Wages in Marlow History *Updated April 2026**

This post has been expanded to include some material up to the 1960s.

Agricultural

Straw binder, per load on a Marlow farm 1844 = 1 shilling.

Male stone picker on a Marlow farm, per day 1844 = 1 shilling.

Carter at Town Farm Marlow 1844, per week = 12 shillings. Same wage as 1856!

Night watchman (usually guarding sheep but fear of incendiary attacks was also high locally at this time) on Marlow farm, per night 1844= 6d.

A female agricultural labourer's weekly wage on a Marlow farm in summer 1856 = 6 shillings.

Hay binder pay per load, 1856 = 2 shillings.

Shepherds wage on Town Farm Marlow 1856, per week = 13 shillings.

Plough boy on a Marlow farm 1856, per week = 4 shillings. 

Carter on Town Farm Marlow 1856, per week = 12 shillings.  This hadn't increased since before 1844!

Working farm foreman who can do thatching and hedging, per week, 1860 = 12s including cottage and £2 Michaelmas payment. 

Farm boy at Hill Farm Marlow 1865, per week= 4 shillings 6d.

Under Gamekeeper, at Hall Place nr Hurley, 1872 = 15s a week including cottage and garden, and harvest month bonus. 

Under Gamekeeper at Little Marlow 1876 = 16 shillings a week plus cottage and garden.

Wages paid to three agricultural labourers to mow a meadow Great Marlow, per acre, 1873 = 6 shillings 6d plus beer. The inclusion of beer in wages was common.

15 year old boy to milk cows and work in farm yard at Hawkins Farm, 1874, per week = 6 shillings  (plus £4 at Michaelmas). 

Carter on Abbey Farm, Little Marlow 1875, per week = 13 shillings, with a cottage and Michaelmas money.

Weekly wage of barley thrasher on a Marlow farm 1880 = 13 shillings.

Ploughboy per week on a Marlow Farm, 1880 = 5 shillings.

Agricultural labourer Marlow able to mend fences and plough 1892, per week = 12 shillings with cottage and garden.

Ploughboy, 1899, per week including board and lodging = 6 shillings.

Haymakers, 1900, per day = 5s plus 3 pints beer. (A higher than average wage put down to the relative absence of labourers locally due to their serving instead in the South African wars)

Cowman on a Marlow farm, if single [married men were paid more in those days and might also get use of a cottage] a week 1903 = 17 shillings. For comparison 17 shillings was also the wage for a carter at Danesfield and at a Little Marlow farm in 1899 but use of a cottage was also included with those. That position was for a married man only. He would receive extra fees at harvest time. At the hiring day that started the Wycombe Fair in 1898 the average negotiated wage for a cowman was 13 shillings a week plus a cottage, a ton of coal and "a present of £3 at Michaelmas". In 1914 a cowman at Blounts farm had a weekly wage of £1 (20s) 

Carter on Wood Barn Farm Little Marlow 1914 = 16 shillings a week plus a cottage. (In 1899 it was 13 shillings.) A carter at Barmoor in the same year could expect 20s (£1) a week without a cottage - total abstainers preferred. 

General farm worker at Wood Barn Farm Little Marlow with cottage and £2 10s extra Michaelmas money, per week 1914 = 16 shillings. Must be able to rick build and help in milking. 

Shepherd at Barmoor Farm 1915, per week = £1 2 shillings with cottage and garden.

Farm worker not part of a threshing team and not in a supervisory role mandatory pay in Buckinghamshire 1944, per hour = 1 shilling 7d for men, 1 shilling 3d for women. Overtime paid at same rate.

Tractor driver come cowman at Old House Farm 1951, per week = £6 plus cottage to live in.

Domestic Service (for commercial cooks /maids  in hotels etc see under "other" below)

Needlewoman for domestic service, to make plain dresses and frocks, and care for the wardrobes of several young gentleman when home from school, and mind the boys themselves ditto, 1859 = £16 per year plus beer and washing allowance. Members of Church of England only need apply. 

Housemaid in a gent's family, to be aged 20-30, per annum 1860 = 14 guineas with "everything found" That meant employers will provide things like her laundry, candles for personal use, food and drink. Applicants to send letter care of Mr Pierce (Pearce) stationer, High Street Marlow. He took in replies to many similar requests.

Married couple- the man to serve as the gardener, cow man and groom, and the woman to be the cook, in tradesman's family, 1860, per annum = £30 for the pair. 

Parlourmaid to Charles Foottit the chemist 1878, per annum = £16, "all found" (so she getting her food, candles, laundry and (if worn) uniform provided.

Stable lad at Hillside (off where Seymour Park Road is today) 1881, per week = 10 shillings.

Plain cook in Marlow 1884, per annum = £17 all in (so her own food food and any uniform supplied) but not including any beer.

General servant in a family home in the High Street, per annum = £8.

General servant to assist at Marlow Cottage Hospital, Cambridge Road. Duties will include cooking 1890, per annum = £12.

Assistant gardener at Seymour Court 1890, per week = 20s.

Good plain cook, age 30-35, with a kitchen maid to assist her in her work. At Westhorpe, 1890 = £25-29 per annum depending on experience. For comparison a cook - general (cook who would do housework too) working for much smaller household in Beaumont Rise in the same year could expect £20-23 per year. She had no kitchen maid to assist her but a "house boy" instead, who would also wait at table. And she would not be required to do any laundry. 

General cook Marlow 1896, per annum = £16.

General servant at house Marlow High Street 1898, per annum  = £10.

Nursemaid to look after one child, Marlow Place 1900, per annum = £20.

Garden labourer, experienced, at Temple House 1900, per week = 17 shillings plus a lodge to live in. (Previous year only 16s was offered).

Under Gardener, "strong lad" preferred, Cromwell House, 1900 = 9-10 shillings a week. 

Kitchen Maid, Beechwood House, Red Pitts 1904, per annum = £12. In 1917 a kitchen maid at Court Garden could expect £14 a year. 

General servant Little Marlow, 1907, per annum = £10 [possibly a small household. In London you could earn double that, and £10 seems low even for local standards].

Parlourmaids in Marlow wages per annum as advertised across various sources, 1907 = £18-26. In 1917 a parlourmaid at Court Garden could expect £30. 

Ladies maid to cover a Marlow household with two ladies. Dressmaking required. 1907, per annum = £30.

Head housemaid, per annum 1907 = £26.

Nursemaids in Marlow across various ads, per annum 1908 = £25-28.

Live in groom in large Marlow house, per week 1909 = 10 shillings a week [that was pretty stingy even for a live in!].

Footman in large Marlow house, per annum 1909 = £22.

General servant for small Marlow family, per annum 1910 = £11 (very low though ad says no laundry duties involved).

A Cook at The Glade, Glade Road Marlow who was moving on, expected in her next job to earn in 1912, per annum = £24 to £25.

Garden labourer at Temple House with wife to attend to entrance gates, per week plus lodge rent free, 1914 = 17s.

Kitchen maid, age 16-20, at Court Garden 1915 = £16-18 per annum. An under housemaid at same house received the same wage. 

Cook at Woodside Little Marlow Road 1916, per annum = £24 .The cook at court garden in 1917 could for comparison expect £35 per annum, but this was a much larger household. 

Housekeeper to do plain cooking as well, small household in Marlow,  1916 = £20 per annum.

Under Gardener at Court Garden 1918 = 25 shillings a week plus vegetables from the garden, a coal allowance and either 3 rooms over stable or small lodge. Raised to 30 shillings with the veg and accomodation etc when no takers for this job. The head gardener could expect 35s a week in the same year with the same benefits, raised to 40s for the same reason as above. 

Paid companion to a lady, 1918, not for those under 40 years = £20 per year. 

Cook-general (cook who will also do other housework) in household where parlour maid is kept, at Thames Field, per annum, 1920 = £42. 

Parlour maid in Marlow 1926, per annum = £36.

Parlour maid in Marlow 1934, per annum = £45.

Gardener, gardener at croft Cottage Pound Lane 1944, per week = 15 shillings (required to work one day a week only but garden is in a bad state!)

Clerical, Managerial And Similar

Librarian at the Literary and Scientific Institute, per annum 1860 = £6.

Great Marlow parish surveyor 1860, per annum = £20.

Great Marlow parish sanitary inspector 1859, per annum = £45

Sanitary Inspector for Marlow 1866, per annum = £12 (note the difference from 1859!)

Clerk to the parish council, per annum 1896 = £25 (a part time role).

Secretary of Marlow Water Company, per annum 1897 = £25.

Managing Director of Marlow Water Company, per annum 1897= £50 plus 5 per cent commission on dues collected -getting people to pay up, especially those in big houses was hard work!

Ledger Clerk at Lloyds Bank Marlow 1928, per annum = £150.

Rent collector for Marlow Urban District council 1966, per day = £3.

Education / school roles:

Master of the Boys' School, per annum 1878 = £104. 

Mistress of Bovingdon Green village school, per annum 1878 = £44 6 shillings.

Mistress of the Infant's School in St Peter's Street, per annum 1878 = £70.

Cook for Borlase school, (who had a scullery maid to assist her), 1899 , per annum= £25-30 - but it is specified she shall have no beer allowance.. In 1938 the same role paid, per annum = £52.

Drill instructor for Borlase school, who had to be a military man either discharged or unfit to serve, 1918, per week =  £1 7s 6d .

Clerical assistant, Borlase School per hour, 1955 = 3s 9d .

Caretaker at soon-to-open Danesfield School, 1962, per week £20 15sh 9d.

School cleaner at Danesfield School (male) per hour, 1965 = 2 sh 2 and a half pence. Extra if worked early or late.

Craft Occupations

Journeyman blacksmith in Marlow 1830, per week = 17 shillings.

Female bib maker (paid per piece), could earn per day, 1870 = 6d to 8d.

Girls, ideally aged about 15, to paint tiles at the Medmenham Pottery, Marlow Common 1898, per week = 5 shillings.

Building And Similar Trades

Casual labourer, per day in Marlow 1857 = 2 shillings.

Foreman road labourer for the parish road works, per week, 1868 = 13 shillings.

Painter (house). As earned by Thomas Clements of Hambledon 1872, per week = 18 shillings.

Carpenter working for Ambrose Corby the builder 1878, per hour = 6 and a half pence.

First year apprentice carpenter and joiner working for Ambrose Corby the builder 1881, per week = 9 shillings (this was seen as a good wage, and would rise in the second year).

Mason to work at the building of a new house at Danesfield 1899, per hour = 9d, travelling time allowed.

Brick makers at Marlow Common kiln, 1899 = 7 shillings per 1,000 bricks made. 

Plasterer to work on houses being built by Mr Harris the builder at Marlow 1899, per hour = 10d.

Bricklayer's labourer working in building Great Marlow School 1960, per hour = 5s 6d.

Other Manual Occupations

A quarter's pay for the organ blower in the parish church (worked bellows while organist played the instrument), 1857 = 10s 6d.

Paper mill worker, male, adult 1874, per week = 17 shillings 6 pence.

Chimney sweep employed by master sweep as assistant in Marlow, 1884, per week = 15 shillings.

Carter working for Mr Butler coal merchant of Marlow 1893, per week = 17 shillings

Girl about 15 to learn laundry work at the Standard Laundry, Station Road, 1916 = 5s a week starting wage. 

Stoker at Marlow Gas Works, per 12 hour shift, 1919 = 8s 9d plus war bonus of 3s a week still applies. 

Shop Work

Journeyman baker (qualified baker who had served his apprenticeship but worked for others not himself) Marlow 1862, per week = 12 shillings.

First year apprentice at International Stores grocers in the High Street 1941, per week = 15 shillings with linen provided.

Lady working in Burger's bakery on the Causeway, per hour 1950 = 1sh 6d.

Lady shop assistant age 18 at Aldridge's grocers Marlow, per week 1966 = £8 8 shillings. Overalls provided and staff discount offered.

Part time, afternoons only, lady cashier at Prestige Betting shop, West Street 1966, per week = £6 10 shillings.

Warehouseman, International Stores, High Street (grocers), 1966 = £11 a week.

Hospitality 

Hotel cook, per annum 1909 = £25 At The Chequers in 1900 the cook could expect £30 per annum for comparison. 

Housemaid/ Waitress (one person to perform both roles)  at hotel in area, live in, 1917 = £31 per annum. A good wage compared to those in domestic service as a housemaid in a private home. 

Other:

Yearly wage for the priest serving the nuns of Little Marlow Priory 1525 = £5 8s 6d.

Maximum salary the churchwardens and overseers of poor would be willing to pay for a sober couple of good character to manage Great Marlow poorhouse, 1775 = £20 per annum. 

Keeper of the Marlow Lock Up House 1856, per week = 16 shillings plus a uniform coat and hat renewed every year.

Gravedigger come caretaker of the churchyard 1898, per week = 16s (and would get tips).

Caretaker and librarian for the Marlow Institute 1903, per week = 15 shillings. (It was £35 per annum in 1897).

State unemployment benefit, per week, 1920 = 15s a week for men, 12s for women. 

Electricity meter reader Marlow 1956, per hour = 3sh 9d.

Pay per fire attended, for Marlow's retained part time firefighters, 1966 = 35 shillings. If the fire lasted over an hour they were given an extra 8 shillings per additional hour. These were additional fees on top of the yearly retainer they received as a matter of course (up to £55).

******

Compiled by Charlotte Day and Kathryn Day.

Compiled from adverts, letters, court cases, interviews.

And Maidenhead Advertiser July 24th 1872 (Bayliss Media Archive), South Bucks Standard 30 September 1899 and 5 February 1897, Bucks Free Press 7th January 1938 (Bucks Free Press Archives via Newspapers. Com).

To put these wages into context see our Marlow Cost of Living posts Part 1 and Part 2. These tell you what Marlow people paid for rents, food, entertainment, medical care, furnishings, education, travel etc.

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

Bringing The Harvest Home - Harvest Festival In Marlow

Any one who has ever browsed a Marlow census return will be aware that huge numbers of people in Marlow worked at some point as an agricultural labourer or "ag lab". You will also notice from other records that many people rented land who did not define themselves as farmers primarily. The gathering of the harvest was something that therefore involved a lot of our Marlow ancestors. 

First a quick word about these agricultural labourers. The census forms had limited space to record someone's occupation. Many people had several jobs at once but not all will be recorded. If you find reference to someone describing their work in another context, where they are a witness in a criminal trial perhaps, at an inquest or if their life is described later, your "ag lab" often turns out to have other simultaneous roles. Some had skilled specialities but were lumped together under the general labourer heading on a census.  Others worked in agriculture seasonally or casually but were not necessarily doing so at the time of the census. Whatever they did, their work was absolutely essential to the wellbeing of everyone in the town. It was also often extremely hard and required strength and deftness. There's no such thing as "just" an agricultural labourer. 

The Georgian harvest suppers and harvest home celebrations seem to have had a bit of a raucous reputation. The early Victorians were at pains to mention how much more civilised their occasions were compared to what came before, mainly in the terms of levels of alcohol consumed. These were usually held mid September, sometimes a bit later, to celebrate the harvest successfully coming in. The records of what small scale farmers did to celebrate in Marlow specifically are mostly lacking but one man who was an enthusiastic host of Harvest Home celebrations was Benjamin Atkinson, of the Rookery, Chapel Street. 

Benjamin was a doctor who also owned farm land and buildings at various places in the Marlow area. This included land off Wycombe Road, (aka Town End Farm), Marlow Bottom Farm, and land towards Handy Cross. (You can read more about him here ) 

His Harvest Home celebrations were a significant event in the town and were "joyously anticipated" not just by his farm workers but by a "large circle of gentry" who were also invited. Everyone invited proceeded to the Rookery itself where the gardeners had spent hours preparing for the event. The grass was cut fine to allow for dancing late into the night, lanterns were hung from every tree and two large marquees were erected. In 1855, 40 people sat down to dinner before 150 more arrived at 5.30pm along with a brass band. There was dancing and feasting until Mr and Mrs Atkinson gathered everyone into the largest tent for speeches. On this occasion, Benjamin said he had bought the company together to honour his work people whom he regarded as friends, and he trusted that he had always treated them as such. This was met with cries of "You have! You have!" You suspect these sentiments were sincere on both sides, as Benjamin and Eliza were well known for their benevolence. As a doctor, Benjamin saw many poor patients for free for example. 

Benjamin also visited the workers in the fields as the reaping was coming to an end, having organised the delivery of an alcoholic treat. He gave a speech there too. In the summer of 1856, a large group of his labourers followed up Benjamin's refreshment with a trip to a public house. An unfortunate consequence of this was a family squabble, fuelled by alcohol, that started in the pub and continued at home before the police broke it up. Richard Martin ended up with a broken leg, his wife some broken ribs, and son William with various injuries. Benjamin recieved some criticism for his habit of treating workers in the fields after this. 

As time passed, this harvest celebration gets rarer. By the 1890's most events seem to have been organised by the biggest landowners and estates only. ( Mr Ellames continued to hold Harvest Homes at Wood Barn Farm, Little Marlow at this time for both the estate workers and their wives, providing "old English fare" and free tobacco. As did the Kearleys of States, Medmenham who decorated the great barn with Union Jack's, flowers, corn and evergreens ahead of a colossal supper and dance.) The local papers reflecting on this lack thought it a shame the bonds between land owner and land worker might be weakened as a result. Others thought landowners could no longer afford to host anything on a large scale like this anyway. 

Church services to specifically celebrate the harvest became more popular in the second half of the 19th century in Marlow. You can be sure that whatever church or chapel your ancestor attended here then, that it would have been a magnificent sight come harvest festival time. The level of decoration is sometimes extraordinary, and it's usually the woman of the congregation who took charge of this. 

In 1877, 250 people sat down to a harvest tea in the school room in the Causeway. This was followed by a concert in the evening. All Saints was decorated with wreathes of cornflowers and evergreens, along with sheaves of corn which sounds very pretty. In 1883, a miniature hay rick was on display beneath the pulpit. But in 1891 the ladies of All Saints really out did themselves. They covered each window ledge with moss and garlands of autumn coloured creepers. The pedestal of the font also became a mossy bank, "planted" with primulas and every type of fern that could be found. The pulpit was hidden beneath an abundance of fruit and flowers while the front of the choir stalls displayed small bunches of corn. Fruit and flowers from the Marlow and Bisham harvest festivals often found their way to Marlow Cottage Hospital afterwards. 

The ladies of the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Chapel Street (now Liston Hall) were equally creative. In 1896 they lined the skirtings of the building with garlands of ivy and placed flowers on every available surface from the gasoliers down. 

Similar efforts to decorate Little Marlow church were made, enjoyed by a packed congregation year on year. In 1864 the Reading Mercury complained that the "ugly" high backed pews made it impossible for many to see the beautiful displays to their best advantage. You can't please everyone! 

Of course for every year there was a successful "incoming" of crops, there were others where the harvest was a disaster. Badly timed spells of wet weather could ruin months of incessant labour. In 1873 persistent rain delayed the harvest and left some farmers facing huge losses. The grain sprouted, because of the wet weather, a situation which reduced the yield, quality and storage capability of the crop. A harvest gathering that went well really was a cause of celebration. 

Related Posts:

To find the histories of different farms in Marlow and Little Marlow  see the "Specific Shops, Streets, Etc" option on the menu. 

Every mention of a person can be found under the Person Index. Other general posts related to agriculture in Marlow will be listed under the general history option here

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

SOURCES: 

Harvest Home. Anon. (J Evans & Sons, 1810)

Harvest Home (Penny Publications 1873)

South Bucks Free Press September 3 1859, copy from the British Library Archive, accessed via the BNA September 2020.  

Reading Mercury 10 September 1864, 13 September 1873, as above

Bucks Herald 6 October 1873, as above 

South Bucks Standard 9 October 1891, 22 September 1893, 11 October 1895 as above

Oxford Gazette 17 October 1885, as above

https://www.bcg.org.au/pre-harvest-sprouting-in-wheat-and-barley/&ved=2ahUKEwjTtK3c17rwAhUXVRUIHWbvDB04ChAWMAN6BAgDEAI&usg=AOvVaw2-x5d-YBOzqdSZRG10Y5KV

And thanks to Archibald Godfrey for his information. 

©Marlow Ancestors.