Marlow Buckinghamshire Little Town With A Lot Of History
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Merelafan Anglo Saxon
Marlow in Buckinghamshire is situated in the South of England and is the village where I was born. Actually Marlow used to be a village, but over the years it has expanded and become a small town. When I was a child, I didn't really appreciate it very much. It was just somewhere to live. But after moving away for a few years, I could'nt wait to come back. I looked at Marlow with different eyes.
Marlow is a very pretty place. But it still has only one high street, and a couple of roads leading into and out of it, at the top of the high street. It's shaped a bit like a T.
The History of Marlow Bucks is quite interesting. The name Merelafan, as it was originally called, means Land remaining after the draining of a pool. I always believed it to be Marsh Lowlands, which is very similar.
William the Conqueror gave Marlow to his bride Queen Matilda, as a wedding present. According to the Domesday Book, the name had changed to Merlaue, by 1086.
Over the Centuries it was passed down to each King and Queen, right up to Richard the First, and on until Queen Mary granted it to William Lord Paget. These days Marlow is still owned by Sir William Clayton Bart.
River Thames.
Marlow suddenly became very popular because of the beautiful river running through it. If you stand on the bridge on a summers day and look towards the distance, it is an amazing sight. The trees drop down into the water, and the whole of the river is covered with boats.
This is the town of the famous Olympic rower, Steve Redgrave. This is where he trained to go on and win five Gold Medals at the Olympics and numerous other medals at different events around the world.
Every time he and his crew won another gold medal, the whole town came out and celebrated in Higginson park. The statue, right, was put up a few years ago, and there was a big event with the Queen doing the honours. I was at the front of the crowd and saw her and Prince Philip. The statue is situated in front of Court Gardens house.
There has been a market here since 1324, but for a few years it disappeared. The one that we have got now is not very big, but it still does quite a good trade. And of course there is the bridge.
The original was built about 1530, but was destroyed by the parliamentary army of Oliver Cromwell in 1642. The bridge that is here now was built between 1829 and 1832.
The Spotted Boy.
There have been many famous people living in Marlow over the years, from the author, Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein, to modern day celebrities like Mel B of the Spice girls. But the most amazing was the Spotted Boy. He was a Caribbean boy brought over to England and shown around the fairs and exhibitions.
One day the showman John Richardson, who was the P.T Barnum of his day, saw the boy and was appalled by what he saw, and he bought him for the price of £1,000 pounds, which was a great deal of money in those days.
The boy suffered from unusual colouring. His skin was literally black and white. Today we would know it as Vitiligo, a well known skin condition. John Richardson adopted the boy and called him George Alexander Gratton.
He educated him, and took him everywhere he went around the country. He loved the boy so much, that it was said he was heartbroken when the boy died in 1813. Some say at the age of four, others say he reached the age of eight. He is buried in the All saints Church yard.
A few years later, when John died, he was buried with him, they are both together in the same vault. This Picture was found and brought back out to the church about ten years ago. It was restored and now hangs in the Vestry.
Apart from the town, there are lovely walks along the river. Apart from the park, you can walk along to Bourne end, which is about 2 miles away from Marlow. The house (right), is based in Winter Hill, which is the other side of the river, and it is a very expensive area.
Oh to be rich I say! That is the only draw back to living here. Even the smaller houses in my town are silly money. It was only a few years ago that Marlow was just a small village, and the majority of people living here were very poor. In the 1980's, more affluent people arrived, and the house prices went up very high.
Marlow Regatta
We have a tradition, once a year, where the town is packed with visitors and residents. It is the Marlow Regatta. Higginson park, is filled to the rafters, so to speak, with a fun fair, rowing and a very big beer tent! The organisers close off the top part of the river with marquees and everybody gets dressed up in their best Sunday clothes, and pay to sit around watching the rowing.
The woman wear big hats and pretty summer dresses, and the men wear boater hats, and suits. If you are not dressed correctly, you don't get in. It is a great couple of days, and I think I have probably only missed about two years ever since I was born. This is followed by the same people doing the same thing again, about two weeks later at Henley Regatta, which is a bit more well known.
And there we have it. The pictures above are all the places I like to go and wander when things drive me mad! Or just when the sun starts to shine, I escape the hustle and bustle of my everyday life, and relax watching the river go by on it's endless way towards the sea.
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Hi, The Rope, Thank you very much. I just like taking photo's of it, because it can be very pretty. And Even I didn't know that much before I researched it. Thanks again. Nell
Wow! These are lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing. If I have the chance, love to visit these places.
Very nice pictures.
Fantastic place to live in. It's nice when there isn't much crowd around and you can spend time alone one the river bank with birds singing. The woods near my house actually have leopards in them and poisonous snakes near the river bank so have to be content with spending time goggling from a distance. Thank you Nell for this wonderful hub :-)
This is a lovely written hub and I have been there many times and love it. Thank you.
Beautiful place Nell and so near to the wildlife and beauty nature has to offer. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Thank you Nell Rose. This is avery nice and pretty hub.
Good ole marlow! Celebrate the little town in the middle of everywhere!
Thanks Nell!
Hello Nell very nice hub and I loved the pictures it was very nice. I live by the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico so when it is nice out you will find me by the water. Nothing like it. Thanks for the pictures.
Lovely hub! Nice history and beautiful pictures.
When I was in the U.K. I did wonder why they called it the River "Tims" and spell it Thames.
Alas, what do we Statesiders know?
Hi, amulets, thanks for the comment. I hope you get here someday. cheers nell
Thanks again zzron, cheers Nel
Hi, Cleanclover, Your place sounds wonderful, like something out of the Jungle book, by Rudyard Kipling! it sounds really exciting, but not sure about the snakes! Nice to hear from you. take care. Nell
Hi, Hello Hello, I didn't realise that you had visited here? Did I do a good job of covering up the not so nice corners of it?? only joking! well I think I am! thanks again nell
Hi, D.A.L. Yes you can see why I love the animals! I am surrounded by all this countryside! At the moment I have two squirrels that insist on climbing on my balcony, and the Kites have been swooping down outside my house, because of the snow, they have to get lower and lower. cheers nell
Thanks Mickey, glad you liked it. cheers nell
Thanks shazwellyn, you sound like you know it very well!cheers Nell
Hi, Ladyjane, you lucky thing! I love the river but to live by the coastwhere you are, I would swop in an instant! cheers Nell
Hi, Laura, ha ha you sound like you got talking to an Australian by mistake! yes it can be confusing. Even I cannot pronounce some of the cornish names when we were there, and I live here in England. thanks again nell
Thanks everyone, I appreciate your comments. cheers nell
what a lovely town!! great hub, I enjoyed it!
Thanks Carolina muscle, glad you like it. cheers nell
Great pics! Where is the snow? LOL
Hiya, ehern a couple of the pics were in the summer, but the fisherman and the swans etc, were Sunday just gone. All the snow as disapeared now but we are waiting for the next onslaught!! thanks again, nell
That was a pleasant outing! - love the v.close up swan picture
hope you've avoided too much snow and or deluges.
Hi, hotspur, yep the swan nearly got me! We have been bogged down with snow, but thank goodness it has gone. it has hasn't it? please say it's not coming back....... cheers nell
Hi my dear friend Nell, you really done a beautiful description of your lovely Town. Thanks for the info and the photos are sublime. Bless you my dear friend.:)
Hi Nell, I really enjoyed this hu as I know the area well. I often came to the Regatta and recently I discovered a nice wool shop in town. My mum lived in Remenham hill near Henley. Your pics are delightful. Thanks for a bit of nostalgia.
Hi, keira, it's lovely to hear from you, and thank you for your comments. cheers Nell
Hi, Gypsy Willow, Really? wow, small world! I go to the wool shop to get my sewing bits and pieces. See you at the Regatta then! thanks again nell
I loved reading about your hometown. It must be very beautiful! Thanks for sharing so many cool facts and photos!
Hi, Rose, thanks for reading it, yes it is a pretty place, but like anywhere it can get boring sometimes! but it could be worse, I have lived in some horrible places since I got married and I was so pleased to come back. thanks again Nell
Beautiful pictures, beautiful town, beautiful hub. I love UK. Very interesting.
Hi, hypnodude, thank you so much for saying that. I really appreciate it. cheers Nell
Great hubs and awesome pics! Can I come for a visit??
Just like "The Rope" said before, I feel like I've been there :) Great hub!
Hi, Daniel,how you doing? Thanks for the comments. Sometimes it gets boring living here, but sometimes its lovely, especially in the summer. thanks again nell
Thank you for sharing this lovely Hub about your town, Marlow. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The photographs are magnificent!
Hi, James, I am glad you like it. I have lived here most of my life, and sometimes it gets a bit boring, but in the summer it is lovely. Thanks again for reading it. nell
Beautiful, thanks for sharing. I am a country girl but this is very appealing, and much here to appeal to an outdoor girl. I will try not to envy you. :-)
Hi, Pollyannalana, thanks for reading it. yes it is a lovely town but very very expensive! for example, a five bedroom house with only a bit of garden is about one million pounds!! phew!! which is about one and a half million dollars. if you bought the house anywhere else in the world, you would be able to get about 20 rooms a swimming pool and a view of the sea!! silly money! I personally don't know what all the fuss is about, in my town. I believe it is probably because we have quite a few celebs living here. and they have put the property value up. I live in a council house! as I grew up here. when i was born it was just us normal folk.. oh well, perhaps if I win the lotto I will buy myself one of these.. ha ha thanks again nell
I really enjoyed this. It felt like a personal tour. I think more hubbers should do this. But I guess not everyone lives in as charming a place as you do. And it always amazes me how OLD things are in Europe. Living in the US your forget that's even possible!
Hi, nadp, thanks for the comment. Yes it is a lovely little town, but there are towns and villages a lot older than this one, you should see Oxford! and parts of london. But I am sure there are some lovely towns in the USA. thanks again nell
Nell, what a lovely, charming town you are from. And nestled along the Thames. To us Americans over here across the pond that just looks like heaven. I love England and to come from a town with all that history is just amazing.
We don't have that kind of history over here in America with our country only being 230 - something years old. I certainly would return there for my birthday, too. I love beer tents! Ha! Thanks for a lovely visit to a lovely English town.
I'm glad that you have discovered the rich history of our birthplace because we tend to take many things for granted. This is indeed a beautiful written hub of your hometown. I have voted this hub up and beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
Great hub Nell, nice to see the place again and learn some more about it. I was at the Marlow Regatta in 1989 as a student friend of mine was from there.. :-)
Gorgeous Nell - I live next door in Maidenhead. I am originally from North Buckinghamshire, then moved away. I moved down to London a year ago, but realized how much I missed living by the countryside and in a small town. I have just bought a house here and am very happy. Must spend the afternoon in Marlow at the weekend :)
Oh Nell...such wonderful history and lovely photographs. What a beautiful place in which to live and grow up. It is true, too...returning to a familiar place after an absence gives us a new 'view,' a new perspective and appreciation. I feel that way when I return to my hometown of Napa, Ca. though, of course, there is nowhere near the beautiful and long history of your fabulous Marlow. WOW! You are so fortunate to live among storied history, ancient architecture and enchanting lore. UP Awesome Beautiful useful and Interesting...
Nice hub and nice town. It actually looks like the countryside here in upstate New York, but without the long background since we are a "newer" country. Your pictures are lovely. Voted up.
Hi, suzette, this hub was floating around doing nothing so I updated it a bit, still needs a bit of work! lol it is a lovely place to browse around, and to sit by the river side is lovely on a hot summers day, thanks again nell
Hi, jean, England does have some lovely countryside, I never realised how lucky I was to live here until I moved away! thanks again nell
Hi, catsimmons, it is a great day out, isn't it? the atmosphere of the Regatta gets better every year, I am glad you have visited, hope to see you again! thanks for reading, cheers nell
Hi, Emma, next door neighbour! lol wow! I have got so used to everyone being from a long way away, I used to go to Maidenhead a lot, but not recently, I hope you have a great day in Marlow, maybe I will bump into you! thanks for reading, cheers nell
Hi, Lucky Cats, I have always wanted to visit America, because it is so different, England does have a great History though, and there is so much I haven't seen myself, thanks for the vote! much appreciated, nell
Hi, tillsontitan, Upstate New York sounds amazing! I envy all the open spaces and ancient mountains, maybe we should do a switch! lol thanks again, nell
What a beautiful place with such a rich history. So you now live on royal land..lol
So many of the infrastructure has been rebuilt..were they destroyed in battles or wars? What happened to the old market?
Ah, happy for you and a tiny bit envious. Thoroughly enjoyed reading about and seeing your beautiful and historic hometown. Spotted boy, the 'Posh' end of town, the swans, o all of it it. Your glad you moved back and its no wonder why. Hey Nell, how about one week free food and board there for the same here! (Plane tickets separate of course)-We could be our own friend-ship force! I know, too forward of me and not really feasible, but a boy can dream can't he..LOL~:)
I love reading about British towns and villages and the British countryside. Your hub was very enjoyable, Nell. I've never been to Marlow, so it was lovely to see the photos and learn about the town.
Just reread this hub and it is as fresh as ever. I love Marlow!
Hi, Cardisa, I believe that Cromwell came through Marlow at some stage, but I don't think anything was ever blown up or ruined, it has just been a progression of building and knocking things down, the market has either been in the main high street over the years, and then back to what is now the car park! sounds terrible doesn't it? lol thanks for reading, cheers nell
Hi, Alastar, wot no air ticket? ha ha great idea if I lived on my own, but hey ho, maybe we should hire out a caravan and tour around England! lol thanks as always nell
Hi, Alicia, thanks for liking my town! it is a pretty place, cheers nell
Hi, Gypsy, thanks for coming back! I just updated it and realised that I had not done it properly the first time! oh well we live and learn on hubs! ha ha
Very beautiful. Thanks.I'm going to get a few tips on writing before I start.
Hi, Bella, good luck with the writing, and thanks for reading, cheers nell
The Rope 2 years ago
I feel like I've been there! Thank you so much for allowing us into your world.