Nature of Source
Records relating to various professions, occupations and trades.
Birth, marriage and death certificates as well as census returns record a person’s occupation or trade. Parish registers after 1812 might note the person’s occupation and look in trade directories for occupational information on a person. Please note that a person described as a journeyman worked as a day worker gaining new skills at each job.
Use the links below to help calculate an ancestor’s earnings. When comparing rates of pay over time is important to take into account two factors; firstly inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) which measures price changes in a cross section of goods and secondly average earnings which measures changes in the wages of a worker year by year. However, it is difficult to obtain an exact calculation of the worth of an ancestor’s purchasing power when so many variables need to be taken into account.
Wage rates were first officially complied in 1893 with the publication of the Board of Trade’s Labour Gazette held at The National Archives in series ZPER 45. The publication underwent a number of name changes including the Ministry of Labour Gazette, the Employment and Productivity Gazette and the Employment Gazette. It became Labour Market Trends in 1995 and in 2006 changed to the Economic and Labour Market Review. As collective bargaining increased from the late 19th century, wage rates can be found in trade union journals. Charles Booth’s survey into poverty levels called the Life and Labour of the People and other social surveys have data on wage rates. The records of government departments will include wage rates covering those employed in the public sector. Trade Boards and Wages Councils files can be found at The National Archives in series LAB 11 and LAB 35 whilst the records of the Agricultural Wages Committees can be found in MAF 64.
See individual occupations listed in the GenGuide.
Also see
Apprenticeship Agreements, Trade
Apprenticeship Indentures, Parish
Business & Company Records
Directories, Trade, Professional, Telephone & Street
Friendly & Fraternal Society Records
Guilds, Freedoms & Freemen’s or Burgess Rolls
Trade Union Records
Where Found
The National Archives (Including LAB 2, Ministry of Labour and Predecessors: Correspondence. Enhanced catalogue descriptions for this series is available at the TNA Discovery catalogue with files on labour and employment subjects including industrial relations, women’s equality rights, labour disputes, working hours and health and safety issues. First click on ‘Advanced search’ and then type in the name being searched. Then under ‘Search within’ select ‘Enter a reference’ and type ‘LAB 2’)
Society of Genealogists (Professions)
County Record Offices (Find the details of a local UK archive from a searchable list of over 2,500 archives hosted by The National Archives)
Modern Records Centre
Working Class Movement Library (The library records over 200 years of organising and campaigning by ordinary men and women. The collection includes books, pamphlets, photographs, banners, posters, journals, biographies and reports)
Trades Union Congress Library Collections
People’s History Museum
Labour History Archive & Study Centre (The Archives hold the complete holdings of the national Labour Party and Communist Party of Great Britain as well as, trade unions and other left wing political groups and movements)
Bishopsgate Institute Library (Collections include trade union books and pamphlets and personal papers, labour movements and political party records and Co-operative Society records)
Museum of English Rural Life (The museum houses the most comprehensive national collection of objects, books and archives relating to the history of food, farming and the countryside. The museum houses archives, a library, an image library and special collections including the Milling and Baking Collection, the Dairy Collection and the Tools & Trades History Society Library)
Chatham Historic Dockyard (Dockyard Ledgers: The ledgers provide an insight into Chatham’s role as an operational Royal Dockyard and the workforce that sustained it. They include Victorian-era lists of hired workmen of all trades , a record of some of the first women working in the Ropery and Sail & Colour Loft, salary lists, accident books, movement logs, post-war ship repairs and a small collection of apprentice lists)
Period Covered
1200 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
- Full names
- Ages
- Addresses
- Dates of birth, marriage and death
- Marital status, sometimes including spouse’s name
- Nature of work
- Job title, trade or profession.
- Employer’s names and addresses
- Employment dates
- Apprenticeship or training details
- Retirement or pension details
Further References
- Anderson, Janice. Working Life in Britain: Futura Publications, 2007
- Brooks, Brian & Herber Mark. My Ancestor was a Lawyer: Society of Genealogists, 2006
- Brown, Jonathan. Tracing Your Rural Ancestors: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2011
- Burton, Anthony. Tracing Your Shipbuilding Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2010
- Crafts, Nicholas & Gazeley, Ian & Newell, Andrew (eds). Work and Pay in Twentieth-Century Britain: Oxford University Press, 2007 (Preview available from Google Books)
- Collins, Audrey. Portraits of the English Law and Order: Audrey Collins, 1999 (Policemen, Excisemen, Judges)
- Collins, Audrey. Portraits of the English In Sickness and in Health: Audrey Collins, 1999 (Medical professions)
- Collins, Audrey. Portraits of the English Working Lives: Audrey Collins, 2000 (Including Postmen)
- Corder-Birch, Adrian. Our Ancestors Were Brickmakers and Potters: A History of the Corder and Related Families in the Clayworking Industries: Adrian Corder-Birch, 2010
- Culling, Joyce. Introduction to Occupations A Preliminary List: Federation of Family History Societies, 1999
- Department of Employment. British Labour Statistics: Historical Abstract 1886-1968: HMSO, 1971 (Includes surveys compiled by the Board of Trade statistician George Henry Wood)
- Emm, Adele. Tracing Your Trade and Craftsman Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2015
- Emm, Adele. My Ancestors Worked in Textile Mills: Society of Genealogists, 2019
- Gibson, Jeremy & Hampson, Elizabeth. Specialist Indexes for Family Historians: FFHS, 2000
- Hardy, Frank. My Ancestor was a Railway Worker: Society of Genealogists, 2012
- Higgs, Michelle. Tracing Your Servant Ancestors: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen & Sword, 2012
- Horn, Pamela. My Ancestor was in Service: Society of Genealogists, 2025
- Hurley, Beryl (ed). The Book of Trades: The Family History Partnership, 1993 (1811 & 1818)
- Legon, James. My Ancestors were Thames Watermen: Society of Genealogists, 2008
- McLaughlin, Eve. Professionals and Gentlemen: McLaughlin, 2003
- McLaughlin, Eve. Old Occupations and Descriptions, McLaughlin, 2004
- McGovern, Index to the List of Workmen and Apprentices in His Majesty’s Dockyards in 1748: Naval Dockyards Society, 2002 (An alphabetical index transcribed from TNA series ADM 106/2976)
- McMullon Dr, Sadie. Researching Your Brickmaking Ancestors – A Solid Trade. Family History Books, 2025
- Mawer, Bryan. Sugarbakers: From Sweat to Sweetness: AGFHS Publications, 2011
- May, Trevor. Victorian Factory Life: Shire, 2011
- Morgan, Paul. Warwickshire Printers’ Notices, 1799-1866: The Dugdale Society, 1970 (Printers’ notices were declarations by printers of their intention to use a printing press without which it was illegal to print any material. The provisions were issued under the Unlawful Societies Act of 1799 which gave the authorities control over groups and societies deemed a danger to the state)
- Musson, Jeremy. Up and Down Stairs: The History of the Country House Servant: John Murray, 2009
- Pols, Robert. My Ancestor was a Studio Photographer: Society of Genealogists, 2011
- Raymond, Stuart. Occupational Sources for Genealogists: Federation of Family History Societies, 1996
- Salis de. Henry Rodolph. Bradshaw’s Canals and Navigable Rivers of England and Wales: Old House Books, 2012
- Shrimpton, Jayne. British Working Dress: Occupational Clothing 1750-1950: Shire, 2012
- The Boy’s Book Of Trades: Pryor Publications, 1999 (Facsimile of 1860 Edition)
- Tonks, David. My Ancestor was a Coalminer: Society of Genealogists, 2014
- Tulloch, Alexander. Just the Job: How Trades got their Names: The Bodleian Library, 2020
- Twining, Andrew & Twining, Sandra. Dictionary of Old Trades and Occupations: Twining’s Secretarial, 1995
- Waller, Ian. My Ancestor Was a Leather Worker: Society of Genealogists, 2015
- Waller, Ian. My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer: Society of Genealogists, 2019
- Waters, Colin. A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations: Countryside Books, 2002
- Wilkes, Sue. Tracing Your Canal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2011
Websites
www.genuki.org.uk/big/Occupations (GENUKI: Links to occupational sources)
www.familyresearcher.co.uk/glossary/Dictionary-of-Old-Occupations-Index.html (Family Tree Researcher: Dictionary of Old Occupations: A-Z Index. Online dictionary of old occupations, jobs, archaic trades and similar historical terms)
www.cyndislist.com/occupatn.htm (Links to occupational sources)
www.olivetreegenealogy.com/misc/occupations.shtml (Obsolete Occupations in Genealogy)
www.scotlandsfamily.com/occupations.htm (Scotlands Family: Old Scottish Occupations. Comprehensive list and description of over 300 unusual occupations and work terms found on 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century records, Census returns, and gravestone inscriptions in Scotland)
www.ukgdl.org.uk/category/occupations (UKGDL Occupations/Trades/Apprentices: Links to online transcriptions records dealing with a variety of trades and occupations with some data extracted from trade and street directories)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/companies-and-businesses (The National Archives Research Guide: How to look for records of Companies and Businesses. This is a guide to the various kinds of company and business records held at The National Archives and how to access them)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/people-business-trades (The National Archives Research Guide: How to look for records of People in Business and Trades)
www.gracesguide.co.uk (Grace’s Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. The aim is to provide a brief history of the companies, products and people who were instrumental in industry)
Economies Past
The site presents data and findings from a 20-year research project conducted by historians at Cambridge University. It offers a detailed quantitative picture of long-run economic development in England and Wales with a focus on male and female occupational structure data.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/people-business-trades (The National Archives Research Guide: How to look for records of People in business and trades. Most surviving historic business and trade records in the UK are held by local archives. There are specific guides covering occupations for which records are held at The National Archives)
https://boards.ancestry.co.uk/topics.occupations/mb.ashx (Ancestry Message Boards: Occupations)
https://genealogy.about.com/od/records/a/occupations.htm (About.com: Discovering the Occupations of Your Ancestors: Finding Clues in Occupational Records, by Kimberly Powell)
www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/subject_guides (Research guides to using sources at the Modern Records Centre)
www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/subject_guides/family_history/occupationalguide.pdf (Occupations and their trade union)
www.census1891.com/occupations.php (Victorian Occupations. A collection of the occupations or job descriptions of the people living in London in the 1890’s)
www.mawer.clara.net (Sugar Refiners & Sugarbakers: Various resources for those with ancestors involved in the in the sugar trade including a 41,000+ Names Database, locations of sugarhouses with maps and history and a directory of sugarhouses)
https://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html (Hall Genealogy Website: Old Occupation Names)
www.british-history.ac.uk/search/series/office-holders (British History Online: Office-Holders in Modern Britain. This series provides listings of office-holders in central government in Britain, primarily from the 17th to the 19th century)
www.occupationalinfo.org (Dictionary Of Occupational Titles, US based)
www.tcd.ie/iiis/HNAG/HNAG_database.htm (Database of Irish Historical Statistics: Statistics taken from government reports including wages in various occupations)
Peter Christian
A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921. For each of the terms in this classification, the dictionary provides a description of what that occupation involved.
www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/traded-goods-dictionary/1550-1820 (British History Online: Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities, 1550-1820. A dictionary of nearly 4,000 terms found used in documents relating to trade and retail in early modern Britain)
www.durhamrecordsonline.com/Occupations.php (Durham Records Online: Occupations of Old County Durham-50 Years of the Top 50 Occupations in County Durham)
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/agricultural-labourers.htm (TNA Podcast: Sources for tracing agricultural labourers)
www.swingriotsriotersblacksheepsearch.com (Swing Riots & Rioters: The site is run by Jill Chambers a renowned specialist researcher into the swing riots and transported convicts and includes information on the swing riots of 1830-1831 as well as lists of convicted machine breakers and those held in prison hulks)
https://stroudwaterhistory.org.uk (Stroudwater History: Telling the story of life along the Stroudwater Canal based on the most complete archive of a canal’s history in the UK. Sections include an Archive which has a searchable database with scans of original documents, images including minute books and letter books. Other sections feature historical information about places along the Stroudwater Canal and aspects of Canal as well as Stories about people and events associated with the canal)
www.boatfamilies.website (Boat Families – Ormskirk & District FHS: The site aims is to assist researchers whose ancestors worked on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal & associated waterways)
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/corporate-archives (Transport for London: Corporate Archives. The archives provide a fascinating social history of transport in London throughout the centuries and include Staff clubs and events records, Staff magazines and Staff registers)
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/corporate-archives/the-collections (Transport for London: Corporate Archives: Research Guides: Sources for Genealogical Research)
www.sbf.org.uk (St Bride Library. The library houses over 100,000 items relating to printing, publishing and graphic design)
http://teessidearchives.middlesbrough.gov.uk/calmview (Teesside Archives: The online catalogue includes the British Steel Collection. The records contain staff records, financial records, minute books, photographs, plans and many other items with dates ranging from around 1850 through to 1967)
https://millsarchive.org (Mills Archive Trust: The Mills Archive is a permanent repository for the documentary and photographic records of traditional and contemporary mills and milling. The archive also includes photographs and correspondence and an online mills database. The library, based in Reading, can be visited by appointment. The Mills Archive Images and Documents Catalogue may be searched here)
www.cottontown.org/Pages/home.aspx (Cotton Town: digital archive charting the rise and decline of the cotton industry and its impact on the community in and around Blackburn and Darwen. It includes photographs, print resources, newspaper articles, maps and broadsheets)
www.frameworkknittersmuseum.org.uk (Framework Knitters’ Museum: Explore the living and working conditions of the poorest textile workers in Victorian Britain amongst a collection of restored cottages and workshops arranged around a garden courtyard. The Smirfitt Library holds copies of all the major classic works on the framework knitting and hosiery industries, together with complete runs of trade journals, house magazines, academic research, histories of hosiery firms, various pamphlets and government reports)
https://navaldockyards.org (Naval Dockyards Society. The society’s primary aim is to stimulate the production and exchange of information and research into naval dockyards and associated organisations)
Calculating and Measuring Wage Rates
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency-converter (The National Archives: Currency converter: 1270-2017. Calculate purchasing power. Try our online currency converter and find out how many animals, stones of wool and quarters of wheat you can buy, and how much you could earn)
www.measuringworth.com (Various tools for measuring the historic values of money and the purchasing value of the pound since 1264)
www.measuringworth.com/explaining_measures_of_worth.php (Measures of Worth by Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson. This essay provides a methodology for deciding which measure of worth is appropriate for the subject at hand)
https://faculty.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/gclark/data.html (Data on the History of the English Economy, 1150-1914, by Gregory Clark University of California. Data series include: Nominal and Real Wages, England, 1209-1869; National Income, Prices, Wages, Land Rents, Population, England, 1209-1869; Prices of 22 domestic farm products, 1500-1914 and Farm Day Wages, 1208-1869)
www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Coinage.jsp (Currency, Coinage and the Cost of Living: This article describes the coinage, wages and the cost of living in London from the late seventeenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century)
www.victorianweb.org/economics/index.html (Currency, Wages, and the Cost of Living in Victorian Britain)
www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator (Bank of England Inflation calculator. Use the inflation calculator to check how prices in the UK have changed over time, from 1209 to 2019)
https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/money.html (Money – Past, Present & Future. Information on Monetary History, Contemporary Developments, and Electronic Money, compiled by Roy Davies)
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare/5QDH9BDDMKU (Prices of a variety of goods as sold on August 21st 1625 in Southampton)
https://archive.is/MHkW (Relative Value of Sums of Money including earnings and wages)
https://elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-currency-and-money-and-coinage.html (Elizabethan Era. Elizabethan Currency, Money and Coinage)
Online Databases
https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/home (Canal & River Trust: The Waterways Archive: Catalogue descriptions from National Waterways Museum which includes historic images, documents, maps, plans and drawings tracing the history of Britain’s canals. On 2 July 2012 British Waterways ceased to exist in England and Wales and in its place Canal & River Trust was set up)
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/national-waterways-museum (National Waterways Museum/Canal & River Trust: The Digitised Archive Catalogue has 22,000 images freely available to view and 37,000 historic records which tell the fascinating story of our canals and rivers)
www.boatfamilies.website (Boat Families of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and connected waterways: Ormskirk & District Family History Society. The site is dedicated to the men and their families who lived and worked on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and further afield from Lancashire, Yorkshire and Staffordshire)
www.findmypast.co.uk (The Matchworkers’ Strike, lists of strikers at the Bryant and May factory in East London in 1888)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Electrical Engineering Apprentices & Trainees, 1902-1934. Search for ancestors who trained with the electrical engineering company Metropolitan-Vickers at Trafford Park, Manchester between 1902 and 1934)
www.ancestry.co.uk (London, England, Gamekeepers’ Licences, 1727-1839. Search for names of those issued with licences to kill game from the Middlesex Sessions which covered the area north of the River Thames, bordering the old City of London to the north, east and west. It excludes the City of London but includes the City of Westminster)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Warwickshire, England, Occupational and Quarter Session Records, 1662-1866. This database contains a collection of records from Warwickshire Quarter Sessions, most of which relate to occupations: Boat owners records, 1795-1796; Flax bounty records, 1774-1797; Gamekeepers records, 1744-1888; Printing press owners records, 1799-1866)
www.ancestry.co.uk (UK, Mechanical Engineer Records, 1847-1938. This database contains documents relating to membership in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers including registers of members, proposals for memberships and changes to membership)
www.ancestry.co.uk (UK, Civil Engineer Lists, 1818-1930. This collection contains admission and member lists from the Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK. Other resources in the collection include: Civil Engineer Photographs, 1829-1923 containing photographs of members of the Institution of Civil Engineers with digitized images of both the front and back of the photo; Civil Engineer Records, 1820-1930 containing documents relating to membership in the Institution of Civil Engineers)
www.ancestry.co.uk (UK, Electrical Engineer Lists, 1871-1930. This collection includes printed membership forms and annual lists with the names of members, their level of membership and current working address)
www.ancestry.co.uk (West Yorkshire, England, Occupation Records, 1793-1930. This database contains occupational records from the area of West Yorkshire, for the years 1793-1930. Occupations include boatmen, carpet manufacturers, and cotton manufacturers)
www.ancestry.co.uk (London, London Transport Staff Registers, 1863-1931. These staff records date from the opening of the earliest underground line, the Metropolitan line, in 1863, and cover underground, bus, tram and some clerical staff)
Ancestry
UK and Ireland, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution Records, 1824-1989. This collection covers the records between 1824 and 1989 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity to save lives at sea on the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Record types in this collection include pension lists, honorary presentation books, legacy books, medal books, lifeboat donation records, crew lists, and applications.
www.ancestry.co.uk (London, England, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1738-1926. This collection includes a huge variety of different records created as a result of the Poor Laws in London including Registers of servants. Provided in association with London Metropolitan Archives)
www.staffsnameindexes.org.uk (Staffordshire Name Indexes, brought to you by Staffordshire & Stoke On Trent Archive Service: Canal Boat Register Index, 1795-1797. The register included the names and place of abode of the vessels’ owners and masters as well as the number and capacity of the men employed onboard)
Essex County Fire & Rescue Service
Fire Museum. Essex Firemen Who Served Between 1900 and 1920.
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~frpayments/history/HC1662/index.htm (Hackney coaches of 1662, a list of the 400 hackney coach licenses of England in July and August of 1662 giving names and addresses)
http://bbti.bodleian.ox.ac.uk (British Book Trade Index. The index includes brief biographical and trade details of all those who worked in the English and Welsh book trades up to 1851. The index includes not only printers, publishers and booksellers but also other related trades, such as stationers, papermakers, engravers, auctioneers, ink-makers)
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/record-keeping/national-register-of-archives-for-scotland (National Register of Archives for Scotland online Register: The catalogue contains titles of collections of private papers deposited in local authority and university archives including the records of landed estates, private individuals, businesses, law firms and societies)
www.nls.uk/catalogues/scottish-book-trade-index (Scottish Book Trade Index: The index lists the names, trades and addresses of people involved in printing in Scotland up to 1850 including Printers, Publishers, Booksellers, Bookbinders, Printmakers, Stationers and Papermakers)
www.glasgowfamilyhistory.org.uk/ExploreRecords/Pages/Online-resources.aspx (The Mitchell: Glasgow City Archives. Glasgow City Archives holds the records of those licensed or registered by the city council to practise a particular trade. Transcripts of Chimney Sweeps Licenses for the Burgh of Glasgow 1852-1862 are available at the site)
www.clockswatches.com (British & Irish Clock and Watch Makers, c1600-c1940)
www.mawer.clara.net/intro.html (Sugar Refiners & Sugarbakers Database: A database of some of those involved in the sugar refining industry, mainly in the UK, 16-20C)
https://archives.walgreensbootsalliance.com (Walgreens Boots Alliance Archive Catalogue. This digital archive holds around 57,000 entries and includes photographs, letters, advertisements, building plans, and colleague magazines. It gives anyone interested in the history of the business the opportunity to discover and study resources rich in detail)
https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk (The National Archives Podcast: Sources for Tracing Agricultural Labourers)
www.thegenealogist.co.uk (First World War Occupational Service Records. Service records of skilled professionals who were part of membership organisations, professional bodies and unions. Datasets include: members of the National Union of Teachers; members of the Institute of Electrical Engineers; Lawyers from the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple)
www.findmypast.co.uk (Scotland, Occupations & Professions. Explore this index of more than 10,000 occupational and trade records from across Scotland. Within the collection, you will find veterinary surgeons, photographers, police officers, watchmakers, and more)
CD Roms
Your Old Books & Maps (Census Classification of Occupations, 1931)
S & N Genealogy Supplies (The History Of Signboards-From The Earliest Times To The Present Day)
EurekA Partnership (Boats and Barges)
GenFair (Machine Breakers News. Everything on the 1830 Swing Riots and Machine Breakers including trials covering a number of counties. Requests can also be made for a search for an individual machine breaker with information taken from both County Publications and unpublished material)
www.parishchest.com (Directory of Old Occupations: Lists hundreds of descriptions for old occupations, many which have long since vanished. If you have ancestors with strange job titles you might find the answer here)
