P

 

pack thread spinner. Maker of thread.

packman. Travelling salesman or carrier, usually with a donkey or horse, but often only with a pack on his back.

 

A couple of packmen attempting to sell goods to a passing gentleman. Packmen is a general term for a whole range of travellers who carried goods in packs. Some used a donkey, whilst others had a pack upon their backs. Many packman tracks are still to be found throughout the country consisting of stone slab roads about two or three feet wide, often stretching for miles across fields or wild countryside. These tracks were the foot-roads of their day. Packmen would travel these roads, selling goods, carrying items from one area to another, or simply hiring themselves out, for the transport of goods to and from market. Those tracks that have survived serve as modern day footpaths through woods and country places.

 

padar miller. Miller who specialised in producing coarse meal or flour.

padelle maker. Manufacturer of a kind of basic lamp which consisted of a shallow vessel containing grease which was burned using a wick.

padmaker. Maker of tiny baskets (often used as measures).

paedogog(us). School teacher (male).

page. General servant with specific duties such as Page of the Hall, Page of the Stable, etc. They were dressed in livery or uniform (even in abbeys).

pagen. Sometimes spelt pagan, a land tenant who owed military service to his lord.

painter/paintress. Usually a house painter, rarely an artist (until modern times). Also a painter of crockery.

pail maker. Maker of wooden buckets and other small liquid containers.

pailing maker. Maker of wooden fence posts.

paladin. A knight attached to a palace or royal court, who often acted as champion in combat.

palatot maker. Originally a manufacturer of a special kind of coat worn by religious pilgrims but later a manufacturer of loose overcoats for ordinary men or women.

palfrey hirer. Person who hired palfreys (small horses for the use of ladies).

paling man. Fish seller.

palis(man). Maker of fencing posts. Also someone who erects fences.

palister. Park keeper or warden.

palmer. A pilgrim who has returned from the Holy Land.

palsgrave. A count who superintended the palace of a king or queen. Also called a count palantine.

palsgravine. The female consort of a palsgrave (see above).

palterer. Originally a dealer in old clothing but later used to describe any insincere or untrustworthy trader or person. The word paltry is derived from the term.

pamphleteer. A writer of pamphlets prior to the 1900s.

panaryon/panarian/pannion. A maker of yeast for the bread-making or brewing industry.

pan man. Breadmaker.

pancratist. 19th century gymnast.

pane worker. Title given to a variety of workers in different industries using panels (e.g. of wood) or squares (e.g. of cloth or tiles).

panegyrist. Person who was paid to write or deliver a eulogy.

panel beater. Metal trade worker.

panicius. Baker.

pannage warden. Warden responsible for the ancient right of pannage, the right of people to allow their pigs to eat beech nuts, acorns, etc, in a landowner’s wood or forest, either free by right or for a fee.

pannarius. Cloth salesman (often a traveller).

pannel maker. Manufacturer of a kind of rough saddle known as a pannel.

pan(n)eler. Someone who fits panels into a framework (e.g. in the motor-trade). Also a saddler, particularly one who embossed or decorated the leather.

pannier maker. Manufactuer of wicker baskets used for bread and later slung in pairs over horses (hence the modern meaning of a pannier bag).

pannier man. Traveller/salesman /carrier with horse or donkey carrying either his own or other people’s goods.

pannifex. Textile worker.

pannitonsor. Cloth cutter.

panopticon guard. Inspector, guard or supervisor who, unseen, would watch prisoners or workers without their knowledge.

pansmith. Maker/repairer of industrial pans (e.g. used in the salt trade for evaporation of salt water).

pantalet maker. Maker of loose undergarments for women. Not to be confused with pantaloon maker.

pantaloon maker. Prior to mid 1800s, only used to describe a maker of the type of mens ‘long johns’, being stockings and under-breeches all in one. See also pantalet maker.

pantile maker. Manufacturer of curved tiles designed for use in guttering but later used for house roofing.

pantler. Officer in a large establishment who was in charge of bread ordering and distribution.

pantochronometer maker. Manufacturer of a scientific instrument that combined the compass, sundial and time-dial.

pantographer. Person who works in a draughtmen’s office or similar establishment and used a pantograph device to enlarge or reduce drawings and plans.

panurgist. Person who could be employed to carry out all kinds of tasks and would be termed today as a ‘Jack-of-all-trades’.

paper hanger. Decorator using wall paper.

paper man/seller. Man who sold newspapers from a fixed position on a town’s streets. Each had his own distinctive (often unintelligible) cry.

paper worker. Apart from the normal sense of someone who works in the paper industry, the term was also used for newspaper (and other literature) sellers on city streets.

paperer. Decorator using wallpaper. Also someone in the needle industry who placed needles into packets for sale.

papiropalus. Maker of paper especially from papyrus leaves.

papyri fabricator. Paper manufacturer.

paraclete. Nurse or companion employed to look after the chronically sick or dying. Also a general term for anyone who comforted anyone else.

parbuckler. Old naval term for someone employed to raise goods using a heavy parbuck rope, either on a dock or on board ship.

parcheminer. Manufacturer of parchment from animal skins.

pardon seller, pardoner. Someone in medieval times who sold ‘pardons’ supposedly given by the Pope against sinners. These were often sold wholesale to traders by abbeys and quite often were forged by the sellers themselves. The term ‘to beg your pardon’ comes from someone wanting to make amends for their sins but not having the money to pay for a pardon from a pardon seller.

pargetter. Ornamental plasterer.

parish clerk. Keeper of parish records, also often with other parish duties. This was often a life long position.

paritor. A town or church officer, otherwise known as a beadle.

parker. A gamekeeper on land termed ‘imparked’.

parlaw. Lawyer. (Also spelt parlour.)

parmentar(ius). Tailor.

parochius. Parish priest.

parquetrist. Craftsman who designed and laid wooden mosaics in flooring.

parsnip seller. A street seller who would bring parsnips from the country and sell them in the city. The ‘street criers’ had their own distinctive call advertising their wares.

parson. Originally a Church of England minister from a poor family who had neither the education or standing to progress further than the position of curate.

parterreist. Specialist craftsman gardener who designed and laid out flower beds with intervening walkways.

partlet maker. Manfacturer of collars, ruffs, bands, etc.

pasquilant. Satirist or theatrical lampooner.

passage man/keeper. Person who keeps a passageway clean.

passarius. Ferry operator.

passiagiarius. Same as passarius.

pastor. Apart from the use in the sense of a clergyman, the term was used for a conventional shepherd.

pastoralist. A poet or sometimes a painter who specialised in portraying idyllic countryside scenes.

pastryman. Street seller of pastries. Known colloquially in the 18th century as a colly-molly-puff.

patcher. A home worker who made a modest living patching other people’s clothing. Also a term given to someone who carried out a job badly. Also called a piecer.

pater familias. ‘Head of the household’. Appointer of the clergy at a given church (usually the founder or benefactor of the church/monastery).

patibular. Hangman.

patrician. Roman nobleman or respected head of a party, religion or organisation.

patten maker. Clog maker (pattens were rough wooden clogs with high heels, or heel attachments). Also someone who constructs the mould assembly in a metal works.

patterer. General term for a street salesman who called out to his customers whilst advertising his wares.

pattern maker. Clogworker or mould maker in a factory.

patty man. Maker and/or seller of small pies.

pauper. A poor person but not necessarily a beggar.

pavement artist. An artist (often talented) who draws in coloured chalk on pavements in the hope of payment from passers by.

pavement stenciller. A kind of sign writer who uses stencils.

paver, pavior. Originally an official position for upkeeping paths. Also a paving workman.

pavyler. Erecter of tents.

pawnbroker. Person who gives money against items lodged with him for security.

payniser. Specialist woodworker who hardened wood for special purposes.

pea seller. Itinerant salesman with a barrow from which he sold ‘mushy peas’.

peace keeper. Minor church official with the task of taking dogs, noisy children, etc., outside whilst a service was in progress.

pearl button maker. Manufacturer of clothing buttons from mother of pearl, which is obtained from the inside of various sea mollusc shells.

peat collector/seller. Someone who gathers and sells moorland peat for fuel.

peat cutter. Rural dweller who cuts large squares of moorland peat for drying and selling as fuel or thatch.

pecker. Metal worker who picked out designs using a pointed instrument.

pecuar(ius). Animal grazier.

ped maker. Manufacturer of small pack saddles used as leather hampers.

pedasculea. School teacher.

peddar. Same as a pedlar.

peder. Same as a cottar.

pedlar. Itinerant seller of goods (on foot). The name literally means ‘ped (basket) carrier’.

peeler. Colloquial name for a British policeman. Named after Robert Peel, the Home Secretary who introduced the modern police force.

 

One of the first `peelers’. The above interesting picture shows an early `peeler’ in full uniform, enforcing the outdated punishment of putting a miscreant in the stocks. The name `peeler’ is derived from the name of Robert Peel who was home secretary when the new police force came into being, replacing the old `charlies’ or night watchmen.

 

peeling machinist. Wood industry worker employed in peeling veneers from wooden logs for use in plywood or decorative work.

Peep of the Day Boy. Same as Leveller.

peepshow man. Street trader who would make a charge (generally a penny) for children to look at scenes contained in a box fitted with a peephole.

 

Victorian children visiting the peepshow man. Pleasures were simple in Victorian times and many children would gladly spend a farthing of their pocket money to visit the travelling peepshow man. Children would delight in paying their farthing and peeping through a hole into a box filled with some sort of scenery, or unusual items. Part of the thrill of the peepshow was that the scene or objects would be different each time the peepshow man came around. One week the contents might show a circus ring complete with cut out performing animals, another might exhibit a tropical forest complete with a whole array of animals which would never be found together in the wild. The popularity of the peepshow man lasted well into the 1920s when inflation had brought the price of a `peep’ to one penny.

 

peever. Pepper dealer/seller.

peg top maker. Either a tailor specialising in trousers known as peg-tops or a maker of small wooden spinning tops to be used as toys.

peletarius, pellicar(ius), pelliparius, pellius, peltarius, pelter, pelterer. Dealer in animal skins, or one who treats animal skins.

pellage collector. Person employed to collect an ancient duty or tax on animal skins.

pen grinder. Grinder of pen nibs in a factory. This was considered menial work for working class girls.

pencil maker. Originally a manufacturer of a small brush used by artists for laying on of colour. (Not to be confused with penicil maker).

penicil maker. Manufacturer of an early form of wound dressing pad. (Not to be confused with pencil maker).

penny gaff house owner. See gaff shop owner.

penny pane maker/seller. Supplier of small pieces of window glass which cost one penny each.

penny peepshow man. See under peepshow man.

penny pie man. Also called simply a pie man. His cry was ‘Penny pie, toss or buy’. This referred to the customer’s option of tossing a coin rather than buying a pie. The pie man always made the call. If he won, the customer paid a penny without obtaining a pie. If he lost, the pie man gave away the pie free.

penny pie shop man. The penny pie shops began in mid to late Victorian times in opposition to the itinerant piemen. As the shops were open all day, and the city piemen usually operated only at night, it was not long before the piemen almost disappeared from the streets. Countryside piemen survived much longer.

penstock contractor. Man who constructed and maintained wooden water mill troughs and floodgates.

pepperer. An early name for an English retail grocer as opposed to a grossier, who was a wholesaler.

pepperminter. In the early 1800s street vendors had a double tapped barrel selling ‘peppermint water’ and ‘strong peppermint water’. The strong version contained alcoholic spirit. This was very much an illicit trade, but widely practised.

perambulator maker/seller. Someone who deals in children’s prams.

perambulator mounter. Someone who bolts pram bodies to the wheel assembly.

perchemear. Parchment maker.

percher. One who works in the finishing processes in a textile factory.

percher manufacturer. Candle maker who specialised in perchers, a particular kind of large wax candle.

peregrin(ator). Travelling salesman. Sometimes a travelling worker.

perfum(i)er. Maker/seller of perfumes and powders.

periwig maker. Same as peruker.

pernance officer. Person who was employed by a land or property owner to collect rents which were paid in a kind rather than in money.

perpetual curate. A vicar or rector in his own right, as opposed to an ordinary curate who assisted a vicar or rector.

person(a). Parson.

peruke maker. Manufacturer of periwigs and caps designed as hair-pieces.

pesarius. Weight inspector.

Peter(man). Fisherman (in a fishing boat).

petticoat maker. Maker of undergarments (generally of cotton) which when in the form of the ‘dress-petticoat’ (made of quilted satin etc) were intentionally on show beneath the main dress.

pettifogger. Colloquial name for an unscrupulous lawyer.

petty. Used as a prefix to infer ‘common’.

petty chapman. Same as chapman.

petty constable. A constable (i.e. not a High Constable).

pew opener, pewman. Officer in some churches who attended worshippers by opening the doors to pews.

pewter beater. Craftsman who makes trays and other objects by hand from sheets of pewter. Sometimes also called a swager.

pewterer. Craftsman who made kitchen utensils etc from the metal pewter.

phaeton hirer. Someone who hired out a small ‘phaeton’ carriage.

phantasmagorian. Man who made his living from magic-lantern shows.

pharmacopola. Pharmacist/druggist.

pheliparius. Uncertain. Possibly a dealer in fancy/decorated clothing or second hand goods.

philosophical instrument maker. Maker of microscopes or other scientific apparatus.

phonogram room worker. In the early days of telegram transmission, telephonists would direct all requests to send a telegram to a specialised worker in a phonogram room, set aside for the purpose.

photogravure printer. Printer of pictures using small dots engraved upon a flat surface.

Phrygian. The ‘Phrygian Art’ in old texts is supposed to refer to needle work or lace making.

physic. Doctor/physician (see also under apothecary).

phytologist. Scientist who studies and is versed in the knowledge of plants.

pibroch player. Musician who plays the pibroch otherwise known as a bagpipe.

piccadil(ly) seller. Person who sold ruffs and high collars.

piccage man. Person employed at a fair to collect the ground rent for stalls etc.

picker. Various trades. Someone who sorts or picks out items. Also shuttle caster in a cotton mill. Also same as a linter. Also a worker in a stone quarry who opens up a rockface with a pick, ready for work by the sawer. Also a fruit picker.

pickler. Someone who soaks something in a solution. The term is used widely in the food trade (e.g. pickled onions), the jewellery trade and the leather industry.

pickthank. Either someone who was over-officious or someone considered a parasite on society.

pictaciarius. Cobbler.

pictor. Painter.

piece goods salesman. Seller of cotton material woven to a standard length for sale as a piece, rather than for cutting from a roll.

piece worker. Anyone paid by the quantity produced (usually in manufacturing).

pieceman. Someone who was paid by results.

piecemaster. A kind of unofficial union representative.

piece(meal) seller. Seller of remnants/or remainder stock.

piecer. Same as patcher.

piecer(na). Mill worker who joins broken threads.

pieman. Seller of hot pies (usually itinerant). See also under penny pie man.

 

An old illustration showing children flocking round a pieman. Piemen were in their heyday in the time before every house had its own oven. The novelty of hot pies, particularly at fairs and country gatherings made for a ready sale.

 

pier glass maker. Manufacturer of mirrors designed to be fitted in the space between two windows, or between a fireplace and ceiling.

pierage officer. Man appointed to collect a toll from ships and boats using a pier.

piercer. Low skilled factory job piercing holes in pen nibs. See also bead piercer.

pierrot. Seaside entertainer. They travelled in groups, often with white faces and pointed clown hats.

pig (bed) moulder. Iron industry worker who either makes moulds in sand or directs iron into the moulds to make blocks known as pigs. The name comes from the way the small moulds are laid out in rows like tiny pigs feeding from their mother.

pig food maker. A worker (generally for a city council) who converted treated household food waste into pig food for re-sale.

piggin maker. Carver of a kind of small wooden drinking vessel called a piggin.

pigmaker. Iron moulder. Also a crockery worker/dealer.

pigman. Crockery dealer or iron worker.

pikelet baker/seller. Maker/seller of pikelets, a kind of crumpet filled with holes cooked from batter.

pikeman. Miller’s assistant. In military context a pike carrier. Also a person who collects tolls.

 

A pikeman.

 

piker. Vagrant.

pileo. Hat maker.

pillboxer. Pottery trade worker making pill boxes.

pillion maker. Manufacturer originally of small cushions or pads, but later of small saddles designed to be placed on a horse, behind the rider, for a woman to ride as an additional passenger.

pillow lace maker. Maker of lace by hand.

pimp(er). Someone who controls or looks after one or more prostitutes and lives off their earnings.

pin maker. The art of pin making involved 25 separate processes each involving a different workman. Few had separate trade titles except the head spinner (see entry).

pin seller. A pedlar specialising in pins and needles.

 

An 18th century illustration of a pin seller plying his trade. New pins were constantly required in the days before stainless steel pins came on the market. Because of rusting, they had a short life and in addition, many more items of clothing required the use of such fastenings. Because of this, pin sellers found a ready trade for their products which they purchased (or made) singly before threading them through the thick blue strips of paper in which they were sold. The above illustration from the 1700s shows a pin seller going about his work. In his left hand is a strip of paper containing pins, whilst under his other arm is a box containing further supplies.

 

pince-nez supplier. Maker or seller of eye spectacles which clipped on to the bridge of the nose.

pincerna. Butler.

pinder. An official in charge of the city, town or parish stray animal pound.

pinfold (keeper). Same as pinder.

pinner. Maker or carder of pins.

pinner up. Dressmaker’s assistant. Also a sheet music seller (see also wall song seller).

pinsor. The word means ‘pounder’ or ‘crusher’, probably of stone or herbs.

pintar. Painter.

pioneer. Originally a military term used for a soldier who went before the full army in order to prepare the way.

pipe maker. Originally a clay pipe maker (for smokers). Clay pipes for carrying water etc were referred to as conduits.

piriger. Pear grower or worker in a pear orchard during Anglo-Saxon times.

pirn maker. Bobbin maker.

pirogue hirer. Someone who hired (and usually made) canoes for pleasure boats. Pirogues were made from a single scooped out and shaped log of wood.

piscar(ius). Fisherman/fish-seller.

piscator. Fisherman.

piscenar(ius). Fish seller.

pistor. Someone involved with flour, generally meaning a baker or miller.

pit brow lass. Same as buddler.

pit captain. Person in charge of a clay pit in the china clay industry.

pit digger. Sexton or grave digger.

pit lad/lass. Boy or girl who worked in a mine physically dragging wooden tubs or carts full of coal or ore along a railway line. See also pony lad/lass.

piteo. Maker of soft felt from animal skins.

pitianciary. An abbey clerk in charge of petty cash where no specific book-keeping was involved.

placeman. A 19th century government officer.

placer (miner). Alluvial miner.

plaid weaver. Weaver of tartan cloth.

plaider. Same as plaid weaver.

plain worker. Ordinary sewer who does not sew decoratively.

plaisterer. Plasterer.

plaitcher. Same as platcher.

plaiter. Weaver of straw into cords in order to make straw objects (e.g. hats and shoes).

planker. Hat making worker.

planisher. A person who polishes or smoothes something, usually in the metal working industry.

planographic printer. Printer of pictures or designs using a variety of mediums, all based on the idea that grease and water do not mix. (E.g. a picture painted in grease on a stone, and then coated with water based ink will reproduce the design when printed.)

planter. A Protestant living in Ireland. Many were massacred immediately prior to the English Civil War.

plantifene, plantifex. Forage seller.

plasher. A weaver, usually of sticks as in fence building. Also used colloquially for the operator of a ‘coble’ fishing boat in the North of England. The coble was also called a plasher.

plasmer. One who uses a plasm (mould or matrix). Used in a number of industries.

plaster face. Colloquial name in Elizabethan times for someone who dealt in, or applied cosmetics, dyed hair and/or bleached teeth.

plastic sculptor. A sculptor who moulds figures from wax, concrete or any mouldable substance. (See also glyptic sculptor.)

plastographer. Someone who produces carved or moulded figures and figurines from plaster.

platcher. Hedge maker.

plate doubler. Tinplate worker in a factory.

plate-maker. Engraver/maker of printing block plates. Also another name for a plater.

platen operator. Operator of a printing press. Sometimes used in reference to other kinds of press.

plater. Welder of metal plates in the shipping industry for boilers, ships’ sides, etc. Also person in a large restaurant or on a cruise ship (e.g. the Titanic) carrying dirty plates to the washer-up or clean plates from the washer-up for re-use.

platter. Same as strawplaiter.

platter maker. Potter who specialised in producing dining and other plates.

playder. Same as plaid weaver.

pleacher. Same as platcher.

plebanus. Church minister (rural dean).

plebianus. Commoner (i.e without arms regardless of wealth or other status).

plebius. Common worker/labourer.

pledgehouse keeper. Keeper at a debtors’ prison.

pledger. Pawnbroker.

plosher. Yorkshire fisherman fishing from a small ‘coble’ boat.

plough mixer. Brickworks worker.

plum duffer. Seller of a hot plum dough pudding containing raisins, treacle and spices and sold in slices.

plumassier. Dealer in or processor of bird feathers (usually for decorative use on clothes or hats).

plumbago worker. Graphite worker (e.g. manufacturing pencils).

plumb(bum) worker. Same as plumber.

plumber. Originally a lead worker.

 

A team of 18th century plumbers at work. Plumbers have been in existence since the earliest times. This was largely due to the fact that lead (plumbum in Latin) was easy to melt and to work. It was largely used for waterproofing of roofing, construction of water containers such as public baths, the laying of water conduits and of course, lead water pipes. One record survives of the destruction of Guisborough Priory due to the carelessness of the plumbers working in the roof-space. Evidently, at the end of their day’s work, one of the workers had not put out the fire which was being used to melt the lead. The result was a devastating fire which burned the monastery down. The scene in the above picture illustrates working practices which were common from the 12th to the 19th century. Lead is being melted in a ladle over an open fire. The man on the left carries large coils of `lead wire’ over his shoulder, whilst the man on the ladder is holding a large roll of lead sheeting.

 

plumer, plummasier. Dealer in or dyer of ornamental feathers.

plush weaver. Weaver of a shaggy type of cloth called plush, (usually with hairy or velvety nap).

plyer. People such as coachmen, publicans etc who for a fee conducted couples to marriage houses to be married around the mid 18th century. (See also marriage house keeper.)

pockwood dealer. Dealer in particularly hard type of wood called pockwood.

poetaster. A petty poet who sold or read his own work in exchange for small amounts of money.

poieiner, poietes. Poet.

point maker. Same as a pointer. Also person who makes the seal on the end of laces.

point seller. Seller of laces.

pointel manufacturer. Maker of specialist pencils and styluses for industry.

pointer. The person who put points on needles, nails etc.

pointman. Same as point maker.

pointsman. Railway worker.

poldave worker. Maker of poldave, a coarse fabric.

polder man. Dyke patroller and repairer.

polderer. Rural working in marshy or coastal districts who drain land and/or build and maintain dykes.

pole lathe turner. Woodworker.

poletarius. Poultry keeper/seller.

polimitarius. Craftsman specialised in staining techniques.

poling worker. Early form of scaffolder who would erect frameworks of wooden poles to assist in the construction of buildings.

pollard. Rural worker who was employed to cut off animal horns and antlers. Also used in the sense of chopping off tree branches. Sometimes called a poller.

pollarder. Similar to a coppice man but cutting wood back to about six feet in height, rather than to the ground.

poller. Hair cutter.

polygraph operator. Originally a person who operated a machine which could produce multiple copies of a document, i.e. an early form of duplicator. In more modern times the person who operates an electrical lie detector.

polyphonist. Ventriloquist.

pomade manufacturer. Maker of perfumed ointments used mainly for hairdressing purposes. Also called a pommatum maker.

pomar(ius). Literally apple seller but also applied to general fruit sellers.

pommacer. Worker who crushes apples to make cider. Also called a pummacer.

ponderator. Ancient market inspector of weights and measures.

pontibus. Person in charge of a bridge, usually collecting tolls.

pontifex maximus. The chief official of the old (pagan) religion of ancient Rome.

pontiff. Originally the same as pontifex maximus.

pontonier. Bridge constructor or one in charge of a bridge.

pony driver. A pit pony manager in a pit (often a child). Also a horse and cab proprietor.

pony lad/lass. Boy or girl in control of a pit pony. Sometimes used as an alternative for a pit lad/lass who dragged the coal without the assistance of a pony.

Poor Clare. A member of the ‘Order of Poor Clare’, a band of nursing nuns which was active during monastic times.

Poor Law Guardian. A (usually high status) person who sat on a committee dealing with the poor and workhouse inmates.

pop man. Pawnshop owner, or at least one who would pawn goods from his home.

popinjay. Same as jackadandy but also someone who dresses outrageously.

popish priest. A term used to distinguish Roman Catholics from other priests at a time when the term ‘priest’ was used to describe all clergymen.

poppet maker. Home worker who knitted or made small inexpensive dolls.

porcar(ius), porcator. Pig keeper.

porcelain button man. Someone who made and sold hand-made shirt buttons from broken porcelain crockery. This was a lowly occupation and considered a form of begging.

porcorum emptor. Pig dealer.

porringer. Plate and eating/drinking vessel maker.

portable soup manufacturer. Maker of dried soups.

portarius, porter. Carrier of various goods/door keeper/bag carrier. In an abbey a fairly high office with staff. He was the abbey’s security officer in charge of inspecting visitors, goods, animals etc as they arrived and left.

porter driver/cartman. Man who delivered supplies of porter (ale) to public houses i.e. a kind of drayman.

portitor. Carrier of goods.

portionist. A priest who shared a parish.

portman. Anglo-Saxon town official, equivalent to a modern town councillor.

portram. Porter or door keeper.

portreeve. Chief magistrate of a port.

portress. Female gate or door keeper.

posset seller. Street seller of posset which was a kind of cheese, being milk curdled with wine.

post (cart) driver. A person employed to carry letters and parcels to and from railway stations.

postboy. Someone who travelled with a coach carrying the mail. Also a boy learning to be a postman.

poster. A fence builder. Also a quarry worker who broke up rocks.

posternkeeper. Keeper of a small door or gate, often the back entrance to a large building or castle walls.

postiller. Person who was employed to make marginal notes in a book.

postillion. Someone in charge of changing the horses at stagecoach stops. Also the rider of a horse which pulls a carriage (i.e. he sits on the horse, not on the carriage itself).

postman. Deliverer of letters. Also someone who erects fences.

 

Even before the days of the `Penny Post’ uniformed postmen were paid to deliver and collect letters.

 

posturer. Acrobat.

posy woman. Same as bouquet seller.

pot boy/man. Washer-up of pots, pans, bottles etc.

pot burner. A pottery worker.

potale dealer. Person who bought waste from distilleries and breweries and sold it on for the fattening of swine.

pot luck victualler. Owner of an inexpensive eating house without a menu where diners would eat what was available at at any time from the pot. This is the origin of the modern term ‘pot-luck’.

pot(ter) presser. A potter who makes objects using moulds.

pot shop owner. A person who sold but did not make pots.

pot thrower. Maker of pots using a potters wheel.

pot metal worker. Metal worker who made goods from ‘pot-metal’, an alloy of lead and copper. Also sometimes used to describe a worker in stained glass who used the same metal to hold the glass segments together.

potash maker. An early producer of potash using crude home-made equiment.

potato badger. Potato seller.

potato picker. Seasonal temporary farm worker engaged to follow a tractor picking up and bagging potatoes. In many rural areas children were employed and a special school holiday was created to allow the potato picking to take place.

pothawker. Itinerant seller (and sometimes maker) of pots.

potifex. Brewer.

pottage seller. Soup seller (usually a street vendor).

pottarius. Potter.

pott(er) carrier. Chemist.

potter. Someone who makes pots, but also a fisherman who catches crabs, lobsters etc in basket-like traps which replaced the ancient traps made of pot.

pouch maker. Leather worker who makes pouches and purses.

poulter(er). Poultry breeder or seller. In an abbey it was a high position in charge of business interests and staff concerned with poultry breeding.

pounce supplier. Manufacturer or seller of pounce, a fine powder used to sprinkle over freshly handwritten documents. Pounce was superseded by blotting paper.

pounder, poundkeeper. Same as pinder.

poverty knocker. A colloquial term for low paid or out of work mill workers in West Yorkshire. The term came from the sound the loom made when in action.

powder monkey. Ship’s boy who assisted with the gunpowder used in the cannons.

powder watt. An 18th century street seller of washing powder and wash balls.

power loom operator. Mill worker.

powler. Hair cutter.

poynter. Lace maker.

practipedist. Foot care specialist.

praefectus. Officer.

pragmaticus. Solicitor.

prat(ellis). Unskilled agricultural worker who spent his time mowing meadows. (Origin of the word prat as a term for a person who professes knowledge or status that he can never achieve.) Sometimes known as an ellis.

preaching friar. A Dominican friar.

prebend(ary). Ecclesiastic who enjoys a stipend granted to a canon out of the estate of a cathedral or collegiate church.

precentor. In Yorkshire an officer with responsibility for footpaths in ancient times. In an abbey he was a high ranking official in charge of choirs, musicians, robes, books, the abbey seal and the library.

preceptor/tress. School teacher.

predicant. A Dominican friar.

prefectus. Local official e.g. reeve.

prelector. A lecturer.

Premonstratensian monk. Member of a strict order of monks with strong Cistercian beliefs. They were also known as White Canons.

prentice. Same as apprentice.

prepositor. Any respected scholar who was given the job of inspecting or examining other scholars.

prepositus. Manor officer similar to a reeve.

presbyter. Originally a village Elder who had authority over a community. Later a chaplain or priest.

presager. Fortune teller. Sometimes an advisor who will predict the possible result of certain actions, e.g. in a military capacity.

preserver. Someone who stuffs carcases of animals/birds for decorative purposes (taxidermist).

presser. A metal worker similar to a ‘forger’. Also someone who operates machinery pressing out metal objects from thin sheet metal (sometimes called a ‘stamper’). Also a laundry worker who presses clothing.

pressman. Someone who fits tyres to vehicles. Also a printer who rolls on the ink and takes a printed impression from the type etc. In modern times, someone who works for a newspaper.

prester. Priest.

prestidigitator. Stage magician.

prestigiator. Juggler.

preventative man. Early customs officer.

pricker. Many trades, including horticulture (pricker out). Also a horseman.

primage agent. Man at a port who was responsible for paying the masters and crews of ships a small duty for their services in loading or unloading their own ship, as opposed to the port using its own workmen.

primogenial. The firstborn child in any family.

print librarian. Person once in charge of the finger print library at Scotland Yard in London.

prior. The man next in rank to an abbot in an abbey or in sole charge of a smaller monastery. He was the religious (rather than administrative and executive) head of a larger monastery (see abbot).

private monk. Someone who joins a religious order but does not join a monastery permanently. Often they were married and had similar status to a modern vicar.

privateer. Commander of a ship who was licensed by his own government to seize the ships/goods of the enemy. In effect he was a licensed pirate.

privatus. Private citizen.

privy attendant. Someone who looked after a public toilet.

probator. An examiner or approver, often in an official capacity.

process engraver. Printing block maker in the newspaper trade.

process worker. Used in many trades and industries to describe a worker who carries out part of the process but does not have a specific title.

proctor. An officer at a university, etc, responsible for maintaining discipline. Also a church lawyer.

procurator. An official who manages the affairs of others or on behalf of the state, e.g. Procurator Fiscal.

procuress. A ‘Madam’ in a brothel or a female pimp, i.e. one who organised and lived off the earnings of prostitutes but was not herself one.

profile cutter. Street artist who would cut profile silhouette portraits from black paper. He was also known as a ‘shade cutter’ and later (in the 19th century) a ‘silhouette cutter’. The word ‘silhouette’ is said to come from a French government finance minister who decorated his home with these inexpensive portraits because it saved him money. Profile cutters generally worked in the street where a ‘sitting’ would take place. A portrait would be cut within minutes for a small amount of money.

 

Two qualities of `profile’, `shade’ or `silhouette’. Top left is an inexpensive type, whilst the second is a more complex, more artistic and more expensive version. Profile cutters, otherwise known as shade cutters were much in demand before the days of photography. The original purpose of the profile was to serve as an artist’s basic model upon which to paint a portrait, but they soon became popular in their own right. Most profile cutters worked from a bench in the street with only scissors and black paper as their tools of trade, though some, especially if they were also artists, had the use of a studio.

 

prolucutor. Speaker or chairman at a gathering.

promarius. Waiter.

proof reader. Someone who reads a printed page for errors before it is mass produced for publication. Until recent times, most newspapers had a special department which employed a number of men to proof-read.

prop bobby. Colloquial term for a prop man.

prop man. Person in charge of pit props in a mine.

proper mariner. A highly qualified mariner fit for international navigation (as opposed to a common mariner - see under that entry).

proplasticator. Mould maker.

propola. Travelling dealer in small goods (of a general nature).

prothonotary. A chief notary or clerk of the court.

protocolist. Clerk or registrar.

proveditor. An officer or official in charge of procuring provisions, sometimes called a provedor. Also used occasionally for a purveyor of goods.

provisor. Salesman. The term is the equivalent of ‘purveyor’. In a monastery or religious house, the person who was steward or treasurer.

provost. A kind of estate manager in manorial times. In Scotland a chief magistrate or burgh mayor.

provy man. Colloquial term for a credit broker who provided ‘tickets’ to instantly buy goods, to be repaid on a weekly part payment basis.

Prussian blue maker. Dye maker of a strong blue dye. Old boots bought from dustmen were used in the manufacturing process.

publicani. A tax collector similar to a farmer (see under farmer).

publicanus. Tax collector.

puddler. Miner for precious stones or ores/wrought iron worker.

puddling hand. Assistant in a works where wrought iron is produced.

puer supplier. Collector of puer (dog droppings) which were once used in the tanning industry.

puffer maker. Manufacturer of bellows.

puggera. Person who treads clay into a paste (often work for women and children).

pugging miller. Similar to puggera but using machinery to do the same job.

pugilist. Boxer (often working in a travelling fair).

puletarius. Poultry keeper/seller.

pulled linen stitcher. See under drawn fabric stitcher.

puller. Someone who rows a boat (e.g. ferryboat puller).

pulley maker. Maker of block and tackle devices for lifting.

pumbum worker. Same as plumber.

pummacer. Person who crushes apples in the cider making industry. Also called a pommacer.

pump maker. Maker of water or other pumps.

Punch and Judy man. Itinerant travelling entertainer who used puppets of the clown Punch(inello), Judy (Punch’s companion) and other characters such as the Policeman, Butcher, Toby the Spotty Dog (or Bulldog), Crocodile, Baby, the Ghost, the Doctor, Jack Ketch (the Hangman), Beadle, Scaramouche, the Devil, Blind Man, and The Grand Senior. Children (and adults) were entertained using a portable theatre consisting of a decorated upright box and standard props such as miniature gallows, bells, ladders and a horse.

 

Punch and Judy men varied in standard from using makeshift wooden boxes to sophisticated side-shows such as this. Fantoccini boasted of being patronised by royalty. This sketch shows him in Pentonville, London in 1825.

 

punchcard. (Punchcard machine operator, accountant, etc). Worker employed in many businesses to punch, or interpret information punched into cards. This was used for a variety of jobs, ranging from accounting departments to the operation of weaving machines and fairground organs.

punder. Same as pinder.

puntil man, punty man. Assistant to a glass blower.

pupil teacher. An older and educated school pupil who assisted with teaching.

purl maker. Manufacturer of Purl, a 19th century medicated malt liquor.

put. A clown, idiot or prostitute.

putter. Hauler of coal tubs in a mine.

putter-in. Many trades. Worker who put something into a machine etc, as part of a process.

putter-out. Someone who would take on a job at a fixed price which he would ‘put-out’ to workers whom he paid himself, so making a profit.

putty maker. Originally a maker of a compound of lead and tin used in a similar way to modern glazier’s putty.

pyrologist. A 19th century heating engineer or expert.

pyrotechnist. Firework manufacturer.