Archaic occupation medieval-1600s
What was an ale-conner?
An ale-conner was a borough officer sworn to taste and inspect ale and bread, checking quality and price before public sale. The office survived as a ceremonial title in some towns long after real inspection ended, so late records can be honorary. You will find the term in English records, mostly medieval-1600s.
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FAQs
What is an ale-conner in modern terms?+
A trading-standards inspector. Treat the match as a guide rather than a swap: tools and markets changed, so read the title against the record's own date (medieval-1600s).
Why do census occupation columns use words nobody says now?+
Enumerators wrote down whatever the household told them, spelled by ear, and local trade slang went straight onto the form. Directories, apprenticeship papers, and wills often carry the fuller wording for the same person.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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