Teasel Cutter

[andy15star]

My mother had to obtain a copied birth Certificate for her mother (my gran) and on it it said that her father used to be a "Teasel Cutter". Now i have searched high and low for this and cannot find out what job that would have been. bearing in mind this would have been late 1800s/early 1900s. Many Thanks, Andrew

[spacechimp]

A teasel is "any of various biennial plants with white or mauve flower-head surrounded by curved prickly bracts" and the heads of these flowers are used to raise the nap on cloth. So I'm assuming this is something to do with the cloth industry.

[spacechimp]

Maybe he was a labourer who removed the heads from these flowers?

[sddsddean]

Teases are the dried heads of a thistle like plant. The heads have leaf/petal looking things that are hook shaped. They were used in the carding of wool to 'tease' the fibres into laying in the same direction so that the wool could be spun. Presumably your gran used to cut them in the field. http://www.workingforwildlife.org.uk/education/teasel.htm

Scroll down to find out about use in the wool industry.

[andy15star]

Many thanks everyone for the very quick answers. I'll let my mother know ! - Cheers, Andrew