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Curb Maker

I

imperial

Guest
Anyone know what a 'curb maker' was? I suspect that the census taker mis-spelled it, and it should say 'kerb maker'. Even so, I'm not sure. ???
 
Two possibilities; A maker of Curb Chains (Jewelery) or a maker of Fireside Curbs (Those extendable thingies that went around fireplaces)
 
the item around the hearth (fireside) was made by a Fender maker, which could have been made out of wood or brass, these were adjustable for different sizes of fireplaces the wooden ones usually had a tin slider were as the posher ones had brass and top of the range was all brass
 
Thanks everyone for your help. I do remember iron roadside curbs being around during my chilhood in the 1950's.
My ancestor's occupation is mostly given as 'curb maker' throughout the censuses, except for one which says 'chain and curb maker', so it could have been jewelery or heavy chains.
 
I would go with the chain theory, mainly because in reference to chains the word is spelt "curb" and with reference to pavements the word is spelt "kerb" . I think. :)
 
Curb chains are part of a couple of the bits for a horse's bridle.

The bit is the metal part that goes in the horse's mouth, to which the reins are attached. In a sense, it provides the rider's brakes and the steering for the animal.
There are different sorts of bits, such as snaffle, pelham and curb.
The curb and the pelham both use a curb chain. The curb bit consists of a bar through the horse's mouth, which has a bit of a kink in the middle. Outside it has straight metal cheekpieces, and a metal hook on each side to which the curb chain is fastened. This passes around the back of the horse's chin. The pelham is similar, but without the kink in the straight mouthpiece.
You can see some examples here. https://www.thehorsebitshop.co.uk/section.php?xSec=18&xPage=1
 
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