Queen's Head Little Marlow Historic Landlords.

Note that it has usually been stated that the Queen's Head began as the King's Head but changed name when Victoria ascended to the throne. However, there was a pub called the Queen's Head in Little Marlow some years before Victoria became queen and a pub called the King's Head continued to exist. I have heard that the two pubs agreed to swap names, but certain details don't quite match up, and it looks very much like the landlords around the time of the coronation were at odds with each other rather than co-operative. Below I simply give landlords and events listed at "The Queen's Head" on the understanding that these probably do not all refer to the same physical premises.

Gaps in dates are gaps in our knowledge.

1826 - pub "The Queen's Head" existed in Little Marlow.

1830 - 32 - Joshua Phillips landlord. He moved to the King's Head.

Until 1870 there is no further mention that we have found YET of the Queen's Head however James Twitchen who had the Queen's Head in 1872 had been a beer seller in the village from 1843 in premises that never seem to be given a name and it is probable for several reasons that he was in fact at the Queen's Head all the while. He opened his premises in 1842 after two cottages were knocked together to form a single property of sufficient rateable value to qualify as a licensed premises. He had been trying to get a licence for the property for a while but complained that his Liberal politics meant that he was deliberately rated under true value to thwart his business plans. Politics in Marlow were very corrupt and sometimes violent in this era so his claims of political persecution are very believable. Other cases are known. After he managed to start his beer shop, James said that a prosecution for him remaining open for longer hours than legally allowed was also politically motivated. The case was dismissed in court. The property he was using having been two domestic cottages up to that point, can't be the old Queen's Head pub unless having fallen out of use it had been converted into two cottages and James wanted to convert back. More likely it was simply a new site for a new pub. More research will hopefully bring some charity to this confusing situation. In particular we need certainty that James Twitchen's pub did indeed bear the name the Queen's Head before 1872. Joshua Phillips who was at the King's Head opposed Twitchen opening his pub as it would of course represent competition for him. The premises which James opened in 1843 stood next door to the shop of Henry Hussey. In 1863 James Twitchen of Little Marlow beer seller was also a job master. There was a younger James Twitchen, also a Liberal, and a publican in Great Marlow in this era. 

1872 - 78 James Twitchen as the Queens Head, but probably there years earlier, see above. In 1878 his son Henry took over.

1878 - 91 Henry Twitchen, son of James above. In 1878 he was accused of opening during forbidden hours. In 1885 he opened a little grocery shop next door as an additional to his business.

1891 - Moses Tranter took over.

1895 - beerhouse to let with immediate possession. Includes the little grocery shop too.

1896 - Henry Hester to  Thomas Hughes failed transfer. 2 . Henry Hester to Joseph Pope, briefly, then successful transfer this time to Thomas Hughes.

1897 - Thomas Hughes to George Taylor

1899 - up for sale.

1900- 07 George Taylor

1907 - George Taylor transferred licence to Henry Owen Alma Harris. 

1908 - Henry Owen Alma Harris transferred licence Fred Patterson (but note Pattenden given as his name later)

1910 - Fred Pattenden - (Patterson?) to William Foster, a proposed transfer of the licence to Arthur Turner having been refused. 

1920-  possibly William Foster 

1929 - T.R Whiting took over the licence.

1934- 1952 at least Frederick Hobbs and wife Bertha. They were previously at the  Crown skirmett. In the early 1950s the pub had a Thrift Club and Slate Clubs for both men and women. There were nearly 100 members to the Thrift Club alone in 1951.

1955 - Victor Woolmore.

Written by Charlotte Day. Researched by both Charlotte and Kathryn Day.

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

Sources Included:

1863 Dutton's Directory of Buckinghamshire etc

Bucks Free Press Nov 7th 1952, Bucks Free Press Archives.

England and Wales census 1851,61,71, 81, 91 transcribed from microfilm by Charlotte Day.

Bucks Gazette September 3rd 1842, British Library collection via the British Newspaper Archive.

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News October 14th 1843, as above

South Bucks Standard 11th October 1895 and 25th August 1899. British Library collection, London.

Personal Interview.

Edwardian / WW1 Trinity Road and Trinity Place Part Two

Part One dealt with the odd numbers in this street and is available here. This part contains the even numbered homes and their residents as well as those people whose exact address, odd or even, is not known.

Trinity Road was previously Gun Lane and at times during the Edwardian era was also referred to as "Trinity Lane". Trinity Place was a small cul de sac which lead off Trinity Road and was previously known as Gun Place. It was at times numbered as if it was part of Trinity Road, and sometimes as a separate entity*

This was poor area with most homes consisting of just three rooms (kitchen come family room downstairs and two bedrooms above). Piped water arrived here at the close of the 1800s but not before the only well for the residents had already run dry. Life here was tough and there is some distressing content below which may involve your own particular family.

All the homes listed below were demolished long ago.

It is likely some residents have been missed due to the rapid tenant turnover in poorer streets. We will endeavour to add in anyone found to be missing as research opportunities permit.

Even numbered* properties were on the right as you came in from Dean Street. Numbers given as they were then=

2.) Charlotte (bn circa 1845) and Joseph Budd (bn circa 1848). He worked at the gasworks in nearby Cambridge Road as did sons John and Walter who lived at home. Charlotte's 62 year old maternal cousin, Alfred White who also lived in Trinity Road at an unknown address but likely with Charlotte sadly took his own life by hanging in 1907. His body was found by a telegraph boy in the yard of Mr Lovell the builder (off the High Street). Charlotte gave evidence in the resulting inquest. She said that she thought Alfred intellectually impaired. He was deaf and had trouble speaking. As a result of this he had been known as "Dummy White". Earlier in his life Alfred had spent time in jail for stabbing George Grace in the arm following a quarrel. By coincidence George had also died by his own hand in Marlow Fire Station. Alfred had become depressed due to unemployment. Instead of help in his worries he had been prosecuted at Maidenhead for threatening to do away with himself on a previous occasion.

Joseph and Charlotte Tubb's daughter Jane features in the Edwardian Trinity Road post Part One.

4.) This brick and tile house formed a pair with no.6. Thomas and Eliza Barnes and their children then Clara and Amos Moody with their children, followed by a Mr Beaver. 

Thomas Barnes was a bricklayer born circa 1860/61. Eliza was born circa 1863, and was nee Cook.  Thomas was earlier in his life attacked in Trinity Road by two men from other Marlow streets. Amongst the projects that he worked on as a bricklayer was the building of the Salvation Army chapel in Crown Road. This was later rebuilt and is now a daycare nursery. The family moved to Chapel Street by 1911. 

Clara and Amos Moody were both born around 1866. Both spent at least some of their childhoods in nearby Dean Street. Amos was the son of John and Elizabeth Moody, Clara the daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Boot. Clara and her living-at-home daughter Ada were both laundresses when they lived in Edwardian Trinity Road. Amos worked at the paper mills in the Edwardian era but had been a farm worker as a young man. Amos's sister Jane had a very troubled and sad life. She may have lived in Trinity Road for a while early in the Edwardian era with her husband. A full biographical post about her is already on the blog (distressing) here.

6.)Frederick and Charlotte Bailey and their children, then H Tubb, then labourer William Henry Tubb with his wife Mary and their children.

Frederick Bailey was born circa 1866 and Charlotte in circa 1865. Frederick was a drayman at the brewery. Charlotte died in 1909 following a strange incident where a varicose vein in her leg ruptured when she was out at night near the Plough in Wycombe Road. Instead of getting help from the pub or nearby houses Charlotte made her way home, bleeding. Her daughter Annie fetched the doctor. Police from the police station in Trinity Road as they had first aid training but nothing could save Charlotte and she quickly passed away. How her leg came to be injured was investigated. She had just parted company from her husband at that time (he perhaps intending to visit the Plough?). To one person she said someone had kicked her in the leg. To others she said she had just knocked it herself. A trail of blood lead to a horse trough by the Plough but no further conclusions could be arrived at. 

Charlotte was born Charlotte Bowles, the daughter of George and Ann Bowles of Dean Street.

After Charlotte's death Frederick moved with his children away from Trinity Road and became a gardener. They lodged at the Black Horse, Chapel Street. As a teenager Frederick had had to pay a one shilling fine for gambling at cards with his friends in the "recreation ground" (Gossmore). A less controversial teenage hobby of his was playing football for the Marlow Star football team who played in Star Meadow, off Wycombe Road, very close to Trinity Road. He was their captain in 1886.

Mary Tubb was born circa 1888 and William Henry around 1884. 

This house was a brick and tile building which formed a pair with number 4.

8.) In 1907 Samuel Macklow /Mucklow a bricklayer and probable former soldier who was born around 1854 in Worcester and his wife Ann aka "Annie". This Annie was one of the neighbors who rushed to help the dying Charlotte Bailey of no 6 above in 1909. Samuel and Annie lived in Dean Street in 1902 when they were fined with other of the street's residents for abusing and violently assaulting a Bristol man who had come into the town to do a job at the brewery and was lodging in Dean Street. Other outsiders were also employed on the same job and staying in the lodging houses along there. This caused huge resentment amongst the Marlow men who felt work which was rightfully theirs was being stolen from them by strangers. One of the accused Marlow women stabbed the Bristol man with a knife during the fracas but it wasn't clear to the court exactly which woman was responsible. This incident wasn't the first time that Samuel had been convicted of disorderly conduct.

Niece Gladys Sewell was also in household of the Mucklows. She was the daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Sewell of Dean Street and granddaughter of Edwin Sewell who lived at no 12 Trinity Road. See below.

10.) In 1907 Mr G Armstrong, then agricultural labourer John Lovegrove born circa 1861, his widowed sister in law Jane Rockell and Jane's widowed daughter Henrietta Bidmead, a laundress. In 1909 Jane died from heart disease and an ulcerated leg after refusing medical treatment. John found her dead in bed when he came home from work. At some time between 1911 and 1915 both John and Henrietta left this house. Henrietta moved to number 13 on the other side of the street. She was born a Rockell in around 1871 and married William Henry Bidmead.

12.) This property was condemned and demolished in 1932 Edwin Sewell born circa 1846-49 who had come to Marlow from Rickmansworth Hertfordshire as a child with his parents. He moved from Dean Street Marlow to Trinity Road between 1901 and 1905. Wife Ada. Daughter Alice when married lived at no 22, see below. Granddaughter was Gladys Sewell who lived at no 8 Trinity Road.

14.) This property was condemned and demolished in 1932 Hannah Burt an unmarried laundress born around 1871. Her agricultural labourer brother Joseph lived with her as did, early in the era, her elderly mother Harriett. The latter was the widow of Thomas Burt and had raised her children in the Hamlet of Monday Dean near Marlow, at Ragman's Castle on the outskirts of the town, at Boulter End, Flackwell Heath and in Dean Street Marlow. She and her husband were evicted from their Dean Street home in 1897 and may have moved to Trinity Road as a result. She was deaf by the late 1880s. Thomas died early in 1901, before the census. He had been a labourer. Harriett died in 1903. She was at marriage Harriett Boddy. Emma, daughter of Thomas and Harriett appears amongst the inhabitants of Trinity Road without an assigned house number. See at the end of the house listings below.

16.) Also known as 1 Trinity Place Thomas and Ann "Annie" Rockell  and their children. Thomas was born circa 1849 and Ann in around 1850-2. Probable maiden name Frith. Long term Trinity Road residents as a couple and it looks like Ann spent part of her childhood there too.

18.) Also known as 2 Trinity Place Mrs Ann Goodchild, widow born circa 1846. Came from West Wycombe. Her labouring son William James lived with her. Earlier in her widowhood Ann had worked as a chair caner in Marlow.

20.) Also Known as 3 Trinity Place George and Louisa "Lewey" Budd and their children. Early on in the era James Bowles who was described as George Budd's brother in law (born circa 1848) also resided here. George Budd was an agricultural labourer and born circa 1874. Louisa was born circa 1878, the daughter of William and Ann Bowles. James Bowles was marked on the 1901 census as deaf from birth.

22.) Also Known as 4 Trinity Place Thomas Turner and his wife Elizabeth and their children, then in 1907 the newly married couple Robert and Alice Armstrong who had several children in this house, then R Stroud. 

Thomas Turner was a labourer born circa 1866 and Elizabeth in circa 1873. They moved to Chapel Street before 1911.

Robert and Alice Armstrong were both born around 1882. He was a house painter. Alice was nee Sewell, the daughter of Edwin Sewell who lived at no 12. The family later moved to Oxford Road. 

24.) Also known as 5 Trinity Place James and Louisa Cook and their children. James was a bricklayer's labourer born circa 1866. Louisa was born 1870. One of the children was Edith who was found along with other young laundry hands to have been working longer hours than legally permitted at Quarry Laundry in 1908. They started at 8am and should have finished at 4pm but instead ended their working day at 5.30pm. Her employer was fined. It is unknown whether this extra work was actually welcomed as an opportunity by Edith or whether she was being exploited.

26.) Also Known as 6 Trinity Place. Thomas and Mary Langley then Arthur and Beatrice Bowles, then Beatrice Bowles as a widow.

Thomas Langley was born around 1867 and Mary in around 1868. He was a labourer. She was nee Mary Louisa Edwards. She spent her childhood in Trinity Road. Her parents were Caroline and James Edwards.

Arthur Frederick Bowles was a gardener born circa 1884. He was a casualty of the first world war, dying in hospital at Bedford of pneumonia in 1918. He had served in the Labour Corps according to the newspaper reports as to his death and the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry according to his grave. As a teenager Arthur was found to have stolen some partridge eggs from private property. One of his co-accused was Thomas Rockell son of Thomas and Ann Rockell of no 16 above.

Beatrice Bowles was at her 1907 marriage to Arthur Beatrice Usher.

Residents whose house numbers are unknown or questionable=

Florence Collier and her children resident 1912. She was fined for swearing at them.

Charles and Mary Edwards. Residents 1901. He born circa 1870 and she in 1871. They had with them "adopted child" Dorothy Bright born circa 1897.

Sophia Edwards resident 1901 Trinity Road. Born circa 1834. Widow of William Edwards. Had lived in Trinity Place in 1895 and Trinity Road earlier. Kept pigeons in her back yard.

Mrs Harriett Elizabeth Groves who slit her throat with a razor in what was ruled as a fit of "temporary insanity" in 1911. She was taken to the Cottage Hospital but could not be saved. Wife of Alfred Groves, a labourer. Harriett was Harriett Ford at marriage. She was in her 27th year when she died.

Henry and Emma "Emily" Harris who lived Trinity Road on the 1901 Census with Mary Ann Burt age 20, Henry's stepdaughter and their other children. Henry Harris is not to be confused with the close-in-age Henry Harris, saddler and harness maker of Spittal Street. Henry of Trinity Road (bn circa 1857-59) was a worker at the brewery while his wife Emma (bn circa 1857) was a furrier. The family including Mary Ann Burt left Marlow for Langley Marish in Bucks where Henry worked as a farm carter by 1911. Emma was nee Burt and though born in Flackwell Heath had spent some of her childhood in Marlow. Her sister and widowed mother both lived at no 14 Trinity Road, see above. Emma was a servant as a teenager.

Sarah Ann and Joseph Hiscock. Trinity Road residents in 1909 but in Dean Street by 1911. Some of their children were born in Winchester Hampshire. Joseph was that classic Dean Street occupation - a vegetable hawker. Sarah worked at Quarry Laundry. When the owner went bankrupt in 1910 he owed money to many of his employees including Sarah. The court ordered him to pay them.

Alfred and Elizabeth Hopgood both originally of Reading lived in this street in 1911 but had left the town by 1915. Alfred was born around 1863 and was a building labourer. 

Mary Loftin born circa 1835 resident of Trinity Road 1901. Mary was a widow who worked as a charwoman. On the census she says that she was born at Bledlow Ridge. She died in 1907. Widow of William Loftin a gas / engine fitter. The couple were also living in Trinity Road at the time of his death in 1896 and previously. They had married late in life in 1890 when both were already widowed and so had no children together. Mary Ann was at the time of her second marriage the widow of farm worker Joseph Martin. William Loftin had been the lodger in their Trinity Road home.

William Moody who was a resident in 1916 when he was fined 10 shillings for having no light on his cart.

Sarah Slade resident 1901 age 62 with her 24 year old son. Widow of Charles Slade. She had lived in Trinity Road for many years. Charles was fined for being drunk and disorderly in Trinity Road in 1895.

Ada and Eli Smith with their children who moved to Marlow circa 1911 from Wooburn. She worked in a paper mill at Wooburn even after she moved to Marlow  and he was by trade a builder's labourer. This family suffered severe hardship due to Eli's continued unemployment. He was imprisoned for child cruelty at the behest of the NSPCC because of the deprivation the children experienced. The court seemed sceptical about his attempts to provide for them while recognizing that Ada worked very hard. It isn't clear if she actually lived at home during the working week. She told the court that her working hours meant she could not see to things at home anyway. She had sold her clothes and bedding so that the children could eat. Nevertheless the children suffered from vermin, sores, uncleanliness and a lack of education because they had no clothes in which to attend school. The Inspector from Marlow Police Station in Trinity Road collected donations of clothes for the children from other Marlovians. There was virtually no furniture in their "filthy" home, and no fire in winter. The court ordered Ada against her wishes to place the children in the Union Workhouse until their home situation improved and so they could be intensely treated. If she did not take them to the workhouse she too would be jailed, despite the NSPCC saying they did not think any charges against her should be pressed.

Wages were low in this period giving families little chance to save money for emergencies. Children being unable to attend school because they didn't have a full set of clothes still, shockingly, occurred in Marlow in the 1940s. The court's apparently sceptical attitude towards Eli should be taken with some reservations. The privileged men who sat in judgement generally subscribed to the view that you could always find work if you wanted to and that all poverty must be the victim's fault. That those working could be paid so little they could neither fulfill their family's wants nor save for when they weren't in work wasn't within their understanding. Eli, while not in paid employment, made rag rugs which the children hawked in the town, so he was hardly idle. See above under house number 2 for a case of the suicide of an unemployed man. The Smiths moved to Dean Street by February 1912. Ada was at marriage Ada Priest. 

Private Thomas Stroud son of Henry and Sarah Stroud of Trinity Place was killed in action in December 1914 while serving with the Royal Berkshires. He died instantly after being shot in the heart. The news of his death broke locally early the next year. He was also said to be a resident of Trinity Place then.

*Note= Marlow was beyond terrible at organizing street numbering, displaying house numbers, or making sure everyone knew what number they lived at. Some people refused to acknowledge the fact that their home had been officially renumbered and carried on using the old number. Others don't ever seem to have understood what their house's number was even after it was officially given one. Some people without moving house would give a different number for their home every different time they were asked, based presumably on guesswork. I often have to use multiple sources to repopulate an Edwardian street in this town reliably.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

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

Similar Posts 

Victorian residents of Trinity Cottages Jeremiah and Emma Harding here

General earlier history of Trinity Road here

Edwardian St Peter Street here.

Edwardian Cambridge Place here

Edwardian Spittal Street and Spittal Square Part One here and Part Two here

Edwardian wedding gifts in Marlow here

Some Sources=

Marlow Town Guide and Almanack 1907 and 1915 editions. Marlow Printing Company.

Bucks Herald February 16th 1916. Reading Mercury Nov 26th 1884 both British Library Archives, via the BNA.

South Bucks Standard and 22nd Feb 1907 , 13th August 1909 and July 8th 1910.

Reading Mercury 16th Nov 1918. Copy at the British Library.

Bucks Free Press Feb 16th 1912, Bucks Free Press Archives.

All 1901 census from the microfilm transcriptions of Jane Pullinger, with thanks.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-JRQ : Thu Feb 13 06:47:46 UTC 2025), Entry for Eli Smith and Ada Smith, 1911.

https://buckinghamshireremembers.org.uk/php_scripts/bksidget.php?id=5578

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VL-H36 : Thu Feb 13 16:47:53 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry James Harris and Emma Harris, 1911.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-JRS : Thu Feb 13 06:35:45 UTC 2025), Entry for Alfred Hopgood and Elizabeth Hopgood, 1911.

"England and Wales, Census, 1871", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZ2-ZW5S : Tue Oct 08 17:32:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Thomas Burt and Harriett Burt, 1871.

"England and Wales, Census, 1911," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-NLV : 22 July 2019), Frederick Henry Edward Bailey in household of Thomas Blewitt, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

1905 Williams estate sale papers, copy kindly provided by Adam Baxter of the Marlow Society.

GRO Birth, marriage and death registration indexes, GRO online. Except Marriage of Henry Harris and Emma Burt which was Find My Past https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=BMD%2FM%2F1883%2F3%2FAZ%2F000128%2F092

Personal interview, rent receipt.

Yew Tree Frieth Historic Occupiers / Timeline

Sometimes referred to as the "Yew Tree Inn" other times just as the "Yew Tree". The name came from an old yew tree in the garden. Still in business at the time of writing. Came under Marlow for licensing purposes hence our interest.

Building said to date from the 1600s or 1500s depending on source. Age of building isn't necessarily the same as the age of the pub housed in it. Landlords we have for it are:

From at least 1851- 85. John and Elizabeth Turner. In the 1850s it was a grocers and bakery with a license to sell beer on the premises and had its own orchard. John was also a farmer on a very small scale. In 1885- customer Richard Butler of Frieth was prosecuted for refusing to leave the pub when John Turner the landlord asked him to, assaulting John and breaking windows at the pub.

1891- Elizabeth Turner transferred pub to Frederick Turner her son. Presumably her husband had died some point 1885-91.

1892- Fred Turner to Owen Sears.

1894- Transferred from Owen Sears to James Leaver.

1894- at least 1920 James Leaver as above. In 1896 following a draught James asked his brewery, the Wethereds of Marlow to hire a Welsh water diviner to try to find water a water supply for the pub following a long draught that caused great difficulties for all of the people of Frieth. Two spots in a meadow were indicated by the diviner's rod but water was not found in either. There had been hopes a well could be dug. I am not sure if any further attempts were made. In 1897 James started a slate club at the pub, an essential institution for working class families - to find out more about them see the post here. The Yew Tree was slightly unusual in having their annual Slate Club supper just after Christmas rather than before. With around 80 members on average, it was one of the larger affairs in the area. In 1903 James and his wife suffered the death of their little daughter to whose funeral a large number of people attended. On a happier note, James helped organise a village fete to celebrate the Coronation in 1902. In 1910 he used the pub as a site of auction when he wished to sell a cottage and two pieces of land.

1930s and 1940s- The Yew Tree is a very popular stopping off place for cycling club tours.

1939 to at least 1949-. Emma Keep landlady. Also seems to be a shop. Mrs Keep uses the Yew Tree weekday evenings 6pm till 8.30 pm to sign up volunteers to the local Civil Defence Corps in 1949.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day. This post will be updated as new information emerges.

Sources:

Kelly's Directory for Buckinghamshire etc 1911, 1915, 1920 and also 1939 by Kelly's Directories Limited.

South Bucks Standard, 30th September 1892, October 9th 1896 and 22nd July 1910. British Library Archives via the BNA.

Reading Mercury 21st April 1855. Cutting.

Servants at Remnantz 1871

 On the 1871 census 62 year old Anne Wethered had 8 other members of her family living with her at Remnantz and 9 live in servants.

The head gardener had his own cottage so isn't included in the household. Under gardeners likely came in on a daily basis. There are no grooms listed. There were rooms above the stables, which if occupied by any such might have constituted a different household to the census taker or perhaps any grooms employed did not live in.  The only male servant censused at Remnantz other than the butler was 18 year old William Saunder Brook. He might have taken on a groom's role amongst other household duties. He is simply listed as "general servant." By the time of the next census William had married an Elizabeth and become a French polisher. He was recorded as having been born in nearby Hurley, Berkshire, which indeed he was.

The only servant censused as born in Great Marlow itself was 19 year old general servant Mary E Maine, who I struggled to find any later trace of.

Coming from the furthest distance away was Aberdeen born general servant 50 year old Elizabeth Polson.

Elizabeth appeared on the next census on the Isle of Wight with her widowed niece before returning to West Street Marlow on the 1891 census. In both instances she lived on her own income/ annuities so somebody left her something or gave her a pension or she made some good investments herself.

One of the two domestic nurses in the household, Louise Davis, was said to have been born in Dieppe, France. French nurses were a fashion for a time. 

The other domestic nurse present was Elizabeth Coombes, a 22 year old Oxfordshire girl. There were 3 grandchildren in Anne Wethered's household ranging in age from a baby less than a year old up to a 10 year old. The term domestic nurse on a census isn't always easy to interpret. Both nurses may have been nursemaids caring for the children, or one may have been providing care for an infirm or unwell household member. On the 1881 census Anne Wethered's married daughter Sophia Fenwick* had Remnantz and still employed a live in "domestic nurse" despite there being no children in the household. 

Elizabeth Coombes returned to Oxfordshire. Never marrying, she was eventually a housekeeper.

The only two 1871 servants still at Remnantz in 1881 were Mary Tyler aged 64 in 1871 and Caroline Bridgeman whose age varies a lot between censuses. Both had been working there 1861 too when Anne Wethered still had her husband Owen with her (he died the next year). Mary Tyler was said to be a nurse 1861, general servant 1871 and a nurse and housekeeper 1881. Caroline went from housemaid to general servant to upper housemaid across the censuses.

The most senior servant censused 1871 was the butler Alfred Crockford from Chertsey in Surrey, born 1836. He was on the 1851 census as a page boy, perfect butler training! After Remnantz he could be found living in Holborn London working as a meat carver. The precise and neat carving of meat would be a requirement of a butler so his old skills were still being put to use. Alfred married in middle age, his wife Emily.

The final servant to be mentioned 1871 is another general servant Mary A Turner originally from Norfolk but whose family moved to near Sandhurst, Berkshire when she was a little girl.

Remnantz Related Posts: 

Biography of Stephen Remnant, early occupier here

Life for the young cadets at the military college- here

Photos of items once dug up at Remnantz and adjacent properties -here

Use for a cricket match here

The barge that came over the wall (!) here

*Sophia Fenwick nee Wethered had married Lieut Col Percival Fenwick in 1861. Her father was Owen Wethered. 

Sources:

Census:

Great Marlow censuses my transcription from microfilm.

GRO Death Index.

Hurley parish registers.

Great Marlow Parish Registers, my old transcription from the original.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use this material for family or local history research purposes providing you credit this blog and link here to make sure my sources remain credited for information provided.

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

Blounts / Blunts Farm Marlow

Historic occupier list. Occupiers are not necessarily the owner. Dates given are where I find firm evidence of someone being in occupation at the farm, they may have been present earlier or later too. 

Note= the name of the farm may spring from William Blount who was present in Marlow in the early 1400s. Perhaps he or his family owned or rented land that was or would become this farm.

Updated April 2026.

1587 Thomas Ponde sold it to Brinkhurst of Lane End, his relative. The later will of Thomas is on the blog here. 

1640 - John Langley.

1783 & 1788 William Brookes. Tenant to Nathaniel Micklem of Hurley. 

1815-18 Joseph and William Brooks. Probably brothers.

1833-1850 John Gibbons. Tenant to a Mr Micklem in 1833. Blounts then consisted of 173 acres. John also occupied Copy Farm in 1833. He retired from Blounts in 1850. Also at Widmere Farm. See here. At the time of John's retirement, there is a grand sale of stock. The animals on offer include "7 short legged powerful cart-horses", a 4 year old "well bred brown nag" who is a good roadster and hunter, and two handsome heifers. Also available to buy are 4 market waggons, 3 strong dung carts, a market cart, plough and cart harnesses for 8 horses, and the usual selection of ploughs, ladders, troughs, hurdles, turnip and chaff cutters etc. 

1854- Richard Blackwell, bailiff to the non residential owner who I think was still a Micklem.

1857-60 "Messrs Hewett", that is John and William. In 1857 sheep and corn stolen from them in different incidents. In 1859 their ploughman was charged with horse cruelty. William died aged 68 in 1860 on the farm. 

1860-67 John Hewett above. John died age 67 in 1867. Wife Sarah. Their daughter Sarah later married James Curtis of Wood Barn Farm, Little Marlow. Sarah senior died in 1893.

1869-76 William Thomas Bird. In 1871 summoned his carter John Edwards for allegedly stealing a pint of beer from him [Henley Advertiser 8th April 1871]. William moved to Abbey Farm Little Marlow but went bankrupt 1878. Note that earlier occupiers Joseph and William Brooks were related to the Bird family.

1883- Thomas Elliott? Kept sheep on the farm but was he the farmer?

1886- J and E Micklem owners but not living there. Bailiff Richard Sumner.

1888-89 Farm and the stock on it up for sale.

1889- 1899. Dr Francis Laking. Knighted 1893.  Resident only during the summer. Runs very exclusive West End doctors practice, with royal clients. In 1892 bailiff is John Warren. In that year a temporary worker on the farm George Cellam died from his burns after a fire there. George came from a Mr Mitchell of Burnham with a threshing machine hired to thresh barley at Blounts. He and other workers went drinking in the Royal Oak Bovingdon Green in the evening then returned to the farm to sleep the night up against the barley rick. Some of them had pipes and it was thought later that hot ash from one of those must have ignited the rick. That and the threshing machine were destroyed. George was taken to the Royal Oak and from there in a cart to Marlow Cottage hospital but died. [Some details from South Bucks Standard 26th February 1892]. There was no water sufficiently nearby to douse the rick and without that the Fire Brigade could not assist. In 1894 mains water was ran up to the farm for the first time. 

In 1893 Francis hosted a children's athletics sports event, with "useful" prizes such as cruet sets and teapots which perhaps does not strike us as the most exciting gifts for the youngsters. However each also recieved  a silver coin minted that year. Guy Laking is the starter. Over 200 children enter the races. A sumptuous tea is provided thanks to Mr Carter of Marlow and the Town's Drum & Fife band also attend. 

Dr Laking also raised pigs and heifers and grew oats and wheat on the farm. He purchased Clarefield, Maidenhead Thicket, on leaving Blounts. 

Gardener to Dr Laking  - Alan Axten 1894. (Lived Blounts Cottages.)

1899-1926. Walter Wethered. His farm manager and gardener was James Platt from at least 1903. James was still the farm manager in the late 1930s but I am unsure if this was for Walter or someone else.

1940- Mrs Heath. Lives with a butler, cook and other servants so property perhaps more of a home with land now.

Farm occupancies are compiled by me from advertisements, trade journals, censuses, court cases, property records and more. As I sort my research notes mountain I will probably add more information.

To search for other farm posts like this see the Specific Shops Streets Etc option on the top drop down menu. To look for a particular person use the Person Index.

© Marlow Ancestors. If using this research credit this blog and link here but you are welcome to do so. 

Turner Grave And Research

Willoughby Turner. Died June 26th 1927 age 60.

Also of Jennie wife of the above. 14th February 1929 aged 48.

Research Notes:

Jennie Longhurst married Willoughby Turner in the Wycombe registration district in 1918. Nothing else could be found out about her. Willoughby grew up in Princes Risborough Bucks but spent most of his working life in London as a carpenter and then builder's foreman. Local papers record him winning prizes at school in Princess Risborough several times. He moved to Marlow after 1911.

Photographed May 2021. Grave in Marlow Cemetery.

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