|
Old Name |
New Name or Meaning |
| Wadsetter |
(Scottish) Creditor to whom a "wadset" is made. A wadset is a right by which lands, or other heritable subjects, are consigned to a creditor as a security for debt |
| Wafer Maker |
Made the wafers taken in Holy Communion |
| Waggoner |
Wagon or 4-wheeeled cart driver |
| Wailer |
Removed impurities and foreign bodies from coal in the mines |
| Wainwright |
Maker or repairer of wagons - "wains" |
| Waister |
Seaman stationed in the waist of the ship |
| Wait / Wakeman |
Night-watchman |
| Waiter / Tide Waiter |
Customs officer who waited on the (high) tide (when vessels arrived) to collect duty on goods imported |
| Walker |
"Walked" over cloth after weaving, after wetting, to clean and thicken it - see Fuller |
| Waller |
1) Brick or dry stone wall builder 2) In the Cheshire salt-works, makers of coarser grades of salt used in industrial processes, chemicals, fisheries and potteries. |
| Wanter / Want Catcher |
Mole catcher |
| Warder |
Jailer |
| Wardrobe Dealer |
Dealer in second-hand clothing |
| Warper |
1) Set up the "warp" (thread) on looms 2) Moved boats by hauling on their "warps" (ropes) |
| Warrener |
A warrener maintains rabbit warrens, traps them and produces rabbit meat for the Laird. Warrens were the property of the lord of the manor |
| Washman |
Tin coater (tin plater) |
| Wasteman |
1) Waste remover 2) Checked and maintained that mine workings were free of gas |
| Watch finisher |
Assembled time pieces (did not make the parts) |
| Watcher |
Employed as security in Customs bonded warehouses - to Watch the goods. |
| Watchman |
Town night-watchman |
| Watch Making .... |
Various occupations in the Watch-Making Industry - See |
| Water Bailiff |
1) Maintained fishing rights on (usually) rivers - still in use 2) River based customs official |
| Water Gilder |
1) Gilded metal surfaces by applying liquid amalgam, the mercury being afterwards removed by evaporation. 2) Trapped water fowl |
| Water Leader / Leder / Loder |
Transported and sold fresh water |
| Waterman |
Boatman who plies for hire - usually on rivers More Info. |
| Wattle Hurdle Maker |
Made wattle hurdles - panels of wattle fencing |
| Waulker / Waulkmiller |
Cloth worker - see Walker |
| Waver |
Weaver - from regional pronunciation |
| Way Maker |
Road builder |
| Way Man |
Road surveyor |
| Wayland |
A smith |
| Weather Spy |
Astrologer |
| Weaver |
The operative of a loom producing cloth More Info. |
| Webster / Webber |
Operator of looms; weaver - originally a female weaver |
| Weigher / Weigh Clerk |
Weighed landed goods on the dockside |
| Well Sinker |
Well digger |
| Wellmaster |
In charge of the village well and responsible for clean drinking water |
| Wellwright |
Made the winding gear for wells |
| Wet Glover |
Leather glove maker |
| Wet Nurse |
Woman who breast-fed babies for others |
| Wetter |
1) Dampened paper for printing 2) Glass making worker |
| Whacker |
Horse or ox team driver |
| Wharfinger |
Owner or manager of a wharf |
| Wheel Tapper |
Railway worker - tapped wheels to detect cracks from the resultant ring |
| Wheeler |
1) Made wheels 2) Spinning wheel attendant 3) Led pit ponies underground in the pits |
| Wheelwright |
Made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc. |
| Wherryman |
Ran a "wherry" - a large flat-bottomed sailing boat, used typically on rivers |
| Whig |
(Scottish) Horse driver |
| Whim / Whimseyman |
Employed driving mine winding gear carrying men and materials up and down mine shafts. More Info. |
| Whipcord Maker |
Whip Maker |
| Whipper-in |
Managed the hunting hounds |
| Whipping Boy |
He was whipped in place of royal miscreants. Not a coveted position! |
| Whit Cooper |
Made barrels and other items from tin |
| White Limer |
Plastered walls with lime |
| Whitear |
Hide cleaner |
| Whitesmith |
Tinsmith |
| Whitster / Whitester / Whitener |
Cloth bleacher More Info. |
| Whitening Roll Maker |
Made whitening (whitewash) for whitening walls |
| Whitewing |
Street sweeper |
| Whittawer |
1) Made saddles and harnesses 2) Prepared white leather |
| Willeyer |
Fed fibres into a "willeying" machine to separate and comb them for carding, often blending fibres in the process |
| Willow Feeder |
Operated a self-acting Willow - a waste cleaner in cotton or woolen mills - Drawing |
| Willow Plaiter / Weaver |
Basket maker |
| Winder |
1) Transferred yarn from bobbins ready for weaving More Info. More Info.
2) Operated the winding gear at a mine pithead |
| Windster |
Silk weaver |
| Wire Drawer |
Made wire by drawing the hot metal through dies |
| Wireworker |
Works with wire to produce mesh, cages, grilles etc. |
| WOAD Dyer |
Produced and dyed cloth using Woad. More Info. |
| Woodbreaker |
Made wooden casks |
| Wood Ranger/Reeve
/Ward/Man |
Employed in maintenance & protection of woodlands |
| Wool Comber |
Worked machinery combing - separating - fibres for spinning |
| Wool Driver |
Carried wool to market |
| Wool Factor |
Wool merchant's agent |
| Wool Grower |
Sheep farmer |
| Wool Billy Piecer |
Pieced together broken yarns in the mill |
| Wool Stapler / Sorter / Man |
Checked the length and quality of the raw wool and graded the wool fibres |
| Wool Winder |
Made up balls of woollen yarn for sale |
| Woolsted / Worsted Man |
Woollen cloth seller - derived from worsted |
| Wright |
Skilled workman, especially in constructing items. Used together with the trade i.e. wheelwright |
| Wyrth |
Labourer |
