Old Occupations

Old Occupations 

 

Accomptant – An archaic variant of Accountant. A person concerned with the maintenance and audit of business accounts and the preparation of consultant reports in tax and finance.

 

Almoner - is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title almoner has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used for many pastoral functions exercised by chaplains or pastors. The word derives from the Ancient Greek: (alms), via the popular Latin almosinarius.

The almoner also remains an active and important office in the livery companies of the City of London. In Masonic lodges, the almoner's duty is to oversee the needs of the brethren within his lodge. He is the contact for charity and looks after the welfare of the members, including visits to the sick, aged and infirm.

 

Amanuensis - Secretary or stenographeris a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. An amanuensis might act as a translator as well as transcriber.

 

Artificer - An artificer is an appointment held by a member of an armed forces service who is skilled at working on electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical and/or mechanical devices. Qualification to hold the position and title of Artificer requires years of training and service in order to gain the experience and rank required. In the British Forces, soldiers in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) or Royal Marines with the rank of Sergeant who have also qualified as Class 1 tradesmen are eligible for consideration for the Artificers course. Upon completion of the 18-month Artificers course, soldiers are promoted to Staff Sergeant (one rank above Sergeant in the British Army) and presented with the Artificers badge. They are also awarded a HND/Degree.

 

Bailie – A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables in Edinburgh, Leith and Perth. Modern bailies exist in Scottish local councils, and the position being a courtesy title, appointees are often requested to provide support to the lord provost or provost - the ceremonial and civic head of the council - in their various engagements

 

Bailiff - was the term used by the Normans for what the Saxons had called a reeve: the officer responsible for executing the decisions of a court. The duty of the bailiff would thus include serving summonses and orders, and executing all warrants issued out of the corresponding court. The district within which the bailiff operated was called his bailiwick, and is even to the present day. Bailiffs were outsiders and free men, that is, they were not usually from the bailiwick for which they were responsible.

Throughout Norman England, the Saxon and Norman populations gradually mixed, and reeve came to be limited to shire-level courts (hence sheriff as a contraction of "shire-reeve"), while bailiff was used in relation to the lower courts. Primarily then, bailiff referred to the officer executing the decisions of manorial courts, and the hundred courts. Likewise, in Scotland a bailie was the chief officer of a barony (baron bailie), and in the Channel Islands they were the principal civil officers.

 

Baxter – (Baker) is an English name, originally from the English occupational surname meaning baker, from the early Middle English bakstere and the Old English bæcere. The form Bakster was originally feminine, with Baker as the masculine equivalent, but over time both names came to apply to both men and women.

 

Bluestocking - Female writer Bluestocking (also spaced blue-stocking or blue stockings) is a derogatory term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the “Queen of the Blues”, including Elizabeth Vesey (1715–1791), Hester Chapone (1727–1801) and the classicist Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806). The Blue Stockings Society was a literary society led by Elizabeth Montagu and others in the 1750s in England. Elizabeth Montagu was a social anomaly in the period because she took possession of her husband’s property when he died, allowing her to have more power in her world.

 

Boniface - Boniface is a given name and a surname of Latin origin, meaning "fortunate, auspicious"

 

Brazier - One who works with brass also a brazier is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or rituals.

 

Brewster - Brewster is an occupational name that originated in the Middle English words brewestere and browestere, which mean "(female) brewer". The term "brewer" is more common in southern England, while "Brewster" is more common in the Midlands, north, and Scotland.

 

Brightsmith - A brightsmith is a metalsmith who works with silver or makes items with a shiny finish. The term is derived from the words "bright" and "smith".

 

Caulker - One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows or seams, to make them watertight by using tar, or oakum-hem fibre which is produced by taking old ropes apart

 

Chaisemaker - A person who makes chaises, which are light, two-wheeled carriages for one or two people. Chaises were often used for leisure rides in the summer.

 

Chandler - Dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles; retailer of groceries, ship supplier. The earliest records as a surname are attested in Anglo-Norman by Matthew le Candeler in London in 1274 and William le Chandeler in Essex in 1275.

 

Clerk/Clark - The word clerk is derived from the Latin clericus meaning "cleric" or "clergyman", which is the latinisation of the Greek from a word meaning a "lot" (in the sense of drawing lots) and hence an "apportionment" or "area of land"

A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service counters, screening callers, and other administrative tasks. In City of London livery companies, the clerk is the chief executive officer.

 

Clicker - The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers; one who received the material in a printing galley from the compositors and arranged it ready for printing; one who makes eyelet holes in boots using a machine which clicked.

 

Cohen - Priest or Rabbi,  is a surname of Jewish, Samaritan and Biblical origins. It is a very common Jewish surname (the most common in Israel). Cohen is one of the four Samaritan last names that exist in the modern day. Many Jewish immigrants entering the United States or United Kingdom changed their name from Cohen to Cowan (sometimes spelled "Cowen"), as Cowan was a Scottish name.

 

Collier – (Coal miner)  the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production.

 

Colporteur - is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters". The term does not necessarily refer to religious book peddling. Colportage became common in Europe with the distribution of contending religious tracts and books during the religious controversies of the Reformation. In addition to controversial works, the itinerant book-peddling colporteurs also spread widely cheap editions of the popular works of the day to an increasingly literate rural population which had little access to the book shops of the cities.

 

Cooper - is a craftsman who produces wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable. Journeymen coopers also traditionally made wooden implements, such as rakes and wooden-bladed shovels. In addition to wood, other materials, such as iron, were used in the manufacturing process. The trade is the origin of the surname Cooper. The word "cooper" is derived from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German kūper 'cooper' from kūpe 'cask', in turn from Latin cupa 'tun, barrel'.

Coopers in Britain started to organise as early as 1298. The Worshipful Company of Coopers is one of the oldest Livery Companies in London.

 

Cordwainer - Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using leather from Cordova/Cordoba in Spain. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes.

 

Costermonger - Peddler of fruits and vegetables. The term is derived from the words costard (a medieval variety of apple) and monger (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers in general. Costermongers exhibited a distinct identity. Individuals signalled membership of the coster community through a dress code, especially the large neckerchief, known as a kingsman, tied round their necks. Their hostility towards the police was legendary.

 

Crocker –comes from the Middle English word crockere, which is derived from the word crok(ke) meaning "pot". The Old English word for "pot" was croc or croc(ca).

 

Crowner – Coroner has multiple meanings, including a person or thing that crowns, a small crown, or a dialectal term for a coroner. The name was originally “crowner,” or “coronator,” derived from the Latin corona, meaning “crown”. Other meanings of crowner are the margin between the skin of a horse's pastern and the horn of the hoof, the knob at the base of a deer's antler

 

Currier - One who dresses the coat of a horse with a currycomb; one who tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease. The leather is stretched and burnished to produce a uniform thickness and suppleness, and dyeing and other chemical finishes give the leather its desired colour. After currying, the leather is then ready to pass to the fashioning trades such as saddlery, bridlery, shoemaking or glovemaking.

 

Docker – Stevedore or Longshoreman, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo.

 

Dowser - One who finds water using a rod or witching stick. Dowsing is also known as divining, water witching, or doodlebugging.

 

Draper - a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops. A draper is now defined as a highly skilled role within the fashion industry. The term is used within a fashion design or costume design studio for people tasked with creating garments or patterns by draping fabric over a dress form; draping uses a human form to physically position the cloth into a desired pattern. This is an alternative method to drafting, when the garment is initially worked out from measurements on paper. A fashion draper may also be known as a "first hand" because they are often the most skilled creator in the workshop and the "first" to work with the cloth for a garment. However a first hand in a costume studio is often an assistant to the draper. They are responsible for cutting the fabric with the patterns and assisting in costume fittings.

Drayman - One who drives a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads. The term is used in the United Kingdom for brewery delivery men, even though routine horse-drawn deliveries are almost entirely extinct. Some breweries still maintain teams of horses and a dray, but these are used only for special occasions such as festivals or opening new premises. There are some breweries still delivering daily/weekly using horses, Hook Norton in Oxfordshire and Sam Smiths in Tadcaster being two of them.

Dresser - A surgeon's assistant in a hospital or employed by Actors to change costumes. It also means a table or sideboard or cupboard to hold dishes and cooking utensils.

Drover - One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market; a dealer in cattle.

Duffer - The original duffers of the mid-18th century were shysters of the first order, merchants who palmed off trashy goods as if they were highly valuable (they often implied to unwary buyers that the goods had been smuggled and were very rare). Over time, the meaning of duffer was extended from a no-good peddler to anyone who was "no good," not just because the individual had low morals, but because he or she was incompetent or stupid.

Farrier - is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjusting metal shoes) with some veterinarian's skills (knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb) to care for horses' feet.

Faulkner (Falconer) - Faulkner is a name variant of the English surname Falconer. It is of medieval origin taken from Old French Faulconnier, "falcon trainer"

Fell monger - A fellmonger was a dealer in hides or skins, particularly sheepskins, who might also prepare skins for tanning. The name is derived from the Old English ‘fell’ meaning skins and ‘monger’ meaning dealer. Fellmongery is one of the oldest professions in the world and since ancient times, humans have used the skins of animals to clothe themselves, and for making domestic articles.

Fletcher - One who made bows and arrows is an Anglo-Norman surname of French, English, Scottish and Irish origin. The name is a regional (La Flèche) and an occupational name for an arrowsmith (a maker and or seller of arrows), derived from the Old French flecher (in turn from Old French fleche "arrow"). The English word was borrowed into the Goidelic languages, leading to the development of the Scottish name "Mac an Fhleisteir" (also spelt "Mac an Fhleisdeir"), "the arrowsmith's son".

Fuller - One who ‘fulls’ or cleanses cloth; one who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth by moistening, heating, and pressing; one who cleans and finishes cloth.

Gaoler - A keeper of the goal, a jailer. Someone who guards prisoners, a screw or a turnkey.

Gerber - Tanner; one who tans (cures) animal hides into leather. The word comes from the Middle High German word gerwer, which comes from the Old High German word garawo meaning "leather preparer".

Glazier - is a tradesperson responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics). They also refer to blueprints to figure out the size, shape, and location of the glass in the building. They may have to consider the type and size of scaffolding they need to stand on to fit and install the glass. Glaziers may work with glass in various surfaces and settings, such as cutting and installing windows, doors, shower doors, skylights, storefronts, display cases, mirrors, facades, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.

Hacker - Maker of hoes. In modern slang a hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals by non-standard means

Hatcheler - A hatcheler is a person who uses a hatchel, a tool for combing flax or hemp. The word "hatcheller" comes from the word "hatchel". The earliest known use of the word "hatcheller" was in the Middle English period, around 1450. One who combed out or carded flax.

Haymonger - Dealer in hay.

Hayward, or "hedge warden", was an officer of an English parish dating from the Middle Ages in charge of fences and enclosures; The origin of the Hayward surname is English, it is an occupational name that comes from the old official title of 'Hayward' 'keeper of the hedges and enclosures' (Old English hēgweard).

Higgler - Itinerant peddler, a person who trades in dairy, poultry, and small game animals.

Hillier - is a name that links to both English and German ancestry, with the dual meanings "hard warrior" and the occupation-inspired "roofer." In various English counties throughout the land, the terms hillier and hellier were used to describe the jobs of a "roofer" and a "tiler,"

 

Hind - A servant, a male farm worker.

 

Holster - A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn. The modern term usage being a holder for carrying a handgun or other firearm, typically made of leather and worn on a belt or under the arm.

 

Hooper - originating in England. It is derived from the archaic term hooper, meaning the man who fitted the wooden or metal hoops around the barrels or buckets that the cooper (barrel-maker) had made, essentially an assistant to the cooper.

 

Huckster - The original meaning of huckster is a person who sells small articles, either door-to-door or from a stall or small store, like a peddler or hawker. The term probably derives from the Middle English hucc, meaning "to haggle". The word was in use circa 1200 as "huccsteress". During the medieval period, the word assumed the feminine word ending "ster" as in huckster, reflecting the fact that most hucksters were women. The word assumed various spellings at different times: hukkerye, hukrie, hockerye, huckerstrye or hoxterye. The word was still in use in England in the 1840s, when it appeared as a black-market occupation. It is related to the Middle Dutch hokester, hoekster, and the Middle Low German höker, but appears earlier than any of these. In the United States, a connotation of trickery developed.

 

Husbandman - in England in the Middle Ages and the early modern period was a small landowner. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman. The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" rather than "married man". "Husbandman is a term denoting not rank, but occupation... Knights, esquires, gentlemen and yeomen were also husbandmen if occupied in agriculture, but were never styled husbandmen because of their right to be styled knights, etc. The agriculturist who had no right to be styled knight or esquire or gentleman, and who, not being a forty-shilling freeholder was not a yeoman, was described as husbandman." It has also been used to mean a practitioner of animal husbandry, or in American English, a rancher.

 

Jagger - Pedlar or hawker: In British English, "jagger" is a noun that means a pedlar or hawker.

The occupation of a man in charge of a team of packhorses carrying lead, coal, etc. gave rise to the surname Jagger. A jagging iron, used for crimping dough

 

Journeyman - One who had served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but hired by the day. The word journey comes from the French journée (day), which in turn comes from the Latin diurnus (pertaining to a day, daily).

 

Joyner/Joiner - A skilled carpenter that refers to a person who makes wooden furniture. The word comes from the Middle English word join(o)ur, which comes from the Anglo-Norman French word joignour.

Keeler - someone who works on a barge or who is in charge of a keel.

 

Kempster - occupational name for a wool or flax comber Middle English kem(be)stere (an agent derivative of Old English cemban 'to comb').

 

Lardner - Keeper of the cupboard, the name for a servant in charge of a larder or storeroom for provisions from Anglo-Norman French Middle English lardiner an altered form of Anglo-Norman French larder (from Late Latin lardarium a derivative of lar(i)dum 'bacon fat').

 

Lederer - Leather maker. It's of South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) origin. It comes from the Middle High German word lēderære and the German word Lederer. Is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).

 

Leech - Physician from its former use by physicians for bleeding patients : any of numerous carnivorous or bloodsucking usually freshwater annelid worms (class Hirudinea) that have typically a flattened lanceolate segmented body with a sucker at each end. In slang a hanger-on who seeks advantage or gain.

 

Longshoreman – Stevedore (see also Docker).

 

Lormer - Maker of horse gear, a person who made bits, spurs, and other small metal objects.

 

Maltster – A maker of malt for use in brewing or distilling.

 

Manciple - A steward. A person in charge of buying provisions for a college, an Inn of Court, or a monastery.

 

Mason - Its origin is from the occupational surname Mason, which means "one who works with stone".

 

Mintmaster - In medieval and early modern Germany, the Münzmeister was the head of a mint.

In the Royal Mint, the Master of the Mint was the most senior person responsible for its operation. This role existed in England, Scotland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom from the 16th to 19th centuries.

The term "mintmaster" may also be used to refer to someone who is good at coining words.

 

Monger - Seller of goods (ale, fish).

 

Muleskinner – Teamster. A worker who drives mules. A mule driver, muleteer, skinner.

 

Neatherder - Herds cows, a cowherder.

 

Ostler - someone who took care of people's horses when they stopped at an inn.

 

Pattern Maker - A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring.  A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end. A person who creates patterns for a variety of tasks, including sewing, carpentry, and metalworking. In the fashion industry, pattern makers create patterns for clothing based on a designer's sketch.

 

Peregrinator - Itinerant wanderer.

 

Peruker - A peruke is a type of wig, particularly one that was popular from the 17th to the early 19th century. Perukes were often made of long hair, sometimes curled at the sides, and could be pulled back at the nape of the neck. The word "peruke" became commonly used in the 16th century, when wigs became popular.

The word "peruke" comes from the Italian word perrucca, which means "head of hair" or "wig". The origin of perrucca is uncertain, but some believe it may be connected to the Latin word pilus, which means "hair". A wig maker.

 

Pettifogger - A shyster lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable.

 

Pigman - Crockery dealer (now obsolete). A farm worker who looks after pigs.

 

Plumber - late Middle English (originally denoting a person dealing in and working with lead): from Old French plumier, from Latin plumbarius, from plumbum ‘lead’. One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained-glass windows. A person who fits and repairs the pipes, fittings, and other apparatus of water supply, sanitation, or heating systems.

 

Porter - Door keeper or a person employed to carry luggage and other loads, especially in a railway station, airport, hotel, or market.

 

Puddler - a worker who uses a reverberatory furnace to convert pig iron into wrought iron. Puddling is a process that involves stirring molten iron to remove impurities.

 

Quarrier - Quarry workers work in quarries to extract stone for building materials. Quarries are open-pit mines, meaning they are open to the Earth's surface.

 

Quiller – One who operated machines that wound yarn onto spools.

 

Rigger - a person who rigs. a person whose occupation is the fitting of the rigging of ships. a person who works with hoisting tackle, cranes, scaffolding, etc.

 

Rypier - was a nickname for someone who sold fish in London in the 14th century. It comes from the Middle English words riper and ripier, which are derived from the word hrip meaning "basket". The nickname may have been given to someone who sold baskets or used baskets to carry goods for sale.

 

Roper - Maker of rope or nets.

 

Saddler - One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for horses

 

Sawbones – slang for a Surgeon or Physician.

 

Sawyer - One who saws; carpenter, a woodcutter.

 

Scribler – (Scribbler) A minor or worthless author, a person who writes for a living or as a hobby.

"scribblers are forever borrowing other people's quotations"

 

Scrivener - Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public. (or scribe) was a person who, before the advent of compulsory education, could read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material.

 

Scrutiner – (Scrutineer) Election judge, (also called a poll-watcher or a challenger in the United States) is a person who observes any process which requires rigorous oversight. Scrutineers are responsible for preventing corruption and detecting genuine mistakes and problems.

 

Shrieve - "Shrieve" is an old-fashioned word that means "sheriff". Shire and Refa or Reeve who was in charge of the law for the shire or county.

 

Slater - or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. (Roofer).

 

Slopseller - Seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop.

 

Snobscat/Snob - One who repaired shoes. A Cobbler. A Snuffer Maker: produced candle snuffers. These may have been the small metal cup variety used to smother the flame, or a scissor-like tool which was used to trim candle wicks.

 

Spurrer - Maker of spurs.

 

Squire - Country gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace. A young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself.

Stuff gown - Junior barrister. The gowns of most English lawyers are still described as "stuff gowns" (though probably now made of other fibres). This is in contrast with those of King's Counsel, which are made of silk, whence they are termed "silks". Thus, "stuff" in this context refers to fabric not made of silk or silk substitutes.

 

Tanner - One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather.

 

Tapley - One who puts the tap in an ale cask. Meaning 'peg' and originally given as a metonymic occupational name to a maker of pegs, plus 'leah', a wood, hence 'Taeppa's Wood', or 'taeppa'

 

Thatcher – Roofer who installs thatch as a roofing material, i.e. by means of thatching.

 

Tidewaiter - Customs inspector, an officer in various preventive customs services who boards ships and watches the landing of goods.

 

Tinker - An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman

 

Tipstaff –A tipstaff is an officer of a court or, in some countries, a law clerk to a judge. The duties of the position vary from country to country. It is also the name of a symbolic rod, which represents the authority of the tipstaff or other officials such as senior police officers.

 

Travers - A "travers toll collector" essentially means a person who collects tolls at a crossing point, like a bridge or gate, where people need to "traverse" (pass through) to access another area; it's a more descriptive way of saying "toll collector" by emphasizing the act of crossing over a barrier to reach the other side.

 

Tucker - Cleaner of cloth goods also known as Fulling, cleansing of woven cloth.

 

Turner - A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles.

 

Victualer – Victualler, A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with food.

 

Vulcan – Blacksmith (Roman mythology) god of fire and metal working; counterpart of Greek Hephaestus.

 

Wagoner - a person who drives a wagon or transports goods by wagon.

 

Wainwright - A wainwright or cartwright is a trades person skilled in the making and repairing of wagons and carts.

 

Waterman - someone who lives or works on a boat, usually on a river or a canal, or near the coast, for example fishing, renting out boats, or taking people across the water in a boat.

 

Webster - Operator of looms.

 

Wharfinger - Owner or keeper of a wharf.

 

Wheelwright - One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc.

 

Whitesmith - Tinsmith; worker of iron, tin, or silver, who finishes or polishes the work

 

Whitewing - a person who wears a white uniform, especially a public street cleaner.

 

Whitster - a person who bleaches or whitens clothes. The word comes from the Middle English word "whiten" and the suffix "-ster". The first known use of the word was in the 15th century.

 

Whitesmith - A tinsmith; worker of iron, tin, or silver, who finishes or polishes the work.

 

Yeoman – A farmer that owns his own land.

 

 

Sarah Smith

Basildon Borough Heritage Society

February 2025.