Gardening with wolves- Albert Bridgman

  Albert Bridgman (Bridgeman) was the Victorian head gardener at Thames Bank House in Marlow. The riverside garden was not as big as that of those of similar grand houses in the neighborhood so you may think Albert's job was comparatively easy and peaceful. But not many of his brother gardeners can have had to garden under the eyes of a pet "wolf" with tame squirrels and otters galloping across his carefully maintained lawn. Albert worked for the Somers Cocks family, one of whom, Alfred Heneage Cocks, maintained a menagerie of tamed British wild animals at Thames Bank. Many of these were sadly constantly caged..at least in theory. But there were escapees, including a Scottish wild cat that was never recovered. Albert was naturally drawn into the search at such times. The so called wolf said to live at Thames Bank was in fact a large hunting dog which had been trained to pursue elks in its native land, or so it was said. Polecat Snap (named due to its habit of nipping fingers) was allowed to run about the lawns but was tethered when the gardeners tended the grass, for obvious reasons! Albert also had to put up with the visits of local men and boys bringing bags of dead rats and mice which Heneage Cocks used to feed his collection, along with skinned hedgehogs! 

Albert was born in Wiltshire, the son of a carpenter. He arrived in Marlow with wife Elizabeth to take up his role in the early 1870s. (By 1873) The garden at Thames Bank included lawns, flower beds, and a glasshouse as might be expected. The pride of the garden was always it's fruit trees however.  All the local "big houses" entered the fruit of their gardeners labours into the local, regional, and sometimes national horticultural shows. Different gardens had different specialities, and Albert was often crowned supreme in the fruit growing categories. This is a great credit to Albert, as he was working in a smaller garden than his rivals, and without a large team of assistants to aid him.  He always had a garden boy to do the more menial tasks, but did not always have a full time adult assistant. I can however find records of several live-out journeyman gardeners who were brought in to assist with particularly busy times. 

In addition to sending his prize grapes and apples to horticultural shows, Albert provided flowers which decorated the parish church at times like Easter. And then there were the blooms used to adorn the stage and walls at the St Peters Street public hall (aka the Music Room, now the Masonic centre) during untold numbers of fund raising events. It's fair to say a large proportion of Marlow got to enjoy Albert's horticultural skill, beyond his employers. The gardens themselves were sometimes open to the public. For example in 1876 it hosted a church bazaar to raise funds to pay off money spent on recent improvements. Albert provided some specimen plants for sale - all available for 1s each.  Visitors also had the chance to view the menagerie for an extra fee. 

A Tragic Accident At Thames Bank

In the summer of 1875, Albert was engaged in watering some plants at Thames Bank. The water was stored in a large lidded cistern, and there was a metal grill over part of the opening below the cover. Albert had to remove the lid to fill his watering pot at the open part (a pot is a watering can as we would call it), replacing it as soon as he finished. Halfway through he was disturbed by a visit from a family friend, who was carrying Albert's two year son. Little William was set on the ground while the adults talked. He amused himself by playing with his dad's empty watering pot, pretending to water the earth while Albert and friend walked away to look at some flowers in another part of the garden. When they returned there was no sign of the toddler. A horrified Albert realised that he had not yet replaced the cistern lid. Tragically, the little boy had done what no one thought possible, and climbed up the cistern side to fill his can. He had tumbled in, and his lifeless body was seen under the grill. The watering can was also found in the water. Dr Shone was sent for, but there was never any hope of recovering the poor child's life. An inquest was held at the Prince of Wales pub, at which Albert gave evidence. Verdict: Found drowned. How hard it must have been to  walk past the cistern every day and be reminded of such a terrible accident. 

Wife Elizabeth would also be lost to Albert all too soon. She died aged 52 in 1888, when daughter Catherine* was 12 years old. He subsequently remarried, to Susannah. 

Happier Times

In the year 1878, the Gardener's Chronicle horticultural journal visited the gardens at Thames Bank. They concluded the grounds were "the model of good and clean cultivation" and that Albert was an "intelligent gardener." A particular marvel at this time was a wall trained pear that took up some 262sq feet of the north east wall. This tree had  1,390 pears and this in a variety that was usually bi-annual bearing.  (That is one that did not naturally always fruit every year.) 

Albert was involved in setting up the Chrysanthemum show which ran from 1886 (earlier ones had petered out) raising funds for the Royal Berkshire hospital. Before Marlow secured our own cottage hospital, it was to the Royal Berks that the very sick of Marlow would be sent. 

Afterwards

Albert spent around 20 years at Thames Bank. Between 1892-4 he left in order to start up as a seedsman and florist in Station Rd. He is also described as a nurseryman at this time. He was in other words growing plants to sell to others. Station Rd was an area long used for nursery gardening. In 1895 Albert also leased a triangle of land opposite the station which was described previously as an "unsightly mess".  He turned it into a small decorative garden, presumably as a kind of advert for his gardening skills. On top of this he had the contract to care for The Enclosure or the now unfenced grassed area on the Causeway near the church and war memorial. Wife Susannah also let rooms at their home "Inglewood" to short term visitors coming mainly to Marlow for the summer or "river season". As such she was a host the national Queen magazine/ newspaper  recommended as suitable one for respectable young ladies to take lodgings. A recommendation indeed! 

*Daughter Catherine would later be a servant to LJ and Alice Smith in Beaumont Rise. Later still she went to Cambridgeshire to act as a housekeeper for a Roman Catholic priest with whom she would stay for decades. 

 Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

Related Posts

To find every mention of an individual here, see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. 

For other posts relating to Thames Bank, see the index here

Biographies of other head gardeners, and general life in Marlow during Albert's life here

List of  gardeners at the big houses locally -here

Sources include:

Census 1881,1891 - Transcripts from the originals by Jane Pullinger and Charlotte Day. 

Bucks Herald, 31 July 1875. 

Gardeners Chronicle 1878 digitised by Google. 

Gardeners Chronicle 1880, courtesy of InternetArchive.org. 

Reading Mercury 26 May 1888. 

South Bucks Standard 14 February 1886, 10 May 1895 - these editions from the British Library partnership with the BNA. 

Kelly's Directories of Buckinghamshire 1883 and 1885. (Kelly's Directories Ltd) 

The Victoria History of the County of Buckingham, 1905. Editor William  Page F.S.A. (James Street 1905)

The Queen, June 1895 &  June 1896. 

© MarlowAncestors 

The Winfords of Thames Bank

Sarah and Harriet Winford are the subjects of today's post. Sarah was born into a comfortable position in life and died leaving an estate worth a fortune. She lived in one of the biggest houses in 18th century Marlow with an extensive number of servants at her command. But her life in Marlow was not free of its struggles as you will see.

 Sarah was already widowed when she arrived in Marlow, some time before 1769. Her husband was Hereford MP Thomas Geers Winford, who had changed his name from Thomas Geers on inheriting from his wife's childless uncle in 1744. The house Sarah moved to was known then as Goodyers, as Sarah herself clarifies in her will. She is likely the person responsible for re naming it Thames Bank House. (Later names include Lymbrook and Thames Lawn although Lymbrook/Limebroke was also used earlier to refer to the area around here and the Waterman's Arms). Situated on the banks of the River Thames, with then extensive views of the Quarry Woods, its location must have seemed idyllic - until Sarah began her tussles with the barge-men working on the river at least. More of that below. 

Thomas and Sarah had two daughters, Sarah junior and Harriet. Sarah married Sambrooke Freeman of Fawley Court in 1757. She was a regular at court and acted as a host to the likes of King George III on a number of occasions. The younger girl, Harriet lived a much quieter life. It seems she suffered from ill health over a considerable period and she never married, but remained with her devoted mother at Thames Bank. Harriet was fond of Quarry Woods and a particular bluff was adopted by her as a favourite seat and viewpoint. In fact it became known as "Miss Winfords seat". Sarah owned a boat and the family often took friends on river trips, attending for example a "waterparty" near Harleyford. They also took a trip to see Owen Williams newly constructed Temple House. A friend of the family accompanying them on this expedition thought Temple was grand enough on the outside but it was let down by the interior design!  This same friend also mentions a "temple" belonging to the Winfords, which was used for picnics. I have not seen this temple, a fashionable upper class accessory, represented in any illustrations of the house and it is not listed as a garden feature when the house is up for sale later. It may have been of a more temporary rustic design, or possibly was not located within the grounds of Thames Bank itself. (Having one on a eyot was also fashionable.)

A less desirable part of riverside living for Sarah was the fact the Thames was very much a working river and her home was located between Marlow Bridge and various wharves and the Lock. After Marlow received a new pound lock, she complained that the barges were now navigating the river closer to her home and worse still, they were spending longer tied up outside her garden wall.  This was a problem because the bargeman were apparently committing indecent actions outside the elderly ladies windows, causing her to keep her shutters facing the river firmly closed. You can read the full story of the bargeman and Sarah here. The other annoyances faced by Mrs Winford during her last years at the house were an attempted break in and a successfully managed theft of 15 bantams in 1789. 

Sarah seems to have been a keen reader, as she is listed as a subscriber to a number of volumes. In the past many books were only produced if enough people subscribed to cover the upfront production and printing costs. Donate enough and your name would be added in dedication within the first editions at least. Among Sarah's choices were a book of sermons from a Worcestershire vicar Charles Butt, while Harriet supported local author Thomas Langley's History of the Hundred of Desborough which included Marlow. 

Sarah died in early September 1793 aged 83. She had a considerable estate to leave, apart from the lease of Thames Bank. Shortly before her death she had inherited money along with her two sisters, from her brother Charles who died childless. Charles himself had been the beneficiary of another brothers will, William, who also left no issue. Three years later, both of these sisters died within a month of each other, one unmarried, the other a widow. So Sarah had to some degree benefitted from outliving most of her near relatives. She had over £9000 invested to leave to her two daughters. Harriet would receive the lease of Thames Bank, with Sarah receiving an additional £300 as well as her share of the investments. 

Sarah left a number of gifts to her servants. This was not altogether uncommon in itself, but she seems to have been a pleasant person to work for. Many of her staff members remained with the family for decades and what's more she paid for the gravestones of several of them - 3 of which can be seen in the churchyard of All Saints to this day. The churchyard is just along the river bank from Thames Bank.

 The will legacies were:

 To housekeeper Elizabeth Swan 10 guineas. 

To gardener Robert Stockbridge, 3 guineas. 

William Powell, coachman, 3 guineas if he was still in her service at her death. 

Former butler Robert Floyd £20. 

Above, grave of Robert Floyd. 

- D. January 26th 1801 age 74. "Useful servant and honest man" Erected at Harriet's expense. Read his will here

Cook Sarah Clarke 5 guineas. 

Housemaid Mary Whitty £15. [Harriet will pay for Mary's gravestone. On her death she had given the family 63 years service! See it  here]

 Other maids  Ann ?Tolner £4, Rose Bartholomew £4, Mary Walker £2.

Servants of Harriet if living with Harriet when Sarah dies: Ann James 5 Guineas. Harriet's groom (not named) 2 Guineas. Samuel Charles 5 Guineas. Samuel's children George and Sarah got £20 each. This was increased in a codicil to the will and Harriet was asked to act as the children's guardian.

All other servants in the house when Sarah dies: for "at least two years to receive half a year's wages" each.

Mr Harris, her steward in Worcestershire 10 Guineas for mourning. At Harriet's discretion 6 maidservants and and 4 male servants to get money for mourning too.

Poor of Astley, Worcestershire £20. (where Sarah had family connections)

Rev. Stephen Chase rector of Bisham 10 Guineas.

All the household goods, furniture and linen as well as Sarah's jewels and "trinkets" were left for Harriet's use, bar a purse of gold coins and some silver spoons for Sarah junior. 

Harriet died of a long and painful final illness in 1801. She was just 58 years old. She was buried, like her mother, at the Winford family vault at St Peters Church, Astley, Worcestershire. The following year the household contents of Thames bank was offered for sale, with "elegant household furniture" including a prized matching drawing room suite of chairs, sofa and curtains. 

Notes: Sarah was nee Lutwyche, of Lutwyche Hall, Salop. 

Written by Kathryn Day. 

© Marlow Ancestors.

Related posts:

Grave of Winford servant Samuel Clarke here

More Biographies of Marlow Families on this index

More posts about the people of specific Marlow houses (big and small) listed here

Sources include:

Will of Sarah Winford, transcribed by Charlotte from a copy held at National Archives, Kew. 

Reading Mercury 39 March 1789

Oxford Journal 1 June 1802

Sermons, George Butt 1791. 

Brown, William. Reports of Cases argued and determined in the High Court of Chancery, 1786. 

Climenson, Emily J (ed) Passages from the diaries of Mrs Phillip Lybbe Powys of Hardwick House, Oxon. 1899

Munby, Arthur Joseph. Faithful Servants,1891. Digitised by Google.  

Willis, Browne. History and  Antiquities, of the town, hundred and deanery of Buckingham 1755 

Century Magazine Vol 90 1801, digitised by Google. 

Monthly Magazine Volume 12, 1801. 

 

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Even More Where In Marlow Was..? PART 3

A list of difficult or vanished addresses for modern researchers, updated often. 

Part One here, Two here. Four here. Five here

 To find out more about a particular house, street, shop etc see the Specific shops, streets etc option on the top drop down menu. 

Acorns, The house, Institute Rd. Still bears name. 

Ashley View - Newtown Rd

Avonmore - (See also this post on the 1890s flu pandemic  Here )

Avondale - house, Beaumont Rise. 

Bothy, The - the name for gardeners accomodation on large estate, and gardens. Can be found at Highfields and Danesfield.  Not used for accomodation at Remnantz despite name in Wethered Park - that building was a potting shed, and prior to that a vinery! 

Bromleigh - Station Rise

Bungalow, The - Wethered Rd 2. Station Rd 3. New Town 

Caxton, Caxton Villa - now Mill Rd, in Platts Cottages/Row

Cintra - Claremont Gardens

Clwyd - Portlands (adjacent Portland Villas)

Cornerways - Gossmore/Mill Rd. There was also a Crossways, Station Rise

Corshel - Newtown 

Crossways, The - Station Rise. See also Cornerways. 

Derriford  - Queens Rd

Dolls House, The - Claremont Rd

Elmwood - Glade Rd

Fairlight - Claremont Gardens

Fairford - Appartments in Station Rd. 

Glendower - Portlands

Glenoma - New Town eg Holland Rd, Newtown Rd area

Glenrosa or Glen Rosa - Claremont Rd. 

Glenthorne - house, Beaumont Rise

Godstone - Little Marlow Rd

Greyroofs - qv Portlands, may be meant for Greywalls. 

Harris's Gardens- West End as they called it. We would now render this place as being in Henley Road. Borlase side of road.

Hermitage, The - Pound Lane.  (occasional alternative name for the Deanery, St Peters Street too) 

Homelea - Red Pits, off Henley Rd. 

Homeleigh - Beaumont Rise

Homerton Cottage - Eton Place

Invergarry Dedmere Rd

Inverglyde - Beaumont Rise

Jordans- house apparently in Marlow Bottom 1700s.

Klemler - New Town - New Town rd area

Kewfields - Beaumont Rise

Larches, The - Oxford Rd

Leacroft - Little Marlow Rd

Lilyville - Dedmere Rd

Lindum - Little Marlow Rd

Lowermead - Dedmere Rd

Lulworth/Lulworth Villa - contemporary address given as Claremont Estate or Glade Rd, now in Claremont Gardens. Also name given more recently to a house in Munday Dean. 

Modena - Claremont Gardens

Montague House- house St Peter's Street.

Myne holm - Glade Rd, Myneholme - Institute Rd. Would not surprise me if the two properties were in fact one as Glade Rd was adopted as a nearest address for homes in the new development around Institute Rd before the name was established. 

Palmers - High Str, modern no 65.  Named after previous owners. Also historic surgeons premises, one of several in High Street, hence aka  Doctors House but this name may also refer to other properties depending on period. 

Reddersberg - West Street. One of a rash of South African inspired house names adopted in Marlow  around the time of the relief of Mafeking and later. 

Rosemead - Mill Road.

Rosemary AKA Rosemary Villa - Berwick Road.

Rosemont, Rosemount - New Town

Rosare - New Town Rd

Royton - Newtown. 

Ryepeck, Rye Peck - house then private residential hotel, riverside. For a post featuring the Cuppy family, one of whom briefly ran this place see post here. Originally built as a private residence. 

Spowkes - Hayes Place

Three Gables - the name taken on by the replacement for the original Thames Lawn by Marlow Lock. (Note Thames Lawn is also the name taken on by Lymbrook/Thames Bank after approx 1925)

Wedmore - Station Approach

White Cottage, The - Little Marlow Rd

Whitehead Place - address given for James Beckett, carpenter in Pigots Directory 1844. He is later described as being in the High Street. Other Beckett property is in Quoiting Place. 

Win-Tor - Little Marlow Rd

Post researched by Kathryn Day with with additional research by Charlotte Day.

For more Where In Marlow Was, see several previous posts linked at top. 

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

How To Have Fun In Victorian Marlow

This is a post about some of the more off beat entertainments available to Victorian Marlow residents. For other forms of fun, see the links at the end...

First up, we will head to the Town Hall, (later better known as part of the Crown Hotel) in March 1858. We will be clutching event tickets provided by bookseller George Cannon at whose premises we consulted a seating plan. Heading up the stairs to the assembly room, we will surrender our tickets and find our way to our seats. This entertainment is here for one night only and so singular that we will not want to miss a moment thanks to an obscured view. So I think we will have splashed out 3 shillings a piece on stalls tickets. Those at the back will have paid only a shilling each. What we have come to see is William Woodman's Olio of Oddities. It's described as an original "musical and polyphonic entertainment". Mr Woodman will before our eyes perform a whirlwind of mimicry, making nearly "100 instantaneous metamorphoses of voice, character and costume." He will transform into all kinds of popular and topical personages, some of which will probably leave us scratching our heads but the alternating gasps and laughter of the audience will carry us along. I hope you remembered what Mr Cannon told us and ordered the carriage for 10pm to carry us home. 

While we are in the 1850's we might notice posters advertising the regular visit of Wombwells Menagerie to Crown Meadow. (Riley Park)  This comes to town during the October Fair of course but it often drops by at other times, as did other similar attractions. I don't think we will enjoy seeing the caged lions and shackled elephants but there was a time such a visit was regarded as educational and wholesome. In 1859, a subscription was raised in the town so that 100 boys and 60 girls of the National Schools could attend the Menagerie. On the subject of exotic beasts, in November 1838, we may see a few souls hanging around on Marlow Bridge. What are they waiting for? Isaac Van Amburgh of course. Not heard of him? You obviously need to head to a stationer and read the newspaper. American Van Amburgh is an extremely famous lion tamer and the man regarded as responsible for making trained wild animals part of a circus. His British tour this year is a sensation. He actually rides lions like a horse. Even Queen Victoria has been to a performance of his. Someone has circulated hand bills in Maidenhead which suggest Van Amburgh is going to ride a lion through the streets of Marlow, onto the bridge. Then on the signal of a trumpet the lion will dive into the Thames and swim to Maidenhead. Possibly with Mr Van Amburgh on board. Unfortunately for those waiting, it is a hoax, and no lions are in town. A couple of hundred people are said to have waited at Maidenhead Bridge for the arrival of the lion tamer alas. 

 A different kind of menagerie is on view if we set ourselves down at Thames Bank House (later known as Lymbrook, and Thames Lawn) in 1876. The house is hosting one of its occasional bazaars in aid of church funds. We will have to dodge the enthusiastic ladies hosting the bric a brac and craft stalls - unless of course you are short of a tea cosy or a tray cloth or two? We are heading to Alfred Heneage Cocks Museum of Curiosities adjacent to his menagerie. The later is a private collection of British wild animals now captive, from otters to hedgehogs and polecats. What we would like to see is the museum though. It's a collection normally only available to his friends to view but many of his artefacts are loaned to museums in London and later to temporary displays at the Institute (the Library building). Inside we will be able to see items from archaeological digs around Cock Marsh and further afield, as well as all sorts of ethnographic displays. Mr Cocks spent much time in Finland and "the Northern countries" and purchased lots of woodcraft, tapestries and other interesting items from those living in rural communities there. Entry here costs 6d, the same as the Menagerie. Don't worry, we will release the local wildlife on the way out. While you enjoy a cup of tea, I will take the chance to visit head gardener Mr Bridgman's plant stall. All plants a shilling. Mr Bridgman is a talented man, and later takes care of "the enclosure" (or the grassy area in the Causeway as we know it) as well as an area fronting Marlow Station. I think we can get some tips from him relating to his prize winning fruit trees at least.  

Incidentally Alfred Heneage Cocks features at many Marlow entertainments of some kind or another - some serious, some less so. He could perform comic songs as well as deliver lectures. My money would be spent on witnessing his clog dance at an 1878 evening entertainment. We are told that "the elasticity of Mr A H Cocks with his huge clogs was really quite wonderful". 

Coming out on St Peters Street and winding back a few years to 1872, we will head to the Music Room. That is the Masonic Centre today. We are stopping by to enjoy a performance by celebrated illusionist Signor Bosco. It's guaranteed as a most tasteful performance that includes mind reading, and ventriloquism. 

Time for more refreshments. There's a string of people carrying delicious looking cakes away from the Institute - their bake stall is legendary. It's 1890 and there's a fete on in aid of the building fund. I chose this year for a visit because the Institute building is new and the town is so proud of it I am sure we will find someone to give us a tour of the recreation room and all the rest. But I did promise unusual entertainments so for now we will head out the back - there's more land than in our day - and through to the grounds of Cromwell House. Don't worry, we aren't tresspassing. The dividing wall has been knocked through on purpose to allow visitors to enjoy Edwin Clark's Observatory in the grounds of Cromwell House. Temporarily dismissing an inconvenient wall is a Marlow speciality.  Edwin is a scientist, inventor, engineer, and mathematician as well as an amateur astronomer, as far as he can be an amateur at anything. 

I like the late Victorian period so let's pop to the 1890's. The Institute is still raising money for it's Building Fund. In October 1890, the event aiming to separate us from our shillings is a series of Tableaux Vivants at the Music Room again. Not an unusual event of its time, you can see families putting these on at Christmas or school children attempting to dazzle their parents with their ingenuity on open days. I don't expect many of us have taken part in one recently. A group of amateur performers will come out from behind a make shift curtain and arrange themselves into a still life scene. They will then hold the pose as you marvel at their recreation of a famous scene from a book, or a Bible story or a painting. Just imagine you pressed pause on a video and voila. Then they will rearrange themselves into a new image. This may go on a while. I think we will slip out and find something more active. Perhaps a football match at the Crown Meadow? That may not be unusual entertainment granted, but I want you to help me with some research while we are there. We will head in through the Oxford Road entrance. It's December 1898 and this date has been chosen because it's when Marlow Football Club gets to use it's new iron and wood grandstand for the first time. We will have to pay 3d extra for a seat here but that's so the bunch of supporters that bought the stand second hand from  Southampton St Mary's FC can be paid back for their investment. When they have recouped the cost, in 1908, they hand ownership  to the Football Club for free. The reason I bought you here is to count the spectators while the stand is at full capacity. You see when it's first proposed to buy the stand, the local papers say it will host 250 but later on it is said on more than one occasion to hold 400. (The former is almost certainly correct, as it corresponds with the assessment made of the stands condition before purchase by architect J H Deacon.) It's 110ft long and seating is on three tiers. That's a pretty swish stand so I think we should find out how fancy it really is.  I'm sure the gentlemen attending won't mind. Or the ladies. Yes there are a few, or as the Maidenhead Advertiser put it in 1891, "a fair sprinkling of the fairer sex". What do you mean you have prior engagement to attend a tableaux vivant?!

Let's make the last stop something high brow. This is yet another event in aid of Institute funds. The celebrated war artist and war correspondent Frederic Villiers will be at the Music Room in February 1897 to give a lecture on his work. Frederic's art can usually be seen in The Graphic and The Illustrated London News. He has taken his sketchbook quite literally to the front lines, one of the few correspondents said to be willing to do so. He travels throughout the world reporting on events such as the 2nd Afghan and Boer Wars, the Anglo Egyptian War in 1882, and others. At this lecture Frederick will tell us of an idea he has, to take a machine capable of taking moving picture images to the front line of a real battle. The year after visiting Marlow he will attempt this very thing, during a campaign in Sudan. He is aboard a gun ship on the Nile during the Battle of Omdurman, with his "machine." Unfortunately a nearby explosion will rock the boat and upset Frederic's equipment ruining his footage. He goes back to drawings until 1912 when he does manage to capture some footage. There were plenty in Marlow thrilled at his stories, but also a few expressing doubt moving pictures could be captured at the front. At the time, it seems they were right.

Here is some links to other posts dealing with Victorian entertainment:

Marlow Fair here

Bathing in the Thames and swimming races here

Marlow horse racing here

Cycling and the bicycle gymkhana here

The sorry youth of today - 1896 style here

General posts about life in old Marlow here

Selected Sources

The Ethics of Performing Animals, Aflalo, Frederick George, 1900 

History of Magic and Magicians digitised by Archive.org. Accessed October 2020. 

Villiers, Frederick. Peaceful Personalities and Warriors Bold (Harper and Brothers, 1907) Accessed via Archive.Org Jan 2019

Villiers, Frederick. His Five Decades of Adventure. (Harper and Brothers, 1920) Accessed via Archive.Org Jan 2021. 

Reading Mercury 6 March 1858, 21 December 1872, British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA. 

South Bucks Free Press October 1 1859 & 9 December 1898 as above

Bucks Herald September 23 1876, as above

Maidenhead Advertiser 22 April 1891, as above

Sussex Advertiser 5 November 1838. As above. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day.

© MarlowAncestors.

 

 

The Marlow Elephants...And Lions

 It is a strange thought that many of our Victorian Marlow forebears may have seen more live elephants in person than we have. Or lions and bears for that matter. The streets of Marlow once echoed with the thud of elephants feet, while the roar of lions could be heard in Riley Recreation ground (Crown Meadow as it was known then). These animals were part of a number of travelling menageries that visited throughout the Victorian period. At least one made their entrance, proceeded by a band, down Henley Road, elephants at the rear.* That must have been a sight to make drinkers at the likes of the Hare and Hounds and Hand and Flowers question whether they had had a little too much to drink! Their finishing spot in the early days was usually Quoiting Square, with Crown Meadow taking some of the carts and caravans. Even so, conditions must have been very cramped in such a space. The menageries most famously came to town at the time of the October Fair but it seems that hardly any year passed without an additional visit by at a showman and his animals (usually they went to Crown Meadow outside of fair time). These menageries have been dealt with in a separate post about Marlow Fair which I will link to below. The subject of today's post is Marlow's resident menagerie, belonging to Captain Marshall. 

Captain Edward Wilfrid Marshall was the son of Shakespearean critic and playwright Frank Marshall. He is said to have been fascinated by wild animals since a boy. As a young man in his 20's he had wealth sufficient to indulge this interest by travelling internationally to see exotic species in person. Unfortunately for the animals, he would also be willing to buy them and bring them home to England to begin or continue a life of captivity. There is no doubt that Captain Marshall considered himself an animal lover, and that he was considered to treat them well within the bounds of their confinement, but it is still sad for us to read details of young animals torn from their natural habitats. 

The first spot Marshall chose for his new menagerie was a meadow near Marlow Mill. At this point Marshall himself was living at the original Thames Lawn, adjacent to Marlow Lock (not the house which currently bears this name which had previously been known as Thames Bank). One of his first acquisitions came courtesy of an unnamed menagerie visiting Marlow in 1890. From them he purchased a young lioness for £50. It was said to have been raised by a Russian collie! Marshall set out to tame her further, and was said to walk about the streets of Marlow with her at his side like a dog, with a collar and lead attached. (Some reports says he also did this with a young male lion.) This bought delight to some of the braver children, and quite the opposite feeling in some of the more nervous adults! A boating man was said to be astonished to see a young man lounging near Marlow Lock with a lioness at his side. As the lioness grew she became what was optimistically called "too affectionate" and was confined to the menagerie. Captain Marshall himself stated he had taken his adult female puma for walk on a leash on numerous occasions, this not ending until her death as she was "as tame as a cat". His younger puma was however too wild to consider attempting the same with it. The animals he found hardest to domesticate were the gnus, not because they were fierce, but because they were too frightened. 

Before long his first meadow became too small to contain his collection, and he took a long lease on a 50 acre area of meadow a little further along the riverbank off Gossmore. This included a large portion of what had formerly been the Marlow Race Course and what was then known as Lower Fields Farm. On this he began to build a range of special animal houses, enclosures and aviaries. These included an elephant lodge heated via hot water pipes. The animals homes, in 3 rows, were only a few hundred yards from his house. The pheasant building alone was 500ft long. 

The animals Marshall held varied over time but included at various points -  a juvenile male and female Bengal tiger, 30 species of pheasant, some antelopes, deer, a small group of gnu, a black American bear, cranes of every known kind including a pair of Mexican cranes he had bought for £200, two pumas, a lion, leopard, wombat, a number of kangaroos, several alpacas, elk, buffalo, small exotic birds, storks, herons, a pair of emus and an ostrich. Within his home could be found a parrot and other caged birds, a Siberian Wolf hound, several domestic cats and a little pug. 

After the farmhouse or homestead of Lower Fields farm -  burned down in 1892 in a suspected case of arson, he also built a substantial bungalow home known as The Eyrie to replace it. The design of this, and the fact it was located on a flood plain, would have a dramatic part to play at the end of the Captain's life. (Architect Howard Dinzey Blowers.) The fire caused great panic in the town as there were unfounded rumours the lions had escaped. A £10 was offered in the hope of catching the culprits behind the fire but I don't believe they ever were. Local rumour has persisted that a jealous former lover of Marshall Mrs Coopinger was behind the blaze and that she then left town never to return  - but the latter at last isn't true. She did not leave Marlow then and was a regular visitor over the succeeding few years. An overheated flue was initially considered the most likely if less dramatic cause. This first homestead does not to our eyes sound especially luxurious - it was described as a recently re- fitted corrugated iron structure. But it was his butler that first discovered the fire so Marshall was not roughing it too much! Marshall lost most of his furniture though, which had just been moved in prior to his arrival a week later. 

He continued to add animals, until he had developed "the most extensive and the most valuable private collection in the world". This now included his most famous acquisitions, the Marlow Elephants - 4 baby Indian elephants, 3 female and one male.

In 1892, Captain Marshall decided to go on a 6 month "Grand Tour" of the world. He left in January on the P&O steamship Himalaya. During his absence the menagerie remained in the care of their keeper Mr Frederick Collier, formerly manager of the Bristol Zoological Gardens. The rest of the estate would be supervised by Mr R F Jackson of Westhorpe.

When he returned, it is said the Captain decided to give up the extremely expensive hobby of collecting wildlife, and what's more to sell off his at least some of his existing animals. He however continued to add a few after this date such as a young tiger cub.  He still owned a number of creatures on his death 2 years later. He had sought to purchase a giraffe too during this time, but they were very rarely captured alive and hence were extremely expensive. London Zoo was said to be actively seeking one at the same period so the Captain had some competition. 

In 1893, Captain Marshall married Penrose Hayter in London. The two were to make their home at The Eyrie. At this point the collection still numbered an incredible 700 animals, although this included a number of small birds in aviaries. The menagerie was opened to the public in this year, as a one off fundraising event for the Cottage Hospital. A large number of curious souls went along the towpath to access the Eyrie, paying 3d entry. The "highly trained" elephants performed tricks and dances for the crowd with their trainer Madame Paul Telezerow of Austria. A month later, the 4 baby elephants were conveyed on a specially constructed van of "huge dimensions" by train to London. There they had been engaged to give a series of performances at the London Royal Aquarium. 

A few months after this, it seems the couple decided to move and the remaining animals and the then 50 acre Eyrie estate itself were put on the market. Their home was described as a "charming bungalow" and "pretty red brick dwelling" overlooking the beautiful Quarry woods, with 1000 yards of river frontage. The 4 elephants were priced at £1,100, a gnu £100, and a young tigress £70. It was noted that in recent years some £10,000 had been spent on the property. It appears they then changed their mind about the move, as they ordered work on the bungalow that would see it substantially enlarged. While this work was ongoing they planned a long trip away. 

Shortly after this, Marshall was in declining health. He suffered a severe attack of influenza, and although a recovery was initially hoped for, complications set in and he was believed to be suffering from acute pneumonia. By the autumn of 1894, he was dangerously ill. Unfortunately, the Thames was in flood and water surrounded The Eyrie. His wife remained at his side, no doubt hoping the flood would subside and so avoid the issue of moving a man on his sick bed.  The couple's baby son Albert Wilfrid Cordwallis Marshall, and his nurse, were sent to the safety of Remnantz. When the water was 4 ft high outside and still rising, it was realised that time was of the essence and an evacuation plan was made. The horse and carriage that took Mr and Mrs Marshall away did so in water that came up to the horses chest. They went to the Crown Hotel but nothing more could be done for the patient.  Captain Marshall died there on the 27th November 1894 age 28. A Catholic, he was buried at St. Peters Church**. 

The remaining animals were quickly dispersed and most of the outbuildings taken down or sold. Mrs Marshall organised that the Eyrie itself should be let before putting it up for sale in 1898. The majority of surrounding meadowland had already been sold, leaving the Eyrie with just 1 acre of grounds. At this point the property had 5 bedrooms, a bathroom and two reception rooms. 

But what of the animals? Some were sold to London Zoo. Others went to Ireland and the Continent. Two of the little elephants were sold to Olympia. One of the females, Rosie, ended up at Sangers Circus. The last mention of her I could find is sadly a heartbreaking one, from 1897. She was on the long march with the Circus from Hounslow to perform in Maidenhead. It appears the journey was too much for her, and when she reached Slough, she tried to break away from the march. A male elephant who tried to follow was "beaten off". Her keepers could tell she was ill and so took her to the stables of the Crown Hotel in Slough. She then collapsed with exhaustion in the yard. They fed her and gave her whisky for an hour after which she was able to stand and walk slowly into a stall. Rosie smashed the woodwork of her stabling while the keepers went to dinner. But there was no escape for her, and she eventually went on to join the other parts of the Circus in Maidenhead. 

The loss to Marlow of the Menagerie was credited as the reason behind an explosion in the rat population afterwards. It was said the number of rodents had declined once the big cats moved in as they did not wish to get too close. With the animals gone, the rats came back. 

A quick mention of the other Victorian menagerie situated in the town. Alfred H Cocks maintained one of British wild animals such as otters, foxes, wildcats, pine martens and polecats. This was located at his home Thames Bank and later at Poynetts, Skirmett. It was also open to the public occasionally for fundraising purposes. 

The Eyrie was rechristened Gosemore by resident Percy Wild the artist in the summer of 1899, reflecting an old spelling of the areas name. It was usually rendered as Gos(s)more however. 

*In 1880, residents could see two elephants from the visiting Myers Circus bathing in the Thames nearly Marlow Bridge. The animals seemed to enjoy their bath "immensely". 

**Mrs Marshall remarried in 1895, to Capt. Edward Bryce-Wilson of the 5th Lancers. 

For more on Marlow Fair see this post: here

And the 1890's flu pandemic in Marlow here

Index of posts related to everyday life in old Marlow: here

To find all mentions of your ancestors here, use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. New posts added daily! As of April 2022 there are 4,000 people listed there.

Sources: 

Cornish, Charles John - Life at the Zoo: Notes and Traditions of the Regents Park Gardens Edition 3, (Seeley 1895)

British Architect: A Journal of architecture and its accessory arts. Vol 37. (J.F Wells, 1892)

Supplement to the Fishing Gazette  - July 20 1889 (Charles William Bradley & Co, 1890)

South Bucks Standard 1st Jan, 16 September & 9 December 1892, 28 April & May 19 1893, 30 November 1894. Copies held at the British Library and accessed via the BNA.  

Pall Mall Gazette 20 October 1893.

Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer October 11 1890 & Feb 24th 1894,  Slough reference library. 

The Million, 10th Feb 1894 - thanks to Jo Anderson for a view of this. 

Maidenhead Advertiser, April 28th 1880 courtesy of Malcom Jones. 

©Marlow Ancestors

 

 

Jubilee Celebrations Marlow 1887

Jubilee Cottages, New Town Road. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See:

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

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

Nash's Pall Mall Magazine Volume 18 published 1899.

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

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Clark and Clarke Graves, (Also Rose and Wade) Parish Church, Great Marlow, and at Bisham

Note this post groups Clark / Clarke graves located in All Saints Parish Church Marlow plus two at All Saints Bisham, but they may not be related! 

 

 Sacred to the memory of Frederick Clark, Feb 17 1812 age 51

"A husband kind, a father dear, a faithful friend lies buried here"

ALSO 

of one child who died an infant [Not named on grave]

At All Saints, Marlow

Above, Ann Clark - 26 May 1852 age 65

Josiah Clark 8 Nov 1870 age 88

Also on grave: 

William Rose 25 Feb 1829 age 94

Ann Rose 22 May 1836 age 84

At All Saints, Marlow

Above, Samuel Clarke. Erected by Mrs  or  Miss Winford in recognition of his 37 years of service as servant in her family. She erected similar graves for other loyal employees. No date visible now. He was 61. Believe he died 1800/1801. 

Mrs Winford lived at Thames Bank. Read about Samuels' testimony on Mrs Winford's behalf relating to the behaviour of some bargeman outside her windows here Another Winford servant grave can be seen here

All Saints, Marlow. 

This graves inscription above, is unfortunately facing the now fully grown tree but we have done our best to read it. 

Thomas Clark died October 182(9?) age 42. 

ALSO his children who died in infancy (not named)

ALSO - Susanna Clark - the bottom half is crumbled away so it is not possible to read her date of death as given here. This is located at All Saints, Marlow .

Above, John Clark d Jan ???? age 59. 

And Catherine died August 27 1831 age 83

ALSO

Mr. John Wade - date unreadable 

In All Saints Parish Church.

Above, grave of Helen, wife of George Clark. Died 10 April 1883 age 59. 

This grave is at All Saints Bisham. 

Above, John Badger Clark. Died March 26 1917, age 66. "Thy will be done"

This grave is at Bisham All Saints.

Use the drop down menu Grave tab to find other stone inscriptions, and the "Person Index" to see who else is mentioned on the blog thus far. 

©Marlow Ancestors. Reproduction of these images and transcriptions is freely allowed for local or family history purposes if you link back here and credit this blog. Thanks.