Bright and Sparkling Cleaning London

The Guillemot Egg Collector -Anglo-Saxon Times

In Anglo-Saxon times, times food was scarce, so guillemot eggs were an important source of protein in the Saxon peasant's diet. Guillemots nest were on steep cliff sides, so collecting them meant risking life and limb hundreds of feet above jagged rocks and raging seas. And if this wasn't dangerous enough, angry birds were likely to attack anyone trying to steal their precious eggs.


In the photo: Guillemots


In the photo: Guillemots' eggs

The Bog Iron Hunter -Anglo-Saxon Times
The Saxons needed vast quantities of iron for tools and weapons. The Bog Iron Hunter did exactly what his title says; he hunted for iron ore in bogs. In all weathers, he poked around in soggy bogs trying to find up to 40kgs of ore a day for the smelters.


The Coin Stamper - Medieval England
There was no pay involved, just bed and board and particularly nasty punishments if he was tempted to steal the silver he was making into coins. Stealing just the shavings was punishable with castration and if a whole coin went missing the guilty party's hand was cut off and nailed to the workshop door!

The Fuller - Medieval England
Top of the list of worst jobs in the Middle Ages is the fuller, who washed out the grease and impurities from newly woven woollen cloth. The best way to do this was by putting it in a big vat of stale urine, yes urine, and stomping on it for hours on end. The stench was obviously horrendous and, even though the job was mind-numbingly tedious, the fuller couldn't lose his concentration. Because the process also tightened the weave and thickened the cloth, if it wasn't treated evenly for exactly the right amount of time, the whole bale could be ruined. Once the cloth was ready, the Fuller rinsed it in clean water, carried it up a hill and stretched it out to dry on 'tenterframes', - the origin of the phrase, 'on tenterhooks'.

The Arming Squire - Medieval Ages
This job was a cross between a roadie, caterer and lavatory attendant. The arming squire looked after his knight's every need, offering him all the comforts of home during travelling army campaigns. This meant dressing, feeding and waiting on his master, as well as taking care of all his belongings on the 'baggage train', trudging for miles every day before setting up camp. But the worst bit was undoubtedly cleaning the knight's armour after a heavy day on the battlefield. On the outside there was mud and blood, but the inside was far worse. Knights didn't get toilet breaks during battle, so the arming squire had to clean what could be described as a big, metal nappy. To add to this, water was too precious to be used for cleaning so the squire would use a mixture of sand, vinegar and a little urine to clean.


In the photo: A knight and his squire


The Leech Collector - Medieval Ages
These poor unfortunates collected leeches - used for medicinal bloodletting - by wading into marshes and letting the little bloodsuckers cling to their legs. On ae leech is uncomfortable; imagine pulling a whole bucketful off your body! The wounds often became infected and bacteria from the leeches could cause nasty stomach upsets.


In the photo: A leech

The Executioner - Medieval Ages
Wearing a hood or mask didn't fool anyone - the Executioner was a well-known and despised man. He had to deal with rioting crowds, as well as the blood and gore involved with beheadings - and it was even his job to parboil victims' heads and put them on stakes. It's no wonder that many executioners eventually committed suicide.
Executioners were experts in human anatomy. They would also torture convicts to elicit their confession.
People were afraid of executioners and tried not to provoke their anger.
Eg. bakers always had to have a loaf of bread for the executioner. In order not to forget it, they turned a loaf upside down. No one should take that loaf of bread. Thus the origin of the belief that bread put in the cupboard upside down is for bad luck.
Executioners themselves, although very rich, were also not particularly happy. It is no wonder that many of them have committed a suicide.


Groom Of The Stool - Medieval Ages
The groom of the stool was Henry VIII's chief bum-wiper. He had to look after the King's poo.
And if he didn't do a good job first time around then he could always mop it up with what was called a diper, which was actually a diamond shape piece of linen with a pattern on it.
And given how gross Henry VIII was by the time he got to middle age, it was way down the list of jobs that any of our contemporaries would like to experiment.
The strange thing about the groom of the stool is that today we'd think it would be the worst job anyone could do, but in fact a groom of the stool became such an intimate of the King only courtiers were chosen to do it.
Grooms of the stool could rise up the ranks, but go back down just as quickly. And it was not unknown for grooms of the stool to end up with their heads chopped off, e.g. Henry Norris who was executed after being accused of having an affair with Anne Boleyn.
In 1558, the male domination of royal private quarters came to an end, and a lady was appointed First Lady of the Bedchamber by Elizabeth I of England. The office effectively came to an end in 1901.