Wheelwright
"Charron," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 3 (plates) (Paris, 1763).
Le Charron | The Wheelwright
The charron, or wheelwright, manufactured, repaired, painted and decorated wagons, carts, wheelbarrows or any other vehicle with wheels, for work or leisure. Most wheels were made from wood or iron.
In France, a charron could also be called an embatteur de roues, a rodier or a royer.
The heart of the wheelwright’s job was his mastery of the wheel, its size depending on the type of vehicle it would be affixed to. He made it by first constructing the hub (called the nave), the spokes and the rim segments and assembling them all into a unit working from the centre of the wheel outwards. The strapping would be carried out by forging and bending. This operation generally consisted of enclosing the wheel in an iron bandage, with the red-hot metal placed on the wood of the circular periphery. The iron would then contract as it cooled to room temperature, the shrinkage ensuring the tightening of all the assembled parts. The wheel had to be strong enough to carry a heavy load, but most importantly, be able to weather uneven and rough surfaces.
The wheelwright’s occupation all but disappeared in the 1950s with the advent of rubber tires.
Charron is a very common occupational surname that survives in Canada today.
Watch the first few minutes of this video to see the fascinating strapping process used by a modern-day English wheelwright.
Known persons who had the occupation of master wheelwright : Jean-Baptiste Bélanger, Nicolas Brazeau, Pierre Casault/Cazeau, Jean Creste, Pierre Gauvin, Joseph Giroux, Antoine Piquet dit L'Heureux, Joseph Savard, Jean Sedillot dit Montreuil, Pierre Simon dit Delorme, Jean-Baptiste Thomas dit Bigaouette, Paul Vermette
Known persons who had the occupation of wheelwright : N. Abraham, Joseph Bédard, Pierre Bédard, François Bélanger, Joseph Bourré, Charles Brazeau, Nicolas Brazeau, Michel Bureau, Jean Casault/Cazeau, Gabriel Côté, Jean-Baptiste Côté, Henri Delaunay, Joseph Delorme, Joseph Drolette, Joseph Drouin, Pierre Élie dit Le Breton, Philippe Estienne, Jean-Baptiste L'Heureux, Charles Lafleur, Charles Lemelin, Louis Lereau, Jean Martel, John Melson, Charles Miville, René-Étienne Montray dit Saint-Étienne, François-Xavier Picher, Simon Richome, Pierre Robillard, Charles Robitaille, Pierre Robitaille, Jacques Saint-Yves, Jean Sansfaçon, Pierre Sauvé dit Laplante, Charles Savard, Jacques Simon dit Delorme, Pierre Simon dit Delorme, Guillaume Tougas dit Laviolette, Estienne Truteau
Sources:
Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 151.
Claude Lemay, "Fonctions et métiers délaissés", l'Ancêtre, number 281, volume 34, winter 2008, and number 280, volume 34, winter 2007; electronic edition, Société généalogique de Québec (www.sgq.qc.ca/images/_SGQ/R_LAncetre_plus_libre/ENT-FONCTIONS-METIERS-DELAISSES.pdf).
Institut national métiers d’art, author unknown, “Charron” (https://www.institut-metiersdart.org/metiers-art/fiches-metiers/jeux-jouets-et-ouvrages-mecaniques/charron).