Genealogy Chat

I believe that clay, in the corrrect consistency, can be turned like wood, (horizontally) on a lathe, whereas a wheel turner shapes the work-piece vertically. Both quite skilled work for both parties concerned.

To clarify:

http://www.thepotteries.org/jobs/turner.htm

My husband used to be a 'turner' . Working in engineering. A centre lathe turner.

On the 1861 census in Bridport,Dorset where they made twine and ropes,young children,as young as 7 are listed on the census as wheel turners.Any ideas about this job?

If the family have a lot of pottery connections then the job could have been a 'thrower's wheel turner' or 'potter's wheel turner'. Monica

Turner is someone who makes chair legs or turns wood on a lathe,even wooden bowls,anything in furniture that required lathe work,table legs,details like columns used in fire surrounds or other circumstances(anything cylindrical)

I don't know for sure but I would have thought a wheel turner was the guy that made the wooden spokes for wheels using a lathe. Maggie

Thanks John. Do you think she would have been working with him then ? as she is a Turner. Gill

I think he worked on a lathe possibly for the railways as they have wheel lathes John

Thanks for your reply Merry. It's on a marridge cert. James is a 'Turner' and Elizabeth a 'Wheel Turner' it doesn't say Pottery industry but most of my lot were, lol so i just assumed, bad thing to do in this game. Gill

I would think a wheel turner would be in the pottery industry. If the same person also said turner, i would think they meant the same. However, if they said turner, with no association to the pottery trade, I would assume (maybe wrongly? lol) that they carved wood on a lathe. The street performer thing would surely need to be defined?? Maybe by the occupations of others in the household. Merry

Thankyou Cas. does that mean they were lathe workers or street performers, sorry having abit of a senior moment here. Gill

what these jobs would be, could be in the pottery industry around 1851.I live just outside potteries but never worked in a pot bank. Gill