Wagon-way wright

[Blues Mark]

can anyone tell me what a wagon way wright did. One of my ancesters was one in Tanfield, co, durham about 1806 and i would love to know more about hiis occupation. did he fix, or make the wooden wheels or was it completely different to that?

[notanotherminer]

Where did you see the occupation? Was it in a census? If so it could possibly be meant to be a Wagon Wainwright which was a person who built wagons.

Edit. I wasn't looking at the date so obviously not in a census. I think Wainwright's still the likely description though

[Blues Mark]

its on a marriager certificate father s occupation and he lived in Tanfield where the waggon way, or wooden railways were.

[Kevin Garrad]

As Richard Trevithick built the first steam locomotive in 1804, your chap's occupation would pre-date railways!
So maybe a precursor of a Wainwright?
Maybe he built, and maintained, waggon-ways?

[Peter Goodey]

The word 'railway' pre-dates steam power! OED's earliest example is from 1681.

A wagon-way is an artificial road or railway for wagons - typically coal wagons. A wagon-way wright presumably constructed or maintained the wagon way.