The town name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'land remaining after the draining of a pool'. In the Domesday Book in 1086 it was recorded as Merlaue, though previously it was known as Merelafan.
Marlow has been an important town for many years. This is in account to 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.
There has been a bridge over the Thames at Marlow since the reign of King Edward III. The modern construction is a suspension bridge, designed by William Tierney Clark.
The Royal Military College, now based at Sandhurst in Surrey was also once located in this town. Notable residents of the town have included Mary Shelley (who wrote Frankenstein there), Percy Bysshe Shelley, T. S. Eliot and Jerome K. Jerome.
Today the town hosts a regular regatta, and is the location of one on the Thames' lockss.