At the time of William and Mary's 1862 marriage, James was five and little Arthur was just over a year old. Most likely at this point, James attended what was called a "dame" school, a school typically taught by women (thus the title) who had no professional teacher training. "Dame" schools sound like a combination of day care and basic skills instruction. Costing only about 3-9 pence a week, with flexible hours, these schools were reportedly very good at teaching the three "R's" while giving parents a safe space for children while they worked.
Victorian Dame School
At little over a year, Arthur was too young for such an establishment which usually began taking children between the ages of two-three. If William and Mary didn't already know the risks facing small children, it became clear that same month when Arthur was admitted to the Worcester infirmary with contusions. Unfortunately far worse lay ahead. On October 26, 1863 Arthur came down with scarlet fever and five days later he died. Scarlet fever caused an "enormous number of deaths" in England between 1847-1880, two-thirds of which like Arthur were children under the age of five.
Arthur Winder's Death Certificate
Cyclical epidemics of this disease hit urban areas during the period and were supposedly more likely to occur during abnormally dry periods. Another factor increasing risk was if the mother was malnourished during pregnancy which left the child more susceptible to the next epidemic. We don't know how Mary lived during her pregnancy, but it's not hard to imagine a poor diet due to a lack of money, which wasn't helped by the fare in the workhouse. Fortunately scarlet fever was no where near as lethal with children over five so while James may have had a milder case, he (and we) was spared. Victorian fiction is full of deathbed scenes of children demonstrating how common an experience it was. Although they lived in a different time with very different values, there's no reason to doubt William and Mary experienced a lot of pain and heartache as they buried their young child.
At the time of Arthur's death in 1863, the Winders were living on Friar Street, not far from William's job at Royal Worcester Porcelain. For the next four years they had, at the very least, William's pension ( 7 shillings per week), his wages as a laborer (say 14 shillings a week) plus whatever Mary may have earned. Even if Mary wasn't working outside the home, total income was in the one pound a week range, and was probably sufficient for the basic needs of the family. Things improved financially in 1867 when James joined his father at Royal Worcester, training to become a moulder. Children, like women, earned less than men, but whatever James brought home had to help and would continue to do so for the next decade. James entrance into the workforce in 1867 coincided with the best economic period of the century (1865-1875) for working people as real wages (effective buying power of income) increased by a minimum of 25% and, in most cases, 35%.
Winder Family on 1871 Census - William Winder is 11th row up from the bottom with Mary and James R directly under him.
The next Winder appearance on the public record is the 1871 census. By this time, the family had moved to Northfield Street in the Claines section of Worcester. William continues as a laborer while James was now a mould maker. Surprisingly no occupation is listed for Mary. The explanation appears to be that the Winders had decided to try a new way of making money and perhaps raising their social status. According to the 1873 edition of Littlebury's Directory and Gazetter of Worcester, William Winder was now a green-grocer, operating at the intersection of Northfield Street and Sansome Walk. A green grocer was basically a dealer in fruit and vegetables, buying from farmers and re-selling to the general public. While the business was in William's name, it appears Mary ran the business as on the 1881 census, she is listed as a shop keeper.
Winder Family on the 1881 Census - William is on the 13th line up from the bottom with Mary and James again below him.
By becoming shop keepers, the Winders were part of a mid-Victorian trend that saw a steady increase in the number of people going into trade. Obviously making money was the major motivation, but the Winders were also probably joining those seeking to become more "respectable." Being or becoming respectable was a major priority for Victorians of all classes and the greatest social division of the time was between the respectable and the not respectable, not as we might think between rich and poor. Respectability was attractive across British society because there was no limit on the number of people who could achieve that status, nor, did it necessarily require a great deal of money.
Victorian Shopkeeper
For a family with the Winder's financial wherewithal, the characteristics of respectability would have included a whitened door step, a neatly organized house, clean clothes for the family, an "air of social aspiration" and a home in a street where the atmosphere was "sober, thrifty, clean-spoken and private" Most of those things did not require a lot of money. Prior to their marriage, William and Mary had lived an unconventional life style, but it seems their marriage was the first step on a journey to respectability.
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