|
Name |
What they Did |
| A | TOP |
|
*ACATER |
supplied food provisions, e.g. a ships chandler |
|
*ACCIPITRARY |
falconer |
|
Accomptant |
Accountant |
|
*ACCOUCHEUR/ACCOUCHEUS |
assisted women in childbirth |
|
*ACCOUTREMENT MAKER/ACCOUTRE |
supplier of military accessories |
|
*ACKERMAN/ACREMAN |
ploughman, an oxherder |
|
*ACTUARY |
kept public accounts of business |
|
*ADMINISTRATOR |
directed the affairs of another |
|
*ADVERTISEMENT CONVEYANCER |
sandwich board man |
|
*ADVOCATE DEPUTE |
Scottish law officer who could act a public prosecutor |
|
*ADVOWEE |
normally a nobleman, who had the right to present a clergyman to a benefice |
|
*AERONAUT |
balloonist or a trapeze artist in the circus or music halls |
|
*AFFEEROR |
official in the manorial courts who assessed the monetary penalty and also collected
taxes and dues and were also called Assessor |
| **AGENT | a person who acted on behalf of a company or another person |
|
*AGISTER |
official of the Royal Forests or in the New Forest it is the title for the one in charge
of the ponies |
| **AGRICULTURIST | a person involved with land cultivation or animal husbandry |
|
*ALABASTERER |
worked with alabaster |
|
*ALBLASTERE |
crossbow man |
|
*ALCHEMIST |
medieval chemist who claimed to be able to turn base metals into gold |
|
*ALDERMAN |
senior councillor one position down from Mayor in the local council |
|
*ALE-CONNER/ ALE FOUNDER |
official who tested quality and measure of ale served in public houses |
|
*ALE DRAPER |
seller of ale |
|
*ALE TASTER |
tested ale and beer for quality first recored in 1377 in London. Appointed by the Manor
and forerunner of the Inspector for Weights & Measures |
|
*ALE TUNNER |
employed by the brewery to fill ale casks (tuns} with ale |
|
*ALEWIFE |
woman who keeps an alehouse or tavern |
|
*ALL SPICE |
name for a grocer |
|
*ALMANAC MAN |
official appointed by the Court of Sewers who warned the inhabitants of the Trent River
area of higher than normal tides |
|
Almoner |
an officer who distributed charity or alms; by ancient law every monastery was to disperse
a tenth of its income in alms to the poor, and all bishops were obliged to keep an almoner
|
|
*ALMSMAN |
received alms |
| ALNAGER | official who examined the quality of woolen goods and stamped them with the town seal of approval |
|
Amanuensis(1) |
Secretary or stenographer |
| **AMANUENSIS(2) | one who is employed to take dictation or to copy manuscript |
| *AMBER CUTTER | cut ambergris |
| *AMBER & JET CUTTER | cut and polished amber for jewelry |
| *AMBLER | officer of the Royal Stable who broke in horses |
| *AMEN MAN | parish clerk |
| *ANCHOR SMITH | made anchors |
| *ANCHORESS | female hermit or religious recluse |
| *ANCHORITE | male hermit or religious recluse |
| *ANILEPMAN | smallholder (tenant of the manor) |
| *ANGLE IRON SMITH | made angle iron ie. flat iron bars bent at right angles lengthways |
| *ANKLE BEATER | young person who helped to drive the cattle to market |
| *ANNATTO MAKER | worked in the manufacture of dyes for paint or printing |
| *ANTIGROPELOS MAKER | made waterproof leggings |
| *ANVIL SMITH | made anvils and hammers for blacksmiths |
| *APIARIAN | beekeeper |
| *APOTHECARY | prepared and sold medicines or drugs; pharmacist |
| *APPARITOR | official who summoned witnesses in the ecclesiastical courts |
| *APPRENTICE | was bound to a skilled worker for a specified time to learn a trade |
| *APRONEER | term used in London for a shopkeeper |
| *APRONMAN | mechanic |
| *AQUARIUS (EWAR) | waterman |
| *AQUAVITA SELLER | sold alcohol |
| **ARBITER | a witness or judge |
| **ARCHER | a person skilled in using a bow and arrow |
| *ARCHIATOR | physician |
| *ARCHIL MAKER | made a violet dye from lichens, used in the textile industry |
| **ARCHIVIST | one who kept historical records |
| **ARGOLET | a mounted bowman |
| *ARKWRIGHT | skilled craftsman who produced "arks" (wooden chests or coffers) |
| *ARMIGER | squire who carried the armour of a knight |
| *ARMOURER | made suits of armour or plates of armour for buildings or ships etc. |
| **ARPENTEUR | a land-surveyor |
| *ARTIFICER(1) | highly respected skilled or artistic worker or craftsman or one that makes or contrives |
|
Artificer(2) |
A soldier mechanic who does repairs |
| **ARTIFICER(3) | a blacksmith; one who made fuses, grenades, shells, etc. |
| **ARTISAN | a skilled tradesman |
| *ASHMAN | dustman |
| *ASSAYER | determined the proportions of metal in ore |
| *ASSAY MASTER | determined the amount of gold or silver to go in coins |
| *AUGER MAKER | made the carpenters augers (used for boring holes in wood) |
| *AULNAGER | see Alnager |
| *AURIFABER | goldsmith |
| *AVENATOR (PLANTIFENE) | hay and forage merchant |
| *AVOWRY | term for the lord of the manor |
| *AXEL TREE MAKER / AXEL TREE TURNER | made axels for coaches and wagons |
| B | TOP |
| *BACKMAKER | made "backs", vats, tubs, a Cooper |
| *BACKMANN / BACKSTER / BAXTER / BECK / BECKER | baker |
| *BACK'US BOY | kitchen servant (from "back of the house") |
| *BACK WASHER | employed to clean the wool in the worsted manufacturing industry |
| *BADGER | licensed pauper who wore a badge with the letter P on it and could only work in a defined area (the term "Badgering comes from this"). A corn miller or dealer or an itinerant food trader |
| *BADGY FIDDLER | boy trumpeter in the military |
| *BAGMAN | travelling salesman |
| *BAGNIOKEEPER | In charge of a bath house or brothel |
|
Bailie |
Bailiff |
| **BAILIFF | [1] a court attendant entrusted with duties such as the maintenance of order in a courtroom during a trial; [2] an official who assisted a British sheriff and who had the power to execute writs, processes, and arrests; [3] (chiefly British) an overseer of an estate; a steward |
| *BAIRMAN / BAREMAN | pauper or beggar |
| *BALER | bales hay and in the mills one who bailed wool or cotton goods |
| *BALISTER | archer most commonly a crossbowman |
| **BALLAD MONGER | one who sold printed ballads on the street |
| **BALLAST HEAVER | a person who loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| *BALLAST HEAVER | loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| *BALLARD MASTER | in charge of loading the ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| *BALLER / BALLER UP | assisted the potter by measuring out the balls of clay |
| *BAL MAIDEN | female mine worker who worked on the surface (also a Pit Brow Lass) |
| *BAND FILER | metal worker in the gun making industry |
| *BANDSTER | bound the wheat sheaves after harvest |
| *BANG BEGGAR | officer of the parish who controlled the length of stay of any stranger to the parish |
| *BANKER | dug trenches and ditches to allow drainage of the land, placing the surplus earth in banks around the edge |
| *BANKSMAN | employed in the mining industry being in charge of the cages at the pit head (sometimes known as a bank manager) |
| **BANQUETER | a broker or banker |
| *BARBER / BARBER SURGEON | a barber also also a surgeon (an Act was passed that limited Barbers to hair-cutting, shaving, dentistry and blood letting in the 18th century) |
| *BARD | poet or minstral |
| *BAREMAN | beggar or pauper |
| *BARGEE / BARGEMAN | worked on or owned and operated a barge |
| *BARGE MATE | Naval officer |
| *BARILLA MANUFACTURER | made barilla, a substance obtained from burning saltworts, the resulting mixture of sodium salts being used in the glass and ceramics industry |
| *BARKEEPER | another name for a tollkeeper |
| *BARKER | tanner |
| **BARKMAN | a bargeman |
| *BAUER | farmer |
| **BARM BREWER | a person who made yeast |
| **BARREL FILER | a person employed in the gun manufacturing industry |
| **BARTONER / BARTON | a person in charge of the monastic farm |
| **BASIL WORKER | a person who worked with sheep and goat skins |
| **BASKETMAN | person who made baskets and furniture from wicker; one employed to empty the basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the barges |
| **BATMAN | an officer's servant in the army |
| **BATTLEDORE MAKER | one who made the beaters used on clothes, carpets, etc. to remove the dust |
| **BAWD | a procurer or procuress for a house of prostitution |
|
Baxter |
Baker |
| *BARTONER | in charge of the monastic farm, also known as a barton |
| *BASIL WORKER | worked with sheep and goat skins |
| *BASKETMAN | made baskets and furniture from wicker, and also employed to empty the basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the barges |
| *BASS / BAST DRESSER | employed in dressing fibre or matting |
| *BATHING MACHINE PROPRIETOR | owned and hired the changing huts used at the seaside in the by bathers |
| *BATMAN | officers servant in the army |
| *BATT MAKER | made the wadding used in quilt and mattress making |
| *BATTER OUT | sliced a short cylinder of clay (a bat) from a "pug" and threw it onto a mold shaped for the face of a ceramic plate |
| *BATTLEDORE MAKER | made the beaters used on clothes carpets etc to remove the dust (later made the paddles used in washing machines) |
| *BAYWEAVER | who wove bay (a fine woollen fabric also known as baize) |
| *BEADLE / BEDEL / BEDELL | officer of the parish whose principle duty was to keep order, also was the town crier |
| *BEADMAN / BEADSMAN / BEDESMAN | employed to pray for his employer, inhabitant of an almshouse / poorhouse / hospital or tenant employed by the manor for a specific service |
| *BEAD PIERCER | employed to drill the holes in beads |
| *BEAMER | winds the warp on the roller before putting it on the loom in the textile industry |
| **BEAMSTER | the man who worked at the beam in a tannery |
| *BEARER | worked undergrpound carrying the coal to the bottom of the pit shaft and placed it in the containers for uplifting to the surface |
| *BEATER | cleansed and thickened the cloth by treading it underwater with fullers earth (aka Fuller) |
| *BEAVER | made felt used in hat making |
| **BEDDER | [1] an upholsterer;
[2] one who took care of the breeding of cattle;
[3] a bed-maker |
| *BEDMAN | sexton |
| *BEDRAL | in Scotland a minor church official |
| *BEDWEVERE | made the webbing for bed frames and also a one who wove quilts |
| *BEESKEPMAKER | made beehives |
| **BEEKEEPER / BEEMASTER | a person who raised and kept bees for their honey |
| *BEETLER | operated a beetling machine, used in the textile trade for embossing fabric |
| *BELHOSTE | tavern keeper. |
| *BELLEYETERE | bellfounder |
| *BELLFOUNDER / BELTER / BILLITER | made bells |
| *BELL HANGER | installed bells in churches |
| *BELLMAN | employed as a watchman or town crier or who worked for the post office and collected letters for the mail coach by walking the streets and ringing a bell |
| **BELL RINGER | one in charge of ringing the town's church bells |
| *BELLOWFARMER | responsible for the care and maintenance of the church organ |
| *BELLOWS MAKER | made bellows used for organs or blacksmiths fires |
| *BELLY BUILDER | built and fitted the interiors of pianos |
| *BENDER | cut leather |
| **BERNER | [obsolete] a man in charge of a pack of hounds |
| *BESSWARDEN | appointed by the parish to look after its animals |
| *BESOM MAKER | made brooms |
| *BEVER | beverage maker |
| **BIBLIOTHECARY | a librarian |
| *BIDDY | female servant usually of Irish stock |
| **BID-STAND | [obsolete] one who bade travelers to "stand and deliver"; a highwayman or robber |
| *BILLIER / BILLYMAN | operated a Billy Roller, a machine used in the cotton industry to prepare the cotton for spinning |
| *BILL POSTER | put up notices, signs and advertisements |
| *BINDER | bound items, e.g., books, hats etc. |
| *BIRD BOY | employed to scare away birds from crops |
| *BIRD CATCHER | caught birds for selling |
| *BIRDS NEST SELLER | sold bird nests collected from the wild complete with eggs which were then hatched by domestic birds and sold as pets |
| *BIRLYMAN | in Scotland a ground officer or parish arbiter |
| *BLACK TRAY MAKER | made Japanned trays |
| *BLACKING MAKER | made polish for shoes |
| *BLACK BORDERER | made black edged stationery for funerals |
| *BLADESMITH | swordmaker or knife maker |
| *BLAXTER / BLEACHER | bleached cloth or paper pulp |
| *BLEMMERE | plumber |
| *BLENTONIST | water diviner |
| *BLINDSMAN | employed by the Post Office to deal with incorrectly addressed letters and parcels |
| *BLOCKCUTTER / BLOCKER | made wooden blocks used in the hat trade or laid down the blocks on which a ships keel was laid; a blockcutter was also a person who made and cut the patterns into wooden blocks for textile printing |
| *BLOCK MAKER | engraved the blocks used in the printin |
| *BLOCK PRINTER | printer who used wooden blocks for printing |
| *BLOODMAN / BLOODLETTER | used leeches for letting blood, this was thought to be a cure for many ailments |
| *BLOOMER | produced iron from ore, a bloom smithy |
| *BLOWER | glass blower, one who operated a "blowing machine" used to clean and separate fibres in the textile trade, one who operated the bellows at a blacksmiths |
| *BLOWFEEDER | fed the fibres into a "blowing machine" |
|
Bluestocking |
Female writer |
| *BLUFFER | innkeeper or landlord of a pub |
| *BOARDING OFFICER | inspected ships before entering port |
| *BOARDMAN | truant officer who checked school attendance. a tenant of manorial land who paid rent by maintaining the manor's table |
| *BOARDWRIGHT | made tables and chairs aka carpenter |
| *BOATMAN | worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals also the name given to a boat repairer |
| *BOATSWAIN | ship's officer in charge of riggings & sails |
| *BOBBER | who polished metals one who helped to unload fishing boats |
| *BOBBIN CARRIER | worked in spinning and weaving sections of the mills |
| *BOBBIN TURNER | made the bobbins used in the spinning and weaving industry |
| *BOBBY | policeman usually of constable rank |
| **BOCHER | [obsolete] butcher |
| *BODEYS / BODY MAKER | made bodices for womens garments |
| *BODGER | craftsman who made wooden chair legs and the spars and usually worked in the actual woodland that they cut the timber in |
| *BOILERMAKER | worked with metal in any industrial setting |
| *BOILER PLATER | made rolled iron plate used to make boilers for steam engines etc |
| *BOLL | looked after power looms in the weaving industry |
| *BOLTER | sifted meal |
| *BONDAGER | female worker on a farm who was bonded |
| *BONDMAN | bonded to a master for the purpose of learning a skill or trade |
| *BONDSMAN | stood bond or surety for another where a bond was required by law |
| *BONE BUTTON TURNER | made buttons using a lathe |
| *BONE LACE MAKER | made pillow lace |
| *BONE MOULD TURNER | made the moulds for button manufacturers |
| *BONE PICKER | collected rags and bones aka Rag and Bone Man |
| *BONESETTER | set broken bones |
|
Boniface |
Inn Keeper |
| *BONIFACE | keeper of an inn |
| *BOOK GILDER | decorated books with gold leaf |
| *BOOKHOLDER | prompter in the theater |
| *BOOK KEEPER | looked after the accounts for businesses |
| *BOOKMAN | student |
| *BOONMASTER | surveyor of roads with the responsibilities of maintaining and repairing the road |
| *BOOTBINDER | employed to operate the machines which bound footware |
| *BOOT CATCHER | servant at inn who pulled off traveler's boots |
| *BOOT CLOSER | worked in the shoe trade stitching together all the parts of a shoe upper |
| *BOOTHMAN | corn merchant |
| *BORLER | who made cheap coarse clothing |
| *BORSHOLDER | regional name (Kent) for a constable |
| *BOTCHER | tailor or cobbler |
| *BOTTILER / BOTTLER | made leather containers for holding liquids eg wine flasks or water bottles |
| *BOTTLE BOY | pharmacists assistant |
| *BOTTOM MAKER | moulded the bottoms for saggers in the pottery industry |
| *BOTTOM KNOCKER | sagger makers assistant in the pottery industry |
| *BOTTOMER | worked down the pits moving the ore etc to the bottom of the shaft for removal |
| *BOWDLER | worked with iron ore |
| *BOWKER | bleached yarn. A local term in some parts of Lancashire for a butcher |
| *BOWLER | made bowls and dishes and also a term used for those who made the rounded part of spoons before casting |
| *BOWLMAN / BOWLWOMAN | dealer in crockery |
| *BOWLMINDER | in charge of the vats used for washing raw wool before processing |
| *BOWYER / BOWER | made bows used in archery |
| *BOZZLER | parish constable |
| *BRABENER | weaver |
| *BRACHYGRAPHER | shorthand writer |
| *BRAIDER | made cord by twisting threads or strips of leather |
| *BRAILLER | made girdles |
| *BRAKEMAN / BRAKESMAN | operated the winch at the pit head or operated the braking mechanism on trains and trams |
| *BRASILER | dyer |
| **BRASS FINISHER | one who polished brass goods |
| **BRASS CUTTER | a person who made copperplate engravings |
| **BRASS FOUNDER | one who cast brass |
| **BRAYER | a person who ground things up in a mortar |
|
Brazier |
One who works with brass |
| **BREACH MAKER | a person who made the breach for guns |
|
Brewster |
Beer manufacturer |
| **BREWSTER | a female brewer |
| **BRICKBURNER / BRICKMAKER | a person who used a kiln to make bricks |
| **BRICKMAN / BREAKMAN | a bricklayer |
| **BRIDEWELL KEEPER | the person in charge of a lock-up or jail |
| **BRIDGEMAN | toll keeper at bridges |
|
Brightsmith |
Metal Worker |
| **BRIGHTSMITH | tinsmith |
| **BROADCLOTH WEAVER | a person who operated a wide loom |
| **BROAD COOPER | a person employed as a go-between for the brewery and the innkeepers |
| **BROGGER | a wool merchant |
| *BROOM-DASHER | dealer in brooms |
| *BROOM SQUIRE | broom maker |
| *BROTHERER / BROWDERER / BRODERER / BROIDERER | embroiderer |
| *BROW GIRL | female employed at the pit head |
| *BROWNSMITH | works with copper or brass |
| *BUCKLER / BUCKLESMITH | made buckles |
| *BUCKLE TONGUE MAKER | made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt |
| *BUCKRAM MAKER | worked with buckram (used in stiffening materials) e.g. belts, lapels and collars |
| *BUCK WASHER | laundress |
| *BUDDLEBOY | employed to use and maintain the vats used in the lead and tin mines for washing the ore |
| *BUDDLER | women and children who washed the ore at the copper mines in Allihies, Berehaven |
| *BUFFALO SOLDIER | soldier serving in a black regiment in the US Army in the West |
| *BULLWHACKER | oxen driver |
| *BULLOCKY | attended to the daily needs of cattle and may also have lent a hand with general farm duties, especially during busy periods |
| *BUMBOAT MAN | met ships at anchor with goods for passengers and crew to purchase |
| *BUMMER | army deserter |
| *BUMMAREE | middle man between the wholesaler and the retailer at the fish markets |
| *BUNTER | female rag & bone collector |
| *BURGESS | represented a borough at official levels |
| *BURELER | made borel, a woollen cloth with a coarse feel |
|
Burgonmaster |
Mayor |
| *BURLER | quality inspector for clothing |
| *BURMAIDEN | chambermaid or lady-in-waiting |
| *BURNEMAN | carrier of barm or water for brewers |
| *BURYE MAN | grave digger |
| *BUSHEL MAKER | cooper |
| *BUSHELER | tailor's helper |
| *BUSS MAKER | maker of guns |
| *BUSKER | hair dresser |
| *BUTNER | button maker |
| *BUTTER CARVER | made imprints in butter pats |
| *BUTTON BURNISHER | button polisher |
| *BUTTY | negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labor |
| C | TOP |
| **CABBIE | driver of a small horse drawn passenger vehicle |
| **CAD | a person employed to feed and water horses at coach stops |
| *CADDY BUTCHER | butcher that dealt in horse meat |
| *CADDIE | messenger or errand boy |
| *CADGER | beggar |
| *CAFENDER | carpenter |
| *CAFFLER | rag and bone collector |
| *CAINER | made walking sticks |
| *CAIRD | another term for a tinker |
| *CALCINER | burnt bones to make powdered lime |
| *CALENDER | listed documents |
| *CALENDERER / CALENDERMAN / CALENDER WORKER | operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender) used to press and finish fabrics or paper |
| *CALICO PRINTER | dyed and colored calico |
| **CALKER | an astrologer or magician |
| **CAMBIST | a banker or one who dealt in notes and bills |
| *CAMBRIC MAKER | made a fine linen or cotton fabric called cambric |
| *CAMISTER | minister of the cloth |
| *CAMBIST | banker |
| *CAMERIST | lady's maid |
| *CAMLET MERCHANT | seller of camlet, cloth used to make cloaks & petticoats |
| *CAMPANER | bell maker |
| *CANDLE MAKER / CANDLER | who made and sold candles |
| *CANDY MAN | traveling candy salesman and also slang name for a baliff |
| *CANCELLARIUS | chancellor |
| *CANER / CHAIR BOTTOMER | made the seats for chairs out of woven cane |
| *CANNALLER | canal boat worker |
| *CANTER | religious speaker who uses cant |
| *CANTING CALLER | auctioneer |
| *CANVASER | made canvas |
| *CAPER | cap maker |
| *CAPILLAIRE MAKER | made orange flavored syrup |
| *CAPITALIST | investor |
| *CAPPER / CAP MAKER | made caps usually worn by the working class |
| *CAPTAIN | in charge of a ship or a group of soldiers and also term for an overseer |
| *CARDROOMER | term for anyone who worked in the carding room of the mills |
| *CARDER | cards wool |
| *CARDMAKER | maker of cards or instruments for combing wool |
| *CARMAN / CHARMAN / CARTER / CARRIER | drove a vehicle used to transport goods |
| *CARD NAILER / NAILORA | maintained the teeth (nails) on the carding machine used for preparing wool and cotton for weaving |
| *CARETAKER | takes care of another's property |
| *CARNER | granary keeper |
| *CARNIFEX | butcher |
| *CARPENTARIUS | carpenter |
| *CARRY-IN-BOY | took finished bottled (products) to the tempering oven |
| *CARTER | carries or conveys in or as if in a cart |
| *CART WHEELER | made cart wheels |
| *CARTOGRAPHER | map maker |
| *CARTOMANCER | fortune teller who used cards |
| *CARTWRIGHT | maker of carts & wagons |
| *CASHMARIE | sold fish usually at inland markets |
| *CASTER / CASTORA | made small bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar etc |
| *CASTRATOR | who castrated farm animals aka gelder |
| *CATAGMAN | cottager |
| *CATCHPOLE / CATCHPOLLA | sheriff's assistance or bailiff |
| *CATECHISTA | teacher of religion |
| *CATTLE JOBBER | buys and sells cattle |
|
Caulker |
One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows) or seems to make
them watertight by using tar or oakum |
| *CEILER | puts up the ceilings in buildings |
| *CELLARMAN | looked after the beer, wines and spirits in public houses or the warehouse |
| *CEMMER | hand combed the yarn before weaving |
| **CHAFF CUTTER | made chaff by cutting straw |
| **CHAFFERER | dealer in chaff |
| **CHAIR BODGER | traveling chair repairman |
|
Chaisemaker |
Carriage maker |
| **CHAISE MAKER | made carts from wicker |
| **CHAISE MAKER | wicker cart maker |
| **CHALONER | blanket maker |
| *CHALONER | dealer in shalloon, a material made in Ch�lons
|
| **CHAMBERLAIN | a steward to either royalty or nobility, in charge of the household |
| **CHAMBERMAID | a female servant who attended to the bedrooms in a house or inn |
| **CHAMBERMASTER | a shoemaker who worked in his own home |
|
Chandler |
Dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles; retailer of
groceries |
| *CHANTY MAN | sailor that led the singing of shanties on board ship |
| *CHAPELER | made and sold hats |
| *CHAPMAN / COPEMAN / PETTY CHAPMAN / CEAPMAN | dealer or peddler of goods usually itinerant going from village to village. |
| *CHARCOAL BURNER | made charcoal usually in the woods where the trees were cut |
| *CHARTMASTER | middleman that negotiated mining contracts and suppiled the labour |
| *CHARWOMAN | cleaning woman |
| **CHASER | engraver |
| *CHATELAINE | mistress of a castle or house |
| *CHAUNTER | street entertainer who sung ballads |
| *CHEESE FACTOR / CHEESEMAN / CHEESE MONGER | dealer in cheeses |
|
Chiffonnier |
Wig maker |
| *CHILDBED LINEN WAREHOUSE KEEPER / DEALER | hired bedlinen for childbirth as most children were born at home |
| *CHIMNEY SWEEP | chimney cleaner |
| *CHINGLOR | rooftiler who used wooden shingles |
| *CHIP | shipwright or carpenter |
| *CHIPPERS LABOURER | assistant to a shipwright or ships carpenter |
| *CHIROPODIST | treats diseases of the feet & hands |
| *CHIRUGION or CHIRURGEON | apothecary or surgeon (usually learned by apprenticeship) |
| *CHOWDER | fish monger |
| *CHRONOLOGIST | recorded official events of historical importance |
| *CINDER WENCH | female who collected the cinders from gas works and sold them door to door |
| *CLAKER | magician/astrologer |
| *CLAPMAN | town crier |
|
Clark |
Clerk |
| *CLASSMAN | unemployed laborer |
| *CLAVIGER | servant |
| *CLAY CARRIER | assistant to the shot firer in the pits |
| *CLAYMAN / CLEYMAN | worked in the clay pits usually preparing the clay for making bricks and also one who coated the outside of buildings with clay to make them water proof |
| *CLERICUS | clerk |
|
Clerk |
Clergyman, cleric |
|
Clicker |
The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers;
one who received the matter in the galley from the compositors
and arranged it in due form ready for printing; one who makes
eyelet holes in boots using a machine which clicked. |
| *CLICKER | worked in the shoe trade cutting out the uppers made the shoelace holes and one in charge of the final stage of layout before printing in printing industry |
| *CLIPPER / CLIPPER ON / CLIPPER OFF | attached the coal carts to the wire or rope which was used to drag the carts to and from the coal face |
| *CLOD HOPPER | plowman |
| *CLOGGER | maker of wooden shoes |
| *CLOTH LAPPER | took the cloth from the carding machine readied it for the next process |
| *CLOTH LINTER / CLOTH PICKER | removed unwanted threads and lint from the finished material |
| *CLOTHIER / CLOTHESMAN / CLOTHMAN | who made or sold clothes |
| *CLOUTER / CLOWER | made nails also another term for a shoemaker for the former term |
| **CLOWER | a person who made nails |
| *COACHMAN / COACH DRIVER | drove any coach |
| *COAL BACKER | carried the sacks of coal from the coal barge to the coal wagons |
| *COAL BURNER | made charcoal |
| *COAL DRAWER | worked in the mines pushing or dragging the coal carts to the bottom of the pit |
| *COAL HEAVER | unloaded coal |
| *COALMAN / COAL MERCHANT / COAL HIGGLER | sold coal usually from a horse and cart, house to house. |
| *COALMETER | measured the coal |
| *COAL RUNNER | attended the coal carts underground |
| *COAL WHIPPER | unloaded coal from ships using baskets attached to a simple form of crane |
| **COALY | a coal heaver |
| *COAST SURVEYOR / WAITER | customs officer who watched over the ofloading off goods on the coast |
| *COBBLER | shoemaker |
| *COBLEMAN | used a flat bottomed boat for fishing |
| *COCUS | cook |
| **COCKFEEDER | a person who looked after fighting cocks |
| **CODMAN | a fish seller |
| *COD PLACER | put fire proof containers which held the pottery for firing into the kiln |
| **COGMEN | men who bought and sold a coarse cloth called cogware |
|
Cohen |
Priest |
| **COILLOR | [obsolete] a collector |
| *COINER | worked at the mint stamping out coins |
| **COISTSELL | a groom in charge of the care of a knight's horse |
| *COLLAR MAKER | made horse collars and one who made shirt collars |
|
Collier |
Coal miner |
| *COLONUS | Latin for farmer or husbandman |
|
Colporteur |
Peddler of books |
| **COLPORTEUR | an itinerant book salesman, most often one employed by a society to travel about and sell or distribute Bibles and religious writings |
| *COLOURATOR / COLORATORA | worked with dyes |
| *COLOUR MAN | mixed the dyes in the textile trade and also assistant to a house painter |
| *COMBER or COMBERE | combs wool |
| *COMB MAKER | made combs either for the textile industry for combing wool etc. or the maker of hair combs |
| *COMPOSITOR | set the type ready for printing |
| *CONDER / CONNER | gave steering instructions to the steersman and also gave directions to inshore fisherman of fish movements on shoals (usually from the top of cliffs or rocks) |
| *CONEY CATCHER | rabbit catcher |
| *CONFECTIONER | candy maker |
| *CONNER | inspector or tester |
|
Cooper |
One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves & hoops,
such as casks, barrels, tubs, etc. |
| **COPEMAN | [1] a dishonest merchant, especially in horses; [2] a receiver of stolen goods |
| **COPER | a horse dealer |
| *COPEMAN / COPER | dealer in goods and also dishonest dealer in horses in the latter case |
| *COPPERBEATER / COPPERBETER | coppersmith |
| *COPPERSMITH | worked with copper |
| *CORACLE MAKER | made coracles, a small round boat used for fishing |
| **CORDER | a colonial official whose duty was to verify cords of wood before sale |
|
Cordwainer |
Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using leather from Cordova/Cordoba
in Spain |
| *CORDINER / CORDWAINER / CORVINER / CORVISOR | originally term used for one who worked with Cordovan (a special leather from Spain) but later term used for shoemaker |
| **CORK CUTTER | one who worked with cork |
| **CORN CUTTER | a podiatrist |
|
Costermonger |
Peddler of fruits and vegetables |
| *COSTER WIFE | female fruit seller |
| **COTELER / COTYLER | one who made and repaired knives |
| *COTILER | cutler |
| *COUPER | buys & sells |
| *COURANTEER | journalist |
| **COURTIER | the owner and driver of a horse and cart known as a court |
| *COWHERD | cow tender |
| *COWKEEPER | kept one or more cows (a common source of livelihood in cities) when a cow was kept in the back yard of a house, providing milk which was sold at the front door or window, forerunner of the local dairy |
| **COWPER | one who made wooden items |
| *COXWAIN | ship or boat helmsman |
| **CRACKER BOY | a boy employed to clean and sort slate and other impurities from the coal crushed by the crackers (machines that crush anthracite coal) |
| **CRAFTIMAN | a craftsman |
| **CRAMER | a peddler who sold books in the marketplace; a hawker |
| *CRATCH MAKER | made cratches (mangers, cribs, or frames) for hay |
| **CRATE MAN | a person who sold earthenware door to door |
| *CRIER | law court officer, auctioneer, town announcer |
| *CRIMPER | member of navy press gang |
| **CRIMPET MAKER | a person who baked crumpets |
|
Crocker |
Potter |
| *CROFTER | tenant of a small piece of land |
| **CROOKMAKER | a person who made shepherd's crooks and walking sticks |
| *CROPPER | tenant who is paid with a share of the crop |
| *CROSIER / CROZIER | bearer of the pastoral staff of a bishop or the bearer of the cross before the archbishop in the church |
|
Crowner |
Coroner |
| *CROWNER | coroner |
| *CUHREUR (CUNREUR) | currier |
| *CURER | cures tobacco |
| *CURRETTER | broker |
| *CURRIER | cures or tans hides |
|
Currier |
One who dresses the coat of a horse with a curry comb; one who
tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease |
| *CUSTOMER | customs tax collector |
| *CUTLER | knife seller or sharpener |
| D | TOP |
| *DAGUERREOTYPE ARTIST | early name for a photographer (from the Daguerreotype method) |
| *DAIRYMAN | worker or owner of a dairy farm or seller of dairy products |
| *DAMSTER | builder of dams for logging purposes |
| *DANTER | female overseer in the winding rooms of a silk mill |
| *DATELER / DAY MAN / DAYTALEMAN | casual worker, usually employed by the day |
| *DEATHSMAN | executioner |
| *DECIMER / DOZENER | elected by the householders in a street to act as their representative at the borough's Court Leet |
| *DECOYMAN | employed to decoy the wild fowl, animals etc into a trap or within shooting range |
| *DECRETIST | knowledgeable in decrees, decretals |
| *DEEMER / DEEMSTER / DEMSTER / DEMPSTER | judge, usually in the Channel Isles or Isle of Man |
| *DELVER | dug ditches |
| *DEPATER | precious metal refiner |
| *DEPUTY | safety officer for the pit crew in the mining industry |
| *DERRICKMAN | worked on an oil well handling the tubes and rods used in drilling |
| *DEVIL | printer's errand boy |
| *DEVILLER | operated the devil, a machine that tore rags used in the textile industry |
| *DEXTER | dyer |
| *DEY WIFE | female dairy worker |
| *DIKEMAN / DYKEMAN | hedger or ditcher |
| *DIPPER | who worked in the pottery trade and was responsible for the glazing of items |
| *DISHER / DISH THROWER | who made bowls and dishes |
| *DISH TURNER | who made wooden bowls or dishes |
| *DISTILLER | maker of alcoholic beverages |
| *DISTRIBUTOR | parish official attached to the workhouse / poorhouse who looked after the secular needs of the poor |
|
Docker |
Stevedore, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo |
| *DOCK MASTER | in charge of a dockyard |
| **DOG BREAKER | dog trainer |
| *DOG LEECH | veterinarian |
| *DOG-WHIPPER | drove dogs away in a village |
| *DOMESMAN | judge |
| *DOMESTIC | household servant |
| *DONKEY BOY / DONKEY MAN | driver of a carriage for passengers |
| *DOOR KEEPER | guard, janitor, or porter |
| *DOUBLER | operated a machine used to twist together strands of fibre (cotton, wool etc) |
|
Dowser |
One who finds water using a rod or witching stick |
| *DRAGMAN | fisher man who fished by dragging a net along the bottom of the water |
| *DRAGOMAN | acted as interpreter or guide in Turkish or Arabic |
| *DRAGSMAN | driver of a small stage coach or carriage used for public transport or private hire |
| *DRAGOON | mounted infantryman |
| *DRAINER | made drains |
| *DRAPER | dealer in fabrics and sewing needs |
|
Draper |
A dealer in dry goods |
| *DRAWBOY | weavers assistant in the shawl making mills , they sat atop the looms and lifted the heavy warps. |
| **DRAWER | one who drew and served liquor for tavern customers |
|
Drayman |
One who drives a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying
heavy loads |
| *DREDGERMAN | one who in a boat to collect the bits and pieces that had fallen overboard from other vessels which then were sold (London occupation) |
| *DRESSER | one who dresses another, surgeon's assistant and also one who operated a machine which prepared threads in the textile industry |
|
Dresser |
A surgeon's assistant in a hospital |
| *DRESSING MACHINE MAKER | made sewing machines |
| **DRESSMAKER | clothing maker |
| *DRIFT MAKERA | made drift nets, used in the fishing industry |
| *DRIPPING MAN | dealer in dripping (the fat collected during the cooking of meats) |
| *DRIVER | slave overseer |
|
Drover |
One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market; a dealer in cattle |
| *DRUGGER | pharmacist |
| *DRUMMER | traveling salesman |
| *DRY SALTER | dealer in pickles, dried meats, and sauces or a dealer in dyes and colors used in the dying trade |
| *DUBBERE | cloth dubber, i.e., one who raises the nap of cloth |
|
Duffer |
Peddler |
| *DUFFER | peddler of cheap goods |
| *DUSTMAN / DUSTBIN MAN | collected domestic refuse |
| *DRY STONE WALLER (DRY STANE DYKER in Scottish) | built stone walls usually using the stones removed from the fields as building materials. The art was in not using any cement or mortar and generally not cutting the stone, but being able to see where variuos stones would fit together |
| *DYER | employed in the textile mills to color fabric prior to weaving |
| *DYKER | Scottish term for a stonemason |
| F | TOP |
| *FABER | artisan or workman |
| *FABRICATOR | maker |
|
Factor |
Agent, commission merchant; one who acts or transacts business
for another; Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate |
| *FAGETTER | made up faggots into bundles, seller of firewood |
| *FAKER | photographic assistant who added color to photographs by hand before color film was available |
| *FALCONER | breeds, trains, or hunts with hawks |
| *FANCY-PEARL WORKER | worked in mother-of-pearl making buttons or fancy goods |
| *FANCY MAN | pimp |
| *FANCY WOMAN | prostitute |
| *FANNER | grain winnower |
| *FANWRIGHT | maker and repairer of fans or winnowing baskets |
| *FARANDMAN | traveling merchant |
| *FARMER | often descendant of the gentry and, ultimately, noble classes; usually having servants and farm workers, e.g., husbandmen, groomsmen, etc |
|
Farrier |
A blacksmith, one who shoes horses |
|
Faulkner |
Falconer |
| *FASHIONER | one who fashioned or formed anything, especially clothing |
| *FAWKNER | trainer of falcons |
| *FEAR-NOTHING MAKER | weaver of special kind of thick woollen cloth known as fear-nought, used for protective clothing and lining portholes, walls, and doors of powder magazines on board ships. |
| *FEATHER BEATER / FEATHER DRIVER | cleanser of feathers |
| *FEATHER-DRESSER | who cleaned and prepared feathers for sale |
| *FEATHERMAN | dealer in feathers and plumes |
| *FEATHER-WIFE | woman who prepared feathers for use |
| *FEEDER | herdsman |
| *FELLER | woodcutter |
|
Fell Monger |
One who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather
making |
| *FELTER | worker in the hatting industry |
| *FENCE VIEWER | a person legally appointed to inspect and report on the condition of fences. |
| *FERONER | ironmonger |
| *FERRER | a smith who worked in iron |
| *FERRETER | dealer in or manufacturer of ferret, ie. silk tape |
| *FETTLER | cleaned the machinery in woollen mills, removing accumulated fibres, grease, etc., sharpened the fustian cutters knives or needlemaker who filed the needle to a point |
| *FEVER | blacksmith |
| *FEWSTER | maker of saddletrees |
| *FEWTERER | keeper of hounds, for hunting or coursing |
| *FIDDLER | used a fiddle (small knife) to remove the flashing from cast clay forms such as bowl, creamers, cups or pitchers |
| *FILE CUTTER | a maker of files, involved the cutting of grooves on the file surface |
| *FILIBUSTER | American mercenaries in South America, gun runners |
| *FILLER | who filled bobbins in mills |
| *FINE DRAWER | employed in tailoring to repair tears in the cloth (invisible mending) |
| *FINISHER | operated machine giving final touches to a manufactured article in various trades |
| *FIREBEATER | tended the boilers that powered the machinery in a cotton mill |
| *FIREMAN | inspected for, and removed explosive gasses underground in mining or stoked the boilers on ships and locomotives |
| *FIRST HAND | silk weaver who had his own loom (an outworker) |
| *FISCERE | fisherman |
| *FISHER (FISHDRYVER) | victualler |
| *FISH FAG | female fish monger |
| *FITTER | coal broker |
| *FLAUNER | confectioner |
| *FLASHER | specialist process worker in the glass industry |
| *FLATMAN / FLOATMAN | navigated a flat, a broad flat-bottomed boat used for transport, especially in shallow waters |
| *FLATHEAD (Lumber) | a colloquial term used to describe the man who felled the trees and then "bucked" them up. details |
| *FLAXDRESSER | prepared flax prior to spinning |
| *FLESHER | [1] a butcher; [2] one who worked in a tannery |
| *FLESHMONGER / FLESHER | butcher or one who worked in a tannery |
| *FLESHEWER | butcher |
|
Fletcher |
One who made bows and arrows |
| *FLOATER | vagrant or one who regulated the year-round workings of the watermeadows in winter by adjusting the hatches on the channels to flood or float the meadows with a shallow covering of water to protect them from frost and encourage the early growth of new grass mainly for early feed for sheep and other animals. The sheep were pastured on the new grass by day and driven up on to the downs to be folded by night to provide the manure needed for the coming season's grain crops |
| *FLUSHERMAN | who cleaned out water mains |
| *FLYCOACHMAN | driver of one-horse carriage hired by the day |
| *FLYING STATIONER | street broadsheet seller |
| *FLYMAN | driver of a light vehicle hired out for carriage of passenger or Theatre stage hand |
| *FOGGER | peddler or low class lawyer |
| *FOISTER / FOISTERER | joiner |
| *FOOT-BOY | a servant or attendant in livery |
| *FOOT MAIDEN | female servant |
| *FOOT MAN | servant who ran errands |
| *FOOT PAD | robber |
| *FOOT-POST | letter carrier or messenger who travelled on foot |
| *FOOT STRAIGHTENER | one who assembled watch and clock dials in watchmaking |
| *FORESTER | game warden or forest ranger |
| *FORGEMAN | blacksmith or assistant (coachsmith 18th century Derbyshire) |
| *FORGER | blacksmith, worker at a forge |
| *FORESTALLER | one who bought goods before they come to market in order to raise the price |
| *FOSSETMAKER | who made faucets for ale-casks, etc |
| *FOWER | street cleaner, sweeper |
| *FOWLER / FOGLER / FUGLER / VOWLER / VOGELER / VOGLER / VAGELER / VOGELAAR / VOGLER | keeper or catcher of birds |
| *FRAME SPINNER | worker on a loom |
| *FRAMER | one who frames houses |
| *FRAMEWORKER KNITTER | operator of machine which made hosiery |
| *FREEDMAN | one released from slavery |
| *FREEMASON | stonecutter |
| *FRESER | maker of frieze, a rough plaster |
| *FRESHWATER MAN | sailed boat on fresh water only or in the coastal trade |
| *FRINGEMAKER | one who made fringes or ornamental borders of cloth |
| *FRIPPERER | buyer & seller of old clothes |
| *FRISEUR | hair dresser |
| *FROBISHER / FURBISHER / FURBER / FURBOUR | remover of rust, a polisher of metal, eg. armour |
| *FRUITERER | fruit seller |
| *FRUITESTERE | female fruit seller |
| *FRUITERER | fruit seller |
| *FULKER | pawnbroker |
| *FULLER | a person who fulled (processed) cloth by increasing the weight and bulk of fabric by shrinking, beating, or pressing it |
|
Fuller |
One who fulls cloth; one who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth
by moistening, heating, and pressing; one who cleans and finishes
cloth Gaoler |
| *FUNAMBULIST | tightrope walker |
| *FURBISHER | armor polisher |
| *FURNER | baker |
| *FURRIER | seller or maker of furs |
| *FUSTIAN WEAVER | maker of corduroy |
| G | TOP |
| ****Gallowglass Soldiers | mercinaries, believed to be from the Scottish western isles, who were brought to Ireland in the later middle ages in huge numbers. They were largely employed by the Irish chieftains though there is plenty of evidence that the English used them as well. The Irish soldier was a small, light, lightly armed fella. These guys were huge, brawly, heavily armed. The sherman tank of their day. In one dynastic marriage 10,000 came with the bride. A number of Irish clans were started by soldiers who settled and married, esp. the McSweenies. The term is Irish for foreign soldier. |
| *GABELER | tax collector |
| *GAFFER | foreman of a work crew or in glass factory, one who smoothed, reheated the neck of and formed lip on a bottle |
| *GAFFMAN | a bailiff |
| *GAGER | tax collector of liquor taxes |
| *GALVANISER | iron worker who handled process of coating metal with zinc, to inhibit formation of rust |
| *GAMESTER | gambler or prostitute |
| *GANGER | overseer or foreman from 1850 onwards |
| *GANGREL | a vagrant or roving beggar |
| **GANGSMAN | foreman |
| *GANNEKER | tavern keeper |
| *GAOLER | jailer |
| *GARCIFER / GARCIO | groom; attendant |
| **GARCION | a serving man or groom, usually a young man or boy |
| *GARLEKMONGER | garlicmonger; dealer in garlic |
| *GARTHMAN | owner or worker of a fish trap |
| *GAS MANAGER | forman position in charge of checking for poisonous gas in coal mine shafts |
| *GATER | watchman |
| *GATHERER | glassworker who inserted the blow iron into the molten glass ready for the blower |
| *GATHERERS BOY | held a shovel to shield the gatherer's face from the heat |
| *GATWARD | goat keeper |
| *GAUGER | customs official who measured the capacity of imported barrels of liquor in order to calculate the customs duty |
| *GAUNTER | glover |
| *GAVELLER | userer and in the Forest of Dean, an officer fo the Crown who granted gales or the right to work a mine and in Suffolk a harvest worker, usually female |
| *GELDER | castrator of animals, especially horses |
| *GEOMETER | skilled in geometry |
| *GERUND GRINDER | Latin instructor |
| *GILDER | applies gold leaf |
| *GIMLER | machinist involved in making a gimp, a kind of card |
| *GINOUR | engineer |
| *GIRDLER | leather worker who made girdles and belts, chiefly for the Army |
| *GLASS COACHMAN | driver of two-horse carriage hired out for the day |
| *GLASSEWRYGHT | glasswright; maker and mender of glassware |
|
Glazier |
Window glassman |
| *GLIMMER MAN | in Dublin, the man who would turn out (or down) the gas street-lights and also warn people turn out lights in their houses to ensure blackouts during bombing raids at War time |
| *GLOVER | one that makes or sells gloves |
| *GOAT CARRIAGE MAN | driver of small passenger carriage |
| *GOLDSMITH | maker of gold articles, banker |
| *GOOSE HERD | tends geese |
| **GOOSE HERDER | an itinerant tailor |
| *GORZEMAN | seller of gorse or broom |
| *GRACE WIFE | midwife |
| *GRAFFER | notary or scrivener |
| *GRAINER | painted wood to make it look like great and exotic woods |
| *GRANGER | farmer |
| *GRAVER | carver or sculptor, engraver of images or dockside worker who cleaned ship bottoms by burning and tarring |
| *GRAZIER | pastures and raises cattle |
| *GREAVE / GRIEVE | bailiff, foreman, sheriff |
| *GREEN GROCER | fruit and vegetable seller |
| *GREENSMITH | worker in copper or latten |
| *GRIMBRIBBER | lawyer |
| **GRINDER | one who operated a grinding machine in any of several trades |
| *GROOVER | miner |
| *GROUNDSEL & CHICKWEED SELLER | streetseller of common weeds, used to feed pet songbirds |
| (1)GUARDIAN | administered the running of workhouses between 1834 and 1929 |
| *GUINEA PIG | an unattached, or roving person whose fee was usally a guinea |
| *GUMMER | one who improved old saws by deepening the cuts |
| GUNNER | Re-cut old saws, sharpening and improving depth of cut |
| *GUTTA-PERCHA MANUFACTURER | makes a tough plastic substance derived from latex and percha scrap used especially as insulation and in dentistry |
| *GYNOUR | engineer |
| *GYP | college servant especially one attending undergraduates |
| H | TOP |
| *HABERDASHER | seller of men's clothing |
|
Hacker |
Maker of hoes |
| *HACKLER / HACKMAN / HECKLER | one who separated the coarse part of flax or hemp with a hackle, an instrument with teeth in linen industry |
| *HACKNEY MAN | renter of horses & carriages |
| **HACKNER | one who made or used hoes, mattocks, etc. |
| *HAIR SEATING & CURLED HAIR MERCHANT | dealer in horse-hair stuffing used in upholstery |
| *HAIRWEAVER / HAIRMAN | weaver of cloth composed wholly or partly of horsehair |
| *HALBERT CARRIER | soldier or halberdier, armed with a halberd, a combination spear and battleaxe (a ceremonial officer) |
| *HAMMERMAN | hammerer, a smith |
| *HAND FLOWERER | ladies living mainly in rural locations who embroidered flowers or similar designs on muslin or cambric |
| **HAND WOMAN | a midwife; a female attendant |
| *HANDLE STICKER | put handles on cast ceramic cups, pitchers, etc |
| *HANDSELLER | street vendor |
| *HANDWOMAN | midwife or female attendant |
| *HANKYMAN | a travelling magician in Victorian/Edwardian England |
| *HANSARD | weapon maker or seller |
| *HARLOT | vagabond, beggar, rogue, 14th century male servant, attendant or menial, and 15th century, loose woman |
| *HARMER BECK | constable |
| *HARPER | performer on the harp |
|
Hatcheler |
One who combed out or carded flax |
| *HATTER | maker of or dealer in hats |
| *HAWKER / HUCKSTER | peddler |
|
Haymonger |
Dealer in hay |
|
Hayward |
Keeper of fences |
| *HEADSMAN | executioner |
| *HEADSWOMAN | midwife |
| *HEALD KNITTER | operator of a machine which produced a jersey type of fabric as opposed to woven fabric |
| *HECK MAKER | maker of a part of a spinning machine by which the yarn is guided to the reels |
| *HEDGE LOOKER | supervised good repair of fence and enclosures |
| *HEDGER | hedge trimmer |
| *HEELMAKER | made shoe heels |
| *HELLIER / HILLIER | tiler or slater |
| *HELPER-UP | young boy employed in Durham pits to help other workers |
| *HEMPHECKLER | flax worker |
| *HENCHMAN / HENSMAN | horseman or groom |
| *HENTER | thief |
| *HETHELEDER | provider of heather for fuel |
| *HEWER | miner who cut coal, stone, etc., a face worker in a mine |
| **HIGGER | a person who peddled merchandise |
|
Higgler |
Itinerant peddler |
| *HIGHWAYMAN | robber who preys on public roads |
|
Hillier |
Roof tiler |
|
Hind |
A farm laborer |
| *HIRED MAN | gardener, farmhand, or stableman |
| *HOBBLER | boat tower on a river or canal |
| **HOD | a bricklayer's laborer |
| *HODSMAN | mason's assistant |
| *HOGGARD | pig drover |
|
Holster |
A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn |
| *HONEY DIPPER | extracted raw sewage from catch basins and out-houses |
| *HOOFER | dancer |
| *HOOKER | (1) 16th century reaper, (2) 19th century worker in textile industry who operated a machine which laid fabric flat in uniform folds of any required length |
|
Hooker |
Reaper |
|
Hooper |
One who made hoops for casks and barrels |
| *HORNER | worker in horn making spoons, combs, or musical horns |
| *HORSE-CAPPER | dealer in worthless horses |
| **HORSE COPER | a horse dealer or breeder |
| *HORSE COURSER | owner of race horses |
| *HORSE-HAIR CURLER | dressed horse hair which was used extensively in the upholstery trade |
| *HORSE KNAVE | groom |
| *HORSE LEECH | veterinarian, farrier |
| *HORSE MARINE | man-handled barges on canals when horses could not be used |
| *HOSIER | retailer of stockings, socks, gloves, nightcaps |
| *HOSTELLER | innkeeper |
| *HOSTLER / OSTLER | cares for horses, stableman, groom, repairer or railway engines |
| *HOUSE JOINER | house framer |
| *HOUSE WRIGHT | house builder |
| *HOTPRESSER | worker in paper or textile industries where product was pressed between glazed boards and hot metal plates to obtain a smooth and shiny surface |
| *HOYMAN | one who carries goods and passengers by water (Hoy - small coastal vessel or sloop) |
| *HOWDY WIFE | midwife |
|
Huckster |
Sells small wares |
| *HUISSHER | usher or door attendant |
| *HURDLEMAN / HURDLER | hedge-maker, of wattled framework fencing |
| *HURRIERS | term applied to the girls aged 5-18 who were employed as coal-drawers in the coal industry |
|
Husbandman |
A farmer who cultivated the land |
| *HUSH SHOP KEEPER | brewed and sold beer without a license (usually as a side line) |
| M | TOP |
| *MADERER | gathered and sold garlic |
| *MAID | female domestic servant |
| *MAIL GUARD | armed guard, frequently an ex-soldier, employed on the mail coach service |
| *MAISE MAKER | one who made measures for weighing herring catch |
| *MALEMAKER | maker of 'Males' or travelling bags |
|
Malender |
Farmer |
| *MALSTER | brewer, maker or seller of malts |
|
Maltster |
Brewer |
|
Manciple |
A steward |
| *MANGLER | works a mangle |
| *MANGLE KEEPER | woman who offered use of the mangle for a fee |
| *MANGO | slave dealer |
| *MANTUAMAKER | dressmaker |
| *MARBLER | one who stained paper or other material, veined in imitation of marble |
| *MARSHALL | horse doctor of shoesmith |
| *MARSHMAN | paid by various landowners to look after marshlands and tend the animals put to graze there for the season |
| *MASHMAKER | maker of the mash-vats or mashels used for mixing malt |
|
Mason |
Bricklayer |
| *MASON | stonecutter |
| *MASTER | one of three grades of skill recognised by the Guild of Crafts |
| *MASTER LUMPER | contractor of laborers at cheap rate of pay |
| *MASTER MARINER | ship's captain |
| **MASTER OF THE ROLLS | an equity judge |
| *MATCHET FORGER | knifemaker |
| *MAWER | mower |
| **MEADER | a mower |
| *MEALMAN | dealer in meal or flour |
| **MECHANIC | [1] Manual laborer; [2] Operator of a machine |
| **MEDICINE PEDDLER | an itinerant salesman who dealt in herbs, elixirs, pills, etc. which were bought in large batches and sold under his own label |
| *MELDER | corn miller |
| **MENAGE-MAN | an itinerant vendor who sold goods to be paid for in installments |
| *MERCATOR | merchant |
| *MERCER | cloth seller |
| **MESSENGER | [1] a constable; [2] one who was appointed by a court to handle certain duties in a bankruptcy case |
| **METALMAN | a worker in metals |
| *METERER | poet |
| **MIDSHIPMAN | usually, a wealthy second or third son who could not inherit |
| *MIDWIFE | experience woman who assists in child birth |
| *MILESMAN / LENGTHSMAN | railway worker who had a length of railway track to keep in good order |
| *MILLER | corn miller, cloth miller, saw miller |
| *MILLERESS | miller's wife |
| *MILLERS CARMAN | drove carrier to deliver the flour or seed to the customers |
| **MILLINER | [1] a seller of fancy wares and articles of apparel; [2] a maker of ladies hats and bonnets |
| *MILLPECK | sharpener of mill stones |
| *MILLNER | maker of womens' hats |
| *MILLWRIGHT | designer & builder of mills or mill machinery |
| *MILSTONE INSPECTOR | vagrant, a gentleman of the road |
| **MINER | a worker in a mine, such as coal, iron, etc. |
|
Mintmaster |
One who issued local currency |
| *MIXER | bartender |
| *MOCADO WEAVER | weaver of woollen cloth used for making clothes 16-17th century |
| *MOLD BOY | closed and held mold for glassblower, also weighed the bottles |
| *MOLITOR | miller |
| *MONDAYMAN | one who worked for landowner on Mondays in lieu of rent |
| **MONEY-SCHRIVENER | a person who raised money for others |
|
Monger |
Seller of goods (ale, fish) |
| *MOULDER | maker of molds or castings, brickmaker |
| *MOUNTEBANK | seller if ineffectual patent medicines |
| *MUDLARK | sewer cleaner, riverbank scavenger |
| *MUFFIN MAKER | maker who made muffins |
| *MUFFIN MAN | itinerant seller of muffins |
| *MUGGLER | pigman |
| *MUGSELLER | seller of cups, mugs |
| *MULE MINDER | minded the spinning mules in the cotton mills |
|
Muleskinner |
Teamster |
| *MULETEER | mule driver |
| *MULTURER | miller |
| *MUSICKER | musician |
| *MUSTARDER / MUSTARDMAN | made and dealt in mustard |
| P | TOP |
| *PACKER | packs goods such as pickles or herring |
| *PACKMAN | travelled around carrying goods for sale in a pack |
| *PACK THREAD SPINNER | operator of the machine which made thread or twine |
| *PAD MAKER | made small baskets used for measuring |
| *PAGE | youth being trained for the medieval rank of knight and in the personal service of a knight or attendant upon someone of rank in the medieval period |
| *PAINTRESS | woman employed in the pottery industry to hand paint the finished articles |
| *PAPER-STAINER | one who made wallpaper |
| *PALING MAN | seller of eels |
| *PALISTER | one who ensured the parks were safe and well kept |
| *PALMER | one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land |
| *PANNIER MAN | fish monger |
| *PANNIFEX | somebody who worked in the cloth trade |
| *PANTER | keeper of the pantry |
| *PANTLER | butler |
| *PAPERER | inserted the needles into the paper ready for sale in the needlemaking trade |
| *PARDONER | seller of indulgences |
| *PARFUMIER / PERFUMER | manufacturer and purveyor of scents such as perfumes, colognes and even incense |
| *PARGETER | applied ornamental plaster to buildings |
| *PARITOR | church officer who attended the magistrates and justices at court for the pupose of executing their orders |
| *PARKER | park caretaker |
| *PASSAGE KEEPER | kept passages and alleys clean |
| *PASTELER | pastry chef |
| *PASTOR | shepherd |
| *PATTEN MAKER | clog maker or the person who made wooden soles (pattens) to fit under normal shoes to protect from wet and muddy ground |
Pattern Maker |
A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden
pole with a pattern cut into the end |
| Parish Clerk | An officer of the church in the days when few of the
parishioners were literate - "They should be at least 20 years old. Known to the
parson as a man of honest conversation and sufficient for his reading,
writing and competant skill in singing" Canon 91(1603).
Functions - reading the lessons and epistles, singing in the choir,
giving out the hymms, leading the responses, serving at the altar and
other like duties, opening of the church, ringing the bell, digging
graves if there be no sexton. |
| *PAVER / PAVIOUR | laid paving stones |
| *PAVYLER | put up pavilions or tents etc |
| *PEDASCULE | schoolmaster |
| *PEELER | policeman, constable, bobby (from Sir Robert Peel founder of the police force) |
| *PELTERER | one who worked with animal skins |
| *PERAMBULATOR | surveyor |
| *PERCHEMEAR | one who made parchment |
|
Peregrinator |
Itinerant wanderer |
|
Peruker |
A wig maker |
| *PESSONER | fish monger |
| *PETERMAN | fisherman |
|
Pettifogger |
A shyster lawyer |
| *PETTY CHAPMAN | itinerant dealer in small goods, a pedlar |
| *PEWTERER | made pewter utensils (using any of various alloys having tin as chief component especially a dull alloy with lead) |
| *PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER | one who made scientific instruments |
| *PHRENOLOGIST | diviner of a person's character based on the bumps on a person's head |
| *PICKER | one who cast the shuttle on a loom |
| *PIECENER / PIECER | one who worked in a spinning mill, employed to piece together any threads which broke (usually a child or woman) |
|
Pigman |
Crockery dealer |
| *PIKELET MAKER | baker who specialised in making pikelets (a small pancake or crumpet) |
| *PIKEMAN | miller's assistant |
| *PIKER | tramp or vagrant |
| *PILLER | robber |
| *PILOT | ship steersman |
| *PINDER | dog catcher |
| *PINER | laborer |
| *PINNER | pin make |
| *PINNER UP | dressmakers assistant or one who sold broadsheets or ballards in the streets |
| *PINSETTER | one who manually set up bowling pins before the advent of automated pinsetting machines |
| *PIPER | innkeeper |
| *PIRN WINDER | wound the yarn onto large wheel like bobbins which were then ready to feed the looms in a cotton mill |
| *PISTOR | baker |
| *PIT BROW LASS | female worker who worked on the surface of the mines |
| *PITMAN | coal miner |
| *PLAITER | maker of straw plaits used in making hats etc |
| *PLAYDERER | one who made plaid |
| *PLAIN WORKER | performed plain sewing or needlework as opposed to an embroiderer |
| *PLANKER | one who planks or kneads the body of the hat during felting |
| *PLATELAYER | men who laid and maintained the railway tracks in Britain and the word actually predates railways being derived from the very old "plateways" which existed hundireds of years ago, mainly for moving coal |
| *PLEACHER / PLAICHER / PLATCHER / PLASHER | hedge layer |
| *PLOWMAN | farmer |
| *PLOWWRIGHT | maker or repairer of plows |
| *PLUMASSIER / PLUMER | made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers |
| *PLUMBUM WORKER | plumber |
|
Plumber |
One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for
plain or stained glass windows. |
| *POINTER | sharpened needles or pins or lace maker |
| *POINTMAKER / POINTMAN | made the tips of laces |
| *POINTSMAN | railway worker who operated the points, used to change the line on which the train was travelling |
| *POLDAVE WORKER | made poldave, a coarse fabric |
| *POLEMAN | surveyor's assistant |
| *POLENTIER | poulterer |
| *POLLER / POWLER | barber |
| *PONDERATOR | inspector of weights and measures |
| *PORTABLE SOUP MAKER | converted soup into a dry form for transporting from place to place |
|
Porter |
Door keeper |
| *POSTILLION | attacher of extra horses to wagons & coaches to help them up hills |
| *POST BOY | carried mail from town to town, guard who travelled on the mail coach or outrider who travelled with the stagecoach as a postillion |
| *POSTER | one who worked in the quarries breaking rocks |
| *POTATO BADGER | seller of potatoes |
| *POT BOY / MAN | one who worked in public houses washing and removing dirty pots also did other menial tasks |
| *POTTER | maker or seller of pottery |
| *POTTER CARRIER | chemist or pharmacist |
| *POTTER THROWER | potter who used a wheel and therefore had to throw the clay |
| *POULTER | seller of poultry |
| *POWER LOOM TUNER | one who maintained the loom in mills |
| *PRENTIS | apprentice |
| *PRECEPTRESS | school mistress |
| *PRICKER | witch hunter, pattern maker or a horseman |
| *PRICK LOUISE | tailor |
| *PRICKER | used a type of wire brush to make small holes inside ceramic sewer pipe to prevent spalling during firing |
| *PRIG NAPPER | horse thief |
| *PROCTOR | official of a university |
| *PROP BOBBY | worked in mines checking the pit props |
| *PROTHONARY | law clerk |
| *PUBLICAN | innkeeper |
|
Puddler |
Wrought iron worker. The skilled man who supervised the moten
mass, deciding when it was ready for shingling, hammering and
rolling. |
| *PUGGARD | thief |
| *PUGGER | produce clay paste by treading like grapes, usually women and children in brick manufacturing |
| *PUG MILL OPERATOR | operated a machine for mixing clay and water, which then exuded a "pug" (a cylinder of clay of any diameter and indefinate length) |
| *PUNKY | chimney sweep |
| *PUREFINDER | old women and young girls who went about the streets gathering dog droppings which were used for tanning leather |
| *PURSER | ship's officer in charge of provisions & accounts |
| *PUTTER IN | put things in to some form of mechanised process |
| Q | TOP |
|
Quarrier |
Quarry worker |
| R | TOP |
|
Rigger |
Hoist tackle worker |
|
Ripper |
Seller of fish |
|
Roper |
Maker of rope or nets |
|
Runner |
Messenger Details |
| S | TOP |
|
Saddler |
One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings
for horses |
|
Sawbones |
Physician |
|
Sawyer |
One who saws; carpenter |
|
Schumacker |
Shoemaker |
|
Scribler |
A minor or worthless author |
|
Scrivener |
Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public |
|
Scrutiner |
Election judge |
|
Shrieve |
Sheriff |
|
Slater |
Roofer |
|
Slopseller |
Seller of ready |
|
Snobscat/Snob |
One who repaired shoes |
|
Sorter |
Tailor |
|
Spinster |
A woman who spins or an unmarried woman |
|
Spurrer |
Maker of spurs |
|
Squire |
Country gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace |
|
Stuff Gown |
Junior barrister |
|
Stuff Gownsman |
Junior barrister |
|
Supercargo |
Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial
concerns of the ship |
| T | TOP |
|
Tanner |
One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather |
|
Tapley |
One who puts the tap in an ale cask |
|
Tasker |
Reaper |
|
Teamster |
One who drives a team for hauling |
|
Thatcher |
Roofer |
|
Tide waiter |
Customs inspector |
|
Tinker |
An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman |
|
Tipstaff |
Policeman |
|
Travers |
Toll bridge collection |
|
Tucker |
Cleaner of cloth goods |
|
Turner |
A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles |
| V | TOP |
|
Victualer |
A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with
food supplies |
|
Vulcan |
Blacksmith |
| W | TOP |
|
Wagoner |
Teamster not for hire |
|
Wainwright |
Wagon maker |
|
Waiter |
Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to
collect duty on goods brought in |
|
Waterman |
Boatman who plies for hire |
|
Webster |
Operator of looms |
|
Wharfinger |
Owner of a wharf |
|
Wheelwright |
One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc. |
|
Whitesmith |
Tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work |
|
Whitewing |
Street sweeper |
|
Whitster |
Bleach of cloth |
|
Wright |
Workman, especially a construction worker |
| Y | TOP |
|
Yeoman |
Farmer who owns his own land |
Contributers:
Used by permission
Special Thanks to All Census
Main Index