W

 

wabster. A weaver.

wadding maker. Manufacturer of wadding for stuffing furniture (often using old rags).

waddy/wodie/waddie. A worker, usually itinerant, employed to collect woad, a plant used for making blue dye.

waeg(e)nwyrhta. Saxon wagon builder/repairer. A wainwright.

wafer maker. Maker of church communion wafers.

wafter boatman. Owner or operator of a passenger carrying boat.

wagon examiner. Inspector of railway rolling stock.

wagon greaser. Railway worker who greased the wheels of carriages etc.

wag(g)oner. Carrier or horse and wagon operator.

wagonette driver. Driver of an open four-wheeled horse-drawn wagon fitted with long seats to carry four, eight, or ten passengers.

waif. A homeless person. As opposed to a ‘stray’ who had a home but was away from it.

wailer. Person who discards impure rocks in a coal mine.

wain-bote man. Driver of a heavy timber carrying horse-drawn carriage.

wain house proprietor. Owner of a building where wagons and carts could be stored or parked for a fee.

wainius. Ploughman.

wainman/waindriver. Driver of a cart e.g. a haywain.

wainwright. Wagon maker/repairer.

waister. Man stationed in the waist of a sailing ship between the quarter deck and forecastle.

wait(man). Night watchman who guarded the gates of a city wall and marked the hours by playing a note on a musical instrument or bell.

waiter. A carrier of any sort of goods including meals in a cafe. Also a customs official (see under land waiter, town waiter, tide waiter, King’s waiter etc).

wakeman. Night watchman.

waker. A night watchman or person employed to ‘knock up’ workers from their beds in time for early morning work.

waldglas manufacturer. A ancient maker of green or ‘forest’ glass in small quantities. (See also under forest glass maker.)

walker. Cloth worker who walked on cloth during treatment. Also, an ancient forester.

wall song seller. Also known as a pinner-up. He sold large song sheets for communal singing etc.

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

wallah. A term imported from India (during British rule) meaning servant (e.g. tea wallah), later came to mean any worker with a specific job (e.g. guard wallah for a train guard, etc).

waller. Same as a setter, but also someone who builds walls of any sort (sometimes a salt maker).

wallet maker. Manufacturer of a type of knapsack used for carrying workers’ tools etc.

Walloon. A Flemish (Dutch or Belgian) person, many of whom came to England in the Middle Ages and later.

wallpaper printer. Small printer who printed only rolls of wallpaper in the days before factory production.

 

Wallpaper printer.

 

wang maker. Manufacturer of small fastenings, especially buckles for shoes.

wantcatcher. Same as warp catcher.

wapp & wanty dealer. Salesman of straps, nets, ropes, etc., for tying and securing goods. Wapps are ropes used to tighten other ropes together, especially on ship’s rigging, ‘wanty’ being a kind of heavy leather strap used for securing loads on wagons and beasts of burden.

wappet. A watchman. The name comes from an identical term for a watchdog.

ward. See under watch.

ward holder. Scottish land holder who held his land in exchange for a promise of providing war service when needed.

wardcorn. Watchman armed with a horn for sounding the alarm. He was generally in charge of a castle’s security in medieval times.

warden. Part of the Civil Defence system during World War Two. Each warden was responsible for about 100 people. Five or six wardens would work from one central wardens’ post. They were responsible for ensuring no lights were showing during the ‘black-out’ and for sounding the air raid warning siren and co-ordinating activities after a bomb attack.

warker. Specialist builder of walls, embankments and em„battlements.

warp catcher. Mole catcher (moles were known as mouldiwarps).

warper (and beamer). Textile industry worker who places the warp upon beams. Warper is also a boat mover.

warrener. Keeper of a rabbit/hare warren in medieval times.

warriner. Same as warrener.

wart curer. Usually a secondary occupation whereby for a fixed fee, the wart curer would touch warts with nitric acid in order to remove them.

wart rubber. Person who was known as a healer of warts, but who often acted as a general untrained country doctor using plants and other natural medicines.

wase weaver. Home worker who made wases, small wreaths of straw used by milkmaids, water carriers and other workers as a padded cushion when carrying buckets or items on their heads.

wash miller. Process worker in the cement industry.

washerwoman. A person who ‘took in’ other people’s washing into her own home for a fixed fee. As opposed to a laundry woman who did the same job in a commercial establishment.

washman. Tin worker.

wassailer. Woman who would call at houses at Christmas carrying a model of Jesus in the manger and singing Christmas carols. She would be paid by the householder as a sign of Christmas cheer. The term was also used for carol singers in general.

wasteman, waster. Refuse disposal man. Also a mine worker who checks for gas etc.

watch. Somebody appointed to guard at night (as opposed to a ward who carried out the same duties in the day).

watch finisher. Clock/watch assembler.

watcher. A 18th century night nurse.

water bailiff. Originally a customs boat search officer in ports, now an officer mainly in charge of preventing salmon poaching.

water boatman. Operator of a small river boat used for carrying cargo.

water carrier, water carter. Someone who sold fresh water from a travelling cart. Also someone who sprayed roads, and flushed drains etc for the local council.

water cartman. Someone who collected and sold fresh water (using a horse and cart) in the days before public supplies.

 

A London water cartman at the turn of the 20th century. Water cartmen were of two types, those who carried water for general sale to the public and businesses, and those who were employed by town and city councils to water the roads. The above rare picture of one such water cartman in London shows him on a dusty un-made road which he is no doubt spraying from a tank in the back of the cart. Generally, the rear of the cart contained a tin tank or other container connected to a spraying system which was operated by a lever at the side of the driver.

 

water-crane operator. Man in a railway goods or maintenance yard who was responsible for filling locomotives with water.

water crease girl. Same as water cress girl.

water cress girl. Seller of watercress in the street or at a market.

water gilder. Water bird trapper.

water leader. Same as water carter.

water loder. Same as water carter.

water policeman. See under marine policeman.

water ram operator. Operator of a hydraulic ram.

waterer. Man with the responsibility for turning a water supply on or off. Also known as a turncock.

waterguard. Customs officer.

waterman. Boat or barge worker.

wattle hurdle maker. Fence maker.

waulk miller. Same as walker.

waulker. Same as walker.

waver. Weaver.

waveson collector. Official or unofficial collector of floating goods following a shipwreck.

wax-scot/shot collector. Ancient minor official who collected wax for recycling. Later, a church official who collected money to provide for lighting a church.

waymaker. Surveyor/controller of highways. Also used sometimes for a labourer who builds roads.

wayman. Surveyor of highways. Also used to describe a shipwright and/or a platelayer who is working on a ship launch framework.

waywarden. Surveyor of highways.

weard. Watchman or warden.

weather cloth maker. Manufacturer of long thin tarpaulins and similar cloths used to protect people or goods from the weather.

weather machine operator. Worker who used a machine in early motor car construction specially developed to test fabrics, paint, etc., and to simulate years of weathering.

weather spy. Someone who predicted the weather by watching the skies.

webber. Person who used cloth webbing strips during a manufacturing process, usually of furniture. Sometimes, also a weaver of webbing.

webster. Originally a high ranking steward or bailiff. Later a female (then any) spinner/weaver.

weed hirer/outfitter. Person who hired out weeds (mourning dresses).

weeder. Garden or farm labourer.

weel trapper. Fisherman who used a trap made from twigs or basketware.

weigher. Same as weigh(t)man.

weigh(t)man. Cargo weigher on a dockside.

weighter. Silk industry worker.

well-boat builder. Builder of fishing boats constructed with a central well or hold to store the fish as they are caught.

wellmaster. A Court Leet officer with responsibility for local water supplies.

wellwright. Maker of winding and other well equipment.

wet end(er) man. Factory worker engaged in the wet processes involved in manufacturing paper.

wet glover. Leather glove maker.

wetnurse. A woman who uses her own breast milk to feed the children of others (usually for a fee).

wetter. Glass worker. Also used in the printing industry.

wetworker. Leather trade worker.

whacker (in). Colloquial term for a driver of animals.

wharfinger. Docker or dock owner.

wheel cutter. Operator of machinery which cut cogs for clocks.

wheel tapper. Railway worker who checked the wheels of locomotives.

wheeler. Spinning wheel attendant. Also a wheelmaker. Also a pit pony attendant in a mine.

wheelwright. Wheelmaker/repairer. Wheels consisted of three parts; the ‘hub’ or centre, the ‘spokes’ and the ‘fellies’ which made up the outside rim. Many wheelwrights also made carts, carriages and wagons.

wheeryman. Rowing boat proprietor.

wherry man. Same as rully man. Also same as wheeryman.

whey cutter/drawer. Cheese industry worker.

whiffler/wifeler. A person who went before an army or procession group, announcing their coming by the sound of a trumpet. A crowd controller in ancient Norwich (and probably other places). He was armed with a stick or weapon known as a ‘wifel’ or ‘whiffle’ to keep back crowds during processions.

whig. Horse drover/driver (usually in Scotland). Also a member of a liberal political party.

whinyarder. Swordsman.

whipcorder. Maker of whips.

whipper. As well as the person inflicting punishment by whip, the term was also used to describe the man who hauled coal from the hold of a ship, either on deck or onto a quay.

whipper-in. Huntsman who controls the hounds.

whirlicote manufacturer. A maker of the earliest British horse carriages for the carrying of women.

whisket weaver. Basket maker.

whiskey driver. Driver of a light speedy carriage called a whiskey.

whit cooper. Same as white cooper.

w(h)itcher. Maker of wooden, woven or basketware chests or similar containers.

White Canon. See under Premonstratensian monk.

white collar worker. Colloquial expression for anyone in a clean job, usually an office worker.

white cooper. Maker of barrels and containers from tin or light metals.

White Friar. Member of the Carmelite order of friars.

white gold jeweller. A jeweller specialising in ‘white gold’ which is gold mixed with platinum or palladium.

white goodsman. Early name for tradesman dealing in fridges and similar appliances.

white limer. Painter of walls (with white lime).

white-meat dealer. 19th century dealer in dairy products (not meat).

whitear. Animal skin or raw leather cleaner.

Whiteboy. Same as ‘Leveller’.

whitener. Same as a white limer. Also a cloth bleacher.

whitening roll maker. A manufacturer of whitening used by white limers.

whitesmith. Metal worker who deals in tin, light metals and white enamelled goods.

whitester. Cloth bleacher.

whitewing. Street sweeper.

whitster. Bleacher of cloth.

whitsul seller. Vendor of a dish made from milk, sour milk, cheese, curds and butter.

whittaker. Same as whittawer.

whittawer. Saddler/ harness dealer.

wicker. Lamp/candle wick maker.

widdy. Widow.

wide-awake maker. Manufacturer of a brimless hat known as a ‘wide-awake’.

widow. In the 1700s was often used to indicate a woman living alone on private means. At that time it did not always indicate that the woman had previously been married. Old records such as ‘Widow Jane Smith, Spinster’ can therefore be confusing.

wildfowler. A hunter of game birds.

willow plaiter, willow weaver. Basket maker.

winchman. Someone who operates a winch or pulley (usually in a mine).

wind cheater manufacturer. Maker of light weatherproof jackets (originally made of leather).

winder. Textile worker. Also same as a winchman.

windster. A silk industry worker who winds silk.

wing coverer. Aeroplane worker who covered old fashioned plane’s wings with linen etc.

winkler. Collector of periwinkles (a kind of sea snail) from the shoreline to be boiled and sold as food. (See also cuvin collector.)

wire drawer. Maker of wire from thicker metals.

wire splicer. Maker of hand-made metal rope from wire. Also used to describe a ship rigger. (See also rigger.)

wiseman/woman. Unofficial but often respected herbalist who in rural areas acted as doctor/nurse/midwife.

wisket maker. Basket maker.

withy weaver/peeler. Basket-worker.

witster. Cloth bleacher.

wonkey-scooper. Person who operated a kind of scoop contraption with a horse.

wood reeve. Officer who was in charge of a forest.

woodbreaker. Wooden cask maker (sometimes from recycled wood).

woodcutter. Used to describe both a forest worker and an engraver of wooden printing blocks.

woodman. A woodworker or forestry worker.

woodranger. Same as woodman.

woodward. Same as wood reeve.

wool blender. Wool sorter in wool trade.

wool driver. Travelling shepherd who takes animals to market, or for shearing. Also a deliverer of wool to market.

wool factor. An agent or wholesaler in the wool trade.

wool grower. Sheep farmer.

woolpresser. Packer of raw wool into bales before transporting it to a factory.

wool sorter. Grader of wool in the wool trade.

wool stapler. Same as wool sorter but originally an export merchant in the 1500s who was a member of a group who had a monopoly on the export of wool.

wool weaver. Also known as dress goods room workers.

 

A day in the life of a mill girl. Wool weavers were also known as dress goods room workers. It was usually a woman’s job and involved the operation of weaving machines. A group of such workers are pictured above surrounded by all the complex machinery, bobbins etc.

 

wool winder. Wool trade worker who winds up the skeins/balls of wool.

woolcomber. Woollen mill worker who separates fibres.

woollen billy piecer. Wool mill worker who collects broken yarn and joins it.

woolman. General term for anyone in the wool trade.

woolstead man. Woollen cloth dealer.

worsted manufacturer. Wool cloth maker.

worsted shearman. Worsted cloth cutter.

wrangler. Originally someone who earned high honours (e.g. in an examination). Later associated with American cowboys.

wrap rascal maker. Clothing manufacturer who made a cheaply produced coarse overcoat called a wrap-rascal, used by the Victorian lower classes.

wreck-master. Official appointed to take charge of goods thrown on shore after the wreck of a ship.

wrecker. Unscrupulous coastal dweller who on dark stormy nights would put false lights on beaches and cliffs with the intention of causing a shipwreck and so looting the ship’s contents.

wright. Worker with construction skills (e.g. wheelwright, shipwright etc).

wringer. Someone in industry who applied ‘wring bolts’. Also the operator of a mangle in a large laundry.

writer. Originally a secretary or scribe.

writer to the Signet. High ranking Scottish law attorney who attended to royal documents. Also called clerk to the Signet.

wuzzer. A person who dried out wet wool in the weaving industry by whirling it round and round.

wyrtha. A worker (labourer).