Clogger and Shire Walker

[Keith Sherwood]

Hi, Everyone,
Have recently come across an entry in the 1871 Census of a man called Thomas Dyson who gave his occupation as "Clogger and Shire Walker".
Now, the "clogger" part is apparently someone who makes clogs, but I'm not entirely sure what the "shire walker" refers to - unless he had another job as someone who walked beside horses that drew barges or other vehicles.
Thomas Dyson lived in Oldham, so the idyllic rural scene beside the horses ploughing or doing other heavy agricultural work perhaps does not quite fit...
Very best wishes,
Keith

[Shropshire Lass]

Hi Keith

This is a possibility - the itinerant clogger - from
http://chrisbrady.itgo.com/clogmaker/clogmaker1.htm

"In the heyday of clogmakers there were two distinct types of craftsmen engaged in the  trade. They were:

1/ The village clogmaker who made footwear for a local market. He made clogs for each  individual customer, taking accurate measurements of each foot, and cutting the clog soles  to the shape of a paper pattern, made according to those measurements. His work will be  considered later (below).

2/ The itinerant clogger or clog sole maker who was concerned only  with the rough shaping of wooden soles which were sold to the clogging factories of  Lancashire and Yorkshire. It was one of the most picturesque of all the rural crafts, but  it has almost certainly disappeared completely from all parts of Britain. Before 1939,  clogging gangs were a very common sight in all parts of Britain, but the alder groves of  south Wales and the Border counties were particularly well-known as their haunt."

Monica

[Keith Sherwood]

Monica,
What a nice little link! and quite evocative photos too - Jonah Webb amongst the alder woods of Monmouthshire for one....
Keith

[Phil_UK]

I have come across a distant relative Wm Henry Latham born 1855, who in the 1871 census describes his occupation as a "Clogger".

Yes he could be involved in clog making, but could a clogger also be a person who un-clogs the cotton looms that were so prevalent in the area at that time?

Any thoughts???

[Maiden Stone]

Yes he could be involved in clog making, but could a clogger also be a person who un-clogs the cotton looms that were so prevalent in the area at that time?

Never heard that term in a cotton mill. 
There's a list of textile industry jobs online and other lists of occupations taken from a census.
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