ABLE
SEAMAN - A seaman who reached a standard of skill above that of
Ordinary Seaman.
ACADEMICIAN
- A scholar belonging to a place of learning.
ACATER - supplied food provisions,
e.g. a ships chandler
ACCIPITRARY - falconer
ACCOMPTANT - accountant
ACCOUCHEUR / ACCOUCHEUS - one who
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
AGISTER - official of the Royal
Forests or in the New Forest it is the title for the one in charge of the
ponies
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 recorded 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 - gave out alms or charity
to the poor on behalf of the parish
ALMSMAN - received alms
ALNAGER - official who examined
the quality of woolen goods and stamped them with the town seal of approval
AMANUENSIS - secretary or
stenographer
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
i.e. 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
ARCHIATOR - physician
ARCHIL MAKER - made a violet dye
from lichens, used in the textile industry
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.
ARTIFICER - highly respected
skilled or artistic worker or craftsman or one that makes or contrives
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
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 - n charge of a bath
house or brothel
BAILIFF / BAILIE / BAILLIE /
BAILLEE - officer of the sheriff, a land steward acting on behalf of the
Landowner or Landlord and in Scotland a magistrate of the burgh, also looked
after the fishing rights on certain rivers
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
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)
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
BAUER - farmer
BAXTER - baker
BELHOSTE - tavern keeper.
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
BEARER - worked
underground
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
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
BEETLER - operated a beetling
machine, used in the textile trade for embossing fabric
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
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
BESSWARDEN - appointed by the
parish to look after its animals
BESOM MAKER - made brooms
BEVER - beverage maker
BIDDY - female servant usually of
Irish stock
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 - sword
maker 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 printing
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
BODEYS / BODY MAKER - made bodices
for women's 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. Rag and Bone Man
BONESETTER - set broken bones
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 e.g. 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
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 - one who 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
BURGOMASTER - 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
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 - one who 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
CAMBRIC MAKER - made a fine linen
or cotton fabric called cambric
CAMISTER - minister of the cloth
CANDLE MAKER / CANDLER - who made
and sold candles
CAMBIST - banker
CAMERIST - lady's maid
CAMLET MERCHANT - seller of
camlet, cloth used to make cloaks & petticoats
CANDY MAN - traveling candy
salesman and also slang name for a bailiff
CANCELLARIUS - chancellor
CANER / CHAIR BOTTOMER - one who
made the seats for chairs out of woven cane
CANNALLER - canal boat worker
CANTER - religious speaker who
uses cant
CANTING CALLER - auctioneer
CANVASER - one who made canvas
CAPER - cap maker
CAPILLAIRE MAKER - one who 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 - one who 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 - one who takes care of
another's property
CARNIFEX - butcher
CARPENTARIUS - carpenter
CARRY-IN-BOY - took finished
bottled (products) to the tempering oven
CARTER - one who carries or
conveys in or as if in a cart
CART WHEELER - one who made cart
wheels
CARTOGRAPHER - map maker
CARTOMANCER - fortune teller who
used cards
CARTWRIGHT - maker of carts &
wagons
CASHMARIE - one who sold fish
usually at inland markets
CASTER / CASTORA - made small
bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar etc
CASTRATOR - who castrated farm
animals a gelder
CATAGMAN - cottager
CATCHPOLE / CATCHPOLLA - sheriff's
assistance or bailiff
CATECHISTA - teacher of religion
CATTLE JOBBER - buys and sells
cattle
CAULKER - filled up cracks (in
ships or windows) or seams to make them watertight
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
CHAISE MAKER - made carts from
wicker
CHALONER - dealer in
shalloon, a
material made in Chalons
CHAMBERLAIN - steward to either
royalty or nobility, in charge of the household
CHAMBERMAID - female servant
attending to bedrooms in houses or inns
CHAMBER MASTER - shoemaker that
worked from home as an outworker or selling direct
CHANDLER - candle seller, grocer,
provisioner, usually associated with provisioning ships
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 supplied the labour
CHARWOMAN - cleaning woman
CHATELAINE - mistress of a castle
or house
CHIFFONIER - wig maker or
ragpicker
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 or cleric
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
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 the 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
COAST SURVEYOR / WAITER - customs
officer who watched over the offloading of goods on the coast
COBBLER - shoemaker
COBLEMAN - used a flat bottomed
boat for fishing
COCUS - cook
COD PLACER - put fire proof
containers which held the pottery for firing into the kiln
COHEN - a priest
COINER - worked at the mint
stamping out coins
COLLAR MAKER - made horse collars
and one who made shirt collars
COLLIER - coal miner, a coal
merchant or one who worked on the coal barges
COLONUS - Latin for farmer or
husbandman
COLPORTEUR - traveling Bible or
religious book salesman
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 or CUPER - maker of barrels
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
CORDINER / CORDWAINER / CORVINER /
CORVISOR - originally term used for one who worked with Cordovan (a special
leather from Spain) but later term used for shoemaker
COSTERMONGER - fruit seller
COSTER WIFE - female fruit seller
COTILER - cutler
COUPER - one who buys & sells
COURANTEER - journalist
COWHERD - cow tender
COWKEEPER - one who 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
COXWAIN - ship or boat helmsman
CRATCH MAKER - made cratches
(mangers, cribs, or frames) for hay
CRIER - law court officer,
auctioneer, town announcer
CRIMPER - member of navy press
gang
CROCKER - potter
CROFTER - tenant of a small piece
of land
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
CUHREUR (CUNREUR) - currier
CURER - cures tobacco
CURRETTER - broker
CURRIER - cures or tans hides
CUSTOMER - customs tax collector
CUTLER - knife seller or sharpener
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
DEXTER - dyer
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 / DOCK WALLOPER - dock
worker, longshoreman
DOCK MASTER - in charge of a
dockyard
DOG LEECH - veterinarian
DOG-WHIPPER - one who 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 - who operated a machine
used to twist together strands of fibre (cotton, wool etc)
DOWSER / DIVINER - water finder
DRAGMAN - fisher man who fished by
dragging a net along the bottom of the water
DRAGOMAN - who 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 - who made drains
DRAPER - dealer in fabrics and
sewing needs
DRAWBOY - weavers assistant in the
shawl making mills , they sat atop the looms and lifted the heavy warps.
DRAYMAN - cart driver
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
DRESSING MACHINE MAKER - who made
sewing machines
DRIFT MAKERA - who 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 - sheep or cattle driver
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 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 various
stones would fit together
DYER - employed in the textile
mills to color fabric prior to weaving
DYKER - Scottish term for a
stonemason
EALDORMAN - n official of the
shire courts who acted as the King's deputy taking payment from the profits
of the court
EBONITE TURNER - one who worked
with ebonite or vulcanite, making combs or ornaments etc
EARER - plowwman
EARTH STOPPER - one who plugs up
animal holes
EGG FACTOR / EGGLER - egg or
poultry dealer
ELEPHANTS TEETH DEALER - who dealt
in ivory ornaments etc
ELLERMAN / ELLIMAN - who sold oil
used for lamps and known as an oilman
ELYMAKER - oilmaker
EMBOSSER - who moulded or carved
designs that were raised above the surface of the material
EMPRESARIO - land broker,
settlement scheme promoter, showman
ENGINEMAN - employed at a mine to
be in charge of the machinery used to crush the ore
ENGINE TENTER - who operated the
machine which stretched the cloth whilst drying in a woollen mill
ENSIGN - commissioned officer in
the navy
ENUMERATOR - who collected the
information for the census from the householder and recorded it
EQUERRY - officer of the royal
household usually responsible for the royal horses
EREMITE - hermit
ERITE - heretic
ESQUIRE - one who attended a
knight, which later became a title for a man of standing in society
ESTAFETTE - mounted courier
EWE HERD - shepherd
EXCHEQUER - revenue collector
EXCISEMAN - excise tax collector
EXPRESSMAN - person employed in
the express business
EYER - one who made eyes in
needles used for sewing. Sometimes called a Holer
FABER - artisan or workman
FABRICATOR - maker
FACTOR - an agent employed by
merchants to transact business of buying and selling and a Scottish term for
the steward of an estate responsible for collection of land rents
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 / FERROUR - horse shoer or
blacksmith
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 - remover of hair or
wool from hides in leather making
FELTER - worker in the hatting
industry
FERONER - ironmonger
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
FLAXDRESSER - prepared flax prior
to spinning
FLESHMONGER / FLESHER - butcher or
one who worked in a tannery
FLESHEWER - butcher
FLETCHER - arrowsmith (from French
fleche).
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 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)
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
FRIPPERER - buyer & seller of
old clothes
FRISEUR - hair dresser
FROBISHER / FURBISHER - remover of
rust, a polisher of metal, eg. armour
FRUITERER - fruit seller
FRUITESTERE - female fruit seller
FULKER - pawnbroker
FULLER - cloth worker who shrinks,
beats and presses the cloth
FUNAMBULIST - tightrope walker
FURBISHER - armor polisher
FURNER - baker
FURRIER - seller or maker of furs
FUSTIAN WEAVER - maker of corduroy
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
GANGSMAN - foreman
GANNEKER - tavern keeper
GAOLER - jailer
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
GLAZIER - glass cutter or window
classman
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
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
GROOVER - miner
GROUNDSEL & CHICKWEED SELLER -
streetseller of common weeds, used to feed pet songbirds
GUINEA PIG - an unattached, or
roving person whose fee was usually a guinea
GUMMER - one who improved old saws
by deepening the cuts
GYP - college servant especially
one attending undergraduates
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
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
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
HARLOT - vagabond, beggar, rogue,
14th century male servant, attendant or menial, and 15th century, loose
woman
HARMER BECK - constable
HARPER - performer on the harp
HATCHLER - combed out or carded
flax
HATTER - maker of or dealer in
hats
HAWKER / HUCKSTER - peddler
HAYMONGER - dealer in hay
HAYWARD - fence viewer
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
HEWER - miner who cut coal, stone,
etc., a face worker in a mine
HIGGLER - one who haggles or
bargains or itinerant dealer, similar to a cadger
HIGHWAYMAN - robber who preys on
public roads
HILLIER - roof tiler
HIND - farm laborer
HIRED MAN - gardener, farmhand, or
stableman
HOBBLER - boat tower on a river or
canal
HODSMAN - mason's assistant
HOGGARD - pig drover
HOLSTER - groom who took care of
horses
HONEY DIPPER - extracted raw
sewage from catch basins and out-houses
HOOFER - dancer
HOOKER - 16th century reaper, 19th
century worker in textile industry who operated a machine which laid fabric
flat in uniform folds of any required length
HOOPER - makes hoops for casks
(not a cooper)
HORNER - worker in horn making
spoons, combs, or musical horns
HORSE COURSER - owner of race
horses
HORSE KNAVE - groom
HORSE LEECH - veterinarian,
farrier
HORSE MARINE - man-handled barges
on canals when horses could not be used
HORSE-CAPPER - dealer in worthless
horses
HORSE-HAIR CURLER - dressed horse
hair which was used extensively in the upholstery trade
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 - tenant farmer
HUSH SHOP KEEPER - brewed and sold
beer without a license (usually as a side line)
ICEMAN - seller or deliverer of
ice
IDLEMAN - gentleman of leisure
INFIRMARIAN - in charge of an
infirmary
INTELLIGENCER - spy
INTENDENT - director of a public
or government business
INTERFACTOR - murderer
IRON FOUNDER - one who founds or
iron
IRON MONGER - dealer in hardware
made of iron (also known as a feroner)
IRON MASTER - owner or manager of
a foundry
IVORY WORKERS - included makers of
combs, boxes, billiard balls, buttons, and keys for pianofortes
JACK - young male assistant,
sailor, or lumberjack
JACK-FRAME TENTER - cotton
industry worker who operated a jack-frame, used for giving a twist to the
thread
JACK-SMITH - maker of lifting
machinery and contrivances
JAGGER - carrier, carter, pedlar
or hawker of fish; 19th century, young boy in charge of 'jags'or train of
trucks in coal mine; man in charge of pack horse carrying iron ore to be
smelted
JAKES-FARMER - one who emptied
cesspools
JAPANNER - one who covers with a
hard brilliant coat of any of several varnishes
JERQUER - custom house officer who
searched ships
JERSEY COMBER - worker in woollen
manufacture (Jersey - wool which has been combed but not spun into yarn)
JIGGERMAN - operated a spinning
wheel (Jigger) to form the foot (back side) of a ceramic plate
JOBBER - a buyer in quantity to
sell to others, a pieceworker
JOBLING GARDENER - one employed on
a casual basis
JOBMASTER - supplied carriages,
horses and drivers for hire
JOYNER or JOINER - skilled
carpenter
JONGLEUR - traveling minstrel
JOURNEYMAN - one who served his
apprenticeship and mastered his craft; properly, one who no longer is bound
to serve for years but is hired day to day
JOUSTER - fish monger
KEDGER - fisherman
KEEKER - colliery official who
checked quantity and quality of coal output or weighman
KEELER / KEELMAN - bargeman (from
keel, a flat bottomed boat)
KEEPER - controlled the quantities
of ore and fuel, regulated the blast and tapped the molten metal from the
furnace
KEMPSTER - wool comber
KIDDIER - skinner or dealer in
young goats
KILNER - limeburner, in charge of
a kiln
KISSER - made cuishes and high
armour
KNACKER - harness maker, buyer of
old horses and dead animals
KNAPPERS - dressed and shaped
flints into required shape and size
KNELLER / KNULLER - chimmney sweep
who solicited custom by knocking on doors
KNOCKER-UP - man paid to wake up
northern mill and factory workers on early shifts
KNOCKKNOBBLER - dog catcher
KNOLLER - toller of bells
LACE-DRAWER - child employed in
lace work, drawing out threads
LACEMAN - dealer in lace, who
collected it from the makers, usually only those who had bought his thread,
and sold it in the lace markets
LACE-MASTER / MISTRESS - employed
workers in factories or in their homes for the production of lace
LACE-RUNNER - young worker who
embroidered patterns on lace
LACEWOMAN - lady's maid
LAGGER - sailor
LAGRAETMAN - local constable
(Law-Rightman)
LARDNER - keeper of the cupboard
LASTER - shoe maker
LATTENER - brass worker
LANDWAITER - customs officer whose
duty was to wait or attend on landed goods
LAUNDERER - washer
LAVENDER - washer woman
LAYER - worker in paper mill
responsible for a particular stage in paper-making process
LEAVELOOKER - examined food on
sale at market
LEECH or SAWBONES - physician
LEGERDEMAINIST - magician
LEGGER - canal boatman
LEIGHTONWARD - gardener (leighton
- a garden)
LIGHTERMAN - worker on a
flat-bottomed boat
LIMNER - illuminator of books,
painter or drawer
LINENER - linen draper, shirtmaker
LINER / LYNER - flax dresser
LINKERBOY / MAN - one who carried
a link or torch to guide people through city streets at night for a small
fee (had to be licensed to trade in early 19th century had and term later
sometimes applied to general manservant )
LISTER / LITSTER - dyer
LITTERMAN - groom (of horses)
LOADSMAN - ship's pilot
LOBLOLLY BOY - ship's doctor's
assistant or errand boy
LOCK KEEPER - overseer of canal
locks
LONGSHOREMAN - stevedore
LONG SONG SELLER - street seller
who sold popular songsheets printed on paper
LORIMER - maker of horse gear
LOTSELLER - street seller
LOTTER - one who bought odd lots
of wool and consolidated them for sale
LUMPER - dock laborer who
discharged cargo of timber employed by a master lumper (not the Dock
Company) or fine-grain saltmaker, from practice of moulding salt into lumps
LUM SWOOPER - chimney sweep
LUNGS - alchemist's servant whose
duty was to fan the fire
LUTHIER - maker and repairer of
stringed musical instruments
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
MANCIPLE - 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 - 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
MATCHET FORGER - knifemaker
MAWER - mower
MEALMAN - dealer in meal or flour
MELDER - corn miller
MERCATOR - merchant
MERCER - cloth seller
METERER - poet
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
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
MINTMAKER or MINTMASTER - issuer
of 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
MONGER - (i.e., fish) - dealer
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
NAGSMAN - a person who schools
horses, usually for his employer
NAPERER - royal servant in charge
of table linen
NAPIER - naperer
NARROW WEAVER - weaver of ribbons,
tapes, etc
NAVIGATOR - laborer building
canals or railways
NEATHERD - cowherder
NECKER - worker responsible for
the feeding of cardboard into the machine the makes boxes
NEDELLER - needle maker
NECESSARY WOMAN - servant
responsible for emptying and cleaning chamber pots
NETTER - net maker
NIGHT SOILMAN / NIGHTMAN - one who
emptied cesspits, ashpits and backyard toilets
NIGHTWALKER - watchman or bellman
NIMGIMMER - doctor
NIPPER - lorry boy, a young person
employed by the carter or wagoner to assist with the collection and delivery
of goods
NOB THATCHER - wig maker
NOON TENDER - guarded the goods on
the quay while the officers were a lunch
ORDERLY - soldier who functioned
as a servant for an officer
ORDINARY KEEPER - innkeeper
ORRERY MAKER - made a mechanical
apparatus for showing the movements of the planets (named after the Earl of
Orrery the inventor)
ORRICE WEAVER - designer of lace
patterns to be woven with silk thread and silk
OSIER PEELER - removed bark from
willow rods or osiers which were used in basket weaving, usually women and
children (also known as withy peelers)
OSTIARY - monastery door keeper
OSTLER - originally applied to an
innkeeper/taverner or one who received guests especially in an monastery
(13th century) but later on it came to mean stableboy or a person who looked
after horses, coming from the old French 'hostelier'
OUT CRIER - auctioneer
OUTWORKER - worker who carried on
their occupation at home, e.g., cotton or woollen weavers but it applies to
many occupations
OVERLOOKER - superintendent or
overseer, especially in the textile mills
OVERMAN - supervisor in a colliery
who checked the miners work and the quality of the mined coal
OWLER - sheep or wool smuggler
OYSTER DREDGER - member of the
crew on board an oyster fishing boat
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 purpose 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
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 - wigmaker
PESSONER - fish monger
PETERMAN - fisherman
PETTIFOGGER - 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 - one who sold crockery or
bred or looked after pigs on the farm
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
hundreds of years ago, mainly for moving coal
PLUMASSIER / PLUMER - made or sold
plumes, ornamental feathers
PLUMBUM WORKER - plumber
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 or gatekeeper
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 - worked clay into puddle,
worked with puddle to make things water tight e.g. canal walls or worked in
puddling iron
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 indefinite 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
QUARREL PICKER - glazier
QUARRIER / QUARRYMAN - quarry
worker
QUILLER - one who operated a
machine that wound yarn onto spools
QUILTER / QUILTRESS - one who
quilted material
QUISTER - one who bleached things
QWYLWRYGHTE - wheelwright
RACK MAIDEN - girl employed in the
tin mines of Cornwall to dress the ore
RAFFMAN - one who dealt in raff
(saleable rubbish)
RAFF MERCHANT - seller of fibre
used to make raffia bags etc
RAG CUTTER - one who cut up rags
into small pieces to be used for making paper etc
RAG GATHERERS - employed to clear
the rags from the machinery in the mills (usually children)
RAG MAN - one who went from street
to street collecting and selling old clothes and rags
RAG AND BONE MAN - one who went
from street to street with a cart and collected any old rubbish, usually in
exchange for a small item, e.g. a block of soapstone
