WGB married Mary Morley in Newark on 31 August 1871, at the age of 33. He joined James Barratt (his cousin, rather than his great-uncle?) in a coal business after James retired, but this proved a flop.
It is difficult to work out his constant moves. He must have been living in Newark in 1875 as my aunt Florence (Florrie) was born there on 20 January, at 1, Friary Place.
For a period until about 1881, he lived at Southwell, in part of what had been the bishop's house. We (or I) assumed that this indicated affluence — Cousin Hilda quoted her mother, Aunt Florrie, Dads sister:
Grandfather bought half of a Bishop's house and she said her happiest memories are of that place. The house had glorious gardens, pagodas and steps, spacious rooms, etc
However, Auntie Florrie was, like Dad, prone to exaggeration. It is possible that WGB was working there as a domestic servant or gardener, with accommodation supplied. But it is now uncertain exactly which part of the Southwell Minister precincts he lived in. White's Directory of Nottinghamshire for 1864 has this description:
The Archbishop's Palace, on the south side of the Minster Yard, has long been in ruins, but still there is enough standing to show its magnificence and extent. In the ruined walls are still many pointed gables, gothic windows, and circular chimneys, of the age of Henry VIII; and being deeply overshadowed with ivy, they add much to the beauty of Southwell. The north wing, which contained the Chapel and Great Hall, has been preserved from the ravages of time, though much modernized in its appearance. The quadrangle, once surrounded by the offices, is now a garden, encompassed by the crumbling walls of this once proud Archiepiscopal seat, which appears to have been first neglected in the reign of Elizabeth, for that at Scooby.
Nottinghamshire County Council's website refers to the Bishop's Manor. The webmaster of the new Southwell Minster website informed me that there was never a 'manor'. He mentioned that part of the restored building was used for other purposes but doubts that it was used as a family residence. Another one of the tantalizing little puzzles one meets when researching ancestors!