Hi, does anyone know what a string cleaner is please? My 1×great grandfather who was living in South Twerton, Bath at the time was doing this, at home around the late 1800s.
Hi, does anyone know what a string cleaner is please? My 1×great grandfather who was living in South Twerton, Bath at the time was doing this, at home around the late 1800s.
Thank you :o
Summerwyche, do you have him on the census at all, is his occupation continual? a 'stringer' usually works with Bows I think, can you enlighten us at all?
Hi Julie,
Yes I do have him on Census' 1881 he was a Grocers Porter - 1891 String Cleaner and 1901 String Cleaner as were two of his 10 children.
I have endeavoured to trace this on the internet and I come up with Hemp Rope - Musical Instruments. I was wondering whether there was a Rope Factory in South Twerton. I hve been lookng for sometime now and have hit a brick wall so it has not become a 'compulsion' - not good!
Susan's suggestion is a good one. Sounds as if it's a process involving dead animals. I've found a newspaper report where complaints were being made about the smells from a building where they were 'cleaning strings'.
The OED defines string as 'In an animal body: A ligament, tendon, nerve, etc.; an elongated muscle or muscular fibre; the frænum of the tongue.'
Many thanks for your input. I have now found the answer. A String Cleaner is some one who cleans the string heddles on a loom therefore my Charles Robinson worked for one of the factories in Twerton (at home) cleaning these strings - thank goodness no animals involved - ha ha here here.
Sounds like a dirty job if this is the right job description. Does the census say that he works at home? If so, it could be in an outhouse. All speculation of course.
Phil
historyhouse.co.uk
Essex - family and local history.
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