19th Century Occupations

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This is a collection of the job titles or occupations of the people living in London in the 19th Century.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Rack Maiden	Someone employed in the tin mines of Corwall to dress the ore, often a girl.
Raff Merchant	Someone who sold fibre used to make raffia bags etc.
Raffman	Someone who dealt in raff (saleable rubbish).
Rag and Bone Man	went from street to street with a cart and collected any old rubbish
Rag Cutter	cut up rags into small pieces to be used for making paper etc
Rag Gatherer	cleared the rags from the machinery in the mills; often children
Rag Man	one who went from street to street collecting and selling old clothes and rags
Rag Merchant	Someone who bought and sold rags.
Rag Picker	Someone who sorted through the left over rags to find reusable ones.
Rag Sorter
Railway Clerk
Railway Engine Driver, Stoker
Railway Labourer
Railway officer, clerk
Railway Station Master
Railway Porter
Railway Servant Port
Railway Shunter	Someone who shunts carriages and wagons in a railway yard.
Raker	A street sanitation worker.
Ratoner	A rat catcher.
Rattlewatch	A town watchman.
Redar	Someone who interprets dreams.
Redsmith	A goldsmith.
Reeder	someone who worked with reeds for hedging or thatching.
Reedmaker	Someone who made the pipe for a musical instrument, or a person who made a weavers implement (a reed) or reed cloth or the comb used in tapestry.
Reeler	Someone employed to operate the machine that wound the yarn onto the bobbin.
Reeve	A royal or manor official, appointed by the lord or elected by the peasants. A church warden.
Reever	A shriever.
Refuge Attendant SA	A refuge attendant with the Salvation Army
Regd Shoeing Smith	registered shoeing smith
Registrar	An official who registers events such as land purchases or births, marriages or deaths.
Relieving Officer	An official who took charge of poor or insane persons not otherwise cared for.
Renovator	Someone who repaired clothing.
Rent Collector	A landlord or someone who works for them who collects rent from tenants.
Rescue Worker	Someone who rescues people in trouble.
Restaurant Keeper	A proprietor or owner of a restaurant.
Restaurant Proprietor	A manager or owner of a restaurant.
Revenuer	A taxman who enforces tax laws on liquor.
Ribbon manufacturer	Someone who makes ribbons.
Rickmaster	A horse Captain.
Riddler	A wool stapler.
Riftere	A reaper.
Rigger	hoist tackle worker; works on a ship's rigging
Ripper or Rippier	sold fresh water fish at the markets or maker and seller of baskets
Riverman	Someone who works on a river boat.
Rivetter	Someone who rivets, i.e. metal plates on a ship.
Road labourer	Someone who repairs roads
Road Sweeper	Someone who sweeps the streets.
Rockgetter	A salt miner (rock salt).
Rockman	Someone who worked in a quarry, often the one who placed the charges on the rockface.
Rodman	A surveyor's assistant. See Poleman.
Roll Turner	A carder of wool, cotton etc into rolls prior to spinning.
Roll Coverer	Someone who covered the rollers for the spinning process.
Rolleyway Man	Someone who maintained the underground road in the mines.
Roman Cementer	Someone who worked with roman cement used in stuccoing.
Rope Maker	Someone who makes rope.
Roper	maker of rope or nets
Rotarius	A wheelwright.
Rough Packing Case Maker	Someone who made rough packing cases.
Rover	An archer, or the operator of a machine used in the cotton mills, which prepared the carded fibre into rolls.
Rower	Someone who builds small wagon wheels.
Rubbisher	Someone who sorted the small stones in the quarries.
Rubbler	Someone who sorted the small stones in the quarries.
Rugman	A dealer in rugs and carpets.
Rule Maker, tape	Someone who made tape rules.
Runner	One who solicited business for a hotel, steamship, etc
Runner	A smuggler, or a messenger or one who worked for the magistrate; Bow St Runners
Rustler	A cattle thief.

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