Victorian Occupations
A collection of the occupations or job descriptions of the people living in London in the 1890's. Most of the descriptions are fairly self explanatory, I'll elaborate on the ones that aren't in due course.
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| Back Washer | cleans the wool in the worsted manufacturing industry |
| Backmaker | a Cooper; made backs, vats and tubs |
| Backster / Baxter | baker |
| Backus Boy or Back'us Boy | kitchen servant, abreviation of: "back of the house" |
| Badger | licensed pauper who wore a badge with the letter P on it, or a corn miller or dealer, or an itinerant food trader. |
| Bag Maker, Canvas / Paper | made bags |
| Bagman | travelling salesman |
| Badgy Fiddler | A boy trumpeter in the military. |
| Bagniokeeper | A person in charge of a bath house or brothel. |
| Bailie, Baillee or Baillie | Bailiff |
| Bailiff | officer of the sheriff, a land steward acting on behalf of the landowner |
| Bairman / Bareman | a pauper or beggar |
| Baker | baked bread and pastries |
| Bal Maiden | female mine worker who worked on the surface; Pit Brow Lass |
| Balancer | One who operates the "balance" in a coal mine, which is a slope with a pulley at the top where empty coal tubs pulled full tubs up the slope. |
| Baler | A person who bales hay, and in the mills one who baled wool or cotton goods |
| Balister | archer, or crossbowman |
| Ballad Monger | A person who sold printed ballads(song lyrics) on the street. |
| Ballast Heaver | loaded ballast into the hold of empty ships |
| Ballast Master | A person in charge of loading the ballast into the holds of empty ships. |
| Baller, or Baller Up | measured out the balls of clay for a potter |
| Band Filer | metal worker in the gun making industry |
| Bandster | bound the wheat sheaves after harvest |
| Bang Beggar | An officer of the parish who controlled the length of stay of any stranger to the parish. |
| Banker | dug ditches to allow drainage, placing the surplus earth in banks |
| Banksman or Browman | in charge of the cages at the pit head; aka bank manager |
| Bar Manager, Inn | managed an inn |
| Barber or Barber Surgeon | A men's hairdresser, also a surgeon |
| Bard | a poet or minstrel |
| Bareman or Bairman | beggar or pauper |
| Barge Mate | Naval officer |
| Bargee or Bargeman | worked on or owned and operated a barge |
| Barilla Manufacturer | made barilla; a sodium salt used in the glass and ceramics trade |
| Barkeeper | Tollkeeper |
| Barker | tanner |
| Barleyman or Bylawman | An official of the manorial courts who enforced the courts orders. |
| Barmaid | serves drinks in an inn, public house or tavern |
| Barman | serves drinks in an inn, public house or tavern |
| Barmaster | The arbiter of disputes in the lead mining industry. They were also in charge of the standard measure for the ore. |
| Barm Brewer | A person who made yeast. |
| Barrel Filer | A person employed in the gun manufacturing industry. |
| Barrowman | A person employed in the coal mines to push the barrow from the pit face to the shaft. |
| Bartoner or Barton | in charge of a monastic farm. |
| Basil Worker | worked with sheep and goat skins |
| Basket Maker | made baskets |
| Basketman |
made wicker products, also emptied the baskets of coal from colliers into barges |
| Bass / Bast Dresser | employed in dressing fibre or matting |
| Bathing Machine Proprietor | One who owned and hired the changing huts used by bathers at the seaside in the 18th century. |
| Batman | an officer's servant in the army |
| Batt Maker | A person who made the wadding used in quilt and mattress making. |
| Battledore Maker | made the beaters used on clothes and carpets etc, to remove dust |
| Bauer | farmer |
| Baven Maker | A maker of kindling. A baven (or bavin) is a thin piece of wood or splint, with the end wittled and curled with a knife and used for kindling. |
| Baxter | baker |
| Bayweaver | one who wove bay (a fine woollen fabric also known as baize) |
| Bead Maker | Made beads |
| Bead Piercer | One who drilled the holes in beads |
| Beadle or Beadel | officer of a church or synagogue whose principle duty was to keep order. Also a town cryer |
| Beadman, Beadsman or Bedesman | A person employed to pray for his employer, or the inhabitant of an almshouse, poorhouse or hospital. also, a 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 |
| Beater or Fuller | washed and thickened the cloth by treading it underwater with fullers earth |
| Beaver | made felt used in hat making |
| Bed Maker | made beds |
| Bedel or Bedell | See Beadle |
| Bedesman | See Beadman. |
| Bedman | sexton |
| Bedwevere | made the webbing for bed frames and also one who wove quilts |
| Beekeeper or Beemaster | A person who kept bees. |
| Beer or Wine House Keeper | usually unlicensed drinking establishments |
| Beerseller | same as above, but more like an off-license |
| Beershop Keeper | one who sells beer, not usually licensed |
| Beeskep Maker | A person who made beehives. |
| Beetler | A person who operated a beetling machine, used in the textile trade for embossing fabric. |
| Beggar | Obvious really! |
| Belhoste | tavern keeper. |
| Bell Hanger | installed bells in churches |
| Belleyetere | Bellfounder |
| Bellfounder | (Billiter) bell maker |
| Bellman | A person employed as a watchman or town crier, or a person who worked for the post office and collected letters for the mail coach by walking the streets and ringing a bell. |
| Bellowfarmer | A person who was 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 |
| Belter | See Bellfounder |
| Bender | a person who cut leather |
| Besom Maker | made brooms made of a bundle of birch twigs bound onto a handle |
| Besomer | A person who sweeps with a besom. |
| Besswarden | A person appointed by the parish to look after its animals. |
| Bicycle Repairer | repaired bicycles |
| Biddy | female servant, usually Irish |
| Bill Poster | put up notices and signs |
| Billiard Marker | A person who attends on players at billiards and records the progress of the game. |
| Billier or Billyman | A person who operated a Billy Roller, a machine used in the cotton industry to prepare the cotton for spinning. |
| Billiter | See Bellfounder |
| Billyman | See Billier |
| 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 birds nests collected from the wild complete with eggs which were then hatched by domestic birds and sold as pets |
| Black Borderer | made black edged stationery for funerals |
| Blacking Maker | made polish for shoes |
| Blacksmith | one who shoes horses |
| Black Tray Maker | made Japanned trays |
| Bladesmith | swordmaker or knife maker |
| Blaxter or Bleacher | bleached cloth or paper pulp |
| Blemmere | A Plumber |
| Blentonist | A water diviner |
| Blindsman | A person employed by the Post Office to deal with incorrectly addressed letters and parcels. |
| Block Maker | engraved the blocks used in the printing industry. |
| Block Printer | printer who used wooden blocks for printing |
| Blockcutter, or Blocker | A person who made wooden blocks used in the hat trade, or a person who laid down the blocks on which a ships keel was laid. |
| Bloodletter, or Bloodman | used leeches for letting blood, thought to be a cure for many ailments |
| Bloomer or Bloom Smithy | A person who produced iron from iron ore. |
| Blower | A glass blower, or a person who operated a "blowing machine" used to clean and separate fibres in the textile trade, or a person who operated the bellows at a blacksmiths. |
| Blowfeeder | A person who fed the fibres into a "blowing machine". |
| Blue Dyer or Maker | A person who worked with blue dye used by calico printers and laundries to stop the white materials from discolouring. |
| Bluestocking | A nickname for a female writer |
| Bluffer | An innkeeper or landlord of a pub |
| Boarder or Lodger | A person who was provided with accommodation and meals. |
| Boarding Officer | inspected ships before entering port |
| Board Liner | One who covers cardboard with plain or ornamental paper by hand, using paste and brush, or one who passes cardboard into a pasting machine. |
| Boardman | truant officer who checked school attendance, or a tenant of manorial land who paid rent by maintaining the manor's table. |
| Boardwright, or Carpenter | made tables and chairs. |
| Boatman | worked on a boat, predominately on rivers and canals, also a boat repairer |
| Boatswain | ship's officer in charge of riggings & ground tackle and looked after the ships stores. |
| Bobber | one who polished metals, or 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 or Bodice Maker | made bodices for women's garments |
| Bodger | craftsman who made wooden chair legs |
| Boiler Engineer | designed boilers |
| Boiler Maker, or Boilermaker | made boilers, or general metalworker |
| Boiler Plater | made rolled iron plate used to make boilers for steam engines etc |
| Boiler Smith | made or repaired boilers |
| Boll | A person who looked after power looms in the weaving industry. |
| Bolter | A person who sifted meal. |
| Bondager | female worker on a farm who was bonded |
| Bondman, or Apprentice | bonded to a master for the purpose of learning a skill or trade. |
| Bondsman | 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 |
| Bonnet Maker | made bonnets |
| Bonnet Shape Maker or Wirer | made the wire base which formed the shape of the bonnet |
| Book Binder | bound books |
| Book Finisher | put the finishing touches to books |
| Book Folder | folded paper to make books |
| Book Gilder | decorated books with gold leaf |
| Bookholder | The prompter in the theatre. |
| Book Keeper | looked after the accounts for businesses |
| Bookman | A student. |
| Book Seller | sold books |
| Boonmaster | A surveyor of roads with the responsibilities of maintaining and repairing the road. |
| Bootbinder | A person employed to operate the machines which bound footwear. |
| Boot Black | polisher of shoes |
| Boot Clicker | punched eylet holes using a machine that clicked |
| Boot Closer | worked in the shoe trade stitching together all the parts of a shoe upper |
| Boot Finisher | put the finishing touches to boots |
| Boot Fitter | fitted boots |
| Boot Heeler | put the heels on boots |
| Boothman | A corn merchant |
| Boot Knifer | cut up parts for boots |
| Boot Laster | |
| Boot Machiner or Machinist | |
| Boot Maker | made boots |
| Boot Maker Paste Fitter | |
| Boot Repairer | repaired boots |
| Boot Rivetter | rivetted boots |
| Boot Seller | sold boots |
| Boot Sewer | sewed boots |
| Borler | A person who made cheap coarse clothing. |
| Borer | travelling salesman or peddler |
| Borsholder | officer appointed by the manor or parish, constable. (in Kent) |
| Boss Maker, Wood | made wooden bosses |
| Botcher | tailor or cobbler |
| Bottiler or Bottler | made leather containers for holding liquids eg wine flasks or water bottles |
| Bottle Boy | pharmacists assistant |
| Bottle Machinist | |
| Bottle Washer | |
| Bottler, Cellar | worked in a cellar, bottling drinks |
| Bottom Knocker | A sagger makers assistant in the pottery industry. |
| Bottom Maker | A person who moulded the bottoms for saggers in the pottery industry. |
| Bottomer | A person who worked down the pits moving the ore etc to the bottom of the shaft for removal. |
| Bowdler | worked with iron ore |
| Bower or Bowyer | made bows used in archery |
| Bowker | A person who bleached yarn. Also a local term in some parts of Lancashire for a butcher. |
| Bowler | A person who made bowls and dishes. Also a term used for people who made the rounded part of spoons before casting. |
| Bowlman or Bowlwoman | A dealer in crockery. |
| Bowlminder | A person in charge of the vats used for washing raw wool before processing. |
| Box and packing case maker | |
| Box Maker | |
| Bozzler | A parish constable. |
| Brabener | A Weaver. |
| Brachygrapher | A shorthand writer |
| Braider | made cord by twisting threads or strips of leather |
| Brailler | made girdles |
| Brakeman or Brakesman | operated the brakes on the winch at the pit head or on trains or trams |
| Brasiator | A brewer of ale |
| Brasiler | A dyer |
| Brass Cutter | A person who made copperplate engravings. |
| Brass Finisher | A person who polished brass goods. |
| Brass Fitter | |
| Brass Founder | A person who cast brass. |
| Brass Pole Maker | |
| Bratman | A rough garment maker. |
| Brayer | A person who ground things up in a mortar. |
| Brazier | A person who made or repaired household items made from brass. |
| Breach Maker | A person who made breaches for guns. |
| Breakman | A bricklayer |
| Brewer | brewed alcoholic beverages |
| Brewer's Labourer | assisted - obvious really |
| Brewster | brewer, or female brewer |
| Brickburner | A brickmaker who used a kiln to make bricks. |
| Brick maker, dealer | Made and sold bricks |
| Bricklayer or Brickman | laid bricks |
| Bricklayer's Labourer | assisted - obvious really |
| Bridewell Keeper | The person in charge of a lock-up or jail. |
| Bridgeman or Bridger | A toll keeper at bridges. |
| Brightsmith | Tin metal worker |
| Broad Cloth Weaver | A person who operated a wide loom. |
| Broad Cooper | A person employed as a go between for the brewery and the innkeepers. |
| Broderer, Brotherer or Broiderer | An Embroiderer |
| Brogger | A wool merchant |
| Broom Dasher | A dealer in brooms |
| Broom Squire | Broom maker |
| Brotherer | Embroiderer |
| Brouge Maker | A shoe maker |
| Brow Girl | female employed at the pit head, Pit Brow Girl |
| Brownsmith | worked with copper or brass |
| Brush Dresser | |
| Brush, broom maker, seller | |
| Brushmaker | |
| Buck Washer | A laundress |
| Buckle Tongue Maker | made the metal points that go in the holes of a belt |
| Buckler or Bucklesmith | made buckles |
| Buckram Maker | A person who worked with buckram (used for stiffening cloth etc) e.g. belts, lapels and collars. |
| Buddleboy | Maintained the vats used in the lead and tin mines for washing the ore |
| Bud Stuffer | |
| Builder | built houses and other buildings |
| Builder's Labourer | assisted - obvious really |
| Bullwhacker | oxen driver |
| Bumboat Man | A person who 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 |
| Bureler or Boreler | A person who made borel, a woollen cloth with a coarse feel. |
| Burgess | A person who represented a borough at official levels. |
| Burgomaster | A Town Mayor |
| Burl | Cup Bearer |
| Burler | quality inspector for clothing |
| Burler Mender | A skilled finisher of woven fabrics. |
| Burleyman | See Bylawman |
| Burmaiden | chambermaid or lady-in-waiting |
| Burneman | carrier of barm or water for brewers |
| Burnisher | Metal polisher |
| Burye Man | grave digger |
| Bushel Maker | A Cooper, one who makes barrels |
| Busheler | tailor's helper |
| Busker | hair dresser or a street entertainer |
| Buss Maker | maker of guns |
| Butcher, meat salesman | prepared and sold meat for cooking |
| Butcher's Assistant | assisted - obvious really |
| Butner | Button maker |
| Butter Carver | A person who made imprints in butter pats. |
| Button Burnisher | button polisher |
| Button Clothing | |
| Button Hole Hand | cut and stitched button holes |
| Button Hole Hand Stitcher | cut and stitched button holes |
| Button Holer or Hole Maker | cut and stitched button holes |
| Butty | The person who negotiated mining contracts and supplied the labour. |
| Bylawman | An official of the manorial courts who enforced the courts orders. |
