Dictionary of Old Occupations

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Definitions of jobs Poleman - Potter's Thrower

Poleman: held the vertical rod to assist a land surveyor operating a theodolite.

Polenter: alternate spelling of Polentier, a poultry merchant.

Polentier: merchant who dealt in poultry and poultry products; a Poulterer.

Poleturner: made pikes and spears etc.

Poller: often referred to a barber, meaning a person who cut hair. Occasionally refers to a person who cut branches off trees.

Ponderator: to ensure fair trade, a Ponderator was a weights and measures inspector.

Pony Driver: traditionally a child's occupation at a coal mine, driving the pit ponies.

Porcher: a pig-herder or pig keeper.

Portable Soup Maker: made powdered soup for transportation.

Porter: baggage handler, a gatekeeper or a railroad worker who assisted passengers.

Portmanteau Maker: made portmanteau travelling bags, which were traditionally made from stiff leather and originally used for carrying clothes.

Post Boy: a Postilion, rode mounted on one of the drawing horses of a post chaise or coach.

Poster: a quarry worker responsible for breaking rocks.

Postilion: sometimes known as a Post Boy, a Postilion drove a post chaise or coach mounted on one of the drawing horses. The horses were referred to as Post-Horses. The occupation went out of fashion in Britain as railways grew in popularity.

Postillion: alternate spelling of Postilion, drove a post chaise or coach mounted on one of the drawing horses.

Pot Arch Man: a potter industry worker responsible for monitoring pottery kilns and deciding when items can be removed.

Pot Boy: the old time equivalent of a glass collector in a pub, a Pot Boy collected used pots for washing before re-use.

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

Pot Burner: worked in the pottery industry, loaded the kilns with finished pots ready for firing.

Pot Man: a street merchant peddling pots of stout and porter. Porter is a type of beer which is dark coloured. The name came about in the 18th century due to the drink's popularity in London among river porters.

Potato Badger: merchant who peddled potatoes.

Potter: made and sold pots out of earthenware or clay. In very early times, the term potter was also used to describe a maker of metal pots.

Potter's Carrier: alternate name for a pharmacist, possibly dating back to the 19th century.

Potter's Jollier: shaped clay into a revolving plaster mould using a profiling tool.

Potter's Mould Runner: this pottery industry occupation was primarily performed by young boys who ran from building to building to arrange newly made wares in rows for hardening.

Potter's Presser: a potter who used moulds to make his goods.

Potter's Printer: painted the intended pattern onto tissue paper, from where it would be transferred onto the pottery prior to firing.

Potter's Thrower: the person who throws lumps of wet clay onto the spinning potter's wheel, so that the potter can shape the clay into the desired shape prior to firing.

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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