The Marlow Society

PO Box 3078, Marlow, SL7 2WQ
Our logo shows All Saints Church Marlow, the suspension bridge over the Thames and the swan emblem of Buckinghamshire. Click to return to the Home Page.
The Marlow Society - Registered Charity No. 262803
Protecting our Environment and Heritage in Bisham, Great Marlow, Little Marlow, Marlow Town and Medmenham.
Link to the Civic Trust
Link to ANTAS - The Association of North Thames Amenity Societies

Marlow Town - Points of Interest

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Click on area(s) of interest to go straight to the description. Map based on Marlow Society publication 'Marlow Town Walk' © Marlow Society 1996 - please see our Publications pages

These notes and the map are based on the Marlow Society publication Marlow Town Walk (©). It is available from the Society and from the Information Centre in Marlow High Street. If you wish to wander around the town it is well worth the 30p it costs. Better still why not take a tour organised by the Local History Group which will provide you with much more information than we can cram in here!

(1) Court Garden and Higginson Park
Court Garden - a convenient starting point for visitors - is in Pound Lane, with a large public car park which is very busy at weekends. Turn right at the twin mini roundabouts at the bottom of Marlow High Street (just before you come to Marlow Bridge) and continue to the next mini roundabout (about a quarter-mile) and Court Garden is on your left. Click here for a detailed map
Court Garden now houses the Marlow Leisure Centre and ShelleyTheatre; it has access to the River Thames
Click to see a larger image & other information about Court Garden and Higginson Park Walk round to look at the back of the house which was built in the mid 18th century by a Dr Battie, (who specialised in nervous diseases). He designed it himself and is said to have forgotten at first to put in a staircase. It is rumoured that this is where the expression 'batty' originated.
Children - and adults too - love to feed the swans which gather along the towpath alongside Court Garden and Higginson Park. Click for a larger image & other information about Court Garden and Higginson Park The house and surrounding park were bought by public subscription in Marlow in 1926. The presentation to the town was made by General Sir George Higginson, (a veteran of the Crimean war), at a ceremony to celebrate his 100th birthday. The park was named after him and now contains a statue of Sir Steve Redgrave, erected following his record fifth gold medal for rowing at the 2000 Olympic Games.
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(2) Marlow Bridge, All Saints Church, The Compleat Angler and the Causeway.
More detailsclick for more details on the church & bridge Click to see more images of the bridge & church
The present suspension bridge was built in 1832 and was designed by Tierney Clark who used the same overall design for bridges at Hammersmith and Budapest.
All Saints Church was rebuilt in 1835 but there has been a church on more or less the same site since the 11th century. It contains many interesting memorials and hatchments, including a monument to William Horsepoole (1624), related by marriage to George Washington.
From the bridge there is a fine view of the river, the weir and lock and the famous 'Compleat Angler' hotel.
The statue on the Causeway is a memorial to Charles Frohman, a famous theatrical impresario, who went down with the 'Lusitania' in 1915.

From the Churchyard turn right and follow the footpath to Saint Peter Street. (if time allows, the walk can be extended by taking the narrow passage to the right of the 'Two Brewers', (Seven Corners Alley), which leads to Mill Road and the lock. Return the same way.)
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(3) Saint Peter Street.
This charming street, with its truly varied mix of old dwellings, runs down to the river and all previous bridges crossed the river from this point. During the Civil War in the 17th century the street, which now is free of through traffic (for it ends at the river's edge), was heavily defended to protect the river crossing.
Saint Peter's Church seen through the arched gateway Note the interesting houses and cottages and also, on the right, Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church designed by Pugin. Seen through a pointed archway the church, built in 1845-8, is most notable for its broached spire. Pugin also designed the individual school and master's house close by.
Next cross the road at the top of Saint Peter Street (Station Road) to Marlow Place.
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(4) Marlow Place
Marlow Place. Click for larger image & more details Facing you at the top of Saint Peter Street is Marlow Place, a fine Georgian mansion probably built for John Wallop, first Earl of Portsmouth and stylistically attributed to the architect Thomas Archer -circa 1720. More ...
From the side drive of Marlow Place you will have a good view back to the Old Parsonage - probably the oldest building in Marlow town; parts of it date back to the 14th century.
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(5) The High Street
Click to see larger picture / more information Click to see larger picture / more information Walk along Station Road and turn right into the High Street. Keep to the right hand side.On the opposite side of the road note the elegant town houses associated with Marlow's Brewery - now part of a high quality housing and office development. More
Moving on further you will then pass on your right the early 17th century Chequers Inn and also Cromwell House, an 18th century classical town house. Look up to see the plaque commemorating Edwin Clark, a famous Victorian engineer.
Other buildings in the street have interesting facades, often the result of refacing older properties. These can be seen by looking up above the shop fronts.
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The Crown and the Obelisk (6) The Crown & the Obelisk
The Crown was built in 1807 as the town's Market House, replacing the former wooden building. It has a fine Assembly Room on the first floor. The original Crown Hotel, which was a famous coaching inn stood immediately to the right of the present building and is now shops and offices.
The obelisk commemorates the Hatfield to Bath turnpike road.
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(7) West Street
Walk past the Ship Inn which has 17th century timbers, reputedly from former warships.
T S Eliot the poet and Thomas Love Peacock, the author both lived in Marlow for a short time and are commemorated by plaques high up on numbers 31 and 47.
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West Street leads on to:

(8) Sir William Borlase's Grammar School West Street, Marlow - Grammar School & Shelley Cottage available as a card / notelet. Click for larger image.
In 1624 Sir William Borlase founded in West Street, Marlow, a free school to provide basic education for 24 poor boys, to 'read and write and cast accounts' and 24 poor girls to knit, spin and make bone lace. It is now a mixed grammar school.
Plaque commemorating foundation of the school. Click for larger image. His original building still stands proud amid much enlargement of the 19th and 20th centuries. The whole edifice on the north side of West Street beyond its commercial sector presents a fine example of gabled brick and flint structure centred upon a high archway.
Shelley Cottages
Click here for a larger picture To the right of the school in West Street is the pretty row of whitewashed cottages with Gothic windows, marked by a plaque, where the famous poet Shelley and his wife, Mary, lived. This was their home for a year from 1817-18 before they went to Italy.
While Percy Bysshe Shelley's work is world renowned, it was his wife's creation of her novel, 'Frankenstein', while at Marlow, that gained the greatest popular fame. Intricate ogee shaped window frames give the property its Gothic touch but the true Gothic influence obviously came from within.
More about the Shelleys and 'Frankenstein': click here
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(9) Remnantz
Remnantz in Marlow's West Street is a large early 18th century red brick house which, during the years 1801-12, served as part of the original Royal Military Academy. It housed the junior section of the Royal Military College for about ten years before it moved to Sandhurst. The house was originally 4 storey. The top storey was removed in the early 19th century some time after the Royal Military College left. Subsequently the Wethered family who owned the town brewery bought Remnantz and it remains with the Wethereds to this day.
The weather vane atop the Remnantz stable block A splendid stable block in the Wren style, now converted into two dwellings, adjoins the main house.The wooden clock tower is surmounted by a cupola and the weather vane has a small man firing a cannon, recalling the military use of the building.
If you retrace your steps a short distance there is a footpath on the further side of the small public car park - this will take you back to Court Garden where this circular tour began.
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The Marlow Society
www.marlowsociety.org.uk
link to home page PO Box 3078, Marlow,
SL7 2WQ
See also the River page See also the River page 1. Court Garden with car parking and access to the River Thames 2. The Bridge, All Saints Church, The Compleat Angler & the Causeway 3. Saint Peter's Street & Saint Peter's Church, designed by Pugin 4. Marlow Place 5. High Street, Brewery town houses etc 6. The Crown & the Obelisk at the top of High Street 7. West Street - The Ship, & Nos 31 & 47 8. Sir William Borlase Grammar School and Shelley Cottages 9. Remnantz - part of the original Royal Military College