I like reading about the English language. It fascinates me.
The grammar rules and syntax interest me, as does the way words fade in and out of the language and morph from form to form along their useful lives.
I was happy to recently bump into a colleague from University who I’d lost track of, all the more as he seems to have collected a lot of interesting language-related links and posts on his site.
In a recent local town council magazine Keith Turner & Daniel Parslow provided a good catalogue of old job titles that used to be common in market towns such as Aylesbury, where I live, that have fallen into disuse over the years.
All credit to Keith and Daniel for this list, which I am typing up to make more widely available.
| Job title | Description |
| Abigail | Lady's maid |
| Ale-conner | Official who tested the quality and measures served in pubs |
| Ankle beater | Young person who helped drive cattle to market |
| Boot catcher | Servant at an inn that removed travellers’ boots |
| Bozzler | Parish Constable |
| Bridewell Keeper | In charge of the lock-up or jail |
| Bunter | Female rag and bone collector |
| Bog Iron Hunter | Searched for Iron Ore in bogs and marshes |
| Cartomancer | Fortune teller using cards |
| Chapeler | Hat maker |
| Costermonger | Peddler of fruits & vegetables |
| Clapman | Town crier |
| Clod hopper | Ploughman |
| Donkey Man | Passenger carriage driver |
| Eyer | Made holes in sewing needles |
| Feather wife | Woman that cleans feathers for sale |
| Fagetter | Firewood seller |
| Flauner | Confectioner |
| Frobisher | Cleaned and polished metal |
| Gabeler | Tax collector |
| Gelder | Animal castrator |
| Gong Farmer | Emptied privies and cesspits |
| Greensmith | Worker in copper |
| Hobbler | Towed canal boats |
| Jongleur | Travelling minstrel |
| Knocker Upper | Woke people up |
| Knock Knobbler | Dog catcher |
| Layer | Paper mill worker |
| Leech collector | Waded through rivers to collect the leeches which attached to him |
| Lungs | Alchemist's assistant who fanned the fire |
| Mud lark | River bed scavenger |
| Mule Scavenger | Children who would crawl under fabric mills to collect cotton and fluff |
| Mountebank | Seller of fake medicines |
| Night Soilman | Emptied cesspits, ashpits and outside toilets |
| Nob Thatcher | Wig maker |
| Osler | Bird catcher |
| Ponderator | Weights & measures inspector |
| Powder monkey | Boys who supplied ship cannons with gunpowder below deck |
| Quarrel Picker | Glazier |
| Ratoner | Rat catcher |
| Resurrection Man | Provided surgeons with fresh cadavers with which to learn their craft |
| Rodman | Surveyor's assistant |
| Saltpetre man | Collected urine and dung used in the manufacture of saltpetre |
| Searcher of the Dead | Sought plague victims |
| Secret Springer | Watch spring maker |
| Sexton | Church caretaker - sometimes dug graves and rang the church bells |
| Smoke Doctor | Specialist in the construction or repair of chimneys |
| Tapster | Barman/woman |
| Town Husband | Collected dues from the fathers of illegitimate children of the parish for their upkeep |
| Treadmill Operator | Trudged atop a giant mill wheel treadmill to push it round |
| Upright Worker | Chimney Sweep |
| Vamper | Made the upper part of a boot or shoe covering the instep and sometimes extending over the toe |
| Webster | Operator of looms |
| Yatman | Gatekeeper |
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