Dictionary of Old Occupations
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Definitions of jobs Drayman - Dyker
Drayman: drove a dray, which was a low flatbed wagon pulled by horses to transport goods. More recently it refers to deliveries of ale and beer.
Dredgerman: dredged underwater areas for diverse purposes such as harvesting shellfish, clearing out litter, creating harbours or berths, preparation for building projects such as bridges, extracting peat or flood prevention.
Dresser: several meanings, including: a wardrobe assistant for an actor, a mine worker who shaped coal, a machine operator in the textile industry, an assistant in a hospital who dressed wounds, a domestic servant who assisted the wealthy with their clothing or a worker in an iron foundry.
Dressing Case Maker: worked in the manufacture of dressing cases, which are travel cases with a hinged lid. Dressing cases were used to carry items such as hair brushes, combs, shaving mirrors, razors, shaving brushes, bottles and other toiletry products.
Dressing Machine Maker: manufactured and repaired sewing machines.
Dressmaker: female tailor or retailer of clothing.
Drift Maker: produced fishing nets.
Drillman: worked in the agriculture industry, operating a seed drill.
Dripping Man: seller of beef or pork dripping, which are animal fats traditionally used for cooking in Britain.
Driver: a person who oversaw convict work parties and slave gangs, or a train or coach driver. In the mining industry Driver refers to a Coal Driver.
Drover: drove herds of sheep or cattle to market.
Drowner: managed the irrigation of grassland to create water meadows. See Water Meadow Drowner for further information.
Drugger: alternate name for a druggist, a type of pharmacist.
Druggist: a pharmacist or apothecary.
Drummer: travelling merchant.
Dry Salter: dealt in products such as dye, glue and varnish, as well as trading in salt to be used for preserving meat.
Dry Stane Dyker: alternate name for a Dry Stone Waller. Dry stone walls are also known as dry stone dykes, rock fences and dry stone hedges.
Copyright: Jane Hewitt. This dictionary is authorised for use on www.familyresearcher.co.uk only.
Dry Stone Waller: built dry stone walls, which are a beautiful reminder of our past. These walls use no mortar, but instead are cleverly fashioned from shaped stones.
Dubber: cut and rubbed leather to make it smooth, or a textile worker who raised the nap on cloth.
Duffer: hawked cheap articles such as faux jewellery.
Dust Damper: worked in the pottery industry, responsible for spreading clay dust onto slabs in order to absorb moisture.
Dust Grinder: operated a disintegrator machine in the pottery industry.
Dustman: then as now, collected refuse.
Dyer: Dyed fabric. My home town of Coventry was famous for its silk dying industry, its rivers ran sky blue with waste dye, hence the association between the city and the colour Sky Blue.
Dykeman: alternate spelling of Dikeman, a digger of dikes.
Dyker: built walls or water barriers.
This dictionary is my own work, and copyright Jane Hewitt. I sometimes find unauthorised (i.e. stolen) copies of my website content appearing on other people's websites. If you should read a group of identical glossary definitions elsewhere on the web, consider whether such sites are reputable or not.
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