There are occupations where nothing is listed in the
description. Either I feel the occupation seems to be obvious (like
Carpenter) or I have absolutely no clue as to what they did. Either
way, I may need to make sure. Some of the occupation one would think
are obvious from the name used to do somthing completely different.
After all, what do you think a Vaginarius did? No... Go look.
I am putting in dates as I can. Mostly the dates are coming from the
Merriam-Webster dictionary. I left off at the beginning of the
T's in my first pass through these occupations.
Please email me with additions, corrections, or suggestions:
Inez Alf�n
|
Occupation |
Description |
|
|
|
|
| Abbot/Abbess |
Man in charge of monastary, woman in charge of a convent |
before 12th century |
| Acater |
Supplied food provisions, e.g. A ships chandler |
|
| Accomptant |
Accountant |
15th century |
| Accoucheur |
Assisted women in childbirth |
Fr. (male) 1759 |
| Accoucheus |
Assisted women in childbirth |
Fr. (female) 1759 |
| Accoutre |
Supplier of military accessories |
1596 |
| Accountant |
Bookkeeper |
15th century |
| Accoutrement Maker |
Supplier of military accessories |
1549 |
| Ackerman |
Ploughman, an oxherder |
|
| Acreman |
Ploughman, an oxherder |
|
| Actuary |
Kept public accounts of business; clerk/registrar |
1553 |
| Administrator |
Directed the affairs of another |
15th century |
| Advertisement Conveyancer |
Sandwich board man; or a person who provided public notice of deed
transferal |
15th cent/1650 |
| Advocate Depute |
Scottish law officer who could act a public prosecutor |
|
| Advowee |
Normally a nobleman, who had the right to present a clergyman to a
benefice |
|
| Aeronaut |
Balloonist or a trapeze artist in the circus or music halls; one who
operated an air balloon |
1784 |
| Affeeror |
Official in the manorial courts who assessed the monetary penalty and
also collected taxes and dues and were also called Assessor |
|
| Agister |
Official of the Royal Forests or in the New Forest; one in charge of
the ponies |
|
| Ailmaker |
|
|
| Alabasterer |
Worked with alabaster |
14th century |
| Alblastere |
Crossbow man |
14th century |
| Alchemist |
Medieval chemist who claimed to be able to turn base metals into
gold |
15th century |
| Alderman |
Senior councillor one position down from Mayor in the local council |
before 12th century |
| Ale Draper |
Seller of ale; a draper was a cloth dealer and also dry goods.
plausible? |
14th century |
| Ale Founder |
Official who tested quality and measure of ale served in public
houses; established quality of ale |
14th century |
| Ale Taster |
Tested ale and beer for quality. Appointed by the Manor and forerunner
of the Inspector for Weights & Measures |
first recorded: 1377 in London |
| Ale Tunner |
Employed by the brewery to fill ale casks (tuns} with ale |
|
| Ale-Conner |
Official who tested quality and measure of ale served in public
houses |
|
| Alewife |
Woman who keeps an alehouse or tavern |
15th century |
| Alewyfe |
Woman who keeps an alehouse or tavern |
15th century |
| All Spice |
Name for a grocer |
|
| Almanac Man |
Official appointed by the Court of Sewers who warned the inhabitants
of the Trent River area of higher than normal tides |
(almanac) 14th century |
| Almoner |
Gave out alms or charity to the poor on behalf of the parish |
15th century |
| Almsman |
Received alms |
before 12th century |
| Alnager |
Official who examined the quality of woolen goods and stamped them
with the town seal of approval |
|
| Amanuensis |
Secretary or stenographer |
1619 |
| Amber & Jet Cutter |
Cut and polished amber for jewelry |
14th/15th centuries |
| Amber Cutter |
Cut ambergris |
14th/15th centuries |
| Ambler |
Officer of the Royal Stable who broke in horses |
14th century |
| Amen Man |
Parish clerk |
|
| Anchor Smith |
Made anchors |
|
| Anchoress |
Female hermit or religious recluse |
14th century |
| Anchorite |
Male hermit or religious recluse |
15th century |
| Angle Iron Smith |
Made angle iron ie. Flat iron bars bent at right angles lengthways |
|
| Anilepman |
Smallholder (tenant of the manor) |
|
| Ankle Beater |
Young person who helped to drive the cattle to market |
|
| Annatto Maker |
Worked in the manufacture of reddish yellow dyes for paint or
printing |
1629 |
| Antigropelos Maker |
Made waterproof leggings |
|
| Anvil Smith |
Made anvils and hammers for blacksmiths |
|
| Apiarian (Apiarist) |
Beekeeper |
1801 |
| Apothecary |
Prepared and sold medicines or drugs; pharmacist |
14th century |
| Apparitor |
Official who summoned witnesses in the ecclesiastical courts; official
formerly sent to carry out the orders of a magistrate, judge, or court |
15th century |
| Apprentice |
Was bound to a skilled worker for a specified time to learn a trade |
14th century |
| Aproneer |
Term used in London for a shopkeeper |
|
| Apronman |
Mechanic |
|
| Aquarius |
Waterman; water carrier |
Latin before 12th century |
| Aquavita Seller |
Sold alcohol (Medieval Latin aqua vitae) |
before 15th century? |
| Archer |
a person who uses a bow and arrow |
14th century |
| Archiator |
Physician |
|
| Archil Maker |
Made a violet dye from lichens, used in the textile industry |
15th century |
| Architect |
a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction;
Master builder |
1563 |
| Arkwright |
Skilled craftsman who produced arks (wooden chests or coffers) |
|
| Armourer |
Made suits of armour or plates of armour for buildings or ships etc |
14th century |
| Artificer |
Highly respected skilled or artistic worker or craftsman or one that
makes or contrives |
14th century |
| Assay Master |
Determined the amount of gold or silver to go in coins |
14th/15th century |
| Assayer |
Determined the proportions of metal in ore |
14th century |
| Astrologer |
|
14th century |
| Attendent |
one who attends another to perform a service |
15th century |
| Auger Maker |
Made any of various tools or devices having a helical shaft or member
that are used for boring holes (as in wood, earth, or ice) or moving loose
material. |
before 12th century |
| Aulnager |
See Alnager |
|
| Aurifaber |
Goldsmith |
|
| Avenator |
Hay and Forage Merchant |
|
| Avowry |
Term for the lord of the manor |
|
| Axel Tree Maker |
Made axels for coaches and wagons |
|
| Axel Tree Turner |
Made axels for coaches and wagons |
|
|
|
|
|
| Back Washer |
Employed to clean the wool in the worsted manufacturing industry |
|
| Backmaker |
made backs, vats, tubs, a Cooper |
|
| Backmann |
Baker |
|
| Backster |
Baker |
|
| Back'us Boy |
Kitchen servant (from back of the house) |
|
| Badgy Fiddler |
Boy trumpeter in the military |
|
| Bagman |
Travelling salesman |
|
| Bagniokeeper |
in charge of a bath house or brothel |
1599 |
| Bailie |
Scottish municipal magistrate corresponding to an English alderman;
bailiff |
14th century |
| Bailiff |
an official employed by a sheriff to serve writs and make arrests and
executions |
14th century |
| Baillee |
Scottish municipal magistrate corresponding to an English alderman;
bailiff |
14th century |
| Baillie |
Scottish municipal magistrate corresponding to an English alderman;
bailiff |
14th century |
| Bairman |
Pauper or beggar |
|
| Baker |
|
|
| Bal Maiden |
Female mine worker who worked on the surface (also a Pit Brow Lass) |
|
| Baler |
Bales hay and in the mills one who bailed wool or cotton goods |
after 1760 |
| Balister |
Archer most commonly a crossbowman |
|
| Ballard Master |
In charge of loading the ballast into the hold of empty ships |
|
| Ballast Heaver |
Loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships |
1530 |
| Baller (Up) |
Assisted the potter by measuring out the balls of clay |
|
| Band Filer |
Metal worker in the gun making industry |
|
| Bandster |
Bound the wheat sheaves after harvest |
|
| Bang Beggar |
Officer of the parish who controlled the length of stay of any
stranger to the parish |
|
| Banker |
Dug trenches and ditches to allow drainage of the land, placing the
surplus earth in banks around the edge |
|
| Banksman |
Employed in the mining industry being in charge of the cages at the
pit head (sometimes known as a bank manager) |
|
| Barber |
A barber also a surgeon |
14th century |
| Bard |
Poet or minstral |
|
| Bareman |
Pauper or beggar |
|
| Barge Mate |
Naval officer |
14th century |
| Bargee |
Worked on or owned and operated a barge |
1666 |
| Bargeman |
Worked on or owned and operated a barge |
14th century |
| Barilla Manufacturer |
Made barilla, a substance obtained from burning saltworts, the
resulting mixture of sodium salts being used in the glass and ceramics
industry |
|
| Barkeeper |
Another name for a tollkeeper |
1712 |
| Barker |
a person who barked out adversitements; one who prepared bark |
14th century; 1611 |
| Bartoner |
In charge of the monastic farm, also known as a barton |
|
| Basil Worker |
Worked with sheep and goat skins |
|
| Basketman |
Made baskets and furniture from wicker, and also employed to empty the
basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the barges |
|
| Bast Dresser |
Employed in dressing fibre or matting |
before 12th century |
| Bathing Machine Proprietor |
Owned and hired the changing huts used at the seaside in the by
bathers |
late if not OOP |
| Batman |
Officers servant in the army |
1755 |
| Battledore Maker |
Made the beaters used on clothes carpets etc to remove the dust (later
made the paddles used in washing machines) |
|
| Bauer |
Farmer |
|
| Baxter |
Baker |
|
| Bayweaver |
Who wove bay (a fine woollen fabric also known as baize) |
|
| Bead Piercer |
Employed to drill the holes in beads |
|
| Beadle |
Officer of the parish whose principle duty was to keep order, also was
the town crier |
1581 |
| Beadman |
Employed to pray for his employer, inhabitant of an almshouse /
poorhouse / hospital or tenant employed by the manor for a specific
service |
13th/14th century? |
| Beadsman |
Employed to pray for his employer, inhabitant of an almshouse /
poorhouse / hospital or tenant employed by the manor for a specific
service |
13th century |
| Beamer |
Winds the warp on the roller before putting it on the loom in the
textile industry |
|
| Bearer |
Worked undergrpound carrying the coal to the bottom of the pit shaft
and placed it in the containers for uplifting to the surface |
|
| Bearleader |
|
|
| Beater |
Cleansed and thickened the cloth by treading it underwater with
fullers earth (aka Fuller) |
|
| Beaver |
Made felt used in hat making |
before 12th century |
| Beck |
Baker |
|
| Becker |
Baker |
|
| Bedel |
(Beadle) |
1581 |
| Bedell |
(Beadle) |
1581 |
| Bedesman |
(Beadsman) |
13th century |
| Bedman |
Sexton |
|
| Bedral |
In Scotland a minor church official |
|
| Bedwevere |
Made the webbing for bed frames and also a one who wove quilts |
|
| Beeskepmaker |
Made beehives |
|
| Beetler |
Operated a beetling machine, used in the textile trade for embossing
fabric |
|
| Belhoste |
Tavern keeper |
|
| Bell Hanger |
Installed bells in churches |
|
| Belleyetere |
Bellfounder |
|
| Bellfounder |
Made bells |
|
| Bellman |
Employed as a watchman or town crier or who worked for the post office
and collected letters for the mail coach by walking the streets and
ringing a bell |
14th century |
| Bellowfarmer |
Responsible for the care and maintenance of the church organ |
|
| Bellows Maker |
Made bellows used for organs or blacksmiths fires |
|
| Belly Builder |
Built and fitted the interiors of pianos |
|
| Belter |
Made bells |
|
| Bender |
Cut leather |
|
| Besom Maker |
Made brooms (besom:broom esp made of twigs) |
before 12th century |
| Besswarden |
Appointed by the parish to look after its animals |
|
| Bever |
Beverage maker |
|
| Bill Poster |
Put up notices, signs and advertisements |
|
| Billier |
operated a Billy Roller, a machine used in the cotton industry to
prepare the cotton for spinning |
|
| Billiter |
Made bells |
|
| Billyman |
operated a Billy Roller, a machine used in the cotton industry to
prepare the cotton for spinning |
|
| Binder |
Bound items, e.g., books, hats etc |
|
| Bird Boy |
Employed to scare away birds from crops |
|
| Bird Catcher |
Caught birds for selling |
|
| Birds Nest Seller |
Sold bird nests collected from the wild complete with eggs which were
then hatched by domestic birds and sold as pets |
|
| Birlyman |
In Scotland a ground officer or parish arbiter; (birl: CAROUSE)
perhaps kept people from carousing? |
circa 1585 |
| Black Borderer |
Made black edged stationery for funerals |
|
| Black Tray Maker |
Made Japanned trays |
|
| Blacking Maker |
Made polish for shoes |
|
| Blacksmith |
|
|
| Bladesmith |
Swordmaker or knife maker |
|
| Blaxter / Bleacher |
Bleached cloth or paper pulp |
|
| Blemmere |
Plumber |
|
| Blentonist |
Water diviner |
|
| Blindsman |
Employed by the Post Office to deal with incorrectly addressed letters
and parcels |
|
| Block Maker |
Engraved the blocks used in the printin |
|
| Block Printer |
Printer who used wooden blocks for printing |
|
| Blockcutter |
Made wooden blocks used in the hat trade or laid down the blocks on
which a ships keel was laid; a blockcutter was also a person who made and
cut the patterns into wooden blocks for textile printing |
|
| Blocker |
Made wooden blocks used in the hat trade or laid down the blocks on
which a ships keel was laid; a blockcutter was also a person who made and
cut the patterns into wooden blocks for textile printing |
|
| Bloodletter |
Used leeches for letting blood, this was thought to be a cure for many
ailments |
13th century |
| Bloodman |
Used leeches for letting blood, this was thought to be a cure for many
ailments |
13th/14th century |
| Bloomer |
Produced iron from ore, a bloom smithy |
|
| Blower |
Glass blower, one who operated a blowing machine used to clean and
separate fibres in the textile trade, one who operated the bellows at a
blacksmiths |
|
| Blowfeeder |
Fed the fibres into a blowing machine |
|
| Boarding Officer |
Inspected ships before entering port |
|
| Boardman |
Truant officer who checked school attendance. A tenant of manorial
land who paid rent by maintaining the manor's table |
|
| Boardwright |
Made tables and chairs aka carpenter |
|
| Boatman |
Worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals also the name
given to a boat repairer |
|
| Boatswain |
a petty officer on a merchant ship having charge of hull maintenance
and related work. |
14th century |
| Bobber |
Who polished metals (bob: a small polishing wheel of solid felt or
leather with rounded edges) |
1550 |
| Bobbin Carrier |
Worked in spinning and weaving sections of the mills |
|
| Bobbin Turner |
Made the bobbins used in the spinning and weaving industry |
|
| Bodeys |
Made bodices for womens garments |
|
| Bodger |
Craftsman who made wooden chair legs and the spars and usually worked
in the actual woodland that they cut the timber in |
|
| Body Maker |
Made bodices for womens garments |
|
| Bodyservant |
|
|
| Boiler Plater |
Made rolled iron plate used to make boilers for steam engines etc |
|
| Boilermaker |
Worked with metal in any industrial setting |
|
| Boll |
Looked after power looms in the weaving industry |
|
| Bolter |
Sifted meal |
|
| Bondager |
Female worker on a farm who was bonded |
|
| Bondman |
Bonded to a master for the purpose of learning a skill or trade |
|
| Bone Button Turner |
Made buttons using a lathe |
|
| Bone Lace Maker |
Made pillow lace |
|
| Bone Mould Turner |
Made the moulds for button manufacturers |
|
| Bone Picker |
Collected rags and bones aka Rag and Bone Man |
|
| Bonecarver |
|
|
| Bonesetter |
Set broken bones |
|
| Book Gilder |
Decorated books with gold leaf |
|
| BookKeeper |
Looked after the accounts for businesses |
1555 |
| Bookholder |
Prompter in the theater |
|
| Bookman |
Student |
|
| Boonmaster |
Surveyor of roads with the responsibilities of maintaining and
repairing the road |
|
| Boot Catcher |
Servant at inn who pulled off traveler's boots |
|
| Boot Closer |
Worked in the shoe trade stitching together all the parts of a shoe
upper |
|
| Bootbinder |
Employed to operate the machines which bound footware |
|
| Boothman |
Corn merchant |
|
| Borler |
Who made cheap coarse clothing |
|
| Botcher |
Tailor or cobbler |
|
| Bottiler / Bottler |
Made leather containers for holding liquids eg wine flasks or water
bottles |
|
| Bottle Boy |
Pharmacists assistant |
|
| Bottom Knocker |
Sagger makers assistant in the pottery industry |
|
| Bottom Maker |
Moulded the bottoms for saggers in the pottery industry |
|
| Bottomer |
Worked down the pits moving the ore etc to the bottom of the shaft for
removal |
|
| Bowdler |
Worked with iron ore |
|
| Bower |
Made bows used in archery |
|
| Bowker |
Bleached yarn. A local term in some parts of lancashire for a
butcher |
|
| Bowler |
Made bowls and dishes and also a term used for those who made the
rounded part of spoons before casting |
|
| Bowlminder |
In charge of the vats used for washing raw wool before processing |
|
| Bowyer |
Made bows used in archery |
14th century |
| Bozzler |
Parish constable |
|
| Brabener |
Weaver |
|
| Braider |
Made cord by twisting threads or strips of leather |
|
| Brailler |
Made girdles |
|
| Brakeman |
Operated the winch at the pit head or operated the braking mechanism
on trains and trams |
|
| Brakesman |
Operated the winch at the pit head or operated the braking mechanism
on trains and trams |
|
| Brasiler |
Dyer |
|
| Brasiler |
Dyer |
|
| Brazier |
Worker with brass |
14th century |
| Brewster |
brewer |
|
| Bricklayer |
|
|
| Brightsmith |
Metal worker |
|
| Broderer |
Embroiderer |
14th century |
| Broiderer |
Embroiderer |
14th century |
| Broom Squire |
Broom maker |
|
| Broom-Dasher |
Dealer in brooms |
|
| Brotherer |
Embroiderer |
|
| Brow Girl |
Female employed at the pit head |
|
| Browderer |
Embroiderer (spelling broiderer?) |
14th century |
| Brownsmith |
Works with copper or brass |
|
| Buck Washer |
Laundress |
|
| Buckle Tongue Maker |
Made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt |
|
| Bucklesmith |
Made buckles |
|
| Buckram Maker |
Worked with buckram (used in stiffening materials - millinary,
books) |
15th century |
| Buddleboy |
Employed to use and maintain the vats used in the lead and tin mines
for washing the ore |
circa 1532 |
| Buddler |
women and children who washed the ore at the copper mines in Allihies,
Berehaven |
circa 1532 |
| Buffalo Soldier |
Soldier serving in a black regiment in the US Army in the West |
|
| Bullocky |
Attended to the daily needs of cattle and may also have lent a hand
with general farm duties, especially during busy periods |
|
| Bullwhacker |
Oxen driver |
|
| Bumboat Man |
Met ships at anchor with goods for passengers and crew to purchase |
|
| Bummaree |
Middle man between the wholesaler and the retailer at the fish
markets |
|
| Bunter |
Female rag & bone collector |
|
| Bureler |
Made borel, a woollen cloth with a coarse feel |
|
| Burgess |
Represented a borough at official levels |
|
| Burgomaster |
Mayor |
|
| Burler |
Quality inspector for clothing |
|
| Burmaiden |
Chambermaid or lady-in-waiting |
|
| Burneman |
Carrier of barm or water for brewers |
|
| Burneman |
Carrier of barm or water for brewers |
|
| Burye Man |
Grave digger |
|
| Bushel Maker |
Cooper |
|
| Busheler |
Tailor's helper |
|
| Busker |
Hair dresser and also a street entertainer |
|
| Buss Maker |
Maker of guns |
|
| Butcher |
a dealer in meat |
13th century |
| Butler |
Cared for the cellar and was in charge of large butts and little butts
(bottles) of wine and beer. Under him a staff of people might consist of
brewers, tapsters, cellarers, dispensers, cupbearers and dapifer. |
13th century |
| Butner |
Button maker |
|
| Butter Carver |
Made imprints in butter pats |
|
| Button Burnisher |
Button polisher |
|
| Butty |
Negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labor |
|
|
|
|
|
| Caddie |
Messenger or errand boy |
|
| Caddy Butcher |
Butcher that dealt in horse meat |
|
| Cafender |
Carpenter |
|
| Caffler |
Rag and bone collector |
|
| Cainer |
Made walking sticks |
|
| Caird |
Another term for a tinker |
|
| Calciner |
Burnt bones to make powdered lime |
|
| Calender |
Listed documents |
|
| Calender Worker |
Operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender)
used to press and finish fabrics or paper |
|
| Calenderer |
Operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender)
used to press and finish fabrics or paper |
|
| Calenderman |
Operated a machine which pressed using two large rollers (calender)
used to press and finish fabrics or paper |
|
| Calico Printer |
Dyed and colored calico |
|
| Cambist |
Banker |
|
| Cambric Maker |
Made a fine linen or cotton fabric called cambric |
1530 |
| Camerist |
Lady's maid |
|
| Camister |
Minister of the cloth |
|
| Camlet Merchant |
Seller of camlet, cloth used to make cloaks & petticoats |
15th century |
| Campaner |
Bell maker |
|
| Canaller |
|
|
| Cancellarius |
Chancellor |
|
| Candle Maker |
Who made and sold candles |
|
| Candler |
Who made and sold candles |
|
| Candy Man |
Traveling candy salesman and also slang name for a bailiff |
|
| Caner |
Made the seats for chairs out of woven cane |
|
| Cannaller |
Canal boat worker |
|
| Cannoneer |
artillery gunner |
1562 |
| Canter |
Religious speaker who uses cant |
1609 |
| Canting Caller |
Auctioneer |
|
| Canvaser |
Made canvas |
|
| Cap Maker |
Made caps usually worn by the working class |
|
| Caper |
Cap maker |
|
| Capillaire Maker |
Made orange flavored syrup |
|
| Capper |
Made caps usually worn by the working class |
|
| Captain |
In charge of a ship or a group of soldiers and also term for an
overseer |
14th century |
| Card Nailer |
Maintained the teeth (nails) on the carding machine used for preparing
wool and cotton for weaving |
|
| Carder |
Cards wool |
|
| Cardmaker |
Maker of cards or instruments for combing wool |
|
| Cardmaker |
Maker of cards or instrumets for combing wool |
|
| Cardroomer |
Term for anyone who worked in the carding room of the mills |
|
| Caretaker |
Takes care of another's property |
|
| Carman |
Drove a vehicle used to transport goods |
|
| Carner |
Granary keeper |
|
| Carnifex |
Butcher |
|
| Carpentarius |
Carriage maker |
Latin |
| Carpenter |
|
14th century |
| Carrier |
Drove a vehicle used to transport goods |
|
| Carry-In-Boy |
Took finished bottled (products) to the tempering oven |
|
| Cart Wheeler |
Made cart wheels |
|
| Carter |
Drove a vehicle used to transport goods |
|
| Carter |
Carries or conveys in or as if in a cart |
|
| Cartier |
|
|
| Cartwright |
Maker of carts & wagons |
|
| Carver |
To work as a sculptor or engraver |
before 12th century |
| Cashmarie |
Sold fish usually at inland markets |
|
| Caster / Castora |
Made small bottles used for sprinkling salt, pepper, sugar etc |
|
| Catagman |
Cottager |
|
| Catchpole |
Sheriff's assistance or bailiff |
|
| Catchpolla |
Sheriff's assistance or bailiff |
|
| Catechista |
Teacher of religion |
|
| Cattle Jobber |
Buys and sells cattle |
|
| Caulker |
Filled up cracks (in ships or windows) or seams to make them
watertight |
|
| Ceapman |
Dealer or peddler of goods usually itinerant going from village to
village |
|
| Ceiler |
Puts up the ceilings in buildings |
|
| Cellarman |
Looked after the beer, wines and spirits in public houses or the
warehouse |
|
| Cemmer |
Hand combed the yarn before weaving |
|
| Chaff Cutter |
Made chaff by cutting straw |
|
| Chafferer |
Dealer in chaff |
|
| Chainmaker |
|
|
| Chair Bodger |
Traveling chair repairman |
|
| Chair Bottomer |
Made the seats for chairs out of woven cane |
|
| Chaise Maker |
Made carts from wicker |
|
| Chamber Master |
Shoemaker that worked from home as an outworker or selling direct |
|
| Chamberlain |
Steward to either royalty or nobility, in charge of the household |
13th century |
| (town) Chamberlain |
One who looked after the towns, or manor lords affairs |
12th century |
| Chambermaid |
Female servant attending to bedrooms in houses or inns |
1587 |
| Chambers |
One who looked after the manor lords affairs |
13th century |
| Chancellor |
The secretary of a nobleman, prince, or king |
14th century |
| Chandler |
Candle seller, grocer, provisioner, usually associated with
provisioning ships |
14th century |
| Chapeler |
Made and sold hats |
|
| Chaplain |
|
|
| Chapman |
Dealer or peddler of goods |
before 12th century |
| Charcoal Burner |
Made charcoal usually in the woods where the trees were cut |
|
| Chartmaster |
Middleman that negotiated mining contracts and suppiled the labour |
|
| Charwoman |
Cleaning woman; esp. in large buildings |
1596 |
| Chaunter |
the chief singer in chapel for the singing of the masses |
14th century |
| Checkweighman |
Employed by a group of miners paid piecework (by the ton mined) to
check coal weight recorded by the mine management |
|
| Cheese Factor |
Dealer in cheeses |
|
| Cheese Monger |
Dealer in cheeses |
|
| Cheesemaker |
|
|
| Cheeseman |
Dealer in cheeses |
|
| Chimney Sweep |
Chimney cleaner |
|
| Chinglor |
Shingler |
1562 |
| Chirugion |
Surgeon |
13th century |
| Chirurgeon |
surgeon |
13th century |
| Chronologist |
Recorded official events of historical importance |
1611 |
| Cinder Wench |
Female who collected the cinders from gas works and sold them door to
door |
|
| Cissor |
Tailor (possibly from scissor?) |
15th century |
| Claker |
Magician/astrologer |
|
| Clapman |
Town crier |
|
| Clark |
Clerk |
before 12th century |
| Classman |
Unemployed laborer |
|
| Clay Carrier |
Assistant to the shot firer in the pits |
|
| Clayman |
Worked in the clay pits usually preparing the clay for making bricks
and also one who coated the outside of buildings with clay to make them
water proof |
|
| Clericus |
Clerk |
Late Latin |
| Clerk |
Clergyman or cleric; a person who checked material costs, wages, and
kept accounts. |
before 12th century |
| Cleyman |
Worked in the clay pits usually preparing the clay for making bricks
and also one who coated the outside of buildings with clay to make them
water proof |
|
| Clipper |
Attached the coal carts to the wire or rope which was used to drag the
carts to and from the coal face |
|
| Clogger |
Maker of wooden shoes |
|
| Cloth Lapper |
Took the cloth from the carding machine readied it for the next
process |
|
| Cloth Linter |
Removed unwanted threads and lint from the finished material |
|
| Cloth Picker |
Removed unwanted threads and lint from the finished material |
|
| Clothesman |
Who made or sold clothes |
|
| Clothier |
Who made or sold clothes |
|
| Clothman |
Who made or sold clothes |
|
| Clouter |
Made nails also another term for a shoemaker for the former term |
|
| Clower |
Made nails also another term for a shoemaker for the former term |
|
| Coach Driver |
Drove any coach |
|
| Coachman |
Drove any coach |
|
| Coal Backer |
Carried the sacks of coal from the coal barge to the coal wagons |
|
| Coal Burner |
Made charcoal |
|
| Coal Drawer |
Worked in the mines pushing or dragging the coal carts to the bottom
of the pit |
|
| Coal Heaver |
unloaded coal COALMAN / COAL MERCHANT / COAL HIGGLER sold coal usually
from a horse and cart, house to house |
|
| Coal Runner |
Attended the coal carts underground |
|
| Coal Whipper |
Unloaded coal from ships using baskets attached to a simple form of
crane |
|
| Coalmeter |
Measured the coal |
|
| Coast Surveyor |
Customs officer who watched over the ofloading off goods on the
coast |
|
| Cobbler |
Shoemaker |
|
| Cobleman |
Used a flat bottomed boat for fishing |
|
| Cocus |
Cook |
|
| Cod Placer |
Put fire proof containers which held the pottery for firing into the
kiln |
|
| Cohen |
A priest |
|
| Coiner |
Worked at the mint stamping out coins |
|
| Collar Maker |
Made horse collars and one who made shirt collars |
|
| Collier |
Coal miner, a coal merchant or one who worked on the coal barges |
|
| Colonus |
Latin-a free-born serf in the later Roman Empire who could sometimes
own property but who was bound to the land and obliged to pay a rent
usually in produce. |
|
| Colour Man |
Mixed the dyes in the textile trade and also assistant to a house
painter |
|
| Colourator(A) |
Worked with dyes |
|
| Comb Maker |
Made combs either for the textile industry for combing wool etc. Or
the maker of hair combs |
|
| Compositor |
Set the type ready for printing |
|
| Conder |
Gave steering instructions to the steersman and also gave directions
to inshore fisherman of fish movements on shoals (usually from the top of
cliffs or rocks) |
|
| Coney Catcher |
Rabbit catcher |
(coney) 12th century |
| Confectioner |
Candy maker |
1591 |
| Conner |
Gave steering instructions to the steersman and also gave directions
to inshore fisherman of fish movements on shoals (usually from the top of
cliffs or rocks) |
|
| Constable |
A person who took care (the governor or warden) of a castle in the
absence of the owner. This was sometimes bestowed upon a great baron as an
honor and some royal castles had hereditary constables. |
13th century |
| Cook |
A person who prepares food for eating |
before 12th century |
| Cooper |
Maker of barrels |
14th century |
| Copeman |
Dealer or peddler of goods usually itinerant going from village to
village |
|
| Copperbeater |
Coppersmith |
|
| Copperbeter |
Coppersmith |
|
| Coppersmith |
Worked with copper |
|
| Coracle Maker |
Made coracles, a small round boat used for fishing |
1547 |
| Cordewanarius |
Shoemaker, originally a worker in Cordovan leather |
14th century |
| Cordiner |
Shoemaker (Cordwainer) |
14th/15th century |
| Cordwainer |
Shoemaker, originally a worker in Cordovan leather |
14th century |
| Costermonger |
A hawker of fruit or vegetables |
1514 |
| Costerwife |
Female hawker of fruit or vegetables |
1514 |
| Cotiler |
Cutler |
|
| Cotter |
Peasant or farm laborer who occupies a cottage and sometimes a small
holding of land usually in return for services. |
14th century |
| Cottier |
landless farmer in the Irish midland estates that farmed at will, not
year to year |
|
| Couranteer |
Journalist |
|
| Cowherd |
Cow tender |
before 12th century |
| Coxswain |
A sailor who has charge of a ship's boat and its crew and who usually
steers. |
15th century |
| Cratch Maker |
Made cratches (a crib or rack especially for fodder) |
13th century |
| (town) Crier |
One who made public announcments in the streets |
1220s |
| Crier |
An officer who proclaims the orders of a court |
14th century |
| Crofter |
Tenant of a small piece of land |
before 12th century |
| Cropper |
Tenant who is paid with a share of the crop; sharecropper |
15th century |
| Crosier |
Bearer of the pastoral staff of a bishop or the bearer of the cross
before the archbishop in the church |
|
| Crowner |
Coroner |
|
| Crozier |
Bearer of the pastoral staff of a bishop or the bearer of the cross
before the archbishop in the church |
15th century |
| Cuhreur |
Currier |
|
| Cuillerer |
Spoon maker |
|
| Cunreur |
Currier |
|
| Cupbearers |
Had the dubious privilege of tasting drinks for impurities |
|
| Cuper |
Maker of barrels |
|
| Curer |
Cures tobacco |
|
| Curretter |
Broker |
|
| Currier |
Cures or tans hides |
13th century |
| Cutler |
Knife seller or sharpener |
14th century |
|
|
|
|
| Dairymaid |
Woman employed in a dairy |
1599 |
| Dairyman |
Worker or owner of a dairy farm or seller of dairy products. |
1617 |
| Damster |
Builder of dams for logging purposes |
|
| Danter |
Female overseer in the winding rooms of a silk mill |
|
| Dateler |
Casual worker, usually employed by the day |
|
| Daunsel |
Gentleman in waiting, groom or squire |
|
| Day Man |
Casual worker, usually employed by the day |
|
| Daytaleman |
Casual worker, usually employed by the day |
|
| Deathsman |
Executioner |
1589 |
| Decimer |
Elected by the householders in a street to act as their representative
at the borough's Court Leet |
|
| Decoyman |
Employed to decoy the wild fowl, animals etc into a trap or within
shooting range |
|
| Decretist |
Knowledgeable in decrees, decretals (a papal letter giving an
authoritative decision on a point of canon law). |
14th century |
| Deemer |
judge, perhaps from deem (to come to think or judge). |
before 12th century |
| Deemster |
judge, perhaps from deem (to come to think or judge). |
before 12th century |
| Delver |
Dug ditches |
before 12th century |
| Dempster |
judge, perhaps from deem (to come to think or judge). |
before 12th century |
| Demster |
judge, perhaps from deem (to come to think or judge). |
before 12th century |
| Depater |
Precious metal refiner |
|
| Deputy |
Safety officer for the pit crew in the mining industry |
|
| Deviller |
Operated the devil, a machine that tore rags used in the textile
industry |
|
| Dikeman |
Hedger or ditcher |
|
| Dipper |
Who worked in the pottery trade and was responsible for the glazing of
items |
|
| Dish Thrower |
Who made bowls and dishes |
|
| Dish Turner |
Who made wooden bowls or dishes |
|
| Disher |
Who made bowls and dishes |
|
| Distiller |
Maker of alcoholic beverages |
1577 |
| Distributor |
Parish official attached to the workhouse / poorhouse who looked after
the secular needs of the poor |
1526 |
| Ditcher |
|
|
| Diviner |
Water finder; soothsayer |
14th century |
| Dock Master |
In charge of a dockyard |
|
| Dock Walloper |
Dock worker, longshoreman |
|
| Docker |
Dock worker, longshoreman |
|
| Dog Leech |
Veterinarian |
|
| Dog-Whipper |
Drove dogs away in a village |
|
| Domesman |
Judge (possibly from the Domesday Book?) |
15th century |
| Domestic |
Household servant |
1613 |
| Donkey Man |
Driver of a carriage for passengers |
|
| Door Keeper |
Guard, janitor, or porter |
|
| Dragman |
Fisher man who fished by dragging a net along the bottom of the
water |
|
| Dragoman |
Acted as interpreter or guide in Turkish or Arabic |
14th century |
| Dragoon |
Member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed
mounted troops. |
1622 |
| Dragsman |
Driver of a small stage coach or carriage used for public transport or
private hire |
|
| Drainer |
Made drains |
|
| Draper |
Dealer in fabrics and sewing needs |
14th century |
| Drawboy |
Weavers assistant in the shawl making mills , they sat atop the looms
and lifted the heavy warps |
|
| Drayman |
Cart driver; hauler by dray ( |
1581 |
| Dredgerman |
One who in a boat to collect the bits and pieces that had fallen
overboard from other vessels which then were sold (London occupation) |
1508 |
| Drift Maker |
Made drift nets, used in the fishing industry |
|
| Dripping Man |
Dealer in dripping (the fat collected during the cooking of meats) |
|
| Driver |
one who drives; coachman |
15th century |
| Drover |
Sheep or cattle driver |
15th century |
| Drugger |
Pharmacist |
|
| Drummer |
one who plays a drum |
1580 |
| Dry Stone Waller |
Built stone walls usually using the stones removed from the fields as
building materials. The art was in not using any cement or mortar and
generally not cutting the stone, but being able to see where variuos
stones would fit together |
|
| Drycooper |
|
|
| Dubbere |
Cloth dubber, i.e., one who raises the nap of cloth |
|
| Dudder |
Probably a maker of coarse cloaks |
|
| Dyer |
Employed in the textile mills to color fabric prior to weaving |
before 12th century |
| Dyker |
Scottish term for a stonemason |
|
| Dysshere |
Probably a ditcher, or in some cases a disher |
|
|
|
|
|
| Ealdorman |
N official of the shire courts who acted as the King's deputy taking
payment from the profits of the court |
before 12th century |
| Earer |
Plowwman |
|
| Earth Stopper |
One who plugs up animal holes |
|
| Ebonite Turner |
One who worked with ebonite or vulcanite, making combs or ornaments
etc |
|
| Egg Factor |
Egg or poultry dealer |
|
| Eggler |
Egg or poultry dealer |
|
| Elephants Teeth Dealer |
Who dealt in ivory ornaments etc |
|
| Elymaker |
Oilmaker |
|
| Embosser |
One who raised the surface into bosses; especially ornamenting with
raised work |
15th century |
| Endholder |
Inn keeper |
|
| Engine Tenter |
Who operated the machine which stretched the cloth whilst drying in a
woolllen mill |
|
| Engineman |
Employed at a mine to be in charge of the machinery used to crush the
ore |
|
| Ensign |
Lowest ranking commissioned officer |
15th century |
| Equerry |
Officer of a prince or noble charged with the care of horses |
1591 |
| Eremite |
Hermit, especially a religious recluse |
13th century |
| Erite |
Heretic |
|
| Esquire |
A landed proprietor |
15th century |
| Ewe Herd |
Shepherd |
|
| Ewer |
Waterman |
14th century |
| Exchequer |
Office charged with the collection and management of the royal revenue
and judicial determination of all revenue causes. |
14th century |
| Exciseman |
Excise tax collector |
1647 |
| Executioner |
one who puts to death. |
1536 |
|
|
|
|
| Faber |
Artisan or workman |
|
| Fabricator |
Maker |
15th century |
| Factor |
One who acts or transacts business for another |
15th century |
| Fagetter |
Made up faggots into bundles, seller of firewood |
|
| Falconer |
Breeds, trains, or hunts with hawks |
14th century |
| Fancy-Pearl Worker |
Worked in mother-of-pearl making buttons or fancy goods |
|
| Fanner |
Grain winnower from fan(to drive away the chaff of (grain) by means of
a current of air) |
before 12th century |
| Fanwright |
Maker and repairer of fans or winnowing baskets |
|
| Farandman |
Traveling merchant |
|
| Farmer |
a person who cultivates land or crops or raises animals or fish. |
14th century |
| Farrier |
Horse shoer |
15th century |
| Fawkner |
Falconer (dialect?) |
14th century |
| Fear-Nothing Maker |
Weaver of special kind of thick woollen cloth known as fear-nought,
used for protective clothing and lining portholes, walls, and doors of
powder magazines on board ships |
|
| Feather Beater |
Cleanser of feathers |
|
| Feather Driver |
Cleanser of feathers |
|
| Feather-Dresser |
Who cleaned and prepared feathers for sale |
|
| Featherman |
Dealer in feathers and plumes |
|
| Feather-Wife |
Woman who prepared feathers for use |
|
| Feeder |
Herdsman |
|
| Fell Monger |
Remover of hair or wool from hides in leather making |
|
| Feller |
Woodcutter; Tanner (based on felling trees or fell as a skin or
pelt) |
before 12th century |
| Felter |
Worker in the hatting industry |
|
| Ferator |
Farrier or blacksmith |
|
| Feroner |
Ironmonger |
|
| Ferreter |
Dealer in or manufacturer of ferret, ie. Silk tape |
|
| Ferrour |
Horse shoer or blacksmith |
|
| Ferur |
Farrier or blacksmith |
|
| Fettler |
Cleaned the machinery in woollen mills, removing accumulated fibres,
grease, etc., sharpened the fustian cutters knives or needlemaker who
filed the needle to a point |
|
| Fever |
Blacksmith |
|
| Fewster |
Maker of saddletrees |
|
| Fewterer |
Keeper of hounds, for hunting or coursing |
|
| File Cutter |
A maker of files, involved the cutting of grooves on the file
surface |
|
| Firebeater |
Tended the boilers that powered the machinery in a cotton mill |
|
| Fireman |
Inspected for, and removed explosive gasses underground in mining or
stoked the boilers on ships and locomotives |
|
| Fiscere |
Fisherman |
|
| Fish Fag |
Female fish monger |
|
| Fishdryver |
Victualler |
|
| Fisher |
One who fishes |
before 12th century |
| Fisherman |
Fisher |
|
| Fitter |
Coal broker |
|
| Flasher |
Specialist process worker in the glass industry |
|
| Flatman |
Navigated a flat, a broad flat-bottomed boat used for transport,
especially in shallow waters |
|
| Flaxdresser |
Prepared flax prior to spinning |
|
| Flesher |
Butcher or one who worked in a tannery |
|
| Fleshewer |
Butcher |
|
| Fleshmonger |
Butcher or one who worked in a tannery |
|
| Fletcher |
Arrowmaker |
14th century |
| Floater |
Vagrant or one who regulated the year-round workings of the
watermeadows in winter by adjusting the hatches on the channels to flood
or float the meadows with a shallow covering of water to protect them from
frost and encourage the early growth of new grass mainly for early feed
for sheep and other animals. The sheep were pastured on the new grass by
day and driven up on to the downs to be folded by night to provide the
manure needed for the coming season's grain crops |
|
| Floatman |
Navigated a flat, a broad flat-bottomed boat used for transport,
especially in shallow waters |
|
| Flusherman |
Who cleaned out water mains |
|
| Flycoachman |
Driver of one-horse carriage hired by the day |
|
| Flying Stationer |
Street broadsheet seller |
|
| Fogger |
Peddler or low class lawyer |
|
| Fogler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Foister |
Joiner |
|
| Foisterer |
Joiner |
|
| Footman |
Servant in livery formerly attending a rider or required to run in
front of his master's carriage. |
14th century |
| Footpad |
Robber |
1683 |
| Foot Straightener |
One who assembled watch and clock dials in watchmaking |
|
| Foot-Post |
Letter carrier or messenger who travelled on foot |
|
| Forestarius |
Forester |
14th century |
| Forester |
Game warden or forest ranger |
14th century |
| Forgeman |
Blacksmith or assistant (coachsmith 18th century Derbyshire) |
|
| Forger |
Blacksmith, worker at a forge |
|
| Fossetmaker |
Who made faucets for ale-casks, etc |
|
| Fower |
Street cleaner, sweeper |
|
| Fowler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Frame Spinner |
Worker on a loom |
|
| Framer |
One who frames houses |
|
| Frameworker Knitter |
Operator of machine which made hosiery |
|
| Freedman |
One released from slavery |
1601 |
| Freemason |
Stonecutter |
1646 |
| Frereman |
Servant of the Friars |
|
| Freser |
Maker of frieze, a rough plaster |
|
| Friar |
a member of a mendicant order |
13th century |
| Fripperer |
Buyer & seller of old clothes |
1568 |
| Friseur |
Hair dresser |
|
| Frobisher |
Furbisher |
|
| Fugler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Fulker |
Pawnbroker |
|
| Fuller |
Cloth trampler or cleaner |
before 12th century |
| Furber |
Furbisher |
|
| Furbisher |
Remover of rust, a polisher of metal, eg. Armour; armor polisher |
13th century; |
| Furbour |
Furbisher |
|
| Furner |
Baker |
|
| Furrier |
Seller or maker of furs |
14th century |
| Fustian Weaver |
Maker of corduroy |
13th century |
|
|
|
|
| Gabeler |
Tax collector |
|
| Gaffer |
Foreman of a work crew or in glass factory, one who smoothed, reheated
the neck of and formed lip on a bottle |
|
| Gaffman |
A bailiff |
|
| Gager |
Tax collector of liquor taxes |
|
| Galvaniser |
Iron worker who handled process of coating metal with zinc, to inhibit
formation of rust |
|
| Gamester |
Gambler or prostitute |
|
| Ganneker |
Tavern keeper |
|
| Gaoler |
Jailer |
13th century |
| Garcifer |
Groom, attendant |
|
| Garcio |
Groom, attendant |
|
| Garlekmonger |
Garlicmonger; dealer in garlic |
|
| Garthman |
Owner or worker of a fish trap |
|
| Gater |
Watchman |
|
| Gatherer |
Glassworker who inserted the blow iron into the molten glass ready for
the blower |
|
| Gatherers Boy |
Held a shovel to shield the gatherer's face from the heat |
|
| Gatward |
Goat keeper |
|
| Gauger |
Customs official who measured the capacity of imported barrels of
liquor in order to calculate the customs duty |
|
| Gaunter |
Glover |
|
| Gaveller |
userer |
|
| Gelder |
Castrator of animals, especially horses |
14th century |
| Geometer |
Skilled in geometry |
15th century |
| Gilder |
Applies gold leaf |
|
| Gimler |
Machinist involved in making a gimp, a kind of card |
|
| Ginour |
Engineer |
|
| Girdler |
leather worker who made girdles and belts, chiefly for the Army |
|
| Glass Coachman |
Driver of two-horse carriage hired out for the day |
|
| Glassewryght |
Glasswright; maker and mender of glassware |
|
| Glazier |
Glass cutter or window classman |
14th century |
| Glover |
One that makes or sells gloves |
14th century |
| Goat Carriage Man |
Driver of small passenger carriage |
|
| Goatherd |
one who tends goats |
before 12th century |
| Goldsmith |
Maker of gold articles, banker |
|
| Goose Herd |
Tends geese |
|
| Gorzeman |
Seller of gorse or broom |
before 12th century |
| Grace Wife |
Midwife |
|
| Granger |
Farmer |
|
| Gravedigger |
|
|
| Graver |
Carver or sculptor, engraver of images or dockside worker who cleaned
ship bottoms by burning and tarring |
|
| Grazier |
Pastures and raises cattle |
|
| Greave / Grieve |
Bailiff, foreman, sheriff |
|
| Green Grocer |
Fruit and vegetable seller |
|
| Greensmith |
Worker in copper or latten |
|
| Groom |
|
|
| Guardsman |
|
|
| Gummer |
One who improved old saws by deepening the cuts |
|
| Gynour |
Engineer |
|
|
|
|
|
| Haberdasher |
a dealer in notions |
14th century |
| Hacker |
Maker of hoes |
|
| Hackler |
One who separated the coarse part of flax or hemp with a hackle, an
instrument with teeth in linen industry |
15th century |
| Hackman |
Hackler |
|
| Hairman |
Weaver of cloth composed wholly or partly of horsehair |
|
| Hairweaver |
Weaver of cloth composed wholly or partly of horsehair |
|
| Hamberghmaker |
Horse collar maker |
|
| Hamberow |
Horse collar maker |
|
| Hammerman |
Hammerer, a smith |
|
| Handle Sticker |
Put handles on cast ceramic cups, pitchers, etc |
|
| Handmaiden |
A personal maid or female servant |
13th century |
| Handseller |
Street vendor |
|
| Hanger-On |
Hung corves (originally baskets) on rope at the pit-bottom; later used
for man who pushed tubs of coal into the mine-shaft cage |
|
| Hansard |
Weapon maker or seller |
|
| Harlot |
rogue; prostitute |
15th century |
| Harmer Beck |
Constable |
|
| Harper |
Performer on the harp |
before 12th century |
| Hatchler |
Hackler |
|
| Hatter |
Maker of or dealer in hats |
14th century |
| Hawker |
Falconer; Peddler |
before 12th century; 15th century |
| Haymonger |
Dealer in hay |
|
| Hayward |
Fence viewer |
|
| Headsman |
Executioner |
|
| Headswoman |
Midwife |
|
| Heckler |
Hackler |
|
| Hedge Looker |
Supervised good repair of fence and enclosures |
|
| Hedger |
Hedge trimmer |
|
| Heelmaker |
Made shoe heels |
|
| Hempheckler |
Hackler |
|
| Henchman |
A squire or page to a person of high rank |
15th century |
| Hensman |
A squire or page to a person of high rank |
15th century |
| Henter |
Thief |
|
| Herald |
knights assistant and an expert advisor on heraldry |
14th century |
| Hetheleder |
Provider of heather for fuel |
|
| Hewer |
Tree cutter |
before 12th century |
| Higgler |
One who haggles or bargains or itinerant dealer |
1633 |
| Highwayman |
Robber who preys on public roads |
1649 |
| Hillard |
Covered houses with slate; tiler |
|
| Hiller |
Covered houses with slate; tiler |
|
| Hillier |
Covered houses with slate; tiler |
|
| Hind |
Farm laborer |
|
| Hodsman |
Mason's assistant |
|
| Hoggard |
Pig drover |
|
| Holster |
Groom who took care of horses |
|
| Hooper |
Makes hoops for casks (not a cooper) |
|
| Horner |
Worker in horn making spoons, combs, or musical horns |
|
| Horse Courser |
Owner of race horses |
|
| Horse Knave |
Groom |
|
| Horse Leech |
Veterinarian, farrier |
|
| Horse Marine |
Man-handled barges on canals when horses could not be used |
|
| Hosier |
Retailer of stockings, socks, gloves, nightcaps |
|
| Hosteler |
Innkeeper; One that lodges guests or strangers |
14th century |
| Hostler |
Cares for horses, stableman, groom |
14th century |
| Hoyman |
One who carries goods and passengers by water (Hoy-heavy barge for
bulky cargo ) |
15th century |
| Huckster |
Peddler |
13th century |
| Huissher |
Usher or door attendant |
|
| Huntsman |
a person who manages a hunt and looks after the hounds. |
1567 |
| Hurdleman |
Hedge-maker, of wattled framework fencing |
|
| Hurdler |
Hedge-maker, of wattled framework fencing |
|
| Husbandman |
Tenant farmer |
15th century |
|
|
|
|
| Infirmarian |
In charge of an infirmary |
15th century |
| Intelligencer |
Spy |
1581 |
| Intendant |
An administrative official (as a governor) |
1682 |
| Ivory Workers |
Included makers of combs, boxes, billard balls, buttons, and keys for
pianofortes |
|
|
|
|
|
| Jack |
Young male assistant, sailor, or lumberjack |
|
| Jakes-Farmer |
One who emptied cesspools |
1538 |
| Jerquer |
Custom house officer who searched ships |
|
| Jeweler |
One who makes or repairs jewelry |
14th century |
| Joiner |
Skilled carpenter |
|
| Journeyman |
One who served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft; properly,
one who no longer is bound to serve for years but is hired day to day |
15th century |
| Joyner |
Skilled carpenter |
|
| Judge |
Public official authorized to decide questions brought before a
court |
14th century |
|
|
|
|
| Kedger |
Bargeman; ferryman (kedge: to move (a ship) by means of a line
attached to a kedge dropped at the distance and in the direction desired)
|
1627 |
| Keeler |
Bargeman (from keel, a flat bottomed boat) |
14th century |
| Keelman |
Bargeman (from keel, a flat bottomed boat) |
14th century |
| Kempster |
Wool comber |
|
| Kepegest |
Innkeeper |
|
| Keu |
Cook |
|
| Kiddier |
Skinner or dealer in young goats |
|
| Kilner |
Limeburner, in charge of a kiln |
|
| Kisser |
Made cuishes and high armour |
|
| Knacker |
Harness maker, buyer of old horses and dead animals |
|
| Knappers |
Dressed and shaped flints into required shape and size |
15th century |
| Kneller |
Chimmney sweep who solicited custom by knocking on doors |
|
| Knight |
A mounted man-at-arms serving a feudal superior; especially : a man
ceremonially inducted into special military rank usually after completing
service as page and squire. |
before 12th century |
|
|
|
|
| Laceman |
Dealer in lace, who collected it from the makers, usually only those
who had bought his thread, and sold it in the lace markets |
|
| Lace-Master (-Mistress) |
Employed workers in factories or in their homes for the production of
lace |
|
| Ladeler |
Ladel maker |
|
| Lady |
|
|
| Lagger |
Sailor |
|
| Lagraetman |
Local constable (Law-Rightman) |
|
| Landlord |
|
|
| Landwaiter |
Customs officer whose duty was to wait or attend on landed goods |
|
| Lardner |
Keeper of the cupboard |
|
| Laster |
Shoe maker |
|
| Latouner |
Worker in latten, a metal resembling brass |
|
| Lattener |
Brass worker |
|
| Launderer (Laundress) |
Washer |
1664 |
| Lavender |
Washer woman |
|
| Leadworker |
|
|
| Legerdemainist |
Magician; One skilled in slight of hand. |
15th century |
| Legger |
Canal boatman |
|
| Lehrer |
Teacher |
|
| Leightonward |
Gardener (leighton, a garden) |
|
| Lighterman |
Worker on a flat-bottomed boat |
|
| Limner |
illuminator of books, painter or drawer; Draughtsman or Artist |
1592 |
| Linener |
Linen draper, shirtmaker |
|
| Linenspinner |
|
|
| Liner |
Flax dresser |
|
| Linkerman |
One who carried a link or torch to guide people through city streets
at night for a small fee (had to be licensed to trade in early 19th
century had and term later sometimes applied to general manservant ) |
|
| Linkman |
One who carried a link or torch to guide people through city streets
at night for a small fee (had to be licensed to trade in early 19th
century had and term later sometimes applied to general manservant ) |
|
| Lister |
Dyer |
|
| Litster |
Dyer |
|
| Litterman |
Groom (of horses) |
|
| Loadsman |
Ship's pilot |
|
| Lock Keeper |
Overseer of canal locks |
|
| Lokeer |
Locksmith |
|
| Long Song Seller |
Street seller who sold popular songsheets printed on paper |
|
| Longshoreman |
Stevedore |
|
| Lorimer |
Maker of horse gear; Bridlemaker |
|
| Lotseller |
Street seller |
|
| Lotter |
One who bought odd lots of wool and consolidated them for sale |
|
| Lum Swooper |
Chimney sweep |
|
| Lumper |
dock laborer who discharged cargo of timber employed by a master
lumper (not the Dock Company) or fine-grain saltmaker, from practice of
moulding salt into lumps |
|
| Lungs |
Alchemist's servant whose duty was to fan the fire |
|
| Luthier |
Maker and repairer of stringed musical instruments |
|
| Lyner |
Flax dresser |
|
|
|
|
|
| Macun |
Mason |
|
| Maderer |
Gathered and sold garlic |
|
| Maid |
Female domestic servant |
|
| Mail Guard |
Armed guard, frequently an ex-soldier, employed on the mail coach
service |
|
| Maise Maker |
One who made measures for weighing herring catch |
|
| Malemaker |
Maker of 'Males' or travelling bags |
|
| Malender |
Farmer |
|
| Malster |
Brewer, maker or seller of malts |
|
| Manciple |
Steward |
|
| Mantuamaker |
Dressmaker |
|
| Marbler |
One who stained paper or other material, veined in imitation of
marble |
|
| Marescallus |
Marshall |
|
| Marshall |
High official in the household of a medieval king, prince, or noble
originally having charge of the cavalry but later usually in command of
the military forces |
13th century |
| Marshman |
Paid by various landowners to look after marshlands and tend the
animals put to graze there for the season |
|
| Mashmaker |
Maker of the mash-vats or mashels used for mixing malt |
|
| Mason |
Skilled worker who builds by laying units of substantial material. |
13th century |
| Master |
Worker or artisan qualified to teach apprentices |
before 12th century |
| Master Mariner |
Ship's captain |
|
| Master Of Hounds |
|
|
| Matchet Forger |
Knifemaker |
|
| Mawer |
Mower |
|
| Mealman |
Dealer in meal or flour |
|
| Medicus |
Leech, doctor |
Latin |
| Melder |
Corn miller |
|
| Mercator |
Merchant |
|
| Mercenary |
|
|
| Mercer |
Cloth seller |
|
| Meterer |
Poet |
|
| Midwife |
Experience woman who assists in child birth |
14th century |
| Miller |
Corn miller, cloth miller, saw miller |
|
| Milleress |
Miller's wife |
|
| Millers Carman |
Drove carrier to deliver the flour or seed to the customers |
|
| Milliner |
A person who designs, makes, trims, or sells women's hats. |
1538 |
| Millpeck |
Sharpener of mill stones |
|
| Millwright |
Designer & builder of mills or mill machinery |
|
| Milstone Inspector |
Vagrant, a gentleman of the road |
|
| Miner |
One who digs for ore or metal |
14th century |
| Mintmaker |
Issuer of local currency |
|
| Mintmaster |
Issuer of local currency |
|
| Mocado Weaver |
Weaver of woollen cloth used for making clothes 16-17th century |
|
| Mold Boy |
Closed and held mold for glassblower, also weighed the bottles |
|
| Molecatcher |
|
|
| Molendinarius |
Miller |
|
| Molitor |
Miller |
|
| Monger |
seller or broker of something: fish monger |
before 12th century |
| Monthly Nurse |
Someone who assisted women during the first month after giving
birth |
|
| Moulder |
Maker of molds or castings, brickmaker |
|
| Muffin Maker |
Maker who made muffins |
|
| Muffin Man |
Itinerant seller of muffins |
|
| Muggler |
Pigman |
|
| Mugseller |
Seller of cups, mugs |
|
| Muleteer |
Mule driver |
|
| Multurer |
Miller |
|
| Muner |
Miller |
|
| Musician |
a composer, conductor, or performer of music; especially as an
instrumentalist. |
14th century |
| Musicker |
Musician |
|
| Muslin Flowerer |
Tambouring muslin cloth for household use which would be called
embroidery today |
|
| Muslin Sewer |
Tambouring muslin cloth for household use which would be called
embroidery today |
|
| Mustarder |
Made and dealt in mustard |
|
| Mustardman |
Made and dealt in mustard |
|
|
|
|
|
| Nagsman |
A person who schools horses, usually for his employer |
|
| Nailmaker |
|
|
| Naperer |
Royal servant in charge of table linen (based on napery- household
linen) |
14th century |
| Napier |
Naperer |
|
| Narrow Weaver |
Weaver of ribbons, tapes, etc |
|
| Neatherd |
Cowherder |
|
| Necessary Woman |
Servant responsible for emptying and cleaning chamber pots |
|
| Necker |
Worker responsible for the feeding of cardboard into the machine the
makes boxes |
|
| Nedder |
Needle-maker |
|
| Nedeller |
Needle maker |
|
| Netmaker |
One who wove nets for fishing vessels? |
|
| Netter |
Net maker |
|
| Night Soilman |
One who emptied cesspits, ashpits and backyard toilets |
|
| Nightman |
One who emptied cesspits, ashpits and backyard toilets |
|
| Nightwalker |
Watchman or bellman |
|
| Nimgimmer |
Doctor |
|
| Nipper |
Lorry boy, a young person employed by the carter or wagoner to assist
with the collection and delivery of goods |
|
| Nob Thatcher |
Wig maker |
|
| Noon Tender |
Guarded the goods on the quay while the officers were a lunch |
|
| Noterer |
Notary |
|
| Nun |
Woman belonging to a religious order; especially one under solemn vows
of poverty, chastity, and obedience |
before 12th century |
| Nurse |
Woman who suckles an infant not her own (WET NURSE); woman who takes
care of a young child (DRY NURSE) |
13th century |
|
|
|
|
| Occupier |
Tradesman |
|
| Oilman |
Sold the oil for lamps |
|
| Olitor |
Kitchen gardener (from Olitory-a kitchen garden) |
|
| Onsetter |
Hung corves (originally baskets) on rope at the pit-bottom; later used
for man who pushed tubs of coal into the mine-shaft cage |
|
| Orderly |
Soldier who functioned as a servant for an officer |
|
| Ordinary Keeper |
Innkeeper |
|
| Orrery Maker |
Made a mechanical apparatus for showing the movements of the planets
(named after the Earl of Orrery the inventor) |
|
| Orrice Weaver |
Designer of lace patterns to be woven with silk thread and silk |
|
| Osier Peeler |
Removed bark from willow rods or osiers which were used in basket
weaving, usually women and children (also known as withy peelers) |
|
| Ostiary |
Monastery door keeper |
|
| Ostler |
Hostler |
|
| Out Crier |
Auctioneer |
|
| Overlooker |
Superintendent or overseer, especially in the textile
|
| Oyster Dredger |
Member of the crew on board an oyster fishing boat |
|
| Oyster Raker |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Packer |
Packs goods such as pickles or herring |
|
| Packman |
Travelled around carrying goods for sale in a pack |
|
| Pad Maker |
Made small baskets used for measuring |
|
| Page |
Youth being trained for the medieval rank of knight and in the
personal service of a knight or attendant upon someone of rank in the
medieval period |
14th century |
| Paintress |
Woman employed in the pottery industry to hand paint the finished
articles |
|
| Paling Man |
Seller of eels |
|
| Palister |
One who ensured the parks were safe and well kept |
|
| Palmer |
one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land |
|
| Paneler |
Saddler |
|
| Pannarius |
Clothier and Draper |
|
| Pannebeter |
Pan-hammerer, or perhaps clothdriver |
|
| Pannier Man |
Fish monger |
|
| Pannifex |
Somebody who worked in the cloth trade |
|
| Panter |
Keeper of the pantry |
|
| Pantler |
Butler |
|
| Papermaker |
|
|
| Paper-Stainer |
One who made wallpaper |
|
| Parcheminer |
Parchment maker |
|
| Pardoner |
One licensed to sell Papal Indulgences, usually a preacher. |
14th century |
| Parfumier |
Manufacturer and purveyor of scents such as perfumes, colognes and
even incense |
|
| Pargeter |
Applied ornamental plaster to buildings (parget-to coat with
plaster) |
14th century |
| Parish Priest |
|
|
| Paritor |
Church officer who attended the magistrates and justices at court for
the pupose of executing their orders |
|
| Parker |
Park caretaker |
|
| Parmentor |
Probably a parchment maker, or tailor |
|
| Passage Keeper |
Kept passages and alleys clean |
|
| Pasteler |
Pastry chef |
|
| Pastor |
Shepherd |
|
| Patten Maker |
Clog maker or the person who made wooden soles (pattens) to fit under
normal shoes to protect from wet and muddy ground |
|
| Pattenmaker |
Maker of iron-rimmed pattens for footwear |
|
| Paver |
Laid paving stones |
|
| Pavier |
Laid paving stones |
|
| Paviour |
Laid paving stones |
|
| Pavyler |
Put up pavilions or tents etc |
|
| Pedascule |
Schoolmaster |
|
| Peeler |
policeman, constable, bobby (from Sir Robert Peel founder of the
police force) |
|
| Pelliparius |
Skinner |
|
| Peltarius |
One who worked with animal skins |
|
| Pelterer |
One who worked with animal skins |
|
| Perambulator |
Surveyor |
|
| Perchemear |
One who made parchment |
|
| Peregrinator |
Itinerant wanderer |
|
| Perfumer |
Manufacturer and purveyor of scents such as perfumes, colognes and
even incense |
|
| Perukemaker |
Wigmaker |
|
| Peruker |
Wigmaker |
|
| Pessoner |
Fish monger |
|
| Peterman |
Fisherman |
|
| Pettifogger |
A lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable |
1576 |
| Petty Chapman |
Dealer or peddler of goods usually itinerant going from village to
village |
|
| Pewterer |
Made pewter utensils (using any of various alloys having tin as chief
component especially a dull alloy with lead) |
|
| Philosophical Instrument Maker |
One who made scientific instruments |
|
| Physician |
A person skilled in the art of healing |
13th century |
| Picker |
One who cast the shuttle on a loom |
|
| Pickpocket |
Thief specializing in removing items from "clients'" clothing |
1591 |
| Pictor |
Painter |
|
| Pigman |
One who sold crockery or bred or looked after pigs on the farm |
|
| Pikelet Maker |
Baker who specialised in making pikelets (a small pancake or
crumpet) |
|
| Pikeman |
Miller's assistant |
|
| Piker |
Tramp or vagrant |
|
| Piller |
Robber |
|
| Pilot |
Ship steersman |
1530 |
| Pinder |
Keeper of the Pound or Pinfold; dog catcher |
13th century |
| Piner |
Laborer |
|
| Pinner |
Pin maker |
|
| Pinner Up |
Dressmakers assistant or one who sold broadsheets or ballards in the
streets |
|
| Pinsetter |
One who manually set up bowling pins before the advent of automated
pinsetting machines |
|
| Pioneer |
Military engineer |
|
| Piper |
Innkeeper |
|
| Piscarius |
Fishmonger |
|
| Piscator |
Fisherman |
|
| Pistor |
Miller or Baker |
|
| Pitman |
Coal miner |
|
| Plaicher |
Hedge layer |
|
| Plain Worker |
Performed plain sewing or needlework as opposed to an embroiderer |
|
| Plaiter |
Maker of straw plaits used in making hats etc (plait-to briad) |
14th century |
| Planker |
One who planks or kneads the body of the hat during felting |
|
| Plantifene |
Hay and Forage Merchant |
|
| Plasher |
Hedge layer |
|
| Platcher |
Hedge layer |
|
| Playderer |
One who made plaid |
|
| Player |
Actor? |
|
| Pleacher |
Hedge layer |
|
| Plomer |
Plumber |
|
| Plowman |
Farmer; a farm laborer |
13th century |
| Plowwright |
Maker or repairer of plows |
|
| Plumassier |
Made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers |
|
| Plumbum Worker |
Plumber |
|
| Plumer |
Made or sold plumes, ornamental feathers |
|
| Poacher |
One who illegally hunted lands belonging to others;one that trespasses
or steals. |
1614 |
| Pointer |
Sharpened needles or pins or lace maker |
|
| Pointmaker |
Made the tips of laces |
|
| Pointman |
Made the tips of laces |
|
| Poldave Worker |
Made poldave, a coarse fabric |
|
| Poleman |
Surveyor's assistant |
|
| Polentier |
Poulterer |
|
| Poller |
Barber(Poll-to cut off or cut short the hair or wool of) |
14th century |
| Ponderator |
Inspector of weights and measures |
|
| Portable Soup Maker |
Converted soup into a dry form for transporting from place to place |
|
| Porter |
took care of the doors (janitor), particularly the main entrance.
Resonsible for the guardrooms. The person also insured that no one entered
or left the castle withour permission. Also known as the door-ward |
13th century |
| Post Boy |
Carried mail from town to town, guard who travelled on the mail coach
or outrider who travelled with the stagecoach as a postillion |
|
| Poster |
One who worked in the quarries breaking rocks |
|
| Postillion |
One who rides as a guide on the near horse of one of the pairs
attached to a coach or post chaise especially without a coachman |
circa 1611 |
| Pot Man |
One who worked in public houses washing and removing dirty pots also
did other menial tasks |
|
| Potato Badger |
Seller of potatoes |
|
| Potter |
Maker or seller of pottery |
|
| Potter Carrier |
Chemist or pharmacist |
|
| Potter Thrower |
Potter who used a wheel and therefore had to throw the clay |
|
| Poulter |
Seller of poultry |
|
| Poulterer |
Seller of poultry |
|
| Power Loom Tuner |
One who maintained the loom in mills |
|
| Powler |
Barber |
|
Preceptor/
Preceptress |
the headmaster or principal of a school |
15th century |
| Prediger |
Preacher |
|
| Prentis |
Apprentice |
|
| Prick Louise |
Tailor |
|
| Pricker |
A horseman |
14th century |
| Priest |
|
|
| Prig Napper |
Horse thief |
|
| Privycleaner |
|
|
| Proctor |
One appointed to supervise students |
14th century |
| Prothonotary |
Chief clerk of any of various courts of law |
15th century |
| Publican |
a tax collector; the licensee of a public house |
13th century |
| Puddler |
Worked clay into puddle, worked with puddle to make things water tight
eg canal walls or worked in puddling iron |
15th century |
| Purser |
An official on a ship responsible for papers and accounts and on a
passenger ship also for the comfort and welfare of passengers |
15th century |
| Pursuivant |
An officer of arms ranking below a herald but having similar duties |
14th century |
| Pynner |
Pin-maker |
|
|
|
|
|
| Quarrel Picker |
Glazier |
|
| Quarrier |
Quarry worker |
14th century |
| Quarryman |
Quarry worker |
|
| Quartermaster |
Petty officer who attends to a ship's helm, binnacle, and signals |
15th century |
| Quilter (Quiltress) |
One who quilted material |
|
| Quister |
One who bleached things |
|
| Qwylwryghte |
Wheelwright |
|
|
|
|
|
| Raffman |
One who dealt in raff (saleable rubbish) |
14th century |
| Rag And Bone Man |
One who went from street to street with a cart and collected any old
rubbish, usually in exchange for a small item, e.g. A block of
soapstone |
|
| Rag Cutter |
One who cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper
etc |
|
| Rag Man |
One who went from street to street collecting and selling old clothes
and rags |
|
| Rag Picker |
Sorted through the left over rags to find re usable ones |
|
| Raker |
Street sanitation worker |
|
| Ratoner |
Rat catcher |
|
| Rattlewatch |
Town watchman |
|
| Rectifier |
One who distilled alcoholic spirits |
|
| Redar |
Interpreter of dreams |
|
| Reddsman |
Was employed in maintaining mine haulage ways |
|
| Redesman |
Was employed in maintaining mine haulage ways |
|
| Redsman |
Was employed in maintaining mine haulage ways |
|
| Redsmith |
Goldsmith |
|
| Reeder |
Worked with reeds for hedging or thatching |
|
| Reedmaker |
Made the pipe for a musical instrument or made a weavers implement (a
reed) or reed cloth or the comb used in tapestry |
|
| Reeler |
Operated the machine that wound the yarn onto the bobbin |
|
| Reaver |
Robber |
before 12th century |
| Reeve |
A medieval English manor officer responsible chiefly for overseeing
the discharge of feudal obligations |
before 12th century |
| Registrar |
Official who registers events such as land purchases or births |
1675 |
| Renovator |
One who repaired clothing |
|
| Rickmaster |
Captain of Horse |
|
| Riddler |
Wool stapler |
|
| Riftere |
Reaper |
|
| Rigger |
Hoist tackle worker; works on a ship's rigging |
1611 |
| Ripper |
One who sold fresh water fish at the markets or maker and seller of
baskets |
|
| Rippier |
One who sold fresh water fish at the markets or maker and seller of
baskets |
|
| Rivener |
|
|
| Riverman |
Worker on a river boat |
|
| Rockgetter |
Rocksalt miner |
|
| Rockman |
Worked in a quarry usually placing the charges on the rockface |
|
| Rodman |
Surveyor's assistant |
|
| Roll Turner |
Carder of wool, cotton etc into rolls prior to spinning |
|
| Roller Coverer |
One who covered the rollers for the spinning process |
|
| Rolleyway Man |
Maintained the underground road in the mines |
|
| Roman Cementer |
One who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing |
|
| Roman Plasterer |
One who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing |
|
| Ropemaker |
|
|
| Roper |
Maker of rope or nets |
|
| Rotarius |
Wheelwright |
|
| Rover |
Archer or operator of a machine used in cotton mills which prepared
the carded fibre into rolls |
|
| Rubbisher |
Sorted the small stones in the quarries |
|
| Rubbler |
Sorted the small stones in the quarries |
|
| Rugman |
Dealer in rugs |
|
| Runner |
smuggler, messenger and ironically one who worked for the magistrate
best remembered as Bow Street Runners |
|
| Rustler |
Cattle thief |
|
|
|
|
|
| Saddle Tree Maker |
One who made the frames for saddles that the saddler used |
|
| Saddler |
One who made saddles, harnesses, horse collars, bridles |
|
| Safernman |
Grower of Saffron |
|
| Sailmaker |
A sempstor who made sailcloth for ships |
|
| Saloonist |
Saloon keeper |
|
| Salt Boiler |
One who obtained salt by boiling water |
|
| Saltboiler |
|
|
| Salter |
One who made or dealt in salt |
before 12th century |
| Samite |
Maker of a kind of heavy silk suff |
13th century |
| Samitere |
Maker of a kind of heavy silk suff |
13th century |
| Sand Hog |
Those who dug the tunnel under the river |
|
| Sandesman |
Ambassador or messenger |
|
| Sandwichman |
Wears a sandwich billboard for advertising |
|
| Sapper |
A military specialist in field fortification work |
|
| Sarcinet Weaver |
Silk weaver |
|
| Saucer |
One who made or dealt in salt |
|
| Sauntere |
Probaby Salt maker |
|
| Sausere |
Salter |
|
| Sawyer |
Saws timber to boards |
13th century |
| Scaleraker |
Employed by the parish to clean the streets |
|
| Scappler |
One who roughly shaped the stone prior to being finished by the
stonemason |
|
| Scavelman |
Employed to keep the waterways and ditches clear |
|
| Scavenger |
Employed by the parish to clean the streets |
1530 |
| Scholar |
Pupil; student |
before 12th century |
| Schrimpschonger |
Artisan who carves in bone, ivory, or wood |
|
| Schumacker |
Shoemaker |
|
| Scribe |
Clerk |
|
| Scriber |
Employed at the docks to mark the cotton bales with the approximate
weight ready for selling by the brokers |
|
| Scrimer |
Fencing master |
|
| Scrivener |
Professional or public copyist or writer |
14th century |
| Scrutineer |
Election judge |
|
| Scullery Maid |
Female servant who performed all the menial tasks |
15th century |
| Scullion |
A kitchen helper |
15th century |
| Scutcher |
Beat the flax to soften the straw in the bundles |
|
| Seal Presser |
Employed in the glass industry to seal the bath against air intake
which could spoil the finished surface |
|
| Searcher |
Customs man |
|
| Secret Springer |
One made watch springs |
|
| Sedgeman |
Skilled workman who applied sedge (type of grass) which was used as an
early roofing material |
|
| Seedsman |
Sower of seeds |
|
| Seinter |
Girdlemaker |
|
| Semi Lorer |
Maker of leather thongs |
|
| Seneschal |
A senior steward at the Manor |
14th century |
| Serviens |
Sergeant |
|
| Servus |
Servant |
|
| Sewer Hunter |
Scavenger who concentrated on the sewers trying to find valuable
objects |
|
| Sewer Rat |
Bricklayer who specialised in making and repairing sewers and
tunnels |
|
| Sexton |
Employee or officer of a church who cared and upkept church property
and sometimes rang bells and dug graves |
14th century |
| Shearer |
Removed the fleece from sheep |
before 12th century |
| Sheargrinder |
Sharpened shears, scissors |
|
| Shearman |
One who raised the surface of woolen cloth and then sheared it to a
smooth surface |
|
| Sheath Maker |
One who made scabbards for swords |
|
| Sheather |
Scabbard maker |
15th century |
| Sheepman |
Shepherd |
before 12th century |
| Sheepshearer |
One who sheared the sheep of their wool |
|
| Shepster |
Dressmaker |
|
| Sheriff |
an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with
judicial duties |
before 12th century |
| Sherman |
One who raised the surface of woolen cloth and then sheared it to a
smooth surface |
|
| Shingler |
A roof tiler who used wooden tiles (shingles) |
|
| Shipwright |
Constructor or repairer or ships |
|
| Shoesmith |
Cobbler, one who shoed horses |
|
| Shop Joyner |
Housewright |
|
| Shopjoiner |
Housewright |
|
| Shrager |
One who trimmed and pruned trees |
|
| Shrieve |
Confessional priest |
before 12th century |
| Shuffler |
Yardman on the farms |
|
| Shuster |
Shoe maker |
|
| Shuttle Maker |
Made the shuttles for the weaving mills |
|
| Sickleman |
Reaper |
|
| Sidesman |
One who assisted the churchwarden |
|
| Sifker |
Sievemaker |
|
| Silk Dresser |
Prepared the silk for weaving |
|
| Silk Engine Turner |
Turned the wheel on automatic silk weaving looms |
|
| Silk Mercer |
Sold silk cloth and items made from silk |
|
| Silk Thrower |
Worker in the silk industry |
|
| Silk Twister |
Silk spinner |
|
| Silker |
Sewed the ends of the fabric to prvent the layers from separating |
|
| Silversmith |
Worked with silver |
|
| Simpler |
Agriculturist that we would call herbalist today |
|
| Sissor |
Tailor, (see Cissor) |
|
| Skinker |
Tapster in an ale house |
|
| Skinner |
Dealer in hides, mule driver |
|
| Skipper |
Master of a ship |
14th century |
| Slaper |
One who worked in a pottery preparing the clay for the potter |
|
| Slapper |
One who worked in a pottery preparing the clay for the potter |
|
| Slater |
Roofer |
|
| Slaymaker |
Apparently an Old English name meaning maker of slay's--wooden pegs
used in weaving |
|
| Sleymaker |
Maker of instruments to part threads in weaving |
|
| Slopseller |
Seller of readymade clothes in a slop shop |
|
| Slubber |
Operated the machine used to prepare cotton for spinning |
|
| Slubber Doffer |
Removed the bobbins from the spindles in the mills |
|
| Smackman |
Worked on a sailing ship (as a sloop or cutter) used chiefly in
coasting and fishing |
|
| Smallware Maker |
Who made smallware, e.g. Tapes, braids etc |
|
| Smelter |
Worker in a metal smelter, smelt fisherman |
|
| Smiddy |
Smith |
|
| Smith |
Metal worker |
|
| Smugsmith |
Smuggler |
|
| Snapper |
Worker in glass factory who placed molded bottle (by neck) into
furnace hole |
|
| Snobscat |
One who repair shoes |
|
| Snuffer Maker |
Made the candle snuffer |
|
| Soap Boiler |
Soap maker |
|
| Sojourner Clothier |
Travelling clothes salesman |
|
| Solicitor |
Lawyer |
|
| Soper |
Soap maker |
|
| Sortor |
Tailor |
|
| Souter |
Shoe maker |
|
| Spallier |
Tin worker who performs chiefly menial tasks |
|
| Sperviter |
Keeper of sparrows |
|
| Spicer |
Grocer or dealer in spices |
|
| Spinner |
Spins yarn |
|
| Spinster |
Spins yarn |
|
| Sponman |
Maker of shingles or spoons |
|
| Spooner |
Made spoons |
|
| Spurrer |
Maker of spurs |
|
| Spurrier |
Maker of spurs |
|
| Squire |
(Esquire) A shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight |
|
| Stabler |
Ostler |
13th century |
| Stallman |
Keeper of a market stall |
|
| Stapler |
One who sorted the wool into different grades |
|
| Stasyon |
Probably a Stationer |
|
| Stationer |
Bookseller, seller of paper & writing implements |
|
| Stawsun |
Probably a Stationer |
|
| Stay Maker |
Corset maker |
|
| Steeple Jacker |
Painted flag poles etc |
|
| Steersman |
Ship's helmsman |
|
| Stenterer |
Operated the cloth finishing machine |
|
| Steward |
One employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic
concerns |
before 12th century |
| Stewsman |
|
|
| Sticher |
One who does decorative stitching |
|
| Stillroom Maid |
A maid employed in a large household to take care of the stillroom. (that is, the room for distilling and storage of liquors, medicines and herbs) possibly from Middle English stillen (to drip) |
before 12th century |
| Stockinger |
Knitter, weaver, or dealer in stockings |
|
| Stoker |
Tends the fire of an engine boiler |
|
| Stone Picker |
Employed to remove the stones from the farmers fields before
planting |
|
| Stone Workers |
Worked with stone eg masons, quarriers etc |
|
| Stoneman |
A surveyor of highways |
|
| Stonewarden |
A surveyor of highways |
|
| Storeman |
One responsible for stored goods |
|
| Stover |
Senior member of a butty partnership of miners, and in charge at the
surface |
|
| Stowyer |
One who stowed the nets away on fishing boats |
|
| Stravaiger |
Vagrant |
|
| Straw Joiner |
One who thatched roofs |
|
| Straw Plaiter |
One who made straw braids for the hat industry |
|
| Streaker |
One who prepared the body for burial |
|
| Street Orderly |
Street cleaner |
|
| Striker |
Blacksmiths helper or harpooned the whale |
|
| Stringer |
Made the strings for bows |
|
| Stripper |
Employed in the woollen trade to remove the rubbish from the carding
machines |
|
| Stuff Gowsman |
Junior barrister |
|
| Stuff Weaver |
Wove stuff (the coarse part of flax) |
|
| Sucksmith |
One who made ploughshares |
|
| Sugarer |
Dealer in sugar. (Grocer ?) |
|
| Sumner |
Summoner or apparitor |
|
| Sumpter |
Porter |
|
| Surgeon |
a medical specialist who practices surgery. |
14th century |
| Sutler |
Civilian provisioner to an army post often with a shop on the post |
1599 |
| Sutor |
Shoemaker or cobbler |
|
| Swailer |
Miller or dealer in grain |
|
| Swain |
Herdsman, Shepherd |
14th century |
| Sweep |
Chimneysweep |
|
| Swell Maker |
One who made shallow baskets |
|
| Swineherd |
Pig keeper |
12th century |
| Swineherder |
Pig keeper |
12th century |
| Swineyard |
Pig keeper |
|
| Swingler |
One who beats flax to remove woody parts |
13th century (from swing) |
| Sword Cutler |
Sword maker |
14th century |
|
|
|
|
| Tabernarius |
Taverner, innkeeper |
|
| Tabler |
Boarding house operator |
|
| Tackler |
An overlooker of power loom weavers |
|
| Tacksman |
Middleman who leased a large piece of land from the owner and sublet
it in small lots |
|
| Tailor |
One who made or repaired clothes |
14th century |
| Tallow Chandler |
Made or sold candles; a chandler is specific to this selling candles
(from chandelier), it was other occupations that were [item] chandler as
one who sold [item] |
14th century |
| Tally Clerk |
Kept count of goods arriving or departing from warehouses, docks
etc |
15th century |
| Tallyfellow |
One who sold goods that were paid for in installments |
|
| Tallyman |
One who sold goods that were paid for in installments |
after Tally clerk |
| Tan Bark Stripper |
Collected the bark that was used in the tanning process |
|
| Tannator |
Tanner |
|
| Tanner |
Leather maker |
1586 |
| Taper Weaver |
One who made the wicks for candles |
14th century |
| Tapiter / Tapicer |
One who wove worsted cloth |
|
| Tapley |
One who puts the tap in an ale cask |
|
| Tappiologist |
Someone who taps the wheels of trains to check for cracks and flaws |
|
| Tapster |
Bartender or barmaid |
before 12th century |
| Tar Boy |
Applied tar (as antiseptic) to sheep when they were nicked by
shearers |
|
| Tasker |
Reaper |
|
| Tasseler |
One who made tassels used in furnishings or nobleman |
|
| Taverner |
Innkeeper |
|
| Tawer |
White leather maker |
|
| Tawyer |
White leather maker |
|
| Teaser |
One who opens up matted wool for carding |
1659 |
| Teemer |
Person who emptied grain from the cart or who poured the molten steel
into the moulds |
|
| Tenterer |
One who stretched the cloth on a machine while it was drying or looked
after and maintained the machine used in the process |
14th century |
Textor -oris (m)
Textrix -tricis (f)
(also Tixtor) |
Weaver |
Latin for weaver, from neuter of textilis, woven |
| Thacker |
Thatcher |
|
| Thatcher |
One who covered roofs with straw or reeds |
14th century |
| Thirdborough |
An underconstable |
(O. Eng. Law) |
| Threadmaker |
|
|
| Thresher |
One who separated the grain from the husks and straw |
14th century |
| Throwster |
One in the textile trade who twisted the strands of fibre together
into yarn |
15th century |
| Ticket Writer |
Person (usually female) who hand wrote or painted the price tickets on
goods displayed for sale and painted the signs that go up to make a window
display |
|
| Tickney (Wo)Man |
Sold earthenware from town to town |
|
| Tide Gauger |
Monitored the state of the tide |
|
| Tide Surveyor |
Monitored the state of the tide |
|
| Tide Waiter |
Customs official |
|
| Tidesman |
Customs official |
|
| Tiler |
One who put tiles in place either on the roof or floor |
|
| Tiller |
Farmer |
|
| Tillerman |
Plowman |
|
| Tillman |
Plowman |
|
| Times Ironer |
Servant responsible for ironing the daily newspaper |
|
| Tinctor |
Dyer |
|
| Tinker |
a usually itinerant mender of household utensils |
14th century |
| Tinman |
A tinsmith or tinker |
|
| Tinner |
Tin miner, tinsmith |
1512 |
Tipper
Tipere |
One who put the metal tips on arrows etc |
1176, 1214 |
Tippler
Tipelere
Tipeler |
Seller of ale, a tapster |
1250 |
| Tipstaff |
Policeman |
|
| Tirewoman |
Female dresser, especially in the theater (tire being short for attire) |
14th century |
| Tobacco Spinner |
Maker of cigars |
|
| Todhunter |
Employed by the parish to hunt foxes |
1332, a Cumberland surname |
| Toe Rag |
Who worked at the docks as a corn porter |
|
| Toilinet Manufacturer |
Made toilinet (a kind of quilting) |
|
Toller
Tollere
Tolra |
Worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road |
1199 |
| Tollgate Keeper |
Worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road |
|
| Tollie |
Worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road |
|
| Tonsur |
Latin for barber possibly from tonsura |
|
| Tool Helver |
Made tool handles |
|
| Topper, Toppare |
Person who put the top on a distaff. |
1327 |
| Top Sawyer |
Upper man in a saw pit |
|
| Tosher |
Sewer hunters were called by the name of toshers, the articles which
they pick up in the course of their wanderings along the shore being known
among themselves by the general term tosh |
(tosh) 1528 |
| Touch Holer |
One who worked in the gun manufacturing industry |
|
| Tow Card Maker |
One who made tow cards, used in the textile industry |
|
| Town Husband |
Employed by the parish to collect the money from the fathers of
illegitimate children for their upkeep |
|
| Townswaiter |
Customs man |
|
Tozer
T[h]osere |
Worked in the wool mills employed to tose or tease the cloth |
13th century |
| Trammer |
Young person who worked in the mines |
|
| Trampler |
Lawyer |
|
| Traqueter |
Person who made barrel hoops? |
Modern French (possibly Spanish) "to haul" |
| Translator |
A low level shoemaker; the shoemaker whose only job was to resole
shoes back to working order. |
|
Tranter
Trauetarius
Traveter |
Carrier, Hawker |
12th century |
| Trapper |
Employed in the mines to open and shut the doors for the miners
Animal trapper (dated) |
1338 |
| Travers |
Toll bridge collection |
|
| Treen Maker |
Made domestic articles (bowls, spoons, etc) from wood |
From Middle English, made of wood, from Old English treowen |
Tre[e]nail
Trunnel |
One who made the long wooden pins used in shipbuilding |
|
| Trenchard |
swordsman, butcher [from to cut] |
11th century |
| Trepanger |
One who used a circular saw to cut timber |
|
| Trimmer |
Trims a ship by re-arranging its cargo |
|
| Troacher |
Pedlar |
|
| Troner |
Weighing official at the markets |
|
| Trotman |
Messenger |
|
| Trott |
Messenger |
|
| Trotter |
Messenger |
|
| Troubadour |
Bard |
|
| Trouchman |
Interpreter |
|
| Trover |
Smuggler |
|
| Truchman |
Interpreter |
|
| Trugger |
One who made long shallow baskets |
|
| Tubber |
One who made tubs and barrels ie a cooper |
|
| Tubman |
English barrister |
|
| Tucker |
Cleaner of cloth goods |
|
| Tucker In |
Maid who attended the bedroom and tucked in the bedclothes |
|
| Turner |
Gymnast, lathe worker |
|
| Turnkey |
Prison warder or jail keeper |
|
| Turnpike Keeper |
Worked at the toll gate to collect fees for use of the road |
|
| Turnspit |
One who operated the spit handle |
|
| Tutor |
Private teacher for older children |
|
| Tweenie |
Maid who worked between the stairs she assisted the cooks and the
housemaids |
|
| Tweeny |
Maid who worked between the stairs she assisted the cooks and the
housemaids |
|
| Twist Hand |
One who operated a lace machine |
|
| Twister |
One who operated the machine used for twisting yarns and threads
together |
|
| Twisterer |
One who operated the machine used for twisting yarns and threads
together |
|
|
|
|
|
| Ulnager |
One appointed to examine the quality of woollen goods to be sold |
|
| Underviewer |
Junior official in charge of mine in Viewer's absence |
|
| Upholder |
Upholsterer and also a seller of secondhand goods |
|
| Upholder |
Upholsterer; also a cheapjack and seller of secondhand goods |
|
| Upright Worker |
Chimney sweep |
|
| Usurer |
one that lends money |
|
|
|
|
|
| Vageler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Vaginarius |
Scabbard maker |
|
| Valet |
Male servant that attended a nobleman or gentleman |
|
| Valuator |
Who valued objects |
|
| Vassal |
Servant of the lowest order |
|
| Vatman |
One who put the paper pulp into the moulds in paper-making industry or
worked with vats e.g. In beer and wine making |
|
| Venator |
Huntsman |
|
| Venur |
Huntsman |
|
| Verderer |
Official in charge of the royal forest |
|
| Verge Maker |
One who made the spindles used in clocks and watches |
|
| Verger |
One who worked with the priest in the running the church |
|
| Verrier |
Glazier |
|
| Vestmentmaker |
One who made the gowns worn by priests |
|
| Victualer |
Seller of food/drink |
|
| Viewer |
One who worked at the mines in a managerial capacity |
|
| Villein |
One who paid dues to the lord of the manor in return for use of the
land |
|
| Vineroon |
Grape farmer, wine maker |
|
| Vintager |
Grape farmer, wine maker |
|
| Vinter |
Wine merchant |
|
| Vintner |
Wine merchant |
|
| Virginal Player |
Player of a musical instrument similar to a harpsichord |
|
| Vogelaar |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Vogeler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Vogler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Vowler |
Keeper or catcher of birds |
|
| Vulcan |
Blacksmith |
|
|
|
|
|
| Wabster |
Weaver |
|
| Wadsetter |
under Scottish law a creditor to whom a wadset is made; a wadset is a
right, by which lands, or other heritable subjects, are impignorated by
the proprietor to his creditor in security of his debt |
|
| Waferer |
|
|
| Wagoner |
Wagon or cart driver |
|
| Wailer |
One employed in the mines to remove the impurities from the coal |
|
| Wainwright |
Builder or repairer of wagons |
|
| Wait |
Night watchman |
|
| Waiter |
Customs officer who watched over the of loading off goods on the
coast |
|
| Wakeman |
Night watchman |
|
| Walker |
Cloth trampler or cleaner |
|
| Walker |
Cloth worker (see also FULLER) |
|
| Walking-Stick Filer |
One who made walking sticks |
|
| Waller |
One who built walls either brick or dry stone, also a person who
worked making coarse salt |
|
| Wantcatcher |
Mole catcher |
|
| Wanter |
Mole catcher |
|
| Warder |
In charge of prisoners |
|
| Warehouseman |
In charge of or employee in a warehouse |
|
| Warper |
Set the warp thread on the looms or employed to move boats by hauling
on the warps (the ropes attached to the boats) |
|
| Warrener |
In charge of a portion of land used for breeding rabbits and other
small game |
|
| Washman |
Tin coater |
|
| Wasteman |
Checked the old workings for gas and maintaining them in the mines or
employed to remove waste |
|
| Watch Finisher |
Assembled watches and clocks |
|
| Watchman |
Town official who guarded the streets at night |
|
| Water Bailiff |
Official in charge of the fishing rights on a stretch of water |
|
| Water Carrier |
Carted and sold fresh water |
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| Water Gilder |
Trapped water fowl |
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| Water Leader |
Transported and sold fresh drinking water |
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| Water Leder |
Transported and sold fresh drinking water |
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| Water Loder |
Transported and sold fresh drinking water |
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| Waterman |
Worked with or on boats usually on rivers |
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| Waterseller |
Brought water to the castle or manor to sell |
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| Wattle Hurdle Maker |
Made a type of fence from wattle to keep the sheep in |
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| Wattler |
Made a type of fence from wattle to keep the sheep in |
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| Waulkmiller |
Cloth worker (see also FULLER) |
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| Way Man |
Surveyor of roads |
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| Way-Maker |
Employed to make roads |
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| Weatherspy |
Astrologer |
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| Weaver |
One who made baskets etc |
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| Webber |
Weaver (originally a female weaver) |
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| Webster |
Weaver (originally a female weaver) |
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| Weigher |
Worked on the docks to weigh the cargo as it was unloaded |
|
| Weirkeeper |
One who keeps fish traps |
13-14th Century |
| Well Sinker |
Dug wells |
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| Well Wright |
Made the winding equipment used to raise the bucket in the well |
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| Wellmaster |
One in charge of the local well with the responsibility of ensuring
clean water for the village |
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| Wet Glover |
Made leather gloves |
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| Wet Nurse |
Woman employed to suckle the child of another (common practice with
the rich); A woman usually needed to be pregnent to start producing milk
but the supply of milk from a woman is demand driven - the woman would
continue to supply milk as long as it was needed. |
|
| Wetter |
Dampened paper during the printing process or in the glass industry
who detached the glass by wetting |
|
| Whacker |
Horse or oxen team driver |
|
| Wharfinger |
Owner of a wharf |
|
| Wheeler |
Wheel maker, attended to the spinning wheel in the textile industry
and one who led the pit ponies that pulled the tubs underground in the
mines |
|
| Wheelwright |
Maker or repairer of wagon wheels |
|
| Wheeryman |
In charge of a wheery (a small light rowing boat) |
|
| Whig |
Horse driver (Scottish term) |
|
| Whipcord Maker |
Made whips |
|
| Whipmaker |
Made whips |
|
| Whipperin |
Managed the hounds in a hunt |
|
| White Limer |
Plastered walls using lime and water plaster |
|
| White Smith |
Tin smith |
|
| Whitear |
Hide cleaner |
|
| Whitener |
One who bleached cloth |
|
| Whitening Roll Maker |
Made the whitening used in whitening walls of cottages |
|
| Whitester |
One who bleached cloth |
|
| Whitewing |
Streetsweeper |
|
| Whitster |
One who bleached cloth |
|
| Whitster |
Bleacher of cloth |
|
| Whittawer |
One who made saddles and harness |
|
| Whittawer |
Preparer of white leather |
|
| Willow Plaiter |
One who made baskets etc |
|
| Windster |
Silk winder |
|
| Wood Cutter |
wood chopper |
|
| Wood Reeve |
In charge of the forest or woods |
|
| Woodbreaker |
One who made wooden water casks |
|
| Woodranger |
In charge of the forest or woods |
|
| Woodward |
In charge of the forest or woods |
|
| Wool Driver |
One who brought the wool to market |
|
| Wool Factor |
Wool merchants agent |
|
| Wool Man |
One who sorted the wool into different grades |
|
| Wool Sorter |
One who sorted the wool into different grades |
|
| Wool Winder |
One who made up balls of wool for selling |
|
| Woolcomber |
Operated machines that separate the fibres ready for spinning in
woolen industry |
|
| Woolen Billy Piecer |
Worked in the woolen mills to piece together the broken yarns |
|
| Woolsted Man |
A seller of woollen cloth (from worsted man) |
|
| Worsted Manufacturer |
One who made worsted |
|
| Wright |
Maker or repairer of wagon wheels |
|
| Wright |
Builder or repairer |
|
| Wyrth |
Laborer |
|
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| Xylographer |
One who used and made wooden blocks used in printing illustrations |
|
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| Yatman |
Gate keeper |
|
| Yearman |
One contracted to work for a year |
|
| Yeoman |
Farmer who owns his own land; Freehold farmer |
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| Zincographer |
Designer who etched in relief a pattern on zinc plates used for
printing |
|
| Zitherist |
Player of a simple, flat many-stringed instrument |
|
| Zoetrope Maker |
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 |
Described and classified |
|