society of carters and wagonmen?

[deesam56]

I have heard somewhere there is a societyof cartmen that carters would have had to be licensed
I am going back to 1890's as my g grandfather was a carter
does anyone know about this?

[stanmapstone]

Carters did not have to be licenced by a Society, if they had to be licenced at all it would be by the Police, or the local authority.

It all depends on what you mean by a 'carter'? He was not necessarily some one who drove what is normally known a cart, it could be any wheeled vehicle, but a cart, wagon, dray etc. are specific types of vehicle.
The usual term in country districts was a Carter, or a Carrier if he conveyed passengers.
There was also a Carman who drove a horse drawn vehicle, usually in towns, collecting and delivering goods. A Bonded Carman was employed by a cartage contractor in conveying dutiable goods from/to a bonded warehouse.
The Carmen's Company is a guild of the City of London, reflecting the transport industry in all its modes, but particularly surface transport - road and rail, goods and passenger.
See http://www.thecarmen.co.uk/companytoday/whoare.shtml
Stan

[stanmapstone]

In 1891 there were 169,283 Carmen, Carriers, Hauliers, Carters,  and Waggoners.

Stan

[deesam56]

thanks

all I know is my g grandfather was a carter in Plymouth according to his daughters birth certs in 1893 and 1898 but by 1901 he was a labourer

what sort of info would there be on the person if registered with council and would the records be found with the local council now?

[stanmapstone]

I may be wrong, but as far as I can see carters etc. did not need a licence, unlike peddlers and hawkers, who came under the Pedlars Act 1871.

Stan

[Redroger]

Only a suspicion, but could this be confused with a Trade Union representing these people, which would have been absorbed by the TGWU now part of Unite Union?

[deesam56]

sorry know nothing of that just trying to see if there is some sort of record for employment of a carter

[Redroger]

Just done a google doesn't look as though it was a Trade Union.

[newburychap]

Carters would often be employed on farms etc - as opposed to carriers or waggoners who were the delivery vans and HGVs of the day.  Of course carriers would also employ people if their business stretched to more than one cart.

Trade directories (the more local the better) will often show carriers to and from a town or village, when they set out and where they operated out of (very often a pub).