Unsplash/Austrian National LibraryHistory is full of strange, specific, and now-extinct professions that once played a vital role in everyday life. Before industrialisation, digitisation, and modern health and safety regulations transformed the way societies function, people earned a living in ways that now seem either unnecessary, bizarre, or outright grim. These jobs were once common enough to support entire communities, but today, they’ve been replaced by machines, legislation, or simply cultural shifts. Some required unusual skills, others demanded physical endurance or a high tolerance for discomfort. But all of them offer a fascinating glimpse into how people lived and worked throughout history. Here are ten forgotten historical professions that no longer exist, and the strange, sometimes harrowing realities that came with them.
1. Gong farmers
From the Tudor period through to the 18th century, gong farmers were the people responsible for cleaning out cesspits, privies, and other waste collection areas in cities. The term “gong” comes from the Old English word meaning “to go,” a euphemism for human waste. Gong farmers worked under the cover of night to avoid offending the general public, hauling barrels and buckets of faeces through dark streets to designated dumping areas on the edge of towns. The smell was unbearable, the job dangerous due to exposure to disease and toxic gases, and their social status incredibly low. But despite the filth, the job was relatively well-paid, simply because no one else wanted to do it.
2. Resurrectionists
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, medical schools faced a shortage of legally obtained cadavers for anatomical study. Enter the resurrectionists, also known as body snatchers, who exhumed freshly buried corpses and sold them to universities and hospitals. Operating mainly at night, they were often chased off by angry mobs or relatives of the deceased. The trade became so widespread and controversial that some cemeteries built iron cages over graves to deter theft. The profession faded with the passing of the Anatomy Act 1832 in Britain, which allowed for legal donations of unclaimed bodies, rendering the grim work of resurrectionists obsolete.
3. Rat catchers
Before pest control was a regulated industry, rat catchers were a familiar sight in cities. With no shortage of vermin in urban centres, these professionals used traps, poison, terrier dogs, and even their bare hands to clear infestations in homes, warehouses, and markets. They were often employed during outbreaks of plague or other rodent-borne diseases, and sometimes displayed their kills to prove their effectiveness. Some became minor celebrities, featured in newspapers or periodicals. Despite the unpleasant nature of the work, rat catchers were essential in controlling disease spread—until sanitation improved and chemical methods made the job redundant.
4. Knocker-uppers
In industrial Britain, waking up in time for factory shifts was a serious concern. Alarm clocks were expensive, unreliable, or simply unavailable. That’s where the knocker-uppers came in. They were employed by mill towns and mining communities to wake workers by tapping on bedroom windows using long poles, peashooters, or even by shouting. Some covered multiple streets and kept meticulous schedules to ensure no one overslept. Despite the simplicity of the role, they played a vital part in maintaining productivity during the height of Britain’s industrial boom. The job lingered until the mid-20th century, by which time affordable alarm clocks had become widespread.
5. Leech collectors
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, leeches were an essential part of medical practice, used in bloodletting to treat everything from headaches to infections. This meant a steady supply of leeches was required, and someone had to catch them. Leech collectors, often women or children from rural communities, waded into ponds and marshes, letting the creatures latch onto their legs before carefully removing them and placing them into containers. The job was dangerous due to infection risks, blood loss, and the general conditions of the wet environments. It declined sharply with the fall of bloodletting as a mainstream treatment, though leeches still have occasional medical use today.
6. Lectors
In cigar factories in Cuba, the United States, and parts of Europe, workers once hired lectors to read to them as they rolled cigars by hand. Positioned on raised platforms, lectors would read out newspapers, classic literature, political essays, or local gossip. They were chosen by the workers themselves and helped pass long hours in noisy, repetitive environments while also fostering a sense of political awareness and solidarity. The role declined with the arrival of radio, mechanisation, and tighter control by factory owners who grew uneasy about their workers being exposed to radical ideas.
7. Mudlarks
Mudlarks were usually impoverished children, women, or the elderly who scavenged along riverbanks, especially the Thames in London, during low tide. They searched for coal, rope, nails, tools, and anything else that could be sold for a few pennies. The job was physically demanding, dangerous, and often unsanitary, with the ever-present risk of cuts, infections, or drowning. Many mudlarks worked barefoot in freezing water. It was never a formally recognised trade but rather a desperate means of survival. Today, licensed hobbyists known as mudlarks still search the Thames foreshore, but now it’s considered a form of heritage exploration rather than subsistence work.
8. Link-boys
In an era before street lighting, navigating the dark streets of London or Edinburgh after sundown could be treacherous. Link-boys were hired, usually teenagers, to guide pedestrians through the streets with flaming torches. They stood outside theatres, taverns, and wealthy households offering their services for a few pence. While they provided a useful function, link-boys often gained a reputation for petty theft, extortion, or leading people into dark alleys to be robbed. Their profession began to decline with the spread of gas lamps in the 18th century and disappeared entirely with the electrification of urban lighting.
9. Pinsetters
Before automation reached bowling alleys, pinsetters—usually teenage boys—were hired to manually reset pins after each throw and return the balls to players. It was tiring, repetitive work, often carried out in noisy, dimly lit environments. The job demanded agility, quick reflexes, and the ability to stay focused amid flying balls and pins. It was not without risk, as many pinsetters sustained injuries. By the 1950s, automated pin-setting machines began replacing humans in most bowling alleys, turning this once-common starter job into a relic of the past.
10. Powder monkeys
Powder monkeys were young boys—sometimes as young as 10 years old!—who served aboard warships during the age of sail. Their main task was to carry gunpowder from the ship’s magazine to the cannon crews during battle. This was a job requiring speed and courage, as they had to navigate narrow, dangerous corridors while avoiding enemy fire and staying calm amid chaos. They were chosen for their small size and agility, which allowed them to move quickly in confined spaces. As naval warfare evolved and the use of children in combat roles became unacceptable, the position was phased out.
