Interesting Towns/Pretty Villages
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Marlow

Marlow Town

Marlow
Buckinghamshire

Marlow is one of those delightful quintessentially English towns, a joy to visit and difficult to park in!  Situated on the River Thames between Henley and Maidenhead it contains some beautiful town houses in the pure Georgian style, plus riverside walks, a famous old suspension bridge, All Saint's Church and a High Street in the grand style with lovely shopfronts and old inns like The George and Dragon.

For full details of individual attractions see Things to Do - Marlow. Visit www.marlowtown.co.uk for further information and listings. Marlow is in the county of Buckinghamshire

 

 

 

Left: Marlow - The George and Dragon - photo by D Burgess

 

 

 

 

           Below: The Suspension Bridge across the Thames at Marlow

 

 

 

All the more reason therefore to fight for the preservation of this lovely old town  The following news item is reproduced for the interst of visitors:-

 

"Marlow Town and the Waitrose Development

 

"The beautiful Georgian town of Marlow is also facing a major problem of aesthetics, with local retailer Waitrose’s avowed intentions to redevelop their supermarket in West Street along “modern” lines. Basically, the Waitrose architects are proposing an enlargement of their existing store in Marlow, in the style of which the local people fear will be entirely out of keeping and scale with the whole area. Marlow is a unique little town that was built in a gracious age, when scale and proportion of buildings were the norm. The Waitrose proposals strike many residents as being unsympathetic to the Georgian feel of the town, with their huge glass windows and unimaginative and aggressively modern “box” design. Many local residents consider Waitrose’s designs to be inappropriate. The current frontage in West Street is due to be demolished.

In particular the Waitrose design requires the compulsory purchase of the oldest funeral business in the area, a small independant firm, and one which has served the local community for the past 150 years.

The town has rallied strongly behind the "Stop the Development" movement, and over 4,000 of Marlow's 11,000 residents voted in favour of no further expansion of Waitrose's store. If ever there was a firm demonstration of the obvious will of the local people making their voice being heard this is it!

What do YOU think? Should Waitrose be allowed to proceed with their plan? Or should every effort be made to preserve the unique atmosphere of this delightful Thames-side town? E- mail us on riverthames@btconnect.com with your thoughts.   Jeannette Briggs"

 

 

 

Left: The River Thames at Marlow with All Saints Church - photo by J Olney a noted local photographer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marlow lies at the southern extremity of the county of Buckinghamshire.  There are many delightful spots in the county for you to visit while staying in the area - visit www.visitbuckinghamshhire.org.uk for full details.


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