Eusebius Windsor

Eusebius caught my attention because of his great first name. He appears on the 1833 Parochial Survey notebooks I have I have in my possession as the landlord of the Elephant and Castle beer house in Dean Street.

While there was a great deal of beer sellers in that street later in the 1800s most of those licenses were yet to be granted in 1833 so there was some competition but nothing like what there would come to be later in the area and Dean Street was in no way the centre of alcohol consumption then in Marlow.

Eusebius had been born in Marlow in 1799 to Elizabeth and William. In 1822 he married Elizabeth Stevens. 

Eusebius continued to work as an  labourer while running the Elephant and Castle. This again was common and likely means it was actually his wife Elizabeth who was the day to day runner of the business. I see this situation time and time again with Marlow pubs. Elizabeth may have had little choice but to shoulder the burden of the work as according to a 1834 Bucks Gazette article Eusebius preferred going out hunting to work of any kind! The article said that Eusebius stood accused of letting a dog he had hired in the (surely tiny) hope of catching a wild boar be a nuisance to the whole neighborhoods of his exploits (in Berkshire not Marlow). He escaped a fine due to insufficient evidence but was ordered to pay his overdue rates given that if he had sufficient money to waste on a wild boar chase he had sufficient money to pay his taxes.

Whether because it proved too much like hard work or for some other reason Eusebius didn't stick with the beer selling trade. By the time of the 1841 census he and Elizabeth along with their children Charlotte [known by her middle name Emma], Elizabeth junior and Henry were living with his parents in West Street. The dad of Eusebius, named William, was a baker.

In 1844 Eusebius was in trouble again, this time for springing two horses of his from where they were impounded to avoid paying the impound fees. If your animal strayed it was impounded until you paid a fee to the person who had impounded it. This was to discourage loose animals being left to damage crops and fences.

But we must not imply Eusebius was a ne'er do well. He was a volunteer fire fighter, actually credited with particular energy at this dangerous activity. He also stepped in on one occasion to help the Marlow police make a difficult arrest in Marefield. Doesn't seem fair on that evidence to call him lazy at all!

I have not found his death registration. 

The Elephant and Castle premises later became the Mint.

There are previous posts on this blog which feature Dean Street beer sellers and their families see Pub Related option on the menu here.

More Dean Street content here.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are welcome to use my research with credit to this blog.

Sources:

Great Marlow parish reg.

1833 parochial assessment working notebooks in my possession, transcribed by me.

Census transcribed from microfilm. 

Newspaper copies held by the British Library accessed via the BNA October 2020. Windsor and Eton Express 10th February 1844, Bucks Gazette 25th January 1834.

**

Will Of William Sawyer

 William Sawyer, gentleman. Written 1810. Proved 1814.

To loving wife Hester my house in West Street Marlow with the wheeler's shop, stables, backside, land and gardens that go with it. This is in the occupation of testator and the wheelwright Thomas Cox.

All other personal possessions to Hester too.

Witnessed by John Rance Lovegrove, Timothy Tregoe and T. E English.

Codicil:

The property in the will has since been exchanged by William for another Marlow property and this is now to be given to Hester instead.

Witnessed by John Rance Lovegrove, Robert ?Chellow? and Henrietta Lovegrove.

Will transcribed and then summarised by Charlotte Day from a will held at the National Archives,  Kew.

Notes

 Hester's own will was previously  transcribed and summarised on this blog. See here

Timothy Tregoe was a watchmaker. His sister Sarah Puddifant was a near neighbour of William in West Street, as was John Rance Lovegrove who was a plumber and glazier. Henrietta Lovegrove was his wife. TE English was Timothy English, a draper and yet another close neighbour.

For more wills see our will index here

All mentions of any individual, including those mentioned above, on this blog can be found in the person index. Thousands of people are mentioned. These include some of the will's witnessed and other Sawyer's.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this summary and research for family or local history purposes if you credit this blog.

History Of Duke Of Cambridge Pub and The Railway Hotel, Marlow

 

THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, Queens Road. 

Updated by Charlotte November  2025

In 1862 William Plumridge was a publican somewhere in Marlow. In 1863 and 1864 William Plumridge was listed as a beer seller at Cambridge Place off Queens Road / Cambridge Road. He may be at the pub known to have been once located in what would later be the original cottage hospital in Cambridge Road. That building was built as a pub, probably by the Plumridge family. It's pub name is unknown to me. The early years of those premises are currently being researched and this research will hopefully bring more clarity. I believe William was not in the future hospital building at this time even if he had been earlier. Instead I believe that he was trading out of a converted cottage close by in Cambridge Place. Certainly in 1869 a Mrs Hewett was resident at the future hospital building and it was not a pub but an ordinary home then. William was also a builder, the son of another William who likewise worked as a builder and publican. This older William built The Wheatsheaf in Station Road and ran the White Hart in Chapel Street. 

1865 - William Plumridge listed at Duke of Cambridge, Marefield specifically. This is likely to be its current Queens Road premises as Marefield was a loose location covering this road and others. I have confirmed that William himself built the Duke as a beerhouse. It was subsequently fully licenced. Wife Emma. 

A cottage in Cambridge Place, which may have been the first Plumridge beer house in the area returned to domestic use, remained in the Plumridge family for some time. 

1869 - William Plumridge. Gets spirit licence. 

1871 - William Plumridge. Listed as bricklayer on the census. This would be closer to a builder in our modern understanding. An occupation followed by a vast number of Plumridge men!

1875 - thieves stole a pound of tea from William, selling it on for 14d and a pot of beer at the Travellers Friend. The 3 men convicted were sentenced to 3 months hard labour. 

1880 - William Plumridge handed over reins to his son William Henry Plumridge and passed away soon after. The pub was sold by the Plumridge family as a result (for £2000 to the Wethered family) but William the son immediately took back on the licence. He too was also a builder. His widowed mother Emma lived on until 1898, when she died in Queens Road after a long illness. Emma ran a little general store there for some time in her widowhood.

At the time of the pub sale the pub was described as consisting of a bar, taproom, large parlour, sitting room, 2 cellars, 4 bedrooms, 2 w.c, washhouse, with garden, stabling, outbuildings and conservatory. The "lucrative" trade was 7 barrels a week plus a steady custom for spirits. The "conservatory" was probably the hot house described in 1882 as a place where William was growing peaches which were stolen by a visiting drinker he had shown them off to.

1883 - William Henry Plumridge

1887 - A Jubilee public dinner was held in Queens Road so the pub and street was adorned with bunting, flags etc. For more see here .The following year William organised a Marefield area cricket team to play against the workers of Burrows shoe manufacturer of Cookham. It was played on a meadow adjoining the chalk pit off Oxford Road, and the Marefield team was victorious. Afterwards both sides sat down to a celebratory dinner at the Duke. 

1891 - William Henry Plumridge Still also builder/bricklayer)

1899 - Williams 50th birthday was celebrated at the Duke with a special smoking concert and copious toasts to the health and wealth of the host. 

1903  - William Henry Plumridge (also a bricklayer). Owner of a champion apple tree - see here

1920 - William Henry Plumridge

1932 - William Salisbury. He died this year. Previously at the Railway Hotel. His widow Alice briefly held the licence then it was transferred to John Thomas Edwards.

1932-39 - John Thomas Edwards

     The Railway hotel, Above 

THE RAILWAY HOTEL updated by Charlotte December 2025

(Later The Marlow Donkey), Station Road. 

1873 -Brewery got a spirit licence for these new premises in exchange for the Black Boy loosing theirs. Walter Porter.

1876 - Walter Porter 

1877 - Walter Porter

1880 - suffered minor damage in the 1880 election riot. The men were called off as Mrs Porter was now a widow. For more, see here. A biographical post about Walter and Sarah's son is on the blog here.

1881 - Mrs Sarah Ann Porter born Wisbech, Cambs.

1886 - Mrs Porter 2. William Harris of Maida Vale appears to have been a proposed new licensee and he was granted a holdover of the licence but his permanent takeover of the premises fell through. 

1899 - Mrs Sarah Ann Porter (See her grave on the blog here)

1903 - Charles Henry Porter (son of Sarah and Walter above). Also coal merchant. 

1904 - Walter Duplock managed Railway hotel livery stables 

1905 - Mr Porter

1911 - Charles Henry Porter

Adverts, 1905. 

1915 - William Sailsbury

1921 - William Salisbury (moved to the Duke of Cambridge)

1926 - 29 W Francis White "Electric light throughout". "The only hotel with modern sanitary arrangements" they say.  Sports meadow available to hire. Garages available for customer cars.

1934 - William F White is forced to retire due to ill health. He is due to move to Sheerness. Replaced by Harry Allin of Newbury. 

1939 - Frederick Wallace Jones 

1960 Tony (Anthony) and Margaret Hollingworth.

1961 - name changed to The Marlow Donkey. Tony and Margaret Hollingworth take over from Mr H Kemp who was moving elsewhere.

1963 - Tony and Margaret Hollingworth. Residential hotel.

Above  - front cover of the Marlow and District Motor Services Ltd first annual dinner as hosted at the Railway Hotel in March 1931. On the menu were both mince pies and plum pudding, a reminder that the habit of using these at celebratory meals at any time of the year had not quite disappeared at this time. From the collection of Michael Eagleton, with thanks. 

This photo ©Colin Groves 2021. The "off sales" entrance on corner facing Glade Road is now a window. 

©Marlow Ancestors.

To find all pub/hotel related posts see the pub related option on the top drop down menu. To see all mentions of your ancestor no matter how small, chose the A-Z person index. Here's a link to a list of historic Marlow watering holes: here 

SOURCES

Numerous historic newspaper reports relating to annual licencing sessions, and other events relating to the premises, in the South Bucks Standard, and Maidenhead Advertiser accessed via the BNA including: 

Reading Mercury 8th Sept 1866, 13 September 1873 as above

Bucks Herald 10th September 1864, as above

Census 1871,1881, 1891

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1864,1869,1877,1883,1895, 1903, 1911, 1915 

Dutton, Allen and Co Commercial Directory. 1863

Harrods Royal County Directory 1876

Marlow Guide 1903, 1907, 1915

Marlow Directory and Almanack 1881

Bucks Free Press 8th June 1934, High Wycombe Library