I've managed to trace my family to the late 1700's where this particular branch had William Till (17??-18??) who was definitely a labourer in 1819, by 1846 he had become a shopkeeper. His son, William Till (1819-18??), was a beerseller, then by 1846 he was a capenter, in 1881 census his occupation is builder. The next generation (1848-1???) was a carpenter. And my great grandfather (1876-1936) was a wood joiner.

They all lived in St. John's Wood, Middlesex. Was being a builder/carpenter a good profession in those days? Would it lead to a comfortable middle class lifestyle which my grandmother describers her father having had?

What about a shopkeeper and beerseller? Were they profitable and lead a good lifestyle? And I wonder how William Till went from a labourer to a shopkeeper. A labourer would be at the bottom of the social ladder I imagine and a shopkeeper considerably higher.