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Welcome to The Marlow Society
The Marlow Society is a registered charity whose efforts are devoted to the preservation and development of Marlow and the surrounding villages and countryside.
We seek to represent all those who enjoy living in, working in, shopping or just visiting our beautiful town situated on the banks of the River Thames, in the foothills of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
These pages are regularly updated, please select here to view the latest version.
There's lots to do .. if you can become actively involved in furthering the aims of the society, please contact us - tmssecretary@ marlowsociety.org.uk
An active group within the Marlow Society is the Local History Group. Researching, producing history articles, conducting guided walks and answering questions about the history of Marlow and the surrounding area are some examples of what they do.
Read more about the Local History Group.
If you have any questions about Marlow's history you can contact the group at:
tmslocalhistorygroup @marlowsociety.org.uk
Marlow Remembers WW1
The Marlow Remembers World War 1 website has moved here ( was at www.marlowww1.org.uk ). All displays, information etc. are now in the Marlow History section of this website.
visit Marlow Remembers WW1 - www.marlowsociety.org.uk/ MRWW1
The British Association for Local History - www.balh.org.uk - has selected the Marlow Remembers WW1 Association as the winner of the 2019 Research and Publication Award for the article and display: From Beer to Bombs. These publications can be viewed in this section.
WDC Regeneration Strategy for High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Marlow
Wycombe District Council commissioned this strategy so that it could, in part or whole, be combined with those of the other districts and the county council, to create a Buckinghamshire-wide regeneration strategy to be adopted once the new unitary authority comes into being in April 2020. .. extract from Forward
Planning Overview - December 2019: Subjects include: Windsor House, Foxes Piece, Portlands, The Bridge, Obelisk decay, Regal Hse Station Rd, Local impact of development, Car Parks, new Planning Monitor. ...visit page
Chairman's Report - December 2019 news and views, including new VP, Air Quality, Flooding alleviation, Spittal St pavement, LHG talks and walks, Carnival. ...visit page
Handy Cross by Bus?
In my July 2019 Chairman's Report I wrote:
"The closure of the Waitrose Shop in Marlow will inevitably lead to more cars driving to Handy Cross in order for their owners to purchase 'Waitrose Essentials'. They cannot get there by bus, the sustainable option. None of us can travel by public transport to the Handy Cross coach interchange, the Sports Complex or to High Wycombe Railway Station. The planned 150 bed hotel will also be inaccessible without a car.
Do you agree with me that it is about time that Handy Cross was linked to Marlow by bus? Did those originally planning the redevelopment of Handy Cross envisage it as an island accessible only by car?"
Our previous Member of Parliament took up the issue and wrote to me. A copy of his letter can be viewed here ...visit page
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a European Union legal instrument ensuring the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data.
The GDPR policy of the Marlow Society can be found here.
Please help us stay in contact by emailing tmschair@marlowsociety.org.uk with the message 'GDPR. I/We agree to the Marlow Society holding my/our personal details.', followed by your name(s).
Some Forthcoming Events:
Events by groups other than the Local History Group (LHG) are annotated with (oth).
AIM = Archaeology in Marlow, MAS = Marlow Archaeology.
Current and Future Events:
Mon 17-Feb-20
8.00pm
Garden Room, Liston Hall
Virtual Tour of Historic High Wycombe
Speaker/Contact (category)
William Reid, High Wycombe Society
Tue 24-Mar-20
8.00pm
Liston Hall
The Thames from Oxford to Windsor: Shaping History through the Centuries
Speaker/Contact (category)
Peter Halman (LHG)
Wed 22-Apr-20
8.00pm
Liston Hall
The Marlow Donkey and old Marlow Station
Speaker/Contact (category)
Michael Eagleton (LHG)
Tue 5-May-20*
time tbd
Visit to Freebody's Boatyard
Speaker/Contact (category)
*Date is provisional
Marlow Bridge
The protection and maintenance of Marlow's beautiful bridge is an ongoing challenge - preventing overweight vehicles, while keeping the bridge an open and practical route for local traffic.
visit page ... This page notes some of the thoughts on how to achieve this and some of the specific events and issues that help illustrate the situation.
The Marlow library is a very valuable asset - there is information via this link to the Bucks CC, Library website.
Parking Meters in Marlow: There has been an intention to put parking meters on town centre parking bays that are currently free to park on for a short stay.
more information and background
The Global Business Park management organisation ran a public consultation on suggested improvements to the A404/Marlow roundabout (Westhorpe Interchange). The consultation ran to 1st Feb 2019.
More information on their website globebusinesspark.co.uk
Current and Forthcoming Events:
On Monday, 17th February 2020
at 8.00 pm
A Virtual Tour of Historic High Wycombe
Liston Hall, Chapel Street, SL7 1DD
A talk by Willie Reid, Trustee of the Wycombe Society.
Members £2.00, Visitors £3.00
Discover the world renowned institution that started life in the town (and Marlow) and why Wycombe Wanderers score in the Guinness Book of Records ... and more.
The Marlow Museum feature display is
The Story of Marlow - from Prehistory to the Present Day
open: Nov-Feb: Sun 2-4pm
Mar-Oct: Sat, Sun 1 - 5 pm. Wed 2 - 5 pm
Marlow Museum, Court Garden, SL7 2AE
more information on Marlow Museum website (opens in a separate window)
Please also see the Some Forthcoming Events table higher up this page
In Memory:
follow this link to dedications to departed friends
Very sadly the Society announces the death at the age of 93 of its Vice President Donald "Don" Grattan.
We acknowledge the significant contribution that he made to the community of Marlow. Don became a very active member of the Society and its executive committee following his retirement and was its Chairman in the 1980s. We have in our archives the record of the valuable efforts he made to reduce the noise caused by the opening of the new By-Pass.
In his final years Don ceased to play an active part but he maintained a keen interest in the Society. We offer our condolences to his family.
A tribute from a friend and neighbour can be found here
and more about Don's life can be found at www.theguardian.com ... donald-grattan-obituary
News Headlines:
Some of these items go back a few years, but continue to be listed here as illustrations of the Marlow Society's policy and involvement.
The Obelisk
The restoration work on the Obelisk was completed September 2018.
During the restoration, some elements that worsened the decay were discovered: when the gravel around the plinth had been removed, this showed that water seeping through the gravel had been retained and thus created a pool from which water 'wicked' up the plinth encouraging the spalling we have seen.
Further work revealed that the drain below the plinth was blocked. It also revealed the well from which the public water pump in Market Square was supplied. The drain is being rebuilt. ...
A Positive Impact
(22 Aug 16 but still valid) Soon after the Marlow Bookshop opened in Spittal Street I visited to say, on behalf of the Society, how much I appreciated the new shop's façade and, in particular, the high quality signwriting on the shop sign.
visit page
Nesta Liston's gift to Marlow
The picture of Nesta Liston, which had been in New Court House since its gift to the town and until its sale to the private sector, is now installed in Liston Hall.
... read more
Select image to visit page.
These are two examples, in recent years, of co-operation between the Society and the major property owner in Marlow. We will seek other similar opportunities whilst strictly maintaining our independence.
Some Past Events:
Albert Langdon graveside commemoration
Marlow Remembers WW1 held one of its last graveside commemorations to remember Albert Langdon on 23rd February 2019.
He died of pneumonia after extensive war service 100 years ago. His family came from Wales and the family's homes in Marlow included The Elms in Portlands and Portlands Villas, when his father was the postmaster in Marlow. He had brothers and sisters, and other surnames connected with the family are Mitchell and Plowman, all possibly in the Wycombe or Reading area.
Albert's grave is in the graveyard of what was Holy Trinity Church.
Follow this link for information on Past Events ...
