| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ABLE SEAMAN | A seaman who reached a standard of skill above that of Ordinary Seaman. |
| ACADEMIC | A scholarly person, of a university, etc. |
| ACADEMICIAN | A member of an academy, especially of the Royal Academy of Arts. |
| ACATER | A person who supplied food provisions, e.g. a ships chandler. Orig. Fr. achateur, meaning buyer. |
| ACCIPITRARY | A falconer. |
| ACCOMPTANT | An accountant. |
| ACCOUCHEUR | A person, not always a qualified physician, who assisted women in child birth. |
| ACCOUNTANT | A person involved in maintenance and auditing of accounts and financial matters |
| ACCOUTRE | A supplier or maker of military clothing or equipment. |
| ACCOUTREMENT MAKER | A supplier or maker of military clothing or equipment. |
| ACKERMAN | See ACREMAN. |
| ACREMAN | A ploughman or oxherder. |
| ACTUARY | An expert in statistics, especially one who calculates insurance risks, a person who kept public accounts of business. |
| ADMINISTRATOR | An appointee of the court who settles the estate of a deceased who died without leaving a will, or where an executor is unwilling or unable to serve as executor. |
| ADVENTURER | A person who seeks adventures; a mercenary soldier; a commercial speculator; one who lives by his wits. |
| ADVERTISEMENT CONVEYANCER | A sandwich board man. |
| ADVOCATE | A Solicitor, a Lawyer, a person who acted as a prosecutor in a court of law in Scotland. |
| ADVOCATE DEPUTE | A Scottish law officer who could act as public prosecutor. |
| ADVOWEE | A person who possessed an Advowson, normally a nobleman, who had the right to present a clergyman to a benefice. |
| AERONAUT | A balloonist or a trapeze artist in the circus or music halls. |
| AFFEEROR | An official in the manorial courts who assessed the monetary penalty. They also collected taxes and dues and were also called Assessor. |
| AG LAB | see ARGICULTURAL LABOURER. |
| AGENT | A person who acted on behalf of a company or another person. |
| AGISTER | An official of the Royal Forest. In the New Forest, it is the title for the person in charge of the ponies. |
| AGRICULTURAL LABOURER (Ag. Lab.) | An unskilled worker on a farm. |
| AGRICULTURIST | A person involved with land cultivation or animal husbandry. |
| ALABASTERER | A person who worked with alabaster. |
| ALBLASTERE | A crossbow man. |
| ALCHEMIST | A medieval chemist who claimed to be able to turn base metals into gold. |
| ALDERMAN | A senior councillor one position down from Mayor in the local council. |
| ALE CONNER | see ALE FOUNDER. |
| ALE DRAPER | A seller of ale. |
| ALE FOUNDER | An official who tested quality and measure of ale served in public houses |
| ALE TASTER | A person who 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 | A worker employed by the brewery to fill ale casks (tuns} with ale. |
| ALEWIFE | A woman who keeps an alehouse or tavern. |
| ALL SPICE | A nickname for a grocer. |
| ALMANAC MAN | An official appointed by the Court of Sewers who warned the inhabitants of the Trent River area of higher than normal tides |
| ALMONER | [1] Distributor of charity to the needy. [2] The person in charge of an Almshouse. [3] The title of hospital managers until the 1970's. |
| ALMSMAN | A person who received alms or charity. |
| ALNAGER | An official who examined the quality of woollen goods and stamped them with the town seal of approval. |
| AMANUENSIS | A person who writes what another dictates (words or music) or copies manucripts; a secretary or stenographer. |
| AMBER & JET CUTTER | A person who cut and polished amber and jet for jewellery. |
| AMBER CUTTER | A person who cut ambergris. |
| AMBLER | An officer of the Royal Stable who broke in horses. |
| AMEN MAN | A parish clerk. |
| ANCHOR SMITH | A person who made anchors. |
| ANCHORESS | A female hermit or religious recluse. |
| ANCHORITE | A male hermit or religious recluse. |
| ANGLE IRON SMITH | A person who made angle iron i.e. flat iron bars bent at right angles lengthways. |
| ANILEPMAN | A smallholder (tenant of the manor). |
| ANIMAL & BIRD PRESERVER | A taxidermist. |
| ANKLE BEATER | A young person who helped to drive the cattle to market. |
| ANNATTO MAKER | A person who worked in the manufacture of dyes for paint or printing. |
| ANNUITANT | A person who received an annual income not from working e.g. pensioner. |
| ANTIGROPELOS MAKER | A person who made waterproof leggings. |
| ANVIL SMITH | A person who made anvils and hammers for blacksmiths. |
| APIARIAN | A beekeeper. |
| APOTHEECARY | A chemist, druggist, pharmacist. |
| APPARITOR | An official who summoned witnesses in the ecclesiastical courts. |
| APPRAISER | A person who appraised the value of goods i.e. a broker. |
| APPRENTICE | A person who was bound to a skilled worker for a specified time to learn a trade. |
| APRONEER | A slang term used in London for a shopkeeper. |
| APRONMAN | A mechanic. |
| AQUARIUS (EWAR) | A waterman. |
| AQUAVITA SELLER | A person who sold alcohol. |
| ARBITER | A person who judged disputes. |
| ARCHER | A person skilled in using a bow and arrow. |
| ARCHIATOR | A physician. |
| ARCHIL MAKER | A person who made a violet dye from lichens, used in the textile industry. |
| ARCHIVIST | A person who kept records of historical value. |
| ARKWRIGHT | A skilled craftsman who produced "arks" (wooden chests or coffers). |
| ARMIGER | Someone entitled to bear heraldic arms. A squire who carried the armour of a knight. |
| ARMOURER | A person who made suits of armour or plates of armour for buildings or ships etc. |
| ARTIFICER | [1] A contriver (q.v.) [2] An army or navy mechanic who does repairs to military equipment. |
| ARTISAN | A skilled tradesman. |
| ARTIST IN FIREWORKS | A person who prepared fireworks displays. |
| ASHMAN | A dustman. |
| ASSAY MASTER | The person who determined the amount of gold or silver to go in coins. |
| ASSAYER | A person who determined the proportions of metal in ore. |
| AUGER MAKER | A person who made the carpenters augers (used for boring holes in wood). |
| AULNAGER | See ALNAGER. |
| AURIFABER | A goldsmith. |
| AVENATOR (PLANTIFENE) | A hay and forage merchant. |
| AVOWRY | Another term for the lord of the manor. |
| AXLE TREE MAKER or TURNER | A person who made axles for coaches and wagons. |
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BACK WASHERA person employed to clean the wool in the worsted manufacturing industry.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| BACK'US BOY | A kitchen servant, (from "back of the house"). |
| BACKMAKER | A person who made "backs", vats, tubs, a Cooper. |
| BACKSTER | A baker. |
| BADGER | [1] A 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). [2] A corn miller or dealer. [3] An itinerant food trader. |
| BADGY FIDDLER | A boy trumpeter in the military. |
| BAGMAN | A travelling salesman. |
| BAGNIOKEEPER | A person in charge of a bath house or brothel. |
| BAILIE | see BAILIFF. |
| BAILIFF | An officer of the sheriff, a land steward acting on behalf of the Landowner or Landlord. In Scotland a magistrate of the burgh, also looked after the fishing rights on certain rivers. |
| BAILLEE | see BAILIFF. |
| BAILLIE | see BAILIFF. |
| BAIRMAN | A pauper, beggar. |
| BAL MAIDEN | A female mine worker who worked on the surface (aka Pit Brow Lass). |
| BALANCER | A person employed in the coal mines to operate the "balance" which is a slope with a pulley at the top where empty coal tubs pulled full tubs up the slope. |
| BALER | A person who bales of hay. In the mills it was a person who bailed wool or cotton goods. |
| BALISTER | An archer most commonly a crossbow-man. |
| BALLAD MONGER | A person who sold printed ballads on the street. |
| BALLARD MASTER | The person in charge of loading the ballast into the hold of empty ships. |
| BALLAST HEAVER | A person who loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships. |
| BALLER | A person who assisted the potter by measuring out the balls of clay. |
| BALLER UP | see BALLER. |
| BAND FILER | A metal worker in the gun making industry. |
| BANDSTER | A person who bound the wheat sheaves after harvest. |
| BANG BEGGAR | An officer of the parish who controlled the length of stay of any stranger to the parish. |
| BANKER | A person who dug trenches and ditches to allow drainage of the land, placing the surplus earth in banks around the edge. |
| BANKSMAN | A person employed in the mining industry being in charge of the cages at the pit head. Sometimes known as a BANK MANAGER or BROWMAN. |
| BARBER | A man who cuts men's hair and shaves beards, a men's hairdresser. See also BARBER SURGEON. |
| BARBER SURGEON | A Barber prior to the 18c also a Surgeon. In the 18th century, an Act was passed that limited Barbers to hair-cutting, shaving, dentistry and blood letting |
| BARD | A poet or minstrel. |
| BAREMAN | A beggar or pauper. |
| BAREMAN | A pauper, beggar. |
| BARGE MATE | A Naval officer. |
| BARGEE | See BARGEMAN. |
| BARGEMAN | A person who worked on or owned and operated a barge. |
| BARILLA MANUFACTURER | A person who 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 toll-keeper. |
| BARKER | See BARKMAN. |
| BARKMAN | A person who tanned leather using the bark of trees, later the term was also used for a person employed to attract attention at fairgrounds by shouting details of the attraction. |
| BARLEYMAN | See BYLAWMAN. |
| BARM BREWER | A person who made yeast. |
| BARMASTER | The arbiter of disputes in the lead mining industry. They were also in charge of the standard measure for the ore. |
| BARREL FILER | A person employed in the gun manufacturing industry. |
| BARROWMAN | A person employed in the coal mines to push the barrow from the pit face to the shaft. |
| BARTONER | The person in charge of the monastic farm, also known as a barton. |
| BASIL WORKER | A person who worked with sheep and goat skins. |
| BASKETMAN | A person who made baskets, and furniture from wicker, also a person employed to empty the basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the barges. |
| BASS or BAST DRESSER | A person employed in dressing fibre or matting. |
| BATHING MACHINE PROPRIETOR | A person who owned and hired the changing huts used at the seaside in the 18c by bathers. |
| BATMAN | An officers servant in the army. |
| BATT MAKER | A person who made the wadding used in quilt and mattress making. |
| BATTLEDORE MAKER | A person who made the beaters used on clothes, carpets, etc., to remove the dust. Later they made the paddles used in washing machines. |
| BAVEN MAKER | A maker of kindling. A bavin (or baven) is a thin piece of wood or split, with the end wittled and curled with a knife and used for kindling. |
| BAXTER | A baker. |
| BAYWEAVER | A person who wove bay (a fine woollen fabric also known as baize). |
| BEAD PIERCER | A person employed to drill the holes in beads. |
| BEADLE | An officer of the parish whose principle duty was to keep order, also was the town crier. |
| BEADMAN | See BEDESMAN. |
| BEADSMAN | See BEDESMAN. |
| BEAMER | A person employed in the textile trade to wind the warp on the roller before putting it on the loom. |
| BEARER | A person who worked underground carrying the coal to the bottom of the pit shaft and placed it in the containers for uplifting to the surface. |
| BEATER | A person who cleansed and thickened the cloth by treading it underwater with fullers earth, aka Fuller. |
| BEAVER | A person who made felt used in hat making. |
| BEDEL(L) | See BEADLE. |
| BEDESMAN | [1] A person employed to pray for his employer. [2] The inhabitant of an almshouse / poorhouse / hospital. [3] A tenant employed by the manor for a specific service. |
| BEDMAN | A sexton. |
| BEDRAL | In Scotland, a minor church official. |
| BEDWEVERE | A person who made the webbing for bed frames, also a person who wove quilts. |
| BEEKEEPER | A person who kept bees for their honey. |
| BEEMASTER | See BEEKEEPER. |
| BEESKEP MAKER | A person who made beehives. |
| BEETLER | A person who operated a beetling machine, used in the textile trade for embossing fabric. |
| BELHOSTE | A tavern keeper. |
| BELL HANGER | A person who installed bells in churches. |
| BELLEYETERE | A bellfounder. |
| BELLFOUNDER | A person who made bells. |
| BELLMAN | [1] A person employed as a watchman or town crier. [2] A person who worked for the post office and collected letters for the mail coach by walking the streets and ringing a bell. |
| BELLOWFARMER | A person who was responsible for the care and maintenance of the church organ. |
| BELLOWS MAKER | A person who made bellows used for organs or blacksmiths fires. |
| BELLY BUILDER | A person who built and fitted the interiors of pianos. |
| BELTER | See BELLFOUNDER. |
| BENDER | A person who cut leather. |
| BESOM MAKER | A person who made brooms made of a bundle of birch twigs bound onto a handle which was a thicker and roughly straight branch of the same wood. |
| BESOMER | A person who sweeps with a besom, also possibly used to describe a BESOM MAKER. |
| BESSWARDEN | A person appointed by the parish to look after its animals. |
| BIDDY | A female servant usually of Irish stock. |
| BILL POSTER | A person who put up notices, signs and advertisements. |
| BILLIARD-MARKER | A person who attends on players at billiards and records the progress of the game. |
| BILLIER | See BILLYMAN. |
| BILLITER | See BELLFOUNDER. |
| BILLYMAN | A person who operated a Billy Roller, a machine used in the cotton industry to prepare the cotton for spinning. |
| BINDER | A person who bound items e.g. books, hats etc. |
| BIRD BOY | A person employed to scare away birds from crops. |
| BIRD CATCHER | A person who caught birds for selling. |
| BIRDS NEST SELLER | A person who sold birds nest collected from the wild complete with eggs, these were then hatched by domestic birds and sold as pets. |
| BIRLYMAN | In Scotland a ground officer or parish arbiter. |
| BLACK BORDERER | A person who made black edged stationery for funerals. |
| BLACK TRAY MAKER | A person who made Japanned trays. |
| BLACKING MAKER | A person who made polish for shoes. |
| BLADESMITH | A swordmaker or knife maker. |
| BLAXTER | See BLEACHER. |
| BLEACHER | A person who bleached cloth or paper pulp. |
| BLEMMERE | A plumber |
| BLENTONIST | A water diviner |
| BLINDSMAN | A person employed by the Post Office to deal with incorrectly addressed letters and parcels. |
| BLOCK MAKER | A person who engraved the blocks used in the printing trade. |
| BLOCK PRINTER | A printer who used wooden blocks for printing. |
| BLOCKCUTTER | See BLOCKER. |
| BLOCKER | [1] A person who made wooden blocks used in the hat trade. [2] A person who laid down the blocks on which a ships keel was laid. |
| BLOODLETTER | A person who used leeches for letting blood. This was thought to be a cure for many ailments. |
| BLOODMAN | See BLOODLETTER. |
| BLOOMER | A person who produced iron from ore, a bloom smithy. |
| BLOWER | [1] A glass blower. [2] A person who operated a "blowing machine" used to clean and separate fibres in the textile trade. [3] A person who operated the bellows at a blacksmiths. |
| BLOWFEEDER | A person who fed the fibres into a "blowing machine". |
| BLUE DYER or MAKER | A person who worked with blue dye used by calico printers and laundries to stop the white materials from discolouring. |
| BLUESTOCKING | A nickname for a female writer. The Blue Stocking Society met in about the 1750s to talk about literature, etc, some of the men wearing ordinary blue stockings. It now means a woman who has or affects literary tastes and learning, though it is hardly used. |
| BLUFFER | An innkeeper or landlord of a tavern or public house. |
| BOARDER | A person who was provided with accommodation and meals. See LODGER |
| BOARDING OFFICER | A person who inspected ships before entering port. |
| BOARDMAN | [1] A truant officer who checked school attendance. [2] A tenant of manorial land who paid rent by maintaining the manor's table. |
| BOARDWRIGHT | A person who made tables and chairs aka carpenter. |
| BOATMAN | A person who worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals. Also the name given to a boat repairer. |
| BOATSWAIN | A ship's officer. In Anglo-Saxon times Boatswains actually commanded ships. By 17c the Boatswain had sunk in social and professional standing. He was especially responsible for riggings and ground tackle, and kept the ship's stores of cordage, sails & associated gear. |
| BOBBER | [1] A person who polished metals. [2] A person who helped to unload fishing boats. |
| BOBBIN CARRIER | A person who worked in spinning and weaving sections of the mills. |
| BOBBIN TURNER | A person who made the bobbins used in the spinning and weaving industry. |
| BOBBY | A nickname for a policeman, usually of constable rank. |
| BODEYS MAKER | A person who made bodices for women’s garments. |
| BODGER | A craftsman who made wooden chair legs and the spars. They usually worked in the actual woodland that they cut the timber in. |
| BODY MAKER | See BODEYS MAKER. |
| BOILER MAKER | A person who worked with metal in any industrial setting. |
| BOILER PLATER | A person who made rolled iron plate used to make boilers for steam engines etc. |
| BOILERMAKER | A craftsman who worked with metal in any industrial setting. |
| BOLL | A person who looked after power looms in the weaving industry. |
| BOLTER | A person who sifted meal. |
| BONDAGER | A female worker on a farm who was bonded. |
| BONDMAN | A person bonded to a master for the purpose of learning a skill or trade. |
| BONDSMAN | A person who stood bond or surety for another where a bond was required by law. |
| BONE BUTTON TURNER | A person who made buttons using a lathe. |
| BONE LACE MAKER | A person who made pillow lace. |
| BONE MOULD TURNER | A person who made the moulds for button manufacturers. |
| BONE PICKER | A person who collected rags and bones aka Rag and Bone Man. |
| BONESETTER | A person who set broken bones. |
| BONIFACE | An Innkeeper. |
| BOOK GILDER | A person who decorated books with gold leaf. |
| BOOK KEEPER | A person who looked after the accounts for businesses. |
| BOOKHOLDER | The prompter in the theatre. |
| BOOKMAN | A student. |
| BOONMASTER | A surveyor of roads with the responsibilities of maintaining and repairing the road. |
| BOOT CLOSER | A person who worked in the shoe trade stitching together all the parts of a shoe upper. |
| BOOTBINDER | A person employed to operate the machines which bound footwear. |
| BOOTHMAN | A corn merchant. |
| BORLER | A person who made cheap coarse clothing |
| BORSHOLDER | A regional name (Kent) for a constable. |
| BOTCHER | A tailor or cobbler. |
| BOTTILER | See BOTTLER. |
| BOTTLE BOY | A pharmacists assistant. |
| BOTTLER | A person who made leather containers for holding liquids e.g. wine flasks or water bottles. |
| BOTTOM KNOCKER | A sagger makers assistant in the pottery industry. |
| BOTTOM MAKER | A person who moulded the bottoms for saggers in the pottery industry. |
| BOTTOMER | A person who worked down the pits moving the ore etc to the bottom of the shaft for removal. |
| BOWDLER | A person who worked with iron ore. |
| BOWER | See BOWYER. |
| BOWKER | A person who bleached yarn. A local term in some parts of Lancashire for a butcher. |
| BOWLER | A person who made bowls and dishes. Also a term used for people who made the rounded part of spoons before casting. |
| BOWLMAN / BOWLWOMAN | A dealer in crockery. |
| BOWLMINDER | A person in charge of the vats used for washing raw wool before processing. |
| BOWYER | A person who made bows used in archery. |
| BOZZLER | A parish constable. |
| BRABENER | A weaver. |
| BRACHYGRAPHER | A shorthand writer. |
| BRAIDER | A person who made cord by twisting threads or strips of leather. |
| BRAILLER | A person who made girdles. |
| BRAKEMAN or BRAKESMAN | [1] A person who operated the winch at the pit head. [2] A person who operated the braking mechanism on trains and trams. |
| BRASIATOR | A brewer of ale. |
| BRASILER | A dyer. |
| BRASS CUTTER | A person who made copperplate engravings. |
| BRASS FINISHER | A person who polished brass goods. |
| BRASS FOUNDER | A person who cast brass. |
| BRATMAN | A rough garment maker. |
| BRAYER | A person who ground things up in a mortar. |
| BRAZIER | A person who made or repaired household items made from brass. |
| BREACH MAKER | A person who made the breach for guns. |
| BREAKMAN | A bricklayer. |
| BREWSTER | A female brewer. Later, the term became non gender specific. |
| BRICKBURNER | A brickmaker who used a kiln to make bricks. |
| BRICKMAN | A bricklayer. |
| BRIDEWELL KEEPER | The person in charge of a lock-up or jail. |
| BRIDGEMAN | A toll keeper at bridges. |
| BRIDGER | A toll keeper at bridges. |
| BRIGHTSMITH | A person who worked with tin. |
| BROAD CLOTH WEAVER | A person who operated a wide loom. |
| BROAD COOPER | A person employed as a go between for the brewery and the innkeepers. |
| BRODERER | An embroiderer. |
| BROGGER | A wool merchant. |
| BROIDERER | An embroiderer. |
| BROOM DASHER | A dealer in brooms. |
| BROOM SQUIRE | A person who made brooms from birch. |
| BROTHERER | An embroiderer. |
| BROUGE MAKER | A shoemaker. |
| BROW GIRL | A female employed at the pit head. |
| BROWDERER | An embroiderer. |
| BROWNSMITH | A person who works with copper or brass. |
| BUCK WASHER | A laundress. |
| BUCKLE TONGUE MAKER | A person who made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt. |
| BUCKLER | See BUCKLESMITH. |
| BUCKLESMITH | A person who made buckles. |
| BUCKRAM MAKER | A person who worked with buckram (used in stiffening materials) e.g. belts, lapels and collars. |
| BUDDLEBOY | A person employed to use and maintain the vats used in the lead and tin mines for washing the ore. |
| BUFFALO SOLDIER | A soldier serving in a black regiment in the US Army in the West. |
| BULLWHACKER | An oxen driver. |
| BUMBOAT MAN | A person who met ships at anchor, with goods for passengers and crew to purchase. |
| BUMMAREE | A person who acted as middle man between the wholesaler and the retailer at the fish markets. They would purchase the fish for reselling to the retailer. |
| BUMMER | An army deserter. |
| BUNTER | A person who collected rags and bones. |
| BURELER | A person who made borel, a woollen cloth with a coarse feel. |
| BURGESS | A person who represented a borough at official levels. |
| BURGOMASTER | A Mayor of Dutch or Flemish town. |
| BURLER | A quality inspector for clothing. |
| BURLER MENDER | A skilled finisher of woven fabrics. |
| BURLEYMAN | See BYLAWMAN. |
| BURMAIDEN | A chambermaid or lady-in-waiting. |
| BURNEMAN | A carrier of barm or water for brewers. |
| BURYE MAN | A grave digger. |
| BUSHEL MAKER | A cooper. |
| BUSHELER | A tailor's helper. |
| BUSKER | A hair dresser. |
| BUSS MAKER | A maker of guns. |
| BUTNER | A person who made buttons. |
| BUTTER CARVER | A person who made imprints in butter pats. |
| BUTTON BURNISHER | A person who polished buttons. |
| BUTTY | The person who negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labour. |
| BYLAWMAN | An official of the manorial courts who enforced the courts orders. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| CAB DRIVER | See CABMAN. |
| CABBIE | See CABMAN. |
| CABMAN | The driver of a small horse drawn passenger vehicle. |
| CAD | A person employed to feed and water horses at coach stops. |
| CADDIE | A boy who carried messages or who ran errands. |
| CADDY BUTCHER | A butcher that dealt in horse meat. |
| CADGER | A beggar. |
| CAFENDER | A carpenter. |
| CAFFLER | A rag and bone collector. |
| CAINER | A person who made walking sticks. |
| CAIRD | Another term for a tinker. |
| CALCINER | A person who burnt bones to make powdered lime. |
| CALENDER | A person who listed documents. |
| CALENDER WORKER | See CALANDERER. |
| CALENDERER | A person who operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender) used to press and finish fabrics or paper. |
| CALENDERMAN | See CALENDERER. |
| CALICO PRINTER | A person who dyed and coloured calico. |
| CAMBIST | An expert in financial exchange, a dealer in bills of exchange. |
| CAMBRIC MAKER | A person who made a fine linen or cotton fabric called cambric. |
| CAMERIST | A lady's maid. |
| CAMISTER | A minister of the cloth. |
| CAMLET MERCHANT | A seller of camlet, cloth used to make cloaks & petticoats. |
| CANCELLARIUS | Chancellor. |
| CANDLE MAKER | A person who made and sold candles. |
| CANDLER | See CANDLE MAKER. |
| CANDY MAN | [1] A slang name for a bailiff. [2] A travelling candy salesman. |
| CANER | A person who made the seats for chairs out of woven cane. |
| CANNALLER | A canal boat worker. |
| CANTER | [1] A beggar or vagrant. [2] A religious speaker who uses cant. |
| CANTING CALLER | An auctioneer. |
| CANVASER | A person who made canvas. |
| CAP MAKER | See CAPPER. |
| CAPER | A cap maker. |
| CAPILLAIRE MAKER | A person who made orange flavoured syrup. |
| CAPITALIST | An investor who provided private capital or wealth for the production and distribution of goods. |
| CAPPER | A person who made caps usually worn by the working class. |
| CAPTAIN | A person in charge of a ship or a group of soldiers. Also a term for an overseer. |
| CARD NAILER | A person who maintained the teeth (nails) on the carding machine used for preparing wool and cotton for weaving. |
| CARDER | A person who operated a carding machine used to prepare wool and cotton for weaving by removing the knots and tangles. |
| CARDMAKER | [1] A person who made the handheld implement used for carding wool and cotton. [2] A maker of game playing cards. |
| CARDROOMER | A term for any person who worked in the carding room of the mills. |
| CARETAKER | A person hired to take charge, especially of house or ship in owners absence, or a person looking after public buildings. |
| CARMAN | See CARRIER. |
| CARNIFEX | A butcher. |
| CARPENTARIUS | A carpenter. |
| CARRIER | A person who drove a vehicle used to transport goods. |
| CART WHEELER | A person who made cart wheels. |
| CARTER | A wagoner. |
| CARTER | See CARRIER. |
| CARTOGRAPHER | A map maker. |
| CARTOMANCER | A fortune teller who used cards. |
| CARTWRIGHT | A person who made wagons and carts. |
| CASHMARIE | A person who sold fish usually at inland markets. |
| CASTER or CASTOR | A person who made small bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar etc. |
| CASTRATOR | A person who castrated farm animals aka gelder. |
| CATAGMAN | A cottager. |
| CATCHPOLE or CATCHPOLL | A bailiff or sheriffs officer. |
| CATECHIST | A teacher of religion. |
| CATTLE JOBBER | A person who bought and sold cattle. |
| CAULKER | A person who made boats or casks watertight by caulking the seams using tar or oakum-hemp fibre. |
| CAUSEWAYER | A person who was involved in road repairs from the term causewaying (Scottish c1800). |
| CEAPMAN | See CHAPMAN. |
| CEILER | A person who put up the ceilings in buildings. |
| CELLARMAN | A person who look after the beer, wines and spirits in public houses or the warehouse. |
| CEMMER | A person who hand combed the yarn before weaving. |
| CHAFF CUTTER | A person employed to make chaff by cutting straw. |
| CHAFFERER | A dealer in chaff. |
| CHAIR BODGER | A travelling chair repairman. |
| CHAIR BOTTOMER | See CANER. |
| CHAISE DRIVER | The driver of a two wheeled light open carriage generally furnished with a hood that may be let down and capable of carrying one or two persons, used for pleasure or local travelling puposes. |
| CHAISE MAKER | A person who made light carriages or chairs from wicker. |
| CHALONER | [1] A person who made blankets. [2] A dealer in shalloon, a material made in Chalons. |
| CHAMBER MASTER | A shoemaker that worked from home as an outworker or selling direct. |
| CHAMBERLAIN | An officer of the royal household. He is responsible for the Chamber, meaning that he controls access to the person of the King. He is also responsible for administration of the household and the privates estates of the king. The Chamberlain is one of the four main officers of the court, the others being the Chancellor, the Justi-ciar, and the Treasurer. |
| CHAMBERMAID | A female servant who looked after the bedrooms of large houses or hotels. |
| CHANDLER | [1] A Candlemaker or candle seller. [2] A grocer or provisioner. [3] Usually associated with provisioning ships but also applied to any dealer of a specific trade. |
| CHANTY MAN | The sailor that led the singing of shanties on board ship. |
| CHAPELER | A person who made and sold hats. |
| CHAPMAN | [1] A dealer or pedlar of goods usually itinerant going from village to village. [2] A keeper of a booth or stall in a market |
| CHARCOAL BURNER | A person who made charcoal usually in the woods where the trees were cut. |
| CHARMAN | See CARRIER. |
| CHARTMASTER | A middleman that negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labour. |
| CHARWOMAN | A cleaning woman. |
| CHASER | An engraver. |
| CHATELAINE | The mistress of a castle or house. |
| CHAUNTER | A street entertainer who sung ballads. |
| CHEESE FACTOR | A dealer in cheeses. |
| CHEESE MONGER | A dealer in cheeses. |
| CHEESEMAN | A dealer in cheeses. |
| CHIFFONIER | A Ragpicker. |
| CHILDBED LINEN WAREHOUSE KEEPER or DEALER | A person who hired bedlinen for use at child-birth as most children before the 20th century were born at home. |
| CHIMNEY SWEEP | A chimney cleaner. |
| CHINGLOR | A rooftiler who used wooden shingles. |
| CHIP | A shipwright or carpenter. |
| CHIPPERS LABOURER | An assistant to a shipwright or ships carpenter. |
| CHIROPODIST | A person who treats diseases of the feet & hands. |
| CHIRUGION or CHIRURGEON | An apothecary or surgeon. |
| CHOWDER | A fish monger. |
| CHRONOLOGIST | A person who recorded official events of historical importance. |
| CINDER WENCH | A female who collected the cinders from gas works and sold them door to door. |
| CLAKER | A magician or astrologer. |
| CLAPMAN | A man who took a person to prison. |
| CLARK | Clerk |
| CLASSMAN | A unemployed labourer. |
| CLAVIGER | A servant. |
| CLAY CARRIER | An assistant to the shot firer in the pits. |
| CLAYMAN | A person who worked in the clay pits usually preparing the clay for making bricks. Also a person who coated the outside of buildings with clay to make them water proof. |
| CLERK IN HOLY ORDERS | A Clergyman, cleric or priest. |
| CLERICUS | A medieval term for a clerk. |
| CLEYMAN | See CLAYMAN. |
| CLICKER | [1] A person who worked in the shoe trade cutting out the uppers also the person who made the shoelace holes. [2] In the printing trade a person in charge of the final stage of layout before printing. [3] The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers. |
| CLIPPER / CLIPPER ON / CLIPPER OFF | In the mines a person who attached the coal carts to the wire or rope which was used to drag the carts to and from the coal face. |
| CLOD HOPPER | A ploughman. |
| CLOGGER | A clog maker (wooden shoes). |
| CLOTH LAPPER | A person who took the cloth from the carding machine and made it ready for the next process. |
| CLOTH LINTER or PICKER | A person who removed unwanted threads and lint from the finished material. |
| CLOTHESMAN | See CLOTHIER. |
| CLOTHIER | A person who made or sold clothes. |
| CLOTHMAN | See CLOTHIER. |
| CLOUTER | A person who made nails. Also another term for a shoemaker. |
| CLOWER | A person who made nails. |
| COACHMAN / COACH DRIVER | A person who drove any horse-drawn coach. |
| COAL BACKER | A person employed to carry the sacks of coal from the coal barge to the coal wagons. |
| COAL BURNER | A person who made charcoal. |
| COAL DRAWER | A person who worked in the mines pushing or dragging the coal carts the bottom of the pit. |
| COAL HEAVER | A person employed to move coal e.g. from boat to shore or from shore to boat. |
| COAL HIGGLER | See COALMAN. |
| COAL MERCHANT | See COALMAN. |
| COAL RUNNER | A person who attended the coal carts underground. |
| COAL WHIPPER | A person employed to unload coal from ships using baskets attached to a simple form of crane. |
| COALMAN | A person who sold coal usually from a horse and cart, house to house. |
| COALMETER | A person who measured the coal. |
| COAST SURVEYOR or WAITER | A customs officer who watched over the off-loading of goods on the coast. |
| COBBLER | A person who mended shoes and boots. |
| COBLEMAN | A person who used a flat bottomed boat for fishing. |
| COCKFEEDER | A person who looked after fighting cocks. |
| COCUS | A cook. |
| COD PLACER | A person who put the fire proof containers which held the pottery for firing into the kiln. |
| COHEN | A priest |
| COINER | A person who worked at the Mint stamping out coins. |
| COLLAR MAKER | A person who made horse collars. In the clothing trade a person who made shirt collars. |
| COLLIER | A coal miner, a coal merchant or a person who worked on the coal barges. Also a person who worked at the pit face and actually got the coal. |
| COLONUS | Latin for farmer or husbandman. |
| COLOUR MAN | [1]A person who mixed the dyes in the textile trade. [2] A shopkeeper who deals in paints etc. |
| COLOURATOR or COLORATOR | A person who worked with dyes. |
| COLPORTEUR | A pedlar who sold books, particularly religious books. |
| COLT | A name given to all those who have not served a regular apprenticeship. Especially used to describe women and child workers in the frame-work knitting trade in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire during the Luddite disturbances 1811-12. |
| COMB MAKER | A person who made combs either for the textile industry for combing wool etc. or the maker of hair combs. |
| COMBER | A person who operated a combing machine in the mills. |
| COMBER or COMBERE | A person who combs wool. |
| COMPOSITOR | A person who set the type ready for printing. |
| CONDER | A person on shore who gave directions to inshore fisherman as to the movements of the shoals of fish (usually from the top of cliffs or rocks). |
| CONEY CATCHER | A rabbit catcher. |
| CONFECTIONER | A sweet and candy maker. |
| CONNER | An inspector or tester. |
| CONNER | See CONDER. |
| CONTRIVER | [1] An inventor. [2] A schemer or plotter. |
| COOPER | A person who made or repaired wooden barrels and casks. |
| COOPER or CUPER | A maker of barrels. |
| COPEMAN | [1] A dealer in goods, [2] A dishonest dealer in horses. See CHAPMAN. |
| COPER | A horse dealer. |
| COPPERBEATER or COPPERBETER | A coppersmith. |
| COPPERSMITH | A person who worked with copper. |
| CORACLE MAKER | A person who made coracles, small round boats used for inland water fishing. |
| CORDINER | Originally a term used for a person who worked with Cordovan, a special soft leather from Spain. Later it became the term used for a shoemaker. |
| CORDWAINER | See CORDINER. |
| CORK CUTTER | A person who worked with cork. |
| CORN CHANDLER | A corn merchant. |
| CORN CUTTER | A podiatrist. |
| CORN FACTOR | A middleman in corn deals. |
| CORN METER | An official who measured and weighed the corn at market. |
| CORNET | The fifth commissioned officer in a troop of cavalry, who carried the colours; corresponding to the ensign in infantry. The lowest commissioned rank in a cavalry regiment, equivalent to the present 2nd Lieutenant. |
| CORVER | A person who made baskets used in coal mining known as corves. |
| CORVEYSERA | See CORDINER. |
| CORVINER | See CORDINER. |
| CORVISER or CORVISOR | See CORDINER. |
| COSTER WIFE | A female street trader. |
| COSTERMONGER | A person who sold fruit and vegetables in the street or market. |
| COTELER or COTYLER | A person who made and repaired knives. |
| COTILER | A cutler. |
| COTTAGER | An agricultural labourer who lived in a cottage on the landowners farm. |
| COTTAR | See COTTAGER. |
| COTTER | See COTTAGER. |
| COTTIER | See COTTAGER. |
| COTTON FEEDER | A person employed in the cotton mills to feed the cotton into the loom. |
| COUCHER | A person employed in the paper making trade. |
| COUNTOUR | A person who collected rates. |
| COUPER | A dealer, usually in cattle and horses. |
| COUPLE BEGGAR | An itinerant priest who performed marriages without licence or banns. |
| COUPLER | A person employed in the coal mines coupling the coal tubs together. |
| COURANTEER | A journalist. |
| COURT FACTOR | A person who bought and sold courts (small carts). |
| COURT ROLLER | A person in charge of the court rolls and records. |
| COURT TOOLMAKER | A manufacturer of tools used to produce carts known as courts. |
| COURTIER | The owner and driver of a horse and cart known as a court. |
| COW LEECH | An animal doctor. |
| COWHERD | A person who looked after cows. |
| COWKEEPER | A person who kept cows usually for their milk which was sold door to door. |
| COWMAN | See COWKEEPER. |
| COXWAIN | [1] A member of the crew that gave the steering instructions to the helmsman, [2] A helmsman, especially of a rowing boat. |
| CRIER | [1] A law court officer, [2] An auctioneer, [3] A town announcer. |
| CRIMPER | A member of navy press gang |
| CROFTER | A tenant of a small piece of land. |
| CROPPER | [1] A tenant who is paid with a share of the crop. [2] A skilled worker in the Yorkshire weaving trade who sheared the nap from cloth, often working in Gig Mills. See also SHEARMAN. |
| CROWNER | A Coroner. |
| CUHREUR (CUNREUR) | A currier. |
| CURER | A person who cures tobacco. |
| CURRETTER | A broker. |
| CURRIER | A person who cures or tans hides. |
| CUSTOMER | A customs tax collector. |
| CUTLER | A knife seller or sharpener. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| DAGUERREOTYPE ARTIST | An early name for a photographer (from the Daguerreotype method). |
| DAIRYMAN | A worker or owner of a dairy farm or seller of dairy products. |
| DAMSTER | A builder of dams for logging purposes. |
| DANTER | A female overseer in the winding rooms of a silk mill. |
| DATALLER | See DAY MAN. |
| DATELER | See DAY MAN. |
| DAY LABORER | A person who was hired and paid on a day-by-day basis. |
| DAY MAN | A casual worker, usually employed by the day, the term was used in many different industries and trades. |
| DAYTALEMAN | See DAY MAN. |
| DEATHSMAN | An executioner. |
| DECIMER | A person elected by the householders in a street to act as their representative at the borough's Court Leet. |
| DECOYMAN | A person employed to decoy the wild fowl, animals, etc, into a trap or within shooting range. |
| DECRETIST | A person knowledgeable in decrees, decretals. |
| DEEMER | al" size=2>See DEEMSTER. |
| DEEMSTER | A judge, usually in the Channel Isles or Isle of Man. |
| DELVER | A person who dug ditches. |
| DEMPSTER | See DEEMSTER. |
| DEMSTER | See DEEMSTER. |
| DEPARTER | A refiner of precious metals. |
| DEPUTY | In the mining industry the Deputy was the safety officer for the pit crew. |
| DERRICKMAN | A person who worked on an oil well handling the tubes and rods used in drilling |
| DEVIL | A printer's errand boy. |
| DEVILLER | A person who operated the devil, a machine that tore rags used in the textile industry. |
| DEXTER | A dyer. |
| DEY WIFE | A female dairy worker. |
| DIGGER | [1] A person who worked at the coal face. [2] A day labourer in a stone or slate quarry. |
| DIKEMAN | A hedger or ditcher. |
| DIPPER | A person who worked in the pottery trade and was responsible for the glazing of items. |
| DISH THROWER | A person who made bowls and dishes from clay. |
| DISH TURNER | A person who made wooden bowls or dishes. |
| DISHER | See DISH THROWER. |
| DISTILLER | A person who distilled spirits, aka Rectifier. |
| DISTRIBUTOR | A parish official attached to the workhouse or poorhouse who looked after the secular needs of the poor. |
| DIVINER | See DOWSER. |
| DOCK MASTER | A person in charge of a dockyard. |
| DOCK WALLOPER | A dock worker, longshoreman. |
| DOCKER | A person employed in a dockyard to load and unload cargo between ship and quayside, aka stevedore, longshoreman. |
| DOG BREAKER | A person who trained dogs. |
| DOG KILLER | A person employed by the parish to kill any dogs found wandering around loose. |
| DOG LEECH | A veterinarian. |
| DOG WHIPPER | When foxes were hunted for bounty the tail of the fox was nailed to the church door as proof of capture. The Dog Whipper was employed to deal with the dogs which disrupted the church service, attracted by the tails. |
| DOMESMAN | Nickname for a judge. |
| DOMESTIC | A household servant. |
| DONKEY BOY or MAN | The driver of a carriage for passengers. |
| DOOR KEEPER | A guard, janitor, or porter. |
| DORCAS | A seamstress. |
| DOUBLER | A person who operated a machine used to twist together strands of fibre (cotton, wool etc). |
| DOWSER | A person who claimed to be able to find water using a forked stick of hazel held close to the body in both hands and passed over the ground. |
| DOZENER | See DECIMER. |
| DRAGMAN | A fisherman who fished by dragging a net along the bottom of the water. |
| DRAGOMAN | A person who acted as interpreter or guide in Turkish or Arabic. |
| DRAGOON | A Cavalryman. |
| DRAGSMAN | A driver of a small stage coach or carriage used for public transport or private hire. |
| DRAINER | A person who made drains. |
| DRAPER | A dealer in fabrics, chiefly woollen and linen cloth, and sewing needs. Larger dealers also sold ready-made clothes. |
| DRAPERY PAINTER | A person whose painting skills were not of the highest level, they usually finished paintings for the artists by painting on the clothes of the subject, hence Drapery Painter. |
| DRAWBOY | A weavers assistant in the shawl making mills. They sat atop the looms and lifted the heavy warps. |
| DRAWER | [1] A person in the metal industry who made wire by drawing the metal through a die. [2] In the mining industry it was a person who raised the coal up the shaft to the surface. |
| DRAYMAN | A person who drove a dray (a heavy four wheeled cart used to transport beer kegs). |
| DREDGERMAN | [1] A London occupation. A person who went on the River Thames in a boat to collect the bits and pieces that had fallen overboard from other vessels which they would then sell. [2] Oyster Fishermen. |
| DRESSER | [1] A person who prepared things, e.g. clothing for a noble person, food, etc.. [2] A person who assisted in medical operations by dressing the wounds. [3] A person who operated a machine that prepared threads in the textile industry. |
| DRESSING MACHINE MAKER | A person who made sewing machines. |
| DRESSMAKER | A person who made clothing. |
| DRIFT MAKER | A person who made drift nets, used in the fishing industry. |
| DRIPPING MAN | A dealer in dripping (the fat collected during the cooking of meats). |
| DRIVER | A slave overseer. |
| DROVER | A person who drove animal stock to market. |
| DRUGGER | A pharmacist. |
| DRUM BATTLEDORE MAKER | A person who made galvanised metal drums fitted with paddles used as mechanical agitators in washing machines (battledore is the name of the bat shaped paddles). |
| DRUMMER | A travelling salesman. |
| DRY SALTER | A dealer in pickles, dried meats, and sauces. |
| DRY STANE DYKER | A Scottish term for a Dry Stone Waller. |
| DRY STONE WALLER | A person who 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. |
| DRYSALTER | A dealer in salted meats. A dealer in dyes and colours used in the dying trade. |
| DRYSALTER | A person who made or dealt in salt. |
| DUBBERE | A cloth dubber, i.e., one who raises the nap of cloth. |
| DUFFER | A Pedlar (of cheap goods). |
| DUSTBIN MAN | See DUSTMAN. |
| DUSTMAN | A person who collected domestic refuse, aka janitor or garbage collector. |
| DYER | A person employed in the textile mills to colour fabric prior to weaving. |
| DYKEMAN | A hedger or ditcher. |
| DYKER | A Scottish term for a stonemason. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| EALDORMAN | An official of the shire courts who acted as the King's deputy taking payment from the profits of the court. |
| EARER | A ploughman. |
| EARTH STOPPER | A person employed to close up the entrances of a fox's earth before the hunt began. |
| EAST INDIA MAN | A person employed by the East India Company, on a commercial or military basis. |
| EBONITE TURNER | A person who worked with ebonite or vulcanite, making combs or ornaments etc. |
| EDGE TOOL MAKER | Blacksmith who made knives and agricultural implements such as scythes. |
| EGG DEALER or FACTOR | An egg or poultry dealer. |
| EGGLER | An egg or poultry dealer. |
| ELEPHANTS TEETH DEALER | A person who dealt in ivory ornaments etc. |
| ELLERMAN | A person who sold oil used for lamps. Also known as an oilman. |
| ELLIMAN | A person who sold oil used for lamps. Also known as an oilman. |
| ELYMAKER | An oilmaker. |
| EMBOSSER | A person who moulded or carved designs that were raised above the surface of the material. |
| EMPRESARIO | A land broker, settlement scheme promoter, showman. |
| ENGINE TENTER | A person who operated the machine which stretched the cloth whilst drying in a woollen mill. |
| ENGINE TURNER | A craftsman or engraver who produced overlaping geometric pattens similar to those produced by 'Spirograph' toys. Engine turning was commonly seen on ladies powder compacts, and has often been used under transparent enamels. |
| ENGINEER | A person who designed roads, bridges, or machinery. Also a person who drove or serviced any machinery e.g. engine drivers. |
| ENGINEMAN | A person employed at a mine to be in charge of the engine house which operated the winding engine and was usually instructed by the BANKMAN. |
| ENGRAVER | A person who cuts or carves designs or lettering in metal or stone etc. |
| ENSIGN | A commissioned officer in the navy. |
| face="arial" size=2>ENUMERATOR | A person who collected the information for the census from the householder and recorded it. |
| EQUERRY | An officer of the Royal household usually responsible for the royal horses. |
| EREMITE | A hermit. |
| ERITE | An heretic. |
| ESQUIRE | The person who attended a knight, a shield-bearer. Later it became a title for a gentleman of standing in society, by birth, position, or education. |
| ESTAFETTE | A mounted courier. |
| ETCHER | A person who cuts or carves designs or lettering in metal or stone etc. A person who made the plates for printing patterns on cloth or printing paper money. |
| EWE HERD | A shepherd. |
| EXCHEQUER | A revenue collector. |
| EXCISEMAN | An excise tax collector. |
| EYER | A person who made eyes in needles used for sewing. Sometimes called a Holer. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| FABER | An artisan or workman. |
| FABRICATOR | A maker. |
| FACTOR | [1] An agent employed by merchants to transact business of buying and selling. [2] A Scottish term for the steward of an estate responsible for collection of land rents. [3] A person selling goods on commission. |
| FAGETTER | A person who made up faggots into bundles, seller of firewood. |
| FAKER | Photographic assistant who added colour to photographs by hand before colour film was available. |
| FANCY MAN | Nickname for a pimp. |
| FANCY WOMAN | A prostitute. |
| FANCY-PEARL WORKER | A worker using mother-of-pearl making buttons or fancy goods. |
| FANNER | A grain winnower. |
| FANWRIGHT | A maker and repairer of fans or winnowing baskets. |
| FARANDMAN | A stranger or traveller, especially a travelling merchant. |
| FARRIER | [1] Shoeing smith, [2] Horse doctor, [3] Non-commissioned officer responsible for the shoeing of horses and a cavalry regiment. |
| FAWKNER | A trainer of falcons. |
| FEAR-NOTHING MAKER | A 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 | A cleanser of feathers. Also feather driver. |
| FEATHER-DRESSER | A person who cleaned and prepared feathers for sale. |
| FEATHER-WIFE | Woman who prepared feathers for use. |
| FEATHERMAN | A dealer in feathers and plumes. |
| FEEDER | A herdsman. |
| FELL MONGER | [1] A remover of hair or wool from hides in leather making. [2] Dealer in hides and skins esp. sheep. |
| FELLER | [1] Textile worker who laid or felled seams in material. [2] Tree or wood cutter. |
| FELTER | Generally referred to a worker in the hating industry. |
| FERONER | Ironmonger. |
| FERRETER | Dealer in or manufacturer of ferret, i.e. silk tape. |
| FERUR (FERATOR) | A farrier or blacksmith. |
| FESTITIAN | Mis-spelling for physician. |
| FETTLER | [1] Cleaned the machinery in woollen mills, removing accumulated fibres, grease, etc. [2] fettlers sharpened the fustian cutters knives. [3] Needlemaker who filed the needle to a point. |
| FEVER | A blacksmith. |
| FEWSTER | A maker of saddletrees. |
| FEWTERER | The keeper of hounds, for hunting or coursing. The tender of greyhounds. |
| FEYDUR BEATER | Feather beater. |
| FIELD MASTER | see HAYWARD. |
| FILIBUSTER | American mercenaries in South America, gun runners. |
| FILLER | A person who filled bobbins in mills. |
| FINE DRAWER | A person employed in tailoring to repair tears in the cloth. Invisible mending. |
| FINISHER | A person who operated machines giving final touches to a manufactured article in various trades. Cloth finisher. |
| FIREBEATER | A person who tended the boilers that powered the machinery in a cotton mill. |
| FIRST HAND | Silk weaver who had his own loom. An outworker. |
| FISCERE | A fisherman (Anglo-Saxon). |
| FISH FAG | A female fish monger. |
| FISHER (FISHDRYVER) | A victualler. |
| FITTER | Originally applied to a joiner. In 19c a common term for a person who assembled several portions of machinery together. [2] A coal broker. |
| FLASHER | A specialist process worker in the glass industry. |
| FLATMAN | Navigated a broad flat-bottomed boat used for transport, especially in shallow waters. Common in the salt trade. |
| FLAUNER | A confectioner. |
| FLAXDRESSER | Prepared flax prior to spinning. |
| FLESHER | A butcher or tannery worker. |
| FLESHER | [1] A butcher or a person who worked in a tannery. [2] Nickname for a pimp. |
| FLESHEWER | A butcher. |
| FLESHMONGER | See FLESHER. |
| FLETCHER | Made bows and arrows, an arrowsmith. (from Fr. fleche). |
| FLOATER | A vagrant. |
| FLOATMAN | See FLATMAN. |
| FLOWER | An archer (Flo-arrow). |
| FLUSHERMAN | A person who cleaned out water mains. |
| FLYCOACHMAN | A driver of a one-horse carriage hired by the day. See also JOBMASTER. |
| FLYING STATIONER | A street broadsheet seller. |
| FLYMAN | [1] Driver of a light vehicle hired out for carriage of passengers. [2] Theatre stage hand. |
| FOGGER | [1] Petty chapman, carrying wares from village to village. [2] Middleman in nail and chain trade. [3] Agricultural worker responsible for feeding the cattle. [4] Low class lawyer (Pettifogger). |
| FOISTER(ER) | A Joiner. |
| FOOT MAIDEN | A female servant. |
| FOOT MAN | A servant who ran errands. |
| FOOT PAD | A robber. |
| FOOT STRAIGHTENER | In watchmaking, a person who assembled watch and clock dials. |
| FOOT-BOY or MAN | A servant or attendant in livery. |
| FOOT-POST | A letter carrier or messenger who travelled on foot. |
| FORESTER | A game warden or forest ranger. |
| FORGEMAN | [1] Blacksmith or assistant, [2] Coachsmith (18c. Derbyshire). |
| FORGER | A Blacksmith, worker at a forge. |
| FORKNER | A Falconer, (mis-spelling). |
| FOSSETMAKER | A person who made faucets for ale-casks, etc. |
| FOWER | A street cleaner, sweeper. |
| FRAME SPINNER | A worker on a loom. |
| FRAMER | A person who made frames for houses. |
| FRAMEWORKER KNITTER | An operator of a machine which made hosiery. Originally a hand loom was used. Often abbreviated to FWK. |
| FREEDMAN | A person released from slavery. |
| FREEHOLDER | one who holds land by fee simple. In colonial times, a free-holder had the right to vote and hold public office. |
| FREEMAN | one who held the full rights of citizenship, such as voting and engaging in business (as opposed to an indentured servant). a man who was free of trade taxes and who shared in the profits of the borough in which he lived and traded, a tenant who was free of feudal service and a man who had served his apprenticeship and who could then work at his trade in his own right. In the city of London nearly all freemen became so by virtue of being freemen of a City Guild. On attaining company freedom, a man would automatically apply for the freedom of the City. He was entitled to call himself ‘Citizen’. |
| FREEMASON | A stonecutter. |
| FRESER | A maker of frieze, a rough plaster. |
| FRESHWATER MAN | A sailor who sailed boat on fresh water only or in the coastal trade. |
| FRINGEMAKER | A person who made fringes, ornamental borders of cloth. |
| FRIPPERER | A buyer & seller of old clothes. |
| FRISEUR | A hair dresser. |
| FROBISHER | see FURBISHER. |
| FRUITERER | A fruit seller. |
| FRUITESTERE | A female fruit seller. |
| FULKER | A pawnbroker. |
| FULLER | See also Tucker and Walker. Term found mainly in S. and E. England. Originally a person who used fuller's earth to thicken and cleanse cloth, by treading it under water. |
| FUNAMBULIST | A tightrope walker. |
| FURBISHER | A worker who removed rust, a polisher of metal, e.g. armour. |
| FURNER | A baker. |
| FURRIER | A dealer, maker or dresser of furs. |
| FUSTIAN WEAVER | A maker of corduroy. |
| FUYSTER | See FOISTER. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| GABELER | A tax collector. |
| GAFFER | [1] Foreman of a gang of workers. [2] An elderly rustic, an old man. |
| GAFFMAN | A bailiff. |
| GAGER | A tax collector of liquor taxes. |
| GALVANISER | An iron worker who handled process of coating metal with zinc, to inhibit formation of rust. |
| GAME KEEPER | A person who worked on an estate and protected the game and livestock from the intrusion of poachers. The role was not unlike that of the ancient foresters, who protected the stocks of the King's game. |
| GAMESTER | [1] A gambler, [2] A prostitute (19c. slang). |
| GANGER | An overseer or foreman, 1850 onwards. |
| GANGSMAN | A foreman. |
| GANNEKER | A tavern keeper. |
| GAOLER | A Jailer. |
| GARTHMAN | [1] Yardman or herdsman. [2] One responsible for the upkeep of a garth, a dam built in a river to catch fish. [3] Owner or worker of a fish trap. |
| GATER | A watchman. |
| GATHERER | A glassworker who inserted the blow iron into the molten glass ready for the blower (q.v.). |
| GATHERERS BOY | See Gatherer. A person who held a shovel to shield the gatherer's face from the heat of a fire or furnace. |
| GATWARD | A goat keeper. |
| GAUGER | A customs official who measured the capacity of imported barrels of liquor in order to calculate the customs duty. |
| GAUNTER | A glover. |
| GAVELLER | [1] Usurer. [2] In the Forest of Dean, an officer of the Crown who granted gales or the right to work a mine. [3] In Suffolk a harvest worker, usually female. |
| GELDER | A castrator of animals, especially horses. |
| GENTLEMAN | a member of the gentry, a descendant from an aristocratic family whose income came from the rental of his land. |
| GENTRY | remaining families of hereditary rank. In the English system, the baronets and the knights. |
| GEOMETER | A person skilled in geometry. |
| GERUND GRINDER | Latin instructor (nickname). |
| GILDER | A person who applied gold leaf. |
| GIMLER | A machinist involved in making a gimp, a kind of card. |
| GINOUR | An engineer. |
| GIRDLER | A leather worker who made girdles and belts, chiefly for the Army. |
| GIRTHOXTER | See Girthweaver. |
| GLASS COACHMAN | See Jobmaster. Driver of two-horse carriage hired out for the day. |
| GLASSMAN | A seller of glassware. |
| GLAZIER | A glass cutter or window glassman. |
| GOAT CARRIAGE MAN | A driver of small passenger carriage. |
| GOLDSMITH | [1] A maker of gold articles, [2] A banker (nickname). |
| GOODMAN | a solid member of the community who ranked above a free-man but below a gentleman on the social scale. |
| GOOSE HERD | A person who tends geese. |
| GORZEMAN | A seller of gorse or broom. |
| GRACE WIFE | A midwife. |
| GRAFFER | A notary or scrivener. |
| GRANGER | A farmer. |
| GRAVER | [1] A carver or sculptor, engraver of images. [2] Dockside worker who cleaned ship bottoms by burning and tarring. |
| GRAZIER | A person who pastures and raises cattle. |
| GREAVE or GRIEVE | Bailiff, foreman, sheriff. |
| GREEN GROCER | A fruit and vegetable seller. |
| GREENSMITH | p">A worker in copper or latten. |
| GREENWICH BARBER | A retailer of sand collected from the Greenwich pits. |
| GRIFFIN | A European newly arrived in India, and unaccustomed to Indian ways; a novice, a newcomer, a greenhorn. |
| GRIMBRIBBER | A lawyer. |
| GRINDER | [1] A person who operated grinding machine. Found in various trades, metal works, knife sharpening, cutlery in general, also glass and toolmaking. [2] Worker who maintained a carding machine (textile industry). [3] A private tutor (slang). |
| GROOVER | A miner. |
| GROUNDSEL & CHICKWEED SELLER | A street seller of common weeds, used to feed pet song-birds. |
| GUARDIAN | an appointee of the court who cares for the property and rights of a minor or someone incapable of handling his or her own affairs. |
| GUINEA PIG | An unattached or roving person whose fee was usually a guinea (slang). |
| GUMMER | A person who improved old saws by deepening the cuts. |
| GYP | A college servant especially one attending undergraduates. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| HABERDASHER | [1] Dealer in small articles, eg. ribbons, needles, pins. [2] Dealer in hats, shirts, ties, collars, etc. in particular men's clothing. |
| HACKER | [1] Wood cutter. [2] A person who made or used hoes, axe, or other cutting tools. |
| HACKLER | A worker in the linen industry. A person who separated the coarse part of flax or hemp with a hackle, an instrument with teeth. |
| HACKMAN | See Hackler. |
| HACKNEY MAN | A renter of horses & carriages. |
| HAIR SEATING & CURLED HAIR MERCHANT | A dealer in horse-hair stuffing used in upholstery. |
| HAIRMAN | See Hairweaver. |
| HAIRWEAVER | A weaver of cloth composed wholly or partly of horsehair. |
| HALBERT CARRIER | A soldier or halberdier, armed with a halberd, a combination spear and battleaxe. A ceremonial officer. |
| HAMMERMAN | A hammerer, a smith. |
| HANDSELLER | A street vendor. |
| HANDWOMAN | A midwife or female attendant. |
| HARLOT | [1] Vagabond, beggar, rogue. [2] 14c. male servant, attendant or menial. [3] 15c. Loose woman. |
| HARMER BECK | A constable. |
| size=2>HARPER | A performer on the harp. |
| HATCHELER or HATCHLER | A person who cleaned, combed or carded flax. |
| HATTER | A maker of or dealer in hats. |
| HAWKER | [1] Street seller who cried his wares in town, [2] Often applied to country peddlers as a term of abuse, [3] Itinerant dealer who carried his wares on his back. |
| HAYMONGER | A dealer in hay. |
| HAYWARD | [1] Inspector of hedges and fences of a parish who also impounded stray beasts [2] Man who tended field set aside to produce hay. [3] A fence viewer. |
| HEADSMAN | Nickname for an executioner. |
| HEADSWOMAN | A midwife. |
| HEALD KNITTER | An operator of a machine which produced a jersey type of fabric as opposed to woven fabric. (Textile Industry). |
| HECK MAKER | A maker of a part of a spinning machine by which the yarn is guided to the reels. |
| HECKLER | See Hackler. |
| HEDGE LOOKER | see Hayward. Supervised good repair of fence and enclosures. |
| HEDGER | A hedge trimmer. |
| HEELMAKER | A person who made shoe heels. |
| HELLIER | A slater or tiler of roofs. |
| HELPER-UP | A young boy employed in Durham pits to help other workers. |
| HEMP HECKLER | A flax dresser. See hackler. |
| HENCHMAN | [1] A horseman or groom; [2] A Squire, a page of honour. [3] Chief attendant of Highland chief. |
| HENSMAN | A horseman or groom. |
| HENTER | A thief. |
| HEWER | A miner who cut coal, stone, etc., a face worker in a mine. |
| HIGGLER | A person who haggles or bargains. An itinerant peddler or dealer, similar to a cadger. |
| HIGH SHERIFF | the highest-ranking sheriff, as opposed to deputy sheriffs. The term was popular in England and Colonial America. |
| HIGHWAYMAN | A robber who preys on public roads. |
| HILLIER | A slater or tiler of roofs. |
| HILLIER | Roof tiler. See Hellier. |
| HIND | [1] A household or domestic servant, [2] In SCT a skilled farm labourer. |
| HINXMAN | See Henchman. |
| HIRED MAN | A gardener, farmhand, or stableman. |
| HOBBLER | A person who was employed to tow a boat on the rivers or canals. |
| HOD | A bricklayer's labourer. |
| HODSMAN | A mason's assistant. |
| HOGGARD | A pig drover. |
| HOLLOWARE WORKER | [1] Pottery worker who made ornaments, teapots, etc. as opposed to flatware such as plates, dishes, [2] One involved in the production of tin trunks, boxes, etc. or the painting and graining of them. HOLLOWARE was also a trade name for hollow articles of iron, as pots and kettles. |
| HOOFER | A dancer. |
| HOOKER | [1] 16c. Reaper, [2] 19c. Worker in textile industry who operated a machine which laid fabric flat in uniform folds of any required length. |
| HOOPER | A maker of hoops for barrels or casks. |
| HORNER | A worker in horn making spoons, combs, or musical horns. |
| HORSE COPER | A horse dealer. |
| HORSE COURSER | An owner of race horses. |
| HORSE KNAVE | A groom. |
| HORSE LEECH | A horse-doctor, or Farrier. See Cowleech. Veterinarian. |
| HORSE MARINE | Man-handled barges on canals when horses could not be used. |
| HORSE-CAPPER | A dealer in worthless horses. |
| HORSE-HAIR CURLER | Dressed horse hair which was used extensively in the upholstery trade. |
| HOSIER | [1] A retailer of stockings, socks, gloves, night-caps, etc. [2] The owner of frame-work knitting machines hired them out to workers to produce stockings. |
| HOSTELLER | An Innkeeper. |
| HOSTLER | [1] A person cares for horses, stableman, groom, [2] USA repairer of railway engines. |
| HOTPRESSER | A worker in paper or textile industries. Product was pressed between glazed boards and hot metal plates to obtain a smooth and shiny surface. |
| HOUSE JOINER | A house framer. |
| HOUSE WRIGHT | A house builder. |
| HOWDY WIFE | A midwife. |
| HOYMAN | A person who engaged in the carriage of goods and passengers by water. (Hoy = small coastal vessel or sloop). |
| HUCKSTER | [1] Street Seller of ale, often a woman, [2] Retailer of small wares in shop or booth. |
| HUISSHER | An usher. A door attendant. |
| HURDLEMAN or HURDLER | A hedge-maker, of wattled framework fencing, a southern counties trade. |
| HURRIERS | In coal mining, term applied to the girls aged 5-18 who were employed as coal-drawers (q.v.). |
| HUSBANDMAN | A tenant farmer who cultivated the land. |
| HUSH SHOP KEEPER | A person who brewed and sold beer without a licence (usually as a side line). |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ICEMAN | A seller or deliverer of ice. |
| IDLEMAN | A gentleman of leisure. |
| INDENTURED SERVANT | one who was voluntarily or involuntarily committed to working for someone for a fixed number of years (usually 4 to 7) in exchange for passage to America or some other financial advantage. The lowest person on the totem pole, an indentured servant had few, if any, rights, but people without skills or money accepted this position in order to emigrate. After the period of work was over, the servant usually became a freeman. |
| INFIRMARIAN | A person in charge of an infirmary. |
| INTELLIGENCER | A spy. |
| INTENDENT | A director of a public or government business. |
| INTERFACTOR | A murderer. |
| IRON FOUNDER | A person who founds or casts iron. |
| IRON INDUSTRY | Supported among others the following occupations: Brazier, Broker, Caster, Founder, Galvaniser, Moulder, Monger, Shearer, Platemaker, Worker. |
| IRON MASTER | The owner or manager of a foundry. |
| IRON MONGER | A dealer in hardware made of iron. Also known as a Feroner. |
| IRON SMITH | A worker in iron, a blacksmith. |
| IVORY WORKERS | Included makers of combs, boxes, billiard balls, buttons, and keys for pianofortes. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| JACK | [1] A young male assistant, [2] A sailor, [3] A 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 | [1] Carrier, carter, pedlar or hawker of fish. [2] 19c. Derbyshire. A young boy in charge of 'jags' or train of trucks in coal mine. [3] Man in charge of pack horse carrying iron ore to be smelted. [4] From 1899 a uniformed messenger boy employed by a London business firm. |
| JAKES-FARMER | A person who emptied cesspools. |
| JAPANNER | A varnisher who used lacquering process invented in Japan. Closely allied to papier-mâché trade. |
| JERQUER | Custom house officer who searched ships. |
| JERSEY COMBER | Worker in woollen manufacture. (Jersey = wool which has been combed but not spun into yarn). |
| JOB COACHMAN | See JOBMASTER. Driver of coach hired out for long periods to nobility or gentry. |
| JOBBER | A buyer in quantity to sell to others, a pieceworker. |
| JOBLING GARDENER | One employed on a casual basis. Also Jobbing. |
| JOBMASTER | A person who supplied carriages, horses and drivers for hire. |
| JOINER | A craftsman who works with wood. A skilled carpenter. |
| JONGLEUR | A travelling minstrel. |
| JOURNEYMAN | A craftsman who had served an apprenticeship and was no longer bound to serve a master. Distinguished on one side from apprentice, on the other from master. |
| JOUSTER | A female hawker of fish who usually travelled on foot for town to town. A fish monger |
| JOYNER | See JOINER. |
| JUSTICIAR | The head of the royal judicial system and the king's viceroy when absent from the country. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| KEDGER | A Fisherman. |
| KEEKER | Colliery official who checked quantity and quality of coal output. See WEIGHMAN. |
| KEELER | See KEELMAN. |
| KEELMAN | A bargeman. From keel, a flat bottomed boat. |
| KEMPSTER | A woolcomber. |
| KIDDIER | [1] Skinner, [2] Dealer in young goats. |
| KILNER | A limeburner, in charge of a kiln. |
| KISSER | Made cuishes and high armour. |
| KNACKER | A dealer in old horses, dead animals. Harness maker, saddler. |
| KNAPPERS | A worker who dressed and shaped flints into required shape and size. Major use was flintlocks in weapons for British Army. |
| KNELLER | A chimney sweep who solicited custom by knocking on doors. |
| KNIGHT | The retainer of a feudal lord who owes military service for his fief, usually the service of one fully equipped, mounted warrior. The ideals to which a knight may aspire are notably prowess, loyalty, generosity and courtesy. |
| KNOCKER-UP | The man employed to wake up northern mill and factory workers on early shifts, going from house to house using a long pole to knock on bedroom windows. |
| KNOCKKNOBBLER | A dog catcher. |
| KNOLLER | A toller of bells. |
| KNULLER | See KNELLER. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| LACE DRAWER | A child employed in lace work, drawing out threads. |
| LACE MASTER or MISTRESS | A person who employed workers in factories or in their homes for the production of lace. |
| LACE RUNNER | A young worker who embroidered patterns on lace. |
| LACEMAN | A dealer in lace, who collected it from the makers, usually only those who had bought his thread, and sold it in the lace markets. |
| LACEWOMAN | A lady's maid. |
| LAGGER | A sailor. |
| LAGRAETMAN | A local constable (Law-Rightman). |
| LAND WAITER | A customs officer whose duty was to wait or attend on landed goods. |
| LANDSMAN | A seaman on first voyage. |
| LAPIDARY | A person who cuts, polishes or engraves precious stones. |
| LARDNER | The keeper of the cupboard. |
| LASTER | A person who made shoes using a last, a cobbler. |
| LATH RENDER(ER) | A person who puts the first coat of plaster onto laths on floor and ceiling. (a plaster's assistant). |
| LATTENER | A skilled metal worker who made or worked in latten, a mixed metal resembling brass. |
| LAUNDERER | A washer. |
| LAUNDERESS | A washerwoman, a person who washed linen. |
| LAVENDER | A washerwoman, from French laver, to wash. |
| LAYER | A worker in paper mill responsible for a particular stage in paper-making process. |
| LEAVELOOKER | A person who examined food on sale at market. |
| LEDERER | A leather maker. |
| LEECH | See PHYSICIAN. |
| LEGERDEMAINIST | A magician. |
| LEGGER | A canal boatman. Barges had to be legged through underground tunnels by the men lying flat on deck and 'walking' along the roof or sides of the tunnel thus propelling the boat along by leg power not horse power. See also HORSE MARINE. |
| LEIGHTONWARD | A gardener (leighton = a garden). |
| LETTER CARRIER | 18c. Forerunner of local postman. The Post Office appointed a large number of letter carriers in 1722 to make house to house deliveries within a town. |
| LICENCED VICTUALER | A seller of alcoholic beverages. |
| LIGHTERMAN | A boatman who worked on a lighter, a large open flat-bottomed boat used in loading and unloading larger sea going ships. |
| LIMNER | An illuminator of books, painter or drawer. |
| LINENER | A linen draper, shirtmaker. |
| LINER or LYNER | A flax dresser. |
| LINKERBOY or MAN | [1] A person 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 19c. [2] Term sometimes applied to general manservant late 19c. |
| LISTER | A dyer of cloth. |
| LITSTER | See LISTER. |
| LITTERMAN | A groom (of horses). |
| LOADSMAN | A ship's pilot. |
| LOBLOLLY BOY | [1] An errand boy. [2] Surgeon's assistant on board ship (Naut). |
| LOCK KEEPER | An overseer of canal locks. |
| LODGER | A person who was provide with accommodation but was not supplied with meals. See BOARDER |
| LOG WOOD GRINDER | Preparer of a dye made from logwood, used in textile industry. |
| LONG SONG SELLER | A street seller who sold popular songsheets printed on paper about a yard long. |
| LONGSHOREMAN | [1] A landsman employed to load and unload ships, a Stevedore. [2] A fisherman who fishes from or along the shore. |
| LORIMER or LORINER | See also Spurrier. [1] Made spits, bridles, and other metal parts for the harness of horses. [2] Maker of small ironware. [3] Worker in wrought iron. |
| LORMER | See LORIMER. |
| LOTSELLER | A street seller. |
| LUM SWOOPER | (SCT) A chimney sweep. |
| LUMPER | [1] Dock labourer who discharged cargo of timber. Employed by a Master Lumper, not the Dock Company. [2] Fine-grain saltmaker, from practice of moulding salt into lumps. |
| LUNGS | An alchemist's servant whose duty was to fan the fire. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| MACHINE BREAKER | Members of the English labouring class who in the early 19th century revolted and broke threshing machines, spinning machines, and other forms of mechanisation. |
| MADERER | A person who gathered and sold garlic. |
| MAID | A female domestic servant. Class included Scullery, Kitchen, House, General, Parlour, Nurse, Laundry, Lady's etc. |
| MAIL GUARD | An armed guard, frequently an ex-soldier, employed on the mail coach service, inaugurated in 178 [4] Later Post Office guards were officially appointed. |
| MAISE MAKER | A person who made measures for weighing herring catch. |
| MAKER-UP | [1] Garment assembler, A person who prepared or 'made up' material to customers requirements. [2] Chemist or druggist. [3] Agent for paraffin. |
| MALEMAKER | A maker of 'Males' or travelling bags. Term was adopted by the Royal Mail from the bags in which the letters were carried. |
| MALENDER | A Farmer. |
| MALER | See Malemaker. |
| MALSTER | A person who prepared malt for the brewing industry. |
| MANCHESTER MAN | also Shrewsbury, Sheffield, etc. Late 18c. A wholesale travelling merchant trading between factory and shopkeeper with goods on packhorses. Sometimes independent, sometimes employed by the manufacturer. |
| MANCIPLE | Steward. |
| MANGLE KEEPER | A woman who hired the use of the mangle to others for a fee. |
| MANGO | A slave dealer. |
| MANTLE FOREWOMAN | A highly skilled dressmaker. |
| MANTUA MAKER | A Dressmaker. (Mantua = a woman's loose gown). |
| MARBLER | A person who stained paper or other material, veined in imitation of marble. |
| MARINER | A person who obtained a living on the sea in whatever rank, equivalent to the R.N. rank of Able Seaman. |
| MARSHALL | A horse doctor or shoesmith. |
| MARSHMAN | A man employed by various landowners to look after marshlands and tend the animals put to graze there for the season. |
| MASHMAKER | A maker of the mash-vats or mashels used for mixing malt. |
| MASON | A stonecutter or stone-dresser. |
| MASTER | One of three grades of skill recognised by the Guild of Crafts. A skilled workman or one in business on his own. |
| MASTER LUMPER | A contractor of labourers at cheap rate of pay. Generally a publican who only hired and paid customers who frequented their public houses. |
| MASTER MARINER | A Sea Captain. |
| MATCHET FORGER | A knifemaker (Machete = heavy axe-like knife used as a chopping tool). |
| MATHER | See MAWER. |
| MAWER | A mower. |
| MEALMAN | A dealer in meal or flour. |
| MECHANIC | [1] Manual labourer, working at a trade. [2] Operator of a machine (less skilled than an engineer). [3] A person who uses machinery to produce goods, e.g. frame-work knitter, spinner, weaver, etc. |
| MELDER | A corn miller. |
| MERCATOR | A merchant. |
| MERCER | A cloth seller, chiefly silks and velvets. See DRAPER. |
| METALMAN | A worker in metals. |
| METERER | A poet. |
| MIDWIFE | An experience woman who assists in child birth. |
| MILLER | A person who converted materials into another form, e.g. Corn miller, cloth miller, saw miller. |
| MILLERESS | A miller's wife. |
| MILLINER | [1] Seller of fancy wares and articles of apparel. [2] Maker of ladies hats, bonnets, etc. |
| MILLPECK | A sharpener of mill stones. |
| MILLWRIGHT | A person who designed or built mills and mill machinery. |
| MILSTONE INSPECTOR | A vagrant, a gentleman of the road. |
| MINER | A worker in a mine, digging for coal, ironstone, lead, tin miner, etc. |
| MINTMAKER or MINTMASTER | An issuer of local currency. |
| MIXER | A bartender. |
| MOCADO WEAVER | A weaver of woollen cloth used for making clothes 16-17c. Sometimes called mock velvet. |
| MOLITOR | A miller. |
| MONDAYMAN | See Cottager. A person who worked for landowner on Mondays in lieu of rent. |
| MONGER | A dealer in goods (i.e., fishmonger, ironmonger). |
| MONTHLY NURSE | A nurse attending women in the first month after confinement. |
| MOULDER | A maker of moulds or castings, a brickmaker. |
| MOULDER RUNNER | A pottery moulder's assistant, a young boy who ran between master and drying oven, carrying full moulds and returning with empty ones. |
| MOUNTEBANK | A seller of ineffectual patent medicines. |
| MUDLARK | A sewer cleaner, riverbank scavenger. |
| MUFFIN MAKER | A baker who made muffins, round flat cakes of dough which were toasted before eating. [2] Pottery worker who made a specific type of plate, i.e. a seven inch tea plate known as a muffin. |
| MUFFIN MAN | An itinerant seller of muffins. |
| MUGGLER | See PIGMAN. |
| MUGSELLER | A seller of cups, mugs. |
| MULESKINNER | A teamster. |
| MULETEER | A mule driver. |
| MULTURER | A miller. |
| MUSICKER | A musician. |
| MUSTARDER | see MUSTARDMAN. |
| MUSTARDMAN | A dealer in mustard. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| NAILOR | See CARD NAILER. |
| NAPERER | A Royal servant in charge of the table linen. |
| NAPIER | A person in charge of the table linen in the Manor House. See NAPERER. |
| NARROW WEAVER | A weaver of ribbons, tapes, etc. |
| NAVIGATOR | [1] A sailor in charge of navigating. [2] A labourer who dug canals and later worked on the railways. The origin of navvy. |
| NAVIGOR | See NAVIGATOR. |
| NEATHERD(ER) | A cowherder. |
| NECESSARY WOMAN | A servant responsible for emptying and cleaning chamber pots. |
| NECKER | A worker responsible for the feeding of cardboard into the machine the makes boxes. |
| NEDELLER | A needle maker. |
| NEEDLE POINTER | [1] In needlemaking a filer or fettler. [2] A person engaged in the craft of needlepoint. |
| NETTER | A net maker. |
| NIGHT SOILMAN | A person employed to empty cesspits, ashpits and backyard toilets. |
| NIGHTMAN | See NIGHT SOILMAN. |
| NIGHTWALKER | A watchman or bellman. |
| NIMGIMMER | A doctor. |
| NIPPER | A lorry boy, a young person employed by the carter or wagoner to assist with the collection and delivery of goods. |
| NOB THATCHER | A wig maker. |
| NOON TENDER | A person who guarded the goods on the quay while the officers were a lunch. |
| NOTARY | a person officially authorised to draw up or attest to contracts, wills, deeds, or similar documents, to protest bills of exchange. |
| NOTERER | A notary. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| OCCUPIER | A tradesman. |
| OILMAN | A person who sold the oil for lamps. |
| OLITOR | A kitchen gardener. From Olitory (a kitchen garden). |
| ORDERLY | A soldier who functioned as a servant for an officer. |
| ORDINARY KEEPER | An innkeeper. |
| ORRERY MAKER | A person who made a mechanical apparatus for showing the movements of the planets. Named after the Earl of Orrery the inventor. |
| ORRICE WEAVER | A designer of lace patterns to be woven with silk thread and silk. |
| OSIER PEELER | A person who removed bark from willow rods or osiers which were used in basket weaving, usually women and children. Also known as withy peelers. |
| OSTIARY | A monastery door keeper. |
| OSTLER | see HOSTLER. |
| OUT CRIER | An auctioneer. |
| OUTWORKER | A worker who carried on their occupation at home, e.g., cotton or woollen weavers but it applies to many occupations. |
| OVERLOOKER | A superintendent or overseer, especially in the textile mills. Often an hereditary position. |
| OVERMAN | A supervisor in a colliery who checked the miners work and the quality of the mined coal. |
| OWLER | A person associated with smuggling particularly a sheep or wool smuggler. |
| OYSTER DREDGER | A member of the crew on board an oyster fishing boat. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| PACK THREAD SPINNER | The operator of the machine which made thread or twine. |
| PACKER | A person who packs goods such as pickles or herring. |
| PACKMAN | A pedlar, a person who travelled around carrying goods for sale in a pack. |
| PAD MAKER | A person who made small baskets used for measuring. |
| PAINTER | A person who painted things e.g. houses wooden goods, etc or an Artist. |
| PAINTRESS | A woman employed in the pottery industry to hand paint the finished articles. |
| PALINGMAN | A seller of eels, a fishmonger. |
| PALISTER | A Park Keeper, a person who ensured the parks were safe and well kept. |
| PALMER | A person who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land. |
| PANNIER MAN | A fishmonger. |
| PANNIFEX | Somebody who worked in the cloth trade. |
| PANSMITH | A person who made pans i.e. a metal worker. |
| PANTER | The keeper of the pantry. |
| PANTLER | A butler. |
| PAPAYA MAN | A person who was involved in trade with New Guinea, from Papua New Guinea. |
| PAPER MAKER | See Vatman, Coucher, Layer, Sizer. |
| PAPERER | A person employed in the needlemaking trade to insert the needles into the paper ready for sale. |
| PAPERHANGER | An interior decorator who put up wallpaper. |
| PARDONER | A seller of indulgences. |
| PARGETER | The person who applied ornamental plaster to buildings. |
| PARITOR | A church officer who attended the magistrates and justices at court for the purpose of executing their orders. |
| PARKER | The person in charge of a park usually a hunting or game park. |
| PASSAGE KEEPER | A person who kept passages and alleys clean. |
| PASTELER | A pastry chef. |
| PASTOR | A shepherd. |
| PATTEN MAKER | A clog maker or the person who made wooden soles (pattens) to fit under normal shoes to protect from wet and muddy ground. |
| PAVER | See PAVIOUR. |
| PAVIOUR | A person paid to maintain pavements. A person who laid paving stones. |
| PAVYLER | A person who put up pavilions or tents etc. |
| PAWNBROKER | A person who loaned money with interest against items of value left for security. |
| PEDASCULE | A schoolmaster. |
| PEDLAR | A person who sold things house to house or on the road. A person who bought and sold goods for cash. |
| PEELER | A policeman, constable, bobby. From Sir Robert Peel founder of the police force. |
| PEEVER | A pepper seller. |
| PELTERER | A person who worked with animal skins. |
| PERAMBULATOR | A surveyor. |
| PERCHEMEAR | A person who made parchment. |
| PEREGRINATOR | Itinerant wanderer or worker. |
| PERFUMER | A maker or seller of perfumes. |
| PERIWIG MAKER | A person who made wigs. |
| PERUKE MAKER | A person who made wigs. |
| PERUKER | A wigmaker. |
| PESSONER | A fishmonger. |
| PETER MAN | A fisherman. |
| PETTIFOGGER | A low class lawyer. |
| PETTY CHAPMAN | An itinerant dealer in small goods, a pedlar. See CHAPMAN. |
| PEW OPENER | A person hired to open the doors to private pews in church. |
| PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER | A craftsman who made scientific instruments. |
| PHRENOLOGIST | A diviner of a person's character based on the bumps on a person's head. |
| PICKER | A person who cast the shuttle on a loom. |
| PIECE BROKER | A person who sold material remnants. |
| PIECE WORKER | A worker who was paid for the number or pieces produced rather than by the hour. People who worked from home were usually pieceworkers. However in more recent times sewing machine operators employed to make part of the garment and still worked in the mill were paid for piecework. |
| PIECEMASTER | The middleman between employer and employee who passed out the piecework. |
| PIECENER | See PIECER. |
| PIECER | A person usually a child, who worked in a spinning mill, employed to piece together any threads which broke. |
| PIGMAKER | A person who made pig or cast iron, also a pottery worker. |
| PIGMAN | [1] A person who sold crockery. [2] A person who bred or looked after pigs on the farm. |
| PIKELET MAKER | A baker who specialised in making pikelets (a small pancake or crumpet). |
| PIKEMAN | [1] A millers assistant. [2] A person who worked at the turnpike. [3] In olden days a soldier who carried a pike. |
| PIKER | A tramp or vagrant. |
| PILL BOX BOTTOMER | A person responsible for making the bottoms of pill boxes in the pottery trade. |
| PILL BOX LIDDER | A person responsible for making the lids of pill boxes in the pottery trade. |
| PILLER | A robber. |
| PILOT | A ship steersman. |
| PINDER | [1] A dog catcher and pound keeper. [2] A person in charge of the pinfold. |
| PINER | A labourer. |
| PINNER | A pin maker. |
| PINNER UP | A dressmakers assistant. A person who sold broadsheets or ballads in the streets. |
| PIPER | An innkeeper. |
| PISTOR | A baker. |
| PIT BROW LASS | A female worker who worked on the surface of the mines. |
| PITMAN | A coal miner. |
| PLAIN WORKER | A person who performed plain sewing or needlework as opposed to an embroiderer. |
| PLAISTERER | A plasterer. |
| PLAITER | A maker of straw plaits used in making hats etc. |
| PLANKER | A person who planks or kneads the body of the hat during felting. |
| PLASTERER | A person who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing. |
| PLAYDERER | A person who made plaid. |
| PLEACHER /PLAICHER /PLATCHER / PLASHER | A hedge layer. |
| PLOWMAN | A farmer. |
| PLOWWRIGHT | A maker or repairer of ploughs. |
| PLUMASSIER | A person who made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers. |
| PLUMBER | A person who worked with lead. However as lead was the main metal used in pipes for water, gas, etc, it became the term used for a tradesman who installed or repaired pipes and drains of all types. |
| PLUMER | See PLUMASSIER. |
| PODIATRIST | A Chiropodist. |
| POINTER | A person who sharpened needles or pins, etc. |
| POINTMAKER | A person who made the tips of laces. |
| POINTMAN | A person who made the tips of laces. |
| POINTSMAN | A railway worker who operated the points to change the line (track) on which the train was travelling. |
| POLDAVE WORKER | A person who made poldave, a coarse fabric. |
| POLE LATHE TURNER | A craftsman in woodwork. |
| POLEMAN | A surveyor's assistant. |
| POLENTIER | A poulterer. |
| POLLER | A barber. |
| PONDERATOR | An inspector of weights and measures. |
| PONY DRIVER | A person (usually a child) in charge of the pit pony which pulled the coal tubs underground. |
| PORTABLE SOUP MAKER | A person who converted soup into a dry form for transporting from place to place. |
| PORTER | A person employed to carry baggage or attend to doors in public places. A door or gatekeeper. |
| PORTMANTEAU MAKER | A maker of leather trunks for clothes, etc., opening into two equal parts. |
| POST BOY | A person who carried mail from town to town. A guard who travelled on the mail coach. An outrider who travelled with the stagecoach as a postillion. |
| POSTER | A person who worked in the quarries breaking rocks. |
| POSTILLION | A person who attached extra horses to wagons & coaches to help pull them up hills |
| POSTILLION | A person who worked on long distance coaches and who's duty it was to change the horses at the stops. |
| POSTMAN | A letter carrier. |
| POT BOY or MAN | A person who worked in public houses washing and removing dirty pots also did other menial tasks. |
| POT BURNER | A person who placed the pot in a furnace to be fired. |
| POTATO BADGER | A seller of potatoes. |
| POTTER | A maker or seller of pottery. |
| POTTER CARRIER | A chemist or pharmacist. |
| POTTER PRESSER | A potter who used a mould. |
| POTTER THROWER | A potter who used a wheel and therefore had to "throw" the clay. |
| POUCH MAKER | A person who made pouches or purses. |
| POULTER | See POULTERER. |
| POULTERER | A dealer who bought and sold poultry. |
| POWER LOOM TUNER | A person who maintained the loom in mills. |
| POWLER | A barber. |
| POYNTER | A lace maker. |
| PRECEPTRESS | A school mistress. |
| PRENTIS | An apprentice. |
| PRICK LOUISE | A tailor. |
| PRICKER | [1] A pattern maker. [2] A horseman. [3] A witch hunter. |
| PRIG NAPPER | A horse thief. |
| PRINTER | A person who prints. |
| PROCTOR | The official of a university. |
| PROP BOBBY | A person who worked in mines checking the pit props. |
| PROTHONARY | A law clerk. |
| PUBLICAN | An innkeeper. |
| PUDDLER | [1] A person who worked clay into puddle. [2] A person who worked with puddle to make things water tight e.g. canal walls. [3] A person who worked in puddling iron. |
| PUGGARD | A thief. |
| PUGGER | A person employed by brick manufacturers to produce clay paste by treading like grapes, usually women and children. |
| PULLEY MAKER | A person who made pulleys for hoists. |
| PUMBUM WORKER | A plumber. |
| PUMP MAKER | A person who made mechanical pumps. |
| PUNKY | A chimney sweep. |
| PURE GATHERER or PICKER | A person, usually an old woman or child, who roamed the streets especially in London, gathering dog faeces. These were used in the tanning industry for processing hides. |
| PURSER | A ship's officer in charge of provisions & accounts. |
| PUTTER | A person employed in the coal mine to haul the mine tubs. |
| PUTTER IN | A person who was employed to put things in to some form of mechanised process. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| QUARREL PICKER | A glazier. |
| QUARRIER | A person who worked in a quarry, a quarryman. |
| QUARRYMAN | A quarry worker. |
| QUILLER | A person who operated a machine that wound yarn onto spools. |
| QUILTER or QUILTRESS | A person who quilted material. |
| QUISTER | A person who bleached things. |
| QWYLWRYGHTE | A wheelwright. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| RACK MAIDEN | A girl employed in the tin mines of Cornwall to dress the ore. |
| RAFF MERCHANT | A seller of fibre used to make raffia bags etc. |
| RAFFMAN | A person who dealt in raff (saleable rubbish). |
| RAG AND BONE MAN | A person 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. |
| RAG CUTTER | A person who cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper etc. |
| RAG GATHERERS | A person (usually children) employed to clear the rags from the machinery in the mills. |
| RAG MAN | A person who went from street to street collecting and selling old clothes and rags. |
| RAG PICKER | A person who sorted through the left over rags to find reusable ones. |
| RAKER | A street sanitation worker. |
| RATONER | A rat catcher. |
| RATTLEWATCH | A town watchman. |
| REDAR | An interpreter of dreams. |
| REDSMITH | A goldsmith. |
| REEDER | A person who worked with reeds for hedging or thatching. |
| REEDMAKER | A person who made the pipe for a musical instrument. A person who made a weavers implement (a reed) or reed cloth or the comb used in tapestry. |
| REELER | A person employed to operate the machine that wound the yarn onto the bobbin. |
| REEVE | A royal official, or a manor official appointed by the lord or elected by the peasants. A church warden. |
| REEVER | A shriever. |
| REGISTRAR | An official who registers events such as land purchases or births, marriages or deaths. |
| RELIEVING OFFICER | An official who took charge of poor or insane persons not otherwise cared for. |
| RENOVATOR | A person who repaired clothing. |
| REVENUER | A taxman who enforces tax laws on liquor. |
| RICKMASTER | A Captain of Horse. |
| RIDDLER | A wool stapler. |
| RIFTERE | A reaper. |
| RIGGER | A hoist tackle worker; works on a ship's rigging. |
| RIPPER or RIPPIER | A person who sold fresh water fish at the markets. A maker and seller of baskets. |
| RIVERMAN | A worker on a river boat. |
| ROCKGETTER | A rocksalt miner. |
| ROCKMAN | A person who worked in a quarry usually placing the charges on the rockface. |
| RODMAN | A surveyor's assistant. See POLEMAN. |
| ROLL TURNER | A carder of wool, cotton etc into rolls prior to spinning. |
| ROLLER COVERER | A person who covered the rollers for the spinning process. |
| ROLLEYWAY MAN | The person who maintained the underground road in the mines. |
| ROMAN CEMENTER | A person who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing. |
| ROPER | A maker of ropes or nets. |
| ROVER | An archer. |
| ROVER | An operator of a machine used in the cotton mills in Lancashire, which prepared the carded fibre into rolls. |
| RUBBISHER | A person who sorted the small stones in the quarries. |
| RUBBLER | A person who sorted the small stones in the quarries. |
| RUGMAN | A dealer in rugs. |
| RUNNER | [1] A person who worked for the magistrate best remembered as Bow Street Runners. [2] A nickname for a smuggler. [3] A messenger. |
| RUSTLER | A cattle thief. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| SADDLE TREE MAKER | A person who made the frames for saddles that the saddler used. |
| SADDLER | A person who made saddles, harnesses, horse collars, bridles etc. |
| SAGGER MAKER | A person who made the fireclay containers in which the stoneware was placed ready for firing. |
| SALESMAN | A person who sold things. |
| SALOONIST | A saloon keeper. |
| SALT BOILER | A person who obtained salt by boiling water. |
| SALTER | A person who made or dealt in salt. |
| SANDESMAN | An ambassador or messenger. |
| SANDWICHMAN | A person who wears a sandwich billboard for advertising. |
| SARCINET WEAVER | A silk weaver. |
| SAUCER | A person who made or dealt in salt. |
| SAWBONES | A Surgeon. |
| SAWYER | A person who worked in a timber mill or pit, sawing timber into boards. |
| SAY WEAVER | A person who made Say, a material used for table cloths or bedding. |
| SCAGIOLA MAKER | A person who made imitation marble. |
| SCALERAKER / SCAVENGER | A person employed by the parish to clean the streets. |
| SCAPPLER | A person who roughly shaped the stone prior to being finished by the stonemason. |
| SCAVELMAN | A person employed to keep the waterways and ditches clear. |
| SCHRIMPSCHONGER | An artisan who carves in bone, ivory, or wood. |
| SCHUMACKER | A shoemaker |
| SCOTCH DRAPER | A person who sold goods door to door with payment to be made by instalments. |
| SCOTCHMAN | A person who sold goods door to door with payment to be made by instalments. |
| SCREENER | A person who screened the ore at the mines surface. |
| SCRIBBLER | [1] A person employed in a scibbling mill where the wool was roughly carded before spinning. [2] A minor or worthless author. |
| SCRIBE | A clerk. |
| SCRIBER | A person employed at the docks to mark the cotton bales with the approximate weight ready for selling by the brokers. |
| SCRIBLER | A minor or worthless author. |
| SCRIMER | A fencing master. |
| SCRIPTURE READER | A person employed by the local clergy to go from house to house reading parts of the bible to try and encourage people to attend church, also read scriptures during some services. |
| SCRIVENER | [1] A person who wrote out legal documents etc. [2] A clerk or notary |
| SCRUTINEER | An election judge. |
| SCULLERY MAID | A female servant who performed all the menial tasks. |
| SCULLION | A male servant who performed all the menial tasks. |
| SCUTCHER | A person who beat the flax to soften the straw in the bundles. |
| SEAL PRESSER | A person employed in the glass industry to seal the bath against air intake which could spoil the finished surface. |
| SEARCHER | A customs man. |
| SEEDSMAN | [1] A dealer of seeds, [2] A sower of seeds. |
| SELF ACTING MINDER | A person in charge of the automatic spinning mule in the mills. |
| SEMI LORER | A person who made leather thongs. |
| SEMPSTER | A seamstress. |
| SEMPSTRESS | A seamstress. |
| SENESCHAL | A senior steward at the Manor. |
| SEWER HUNTER | A scavenger who concentrated on the sewers trying to find valuable objects. |
| SEWER RAT | A bricklayer who specialised in making and repairing sewers and tunnels. |
| SEWING CLERK | A collector of clothing piecework. |
| SEWSTER | A seamstress. |
| SHAGREEN CASE MAKER | A person who worked with shagreen leather. |
| SHANTY MAN | A lumberman. |
| SHARECROPPER | A tenant farmer who would be paid with part of the crop. |
| SHEARER | A person who removed the fleece from sheep. |
| SHEARGRINDER | A person who sharpened shears, scissors. |
| SHEARMAN | A person who sheared cloth or metal. |
| SHEATH MAKER | A person who made scabbards for swords. |
| SHEEPMAN | A sheep herder. |
| SHEPSTER | [1] A sheep shearer. [2] A dressmaker. |
| SHEARMAN | A skilled worker who sheared the nap from cloth, often working in Gig Mills. See also CROPPERS. |
| SHINGLER | A roof tiler who used wooden tiles (shingles). |
| SHIP HUSBAND | A repairer of ships while in harbour. |
| SHIP MASTER | An owner or captain of a ship. |
| SHIPWRIGHT | A constructor or repairer or ships. |
| SHOE FINDER | A seller of shoe maker's tools. |
| SHOE WIPER | A servant who polished shoes. |
| SHOEMAKER | A person who made shoes. |
| SHOESMITH | [1] A cobbler. [2] A person who shoed horses. |
| SHOT FIRER | A person in charge of blasting in mines or quarries. |
| SHRAGER | A person who trimmed and pruned trees. |
| SHRIEVE | A Sheriff. |
| SHRIEVER | A sheriff. |
| SHUFFLER | A yardman on the farms. |
| SHUNTER | A person who moved rolling stock around the railway yards. |
| SHUTTLE MAKER | A person who made the shuttles for the weaving mills. |
| SICKLEMAN | A reaper. |
| SIDESMAN | A person who assisted the churchwarden. |
| SILK DRESSER | A person who prepared the silk for weaving. |
| SILK ENGINE TURNER | A person who turned the wheel on the automatic silk weaving looms. |
| SILK MERCER | A person who sold silk cloth and items made from silk. |
| SILK THROWER or THROWSTER | A worker who twisted silk into thread or yarn. |
| SILK TWISTER | A silk spinner. |
| SILKER | A person who sewed the ends of the fabric to prevent the layers from separating. |
| SILVERSMITH | A person who worked with silver. |
| SINKER | A skilled person who contracted to sink new shafts for coal mining. |
| SISSOR or CISSOR | A tailor. |
| SIZER | [1] A person who applied the size to cloth. [2] A person who sorted objects according to size. [3] A person who worked in a paper mill. |
| SKEPPER | A person who made or sold wicker or straw beehives. |
| SKINKER | A tapster in an ale house. |
| SKINNER | [1] A dealer in hides, [2] A mule driver. |
| SKIPMAKER | A person who made the skips used in mining and quarrying for moving men or materials to the surface. |
| SKIPPER | The master of a ship. |
| SLAPER or SLAPPER | A person who worked in a pottery preparing the clay for the potter. |
| SLATER | A roof tiler who used slate. |
| SLOP SELLER | A person who sold baskets. A seller of ready made clothes. |
| SLUBBER | A person who operated the machine used to prepare cotton for spinning. |
| SLUBBER DOFFER | A person who removed the bobbins from the spindles in the mills. |
| SMALLWARE MAKER | A person who made smallware e.g. tapes, braids etc. |
| SMELTER | [1] A worker in a metal smelter, [2] smelt fisherman. |
| SMIDDY | A smith. |
| SMITH | A person who worked with any metal. |
| SMUGSMITH | A smuggler. |
| SNOBSCAT | A shoe repairer. |
| SNUFFER MAKER | A person who made candle snuffers. |
| SOAP BOILER (SOPER) | A soap maker. |
| SOJOURNER | A person who was staying in a place or position temporary, i.e. passing through. |
| SOJOURNER CLOTHIER | A travelling clothes salesman. |
| SOLICITOR | A lawyer. |
| SORTOR | A tailor. |
| SOUTER | A shoemaker. |
| SPALLIER | A person who worked in a tin works performing the menial tasks. |
| SPERVITER | A keeper of sparrows. |
| SPICER | A grocer or dealer in spices. |
| SPINNER | A person who spins yarn or fabric. |
| SPINSTER | [1] A woman who spins; An unmarried woman. |
| SPLITTER | A person who operated a splitting machine or a person who split things by hand e.g. stone, timber etc. |
| SPOONER | A person who made spoons. |
| SPURRER | Maker of spurs. |
| SPURRIER | A maker of spurs. |
| SQUIRE | (See ESQUIRE) [1] A practitioner of a profession, [2] A magistrate or lawyer, [3] A country gentleman especially the chief landed proprietor in a district, [4] A knights attendant. |
| STABLER | See OSTLER. |
| STAINER | A person who coloured glass or wood. |
| STALLMAN | A keeper of a market stall. |
| STAMPER | A person who operated a stamping machine. |
| STAMPMAN | A worker of an ore crushing machine. |
| STATIONARY ENGINE DRIVER | A person who operated a steam engine which was used for pumping water or sewage, or driving machinery in an industrial environment such as a factory, mill or mine. |
| STATIONARY ENGINEER | A caretaker of machinery such as pumping engines or lifts/hoists. Also used later for a person who looked after the electrical and plumbing installations in an apartment block or office block. aka Janitor. |
| STATIONER | A bookseller, seller of paper & writing implements. |
| STATIST | A politician. |
| STAY MAKER | A corset maker. |
| STEERSMAN | A ship's helmsman. |
| STENTERER | A person who operated the cloth finishing machine. |
| STEP BOY | A person employed to help passengers to enter or leave the coach. |
| STEVEDORE | A dock worker or labourer who unloads and loads ships' cargoes. |
| STICHER | A person who does decorative stitching. |
| STOCKINGER | A person who made stockings, or dealer in stockings. Usually, a dealer would be known as a Hosier. |
| STOKER | A person who tends the fire of an engine boiler. |
| STONE PICKER | A person employed to remove the stones from the farmers fields before planting. |
| STONE WORKERS | A person who worked with stone e.g. masons, quarries etc. |
| STONEMAN | A Surveyor of Highways. |
| STONEWARDEN | A Surveyor of Highways. |
| STOWYER | A person who stowed the nets away on fishing boats. |
| STRAVAIGER | A vagrant. |
| STRAW JOINER | A person who thatched roofs. |
| STRAW PLAITER | A person who made straw braids for the hat industry. |
| STREAKER | A person who prepared the body for burial. |
| STREET ORDERLY or BOY | A street cleaner. |
| STRETCHER | A person stretched fabrics in the textile trade, sometimes called a tenter. |
| STRIKER | A blacksmiths helper. The person who harpooned the whale. |
| STRINGER | A person who made the strings for bows. |
| STRIPPER | A person employed in the woollen trade to remove the rubbish from the carding machines. |
| STUFF GOWSMAN | A junior barrister. |
| STUFF WEAVER | A person who wove stuff, the coarse part of flax. |
| SUCKSMITH | A person who made ploughshares. |
| SUMNER | A summoner or apparitor. |
| SUMPTER | A porter. |
| SURFACE MAN | A person who worked on the surface of a mine. |
| SUTLER | A merchant or peddler in an army camp. |
| SWAILER | A miller or dealer in grain. A corn miller. |
| SWAIN | A herdsman. |
| SWEEP | A chimneysweep. |
| SWEEPER OUT | A person employed in the mills to keep the floor clean. |
| SWELL MAKER | A person who made shallow baskets. |
| SWINEYARD /SWINEHERDER | A pig keeper. |
| SWORD CUTLER | A sword maker. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| TABLER | A boarding house operator. |
| TACKLER | An overlooker of power loom weavers. |
| TAILOR | A person who made or repaired clothes. |
| TAKER OFF or TAKER IN | A person (usually a child) employed to unhitch the coal tubs from the endless rope system. |
| TALLOW CHANDLER | A person who made or sold candles. |
| TALLY CLERK | A person who kept count of goods arriving or departing from warehouses, docks etc. |
| TALLYMAN or TALLYFELLOW | A person who sold goods that were paid for in instalments. |
| TAN BARK STRIPPER | A person who collected the bark that was used in the tanning process. |
| TANNER | A person who tanned hides and skins to make leather. |
| TAPER WEAVER | A person who made the wicks for candles. |
| TAPICER or TAPITER | A person who wove worsted cloth. |
| TAPLEY | One who puts the tap in an ale cask. |
| TAPSTER | A person employed to serve the beer in public houses, a barman. |
| TARRIER | A person in charge of a pack of terriers used for hunting. |
| TASKER | A thresher or reaper. |
| TASSELER | A person who made tassels used in furnishings. A nobleman. |
| TAVERNER | An innkeeper. |
| TAWER | A person who made white leather. |
| TAWYER | See TAWER. |
| TEAMER | See TEAMSTER. |
| TEAMER MAN | See TEAMSTER. |
| TEAMSTER | A person in charge of a team of horses. |
| TEEMER | [1] A person who emptied grain from the cart. [2] A person who poured the molten steel into the moulds. |
| TENTER | A person who stretched the cloth on a machine whilst it was drying. A person who looked after and maintained the machine used in the process. Also the term for a person who looked after something e.g. a door tenter or pony tenter in the coal mining trade. |
| TERRIER | A person in charge of a pack of terriers used for hunting. |
| TEXTOR | A weaver. |
| THACKER | A roof thatcher. |
| THATCHER | A person who covered roofs with straw or reeds. |
| THIRDBOROUGH | An under-constable. |
| THRESHER | A person who separated the grain from the husks and straw. |
| THROWSTER | A person in the textile trade who twisted the strands of fibre together into yarn. |
| TICKNEY MAN or WOMAN | A person who sold earthenware from town to town. |
| TIDE GAUGER | A person who monitored the state of the tide. |
| TIDE SURVEYOR | A person who monitored the state of the tide. |
| TIDE WAITER | A customs inspector. See TIDESMAN. |
| TIDESMAN | A customs officer who watched the unloading of ships to ascertain the duty due. |
| TIEMAKER | A person who made wooden railway ties. |
| TIGER | A small groom or pageboy in livery. |
| TILER | A person who put tiles in place either on the roof or floor. |
| TILLER | A farmer. |
| TILLMAN | A ploughman. |
| TILTMAKER | A person who made canvas awnings or canopies. |
| TIMEKEEPER | A person responsible for making sure things happened on time e.g. worker arriving or departing, trains, coaches, omnibuses, etc. |
| TIMES IRONER | A servant responsible for ironing the daily newspaper. |
| TINCTOR | A dyer. |
| TINKER | A travelling salesman of pots & pans etc. or travelling repairman |
| TINNER | A person who worked in the tin mines or a tinsmith |
| TINSMITH | A person who worked with tin. |
| TINTER or TEINTER | An artists who performs tinting. |
| TIPPER | A person who put the metal tips on arrows, etc. |
| TIPPLER | A person who kept an ale house. |
| TIPSTAFF | [1] A court official. [2] A policeman. |
| TIREWOMAN | [1] A milliner [2] A hairdresser. [3] A female dresser, especially in the theatre. |
| TIXTOR | A weaver. |
| TOBACCO SPINNER | A maker of cigars. |
| TODHUNTER | A person employed by the parish to hunt foxes. |
| TOE RAG | A person who worked at the docks as a corn porter. |
| TOILINET MANUFACTURER | A person who made toilinet (a kind of quilting). |
| TOLLER | See TOLLMAN. |
| TOLLGATE KEEPER | A person who worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road. |
| TOLLIE | See TOLLGATE KEEPER. |
| TOLLMAN | A person who collected tolls. |
| TONSOR | Latin for barber. |
| TOOL HELVER | A person who made tool handles. |
| TOP SAWYER | The upper man in a saw pit. |
| TOPMAN | A sailor who works in the ship's rigging. |
| TOPSMAN | The head cattle drover. |
| TOUCH HOLER | A person who worked in the gun manufacturing industry. |
| TOW CARD MAKER | A person who made tow cards, used in the textile industry. |
| TOWN CHABERLAIN | A person who looked after the towns affairs. |
| TOWN CRIER | A person who made public announcements in the streets. |
| TOWN HUSBAND | A person employed by the parish to collect the money from the fathers of illegitimate children for their upkeep. |
| TOWNSWAITER | A customs man. |
| TOYMAN or TOY DEALER | A person who sold children’s toys. |
| TOZER | A person who worked in the wool mills employed to tose or tease the cloth. |
| TRADESMAN | A shopkeeper or skilled craftsman. |
| TRAMMER | A young person who worked in the mines. |
| TRAMPLER | A lawyer. |
| TRANQUETER | A person who made hoops. |
| TRANTER | A peddler. |
| TRAPPER | A young person employed in the mines to open and shut the doors for the miners. |
| TRAVERS | A collector of fees at a toll bridge. |
| TREEN MAKER | A person who made domestic articles from wood. |
| TREENAIL MAKER | A person who made the long wooden pins used in shipbuilding. |
| TRENCHERMAKER | A person who made wooden boards or platters for serving food from or cutting and slicing food on. |
| TRENCHERMAN | A cook. |
| TREPANGER | A person who used a circular saw to cut timber. |
| TRIMMER | A person who trims a ship by re-arranging its cargo. |
| TROACHER | A pedlar. |
| TROLLEY CARTER | A person who operated the tubs in the mines. |
| TRONER | A weighing official at the markets. |
| TROUCHMAN or TRUCHMAN | An interpreter. |
| TROVER | A smuggler. |
| TRUCHMAN | An interpreter. |
| TRUGGER | A person who made long shallow baskets. |
| TRUSSER | A person who bundled and tied hay, aka Hay Baler. |
| TUBBER | A person who made tubs and barrels, i.e. a cooper. |
| TUBEDRAWER | A person who made tubes. |
| TUBMAN | [1] A person who worked in the mines filling the tubs. [2] A court official. [3] An English barrister |
| TUCKER | A cleaner of cloth goods. See Fuller. |
| TUCKER IN | A maid who attended the bedroom and "tucked in the bedclothes". |
| TUNIST | A person who tuned musical instruments. |
| TURNER | [1] A lathe operator. [2] A gymnast, particularly street performers or beggars. |
| TURNING BOY | A person who assisted the weaver by turning the bar on the loom. |
| TURNKEY | A prison warder or jail keeper. |
| TURNPIKE KEEPER | See TOLLGATE KEEPER. |
| TURNSPIT | A person who operated the spit handle. |
| TWEENIE or TWEENY | A maid who worked "between the stairs" she assisted the cooks and the housemaids. |
| TWIST HAND | A person who operated a lace machine. |
| TWISTER or TWISTERER | A person who operated the machine used for twisting yarns and threads together. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ULNAGER | A person appointed to examine the quality of woollen goods to be sold. |
| UPHOLDER | [1] A person who made quilts or mattresses. [2] A person who assisted the auctioneer. |
| UPHOLSTERER | A person who finished furniture by putting on the padding and cloth. |
| UPRIGHT WORKER | A chimney sweep. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| VALET | A male servant that attended a nobleman or gentleman. |
| VALUATOR | A person who valued objects. |
| VASSAL | A servant of the lowest order. |
| VATMAN | [1] A person employed in the paper making industry to put the paper pulp into the moulds. [2] A person who worked with vats e.g. in beer and wine making. |
| VENATOR (VENUR) | A huntsman. |
| VERDERER | An official in charge of the royal forest. |
| VERGE MAKER | A person who made the spindles used in clocks and watches. |
| VERGER | A person who worked with the priest in the running the church. |
| VERRIER | A glazier. |
| VESTMENT MAKER | A person who made the gowns worn by priests. |
| VICTUALER | A seller of food/drink. |
| VIEWER | A person who worked at the mines in a managerial capacity. |
| VILLEIN | A person who paid dues to the lord of the manor in return for use of the land. |
| VINTAGER | A grape farmer, wine maker. |
| VINTNER | wine merchant. |
| VIRGINAL PLAYER | A person who played a musical instrument similar to a harpsichord. |
| VULCAN | A blacksmith. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| WABSTER | A weaver. |
| WAGGONER | A person who drove a wagon, a carrier. |
| WAILER | A person employed in the mines to remove the impurities from the coal. |
| WAINWRIGHT | A person who built or repaired wagons. |
| WAITMAN or WAKEMAN | A night watchman. |
| WALKER | A cloth worker who cleaned and thickened the cloth by wetting it then walking over it. |
| WALLER | A person who built walls either with bricks or dry stone, also a person who worked making coarse salt. |
| WANTCATCHER | A person employed to catch moles. |
| WANTER | A mole catcher. |
| WARDER | A person in charge of prisoners. |
| WAREHOUSEMAN | A person in charge of a warehouse or one employed in a warehouse. |
| WARPER | A person who set the warp thread on the looms, also a person employed to move boats by hauling on the warps (the ropes attached to the boats) |
| WARRENER | A person in charge of a portion of land used for breeding rabbits and other small game. |
| WASHMAN | A tin coater. |
| WASTEMAN | A person employed in the mines to check the old workings for gas and maintaining them in good order. A person employed to remove waste. |
| WATCH FINISHER | A person employed to assemble watches and clocks. |
| WATCHMAN | A town official who guarded the streets at night. |
| WATER BAILIFF | An official in charge of the fishing rights on a stretch of water. A river policeman or in coastal towns a customs official. |
| WATER CARRIER | A person who carted and sold fresh water. |
| WATER GILDER | A person who trapped water fowl. |
| WATER LEADER or LEDER or LODER | A person who transported and sold fresh drinking water. |
| WATERMAN | A person who worked with or on boats usually on rivers. |
| WATTLE HURDLE MAKER | A person who made a type of fence from wattle to keep the sheep in. |
| WAULKMILLER | See WALKER. |
| WAVER | A weaver. |
| WAY MAN | A surveyor of roads. |
| WAY-MAKER | A person employed to make roads. |
| WEATHERSPY | An astrologer. |
| WEBBER | A weaver. |
| WEBSTER | A weaver operating weaving looms (originally a female weaver). |
| WEEDER | A person employed to remove the weeds from the gardens of the rich. |
| WEIGHER | A person employed on the docks to weigh the cargo as it was unloaded. |
| WELL SINKER | A person who dug wells. |
| WELL WRIGHT | A person who made the winding equipment used to raise the bucket in the well. |
| WELLMASTER | A person in charge of the local well with the responsibility of ensuring clean water for the village. |
| WET GLOVER | A person who made leather gloves. |
| WET NURSE | A woman employed to suckle the child of another (common practice with the rich). |
| WETTER | [1] A person employed to dampen paper during the printing process. [2] A person in the glass industry who detached the glass by wetting. |
| WHACKER | A horse or oxen team driver. |
| WHARFINGER | A person who owned or was in charge of a wharf. |
| WHEELER | A wheel maker, a person in the textile industry that attended to the spinning wheel, a person who led the pit ponies that pulled the tubs underground in the mines. |
| WHEELWRIGHT | A maker or repairer of wagon wheels |
| WHEERYMAN | A person in charge of a wheery, a small light rowing boat. |
| WHIG | A horse driver (Scottish term). |
| WHIPCORD MAKER | A person who made whips. |
| WHIPMAKER | A person who made whips. |
| WHIPPERIN | A person who managed the hounds in a hunt. |
| WHIT COOPER | A person who made barrels etc from tin. |
| WHITE LIMER | A person who plastered walls using lime and water plaster. |
| WHITE SMITH | A tin smith. |
| WHITEAR | A person who cleaned hides. |
| WHITENER | A person who bleached cloth. |
| WHITENING ROLL MAKER | A person who made the whitening used in whitening walls of cottages. |
| WHITESMITH | A tinsmith. |
| WHITESTER | A person who bleached cloth. |
| WHITEWING | A streetsweeper. |
| WHITSTER | A bleacher of cloth |
| WHITSTER | A person who bleached cloth. |
| WHITTAWER | [1] A person who made saddles and harnesses. [2] A preparer of white leather. |
| WILLOW PLAITER or WEAVER | A person who made baskets, etc. |
| WINDER | In the textile industry, a person who transferred the yarn from bobbins onto cheeses or into balls ready for weaving. In the mines a person who operated the pulley or winch. |
| WINDSTER | A silk winder. |
| WIRE DRAWER | A person who made wire from metal by drawing the metal through various size holes in a template. |
| WOODBREAKER | A person who made wooden water casks. |
| WOODRANGER | A person in charge of the forest or woods. |
| WOODREEVE | A person in charge of the forest or woods. |
| WOODWARD | A person in charge of the forest or woods. |
| WOOL DRIVER | A person who brought the wool to market. |
| WOOL FACTOR | A wool merchants agent. |
| WOOL GROWER | A sheep farmer. |
| WOOL MAN | A person who sorted the wool into different grades. |
| WOOL STAPLER | A person who sorted the wool into different grades. |
| WOOL WINDER | A person who made up balls of wool for selling. |
| WOOLCOMBER | A person employed in the woollen mills to operate the machines that separate the fibres ready for spinning. |
| WOOLEN BILLY PIECER | A person employed in the woollen mills to piece together the broken yarns. |
| WOOLSORTER | A person who sorted the wool into different grades. |
| WOOLSTED MAN | From worsted man, a seller of woollen cloth. |
| WORSTED MANUFACTURER | A person who made worsted cloth. |
| WORSTED SHEARMAN | A person who made worsted cloth. |
| WRIGHT | A skilled worker, builder or repairer in various trades. |
| WRITER | A person employed to write. A scribe. A clerk etc. |
| WYRTHA | A labourer. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| XYLOGRAPHER | A person who used and made wooden blocks used in printing illustrations. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| YARDMAN | [1] A rail road yard worker, [2] A farm worker. |
| YATMAN | A gate keeper. |
| YEARMAN | A person contracted to work for a year. |
| YEOMAN | [1] A freeholder, the next class down from gentry. [2] An assistant to an official. [3] A ships officer in charge of stores. |
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| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ZINCOGRAPHER | A designer who etched in relief a pattern on zinc plates used for printing. |
| ZITHERIST | A player of a simple, flat many-stringed instrument. |
| ZOETROPE MAKER | A craftsman who made zoetropes, an optical toy in the form of a cylinder with a series of pictures painted on the inner surface which gave the impression of continuous motion when viewed through slits in the rotating cylinder. |
| ZOOGRAPHER | A person who describes and classifies animals. |