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A mason whose task it was to set or lay the shaped stones in a building or wall.
places York
dates 1401-1403 1432

A precisely cut stone.
dates 1683 1717

A dog taught to ‘set’ hunted birds or animals, used by huntsmen and poachers.
dates 1551 1594 1671

Possibly an implement for setting plants although it has also been suggested that it was used when making the pleats or sets of ruffs (RMG).
places Brandsby Pudsey
dates 1618 1628

This is a traditional part of the vocabulary of the medieval guilds. A man was entitled to set up in business only after completing his time as an apprentice and journeyman.
dates 1475 1565 1577

A kind of embroidery, used especially for carpetwork, chairs and cushions.
dates 1621 1675 1695

Separate, it was used of land held by an individual, not in common ownership.
dates 1491 1529 1535 1558-1559 1564 1622 1719

A compartment of a vaulted roof or a section of scaffolding.
places Ripon York
dates 1399-1400 1422 1530-1531

An artificial water-course designed to carry water to a dam or drain marshy land of excess surface water, taking it off into a river or the sea.
dates 1352 1527 1540

An iron ring or U-shaped piece of iron used as a coupling device.
dates 1485 1548 1628

The bolt which passes through the eyes of a shackle, with which it is often listed in inventories.
dates 1530 1549 1581

A regional word for a type of fishing net, compared with a flue or dragnet in glossaries.
dates 1624 1705-1708 1726

A former spelling of shed, a small building.
places Beverley
dates 1763

Usually a vertical or near vertical excavation which gives men access to the minerals underground.
dates 1434 1600 1668 1739

A material having a velvet nap on one side, usually of worsted but sometimes of silk.
dates 1607 1622 1693 1761

The noun is used of a fissure or cleft in timber which developed during a tree’s growth.
dates 1660 1683 1686

As a verb it could refer to the customary right of turning animals or poultry into the stubble after harvest (EDD).
places Saxton Elmswell
dates 1547 1642

A mean, beggarly fellow.
places Bramley
dates 1639

A closely woven material, used particularly for linings and bed coverings.
dates 1346 1379 1455 1739 1751 1762

A table, counter or stall where goods for sale could be displayed.
dates 1316 1357 1429-1430 1517 1556

A spelling of chamois, the antelope which inhabits certain mountain ranges in Asia and Europe. From the skin was prepared a soft pliable leather.
places West Riding
dates 1720

The lower leg, but in the plural it was used for fur taken from the legs of animals, especially black lambs, used for trimming outer garments.
dates 1463 1497 1531 1544

spellings shaping
Used of clothes, shaped, fashioned or tailored.
dates 1434 1444 1506 1533 1576 1618

To act in such a way as to achieve an intention.
places Pannal
dates 1738

Noted in a tailor’s workplace, probably a board or table on which garments were cut out.
places York
dates 1485

The past tense of the verb to shear.
places Thurlstone
dates 1648

The several meanings are all pejorative, that is cheating, swindling, sponging and the like.
places Northowram
dates 1668


The common admonition ‘look sharp’ requires immediate action from the listener, with no delay allowed.

A type of nail, although the exact meaning is uncertain.
places York
dates 1415 1475 1548 1577

spellings shaving knife
The craftsmen who worked leather used knives when they removed flesh and hair from a hide.
dates 1425 1570 1713

Usually said to mean a thicket or copse, but actually dependent on local context.
places Hemsworth Tong
dates 1323 1329

Familiar still as a word for a bundle of corn but formerly a more general measure, used for a variety of commodities.
places Hull York
dates 1453 1503 1508 1515-1516

When applied to sheep this was an indication that an animal was past its first shearing.
dates 1549 1554 1588

The board on which the cropping or finishing of cloth was done.
dates 1535 1599

The earliest sheargrinders of whom we have any record worked in towns, and they were probably providing shears for the finishing process in cloth-making.
dates 1345 1598 1664 1674-1675

A regional equivalent of shearling, that is a sheep that has been once shorn.
dates 1545 1570 1582 1617 1642 1686

A yearling sheep, once shorn.
dates 1400-1499 1500 1515 1582

A maker of shears for the cloth trade.
places Wakefield
dates 1665

A cloth-finisher.
places York Northowram
dates 1400 1534

Occupational term for the makers of shears.
dates 1391 1481 1552 1571 1592 1620 1653-1660 1655

spellings sheathmaker
A maker of sheaths for knives, usually of leather.
places York Sheffield
dates 1302 1445 1523 1554 1591 1610 1654 1693

A sharp, dagger-like knife kept in a sheath.
places Sheffield
dates 1714

Probably pieces of leather cut out for stitching.
places Sheffield
dates 1698

An iron for burning or branding sheep.

Used of fleece-coloured clothing.
dates 1558 1573 1578

A grazing right for a sheep in a stinted pasture.

spellings Shyre Thursday
The Thursday before Easter.
places York
dates 1505 1520 1550

A horizontal piece of wood, or other material, attached to a wall or set in a frame, designed to hold books, crockery, food etc, a cupboard or cabinet.
dates 1594 1621

spellings shilved wain
A wain with side shelving attached.
dates 1648 1655

spellings shilving
A board attached to a cart or wain so as to increase its load capacity, usually in the plural.
dates 1642 1686

A piece of wood split off from timber.
dates 1469-1470 1519 1551 1638

A body garment of linen, cotton or the like, worn by men, women or children. The word came into regular use in the seventeenth century, replacing smock.
places Hellifield Tong
dates 1692 1710

Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0