The History of the Compleat Angler - Post No.372.

 The Compleat Angler hotel as we now call it has had a long and entertaining history. It gets its current name from the classic anglers guide by Izaak Walton, but it used to be said Izaak himself had stayed at the premises when researching his book. For most of its history it's been usually known as The Anglers or The Anglers Inn. So perhaps that was what it was known by if and when Isaak really stayed there. We have dealt with some of the owners of the Angler in their own posts already, so this one is intended to fill in some blanks and provide an overall timeline for the inn prior to 1900. 

Sitting at the foot of the original Marlow bridge on the Bisham side, the inn was in a plum position for passing trade. When longstanding proprietors the Cres(s)wells ran the inn it was described as having been formed originally from a pair of ramshackle cottages, oft repaired. Quite a different premises to the one you see today!

When the first inn was built is uncertain but it was there by 1766. But it may have had some interesting buildings around it. In 1858, proprietor Hezekiah Parslow died, and his widow Mary Ann (nee Creswell) began some improvement works. A series of brick and timber buildings running between the inn and the Suspension bridge were demolished and the remains sold as building materials at auction. They had been used as stabling, warehousing and for storage. In 1862, workman putting in some trenches under where the buildings had been (and close to the bridge) came across "a quantity of remains of what must have been stone mullioned windows etc" which were considered to belong to an "ecclesiastical edifice". The site had been used as a malthouse around 1800 but there did not seem to be any local tradition of a stone building here. It does not seem the remains were further investigated. The warehouse is likely to be that previously owned by the Rolls family and used in connection with their wharf at Bisham. 

The Creswells held the Angler for much of the first half of the 19th century. They are a family with many colourful characters who have made their mark on Marlow history.  It was under their ownership that some of the most dramatic events in the Angler occured, including a daring 1831 robbery that made off with mementoes said to have been left by frequent guest the Iron Duke. It was also they that saw the extensive fire that gutted the inn and several neighbouring cottages. The full story of these events and the inn under William and Ann Creswell is in a dedicated post here

At the time of the fire in 1832, the inn had 7 or 8 beds depending on which report you believe. Although it may have had a rustic appearance, it was already attracting guests from far afield who wanted to enjoy the angling opportunities Marlow had to offer. It was "the great resort of fishing parties" and many of the guests were "gentry". A few years later the Creswells received a visit from gentleman George Lander and Waterman Williams who were settling a £100 wager made by Lander relating to how quickly they could row between Westminster and Oxford Bridges. They managed the journey of 114 miles in 18 hours and 42 mins. Marlow was reached at 1.16pm (after a 4am start at Westminster). They were met by William Creswell riverside with some drinks to propel them on, and after 15 mins rest (during which they stayed in the boat) the pair went on their way. They won the £100. Williams had "worked like a horse" and Lander allegedly lost several pounds in weight after his efforts. 

In 1850, Marlow timber merchant of West Street Hezekiah Parslow took over the Angler. The Creswells had combined running the inn with running barges and dealing in coal landed at the adjacent wharf. Hezekiah however sold off much of his timber dealing equipment on taking over his new role, although he maintained an interest in the trade. Hezekiah sadly died aged just 42, leaving his widow to take centre stage..the infamous Mrs Parslow. She added to the work of her aunt Ann Creswell in making the Angler famous. Visitors remarked on her kindness and cheerful good nature, as well as her knack at anticipating the needs of her angling guests.  The "angler brethren" were described as almost her only customers and given that people would travel long distances to stay there, Mrs Parslow did not need to generate much local trade. But the inn bought a lot of visitors with healthy bank balances to Marlow benefiting other traders, and the inn was also used much in everyday local life. Like many Marlow inns, it saw regular property and goods auctions hosted there. It's other function was to accommodate inquests when someone was pulled dead from the water nearby. These were traditionally held in the nearest public house to where the corpse was recovered, and the body itself was also bought there to be viewed by the coroner's jury and/or identified by relatives. You can read in detail about Hezekiah and Mary Ann, and Mary Ann's daughter Frances Compere  here

In 1857, the Angler was described as one of the prettiest and pleasantest on the Thames. And many continued to recall this Parslow era with great affection decades later, remarking on the cleanliness but picturesque rusticity of the inn. But the number of guests were increasing, and improvements and enlargements were made. Ten years later the inn was described as "marvellously altered" to provide more accomodation. The gardens had also been re modelled. A visitor of old would scarcely recognise the place they said. Some thought this a great step forward with all and every requirement for guests to be met with, others  felt it a slight loss of the Anglers individual charm. 

Guests at the hotel could hire the services of fishermen such as the Creswell brothers, Rosewell & Shaw who would convey them to the best spots at the best times to hook their quarry. It was said by visitor Samuel Carter Hall that the tone of the morning greeting by Rosewell conveyed in a moment the chance of good sport or otherwise. 

Improvements to the building continued under landlord Charles Miller Foottit in the 1880's. A post dedicated to this energetic man and former chemist can be found here. In 1884 Charles could offer 18 bedrooms and his especial pride, a dedicated Coffee Room. It was now most often described as a hotel and a "first class" one at that. (Terms strictly moderate of course) He considered further expansion but instead housed excess summer guests at Dial Cottage across the bridge at the Causeway Marlow. (See note 1 below) This may have suited Charles but the guests had to cross the bridge for every meal so perhaps it was not such a convenient solution for them! It would usually accommodate 6 at a time. (Dial Cottage was owned by various members of the Creswell family in the past, and also the Rolls who maintained a wharf in Bisham adjacent to the Angler) The Bucks Herald considered the Angler to be well on the way to becoming one of the most luxurious stops on the Thames, under the "spirited regime" of Charles. 

The guests staying at Marlow may at least have been a little further from the sound of the Weir. Described by some as disturbing their sleep at the Compleat Angler in the days before double glazing, others found the sound soothing and sleep inducing. Still others claimed the sound or "Marlow Buzz" made them dizzy and disorientated for a day or two. Perhaps they had enjoyed a little too much of Charles Foottit's wine offerings! Charles was a keen river user himself, and very used to the sound of the weir. He had a yacht, the Osprey, and was much involved in rowing. You can read more in the post linked to above. 

In 1888, H Kilby arrived from the Cannon Street Hotel to take on the Compleat Angler. He was a tenant there, unlike the earliest proprietors who had actually owned the buildings. He was ambitious and oversaw an extension of dining provision. During this period the inn was used for a huge number of annual general meetings, public dinners and the like especially by sporting associations so the investment obviously paid off. (The most famous meeting to occur at the Angler was the one that led to the formation of Marlow Football Club in 1870) The success of the Compleat Angler meant that boating parties were told they could not hope to find quarter there without considerable prior notice. 

The proximity to the river helped the hotels success but it also caused it a few problems. It flooded on a number of occasions. In 1894 a temporary bar was made in an upstairs bedroom because of flood water below, 3ft deep. The following year the same depth of water was reported inside. Kilby wanted to pull down the old buildings and build a more modern hotel on drier standings. So when the property was put up for sale in April 1895, he put all he had into purchasing the freehold. The premises he bought now included that essential addition for a fashionable premises, a detached billiard room. He is responsible for much of the enlargement into the premises we see today. But the hotel had not forgotten all of its rustic past. A guest in 1898 remarked that on the one hand there was the crisp white tablecloths and waiters dressed in sable coats and white neck ties but on the other the dining room still sported an old fashioned wooden dresser decorated with jugs of flowers. And you can still order simple food like ham and eggs without risking a sneering look from your host! This post will stop there but research into the earliest and Edwardian landlords will be uploaded as time allows. 

Researched and written by Kathryn Day. 

Other posts you may be interested in: 

List of proprietors of the Compleat Angler/The Angler/Anglers Inn can be found here

Picnics and punts - summertime in Victorian Marlow here

History of bargeman in Marlow here

Information for other Marlow hotels/inns/pubs can be found under the Pub Related menu here. To find every mention of your ancestor see the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu. More than 4,000 individuals connected to Marlow are listed there as of April 2022. New posts added daily.  

Posts related to Bisham: here

Note:

The Compleat Angler was not alone in farming out guests into other premises during the busy summer season and Whitsun weekend in the 1880s and 90's. The Crown Hotel, Chequers, George & Dragon, Ship Inn, Greyhound, and Fishermen's Retreat can all be found hiring rooms in private residences to provide beds for extra visitors, who would return to the main premises for meals. What room service they could expect is unclear! 

Sources include:

Creswell, Compere, Parslow and Foottit genealogical research by Charlotte Day. 

The Aquatic Chronicle or a record of rowing 1835-1855

Fishing, Fish Culture and The Aquarium 1886

Bucks Gazette, 3 November 1832, British Library Archive accessed via the BNA 

Bucks Herald 15 November 1862,19 April 1884 as above. 

South Bucks Standard 5 April & 7 June 1895, as above

Art Journal, Vol 3, (Virtue 1857)

Kelly's Directory of Berkshire 1847 (Kelly's Directories ltd) 

Marlow Guide 1905

Dickens Dictionary of The Thames 1880 & 1889 editions. 

Fennell, John Greville. The Rail and the Rod or Tourist Anglers Guide to Waters and Quarters (H. Cox, 1867)

Hall, Samuel and Mrs Carter. The Book of the Thames from its source to its fall (Virtue,1877. Second edition).

Harris, William Charles. The American Angler (Anglers Publication Co,1886)

Harvard, Samuel. Thames Reminisces (Anglers Publication Co 1886)

Register of Yachts.  Lloyds Registry of Shipping 1887. Digitised by Google. 

The People 1 May, 1898 (Digitised by Google)

Map of the area surrounding the new suspension bridge - thanks to Michael Eagleton for providing an image of this. 

Picnics And Punts - Victorian Summer time in Marlow

  

This post is about summer in late Victorian and pre First World War Marlow. The season obviously meant different things to different people. For some it was a period of hot intense labour in the fields. For others it was time to leave Marlow altogether and holiday elsewhere. A surprising large number of Marlow houses were let out for the "river season", and then there were the houseboats that arrived, some staying for weeks. In good weather, the hotels and lodging houses were full, and visitors could find themselves staying in more unconventional places such as above shops (Or more pleasantly perhaps, they could cadge a room at Hambledon Lock). The arrival of tourists affected even those not in position to enjoy much leisure time themselves. It meant busier streets at the very least. And there may be an annual Sunday School treat or Slate Club or works outing to look forward to. 

Enthralling Beauty

The beauty of nearby Quarry Woods was known far and wide.

It was a popular spot for campers, if sometimes a crowded one. The fact that some set up camp wherever they decided to stop for the night caused tension with riverside home owners who complained of opening their shutters to find campers on their lawns! Most kept to more secluded spots - though some were still technically trespassing on the larger estates when they did so. The stretch of river between Marlow and Henley was also celebrated, and there was a standing joke that you could always find at least a couple of artists set up opposite Bisham church trying to capture the scene. This part of the river was described by John Greville Fennell in his 1867 Thames guide as one that brought a "constant succession of scenes of sylvan beauty" that struck the gazer and left him or her marvelling with "enthralled imagination" at the loveliness of the scene. And that was not the most fulsome of descriptions by any means! 

Official picnic parties apply here

Day trippers from London at least didn't need to find somewhere to stay. These '"Harrys" as they were often dismissively known, were usually the ones blamed for any sort of misbehaviour. Cheap day excursion tickets were available to Marlow from London stations  - valid for travel on certain trains only from 1st May - 31st October. In 1880, one of these excursion tickets, third class, from Paddington to Marlow would cost you 3s 6d.  If you could demonstrate you were a "genuine" picnic or other pleasure party, of at least 10 persons, (6 if all travelling first class) you could also get lower train fares. Perhaps you had to let the station master examine your picnic hamper! These lower fares were no good for a spontaneous large family outing as you needed to apply for them in advance and in writing. 

For most the river was the focus of their trip so luckily Great Western Railways would transport your boat for you should you be fortunate enough to own one. This was at an added cost of course. If your craft was small enough to fit in the guards van or if it could be strapped to the top of an ordinary passenger carriage, it would cost you 2d a mile with a minimum charge of 5s and reductions were possible if at least 4 crew were traveling on the same train. Larger boats had to travel in expensive coaches of their own. For most, hiring a boat was much more practical. The boat houses such as Haynes, Shaws, and Meakes and Redknapp offered all kinds of river craft from punts and canoes to steam launches. Alternatively many inns and hotels could provide you with the smaller vessels (sometimes by partnering with one of the same boathouses).

 Advertising the fact that you could provide facilities for boating parties and fisherman was a way for hotels and inns to cash in on these tourists who may have just wanted somewhere to eat or someone to provide them with a picnic. If you were on a big group outing or a "beanfeast" , perhaps organised by a workplace, then some establishments turned their nose up at serving you. They did not want the reputation of somewhere where guests looking for a little genteel rest would be disturbed by a large noisy group. So at times the Fishermen's Retreat and the Crown Hotel advertised they did not accept "beanfeasts" but on the other hand, the Railway Hotel (later the Marlow Donkey) welcomed them. For longer stays, Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames (1889 edition) said the numerous hotels and accomodation providers in town catered for "tourists of all classes". 

Some of our visitors came some way to enjoy the riverside. In 1899 Great Western formed an alliance with Great Central Train company to bring visitors in from the Midlands area. The first train was an excursion one from Leicester which arrived in early July, bringing a large party for a day on the river. Or whatever part of the day was left after the time taken to travel here.

The boating parties were described as frequently "noisy and half drunken" and their habit of landing at the parish churchyard and "tramping over the graves" lead to many complaints. 

Fishing with Mr Shaw

Marlow was known as a paradise for anglers, and the premier place to stay was the Compleat Angler, more commonly known as "The Anglers" or Anglers Inn. It started life as a couple of cottages knocked together and then rebuilt, and gradually extended and improved. But even in it's more humble looking state it was far from an obscure little inn. It recieved visitors from London, including well off ones, and it was consistently mentioned and recommended in national guidebooks. The 1832 fire there made the London papers because it was already a celebrated destination - "the great resort of fishing parties". When the Angler was improved, some visitors felt nostalgic for the old days but even they admitted it was now easier to actually get to stay there in the first place as there were more beds on offer. Guidebooks of 1877 and 1889 still warned would be visitors that they would need to give "considerable notice" if they entertained any hope of securing a bed at The Anglers. Members of recognised angling clubs could also get reduced price third class train fairs from Paddington, if they had a member's card to flash. (Full history of the Angler in the 1900's can be found here)

A number of Marlow men made their living as fishermen, that is fishing guides who would supply bait and take you in a punt to the best spots to catch whatever your quarry was. The Rockell and Shaw families were two that performed this role over a long period. (White, Rose, Creswell and Rosewell are other associated surnames.) Robert Shaw should get special mention as he features in very many books about the Thames written for contemporary visitors. He was clearly someone that many people felt a lot of affection and respect for. In his role as Water Bailiff for the local Anglers Preservation society, he had a role to play in seeing off illegal fisherman and poachers and so no doubt he had his enemies. But to others he was the good looking Bob Shaw, always polite, "intelligent and reliable" and a highly skilled boatsmen. 

Tumbling for tourists

Marlow Lock naturally saw many visitors, not all of them passing through in a boat or watching those that were. The boaters waiting to pass in or put of the Lock were something of a captive audience for the Victorian equivalent of the "chugger" and chancer. Some of the activity sounds mostly charming in our eyes. Children sometimes performed tricks and tumbles on the towpath, hoping to get a few coins for entertaining the passers by. The authorities regarded this as begging, and children caught in the act could find themselves up before the magistrates. In June 1906  four "small boys" were charged with begging on the tow path around Marlow Mills and Lock. The boys had stood on their heads to amuse the passers by. They were Amos Moody, Henry Turner, Leonard Carter and Henry Allen. Those travelling on steam launches and larger vessels were nevertheless in the habit of responding to the children's gambols by throwing coins onto the bank. This lead to tragedy in 1914 when a little girl aged about 4 is believed to have drowned trying to retrieve coins tossed from a passing launch ("The child of  Carter", of South Place).

Marlow Lock as it is now  - the Lock keepers house is not the Victorian one. 

Charity collections at the Lock were also a regular feature. But when the more persistent adult beggars and sellers of knick knacks began to congregate there in greater numbers, some causes such as the Marlow Cottage Hospital decided not to collect funds at the Lock in case they became associated with a common nuisance. Touts are also mentioned as a regular annoyance, offering to help with boats, or with finding accomodation or punts for hire.

The more widespread issue of begging from visitors to the town, whether they arrived by boat or train, was discussed several times at Marlow council meetings in the early Edwardian period in paticular. They requested the police keep a close eye on things, with varying degrees of success it seems!

As those passing through the Lock had to pay a fee, unless they had a sort of season ticket or annual pass, the numbers using it were recorded. The fee depended on the size of the boat, with steam launches up to 35ft long paying 9d for example, or  house boat's 2s6d. Over the August Bank Holiday of 1893, which was regarded as a little less busy than usual, 1,200 small boats passed through over Saturday to Monday and 120 steam launches. This won't be the absolute number of boats about Marlow as it was possible to bypass the Lock. Some of those using the small boats pulled their craft out of the water just before the Marlow Mills and either enjoyed Gossmore or carried their canoes etc past the Lock on land. They could also land at the Compleat Angler by approaching via the backwater behind the weir and using steps to get up on land, according to contemporary guidebooks. For comparison, over the same 3 day period in 1893, 1,500 visitors arrived by train, mostly from London, with 1,300 returning home on the evening of the Monday. 

The pound lock itself was regarded as both attractive and dangerous by some. George Dunlop Leslie -  mentioned above - definitely thought it was the latter as it was an "old" lock with "many jagged piles and broken woodwork about it's sides". 

Marlow Toast rack sir?

Visitors could return home laden with souvenirs, thanks to the likes of energetic advertiser Rowes the jewellers. They made all kinds of Marlow keepsakes such as brooches and swan shaped toast racks. There were no shortage of places offering postcards but perhaps stationer and book seller William Aviss in the High Street with his "photographic depot of neighbourhood views" offered the most. Those wanting to take their own photographs could get tailored local advice from photographic journals on where and how to take the most attractive and becoming pictures, as so many had made the Marlow journey before. Those at the Lock should wait for a steam launch to arrive in the foreground of their shot, for example. This "greatly improves the composition" providing it was not too near, advised a 1901 photographers guide. 

Regatta time

Those visiting during the annual regatta could also buy a memento from the "card men" or roving postcard sellers, although they actually offered views of previous events of course. Some of these sellers had the reputation for being "sharps" or not entirely honest in their dealings. Better check your change!

Marlow has had more than one Regatta and they've gone by various names  - the Marlow and Maidenhead Regatta, Town Regatta, Rag Regatta, Marlow Rowing Club Regatta, Amateur Regatta etc. The event most relevant to those who worked professionally on the water was the Waterman and Fishermens Regatta which attracted fewer crowds but plenty of entries. For the other events, even those not watching or competing in the rowing, found the town transformed. The bridge was crowded with spectators, sitting or leaning on every available surface including the chains and railings. Complaints were sometimes made that the parked carriages completely blocked the way across the bridge. Those who got through to Marlow then had to dodge the rides, stalls and visitors of the fair that set up on the Causeway. Many of these were the same proprietors who visited Marlow during Marlow Fair although there was fewer of them. They did manage to spread down Station Rd and Institute Rd at times though, and others set up in Crown Meadow. 

The evening of the regatta usually saw a procession of boats decorated with lanterns, or a "Venetian fete" or "Water carnival". The best decorated boat won a prize. They must have made a beautiful sight to behold, especially as many riverside properties were also decorated with lights for the occasion. 

Sunday School fun

Sunday school outings were part of the summer for many youngsters. Burnham Beeches seems to have been the number one destination, but sometimes the little ones just enjoyed a high day closer to home. In 1877 for example, "legions" of them enjoy a tea in Remnantz meadow as part of a summer festival. 

Watercress gathering

Watercress was a summer harvest that would have occupied a fair number of locals at times. The majority of the beds were at Little Marlow as tended by Timotheus Brown early on. George Dunlop Leslie, describing a trip to the "charming village" around 1881, said the watercress beds were "very picturesque with their islands, footbridges and summer houses". He added that the beds were fed from a spring with slightly warm water which meant they never froze in the winter. This made them especially productive. Watercress was also grown in the meadows around Red Pits hill running towards the river and near to Medmenham. 

End of the summer

Swimming in the river (clothes optional) and the harvest home and harvest festivals that marked the transition to autumn feature in posts of their own. 

Marlow must have seemed a little quieter when all the visitors had departed, although some better off Marlow residents also found their way home after enjoying the season elsewhere. Some people might be pleased the "Harry's" had left but as the South Bucks Standard said in 1901 "the trade and prosperity of our town of our town depend for the most part on visitors who came for pleasure and recreation". 

The train service was reduced outside of the summer period, but Marlow was not quite ready to hibernate. There was Marlow Fair to stir the town up in October, and winter was the season of lectures and entertainments at the Town Hall, Music Room and the Institute. 

1905. 

Meakes and Redknapp Boathouse, Berkshire side. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

To read other posts about everyday life in old Marlow, see a list here

SOURCES

Fennell, John Grenville - The Rail and The Road or Tourist Anglers Guide to Waters and Quarters - (H. Cox 1867)

Hall, Samuel and Mrs - The Book Of The Thames From It's Rise To It's Fall (Virtue, 1877 2nd Edition)

Leslie, George Dunlop - Our River (Bradbury, Agnew & Co 1881)

Taunt, Henry - A New Map of the River Thames From Oxford to London, (Taunt, 1872).

Parliamentary Papers vol 16, Great Britain House of Commons, (1884 HMSO) 

Dickens Dictionary of The Thames from Oxford to the Nore 1880 Issue 2 (Dickens, 1880) and 1889 edition issue 1. 

 

A yearbook of Photography and Amateurs Guide - 1901. Author unknown. 

The Royal River - The Thames from Source to Sea (Cassell, 1885)

The Art Journal Vol 45 (Virtue and Company 1883)

The Marlow Guide, 1905. 

Diss Examiner, 28 August 1899. Copy from British Library, accessed via the BNA, August 2020. 

Bucks Herald, September 27 

1873, July 18 1914 as above

South Bucks Standard - 25th September 1891, 14 October 1892, 11th August 1893, 13 April 1894, 14th July 1899, 22 June 1900, 5 July 1901, 10 June 1904, 6 July 1906 as above

Bucks Gazette - 3 November 1832, as above

 London Courier and Evening Gazette 8 November 1832, as above

©Marlow Ancestors

The Creswells of the Compleat Angler

 

This is a post about William and Ann Creswell, fondly remembered long term proprietors of The Compleat Angler (as we call it) in the first half of the 19th century. It was William and in paticular his wife Ann who turned a tiny riverside inn into a destination known as the place to go for London anglers needing somewhere to stay. They would run it for the best part of half a century.  Williams name is hard to read now but features on the bottom of the above grave of John Creswell, at All Saints Church. 

Humble beginnings

William was born in Goring in about 1777. His parents were Ann (nee Draper) and Abraham Creswell/Cresswell. Sometime after William's marriage to his own Ann, they took over the running of the small riverside inn known usually then as The Anglers or The Anglers Inn/Hotel. (See note 2 below)  In those days, the current Marlow suspension bridge was not yet in place. Instead there was the old Marlow Bridge running from St Peters Street to the other side of the inn from the current suspension bridge, plus the "flood bridge" which crossed over a channel of water with an outlet to the river near the Angler, designed to  control high water levels. The inn itself was said to have been formed of two rather ramshackle cottages thrown together and certainly lacked the facilities of it's successors. 

A rare businesswoman

It was said to be Ann who ran the business on a day to day basis, despite William's name on the licence. This was common in Marlow and elsewhere. The men often had another occupation at the same time. In William's case, he had an early side line as a boot and shoe maker. This was again a very common occupation for victuallers at this time. He later leased a wharf on which most of the Marlow coal supplies were landed. (See note below) Two of his sons, William and George ran a barge on the river called the Swan. He also both owned and rented farmland in Marlow - in Marlow Field, The Berwicks and at Red Pits, and he owned the Six Bells beer house in Quoiting Place which was run by a relative. 

Ann is described as "a rare businesswoman" and it is she that is credited with making the humble Anglers "the most fashionable stop on the Thames" doing a roaring trade that only increased when the new bridge was built. As you can tell from the list of silverware stolen from the inn (see below) the Creswells were not running a rough and ready beer house. Marlow was "the resort of gentry during the fishing season" and more than a few prefered to stay at the rustic Angler compared to anywhere else. 

Devastating fire

The couples time at the Anglers was not just a period of happily increasing trade. In 1832, the Angler suffered a devastating fire. It started in one of a pair of cottages that adjoined the inn. Starting in the early hours of the morning, it spread quickly to the inn itself. The volunteer fire brigade attended but despite their unstinting efforts and a ready supply of both water and assistance, both the cottages and inn were almost completely destroyed. It was said the old wood construction of the cottages made rescue hopeless. The cottages themselves were insured, but the poor families living within lost all of their possessions and almost their lives. Three little children in one of them were only rescued when some passers by managed to exhort the frightened youngsters to jump from an upstairs window. Those present described their survival as miraculous. 

As for the inn itself, it was described as a scene of desolation. As the Bucks Gazette put it, "to describe the distressing effects of the conflagration would be impossible".  William and Ann, through years of "persevering industry" had accumulated furniture alone worth £100 (including 7 beds), with their total losses estimated at £500. They even lost all their clothing. None of it was insured. At least their wine stock was saved along with some silverware but that was virtually all. The fame of the inn can be seen from reports in papers far and wide including London of the fire. Unsurprisingly, William filed for voluntary insolvency. But he was obviously able to make a deal with his creditors, and no doubt thanks to his other business concerns mentioned above, a year later the (now insured) Anglers was back trading. 

Not the Dukes candlesticks!

But in 1841, the couple suffered a burglary which robbed them of much of their saved silver goods. A strong box containing £14 was taken and later recovered - empty - in a neighbouring field. The items stolen included gold lined salt cellars, silver candlesticks "with the Dukes crest on"  and numerous other silver and silver plate goods such as soup ladles, mustard spoons, sugar tongs and a coffee pot. The Duke refered to is a reference to one of the Anglers reputed most famous guests under the Creswells - the Iron Duke, or Duke of Wellington. He is said to have planted a tree there during one trip.

William the gentleman

William was believed to share with his son William something of a golden touch when it came to business affairs. The two also shared a certain lack of inclination to spend money unless they could help it. William Senior may not have gone to quite the lengths his colourful son would do, but he amassed a tidy fortune. This enabled him to retire and live in comfort in Marlow, with a servant or two to attend him, Ann sadly having already died. In fact by 1852 this retired victualler was described as a gentleman. William lived to the age of 92, spending much of his last years in St Peters Street, across the river from his old inn. He is buried at All Saints Marlow, sharing a grave marker with his brother John  - see above. William is at the bottom of the marker, dying in 1869. 

You can read about his entertaining son William of Wycombe Rd farm here

A list of other proprietors of the Angler can be found here

William's son George was a long standing proprietor of The Swan in Marlow - list of proprietors here

Notes

1. In 1815 William served on a coroner's jury in Bisham which declared that death by shooting of a man in Bisham woods was justifiable homicide, on grounds victim was likely to have intended to go poaching and was seen near a poaching wire, though not setting or touching it.  That case caused widespread revulsion at national level, and was reported extensively. It was pointed out by critics that most people on the jury were either tenants of the guilty estate owner or were his personal friends. The landing wharf for coal that William had fell into this category- Information provided by Charlotte. The accounts differ widely, but the victim Joseph Bishop was shot while moving away and was unarmed. 

2. The hotel/inn when called The Compleat Angler, more often appears with it's spelling "corrected" to "Complete" in directories and other listings. Between 1838 - 1847 we have found 6 references to the inn as The Jolly Anglers, from different sources. At first we thought this a individual guides mistake or misprint,  but as it's now come up in multiple sources, it would suggest the inn was referred to by this name by at least some people for a period of time. It's just as often described in original sources as located in Marlow as opposed to it's actual home of Bisham. The address is frequently given during the Creswell's time there as "Marlow Bridge", "Bridge End" , "Riverside" or even "under Marlow bridge" - thankfully not quite true!  

 To read more about Marlow bargemasters and bargemen see the post here

A post about another Compleat Angler proprietor Charles Miller Foottit is available here

And famed landlady Mrs Parslow here

Use the A-Z person index in the top drop down menu to find all mentions of your ancestors, with more detailed entries listed in the Biographies option. The Pub Related option is the place to go for other inn/hotel etc related posts. 

Sources

1833 Parish Assessment, transcribed by Charlotte from the original rough  notebooks owned by our family, and loose documents contained within. 

The Examiner (John Hunt, 1815), digitised by Google. 

1847, 1854, 1903 Kelly's Post Office Directory (Kelly's Directories Ltd)

Census 1841, 1851,1861,1871,1881,1891 - transcribed by Charlotte from microfilm. 

1852 Slaters Commercial Directory (Isaac Slater 1852) 

Windsor and Eton Express, 5 December 1835, British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA

Maidenhead Advertiser 5 April 1893, as above

Bucks Gazette - 3 November 1832, 27 November 1841, as above

Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle 19 November 1832

GRO Birth, Death and Marriage indices 

Written by Kathryn Day and researched by Charlotte and Kathryn Day. 

 

©Marlow Ancestors