The class structure was rigid.
Unknown Author/Wikimedia Commons
Unknown Author/Wikimedia Commons
While class divisions had always existed in England, they became even more pronounced in the Victorian age. The rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and the middle class flourished.
Perhaps in part to the growth of the middle class, the upper class became even more protective of their status. Of course, there was little chance for upward mobility for anyone who was part of the working class.