| Back
Washer |
Employed
to clean the wool in the worsted manufacturing industry |
| Backmaker |
Made "backs",
vats, tubs, a Cooper |
| Backmann
/ Backster / Baxter / Beck / Becker |
Baker |
| Back'
Us Boy |
Kitchen
servant (from "back of the house") |
| Badger |
Licensed
pauper who wore a badge with the letter P on it and could only
work in a defined area (the term "Badgering comes from this").
A corn miller or dealer or an itinerant food trader |
| Badgy
Fiddler |
Boy
trumpeter in the military |
| Bagman |
Travelling
salesman |
| Bagniokeeper |
In
charge of a bath house or brothel |
| Bailiff
/ Bailie / Baillie / Baillee |
Officer
of the sheriff, a land steward acting on behalf of the Landowner
or Landlord and in Scotland a magistrate of the burgh, also looked
after the fishing rights on certain rivers |
| Bairman
or Bareman |
A
pauper or Begger |
| 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 |
| Balister |
Archer
most commonly a crossbowman |
| Ballard
Master |
In
charge of loading the ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| Ballart
Heaver |
Loaded
ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| Baller
/ 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
Begger |
Officer
of the parish who controlled the length of stay of any stranger
to the parish |
| Banker |
Dug
trenches and ditches to allow drainage of the land, placing
the surplus earth in banks around the edge |
| Banksman |
Employed
in the mining industry being in charge of the cages at the
pit head (sometimes known as a bank manager) |
| Barber
/ Barber Surgeon |
A
barber also also a surgeon (an Act was passed that limited
Barbers to hair-cutting, shaving, dentistry and blood letting
in the 18th century) |
| Bard |
Poet
or minstral |
| Bareman |
Beggar
or pauper |
| Barge
Mate |
Naval
officer |
| Bargee
/ Bargeman |
Worked
on or owned and operated a barge |
| 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 |
| Bartoner |
In
charge of the monastic farm, also known as a barton |
| Basil
Worker |
Worked
with sheep and goat skins |
| Basketman |
Made
baskets and furniture from wicker, and also employed to empty
the basket of coal being offloaded from the colliers into the
barges |
| Bass
/ Bast Dresser |
Employed
in dressing fibre or matting |
| Bathing
Machine Proprietor |
Owned
and hired the changing huts used at the seaside in the by bathers |
| Batman |
Officers
servant in the army |
| Batt
Maker |
Made
the wadding used in quilt and mattress making |
| Batter
Out |
Sliced
a short cylinder of clay (a bat) from a "pug" and
threw it onto a mold shaped for the face of a ceramic plate |
| Battledore
Maker |
Made
the beaters used on clothes carpets etc to remove the dust
(later made the paddles used in washing machines) |
| Bauer |
Farmer |
| Baxter |
Baker |
| Bayweaver |
Who
wove bay (a fine woollen fabric also known as baize) |
| Bead
Piecer |
Employed
to drill the holes in beads |
| Beadle
/ Bedel / Bedell |
Officer
of the parish whose principle duty was to keep order, also
was the town crier |
| Beadman
/ Beadsman / Bedesman |
Employed
to pray for his employer, inhabitant of an almshouse / poorhouse
/ hospital or tenant employed by the manor for a specific service |
| 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 |
| Beater |
Cleansed
and thickened the cloth by treading it underwater with fullers
earth (aka Fuller) |
| Beaver |
Made
felt used in hat making |
| Bedman |
Sexton |
| Bedral |
In
Scotland a minor church official |
| Bedwevere |
Made
the webbing for bed frames and also a one who wove quilts |
| Beeskepmaker |
Made
beehives |
| Beetler |
Operated
a beetling machine, used in the textile trade for embossing
fabric |
| Belhoste |
Tavern
keeper |
| Bell
Hanger |
Installed
bells in churches |
| Belleyetere |
Bellfounder |
| Bellfounder
/ Belter / Billiter |
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 |
| Bellowfarmer |
Responsible
for the care and maintenance of the church organ |
| Bellows
Maker |
Made
bellows used for organs or blacksmiths fires |
| Belly
Builder |
Built
and fitted the interiors of pianos |
| Bender |
Cut
leather |
| Besom
Maker |
Made
brooms |
| Besswarden |
Appointed
by the parish to look after its animals |
| Bever |
Beverage
maker |
| Biddy |
Female
servant usually of Irish stock |
| Bill
Poster |
Put
up notices, signs and advertisements |
| Billier
/ 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 |
| Black
Boarderer |
Made
black edged stationery for funerals |
| Black Tray Maker |
Made Japanned trays |
| Blacking Maker |
Made polish for shoes |
| 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 |
| Black Maker |
Engraved the blocks used in the printing |
| Black 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 |
| Bloodman / Bloodletter |
Used leeches for letting blood, this was thought to be a cure
for many ailments |
| Bloomer |
Produced iron from ore, a bloom smithy |
| Blower |
Glass blower, one who operated a "blowing machine" used
to clean and separate fibres in the textile trade, one who operated
the bellows at a blacksmiths |
| Blowfeeder |
Fed the fibres into a "blowing machine" |
| Bluestocking |
Female writer |
| Bluffer |
Innkeeper or landlord of a pub |
| Boarding Officer |
Inspected ships before entering port |
| Boardman |
Truant officer who checked school attendance. a tenant of manorial
land who paid rent by maintaining the manor's table |
| Boardwright |
Made tables and chairs aka carpenter |
| Boatman |
Worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals also the
name given to a boat repairer |
| Boatswain |
Ship's officer in charge of riggings & sails |
| Bobber |
Who polished metals one who helped to unload fishing boats |
| Bobbin Carrier |
Worked in spinning and weaving sections of the mills |
| Bobbin Turner |
Made the bobbins used in the spinning and weaving industry |
| Bobby |
Policeman usually of constable rank |
| Bodeys / Body Maker |
Made bodices for 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 |
| 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 |
Stood bond or surety for another where a bond was required
by law |
| Bone Button Turner |
Made buttons using a lathe |
| Bone Lace Maker |
Made pillow lace |
| Bone Mould Turner |
Made the moulds for button manufacturers |
| Bone Picker |
Collected rags and bones aka Rag and Bone Man |
| Bonesetter |
Set broken bones |
| Boniface |
Keeper of an inn |
| Book Gilder |
Decorated books with gold leaf |
| Book Keeper |
Looked after the accounts for businesses |
| 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 |
| Borsholder |
Regional name (Kent) for a constable |
| Botcher |
Tailor or cobbler |
| Bottiler / Bottler |
Made leather containers for holding liquids eg wine flasks
or water bottles |
| Bottle Boy |
Pharmacists assistant |
| Bottom 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 |
| Bowker |
Bleached yarn. A local term in some parts of Lancashire for
a butcher |
| Bowler |
Made bowls and dishes and also a term used for those who made
the rounded part of spoons before casting |
| Bowlman / Bowlwoman |
Dealer in crockery |
| Bowlminder |
In charge of the vats used for washing raw wool before processing |
| Bowyer |
Made bows used in archery |
| Bozzler |
Parish constable |
| Brabener |
Weaver |
| Brachygrapher |
Shorthand writer |
| Braider |
Made cord by twisting threads or strips of leather |
| Brailler |
Made girdles |
| Brakeman / Brakesman |
Operated the winch at the pit head or operated the braking
mechanism on trains and trams |
| Brasiler |
Dyer |
| Brazier |
Worker with brass |
| Brewster |
Female brewer or brewer |
| Brightsmith |
Metal worker |
| Broom Squire |
Broom maker |
| Broom-Dasher |
Dealer in brooms |
| Brotherer / Browderer / Broderer
/ Broiderer |
Embroiderer |
| Brow Girl |
Female employed at the pit head |
| Brownsmith |
Works with copper or brass |
| Buck Washer |
Laundress |
| Buckle Tongue Maker |
Made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt |
| Buckler / Bucklesmith |
Made buckles |
| Buckram Maker |
Worked with buckram (used in stiffening materials) e.g. belts,
lapels and collars |
| Buddleboy |
Employed to use and maintain the vats used in the lead and
tin mines for washing the ore |
| Buddler |
Women and children who washed the ore at the copper mines in
Allihies, Berehaven |
| Buffalo Soldier |
Soldier serving in a black regiment in the US Army in the West |
| 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 |
| Bummer |
Army deserter |
| Bunter |
Female rag & bone collector |
| Burgess |
Represented a borough at official levels BURELER - made borel,
a woollen cloth with a coarse feel |
| Burgomaster |
Mayor |
| Burler |
Quality inspector for clothing |
| Burmaiden |
Chambermaid or lady-in-waiting |
| Burneman |
Carrier of barm or water for brewers |
| Burye Man |
Grave digger |
| Bushel Maker |
Cooper |
| Busheler |
Tailor's helper |
| Busker |
Hair dresser |
| Buss Maker |
Maker of guns |
| Butner |
Button maker |
| Butter Carver |
Made imprints in butter pats |
| Button Burnisher |
Button polisher |
| Butty |
Negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labor |
