I just found out... (Lighthearted thread!)

I didn't know what a cooper was until I visited the Liverpool Maritime museum a while ago.

Cordwainers sound like something Rambling Sid Rumpo would sing about.
I'm having a think now...

I feel very stupid about this, but I only learnt a couple of days ago that cows udders are only visible when the have calves or are used for milking.
My garden backs onto a field full of cows and I've lived here twenty years.

Well, FannyCornforth, I believe the answer lies in the soil...

Are you sure they're not bullocks, FannyC?

So many common surnames were also represented in those shields, too, because these jobs, traditionally, were only done by men. Other occupations up there were Cooper, Fletcher, Brewer, Tailor, Fuller, Carpenter, Butcher, Skinner, Tanner etc. I've never met or heard of anyone with the surname Cordwainer or Cobbler! As far as I know, there's no surname 'Spinster' since that job was only done by unmarried women.

FannyCornforth I didn't know who your name sake was, in fact I believed you made it up! And I thought I was well educated!

More proof of the wonder of the internet, BlueSky, as I just looked up Fanny Cornforth too. What a complicated life!

I didn't know you could eat fuchsia berries until my daughter informed me. Tried one the other day, they taste a bit like cherries.

In our Cathedral one of the side Chapels is called ‘The Cordwainers Chapel ,

Brilliant, Anniebach! There are pockets of shoemaker history around England and now one (at least) in Wales. ?

I have a friend whose surname is Cordiner, which I guess might derive from Cordwainer.

lizzypopbottle Female occupational surnames include Brewster (female brewer) , and Baxter (female baker) Brewing and baking were originally women's work, like spinning (Can she brew and can she bake, Billy boy, Billy boy?")

i think the word bride came from the one who brews and bakes.
brewing was necessary to make water potable .
i believe cordwainer is related to cordoba in spain, where the leather came from.
i learnt this from the entry plate to a hosp ward, years ago, before they changed them all to, "2W, 3E, 4S, 5N" etc

According to the 1851 census my GGG Grandfather was a cordwainer.
In 1861 he was listed as a bootmaker.

He couldn't have been that good though as he used the services of another bootmaker. In our local newspaper archives it was reported that he'd taken his rival to court for making him a pair of boots one boot being half inch shorter than the other.

Talking of shoemakers. In what seems like another life, I was supposed to teach day release students 'communication skills'. One group was comprised of 'basic boot and shoe operatives' who informed me that they were 'skivers'. I told them that was nothing to boast about, but they informed me that 'skiving' was a process in shoe-making. I always learnt something new from those students!

Lizzypopbottle says

I've never met or heard of anyone with the surname Cordwainer or Cobbler!

I wonder if James Corden's name originates from it.

Thanks for all the surname snippets ?

You will not believe this. And I promise you I am educated. I asked my husband today why the sun looks the same but isn't as warm now. He said because we're further away. That sounds logical.?
I also found out that the ozone layer is only 30km above. (Radio Times quiz).

Wrong face

SueDonim

I have a friend whose surname is Cordiner, which I guess might derive from Cordwainer.

Cordier could come from the French corde and maybe came over after 1066. My French physiotherapist had the same name.

I did a search and reported in the Western Mail newspaper
was an article on the Cordwainers annual pilgrimage to the
Cathedral, this was 1936.

I did local studies as part of my degree. On a walk around a village I went in search of the Chandler's House after finding out that chandler was a person who makes or sells candles and sometimes other items of tallow or wax.

lizzypopbottle Sun 20-Sep-20 10:54:59
I had never heard of Cordwainers (although I'm sure people from Leicestershire and Northamptonshire will be rolling their eyes!) but they were shoemakers and made new shoes from new leather, as opposed to Cobblers, who originally only repaired shoes.

It was a long time before I found out that a costermonger was a fruit seller. Costermonger has such a dubious ring to it.

An Alnager was a onetime officer in England whose duty it was to inspect and attest the measure and quality of woollen cloth. A sort of early weights & measures.

If you have a fence that is shrubbery and you need it pruning, you might employ a company with the name hayward in their title. A hayward was a fence and hedge inspector.

A lapidary is an artist or artisan who forms stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems, and faceted designs.

A wig maker was known as a peruker.