The Winter Family of Dial House

When Stephen Winter / Winters was given the job of curate of Marlow's parish church he and his widowed mother Selina immediately took Dial House in St Peter's Street, a stone's throw from the church. This was in 1897. With them were Stephen's younger sister Lucy Agnes.

Selina, Lucy and Stephen had been living at the historic Long Crendon Manor prior to the Marlow move. There was another son in the family, Lawrence, who worked as a doctor in Kent.

Selina Winter /s was a lady of independent means thanks to wealth inherited from her dead husband Lewis and her dead father John Amos. She had grown up in Hackney and Shoreditch London where her father was a merchant and agent for those with business and property interests in Jamaica. He has been identified as a significant slave owner based on the fact that he was paid out multiple times after putting in claims for compensation following the abolition of slavery in Jamaica. Researchers into these compensation claims routinely presume (understandably) that those who filed claims were themselves the owners of the relevant slaves but further research frequently shows that this is incorrect and that the person filing the claims was acting as an agent, executor or administrator for the true owner or owners. To date I can find John Amos only as an agent and executor for slave owners. There is therefore no question that he profited from the misery of enslaved people but it remains an open question as to whether he was specifically, personally a slave owner. In his 1855 will which can be obtained from the National Archives, Kew he mentions no foreign property or assets. 

His wife Selina survived him. Their daughter Selina, the future Selina Winters, born in 1834 was their only child and thus came into much wealth and property, especially in London upon her father's death from chronic bronchitis in 1855.

In 1868 Selina aged 34 married Lewis Winter /s , an accountant, at St John's church Hackney. Within a few months of the marriage her mother passed away but the birth the next year of the couple's first child, Lawrence, meant a new beginning for the family. Selina and her household seem to have lived a quiet and comfortable life with a couple of servants in Wanstead Essex until the death of Lewis in 1887. He was just short of his 50th birthday at the time.

Selina made her home in the house "Clements" at Snaresbrook but the news that Stephen had won the Marlow curacy position uprooted the family. Selina set up the new Marlow household with a live in parlour maid and cook plus a live out coachman and gardener. Retaining staff was never easy even before the first world war and Selina appears many times in local newspapers advertising for new servants with a promise of good pay for the successful candidates.

All members of the Winters household were religious people and deeply interested in the provision of both Sunday Schools and other education for children in Marlow. 

Stephen's wife Florence (nee Scott, m 1899 St George's Bloomsbury*) was the superintendent of the Girls National School. This was a voluntary position and did not involve teaching. Stephen, Selina and Lucy all acted as fundraisers, and promotors for the parish Sunday schools. Lucy acted as honorary secretary for the local Sunday Schools association and for the Managers of the various church schools. Praise was heaped upon her for her diligence and ability to persuade others to help the cause. She is a good example of the young women who came of age in the early 1900s and began to carve out  their own place in public affairs. She served in committees where she 

might have been the only female presence at every meeting. Even serving as an secretary for a charitable cause, and giving speeches to committees or writing reports and letters in that capacity for the local newspapers was still an unusual thing for a woman to do at that time, especially one who was not an aristocrat. It is interesting to see that Lucy often styled herself in official letters as the simple and authoritative (because masculine style) "L.A Winters", not the more expected Miss Lucy Winters" or "Miss L.A Winters".

If you attended Holy Trinity School in Wethered Road, or your children do so now, then one of the reasons that is possible was the fundraising efforts of Lucy Winters to get the school built.

For an example of an active woman Lucy had her own mother who was president of the Provident Nursing Club in Marlow. A post about this club which mentions Selina's involvement is already on the blog here.

Late in 1906 it was announced that Stephen Winters was to take over as vicar of the nearby village of Medmenham early the next year. He and his wife left Marlow after receiving a testimonial from parishioners. Mrs Winters received two silver candlesticks as a farewell gift from the senior girls of the National School.

Selina continued to live at Dial House until her death on February 15th 1913. In her will she left over £27,000 to good causes and her children who acted as her executors. In lieu of flowers for the funeral they asked friends and family to contribute to the funds being raised for the Marlow church schools.

Lucy appears to have remained at Dial House for at least a period of time before moving in with her brother Stephen. In 1918 their older brother Lawrence died of pneumonia that had developed out of flu contracted while he was serving as a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps in France.

Stephen became vicar of Wargrave Berkshire in 1914. He held this position for many years.

*The couple had a reception at the Langham Hotel London and a honeymoon in Paris and Switzerland. Stephen's sister Lucy was bridesmaid at the wedding.

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

All mentions of any individual can be found on the A-Z Person Index.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use my research with credit to this blog.

Sources included:

P.C.C Will of John Amos 1855, National Archives, Kew.

"England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL1R-Q3Z : 22 February 2021), Selina Winter, Wanstead, Essex, England, United Kingdom; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Essex county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

 "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2M2-V1K5 : 3 March 2021), Selina Amos in household of Selina Amos, Hackney, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

Henley Standard 23rd Nov 1906, Berkshire Chronicle 16th Aug 1902, Oxfordshire Weekly News 25th September 1901. British Library Archives via the BNA.

Oxford and Cambridge Yearbook 1904.

England and Wales Census, 1911," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7VP-6LR : 22 July 2019), Mrs Selina Winter, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

London Gazette 25th April 1913.

Universities at War - http://www.universitiesatwar.org.uk/explore/winter-laurence-amos

"England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPLW-QHTR : Wed Dec 13 21:23:23 UTC 2023), Entry for Lewis Miller Wilmot Winter and Selina Winter, 16 Feb 1888.

Early District Nurses in Marlow

Written and researched by Charlotte Day.

In the days before state provision of medical care members of the public only had access to the services of a district nurse if local people could get together and raise money for such services.

In Marlow, the Provident Nursing Club, later called the Provident Nursing Association, was founded in 1908 to provide nursing care at Riley Nursing Home in Chapel Street plus a visiting district nurse and midwifery services. Locals paid a subscription or one off fee for services. The poor could be exempted from payment.

The very first district nurse recruited was Nurse Andrews who was possibly Scottish. She was considered quite a catch as she was a well experienced nurse, such being in high demand and short supply. Nurse Andrews started work in August 1908. By December 1910 (probably some months earlier) she had left her job. No wonder. In her first three months as district nurse for Marlow she had managed an average of 100 visits a week on her bicycle (provided free along with her uniform by her employers). This number did not include several what were described as "casual visits" a week to other patients, presumably to check up on those thought vulnerable to recurrent illness who were visited "just in case".

Nurse Andrews was replaced by Nurse Elizabeth Fanny Manners who was originally from Burghfield in Berkshire and born in 1872. Her father George was a domestic coachman then a cab proprietor and parish councilor for Burghfield. Before becoming a nurse Elizabeth had been a domestic servant in Bournemouth to the Tull Family who had moved there from Berkshire.

In December 1917 the Bucks Herald reported that the committee of the Provident Nursing Association had voted her a £10 bonus for her "invaluable efforts". Her workload may have been even more onerous than that of her predecessor as she was covering patients in both Marlow and Medmenham. The Association tried to recruit a second nurse to help her but found it impossible. As a result the Medmenham patients were passed instead to the nurses of the Hambledon branch of the Association after the end of 1917.

Nurse Manners appears to have lived at Remnantz Lodge (now 81 West Street) when she first arrived in town. This would make sense as this was owned by the Wethered family who were big supporters of the Provident Nursing Club / Association. She later lived with the Peddle family headed by Harry and Edith in Chapel Street. Harry had as a young man working at Turville vicarage suffered a serious accident. He collapsed when working deep down a well because of the presence of poisonous fumes. The man who risked his own life to rescue him from the well received a Royal Humane Society medal. Thanks to the quick efforts of doctors Harry was able to go home the next day. His survival was considered a miracle. If anyone appreciated the value of having medical provision readily available, it was the Peddle family.

Elizabeth Manners was still the only district nurse in Marlow in 1919 and probably in 1921 too. She had returned to her native Burghfield by 1939 and died in Oxfordshire in 1946.

Post by Charlotte, additional research by Kathryn.

Related Posts:

Kathryn's post about the setting up of the Provident Nursing Association in general here.

My biography of Marlow midwife Sarah Price here

Biography post on Matron Cole of the Cottage Hospital here

Nurse Mary Ann Cassidy biography post here

 

Don't Mess With Matron Part 1

 This is a follow on post to one about the founding of Marlow's first cottage hospital in Cambridge Rd and the organisations that came before it to care for the sick. I recommend you read that first - you can find it here   and a detailed entry about long standing Matron  - Nurse Mary Anne Cole here. Nurse Cassidy was the first Matron in charge of Marlow, but she was succeeded by Cole in 1890. 

This one focuses on life at the Cambridge Road hospital. Part two deals with the trouble surrounding the move to the Glade Road site later. 

Shaking tins, raising funds. 

The Cambridge Road hospital was opened in August 1889 in a converted house and former pub. It was ready just a few months after the decision was made to go ahead with the Cottage Hospital. It would be paid for by subscribers, fund raising and by charging those patients who could afford it a portion of the cost of their treatment and care. Those who could pay nothing were still treated. Given the speed the hospital was opened, and the fact it wasn't a purpose built building, it's no surprise structural alterations and improvements became necessary over time. This was not cheap or taken lightly as work usually involved closing the entire building to patients - for example for 3 months in 1894! So fundraising was continuous. All kinds of occasional events were held in aid of the hospital from musical evenings to "rummage sales" in the Music Room (contemporary description, jumble sales in other words). A number of showman attending Marlow Fair also donated the takings from certain performances or evening shows to the hospital - more on this in the Marlow Fair posts. 

Collection boxes were dotted across town, at big employers and at pubs including the Bucks Chair Factory, Greyhound Inn, the Crown Hotel and the Duke of Cambridge. Regular collections also took place at the Lock until 1908 as the number of charity collectors there was regarded to be becoming a nuisance and the hospital wanted to distance itself from that. 

Donations were very frequently given in kind too. Sometimes Sister Cole put out requests for paticular items she needed. Donations of food and old linen were always welcomed. For a while from 1908 onwards "Pound Days" were held which encouraged everyone to give a pound in weight of food such as butter, cheese or jam, or a pound in money if you could stretch that far. Initially this did well and resulted in a well stocked pantry but it gradually fizzled out.

Rev Light came up with idea of a Hospital Sunday including a parade to raise funds and this was a big feature of Edwardian Marlow. (Initiated 1904) Collections were made in the churches and chapels, and the towns Friendly Societies and Slate Clubs took part in the parade. The Fire Brigade and Salvation Army were amongst those making street collections on the day on behalf of the hospital committee. The parade formed at Star Meadow off Wycombe Road, and went along Chapel Street, Spittal Street, Dean Street, Queens Road, Quoiting Square, West Street, High Street, Institute Road, Claremont Road, Beaumont Rise, Glade Road, and Station Road to All Saints. 

The most generous donors of all

 The donations of food often came from the kitchen gardens of the larger houses in town. But as it was put in 1904, the arrival of donated groceries given by the very poor was "most gratifying and touching." It was also noted that the patients themselves and their friends were despite their poverty responsible for all the donations put in the collection box at the hospital itself. (£2 4s and 8d in 1904.)

Special collection boxes were made for children, available  from the hospital itself. 13 children, all from working class families and mostly relatives of those who had been treated there, collected these and returned them full of ill afforded coins. 

The Matron exhausts all comers

A special pull for subscribers was made at the time of the 1897 Jubilee, as a way to mark the event. Unfortunately most committed to subscribing for 3-5 years only, and when that time expired, most did not sign up again. The initial increase in funds had paid for a probationer to share the load of Sister Cole but she did not last, a frequent problem. The probationer that followed her in 1904 lasted only 4 months. It was suggested the volume of work and long hours needed, outside contracted ones did not help. Cole, and Matron Cassidy before her, were relentless workers, and probably were demanding of their staff to keep up. While the subscribers committee were constant in their praise of the matrons incredible dedication, they were not so good at expressing their gratitude in ways that lightened their workload. 

Nurse Cole was given a fully trained nurse as assistant for a brief while, before the committee decided they were not justified in paying for this. This is despite saying few outsiders realised "the strain, mental and physical involved in such close attention to duty with rare opportunities for relaxation." ( The committee did usually vote for a payment of a £10 annual bonus to Cole in acknowledgement of her work.)

Instead they suggested hiring the cheaper probationers but we know how that worked out. After loosing the two probationers, Cole decided to employ an untrained assistant instead, to work only under her direct supervision. This lady also lasted 4 months and several months later the post had not been filled. It was said the small size of Marlow hospital put off some probationers from coming as they prefered to finish their training in a larger place with more facilities. 

It was suggested that more fundraising should be encouraged in areas outside of Marlow such as Wooburn, Turville and Lane End, as they were providing a third of patients in 1902/3. 

A Provident Nursing Club association was set up by others in 1908. This aimed to provide home nursing to the poor and "aged". The matron at the Cottage Hospital also did home visits, but there was a huge demand. The PNC nurse was Nurse Andrews and in the first eight months she had made 546 casual and 2,240 medical visits to 101 patients.  The Cottage Hospital matron had visited 125 patients at home, completing 1,300 visits and attending to hundreds of outpatient who came to the hospital to have wounds attended to and dressings changed. Free beef tea, meat jellies (considered nourishing and easy to digest) and other foods were provided free to outpatients.  The establishment of the PNC caused some tension as it coincided with a substantial  drop in the number of subscribers to the hospital. It was suggested hospital donors had switched to supporting the PNC. The latter under their president Selina Winters wrote to the hospital subscribers expressing their sorrow at the hospital's loss of funds but affirming they wished to compliment the hospital work not compete with them. They offered to write to any lost hospital subscribers and explain but the hospital did not take up the offer. 

In 1906 it was finally decided to recruit another fully trained nurse to assist Nurse Cole. An outbreak of scarlet fever had affected hospital life severely as it was necessary to close the wards to new patients for 2 months. All the patients were children and it had been necessary to destroy the books and toys at the hospital for infection control purposes. (Nurse Cole may have a fearsome reputation but she had bought many of the toys out of her own funds. She organised Christmas treats and specifically said she would welcome "young visitors who will interest themselves in the little patients", outside of infectious disease outbreaks naturally. ) Nurse McKenzie lasted longer than 4 months but was gone by 1908. 

Never ending need for funds..

The staff and subscribers committee didn't just have the everyday running costs and improvements to make. They initially rented the hospital building, eventually managing to raise enough to purchase it in the hope of saving money long term. The building was finally conveyed in a deed of trust to the hospital in March 1894, with an endowment for its maintenance following the next year, courtesy of Owen Peel Wethered. There was also the cost of the annual fee paid to Reading Hospital (Royal Berks) for the loan of the matron and other nursing staff when they were employed. This was standard practice and on top of the wages paid directly to the women. 

Part two deals with problems at the hospital, a medical staff rebellion and the move to Glade Road. 

Above, the grave in Marlow Cottage Hospital of Mary Cole, Matron at Marlow Cottage Hospital for 25 years. It reads that she was "a friend to the poor". No truer words can be said. 

Other related posts:

Biography of hospital doctor Dr John Dunbar Dickson here

See the general history index for other medical related content. 

©Marlow Ancestors