Shark Head Dresser

[Jetsam]

As a "newbie" if I am in the wrong section I apologise....
In the 1881 Census my ggg grandmother Jane Needham has the occupation of Shark Head Dresser.  Her daughter my gg grandmother aged 14 was also a Shark Head Dresser.  I put this into my search engine and came up with this website.

In a previous post on occupations I now find them mentioned, so thanks to whomever gave me the opportunity to now ask
  "Can anyone tell me what a Shark Head Dresser was?" They lived in Old Castle Street, Bethnal Green, not a million miles from the Old Billingsgate market, so was it something to do with this? Obviously it has not been passed down through the generations and I am quite pleased about that, so any information would be appreciated. 

[Plummiegirl]

You thought is probably quite right.

We "dress" crab ready for eating. 

Dressing in this form means to prepare for eating, ie cleaning, descaling & getting rid of the nasty inedible bits.

In this instance dressing has nothing to do with the clothing trade.

[stanmapstone]

If you look at the original sheet I think you will see it is Sheep Head Dresser, I would expect shark heads to be thin on the ground in 1881 

Stan

[stanmapstone]

From the enumerator's book

Stan

[James1950]

It was very important that the sheep head dresser kept the eyes in so that a sheep's head would see a family through the week 

[Skoosh]

Brilliant Guys!

[stanmapstone]

Boswell's Life of Johnson, Volume 5‎ - Page 390

She proposed that he should have some cold sheep's-head for breakfast.


Stan

[stanmapstone]

TO DRESS A SHEEP'S HEAD.

742. INGREDIENTS.--1 sheep's head, sufficient water to cover it, 3
carrots, 3 turnips, 2 or 3 parsnips, 3 onions, a small bunch of parsley,
1 teaspoonful of pepper, 3 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1/4 lb. of Scotch
oatmeal.

_Mode_.--Clean the head well, and let it soak in warm water for 2 hours,
to get rid of the blood; put it into a saucepan, with sufficient cold
water to cover it, and when it boils, add the vegetables, peeled and
sliced, and the remaining ingredients; before adding the oatmeal, mix it
to a smooth batter with a little of the liquor. Keep stirring till it
boils up; then shut the saucepan closely, and let it stew gently for
1-1/2 or 2 hours. It may be thickened with rice or barley, but oatmeal
is preferable.
The Book of Household Management, by Mrs. Isabella Beeton

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10136/10136-8.txt


Stan

[Skoosh]

Stan,  there's a pub in the Argyll Arcade, Glasgow which used to serve "Sheeps Heid Soup" on a Wednesday, that being the country half day. The city's half day was a Tuesday. My own grandfather was a big fan, the brains in particular being a delicacy. I think the hair on the head was singeid off with a red hot iron, presumably they wiped the nose and cleaned the teeth......Skoosh.