Genealogy Chat

hello. Does anyone know what a Charwomen is? could be Chairwomen..but has been transcribed as Char. Thanks. Chris

as far as a I know charwoman is a totally different occupation to chairwoman and is a cleaner/home help type

Its a 'lady what does' the cleaning in a domestic situation.

like the 'the tea girl' ??? ('cuppa char luvvy' ???) !! lol ! xxkxx YO MERSEA ISLAND!!

A charwoman is a general skivvy! It's a well known occupation of working class women in the 19th century. Jacquie

CHARWOMAN, one who is hired to do occasional household work. Char or chare, which forms the first part of the word, is common, in many forms, to Teutonic languages, meaning a turn, and, in this original sense, is seen in ajar, properly on char, of a door on the turn in the act of closing. It is thus applied to a turn of work, an odd job, and is so used, in the form chore, in America, and in dialects of the south-west of England.

hi, just thought i'd shove my twopenneth in, Another name for a 'charwoman' is Prostitute/ lady of the night, whatever you call them. dont rightly know if this'll help or not :)) regards Julie

From googling 'old occupations' :- CHARWOMAN - cleaning woman Kath. x

Hi there i would just like to say that i am a Charwoman by trad and its bloodey hard Work. Regards Joan (head Charlady)

My mum after staying home when my brother and I were little, became a 'char'. She still works for 2 elderly people and her duties include keeping them company and vacuuming. one of them buys biscuits specially for her elevenses. nell

'Another name for charwoman is prostitute' ???? I've never heard that before. Is it just a local thing from where you come from? As far as I know, as everyone else has said, a char is just a cleaner. Julie

I thought the euphemism for a prostititute was a 'dress-maker' though no doubt ladies of the night would make up a legit. job for the enumerator when he came calling. nell

Thanks all for your Help.. I have got a Charwomen and a Dressmaker in my family!! However the Dressmaker is listed as a Lodger!! in a inn which my ancestors owned...who knows!! Chris.

Any fan of Terry Pratchet will know that it is Seamstresses not Chars or Dressmakers. Bob