"laborer in colorworks"

[MarksWife]

Does anyone know what "colorworks" is please??

[Milliepede]

It sounds like a dye works like where they dye cloth perhaps.

[MarksWife]

Hi Milliepede

Thats not something that had crossed my mind, I could only think of a more modern paint shop! What made you think of somewhere to dye cloth?

[Bee]

From a dictionary of old trades & occupations

Colo(u)rman - Dye/paint industry worker.  Also housepainter's assistant.

 

[MarksWife]

Thanks Bee

[stanmapstone]

In "A Dictionary of Occupational Terms" there are Colourman (Artist's); Colourman (Colour Works); Colourman (Painting and Decorating); and Colourman Painter.

Stan

[behindthefrogs]

Other dictionaries also extend Stan's list to include a shopkeeper who sells paints.

[sallyyorks]

Hi Milliepede

Thats not something that had crossed my mind, I could only think of a more modern paint shop! What made you think of somewhere to dye cloth?

What part of the country is it and when ?, it could be a dye works as part of a textile mill

[stanmapstone]

In textile  dyeing it's called the Drug Room, not colour works; a drug room man weighs out  the colour ingredients for use in the dyeing processes, under the direction of the colour mixer, master dyer, foreman dyer, or chemist, and performs other duties in the drug room e.g. mixing, dissolving.  http://www.rootschat.com/links/0xvi/
If you go to Historical Directories http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp and search for colour works, you get Directories 1 to 10 of 79 found for colour works Location=all Decade=all

Stan