Little Marlow
Little Marlow village cricket green
It is located on the north bank of the River Thames, about a mile east of Marlow. The village name 'Marlow' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'land remaining after the draining of a pool'. In 1015 it was recorded as Merelafan. Little Marlow was once the site of a Benedictine convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary, belonging to Bisham Abbey. In 1547 the convent was seized by the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and was eventually demolished in 1740.
Today it is a pretty village in a scenic location on the River Thames. It has two pubs with character and a village cricket green which borders onto The Old Barn Cottage B&B at the back.
Marlow
Just 3 miles is the centre of the village’s ‘big sister’, Marlow.
Marlow's history goes back to at least the Domesday Book in 1086 when it was valued at £25.
Marlow's historical importance was because of its location on the River Thames: a major trade route from London. It has had its own market since 1324 at the latest, and as early as 1299 the town had its own Member of Parliament.
View from Marlow bridge
There has been a bridge over the Thames at Marlow since the reign of King Edward III. The current bridge is a suspension bridge, designed by William Tierney Clark in 1832, and was a prototype for the nearly identical but larger Széchenyi Chain Bridge across the River Danube in Budapest.
Famous residents of the town have included Mary Shelley (who wrote Frankenstein there), Percy Bysshe Shelley, T. S. Eliot, Jerome K. Jerome and General George Higginson. More recently the town (actually Marlow Bottom, 1 mile to the North) has been the home of Quintuple Olympic Gold Medallist Rower, Sir Steve Redgrave.
Marlow hosts a regular regatta. The Marlow lock is worth a visit on a sunny day with spectacular views of the Thames up to the weir, bridge and Compleat Angler.
Other places of interest
National Trust Properties nearby include Cliveden, former home of the Astors, and Hughenden, once the home of Disraeli.
The Chiltern Hills are within easy reach with their many attractive villages and walks.
Windsor, Ascot, Henley and Oxford are all easily accessible.
associates
