Dictionary of Old Occupations

Definitions of jobs Paperer - Pee-dee

Paperer: inserted newly made needles into paper for storage. Needles were sold in paper.

Parchmenter: turned animal skins into vellum for use as parchment.

Pardoner: raised money for the church by selling Papal indulgences (selling forgiveness for sins).

Pargeter: a craftsman. Pargeting is a decorative plaster applied to building walls, and also refers to the inner lining of smoke flues.

Parian Maker: worked in the pottery industry making parian, a substitute for marble which was fashionable in Victorian England.

Paritor: an abbreviation of Apparitor, a civil servant or church attendant.

Parker: an official in charge of the hunting parks of nobles.

Parochus: Latin term for a rector or pastor of a Parish.

Passage Keeper: swept and cleaned walkways.

Pasteler: made and sold crisp pastries with savoury fillings.

Pastor: the ordained leader of a Christian congregation.

Paternosterer: produced and sold rosary beads.

Patler: horse groom.

Patten Maker: made protective overshoes. Early pattens were made of wood, the later ones were metal, and were a kind of protective shoe sole. They were worn by the working class to protect their shoes from mud and dung in unpaved streets. They were worn from the Middle Ages through to the start of the twentieth century.

Pattener: alternative name for a Patten Maker, who created pattens which protected shoes.

Pattern Card Maker: made cards for programming weaving looms.

Pattern Maker: made patterns, which were replicas of objects to be cast from molten metal.

Pauper: destitute person who received support under the Poor Law.

Paver: laid paving stones.

Pavyler: erected pavilions and the like.

Copyright: Jane Hewitt. This dictionary is authorised for use on www.familyresearcher.co.uk only.

Pawnbroker: loaned money secured against items of personal property. If the loan was not repaid then the collateral could be sold by the pawnbroker.

Pedascule: schoolmaster.

Peddler: a travelling merchant (American English spelling).

Pedestrian: a competitive walker. Pedestrianism was a spectator sport in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Pedlar: a travelling merchant. (English spelling)

Pee-dee: a boy working on a keelboat transporting goods on the canal system.

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