Mary Ann Hudson in later life
In 1860 women made up only about 13% of the workforce at Royal Worcester Porcelain. While it's not clear if the ratio improved over the next decade, there was at least one young woman (emphasis on the young) who was hired as a paintress in 1871 - Mary Ann Hudson who was all of 13. Thirteen was apparently the age when prospective painters were hired to learn to draw, to manipulate colors and understand how fire acted on them. Mary will be the subject of her own essay, but suffice it to say she was successful, working at her craft for over 20 years before leaving in April of 1892, just weeks before boarding a ship for the United States. It seems only reasonable to believe that James and Mary Ann met at Royal Worcester Porcelain.
Regardless of how they met, James and Mary were married on October 11, 1877 in the Countess of Huntingdon Chapel on Birdport Lane in Worcester. They were both younger than the average age for marriage at the time, 27-28 for men and 25 for women. It's not known if the chapel was James or Mary's church or whether both of them worshiped there. Surprising as it may seem, a significant number of Victorians were not church goers. Countess of Huntingdon worship was a form of Methodism or non-conformist religion (not conforming or accepting the doctrines of the Church of England) that was very popular in urban areas such as Worcester. Like many Victorian Methodist churches, the Birdport chapel operated extensive Sunday school programs which often was the only practical source of education for working class children. The chapel itself held 1500 worshipers and lasted hosted a worship service in 1976. Today it is a concert hall.
Countess of Huntingdon Chapel, Worcester
Where James and Mary first set up housekeeping is unknown, but since their first child was born at 4 Kingston Terrace, nine months later, it seems reasonable to believe that was their first home, most likely rented. They were still there by the time of the 1881 census (today the street is called Berwick Street), but the 1891 census found them at 31 Portland Street which appears to be part of a housing development called Jubilee Cottages, built around the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. Both addresses were within easy walking distance of the Royal Worcester works as was the norm for the time. Mary and James first child was James William Ricketts Winder, born on July 15,1878. The Healey, Walsh and Zinn lines descend from him. James was joined four years later by Edith Winder (head of the Shaw line), Elsie, four years after that (she never married) and, lastly, Florence (head of the Carr line), three years later in 1889.
James Winder and Mary Hudson's Marriage Certificate
The spacing of the births indicates intentional family planning and also suggests James and Mary were a prudent couple. Anticipating many modern marriages, both husband and wife worked outside the home throughout their married years in Worcester. One possible explanation of the timing is a goal of never having more than one child below school age (children were accepted into school as early as three) so that only one child at a time required the Victorian equivalent of "day care." Census and other data suggests that both James and Mary's parents had occupations which could have conceivably allowed time to take care of one grand child at a time.
Portland Street, Worcester
James, Mary and their children were also fortunate to that their 14 years of family life in Worcester came at a very good time for working families. Wages were stable during the period, but the cost of food, clothing and coal (heat and cooking) declined significantly. Food costs alone fell by 30% between 1877 and 1889. Rents also were low and all evidence suggests the Winders were renters like most working class families. Both 4 Berwick and 31 Portland were single row houses, an improvement over the older back-to-back row houses which had windows only in the front. According to the Worcester Journal of December 21, 1887, 1000 homes had been built during the past 20 years definitely including 31 Portland Street and possibly 4 Kingston (Berwick) as well. Central heating and bathrooms were rare, but piped water and gas lighting became more the norm during this time frame.
Both James and Mary most likely worked 12 hours a day, six days a week with 1/2 hour for breakfast (at work) and one hour for dinner (lunch, at home). By the time of the Winder's marriage, workers enjoyed four additional holidays with two "bank" holidays, December 26th and Easter Monday, joining Christmas Day and Good Friday. Vacations were unknown so working class families had 58 days off per year, the six holidays plus Sundays. Some years Royal Worcester Porcelain employees enjoyed one additional holiday when management closed the works and paid for an all-day train outing to holiday resorts like Swansea, Bournemouth and Llandudng. Newspaper accounts report 700 to 900 workers and family members boarding trains at 4:00 a.m. that returned to Worcester after midnight the next day.
Worcester Chronicle, July 12, 1890 Account of Royal Worcester Annual Outing
As the 1880's came to a close, James and Mary were doing well for themselves. They had four healthy children, full time jobs and James was a respected member of the community beyond work and home. James had come a long way from his humble beginnings, but it apparently wasn't enough
No comments:
Post a Comment