E Morton.
©Marlow Ancestors
