Tailors' earnings?

[marcie dean]

Is that someone who makes ropes?
My uncle briefly worked for somewhere in Edinburgh, one of the last remaining old fashioned rope makers.  They had a machine that the rope was attached to in a long gallery which I remember seeing on TV a few years ago; and depending upon the weight it was expected to pull /hold meant that strands were added initially and gradually the lenght became longer as kthe width grew when it was at the right tork the end on the machine was bound and latterly had a steel brace/clip on it whilst the remaining amount carried on being stretched etc to the correct length.
Not sure what it was made of maybe horsehair or hessian.

marcie

[Ruskie]

Cordwainer is a shoemaker marcie.
It's an anglicization of the French word cordonnier, which means shoemaker. 

[patrish]

A Cordwainer is someone who makes various things from leather not just shoes. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwainer


http://www.chdt.org.uk/Ropery/About_the_Ropery/explore_ropery.html

I live not far from here and I have never visited I am afraid to say

[Nick29]

One of my g. grandfathers on my father's side was a tailor, and he seemed to live in slightly more upmarket areas than the average.

[shan42]

If you look at the spellings here http://web.ukonline.co.uk/thursday.handleigh/demography/occupations-wages-money/old-occupations/oldocc-c.htm  you'll see the reason I asked about pronounciation.... not sure where the 'wain' bit would come from as wain means wagon or cart, so I was assuming the wain bit would be just for the spelling, for whatever reason, lol!

[patrish]

"Wain" was probably used in the context that a Cordwainer would have made things for wagons, straps  etc , maybe  harnesses and reigns, athough they may have been made by a Saddler which  I think  was a different occupation entirely 

[shan42]

Ah, good point Patrish.... so not necessarily a shoemaker but maybe more a general leather worker, but maybe they did more shoemaking though to be described as such.

[sallysmum]

Fascinating and enlightening!  I have a master tailor in my family and had always assumed that he was quite wealthy - thanks for putting me straight!

I remember once seeing a programme on rope making and found it very fascinating - so Ruskie if you have a chance to see rope making in action I would recommend it
sallysmum

[Huntersjoy]

My Irish grandfather living in Royston Road Glasgow was a master tailor & according to my 1st cousin who remembers says he wasn't well off. Living was hard & food was scarce. People who remember Grandad Murphy say he was an excellent Tailor. Looking back on my Grandparents pictures wearing the clothes he made they were very smart.He was a cripple with TB in one leg.  He  would sit on the floor or table to do his work. Mum told me that he would make her a dress & matching coat out of second hand material also her brothers clothes out of hand me downs. Scraps of material were precious.
 I seem to have followed him in that I also sew my own clothing & grandchildren. He passed it down in his genes. God Bless Grandad. 
Cheers, Phyllis