Occupation Bristol

[Anna99]

My great-grandmother, who lived in the St Philips and St Jacobs parish, Bristol, in the 1860s has her occupation listed as 'stay cottoner'.  I have looked this up on Google and came across someone else's post whose ancestor was also a stay cottoner and who also lived in the parish at this time.  Can anyone help with this please i.e., what the occupation actually is and whether there was a manufacturer that may have employed them in the area? Thank you.

[stanmapstone]

'stay cottoner' could it be inserting the cotton lacing in stays or corsets. Although the normal occupation description is 'corset/stay lacer'.
There is one 'corset cottoner' in the 1881 census in Bedmister, Bristol, RG11; Piece: 2454; Folio: 80; Page: 23

Stan

[goldie61]

You could look through old Town/City Trade Directories to see if you could find a 'stay making' firm.
There are lots on here - http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk.
From the University of Leicester.

This is the 1851 one for Bristol.
http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/p16445coll4/id/278570

I think there are also some on Ancestry.

[stanmapstone]

According to the OED a 'cottoner' is "One who cottons, friezes, or puts a nap on cloth".

Stan

[Anna99]

Thank you all for the information - I'll use it to do some more research at the weekend and see what I can find.  I'll keep you posted!