Remembering London's 'knocker uppers' - the city's human alarm clocks

We love learning about old-timey traditions, especially ones that were commonplace in London.

Among those, was the role of the ‘knocker uppers’, but trust us it’s not what you think.

In the 18th Century ‘knocker up’ had a very different meaning. It was a term used to describe people who were hired to wake industrial workers in the early hours.

Read more: Quirky London

‘Knocker uppers’ would wander the streets and tap on doors and windows using a long stock, often with a knob or a small hammer on the end.

‘Knocker uppers’ were essentially human alarm clocks.

Some would stand and tap on windows until they were sure the client was awake, while others would tap and move on to the next.

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Some ‘knocker uppers’ even used pea shooters to aim at the windows on higher floors.

This job persisted well into the 20th century before alarm clocks made it obsolete.

Britain’s last ‘knocker upper’ retried in Lancashire in 1973,