Marlow's History
Marlow’s early history is vague although evidence has been found of Iron Age man living here as early as 400BC, including a gold coin which suggests that trade flourished well over 2000 years ago.
The Saxons were responsible for partially draining the area and gave it the name Merlaw. After the Conquest of 1066, Marlow became the property of Queen Matilda at which time there were two mills here using power derived from the Thames and a flourishing eel fishing industry. Marlow Mills remained in use well into the 1930’s producing paper and flour.
The river was important for other commercial uses – particularly as a means of transporting timber cut from the Chiltern beech woods from Marlow to London and for bringing manufactured goods from the capital. The occupation ‘Bargeman’ occurs in several Census Returns of the 19th century and one pub (long since demolished) was appropriately named ‘The Bargepole’.
The most important commercial enterprise for over 200 years was the Brewery (pronounced ‘Bewery’ by many Marlovians!) started by the Wethered family around 1734. It was Thomas Wethered who founded the famous firm Thomas Wethered and Sons in 1788 and it quickly became the principal employer in the town and remained an independent brewer until its acquisition by Whitbread’s. Brewing continued into the 1990’s when the decision was made by Whitbread to cease manufacture and to use the site as a distribution depot. Eventually the area was sold and, despite plans to replace it with a supermarket, common sense and the weight of public opinion prevailed so that the original buildings were refurbished to provide quality housing and tasteful office premises.
Sport has always been an important feature of Marlow. From 1834 until 1847, a two-day race meeting was held at the course situated in the area now occupied by Marlow Rugby Club at Riverwoods Drive.
1870 was an important year in the sporting life of the town when Marlow Football Club was founded; less than a year later it became one of the first entrants in the newly established F.A. Cup.
In 1871, Marlow Rowing Club was established and has since produced many fine oarsmen and women, the most famous of whom is Steve Redgrave (now Sir Steve), arguably the finest Olympian of all time, winning gold medals at 5 successive Olympic Games, the last in the 2000 Sydney games. As a local hero, his achievement is commemorated by a larger-than-life bronze statue standing in Higginson Park overlooking the river on which Steve learned his craft and unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen on her visit to Marlow during her Golden Jubilee year of 2002.
As a riverside town, Marlow can boast two regattas – the ‘original’, previously rowed on the Thames but relocated to a purpose built Olympic standard rowing lake at Dorney, some 5 miles distant and the newer Marlow Town Regatta and Festival, a two day event with traditional rowing races on the Saturday and a music festival incorporating a ‘tribute’ band the following day. Both events take place in June followed a week or two later by the world famous Henley Royal Regatta.
Among the famous names in literature who lived in Marlow were the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (writer of ‘The Revolt of Islam’), his second wife Mary (writer of ‘Frankenstein’), Thomas Love Peacock, and TS Elliot. Jerome K. Jerome, writer of ‘Three Men in a Boat’, lived for some years at Marlow Common.
The outstanding landmark of Marlow and perhaps the most photographed is the suspension bridge linking Berkshire to Buckinghamshire designed by Tierney Clark and built between 1829 and 1832 – a smaller but identical version of the bridge that links Buda and Pest in Hungary. On the Berkshire side stands the world famous Compleat Angler Hotel and on the Bucks bank the impressive Parish Church dedicated to All Saints. Another place well worth a visit is Bisham Abbey.
Among other buildings worthy of mention are Marlow Place on station Road; ‘Remantz’ the home of the Wethered family for 200 years and once used as the Military Academy; Court Garden, now the leisure centre and home of Marlow Town Council as well as an array of Georgian and Victorian houses on the High Street and West Street.
The late Jock Cairns, a professional journalist, wrote in his excellent publication ‘The Book of Marlow’ that it was said at one time that ‘there were just two industries in the town … the making of beer and the drinking of it!’
Testimony to this is the fact that in 1891 there were 42 pubs, including the Prince of Wales, plus a number of what were described as ‘Beer Retailers’! There was a dramatic decline in that number during the late 20th century as a result of which there are now only 16 pubs!
The Prince of Wales was built in 1890/91 and is first recorded in Kelly’s Directory of 1891 as being situated in Platts Road; then the landlord was James Rose who was followed by Edward Baldwin by 1902 when Platts Road had been renamed Mill Road. The pub is adjacent to a row of cottages built a year or two later in South Place, principally for the employees of Wethered’s brewery.
The current landlord, Simon Peach, has made further improvements to the pub, which include a new pub sign, erected in 2008, which soon became a local talking point evoking many comments and friendly banter as it dispensed with the traditional three feathers emblem of the Prince of Wales and replaced it with a caricature of the present holder of that royal title.