What is a Potato Lorryman

Occupations and the like.

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JohnI
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What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by JohnI » Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:36 pm

When my grandmother and her two sisters were married in the very early 1900’s, they gave their father’s occupation as a Potato Lorryman. Was this simply someone who drove a vehicle loaded with potatoes? Surely there was more to it than that. Did they even have lorries, as we know them, in those days?

Previously he worked on a farm as a Ploughman. Perhaps this was some sort of farm work, but what?

Does anyone know?

john

Russell
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Re: What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by Russell » Fri Apr 16, 2010 12:18 am

Hi John

They had lorries with a horse between the shafts instead of a gas guzzling, fume emitting diesel or petrol engine. Mind you some horses could emit their own variety of noxious fumes too :)
They also had drays, carts, pantechnicons and omnibuses before the horse was replaced by the clunking mechanical monster.
Potatoes were a major part of the diet of the working classes and a principal component for labouring country folk so vast quantities had to be brought into the cities to feed the masses there. There were potato merchants who transported (or arranged transport) from the main growing parts of the country into the cities and towns. Transport was needed from the farms to a central collection point too.
The lowly spud had to be carted on the farm and stored somewhere dry, cool and dark until it was sold on and there were local variations in how that was done.
In East Lothian they built 'clamps' of straw and soil in the field or in the farmyard. They stored neeps(turnip or swede in the same way)

Potatoes were a cash crop so safe transport ensured they arrived in good condition so I suppose the carter would have a vehicle appropriate to the task. Carts varied in construction from district to district and local names were given according to their purpose.

Russell
Working on: Oman, Brock, Miller/Millar, in Caithness.
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny

Currie
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Re: What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by Currie » Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:39 am

Hello John,

A search in the 19C British Library Newspaper Collection for ‘lorryman’ gives as a first result a reference to a ‘Mrs. Lorryman’ in the Leeds Mercury in 1843. The next was about a ‘lorryman’ who stole wine etc from a railway station as reported in the Preston Guardian in 1857.

A search for ‘lorry’ brought up about 22,000 results starting from the year1800. All the earlier ones I looked at were in fact ‘sorry’, more precisely ‘forry’ as in ‘forry to fay’ and because of that I don’t know when ‘lorry’ first appeared.

However, here’s an interesting article that dates the appearance of the word ‘lorry’ to the 1830s. http://podictionary.com/?p=1916

All the best,
Alan

carlineric
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Re: What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by carlineric » Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:09 pm

Checkecked the 1921 census occupations dictionary and it give the following description:


Driver, lorry (or Lurry); lorry man, lurry man; drives a heavy four-wheeled vehicle known as a lorry or, in the North of England a lurry.


Eric
Eric

JohnI
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Re: What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by JohnI » Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:30 pm

Thanks for that everyone,

It looks like a Lorryman was a sort of Carter, perhaps with a certain type of wagon. I expect my great grandfather's experience with plough horses came in useful for his new occupation.

john

Russell
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Re: What is a Potato Lorryman

Post by Russell » Sun Apr 18, 2010 12:25 am

Hi John

Just thinking about dates for your rellie. I wonder if he was put out of a job because the farmer was using steam ploughing tractors instead of the old faithful Clydesdales. If the ground was right and his fields were big enough to use machinery then he - the farmer - would hire in a team to turn over his soil then he would only need a single horse for harrowing. Lots of small farms went under as new machinery, which they couldn't afford, was brought into use. Neighbouring farms took over the land, tore out the trees and hedges and created much larger fields. That way machinery paid for itself.
The demand for experienced horsemen as carters kept expanding in the cities though to move goods and raw materials into and out of the factories so at least they could continue to use their skills.

Russell
Working on: Oman, Brock, Miller/Millar, in Caithness.
Roan/Rowan, Hastings, Sharp, Lapraik in Ayr & Kirkcudbrightshire.
Johnston, Reside, Lyle all over the place !
McGilvray(spelt 26 different ways)
Watson, Morton, Anderson, Tawse, in Kilrenny

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