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| The Mere, Mere Road, Slough. 1976 |
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| Brief Description: A Victorian cast iron fireplace with decorative tile inserts located in an upper floor corridor of The Mere. |
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| Subject Date: 1976 |
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| Creator: Reg Harrison |
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| Owner: Slough Library |
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| Contributor: Slough Library |
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| Full Description: The Mere is a large black and white half timbered house begun by the architect Devey for the publisher George Bentley in 1883 and finished by Williams, West & Slade in 1887. It has tall brick chimneys and an ogee capped Belvedere turret. Balconies and glazed cupola make this an attractive building.
George Bentley was the head of 'Bentley's', the famous publishing firm. The company was founded by his father Richard, and it published some of the works of Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, William Harrison Ainsworth, Wilkie Collins, Marie Corelli and other notable authors.
Richard Bentley, George's son, took over The Mere and the family business when his father died in 1895, and in 1898 the firm was dissolved and the stock and assets handed over to the company Macmillan. Richard then focused his time on expanding The Mere estate and studying local history, meteorology, botany and other sciences. His interest in meteorology led to him being elected President of the Royal Meteorological Society in 1905-1906, and he established a weather station in the grounds of The Mere. His publications included the 'Stray Notes on Slough & Upton' (1892), 'Some Historic Inns of Slough' (1924), and the privately printed 'Some Leaves from the Past', which included biographical information on the Bentley family. Richard Bentley died at home in 1936, aged 82.
There were no children from his marriage to Lucy, and Lucy continued to live at The Mere until 1961, when the house was sold. Lucy Bentley then moved to Windsor and died at the age of 95. In 1964 The Mere became the headquarters of the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and it still remains in their hands today. |
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| Collection: Reg Harrison Collection |
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| Place: Slough ; Upton ; Mere Road |
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| Dimensions: 2.3 x 3.5 cm |
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| Subject: Houses ; Fireplaces |
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| Name Subject: The Mere ; The National Foundation for Educational Research ; NFER ; |
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| Content Type: Photo slide colour |
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| Location: Slough Library |
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| Local Ref: Upton 6,26 |
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| Unique ID: sl-sl-rhs_u6_26merefire145-i-00-000.tif |
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| IPR: Slough Library |
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St. Mary's Church
The Mere
Brick water-tank in garden of Edwardian house in Slough
