Tower and Town, February 2024

  (view the full edition)

Hughenden Yard And The Free Family

Hughenden Yard, the delightful yard of shops and cafes off Marlborough High Street, was narrowly saved from demolition in the 1970’s by a speculator developer who fortunately went bankrupt. Local businessmen, led by Frank James, then saved the site and it became what we see today.

The name ‘Hughenden’ comes from the Free family who are responsible for the beautiful buildings (104 to 107), fronting onto the High Street. The Frees were originally from the Hughenden Valley in Hertfordshire; they had discovered methods of working sarsen stone and were attracted to Wiltshire.

Sarsen stone is that very dense and hard rock which used to exist in profusion on the Marlborough Downs, but are visible now only at Lockeridge Dene and Piggledene, where they were saved by the National Trust from destruction in 1907.

The Free family moved to Fyfield in the mid 1840’s and set up their business of stone for building and crushed stone for road making. Marlborough College Chapel and the wall surrounding the old Borough cemetery are built with ‘Free’s Stone’. 

Thomas Free, born in Hughenden, set up business in Fyfield with his brothers in 1893 and then moved to Marlborough as sole owner in 1908. The original business was at 106 and 107 High Street (now McFarlane, Estate Agents, and Merriman, Solicitors). Some years later 104 and 105 High Street were purchased (now Greggs and Crewe clothing). In 1925, 104 & 105 were rebuilt to copy the style of 106 and 107 to give the beautiful properties we have today.

The window fronts of 104 and 105 have carved detail on them and between the properties is a door with twelve carved panels which have royal and civic themes. One panel on the door has masonic symbols and another has the legend of the cat who saved her kittens from the Great Fire of Marlborough of 1653. This work is perhaps little noticed today, but it is beautiful and was done by John Rawlings, a cabinet maker craftsman, who was employed by Frees. They were undertakers as well as furniture makers and so there was plenty of work in wood going on.

The door is almost a hundred years old and is in need of some TLC. Marlborough History Society have engaged a local cabinet maker, Andrew Brennan, to restore the door and are grateful to the property owner who has given permission. In this way the Free name can be celebrated in the town, besides having an avenue named after them.

David Chandler