Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Description
Marlow, Great, a town and a parish in Bucks. The town stands on the left bank of the river Thames, at the boundarywith Berks, amid beautiful and picturesque scenery, a striking feature in the landscape being Quarry Wood, 33 miles from Paddington, London, 5 N from Maidenhead, 6 1/2 SSW from High Wycombe, and 7 E from Henley. It has a station on the Wycombe and Oxford branch of the G.W.R., and a head post office, designated Marlow. It was known at Domesday as Merelaw, and appears, from its earliest history, to have been connected with royalty. It consists chiefly of two streets, called High Street and West Street, crossing each other at the market-place; was formerly a quaint and curious old place, but is now made up almost entirely of modern houses. It has a good water supply, derived from a deep well sunk into the chalk, and has of late years undergone considerable improvement. The old town-hall, which .stands at the top of the High Street, and which was erected in 1801 after designs by Wyatt, is a neat stone edifice with a clock turret; it now forms part of the Crown Hotel, and is used as a billiard room. The old deanery contains an ancient kitchen, and has two fine pointed windows with flamboyant tracery. There is a lock on the Thames navigation which has a fall of 5 1/2 feet, and which is 56 1/2 miles from London and 54 3/4 from Oxford. The suspension bridge, which liere unites the counties of Berks and Bucks, was constructed in 1835 in room of an old wooden one, and has a span of 225 feet. A "chaff" query, current among boating men- " Who ate the puppy pie under Marlow bridge £" is said to have originated in a trick of a local innkeeper, who having notice that some bargemen intended to plunder his larder, prepared for them a pie of young puppies, which they ate, supposing it to be made of young rabbits. This query is popularly supposed to be a crushing rejoinder to any bargee impertinence. There is a literary and scientific institute which was established in 1853, and which now occupies a fine building of brick in the modern style, erected in 1889-90, and there are also a music room, used for entertainments and public meetings, a cottage hospital, and a police court and station. A weekly market used to be held on Saturday, but has become obsolete. A fair for horses and cattle is held on 29 Oct., and is well attended. Paper-making and brewing are largely carried on; there is a chair factory; the working of embroidery, satin-stitch, and baby-linen is considerable; and skewers are made for the London and other markets. The town is also a great holiday resort, -and from its beautiful surroundings it is attractive alike to the artist, angler, oarsman, and tourist. Good fishing for trout, pike, barbel, roach, chub, perch, and gudgeon is to be obtained in the river, between Bourne End and New Lock. The reaches from Medmenham to Marlow, and from Marlow to Cookham, include some favourite spots for camping-out parties, while the tourist will find the walks and excursions from Marlow numerous, varied, and interesting. The town sent two members to Parliament in the time of Edward I. and Edward II., and from the time of James I. until the act of 1867, when the number was reduced to one, and by the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, the representation was merged in that of the county. The parish church, or church of All Saints, was built in 1835; superseded a beautiful ancient Gothic edifice; is a stucco structure, with a lofty steeple; cost so much as £16,000; and has, in the vestibule, a picture of an extraordinary lusus naturae, called " the spotted boy." It is a very plain structure, but has been much improved by the removal of the gallery, the substitution of chairs for the old-fashioned pews, and a magnificent altar screen and stalls for choir. Trinity Church, a modern stone structure erected in 1852, serves as a chapel of ease. The Roman Catholic chapel is a rich and beautiful edifice, after designs by Pngin. There is a very excellent Grammar School, founded by Sir William Borlase in 1624 for twenty-four boys. An entirely new scheme has, however, been recently arranged by the Charity Commissioners, under which the system of education has been raised, and the school now occupies a very high position, and pupils attend it from all parts of the kingdom. The Military College was established at Great Marlow several years prior to its removal, in 1813, to Sandhurst. Shelley resided here in 1817, and he wrote bis " Revolt of Islam" while strolling or boating in the neighbourhood. Seymour Court, on an adjacent hill, is believed by the natives to liave been the residence of Jane Seymour, and it commands a fine view over the town and the valley. There are clubs for cricket and football, and there is an annual town regatta. The manor belonged at the Conquest to Earl Al-gar; was given by the Conqueror to his queen Matilda; passed to the Clares, the Despencers, the Beauchamps, and the Nevilles; went, through Lady Anne, to the Crown; was part of Queen Mary's maintenance prior to her coming to the throne; was given by her to Lord Paget, and passed from the Pagets to the Claytons. There are numerous mansions in the neighbourhood of Marlow, among which may be mentioned Harleyford House, a building of red brick in the Queen Anne style, and the seat of the Claytons; Remnantz, a house nearly opposite that occupied by Shelley, and formerly the military college; and Gyldern's Croft, an ancient building to the W of the town. Highfield, Spinfield, and Thames Bank are also chief residences. The living is a vicarage, united to the chapelry of Trinity, in the diocese of Oxford; net value, £196 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. Area of the parish, 6647 acres of land and 54 of water; population of the civil parish, 5283; of the ecclesiastical, 4778.