|
Old Name |
New Name or Meaning |
| Lace Drawer |
Drew out the threads in lace making. Frequently child labour |
| Laceman |
Lace dealer. Commonly bought from the weavers in their homes, normally requiring them to have used his thread, and sold it at the lace markets |
| Lace-Master/Mistress |
Employed lace workers in factories or at home |
| Lace Runner |
Embroidered on lace |
| Lace Woman |
Lady's maid |
| Ladle Liner |
In ore dressing, smelting, and refining, a person who repairs and re-lines
pouring ladles used to transport molten metals, such as iron, steel, and
copper.
|
| Lagger |
Sailor |
| Lagraetmen |
Constable - contraction of Law Rightman |
| Lairman / Lairsman |
Looked after cattle during their brief stops at "lairages", which were the areas where cattle were temporarily housed while in transit to markets. |
| Lamplighter / Leerie |
Employed by the local council to go around the streets and light the (gas) street lamps, using a pole. Also often used to wake people up for work (as a "knocker-up") |
| Lamptrimmer |
In either Royal or Merchant Navy, originally responsible for keeping all oil lamps on the vessel in working order, later became a general assistant to the Boatswain and Storekeeper. A Petty Officer. |
| Lamp Exhauster |
Early 20c. Removed the air from the glass envelope of electric light bulbs. This is necessary to prevent the filament from burning up. |
| Lander |
Miner |
| Landwaiter / Landing Waiter |
Customs official overseeing landed goods from ships More Info. |
| Lappett Maker |
Made
machine embroidered textiles in which the design was worked into
the cloth by a series of needles |
| Lardner |
Keeper of the cupboard (larder) |
| Laster |
Shoe maker (from his use of a last) |
| Lath Render / River |
Someone who rends/rives (i.e splits) wood to form laths More Info |
| Lattener/Latoner/Lattensmith |
Brass worker. Latten was an alloy similar to brass |
| Lavender |
Washerwoman |
| Layer |
Paper mill worker - at a particular process |
| Leather Currier |
Tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease |
| Leavelooker |
Examined market foodstuffs - a sort of quality control |
| Leech |
Physician |
| Lederer |
Leather maker - from German |
| Legerdemainist |
Magician |
| Legger |
Canal boatman. (Barges had to be "legged" through tunnels by men lying flat on deck and "walking" along the roof or sides of the tunnel) |
| Leghorn Presser |
Pressed a type of straw hat known as a Leghorn |
| Leightonward |
Gardner. Leighton was the term for a garden |
| Lengthsman |
In rural areas, a lengthsman was a man who took pride in keeping his district neat and tidy, well swept and free from litter. On the canals, a lengthsman was responsible for patrolling his length, looking for leaks, seeing to routine maintenance, cutting back vegetation etc. |
| Letter Carrier |
The 18c. term for a postman, started in 1722 |
| Letter of Apartments |
A person who had Apartments to let - (rent) |
| Licensed Messenger |
Licensed couriers who delivered messages and documents. |
| Licensed Victualler |
A Tavern or Innkeeper or Publican- term still used today for someone who runs a Pub (Public House) |
| Lighterman |
Works (still) on lighters - flat bottomed barges |
| Limeburner |
Burned limestone (calcium carbonate) in kilns to produce lime for farmers, quicklime for making mortar and for tanneries to remove hair from hides |
| Limner |
1) Illuminator of books 2) Painter or drawer |
| Linener / Linen Draper |
Sold linens, calicos, flannels, blankets, sheets, sheetings, bed ticks, gloves, ribbons,
fancy ties, scarves etc. |
| Liner / Lyner |
Flax dresser |
| Linesman |
(Ireland) Was engaged to look after a stretch of road. |
| Linkerboy / man |
Carried a "link" or torch to guide people through the streets at night for hire. (Licensed in early 19c). Sometimes applied to general manservant |
| Linman |
A Linman was a wholesale dealer in Flax/Hemp. The name is derived from Linen, which is made from these materials |
| Lister / Litster |
Dyer |
| Litterman |
Horse groom |
| Loaders |
In the Cheshire salt industry, men who transported salt from the storage place to the canal boats (or later, railway trucks) in barrows.
Highly dangerous, as they worked at high speed, and could easily fall many feet from the edge of the loading platform. |
| Loadsman / Lodesman |
Ship's pilot. Originally from the man "lodesman" who piloted a ship by heaving the lode (lead) to check the depth of water. Knowledgeable of the local waters, he navigated in this manner |
| Loblolly Boy |
1) Ship surgeon's assistant 2) Errand boy |
| Locker |
1) Employed in Customs bonded warehouses as a trusted person to keep charge of the elaborate locks [known as the King's - or Queen's] Locks 2) Fed a power driven flat lock machine with knitted fabrics etc 3) Separated and graded locks of fur in the hat trade 4) Cut and folded sheet tin before feeding it into a grooving machine 5) Worker in the mining industry |
| Lock Keeper |
(Still) Maintains and operates canal locks |
| Lofters |
In the Cheshire salt industry, men engaged in storing the salt in the stove house roof space, pushing the dried lumps up into the loft. |
| Logwood Grinder |
Made a dye from logwood for the textile industry |
| Long Song Seller |
Street seller of popular printed song sheets |
| Loom Sweeper |
Child (originally) or small adult employed crawling under weaving looms to clean, whilst in operation. Dangerous work |
| Loom Winder / Tender |
Tended winding units attached to looms that automatically wind yarn onto quills More Info. |
| Looker |
Someone employed to look after or inspect something. 'Looking' manufactured items or looking after shep. |
| Looper |
Operates a looping machine to close the opening in the toe of seamless hose or to join knitted garment parts |
| Loriner / Lorner |
1) Maker of horse gear 2) Maker of small ironware 3) Wrought iron worker |
| Lotseller |
Street Seller |
| Lum Swooper |
(Scottish) Chimney sweep |
| Lumpers / Lumpmen |
1) Lumpers - Dock worker unloading timber for a "Master Lumper" 2) Lumpmen/Lumpers - Makers of table salt or salt for the dairy industry |
| Lungs |
Alchemist's assistant who fanned the fire |
| Lurryman |
Driver of a lurry - lorry or truck today. Lurry was the former spelling. |
| Luthier |
Made and repaired stringed instruments |
