Volunteer blog – ‘A Man of Many Parts: The Family Man’

In this last blog of the current series Joanna links up the different parts of Winter’s family:

I think it is probably known that Mr Winter married three times. First to Sarah Ball the widow of Emanuel Nicolas Charles who opened the first studio; secondly to Emily Pakeman a sadly short marriage which had lasted barely a year when she died of TB. His third marriage was to Hannah Ruddle by whom he had three children. This marriage lasted 35 years ending with Walter’s death in 1924, Hannah passing away six years later. I intend to leave this part of the story for another time and refer in this piece to the Winter family into which Walter was born.

Walter is descended from an East Anglian family which lived in the area around the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Walter’s grandfather John was an artist in stained glass. He had twelve children and among these and their children there were artists and photographers. Walter’s father Cornelius Jansen Walter Winter was his fourth child. Cornelius was an artist and photographer and Walter worked alongside   him before moving to Derby in 1862. Walter’s mother was Anna Shipston the daughter of a local butcher. Walter was the eldest of the four boys and two girls. Sadly Neville died aged one and Anna passed away shortly after the birth of Ellen.

From family letters we learn of the close relationship with his father throughout his life. The pair sent work to each other to be sold or finished when Walter was established in Derby. Cornelius exhibited at the fine art exhibitions held at Walter’s studio between 1884 and 1890. Walter travelled to Norwich to be at his father’s side when he died. Walter also sent money to him, his brother Holmes and sister Ellen known as Nellie. Walter’s brother Arthur and sister Elizabeth died as young adults. We also know that Holmes and possibly Cornelius and Nellie visited Derby. It was to Nellie that Walter wrote about his intention to ask Hannah Ruddle to marry him and asking her (Nellie’s) opinion! Walter sent Nellie’s daughter Coralie gifts of an almanac and a quarterly diary. One of his prize winning portraits was ‘Coralie’. Unfortunately this has not yet been traced. Holmes also wrote regularly with family news and presumably Walter reciprocated sending him frames to help him with his artistic career. Later, letters written just before Walter’s departure to Canada relate the problems that he (Walter) was experiencing.

One of Walter’s aunts married a photographer in London and their son Arthur was a well-known photographer in Preston. Other aunts, uncles and cousins also found their way to London and it is wondered whether Walter spent time in London with them before settling in Derby. Certainly Hannah Ruddle was born in London and we surmise that the two met there.

This will be the last blog for a while. Hoping all readers have had a better summer than we thought we may have. Keep safe and I will resume our news at a later date.

A Surprise Visit!

We had a fabulous Heritage Open Days weekend – it is such a pleasure introducing people to the history of Winters, and learning about your own experiences of having photographs taken in the studio. This year though, we had the most brilliant surprise – a visit from a great-grandchild of W W Winter himself! Sam popped over from the other side of the world and spent a few days here with us at the studio. He was kind enough to send us the following tribute after his departure…

The Magic of Winters

There are times in the journey of life when it seems that we are on a river that flows gently and sweetly through a land of forest and undulating grasslands. But rivers, as does life, have times of chaos, danger, heartache and pain before the current sweeps through into areas of peace, areas of rest – sections of a river where we can ease onto a grassy bank and recover and reflect on the journey that we have just undertaken. Some of those places have a certain magic about them. A peace that soothes the wounds of life and gives glimpses of a heritage that is both greater than you, and yet is you.

My past nine months have been filled with heartache, unfulfilled hopes and deep loss. On impulse, I directed myself from Australia to W.W. Winters Ltd in Derby. A place, I hoped, would help me find peace and purpose in my life; because for me, Winters Ltd was not only a journey into my past, but thanks to the beautiful people that make up Winters Ltd today, an anchor for my future.

There is a magic to Winters, and I cannot say for sure that it is sourced from the people who are Winters now, or whether it is the amazing building itself which is filled with history, lost rooms and unexplained and non-aligned joining’s and filled in archways. Or, perhaps, it lies in the 152 years of images that line the rooms and corridors and speak of a time long past yet also of today.

I have no sense of loss whatsoever from my great-grandfather W.W. Winter selling the business in 1910 to Messer’s Shepherd and King. Rather I am filled with appreciation for the current owners and staff both for their skill in photography and running the business, and for their passion in realising W.W. Winters as an integral part of not just Derby’s, but England’s history.

There is a magic to Winter’s – and I am blessed because of it.

Thank you.

Sam