Hitcham and TaplowSociety

Newsletter 111: Spring 2019£3.50 to non­members

www.taplowsociety.org.uk

Grateful thanks to the many readers who kindlyexpressed appreciation of last November'sNewsletter 110, which paid tribute to ourantecedents who fell in the Great War. Aspromised, the Society continues to explore howTaplovians who fell in World War Two can bebetter commemorated. Watch this space.

It is remarkable how much our little corner of theworld is threatened by ambition, lack of attention orincompetence. Consequently, this Newsletterreturns to the primary aim of the Society – to protectour patch from being spoilt – and focuses onPlanning (with a capital P) and other plans andaspirations which affect us. Information andobservations are current as at 25th April.

The Town & Country Planning Act (1947)required local authorities to comprehensively planand control development within their domains, a

principle which depends upon councillors andplanning officers having the time, expertise andlocal knowledge to make decisions for the benefitof their communities. Page 3 wonders how wellthis cunning plan is working locally. Pages 4 & 5review the degree to which the 2013 vision for MillLane has lost its way. Pages 6 to 9 examine risks toGreen Belts nationwide, around London and inTaplow's lowlands. Pages 10 & 11 conclude thisadventure with glances at looming organisationaland infrastructural plans.

Later pages celebrate our community and thosepast and present who make it special. Ourchallenge is to follow valiantly in their footsteps.

Finally, thanks to friends in HedgerleyHistorical Society and Facebook's MaidenheadMemories – indicated (MM) – who have sharedvarious images and cuttings.

Editorial

Hitcham and Taplow Society

Formed in 1959 to protect Hitcham, Taplow and the surrounding countryside from being spoilt by baddevelopment and neglect.

President: Eva LipmanVice President: Fred RussellChairman: VacantTreasurer: Robert HanburySecretary: Roger WorthingtonCommittee: Andrew Findlay, Charlie Greeves, Robert Harrap, Rupert Sellers,

Nigel Smales, Jonathan Specktor, Louise Symons, Jacqueline TurnerNewsletter Editor (and photos and maps unless noted): Nigel SmalesNewsletter Production: Andrew Findlay

Contact Address: HTS, Littlemere, River Road, Taplow, SL6 0BBsecretary@taplowsociety.org.uk07787 556309

Cover picture: Taplow between the rivers. (James Camplin). See Page 7.

Acronyms

Berkeley Homes (BH), Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC), Campaign for the Protection of Rural England

(CPRE), County Council (CC), Department for Transport (DfT), District Council (DC), Great Western Railway

(GWR), Her Majesty's Government (HMG), London Green Belt Council (LGBC), National Planning Policy

Framework (NPPF), Office for National Statistics (OfNS), Parish Council (PC), Royal Borough of Windsor &

Maidenhead (RBWM), South Bucks DC (SBDC), Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), Taplow Parish

Council (TPC), The Buckinghamshire Council (TBC) and Transport for London (TfL).

Spring 2019 Page 2 Hitcham and Taplow Society

Plans Local and Neighbourly

The value of Taplow's two Conservation Areas – theVillage (1975) and the Riverside (1999), bothaffirmed by Character Appraisals (2007) – has ebbedaway amid legislative turbulence at national anddistrict levels. Some think the combination of theLocalism Act (2011), which extended the power oflocal councils (and their officers), and the NPPF(2012, revised 2018), which deregulated policies andstreamlined procedures to encourage development,has reduced effective public oversight. Therelevance of the Taplow Parish Plan (2005) hasdiminished as SBDC's Local Plan (1999, revised2007) was replaced by its Core Strategy (2011) whichwill be superseded by a joint SBDC / Chiltern DCLocal Plan (first draft 2017).

Hoping to exert greater influence, TPC securedpermission to prepare a supplementaryNeighbourhood Plan (NP) but paused pendingdelays to this latest Local Plan which even nowhas only "an unofficial and indicative timetable".It might soon be released for consultation. Maybenot. It might be approved by HMG and adoptedin Summer 2020. Maybe not. It might it beaccepted by TBC if this new unitary authoritytakes command (see Page 10). Maybe not. Suchdoubts are fuelled by news that Bray abandonedits NP after RBWM struck out just abouteverything in it, and a Cambridge council refusedto adopt its local plan because HMG changesrendered it unrecognisable.

In contrast, an application by Bristol City Councilfor 1,500 homes was refused by its own councillorsfor not complying with its NP approved two weeksbefore. Heartened that NPs can have teeth, JamieBarnard, Martin Maund, Spencer Norton, GeorgeSandy, Nigel Smales and Roger Worthingtonrecently resumed planning for the Plan. Aspectsunder consideration include its overall framework,the need for professional expertise, the impact of therevised NPPF on current protections, the possibleremoval from the Green Belt of the between­the­rivers triangle (see Page 7) and the creation of asupplementary Heritage Asset List to recognise andimprove protection of buildings, places, landscapesand anything else we value.

Meanwhile, TPC and the Society agree the themefor the restoration of Berry Hill Farm gravel quarrymust be "natural rural charm", with hay meadowspreferable to any commercial development.Suggestions to Summerleaze include woodlandsand wetlands for wildlife and insects, bird­watchinghides, bridle paths, a challenging adventureplayground, another for youngsters with den­building, woodcraft and other nature pursuits, twopublic footpaths – one recreating the ancient waysouth past Old Priory Garden down to the station,the other from there to lower Berry Hill (avoidingmain roads) – and the revival of the Taplow HorseShow. In the spirit that it is up to locals to make thebest of our locality, have you any other suggestions?

Proposals Pending

SBDC is still considering planning applicationsfor a riverside pub and new houses on Mill Lane(see Pages 4 & 5). Other outstanding applicationsinclude a new spa and conservatory at TaplowHouse Hotel, replacements for Lamont House(River Road) and Stonecrop (3 Saxon Gardens), a

micro­brewery in Ye Meads, a barn for quailrearing at Challen's Chick Farm (Marsh Lane), a20m telecommunication pole at Miller & Carter(Bath Road), a 2.4m wire boundary fence aroundCedar Cottage (Heathfield Road) and liftingoccupancy restrictions on Cliveden Stud House.

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Riverside Revival

Taplow's riverside from Bond'sBoatyard to the Papermill wasonce a mix of places to work, restand play but, with their criticismsof proposals for a new pub andmore houses on Mill Lane,Historic England and SBDC'sConservation Officer are guilty ofhistorical revisionism. This wasno "idyllic semi­rural watersidelocation" for artisans. It was theindustrial rump of Taplow. Thegasworks liquified coal – anextremely dirty, smelly businessfor 120 years – and later the millrecycled stuff much morehazardous than wastepaper. As

blight descended, dreamers onboth riverbanks yearned for arevival of our greatest sharedasset: Old Father Thames. RecentNewsletters have rued how thevague but welcome vision ofSBDC's SPD – essentially, a brieffor prospective developers towhich BH's original 2015 designresponded – has ebbed awayas Planning acquiesced tofragmentary creep byconsidering each subsequentapplication myopically ratherthan in the context of a publiclyagreed plan. The flux still hasn'tfinally settled but elements areslipping into sharper focus.

The Society is disappointedwith the increased number ofnew and proposed dwellings,up 9% from 211 to 229, anddismayed at the vast area of carparking that could cram theriverbank, up 70% from 86 spacesto 146 to serve Roux at Skindles,the new office block (a local BH

headquarters) and a prospectiveHall & Woodhouse gastro­pub.And there will be yet more carswhen Dunloe Lodge is rebuiltwith nine apartments, not asthe originally­approved replicafamily home. The pub wouldbe welcome – not least becauseits garden, toilets anddefibrillator will be accessibleto the public – yet despite thehistory here of unsightlygasometers, the ConservationOfficer exceeds both brief andcontext to challenge its massingand elevation.

The re­designation of theBoathouses site as 'Residential'resulted in outline approval fora 'permitted development'squeezing 18 tiny dwellingsinto its existing buildings. Thisimpractical scheme wassuperseded by another for 13dwellings and now by a GageProperties proposal to replacethe existing buildings withDriftwood Cottage

Spring 2019 Page 4 Hitcham and Taplow Society

eight houses. The Societyprefers this lower density, butPlanning seems happy with thepub rising to two storeys andpermits Dunloe three yetwinces at two­storey homesbetween. And having ignoredhistoric reference by permittingDunloe to be rebuilt as anenlarged pastiche with no

practical or visual link toDriftwood Cottage, its formerlodge and stables, its illogicalselectivity here will effectivelyblight the site.

The Old Boathouse was builtover 120 years ago as a timbershed to house boats, converted inthe late 1940s to build speedboatsand again as offices in the 1980s.Trigger's broom in Only Fools andHorses springs to mind – 17replacement heads, 14 differenthandles – except, unlike thebroom, the Boathouse isn't asgood as new. It probably neverwas structurally capable ofconversion to a high­qualityresidence and certainly isn't now.Driftwood looks lonely, its nine­inch brick walls the worse foryears of heavy lorries thunderingpast within reach. Sadly, its namerings true; it has been left behindby the turning tide. Its 1930sStudio – imagined incorrectly byPlanning to be Dunloe's – is morea holiday snug than a modernhome. While the Society's instinctis always to favour preservation ifpossible, none of these have thearchitectural or historic merit tojustify refusing the Gageapplication. It must be right to

prioritise a viable and vibrantfuture for our riverbank overthe conservation of outdatedelements of its past.

The other uncertainties relateto the future of 'the workingriver'. SBDC is silent about its siteand former Bond's Boathouse byMaidenhead Bridge whereMarlow Boat Services pliesriparian repair. Gage intends tomaintain and enhance themoorings but its scheme mayhave insufficient parking andcould the pub's proposed name –'Taplow Boatyard' – be slightlyironic since the latest sketchshows BH's boatyard next doorhalf the size it was and without achandlery, perhaps calling intoquestion its commercial viability?Yet with a little imagination, thisboatyard could be the key. Whynot run the moorings from here,equip it to repair boats andreawaken the wonderful traditionof 'pleasure boats for hire'? SBDChas planning control and BHmoral and financial gravitas butneither shows any inclination totake the initiative. What'sstopping them engaging withGage for their mutual benefit andfor Taplow's?

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Hitcham and Taplow Society Spring 2019 Page 5

How Green is our Valley

Winds of change whisper in Taplow’s lowlands. Which ones to believe?

Spring 2019 Page 6 Hitcham and Taplow Society

Station Triangle

The draft Local Plan proposed that a triangularplot (A) should be removed from the Green Beltto facilitate 'Employment'. An application tobuild an 82­bed care home there has beenshelved. Many would prefer the site toaccommodate a station car park (see Page 11).

Riverside Triangle

The evolution of middle Mill Lane (see Pages4 & 5) isn't the whole story on the triangle (B)bounded by the River Thames, the JubileeRiver and the GWR. Will the next draft of theLocal Plan propose that this is also removedfrom the Green Belt?

This triangle comprises two distinct areas. Theidea of removing that north of the A4 from theGreen Belt emerged in 1991 when the Papermillproposed replacing Dunloe Lodge with 14 flatsand building 81 houses and two office blockstotalling 84,000ft2 between Mill Lane and the thenproposed flood relief channel (now the Jubilee).Later, its priority was to secure access for itsHGVs. Any aspirations to add both Skindles(acquired 1996) and Glen Island into theredevelopment mix were frustrated in part byGreen Belt protection and, in 1999, by the creationof the Riverside Conservation Area to preserve its

"special architectural and historic interest". Themill sold all its local landholdings in 2006.

South of the A4, the Conservation Areaincludes much of Ellingtonia, described in2007 by SBDC as "a fascinating piece ofhistoric planned design [of] special character".How strange the sharp contrast with SBDC'sassessment in 2016 – when redevelopment wasreducing the north's once valued 'openness' –that the whole triangle is "a committeddevelopment [with] no Areas of SpecialCharacter [that] fails to protect the countrysidefrom encroachment [and should be]considered for removal from the Green Belt".Although it is unlikely BH will ruin itsmarketing by building over its "beautifulmeadows and parkland", such a policy switchcould make dramatic and traumatic changeeasier in Ellingtonia and east along the A4.

Planning meeting? (c1920)

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Hitcham and Taplow Society Spring 2019 Page 7

Tightening the Belt

This local pressure is part of 'the Big Picture' inwhich Green Belts across England must shrink toallow the construction of 460,000 dwellings. Whyis this happening when there are enoughbrownfield sites in local authorities with GreenBelt land for over 720,000 homes and room for300,000 more on brownfields elsewhere?

The OfNS forecasts that, by 2026, London'spopulation will grow by 8.8% and the South East'sby 6.4%. Consequently, despite the LGBC (January2019) reporting their brownfields can accommodate260,383, the 66 local authorities in London's GreenBelt propose 202,715 greenfield homes – an increaseof 43,411 (27%) in the year to July 2018. Locally in2013/17, permitted new housing on Green Belt landincreased by 27% in Chiltern DC, 31% in RBWMand an incredible 41% in SBDC where Cliveden

Gages, Mill Lane and Institute Road add around 430dwellings to Taplow, an increase of over 54% sincethe 2011 census.

HMG drives Green Belt incursion – its revisedNPPF prevents local authorities from citing theGreen Belt as a constraint to housing growth – andclaims it is necessary to provide more 'affordablehousing' for young people and first­time buyers, yetnationally only around 22% is genuinely 'affordable'and less than 10% in London's Green Belt. TheSociety supports the CPRE in its efforts to persuadeHMG to establish an independent strategic bodywith a genuine 'brownfield first' brief to preventfurther unnecessary Green Belt erosion, and to closea legal loophole which allows developers to overpayfor land yet keep unit prices high by forecastingprofits of below 'competitive levels' (around 20%) atwhich they are relieved of obligations to build aproportion of 'affordable housing'.

Buried Treasure

Back in Taplow, it is easy for anyone north of theGWR to forget that, while the hill fort whereTaplow Court now stands was a place of refuge,the ancient value of the parish was the fertileflood plain we know as Amerden. In Thames:Sacred River (Chatto & Windus, 2007), PeterAckroyd reports "In 1332 Taplow was all butdestroyed" by floods. Clearly, these fields ofdreams were then the heart of the matter.

Any established settlements were at AmerdenBank, where the Priory of Merton put downroots in 1197, and possibly at Amerden Pondswhere the subtenant Piscator family are thoughtto have lived. From 1433, the Manfield familymanor house was probably somewhere inAmerden until 1598, when Taplow House tookover, and not at Taplow Court until 1638. Asmanorial authority moved uphill, Amerden

continued to feed the community. Its agriculturalstrips and closes for grazing evolved into BargeFarm and Amerden Manor Farm, both acquiredin 1852 by Charles Whitlaw. His heirs builtAmerden House in 1874 and grand houses by theriverside for rent, but the rural landscaperemained as it had been for centuries.

Some 60 years ago, the Whitlaw estate soldmost of the land to William Boyer & Sons whichcoveted not fertile topsoil but buried treasure.Summerleaze acquired a portion of AmerdenManor Farm and eventually extracted its gravelto create Taplow Lake but Boyer failed twicefailed to obtain permission to excavate its muchlarger holding. Its attempts in 1965/67 and1976/80 dragged on from initial application andrefusal at District and County level throughappeal, amendment, public inquiry and ultimateMinisterial refusal. Both inquiries considered thedemand for gravel, the national interest, the"considerable rural serenity [and] tranquil scene

Field of Dreams

Spring 2019 Page 8 Hitcham and Taplow Society

serving a valuable Green Belt function byseparating built­up areas close to London", the21­foot high soil bank proposed for its easternboundary ("an unnatural and unwelcome featurein the otherwise flat landscape"), the degree andduration of nuisance and of traffic noise,congestion and hazards, the impact on the peaceand price of properties, the quality of the landfor agriculture or other uses and its amenity,landscape value and proposed restoration.

Both Boyer's applications proposed access for60 lorries every day onto Marsh Lane at itsjunction with Devil's Lane footpath. The first forthe whole 350 acres was amended to 43 acreswith the remainder postponed for ten years. Thesecond – amended in 1979 to gain access at thetop of Marsh Lane with its A4 junction"strengthened" – related only to 45 acres butthere were "thin end of the wedge" fears thatwork might go on for 50 years.

At the first inquiry, the Society questioned if itwas in the public interest for Boyer to field "aformidable array" of expensive legal andtechnical expertise to counter the alliance of localauthorities – Buckinghamshire and BerkshireCCs, Eton Rural DC, Taplow, Burnham, Dorneyand Bray PCs – and organisations including theSociety, Maidenhead Civic Society, BrayPreservation Society (formed for this fight), theRiver Thames Society and Taplow AgainstGravel (an ad hoc group of locals). Newsletter 14(April 1967) reported the recruitment to theSociety of 28 Marsh Lane residents.

A similar alliance (with Beaconsfield DCreplacing Eton RDC, and over 550 individualsupporters) formed for the second inquiry which– as before – failed to convince the Inspector onthe urgency of gravel need. If the 1967 decisionwas "finely balanced", that in 1980 was clear cut– thus vindicating the alliance for funding theengagement of a Queen's Counsel whopersuaded the Inspector to delay the inquirypending the BCC decision that Barge Farm wasnot one of 27 "preferred areas" for mineralextraction in South Bucks. Newsletter 39 (Spring1980) observed: "It would seem very unlikelythat such a firm decision [to refuse gravelextraction] would be questioned in the nearfuture [so] we can reasonably hope that BargeFarm will remain free from threat of gravelextraction in the future".

Or can we? Although now sliced by theJubilee, the Amerden landscape retains itsancient and serene rural tranquillity, but for howlong? Having acquired Barge Farm a few yearsago, Summerleaze has revealed hopes toexcavate the car boot sales site (C). TPC is notagainst extending Taplow Lake provided nogravel is carried on the A4. However, might thisbe another "thin end of the wedge"? Could thewhisper of a planned access to Marsh Lanesouth of its bridge over the Jubilee (D) indicatean intention to excavate the rest of Barge Farm?And if so, will the community have the courageand energy to recreate the alliances that served itso well in the past?

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Hitcham and Taplow Society Spring 2019 Page 9

Bucking Bucks

Having agreed that TBC"lacks local consent" and willlack "democratic oversight",SBDC joined forces withChiltern and Wycombe DCsin January to take legal actionto try to prevent the creationof the single, supposedly"simpler" unitary authoritywhich aspires to give "bettervalue" by replacing theseallied DCs, Aylesbury ValeDC and BCC. A reduction intotal councillor posts from232 to 147 seems sensible butdoes one councillor for every5,375 residents add up? Forcomparison, TBC would need172 councillors if the MiltonKeynes ratio applied to restof Buckinghamshire.

In our patch, BCC has beenfree to make more of its 73%share of our council tax so theprimary scope for TBCsavings can only be the tiddly

9% that goes to SBDC or the4% to parishes. With thisminimal wriggle­room, howwill TBC deliver services moreefficiently without unacceptablecuts? As a 'shadow authority'takes charge, will it be a lessonthat, having replaced DCs with'community hubs', Wiltshire isnow closing them? What isthe timetable for change?Parliamentary process grindsslowly. Meanwhile, guesswho'll pay the legal eagles thatlook like flying nowhere fast.

Our BCC council taxcovers only some of the£2.2m cost of A4 Cycleway,which will be funded by"developer contributions" and"largely" by HMG (so, by us).Despite 56% of respondentsbeing against the scheme,construction has begun atlast and will run toNovember. The proposed ban

on right turns into Berry Hillhas been dropped but concernsremain that 'CyclistsDismount' signs at DumbBell Bridge might be merely'passing the buck'.

Woadblock

Newsletter 106 imagined rebellious woad­daubed locals launching UTIP, the UnitedTaplow Independence Party. Now another flightof fancy watches its leader, Sandy Beach…

I've never been a Go­er, she laments. I justwanted the BU (Bucks Unitary) to make me look aleader. Now I'm a going, going, not­quite Gone Girl.

The referendum went Tapgo. No doubt. So,Go with the flow. Tallyho. Set the date for Going.Plan to please everyone.

They say I don't listen but there's so muchnoise. Go lied, not No, so no Go. Who knew Gomeant going? And if it did, not like this. Nohad no right to spend our money to scare us.Go gets up those noses; No up these.Sovereignty pooled; the people fooled. Godidn't know In from Off or Up from Out. Go forNo Deal, the BU will back off. No hard border

with Beaconsfield. Amerden longs for Away. Gosoft, in name only. Go slow, No will win. No notGo likes big Bucks (even the Berks).

No? Go? Who knows which way wind isblowing? No clue what to do. Lost my majority.Stonewalled. Made and reneged on contrarypromises. Won a confidence vote. Got a deal.Some say good. Bye. Some say hello, it's not Nobut Go with our hands tied, a blindfold and novoice. Clowns to the left of me. Jokers to theright. Fifty shades of So­and­Sos going for broke.Countless counts, all So­So, none to unite. Goingdizzy dancing with devils. Erasing red lines. NoDeal gone. Go gone back. Again. Forevertomorrow? Knowing No, knowing Go, it's thebest I can bestow. Aha.

Well, here's another fine mess you've gottenus into, Sandy.

Spring 2019 Page 10 Hitcham and Taplow Society

Minding the Manor

Mind your own business. Mind your manners.Good advice. Except it is our business thattraffic, trains and planes pass through and overour manor. What's the latest?

Newsletters 104 & 105 were parochial by design.They focused on the local impact of M4 noise andpollution rather than on 'Smart' motorways beingonly as clever as the controllers watching TV screensand changing overhead signage to direct drivers.The Highways Agency claims being 'Smart'"improves journey reliability by 22%" yet on anupgraded 16­mile stretch of the M25 peak­timejourneys in 2013/17 took 8% longer. Could the realobjective be fiscal? In this same period, 210,538motorists were caught on camera nationwide andfined £21m for breaking reduced limits, many onnear­empty motorways. How smart is that?

'Smartening' of the M4 proceeds apace.Locally, it will be 'All Lane Running' with nohard shoulder, reliant on controllers displaying aRed X on the overhead gantries to close theinside lane if a vehicle breaks down there. ThePolice Federation is not in favour and, as feared,fatal accidents occur when either controllers ordrivers don't react quickly and correctly. Afterall, they're only human. Mind how you go.

On 29th March, Crossrail said its regenerationto the Elizabeth Line will all be over byChristmas. But which one? Taplow Station hopesfor a renovated ticket hall and new lift­equippedbridge with (eventually) a new entrance to thenorth platform nearby, but have long­promisedSunday services got lost in transit? The draftInfrastructure Delivery Schedule supporting theLocal Plan claims that "BCC and the DCs arecurrently working with TfL to consider ways ofenhancing usage of Taplow Station Car Park".Crossrail says: "No new parking spaces are beingplanned". Mind the gap.

In February, Roger Worthington and NigelSmales represented TPC and the Society at a

Heathrow exhibition which revealed airspacedesign principles that prioritise "minimising thenumber of people newly overflown" over"maximising sharing through managed dispersal" offlights. This recipe for sending every plane overTaplow rather than widening route corridors couldbe re­phrased: "Those who are overflown now willget all the increase in air traffic". It flies in the face ofthree things: Performance­based Navigation (PBN)systems can now achieve respite by precisealternation of flightpaths, quieter aircraft meanmany fewer on the ground are exposed to noisecapable of stopping conversation, and our feedbackto the DfT consultation last year, which advocateddispersal. The diagrams recreated here imply everyflight will take the same path – not nice if yourhouse is under it. Spencer Norton says this won'thappen, but could next year's Flightpath Optionsconsultation be another Groundhog Day? Mindyour language.

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Hitcham and Taplow Society Spring 2019 Page 11

Stil l No Name

BH's plan was for "an

independent panel" to

whittle down over 70

suggested names for our

new footbridge to a

shortl ist for a final publ ic

vote prior to a naming

ceremony on 11th April .

This didn't happen. Watch for

new news.

Tidy-Up TaplowDid you TUT on 7th April?Well done if you wereamong the 41 inspired bythe GB Spring Clean tohelp Tidy-Up Taplow bygathering from ourstreets and footpaths 63bags of rubbish (morethan any parish nearby)and assorted detritusincluding a deadmicrowave! And avery big thank-youto Jacquel ine &

Mike Turner fortheir bril l iantorganisation andfor refreshing usafterwards withyummy cakes,

biscuits, coffeeand  tea.

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Caring for a Taplow TreasureSt Nicolas' Church was built in 1911/12 with £9,000of "generous and spontaneous" contributions by 200Taplovians. Now it costs £30,000 a year just tomaintain. It receives no financial help from theDiocese even for major projects such as the recentreplacement of the north roof. In the last year, thechurch has raised £50,000 to replace the southroof, but another £25,000 is needed to completeessential renovation to the walls.Please help to sustain St Nicolas for currentand future generations by contributingregularly, making a one-off donation or leavinga legacy. For details, go tost-nicolas-taplow.orgor contact the treasurer: snoxel l james@gmail .comTo date, sales of Taplow Moments and donations in

thanks for il lustrated talks by its author NigelSmales have raised £1,165 for church repairs. Thiscolourful history of Taplow costs £25; every pennynow goes to this fund. To buy a copy, contactcazanig@aol.com

Not Caringfor a Taplow

Treasure?

For 133 years,this keysto

ne adorned the

door of the new Brigadeof Guards

Boat

Club, premises incorp

oratedinto

Skindles Hotel in

1904.Having

agreed in

2015that it would be saved

for

posterity, B

erkeley Homes has not

responded

to the Society's enqui

ries of

its fate.

Postcards from the Past

This Newsletter is pleased to share two postcards sent in 1907.

The parasols make a fine sight on River Road, but rather more fleeting than

Empress of India – at 83 feet long, the biggest Bond's boat ever, built in 1897/98

by Jonathan Bond the Younger to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee,

possibly hoping that she would acquire it. She wasn't amused. The Empress (the

boat, not Her Majesty) cruised the Thames for Bond's until 1921 then for Arthur

Jacobs (1922/30 and 1951/76), Picking & Cleeves (1931/51) and final ly for

Turk's until she sank in 2003 and was scrapped the fol lowing year.

EggsitingOn Easter Monday, Sheila Peroniand Charl ie & Toby Greeves onceagain hosted the Society's annualEaster Egg Hunt in their lovelygarden. As over 30 childrenrushed around looking for eggs,some 45 adults enjoyed wonderfulcakes, coffee and conversation.

Jim

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John

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(MM

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Parasols on Parade

Empress of India

Dreadful Demises and Curious Crimes

Thanks to Steve Hawkes of Maidenhead Memorieswho shared four intriguing newspaper extracts.The first was published in June 1878...

Experts on the peerage will confirm that LordDangan was the 1st Duke of Wellington'snephew Henry Wellesley. Does anyone knowwhere he lived?

The second extract, from January 1888, is toolong to reproduce in full. William and EthelGrenfell had not reached the first anniversary oftheir marriage when...

"A daring, carefully­planned burglary wassuccessfully carried out on the night of the13th inst. at Taplow Court. Early in theevening, probably while the inmates were atdinner, the thieves secured the entrance doorswith wire and laid tripwires across the lawnat the west front of the mansion and facingthe Thames. On hearing the supper bell,[concluding] all had left that part of thehouse to which they wished to gain access,[two of] the perpetrators kept watch whiletwo accomplices ascended a ladder" stolenfrom George Webster at Hill Farm a quarter­mile away. They entered through MrsGrenfell's dressing­room window which "hadnot been fastened nor the shutters secured".One searched her dressing­room, the otherher bedroom. "The dressing­cases, drawers,bags &c were ransacked, and every article of

jewellery taken. Nearly all the booty consistedof wedding presents which had a valuebeyond the ordinary. The robbery was notdiscovered until after ten o'clock when ahousemaid found "the bedroom door lockedfrom the inside, the thieves having thus madethemselves secure". They left footprints and ajemmy but no other evidence. Mr Grenfelloffered rewards of £50 (current value around£5,100) "for such information as will lead toconviction" and £200 (£20,400) "for theconviction of the thieves and the recovery ofthe property" which included a pearl necklacevalued at £1,500 (£153,000) and some 50 otheritems worth a total of £2,500 (£255,000).

Were the thieves ever apprehended and therewards paid?

The third extract is from 1890...

Research didn't reveal if the police weresuccessful but perhaps their task was easier inJune 1900…

Spring 2019 Page 14 Hitcham and Taplow Society

John Kennedy 1930­2018

Did you wonder if, being a Kennedy, John hadIrish ancestry? Not a bit of it. His Germangrandparents came from Leipzig in the 1870s.His father was born in London and, during theGreat War, must have confused fellow and foealike while serving in the British Army asFrederick Kretzschmar, a surname wiselychanged in 1919.

Did you wonder how, as a Doctor ofChemistry, John made his mark in the textileindustry? In 1959, he joined ICI in Harrogate todevelop and market a new Polyester yarn calledCrimplene. The thread took him to "a dream job"in the USA in 1966, to creating TrendtexInternational in Maidenhead in 1972 and beingmade a Freeman of the City of London.

Did you wonder why the home he andBrenda had built on Taplow's riverbank in 1972was called Olympia House? It was named afterOlympia Mills, the world's first vertical Polyestertexturizing, dyeing and winding plant whichJohn founded in Alabama in 1969.

Did you wonder how John got into politics?The answer is simple: Brenda. Their first datewas at the newly­formed Young ConservativeClub in Woodford Green, Essex, where herfather was branch Chairman in WinstonChurchill's constituency. He was doubly smitten,forever after adoring and devoted to Brenda yetalso the heartbeat of Conservative Associationsat University College London, in the West Ridingand, for 48 years, at Beaconsfield.

John wasn't one for wondering. Instead, both inbusiness and for the community, he had ideas, setagendas and made things happen. John Bambergconfirms his "best friend [wasn't] backward incoming forward" with his views. Iris Midlane'saversion to mushrooms, the sustainability ofCliveden Gages, which wine went with what, theVillage Green Party, the closure of Mill Lane andmuch else was found the right room for anargument. Yet he was a smooth operator, alwaysready with persuasive charm and inexhaustibleenergy to forge alliances and influence outcomesduring two terms on Taplow Parish Counciltotalling 31 years (the second to create the 2005Parish Plan), 23 years as a District Councillor(including three as SBDC Chairman), five as theSociety's President and ten as Vice­President.

Meanwhile, he combined compassion anddynamic leadership at Padstones HousingCharity (now Connection Support) to assisthomeless youngsters, at South Bucks HousingAssociation (now L&Q Beacon HousingAssociation) to provide affordable housing and tofund scholarships and apprenticeships, atGroundwork South Trust to promoteenvironmental and social regeneration and atBlue Sky Development & Regeneration to createjobs for ex­offenders. And somehow, he still hadtime not only to give invaluable support toBurnham Memorial Recreation Ground Trust andto his alma mater, Christ's Hospital School, butalso to captain Temple Golf Club and to sharewith Brenda an enviable reputation as ever­generous hosts. Their bar was always open!

Many will picture John wearing one or moreof these hats but, of course, he will beremembered most fondly as loyal and loving byBrenda, their four children, ten grandchildren,two great­grandchildren and his brother Philip.

Adapted from eulogies by Rachel Wright & John Bamberg

Co

urt

esy:

Bre

nda

Kennedy

Hitcham and Taplow Society Spring 2019 Page 15

Lincoln's EndRemembering Lincoln Lee

In its unapologeticindulgence inwhimsy, this pageis indebted to JohnLovelace of HedgerleyHistorical Societyfor sharing thisdelightful map ofour area whichreveals Taplow asTopley, one of themore unusualspellings in itsevolution fromThapeslau orThapelau (1086)through Tapeslawe(1187), Tappelawe (1196), Tappelow (1291),Tappelowe (1379), Tappelow (1517) Topley (1562),Toplar (1675) and Taplowe (1720) to settle atTaplow in 1737.

The map is a partial extract from onereproduced 80 years after its original engraving.It reflects the way things were not just afterOliver Cromwell died but during the reign ofQueen Elizabeth I. Her favoured courtierThomas Seckford of Suffolk commissionedcartographer Christopher Saxton of Yorkshire tosurvey England and Wales and publish in 1579the first atlas of any nation.

Saxton's spellings are fun, his omissionspuzzling. Locally, Hedsor features but not

Amerden, its sixthspelling sinceAumberdene (1194),or Manfield Park,the only differentname for Cliefden(1213) as itmeandered via atleast 14 spellings toCliveden (1880s).

Further afield,Eaton (Eton) andUpton appear butnot Slough, ahamlet on the BathRoad first noted asSlo (1195), possibly

derived from the ysleow (granaries) wherecereals were stored for Windsor Castle. Moresurprising is the absence of Cookham, a thrivingriver port noted as Cocheham in the DomesdayBook (1086) with 67 households, hereaboutssecond only to 80 at Brai (Bray). Thapeslau(Taplow) then had 24 households, Hucheham(Hitcham) 11 and Elentone (Maidenhead) only10. How things change.

Coincidentally, a map on display atHeathrow's recent exhibition in Maidenhead (seePage 11) omitted not only Cookham butMaidenhead and Taplow too. Weird or what?Could Saxton be reincarnated to designairspace? The truth is out there.

Editor: Nigel SmalesThe Cottage, Rectory Road, Taplow. Tel 01628 661636

E­mail: editor@taplowsociety.org.ukUnless otherwise stated, the views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Society or its Committee.

The Newsletter is published by the Hitcham and Taplow Society.Prepared for printing by Andrew Findlay using Scribus, Linux, and The Gimp

Printed by Gpex

Save These DatesWatch the Society's website for details

The Rise & Fall of Skindles – History talk by Nigel Smales:Bourne End 9th May & Eton Wick 22nd May

SGI­UK at Taplow Court – see also https://sgi­uk.org/Open Days: 19th May, 2nd June, 7th July, 4th August & 15th SeptemberIntroduction to Buddhism: 29th May, 26th June, 10th July, 7th August & 18th September

The Society's 34th Village Green Party: 22nd June – see inserted leafletVillage Fete in aid of the Church, the School and the Playgroup: 29th JuneThere will be no Taplow Dog Show this year