An account of Cookham in 1895

The transcript that follows in this Blog is a verbatim accounting of the Village, its life and population. It is written in the language of the day, together with its puncuation. It is not all transcribed at the moment as it is quite a lengthy document:

COOKHAM IN 1895

COOKHAM. Formerly a market town, is a beautiful village and parish, with a station on a branch line of the Great Western railway from Maidenhead to High Wycombe, Thame and Oxford. Three miles north from Maidenhead, sixteen miles north from Reading, nine miles north-east from Henley, and twenty-seven miles from London, in the Eastern division of the county, hundred and union of its own name, Maidenhead petty sessional division, county district of Windsor, rural deanery of Maidenhead, archdeaconry of Berks and diocese of Oxford. This place is on the west bank of the river Thames, on the Bucks side of which are the highly picturesque and richly cultivated domains of Cliveden, Hedsor and Taplow. The portion of the river from Maidenhead up to Cookham Lock is considered the most beautiful in the whole course from Oxford to London; an iron toll bridge, supported on seven iron pillars crosses the Thames at this point. The church of the Holy Trinity is an ancient building of chalk, sandstone and flint, chiefly in the Early English style, with some portions of Norman date, and consists of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, south porch and an embattled western tower of massive proportions with a turret and containing six bells and clock; there are eleven stained windows and six-hundred sittings. The register dates from the year 1662, the fourteenth of Charles II. The living is a vicarage, average yearly value of tithe rent-charge £323.net £252. including 5½ acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift of J.T. Rogers esq. and held since 1864 by the Rev. Reginald Wellford Rogers M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge; the living in 1297 was in the patronage of Eleanor, Queen of Edward I, about which period it was appropriated to the abbey of St. Mary, Cirencester, which religious presented to the vicarage in 1317. The Wesleyan chapel,, built in 1846, seats 200 persons, and there is an iron Wesleyan chapel at Cookham Rise. The Workhouse of Cookham Union was built in 1837, is a structure of brick arranged to hold 250 inmates; particulars of the union are given under Maidenhead. The charities for distribution, including Mrs. Poole of Wargrave’s cloth charity, are of the value of £70. Here is an extensive paper mill, which gives employment to many of the inhabitants. In the 16th century, the Mores, previously of Salop, resided here, and at the visitation in 1664 the families of Robinson, Salter, Turberville and Weldon recorded their pedigrees and arms of this place. The principal landowners are Henry Duncan Skrine esq. of Claverton, Bath, who is lord of the manor. John Thornton Rogers of Sevenoaks, Kent. John Philip Weatherby esq. Francis Devereux Lambert esq. Ernest Gardener esq. and the Vaughan trustees. The soil is various, but generally good corn land; subsoil, gravel, chalk and loam. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area is 4,474 acres; rateable value, £22,510; the population in 1891, including the district of Cookham Dean, was 2,965 (including the 196 officers and inmates of the workhouse). Holy Trinity district has a population of 1,358. Maidenhead once partly in this parish has been entirely separated from it.

RAY MILL. (Raymead) is a hamlet in the parish of Cookham, one mile from the Taplow and Maidenhead stations of the Great Western railway. Here is an extensive corn mill worked by the river Thames at the Ray Mill Lock. For names of residents within the borough see Maidenhead.

PINKNEY’S GREEN is an irregular but picturesque hamlet in the parish of Cookham and partly in the ecclesiastical parish of Cookham Dean. Three miles south from Great Marlow and three and a half miles west-by-north from the Great Western railway station at Maidenhead. The mission church here is connected with the church of St. John the Baptist, Cookham Dean; it is not consecrated, but has about fifty sittings.

COOKHAM DEAN is an ecclesiastical parish formed 2nd January 1846, out of the parish of Cookham and includes Cookham Woodside, a mile west of Cookham railway station and three miles north of the Great Western railway station at Maidenhead; part of this district is situated on an eminence of at least 250 feet above the Thames; the other portion lies in a dell. The church of St. John the Baptist, consecrated in 1845, is an edifice of flint with stone dressings, in the early decorated style of the 13th century, and consists of a chancel, nave of four bays, south aisle, south porch, organ chamber and a small turret containing one bell; nearly all the windows are stained, one being a memorial presented in 1893 by John Philip Weatherby esq. in memory of his late wife; in 1892 a new vestry was built by subscription at a cost of about £200, and in 1894 the interior of the church was restored and refitted at a cost of about £140, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone; there are 300 sittings. The register dates from the year 1846. The living is a vicarage, tithe rent-charge of £91, average £68, net yearly value £111, with residence in the gift of the vicar of Cookham, and held since 1888 by the Rev. Constantine Osborne Phipps M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford Diocesan Inspector of schools for the Deanery of Maidenhead. There is a primitive Methodist Chapel with a burial ground at Cookham Dean. Henry Duncan Skrine of Claverton, Somerset, and John Thornton Rogers esq. are the principal landowners. The population in 1891 was 998.

NORTH TOWN is a hamlet in the parish of Cookham adjoining the town of Maidenhead. The Congregational mission room here seats about a 100 persons.

STUBBINGS, a hamlet in the civil parish, has been formed into an ecclesiastical parish and will be found under a separate heading.

Sexton, Cookham, William Lane.
Sexton, Cookham Dean, Thomas Hazell.

POST OFFICES AND LETTER BOXES

Post, M.O. & T.O., S.B. & Annuity Insurance Office (Sub office. Letters should have S.O. Berks added), Cookham – Edward Cooper, postmaster. Letters arrive from Maidenhead at 7 a.m. & 12.45 & 6 p.m.; & dispatched at 10 a.m. 12.30 & 7.35 p.m. except Sundays when they are dispatched at 7.10 p.m.
Post, M.O. & T.O., S.B. & Annuity Insurance Office, Cookham Dean – William Deadman, postmaster. Letters through Maidenhead are delivered at 11.40 a.m. Sundays & weekdays; dispatched week days at 11.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. The nearest telegraph office is at Cookham.
Post, M.O. & T.O., S.B. & Annuity Insurance Office. Cookham Rise – William Shergold, postmaster. Box cleared at 8.10 a.m. 12 noon & 7.00 p.m. Sundays 5.55 p.m. There is no delivery from here.
Post Office Pinkneys Green – Hannah Cannon, sub-postmistress. Dispatch at 12.10 & 7.10 p.m. week days; 11.30 a.m. on Sundays. No delivery from here, but from Maidenhead. Which is the nearest money order and telegraph office. Postal Orders are issued here, but not paid.
Wall letter box at Clarefield House, Pinkneys Green, cleared at 8.30 a.m.. & 12.40 & 7.30 p.m.; Sundays 12 noon.
Wall letter box, Cookham Rise, cleared at 8.00 & 11.45 a.m. and 7.00 p.m.
Wall letter box, Railway station, cleared at 8.10 a.m. & 12 noon & 7 p.m.; Sundays 5.55 p.m.
Wall letter box at West Lodge, Cookham, cleared at 7.45 a.m. 12 noon & 7.15 p.m.; sundays, 6 p.m.Pillar letter box, North Town, cleared at 7.45 a.m. 12 noon, 3.10 & 7 p.m. Sundays 6.20 p.m.

PARISH ROAD SURVEYOR

William Ware, Cookham Dean.

QUEENS TAX ASSESSOR & COLLECTOR FOR COOKHAM PARISH

George Fernie, The Crescent, Maidenhead.

SCHOOLS

Parochial Cookham (mixed) built in 1858, for 220 children; average attendance, 105; Miss Mary Gibbins, head mistress.

Parochial Cookham Dean (mixed) built in 1846, for 150 children; average attendance, 155; James Skinner. Master.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY STATION

Frank Tompkins, station master.

COOKHAM: PRIVATE RESIDENTS

Mrs. Ackland, The Berries.
Mrs. Adams, Hedsor View.
Mrs. Allen, The Myrtles, Station Road.
Hon. Mrs. Anson, St. Georges Lodge.
Mr. Charles Louis Bower, The Halls.
Mr. Thomas Edward Bower, The Halls.
Mr. James Walter Burrows, The Elms.
Miss Cahusac, Moor Cottage.
Mrs. Deerlove, Hillgrove.
Mr. John Calver Ellis, The Cedars.
Mrs. Ford, The Laurels, Cookham Rise.
Mrs. Ford, The Willows.
Mrs. Fraser, Moorside Cottage.
Mr. Walter Silvester Gardner, Widbrook.
Mr. Henry Gold J.P., Formosa House.
Miss Goolden, The Grove.
Mrs. Grazebrook, Strand Castle.
Mrs. Hatch, West View.
Mr. James Joseph Mallitt, Park House.
Mr. Richard Lacey, Nightingale Place.
Mr. Francis Devereux Lambert, Moor Hall.
Capt. Fletcher Littledale, Cookham End.
Mrs. Oakes, Church Gate House.
Mr. Edward Oxenford Preston, West Lodge.
Mr. Thomas John Pulling, Denver House.
Miss Rawlings, Sunny Cote.
Mrs. Roffe.
Rev. Reginald W. Rogers M.A. The Vicarage.
Mr. Hugh William Russell, Hedsor View.
Mr. Charles Saxton, Riverdene.
Mr. John H. Sitch, Inglefield.
Mr. Julius Spencer, Belmont Villa.
Mrs. Mary Ann Southgate.
Mr. Henry Sutton, Norman Cottage.
Miss Taylor, South View.
Miss Troughton, The Ferns.
Mr. Josiah John Waller, Moor House.
Mr. John Philip Weatherby, Melmoth Lodge.
Mr. Henry Worster, Newsam House.
Mr. William James Wrench.
Mr. Frederick Wm. Wykes, Clevedon Villa.
Dowgr. Lady Young, Formosa Cottage.
Sir George Young (bart) M.A. J.P., Sutton Croft.

RESIDENTS OF COOKHAM (COMMERCIAL)

Mrs. Elizabeth Aldridge, Shopkeeper.
Mr. George Aldridge, Grocer, Cookham Rise.
Mr. William Henry Bailey, Decorator.
Mr. Thomas Richard Briginshaw, Baker.
Mr. Alfred George Buckham, Draper & Ironmonger.
Mr. Charles Butler, Grocer, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Thomas George Cocking, White Hart Public House.
Mr. Edward Cooper, Grocer, Agent for W.&A. Gilby

Wines & Spirits Merchants,

& China & Glass Warehouseman.
Mr. Charles Cordrey, Bootmaker, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Thomas Cresswell, Coal Merchant.
Mr. Thomas Deacon, Royal Exchange, Public House.
Mr. John Calver Ellis, Ferry Family Hotel; good accommodation for
Boating and Picnic Parties; only hotel at Cookham facing the river.
Mr. William Fairlie, Bootmaker, Cookham Rise.
Mr. George Edward Francis, Apartments.
Mr. Joseph Frewing, Builder, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Edward Godden, Fisherman & Dairyman.
Mrs. Esther Godwin, Dress Maker.
Mrs. Penelope Gray, Apartments, West Villa.
Mr. James Greenland, Beer Retailer.
Miss Alice Hall, Shopkeeper.
Mr. William Harding, Builder, Hillgrove.
Mr. Alfred Hatch, Apartments, Eastgate.
Mr. George William Hatch, Farmer, Oveys Farm.
Mr. Frederick Hawkes, Saddler.
Mr. John Hawkins, Market Gardener, Cookham Rise.
Mrs. Elizabeth Heath, Shopkeeper.
Mr. Alfred Hyde, Bootmaker.
Mr. Chris Ivermere, Butcher & Beer Retailer.
Mrs. Mary James, Upholsteress, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Thomas James Jordan, Accountant, Rose Bank, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Edward Keeley, Shoemaker.
Mr. William Lacey, Boat Builder, & Proprietor.
Mr. Richard George Lacey, Builder.
Mr. William Francis Lane, Blacksmith.
Mr. James Llewellyn, Boat Proprietor, Elmstead.
Mr. William Lucas, Beer Retailer.
Mr. George Main, Jobbing Gardener.
Mr. Henry George Matthews, Dairyman.
Mrs. Elizabeth Medlicott, Kings Arms Hotel.
Mr. Henry Thomas Nott, Wheelwright.
Mrs. Susan Oxlade, Apartments, Harlesden Cottages.
Mr. Alfred Parsons, The Railway Tavern.
Miss, Mary Ann Pearce, Apartments.
Mr. James Penn, Apartments, Moor View.
Mr. William Peto, Farmer, Cannon Court Farm.
Mr. Richard Price, Market Gardener, Sutton Farm.
Mr. Frederick Pym, Bootmaker.
Mr. John Pym, Shoe Maker.
Mr. Ephraim Robinson, Baker.
Mr. George Savage, Engineer.
Miss Louisa Shergold, Dressmaker.
Mr. William Shergold, Stationer,Fruiterer, Post Office, Cookham Rise.
Mr. Herbert Smith, Farm Bailiff to F.D. Lambert Esq, Sutton Farm Lodge.
Mr. John Spencer, Builder.
Mr. William Spencer, Professor of Music, Fernley Villa.
Stuchbery & Thompson, Grocers,
Mr. George Tuck, Dairyman, Seaton Cottage.
Mr. George Venables & Son, Paper Makers, The Mill.
Village Club & Institute, Mr. George Spencer (Hon Secretary).
Mr. Josiah John Waller, Maltster, Moor House.
Mr. Henry Wappshott, Jobbing Gardener, Cookham Rise.
Webster & Plummer, Coal Merchants, Railway Station.
Mr. Thomas Warboys, Bel & the Dragon Hotel.
Mr. Thomas Wigg, Carpenter.
Mr, Thomas Wigg Jnr, Apartments.
Working Men’s Club Reading Room, William Shergold (Hon Secretary)
Cookham Rise.
Mr. Edward Michael Worster, Butcher.

COOKHAM DEAN (PRIVATE RESIDENTS)

Mr. Arthur Bloomfield Barrett, Grove House.
Mr. Charles Belton, Cartlands.
Mrs. Louisa Bottom, Hope Cottage.
Mr. John Badger Clark, The Cottage.
Mr. James Darby, The Cedars.
Mr. Stephen Darby, Sterlings.
Mr George Crosby Dunn, Woodside.
Maj. John Ellis, Lynwood.
Mr. Thomas Frost.
Mr. Walter Frost, Orchardleigh.
Mr. Henry Gosden, Sterlings.
Mr. Edward Gregory Jnr. A.R.A., Quarry Edge.
Miss Leaver, Orchardleigh.
Mr. Arthur Lewis Leon, The Mount.
Mr. George Lewis, Irlas.
Mr. Charles Noble Luxmoore, Dial Close.
Mr. William MacNab, Maybank.
Mr. Alfred Major, Woodland Cottage.
Mr. Ernest Major, Waterdale.
Mr. Frederick Major, Dean Croft.
Miss Morrison, Tugwood House.
Mr. John Pedder, Mount Farm.
Mrs. Pescod, Les Arbres.
Rev. Constantine Osborne Phipps M.A., The Vicarage.
Mr. Sidney Pitt, The Islands.
Mr. Alfred Putney, Stonehouse.
Mr. Frederick Rowe, Western Cottage.
Mr. Eldred Noble Smith F.R.C.S. Mount Villa.
Mrs. Stone, The Glen.
Mrs. Tatham, Henfield Cottage.
Mr. Arthur Edmund Thompson, Dean Cottage.
Mrs. C. Thomson, Grove Cottage.
Mr. Solomon West, Minns.
Miss Withers, The Park.

COOKHAM DEAN (COMMERCIAL RESIDENTS)

Mr. William Arman, Farmer, Woodland Farm.
Mr. William Baldwin, Fruiterer
Mr. Henry Bishop, Gardener to Stephen Darby Esq.
Mr. James Bishop, Farm Bailiff to James Darby Esq, The Cedars.
Mrs. Mary Copas, The Chequers Public House.
Mr. James Darby, Farmer, Kings Coppice Farm.
Mr. William Deadman, Grocer, Baker, Corn Dealer & Post Office.
Mr. William Fitchett, Basket Maker.
Mr. Richard Gibbs, Farmer, Winter Hill Farm.
Mr. George Grey, Tailor.
Mr. William Hatch, Beer Retailer.
Mr. James Howard, Blacksmith.
Mr. Henry William Jordon, Fly Proprietor & Fruiterer.
Mr. George Keeling, Shoemaker.
Mr. Walter Keeling, Shoemaker.
Mr. Alfred Luker, Farm Bailiff to Mr. Walter Frost.
Mr. Henry Middleton, Beer Retailer.
Mr. Frederick Parsons, Basket Maker.
Mr. Thomas Parsons, Farmer, Bigfrith Farm.
Mr. Thomas Paul, Fruiterer.
Mr. Thomas Rose, Farmer, Hill Grove Farm.
Mr. Edward James Startin, Shopkeeper.
Mr. Henry Taft, Bricklayer.
Mr. William Ware, Market Gardener & Road Surveyor.
Mr. Charles Werrell. Hare & Hounds Public House.
Mr. Thomas Wix, Carpenter.
Working Men’s Club & Institute. (George Grey, Secretary)

NORTH TOWN
PRIVATE & COMMERCIAL RESIDENTS

Mr. Joseph Douglas, Harrow Lane.
Mr. William Watkins French, Moorside.
Mr. Ernest Gardner.
Miss Gray, The Cottage.
Mr. Charles Cox, The Harrow Public House.
Mr. Ernest Gardner, Yeoman & Landowner, Spencer’s Farm.
Mr Henry Lovejoy, Farmer.
Mr. William Nightingale, Cattle Dealer.
Mr. Charles Pratt, Florist, Harrow Lane.
Mr. Frederick George Ridout, Beer Retailer.Mr. James Smith, Beer Retailer.

PINKNEYS GREEN (PRIVATE RESIDENTS)

Miss Cons, Home Close Cottage.
Mr. Walter Cooper, Hindhaye.
Miss Everest, Rose Cottage.
Mr. Charles Holdsworth, Hartwells.
Mr. John Holland, Camley.
Mr. Arthur Maurier Lee, Flint Cottage.
Lady Lee, Ditton House.
Mr. Leopold McKenna, The Walnuts.
Mr. Walter Stowe Bright McLaren M.P. The Nook;
& 3a Poets Corner, Westminster, London SW.
Mrs. Massingberg.
Miss Muller, Meads.
Mr. Henry Norsworthy, Clarefield House.
Col. Edward Charles Pemberton-Pigott, Furzecote.Mr. William Sang, Pinkneys Lodge.

PINKNEYS GREEN (COMMERCIAL RESIDENTS)

Mr. William Allin, The Golden Ball Public House.
Mr. Charles Barnes, Upholsterer.
Mr. Robert Brown, Fruiterer, Fern Cottage.
Mr. John Button, Gardener to Lady Lee.
John Kinghorn Cooper & Sons, Brick & Tile Makers.
Mr. John Goodall, Beer Retailer.
Mr. Robert Hunt, Farmer.
Mr. Joseph Mitchley, Fruiterer.
Mr. John Musselwhite, Beer Retailer.
Mr. George Parsons, Carpenter.
Mrs. Selina Sparrowhawk, The Stag & Hounds Public House.
Mr. William Weall, Farmer, Pinkneys Farm.Mr. George Wynch, Shopkeeper.