Watermen employment

[RobinC]

I contacted the Watermen's Hall in order to find out some information on my ancestors and was informed that the Watermen were not employed by the Company of Watermen and were only tied to their Master's through their apprenticeships until they were confirmed as Freemen at the end of the apprenticeships.

"Usually, the only records we have of Waterman and Lightermen was the date they were bound to the Company as apprentices, usually aged around 15 years old, and when they became Freemen of the Company, usually 5 or 7 years later. They were not employed by the Company, nor did we keep employment records. When they were bound, they had a Master, who may or may not have been their employer on the river."

So if you are looking for any ancestors that were Watermen then the only information you will find is when their apprenticeships began and ended and this information is normally available at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, City of London, EC2V 7 but is at the LMA at the moment.

[Jan1954]

So if you are looking for any ancestors that were Watermen then the only information you will find is when their apprenticeships began and ended and this information is normally available at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, City of London, EC2V 7 but is at the LMA at the moment.

However, other handy hints can be found here.

[Peter Goodey]

So if you are looking for any ancestors that were Watermen then the only information you will find is when their apprenticeships began and ended

This is the norm for any livery company.

[Mutley]

I think you are getting slightly confused. The Company of Watermen is not a company in the terms of a business that traded.

A Waterman would serve his (mostly 7 years) apprenticeship working with a qualified waterman who would be known as his master. The qualified waterman could work for a business that traded on the river, boat and ferry operators or lighterage and barge companies or himself.

Once they 'qualified' they became 'Freemen' of the river this allowed them to ply their trade up and down the Thames working as self employed men. Think of that term as 'Free Man' being that they were free to work for whichever company they could.

Remember also that watermen moved passengers, lightermen moved goods and many were both watermen and lightermen.

You would need to find the company your ancestor worked for though that is not easy because of the fact that they were free men and there will not be many records for their employment.

Try googling lighterage companies or barge operators or Port of London Authority to give you an idea.

This is a very brief description of a very complicated occupation and one of the oldest there is, they were even around before the days of the tax man.

[RobinC]

Thank you Mutley for attempting to shed some light on this subject, it appears to be very complex and could take more research time than it will researching my family tree!