| Marlow | |
|---|---|
 Overlooking the River Thames and Marlow | |
  Marlow Location withinBuckinghamshire | |
| Population | 14,004 (2011 Census)[1] 14,325 (2011 Census)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SU855865 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MARLOW |
| Postcode district | SL7 |
| Dialling code | 01628 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| |
Marlow (/ˈmɑːrloʊ/MAR-loh), historicallyGreat Marlow orChipping Marlow, is a town andcivil parish on theRiver Thames inBuckinghamshire, England, 4 miles (6 km) south-southwest ofHigh Wycombe, 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest ofMaidenhead and 33 miles (53 km) west of centralLondon.
The name is recorded in 1015 asMere lafan, meaning "Land left after the draining of a pond" inOld English.[3]
From Norman times the manor, parish, and later borough were formally known as Great Marlow, distinguishing them fromLittle Marlow. The ancient parish was large, including rural areas north and west of the town. In 1896 thecivil parish of Great Marlow was divided into Great Marlow Urban District (the town) andGreat Marlow civil parish (the rural areas). In 1897 the urban district was renamedMarlow Urban District,[4] and the town has been known simply as Marlow.
Marlow is recorded in theDomesday Book asMerlaue.[5]
Magna Britannia includes the following entry for Marlow: "The manor of Marlow, which had belonged to the Earls of Mercia, was given byWilliam the Conqueror, to hisQueen Matilda.Henry the First, bestowed it on his natural son,Robert de Melhent, afterwards Earl of Gloucester, from whom it passed, with that title, to theClares and Despencers, and from the latter, by female heirs, to the Beauchamps and Nevilles, Earls of Warwick. It continued in the crown from the time ofRichard III's marriage withAnne Neville, untilQueen Mary granted it toWilliam Lord Paget, in whose family it continued more than a century; after which, it passed, by purchase, to Sir Humphrey Winch, in 1670; toLord Falkland in 1686; to Sir James Etheridge in 1690; toSir John Guise in 1718; and to Sir William Clayton in 1736. It is now the property of Sir William Clayton bart. a descendant of the last purchaser".[6]
Marlow owed its importance to its location on the River Thames, where the road fromReading toHigh Wycombe crosses the river. It had its ownmarket by 1227 (hence the name Chipping Marlow), although the market lapsed before 1600. Marlow's status as a regional commercial centre was present even before the first bridge in this area was built in the13th century due to the settlement acting as an inland port.[7]
A 14th century hall, known as 'The Old Parsonage' built in Marlow on St Peters Street is currently the oldest inhabited building in Buckinghamshire.[7]
From 1301 to 1307, the town had its ownMember of Parliament, and it returned two members from 1624 to 1867.[4]
The population ofGreat Marlow was 4,480 by 1841.[8]
From 1897 to 1906 potterConrad Dressler operated the Medmenham Pottery at Marlow Common.[9][10]
Marlow is adjoined byMarlow Bottom, a mile to the north.Little Marlow is nearby to the east along the A4155 Little Marlow Road andBourne End is further along the same road. To the south across the Thames areBisham (home ofBisham Abbey) andCookham Dean, both in Berkshire.
There has been aMarlow Bridge over the Thames since the reign of KingEdward III.[11] The current bridge is a suspension bridge, designed byWilliam Tierney Clark in 1832, and it was constructed by 1835. It was a prototype for and is twinned with[12] the much largerSzéchenyi Chain Bridge across theRiver Danube inBudapest.[13]
Next to the bridge along the river is All Saints Church, in the centre of the town, at the bottom of the High Street. A church has been part of Marlow since the 11th century. The present building was constructed in the Victorian Era, as the spire of the previous Norman church collapsed in 1831. The new church is built ofBath stone, with a spire reaching 170 feet (52 m).[14] The church was completed in 1835, and was designed by Charles Frederick Inwood.[15] Some stone monuments and statues were saved from the Norman style church.[16]
A memorial toCharles Frohman is located on The Causeway. The memorial, by the artistLeonard Stanford Merrifield, features a drinking fountain with a sculpturednymph and inscription.[17][18]
The Junior Wing of theRoyal Military College, which is now based atSandhurst, was once based atRemnantz, a large house in West Street, built in the early 18th century.[19]
Marlow Town Hall was completed in 1807. It was subsequently converted into a hotel, then a shop and now a cinema.[20]
The Hand & Flowers, the firstgastropub to hold twoMichelin stars, is located on West Street.[21] It is one of several local pubs serving award-winning beers brewed locally, in Marlow Bottom, by theRebellion Beer Company.
Marlow is the location ofMarlow Lock, originating from the 14th century.[22]
Marlow istwinned with
TheA4155 road runs through Marlow town centre, with theA404 lying one mile to the east, theM40 motorway further to the north, and theM4 motorway to the south.
Marlow is served by arailway station which is the terminus of a single-track branch line fromMaidenhead. The train service is known as theMarlow Donkey, which was the nickname given to the steam locomotives that once operated on the line. There is also a pub with the same name, located close to the railway station.
Bus services are provided byArriva Shires & Essex to neighbouring towns, includingHigh Wycombe,Henley-on-Thames andReading. In July 2024,Carousel Buses took over the bus services, after Arriva closed its High Wycombe depot.[26]
Cycling infrastructure is currently limited to a small number of shared use cycle paths. However local charityTransition Town Marlow are campaigning to improve this by allowing cyclists to use footpaths as pedestrian priority; improving and increasing the amount of shared use paths and installing more cycle racks.[27]
Education is provided by several schools, including:
There are two tiers of local government covering Marlow, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Marlow Town Council, andBuckinghamshire Council.
Marlow Town Council was established in 1974 as asuccessor parish to the formerMarlow Urban District Council, which had been created in 1896. The urban district council had been based atCourt Garden House since 1934, and the town council continues to be based there. Between 1974 and 2020 the town was also included in theWycombe District, based inHigh Wycombe. The county and district councils merged in 2020 to become the unitary Buckinghamshire Council.
Marlow is divided into threewards for electing town councillors: North & West, South and South East.[28] There are a total of twelve Marlow Town Councillors elected from these wards. The wards have seven, two and three seats respectively.[28] Since 2011,[29] the Town Council has been entirelyConservative with several councillors "double-hatting" across town andcounty council.[28] The town forms a single ward with three councillors for electing councillors to Buckinghamshire Council.[30]
In the2021 local elections, a group of independent candidates contested eleven out of the twelve seats. They worked under the banner "Independents for Marlow"[31] and were inspired by similar actions inFrome,High Wycombe,[32] and other places, part of the"flatpack democracy" movement. None were successful and all twelve seats were held by Conservatives.[33]
In the2025 local elections 7 independent candidates (6 of which were grouped under "Residents for Marlow"[34]) were elected to the Town Council, with the remaining seats going to 1Liberal Democrat and 4 Conservatives.[35] For the Buckinghamshire Council elections, the constituency also included Marlow Bottom, with the 3 elected councillors including 1 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives.[36]
Marlow Rowing Club, founded in 1871, is one of Britain's premier rowing clubs and has produced many Olympic oarsmen includingSir Steve Redgrave. The club is based by Marlow Bridge and exercises above and below the lock. The Olympic lightweight men's double-sculls gold medallist at Beijing 2008,Zac Purchase, is a former member of Marlow Rowing Club.
Marlow F.C. is the oldestfootball club in the town, currently playing in Tier 8Southern Football League Division One Central.
Marlow F.C are the only football club in England to have applied for entry into the FA Cup every season since its inception in 1871. The first England captainCuthbert Ottaway played for Marlow F.C. Ottaway was selected to lead the England team travelling toPartick to meet Scotland on 30 November 1872 in what is now recognised as the first international match to be played. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.
Another local football club,Marlow United F.C. plays in Tier 11Thames Valley Premier League Division One and finished 2nd of 14 in the 2016/17 season.
Marlow Rugby Club plays at Riverwoods Drive. It was founded in 1947 and runs a range of senior, youth and mini-rugby teams.
There are two cricket clubs, Marlow Park CC, and Marlow Cricket Club which was founded in 1829 and is now part of Marlow Sports Club. Marlow Cricket Club has three Saturday teams and plays in the Thames Valley League. The Sports Club caters to field hockey, tennis, running, cycling, junior football.
Marlow Tennis Club was founded in 1899 and also plays at Marlow Sports Club. It has four floodlit all-weather courts and fields men's, women's and mixed teams in Bucks, Berks and Farnham Common leagues.[37]
Marlow Sports Club also hosts five other sports, hockey, running (Marlow Striders), cycling (Marlow Riders), junior football, and petanque.[38]
There are two regattas associated with Marlow; theMarlow Town Regatta andMarlow International Regatta. Earliest records indicate a regatta took place annually on the River Thames in Marlow from 1855. The latter transferred to the purpose builtDorney Lake, owned byEton College, in 2003. Marlow still hosts its Original River Regatta which takes place annually in June.
Marlow is within theBBC London andITV London region. Television signals are received from theCrystal Palace TV transmitter[39] and one of the two local relay transmitters (Marlow Bottom[40] and Wooburn[41]).
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Berkshire on 94.6 FM,Heart South on 102.6 FM, andMarlow FM[42] is a local community radio station that was launched on FM on 11 May 2011. It broadcasts to Marlow and the surrounding areas on 97.5FM, and also streams over the internet. The station provides travel and news updates for the local area.
The town is covered by the local newspaper,Bucks Free Press.[43]
Notable current and former residents in approximate birth order.
MARLOW is one of the pleasantest river centres I know of. It is a bustling, lively little town; not very picturesque on the whole, it is true, but there are many quaint nooks and corners to be found in it.
Marlow is one of the pleasantest river centres I know of. It is a bustling, lively little town; not very picturesque on the whole, it is true, but there are many quaint nooks and corners to be found in it, nevertheless—standing arches in the shattered bridge of Time, over which our fancy travels back to the days when Marlow Manor owned Saxon Algar for its lord...
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