Has anyone come across a starcher as an occupation?

[Skoosh]

Henry could have saved himself the trouble as there was loads of Alum on the Yorkshire coast. This was worked a century later but also used vast quantities of urine, shipped from London & Newcastle!

Skoosh.

[Viktoria]

Yes I have seen the Alum coast and we found magnificent fossil footprints not far away.
About a yard long, like a huge duck’s webbed foot but with what looked like claws.
The creature must have left the impressions  in soft  mud ,that was filled with more mud and then a huge upheaval meant they turned over so what we saw was the underside  of the filling which was a mould if the first impression- are you still with me.?( that phrase often said when people’s  eyes  glaze over at extra long explanations etc.)
I take the self imposed hint.
I wish I knew how to post the pictures.
Just heard one in a shop this morning.
“ Short shrift”, I looked it up to be sure of the exact meaning, it is when not much time is given - originally to a condemned man- for him to be “ shriven”
IE given time to confess and ask for forgiveness.
So not having a good amount of time for a Priest/ Confessor to hear the confession etc  it was said ‘ He got short shrift”.
Nowadays more about being summarily dismissed and not giving a fair hearing.
Viktoria.



man-

[Rena]

Urine also used for bleaching linen so collected round the doors. How much for a chanty (chamber pot) full & how did the piss-taker know it wasn't watered? 

Here Charles Tennant invents bleaching powder in Glasgow & the urine Cart hit the buffers! Did very well for himself, his descendants led the life of Riley on Mustique!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tennant

Skoosh.

When I was younger we had a lot of cattle in the East Riding, every home seemed to have a brown leather three piece suite and urine was in demand in the tanning mills.... a pal of my mother's had the most beautifully soft cream coloured leather three piece suite - made of pig skin - presumably urine used to take off hairs.

.Its high pH breaks down organic material, making urine the perfect substance for ancients to use in softening and tanning animal hides. Soaking animal skins in urine also made it easier for leather workers to remove hair and bits of flesh from the skin